Sermon Illustrations for Proper 22 | OT 27 (2016)
Illustration
Object:
Lamentations 1:1-6
In 1964, as a newly minted college graduate I took a job in Detroit with the Michigan Department of Public Health. At the time, the city was a dynamic place to live. Neighborhoods bustled. Civic pride flourished. Auto manufacturing offered abundant, well-paying jobs. There was ample opportunity for upward social mobility.
Much has changed since then. The population that peaked 60 years ago at nearly 2 million has fallen to about 700,000. Where neighborhoods once thrived, there are now streets of abandoned homes, city blocks of tenantless stores, and vacant lots where once stood the factories of opportunity. The place that used to boast of being the Motor City has declared bankruptcy.
There do not seem to be any obvious and ready ideas about to how to fix the city (or abundant funding). The problems are too complex. The proposed solutions are too expensive to implement. The nation that once relied on the economic engine that was Detroit can only shake its collective head and mumble about the unfortunate plight of another Rust Belt city. All we seem able to do is echo the ancient lament over Jerusalem.
“How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal” (Lamentation 1:1).
R. Robert C.
Lamentations 1:1-6
Like the ancient Hebrews, American life seems filled with meaningless chaos. Civility seems quaint. (Ask Donald Trump.) Add to this the deterioration of family life in America, and how many Americans are not ready for retirement. (Nearly one in two American marriages fail, and Time magazine reports that one in three Americans have saved $0 for retirement.) As of the first week in July, nearly 25% of people killed by cops were black, and African-Americans are only 12.3% of the American population. In other words, you are twice as likely to be killed by a cop if you are black. Christians need to rebel against these trends!
The idea of a lifestyle of rebelling against unhealthy social trends is a core theme of the book of Lamentations. Existentialist philosopher Albert Camus nicely describes what such rebellion is like: “What is a rebel? A man who says no, but whose refusal does not imply a renunciation. He is also a man who says yes, from the moment he makes his first gesture of rebellion.... In every act of rebellion, the rebel simultaneously experiences a feeling of revulsion at the infringement of his rights and a complete and spontaneous loyalty to certain aspects of himself. Thus he implicitly brings into play a standard of values” (The Rebel, pp. 13-14). “Therefore the individual is not in himself alone, the embodiment of values he wishes to defend. It needs all humanity, at least, to comprise them” (The Rebel, p. 17).
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the Christian life in this rebellious counter-cultural way; we need to be maladjusted as Christians, he claims (maladjusted to the ways of the world): “Every academic discipline has its technical nomenclature, and modern psychology has a word that is used probably more than any other. It is the word ‘maladjusted.’ The word is a ringing cry of modern child psychology. Certainly all of us want to live a well-adjusted life in order to avoid the neurotic personality. But I say to you, there are certain things within our social order to which I call all men of goodwill to be maladjusted. So let us be maladjusted, as maladjusted as the prophet Amos, who in the midst of injustices of his day could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, ‘Let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” ...Let us be as maladjusted as Jesus of Nazareth, who could look into the eyes of the men and women of his generation and cry out, ‘Love your enemies’ ”(A Testament of Hope, pp. 215-216).
Mark E.
Lamentations 1:1-6
Youree Dell Harris was a struggling actress when she was hired to do infomercials for the Psychic Readers Network. Her stage name became Miss Cleo, and her Jamaican heritage added authenticity to her television propositions. Even though she promoted free psychic readings in her infomercials, callers ended up spending large amounts of money on a bogus program. Her commercials always ended with the same tagline: “Call me now!” The federal government determined that those free calls ended up costing consumers $1 billion. Before the program was cancelled, nearly 6 million people called the 900 number, which was not a free call.
Application: Lamentations warns us about people who are disobedient.
Ron L.
2 Timothy 2:1-14
What is the legacy you leave to you children? There is a television show that premiered on the Fox Business channel last year called Strange Inheritance. Jamie Colby hosts the show, which describes some of the more unusual inheritances people have left to their families. One episode called “Tanks a Lot” featured an eccentric millionaire who left his kids a world-record fleet of 240 military vehicles. Colby interviewed a Pennsylvania family who passed down George Washington’s wallet through the generations. The historic item bore the engraving G.W. 1775. She also met with a man who inherited an old gold mine from the widow of a Nevada prospector. These are unusual legacies, different for sure. Hearing about them, though, made me wonder about what we might leave to those who come behind us. Some people are concerned about leaving wealth and possessions. Others are determined to leave behind status and social connections. What is the best thing you can leave?
In his letter to Timothy, Paul notes a wonderful inheritance that Timothy received. Paul writes of his faith that “lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you” (v. 5). Paul notes that the faith Timothy now has as his own was first seen in his grandmother and in his mother. Lois and Eunice treasured their faith enough to become living examples to Timothy. I don’t know if that kind of inheritance is interesting enough to make it onto Jamie Colby’s show, but it does raise a question. What are you passing on to your kids?
Bill T.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
How many among us come from families who practiced the Christian faith? In this passage Timothy is reminded by Paul about his ancestry and history in the faith through his mother and his grandmother. Yet Paul doesn’t stop there. Paul calls on Timothy to speak out bravely based on his faith, based on the teaching he has received.
I can recall my own moments of standing up based on faith: guiding patients through protestors to receive the only medical care in the community provided through Planned Parenthood vans, marching is peace marches to try to prevent the invasion of Iraq, protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, campaigning against the death penalty, standing with the Palestinian people as their homes were being confiscated, speaking out for reconciliation instead of violence. All these and more were opportunities to stand up for my faith, as I understand it, and the heritage of faith from my family.
Not only faithful people can protest injustice and seek reconciliation and mercy, but it is incumbent upon those of us who follow Jesus to do so. Paul reminds us that “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (v. 7 NRSV). We are to speak out in love, to use power for the benefit of all, and to practice self-discipline in our faith. I wonder how you feel you are doing in this regard. I know I am sometimes better at being faith-filled than I am at other times. I think I’ll read this passage for a few days and see how I am moved to interpret it in my own life.
Bonnie B.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Some denominations have codified what the apostle refers to as the “laying on of hands” (v. 6), and have even argued over who can receive this ordinance and who cannot. Others refer to this as a sign of an “apostolic succession,” something not unlike cooties that are passed down from one patriarch to another from the founding of the church to the present day. I wonder if something less informal but far more powerful is meant here. Consider the context: the apostle frames this verse between a reference to what Timothy learned about the faith from his mother and grandmother, and what strength he ought to derive from this when facing the possibility of standing up to false teaching and the scandal of standing by Paul in his imprisonment. For that matter, the courage required to stand by the cross of Jesus in a society that turned from that horrible instrument of death.
Notice that the passing on of “the gift of God” is cemented with personal touch. It’s not about a legalistic use of what should be the normal result of a close relationship. This close relationship that we share with God and with each other is not a spirit of fear, but one of strength and love and prudence! This is the manner of teaching we ought to be sharing from the pulpit, and that ought to be shared with children in every home and in every Sunday school class. It may be easier to mobilize the troops by preaching that the world is coming to an end! (By the way, it is someday!) The apostle calls for us to fearlessly face the present, and with the laying on of hands and with solid teaching, all things are possible.
Frank R.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
The reason anyone is called to be an apostle is to preach the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Timothy is Paul’s son through Christ who makes us all family -- we are all God’s children! Paul sends this message to Timothy to share with the people of the church he helped start. It must have been a fair amount of time since that day, as he knows three generations (or at least two and hopes to reach the third). When I think of my many years in the ministry I remember some of my confirmation class in my first church in Dayton, Ohio, but now most of them are grandparents. Even some I baptized are almost retired. Like Paul, it is my wish that the next generation is also solid in the same faith.
It has been a great joy to me to receive letters from some of my former members who remember the work I did for them in bringing them to the Lord and healing some. A new pastor should look forward to the day when he or she can look back and see that their labor was not in vain.
Paul seems to be hoping that he will see Timothy sometime while he is still in prison.
He suggests that other believers may also suffer for their faith as he is suffering, yet the reward is beyond description. This text shows it is not bad to shed tears when you miss someone. We shed them at funerals when we have lost a loved one, even though we know that we will meet them again if we hold firm to our faith in Jesus. Notice that Timothy’s father was probably an unbeliever and that Timothy’s faith came from his Jewish mother. How often in our congregations do we find a divided family where only one of them comes to church and brings the children? As long as the children remain faithful, then all is well.
Paul is counting on Timothy to keep the flame of faith burning. That is every pastor’s job, and also the job of parents. We all need the gifts of power and love and self-discipline and a sound mind. That comes from God, and not just from the laying on of hands which ordains us for our assignment. These gifts prove that we are ready to serve God, and the church confirms that.
Bob O.
Luke 17:5-10
It is an old and oft-told story, the source for which has long been lost. It begins with the familiar words of most good stories.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful green valley with a snow-capped mountain in the distance. In the valley there was a small village of thatched roof homes. The village was distinguished by an unexpected geology. Just beyond the last house at the end of the only street was a pool of clear, hot water. Its source was molten rock deep within the earth that heated water near the surface. That water bubbled up and formed the pond. Just a few feet from this hot water pond was a small, pure, cold stream that originated with melting snow and ice atop that distant mountain.
The story is that one day a missionary was traveling through that beautiful valley and stopped at the village. The missionary arrived on the traditional day for doing laundry. Several villagers had gathered between the volcano-fed pond and the glacier-fed stream. The people were washing their laundry in the hot water pond and rinsing their laundry in the cold stream.
The missionary was impressed. He commented to the village leader, “God has certainly blessed this community. The Almighty has supplied you with hot and cold running water. You must be a very thankful people.”
“No, we are not particularly thankful,” the leader said. “In fact, mostly we just complain that God doesn’t provide the soap.”
This story does not end with the traditional words “and they lived happily ever after.” Because of the people’s paucity of thankfulness in the midst of a beautiful setting and bountiful blessings, this fable concludes: “and they called that village ‘America.’ ”
R. Robert C.
Luke 17:5-10
Ahmed Zewail was an Egyptian chemist and science advisor to President Obama. Zewail won the 1999 Nobel Prize for his work on the study of chemical reactions over immensely short time scales. In describing his work as a scientist, Zewail said: “If you understand the landscape of a chemical change or a biological change, you might be able to alter the landscape.” On receiving the Nobel Prize, Zewail said: “I never believed that one day I would get a call from Sweden. As a boy I had a passion about science.”
Application: Jesus talks about the importance of obedience and faith in being a disciple. Zewail had faith in science and the discipline to continue in his experiments.
Ron L.
Luke 17:5-10
The actor Kevin Spacey says, “We get what we deserve.” And famed prosperity gospel preacher Joel Osteen has said that “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money.” In much the same self-seeking spirit, Irish novelist James Joyce once wrote “What’s mine is mine.” The teaching of Jesus in this lesson is subversive of these values.
For John Calvin, the text’s meaning is clear: “There are two principles, therefore, that must be maintained: first, that God naturally owes us nothing, and that all the services which we render to him are not worth a single straw” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVI/2, p. 196). The subversive character of love (undermining the assumptions of society) is well described by the famed modern Christian martyr and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “What if precisely at the moment when we are thanking God for his goodness toward us, there is a ring at the door as so often happens these days, and we find someone standing there... who is starving with his children and will go to be in bitterness? ...Let no one say: God has blessed me with money and possessions [and power], and then live as if he and his God were alone in the world. For the time will come when he realizes that he has been worshiping the idols of his fortune and his selfishness. Possessions are not God’s blessings and goodness, but opportunities for service which he entrusts to us” (A Testament to Freedom, p. 207).
Mark E.
In 1964, as a newly minted college graduate I took a job in Detroit with the Michigan Department of Public Health. At the time, the city was a dynamic place to live. Neighborhoods bustled. Civic pride flourished. Auto manufacturing offered abundant, well-paying jobs. There was ample opportunity for upward social mobility.
Much has changed since then. The population that peaked 60 years ago at nearly 2 million has fallen to about 700,000. Where neighborhoods once thrived, there are now streets of abandoned homes, city blocks of tenantless stores, and vacant lots where once stood the factories of opportunity. The place that used to boast of being the Motor City has declared bankruptcy.
There do not seem to be any obvious and ready ideas about to how to fix the city (or abundant funding). The problems are too complex. The proposed solutions are too expensive to implement. The nation that once relied on the economic engine that was Detroit can only shake its collective head and mumble about the unfortunate plight of another Rust Belt city. All we seem able to do is echo the ancient lament over Jerusalem.
“How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal” (Lamentation 1:1).
R. Robert C.
Lamentations 1:1-6
Like the ancient Hebrews, American life seems filled with meaningless chaos. Civility seems quaint. (Ask Donald Trump.) Add to this the deterioration of family life in America, and how many Americans are not ready for retirement. (Nearly one in two American marriages fail, and Time magazine reports that one in three Americans have saved $0 for retirement.) As of the first week in July, nearly 25% of people killed by cops were black, and African-Americans are only 12.3% of the American population. In other words, you are twice as likely to be killed by a cop if you are black. Christians need to rebel against these trends!
The idea of a lifestyle of rebelling against unhealthy social trends is a core theme of the book of Lamentations. Existentialist philosopher Albert Camus nicely describes what such rebellion is like: “What is a rebel? A man who says no, but whose refusal does not imply a renunciation. He is also a man who says yes, from the moment he makes his first gesture of rebellion.... In every act of rebellion, the rebel simultaneously experiences a feeling of revulsion at the infringement of his rights and a complete and spontaneous loyalty to certain aspects of himself. Thus he implicitly brings into play a standard of values” (The Rebel, pp. 13-14). “Therefore the individual is not in himself alone, the embodiment of values he wishes to defend. It needs all humanity, at least, to comprise them” (The Rebel, p. 17).
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the Christian life in this rebellious counter-cultural way; we need to be maladjusted as Christians, he claims (maladjusted to the ways of the world): “Every academic discipline has its technical nomenclature, and modern psychology has a word that is used probably more than any other. It is the word ‘maladjusted.’ The word is a ringing cry of modern child psychology. Certainly all of us want to live a well-adjusted life in order to avoid the neurotic personality. But I say to you, there are certain things within our social order to which I call all men of goodwill to be maladjusted. So let us be maladjusted, as maladjusted as the prophet Amos, who in the midst of injustices of his day could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, ‘Let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” ...Let us be as maladjusted as Jesus of Nazareth, who could look into the eyes of the men and women of his generation and cry out, ‘Love your enemies’ ”(A Testament of Hope, pp. 215-216).
Mark E.
Lamentations 1:1-6
Youree Dell Harris was a struggling actress when she was hired to do infomercials for the Psychic Readers Network. Her stage name became Miss Cleo, and her Jamaican heritage added authenticity to her television propositions. Even though she promoted free psychic readings in her infomercials, callers ended up spending large amounts of money on a bogus program. Her commercials always ended with the same tagline: “Call me now!” The federal government determined that those free calls ended up costing consumers $1 billion. Before the program was cancelled, nearly 6 million people called the 900 number, which was not a free call.
Application: Lamentations warns us about people who are disobedient.
Ron L.
2 Timothy 2:1-14
What is the legacy you leave to you children? There is a television show that premiered on the Fox Business channel last year called Strange Inheritance. Jamie Colby hosts the show, which describes some of the more unusual inheritances people have left to their families. One episode called “Tanks a Lot” featured an eccentric millionaire who left his kids a world-record fleet of 240 military vehicles. Colby interviewed a Pennsylvania family who passed down George Washington’s wallet through the generations. The historic item bore the engraving G.W. 1775. She also met with a man who inherited an old gold mine from the widow of a Nevada prospector. These are unusual legacies, different for sure. Hearing about them, though, made me wonder about what we might leave to those who come behind us. Some people are concerned about leaving wealth and possessions. Others are determined to leave behind status and social connections. What is the best thing you can leave?
In his letter to Timothy, Paul notes a wonderful inheritance that Timothy received. Paul writes of his faith that “lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you” (v. 5). Paul notes that the faith Timothy now has as his own was first seen in his grandmother and in his mother. Lois and Eunice treasured their faith enough to become living examples to Timothy. I don’t know if that kind of inheritance is interesting enough to make it onto Jamie Colby’s show, but it does raise a question. What are you passing on to your kids?
Bill T.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
How many among us come from families who practiced the Christian faith? In this passage Timothy is reminded by Paul about his ancestry and history in the faith through his mother and his grandmother. Yet Paul doesn’t stop there. Paul calls on Timothy to speak out bravely based on his faith, based on the teaching he has received.
I can recall my own moments of standing up based on faith: guiding patients through protestors to receive the only medical care in the community provided through Planned Parenthood vans, marching is peace marches to try to prevent the invasion of Iraq, protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, campaigning against the death penalty, standing with the Palestinian people as their homes were being confiscated, speaking out for reconciliation instead of violence. All these and more were opportunities to stand up for my faith, as I understand it, and the heritage of faith from my family.
Not only faithful people can protest injustice and seek reconciliation and mercy, but it is incumbent upon those of us who follow Jesus to do so. Paul reminds us that “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (v. 7 NRSV). We are to speak out in love, to use power for the benefit of all, and to practice self-discipline in our faith. I wonder how you feel you are doing in this regard. I know I am sometimes better at being faith-filled than I am at other times. I think I’ll read this passage for a few days and see how I am moved to interpret it in my own life.
Bonnie B.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Some denominations have codified what the apostle refers to as the “laying on of hands” (v. 6), and have even argued over who can receive this ordinance and who cannot. Others refer to this as a sign of an “apostolic succession,” something not unlike cooties that are passed down from one patriarch to another from the founding of the church to the present day. I wonder if something less informal but far more powerful is meant here. Consider the context: the apostle frames this verse between a reference to what Timothy learned about the faith from his mother and grandmother, and what strength he ought to derive from this when facing the possibility of standing up to false teaching and the scandal of standing by Paul in his imprisonment. For that matter, the courage required to stand by the cross of Jesus in a society that turned from that horrible instrument of death.
Notice that the passing on of “the gift of God” is cemented with personal touch. It’s not about a legalistic use of what should be the normal result of a close relationship. This close relationship that we share with God and with each other is not a spirit of fear, but one of strength and love and prudence! This is the manner of teaching we ought to be sharing from the pulpit, and that ought to be shared with children in every home and in every Sunday school class. It may be easier to mobilize the troops by preaching that the world is coming to an end! (By the way, it is someday!) The apostle calls for us to fearlessly face the present, and with the laying on of hands and with solid teaching, all things are possible.
Frank R.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
The reason anyone is called to be an apostle is to preach the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Timothy is Paul’s son through Christ who makes us all family -- we are all God’s children! Paul sends this message to Timothy to share with the people of the church he helped start. It must have been a fair amount of time since that day, as he knows three generations (or at least two and hopes to reach the third). When I think of my many years in the ministry I remember some of my confirmation class in my first church in Dayton, Ohio, but now most of them are grandparents. Even some I baptized are almost retired. Like Paul, it is my wish that the next generation is also solid in the same faith.
It has been a great joy to me to receive letters from some of my former members who remember the work I did for them in bringing them to the Lord and healing some. A new pastor should look forward to the day when he or she can look back and see that their labor was not in vain.
Paul seems to be hoping that he will see Timothy sometime while he is still in prison.
He suggests that other believers may also suffer for their faith as he is suffering, yet the reward is beyond description. This text shows it is not bad to shed tears when you miss someone. We shed them at funerals when we have lost a loved one, even though we know that we will meet them again if we hold firm to our faith in Jesus. Notice that Timothy’s father was probably an unbeliever and that Timothy’s faith came from his Jewish mother. How often in our congregations do we find a divided family where only one of them comes to church and brings the children? As long as the children remain faithful, then all is well.
Paul is counting on Timothy to keep the flame of faith burning. That is every pastor’s job, and also the job of parents. We all need the gifts of power and love and self-discipline and a sound mind. That comes from God, and not just from the laying on of hands which ordains us for our assignment. These gifts prove that we are ready to serve God, and the church confirms that.
Bob O.
Luke 17:5-10
It is an old and oft-told story, the source for which has long been lost. It begins with the familiar words of most good stories.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful green valley with a snow-capped mountain in the distance. In the valley there was a small village of thatched roof homes. The village was distinguished by an unexpected geology. Just beyond the last house at the end of the only street was a pool of clear, hot water. Its source was molten rock deep within the earth that heated water near the surface. That water bubbled up and formed the pond. Just a few feet from this hot water pond was a small, pure, cold stream that originated with melting snow and ice atop that distant mountain.
The story is that one day a missionary was traveling through that beautiful valley and stopped at the village. The missionary arrived on the traditional day for doing laundry. Several villagers had gathered between the volcano-fed pond and the glacier-fed stream. The people were washing their laundry in the hot water pond and rinsing their laundry in the cold stream.
The missionary was impressed. He commented to the village leader, “God has certainly blessed this community. The Almighty has supplied you with hot and cold running water. You must be a very thankful people.”
“No, we are not particularly thankful,” the leader said. “In fact, mostly we just complain that God doesn’t provide the soap.”
This story does not end with the traditional words “and they lived happily ever after.” Because of the people’s paucity of thankfulness in the midst of a beautiful setting and bountiful blessings, this fable concludes: “and they called that village ‘America.’ ”
R. Robert C.
Luke 17:5-10
Ahmed Zewail was an Egyptian chemist and science advisor to President Obama. Zewail won the 1999 Nobel Prize for his work on the study of chemical reactions over immensely short time scales. In describing his work as a scientist, Zewail said: “If you understand the landscape of a chemical change or a biological change, you might be able to alter the landscape.” On receiving the Nobel Prize, Zewail said: “I never believed that one day I would get a call from Sweden. As a boy I had a passion about science.”
Application: Jesus talks about the importance of obedience and faith in being a disciple. Zewail had faith in science and the discipline to continue in his experiments.
Ron L.
Luke 17:5-10
The actor Kevin Spacey says, “We get what we deserve.” And famed prosperity gospel preacher Joel Osteen has said that “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money.” In much the same self-seeking spirit, Irish novelist James Joyce once wrote “What’s mine is mine.” The teaching of Jesus in this lesson is subversive of these values.
For John Calvin, the text’s meaning is clear: “There are two principles, therefore, that must be maintained: first, that God naturally owes us nothing, and that all the services which we render to him are not worth a single straw” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVI/2, p. 196). The subversive character of love (undermining the assumptions of society) is well described by the famed modern Christian martyr and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “What if precisely at the moment when we are thanking God for his goodness toward us, there is a ring at the door as so often happens these days, and we find someone standing there... who is starving with his children and will go to be in bitterness? ...Let no one say: God has blessed me with money and possessions [and power], and then live as if he and his God were alone in the world. For the time will come when he realizes that he has been worshiping the idols of his fortune and his selfishness. Possessions are not God’s blessings and goodness, but opportunities for service which he entrusts to us” (A Testament to Freedom, p. 207).
Mark E.
