Sermon Illustrations for Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 (2012)
Illustration
Object:
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Like Job, Americans do not like to admit that they are sinners, but rather like to think of themselves as good and righteous. A 2000 poll conducted by The New York Times found that 73% of the American public thinks people are good. A more recent Barna Group survey echoes these sentiments, as the data compiled indicates that 3 in 4 Americans think salvation is earned by how we live (presumably most think they are getting there).
This feeling that we have to defend our goodness is isolating. To paraphrase the old Billy Joel rock song "Only the Good Die Young," most times "we'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints." Why is it more fun to laugh with the sinners? They are not so pretentious; they are more spiritual, because they need God and other people more than the self-righteous saints. Keep this and the wisdom of seventeenth-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal in mind next time you don't want to confess your sinfulness: "Man's greatness comes from knowing he is wretched" (Pensees, p. 59).
Mark E.
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
At one time C.S. Lewis, the great apologist for the Christian faith during the twentieth century, like Job, wanted to present his case before God and explain why he was being unfairly treated. He explains in his book A Grief Observed how he felt after his wife Joy died of cancer: "Meanwhile where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing him, if you turn to him then with praise, you will be welcomed with open arms. But go to him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After then, silence. You may as well turn away."
Lewis concluded: "You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you."
Richard H.
Hebrews 4:12-16
The history of swords is fascinating, spanning thousands of years and a multitude of cultures. There are short swords and long swords, single-edged swords and double-edged swords, curved swords with a cutting edge on the outside of the curve and some on the inside of the curve. There are one-handed swords and two-handed swords; battle swords and fencing swords; wooden, bronze, iron, and steel swords. The double-edged sword spoken of here was most likely of the Roman variety that was about 22 inches long, made of iron, single-grip, and in the hands of a trained soldier a potent weapon, cutting both ways, and with a pointed tip capable of thrusting an injury into an enemy on the battlefield. The sword has been referred by some as "the queen of weapons."
Mark M.
Hebrews 4:12-16
Great Britain's richest woman was American-born Eva Rausing. Along with her husband, their net worth was in the billions. Yet nickel bags of cocaine and heroin brought Eva to her death. The 48-year-old, who gave millions of dollars to drug rehabilitation facilities, was unable to deal with her own addiction.
Amanda Thornson, spokesperson for Action on Addiction, which Rausing contributed money to, said, "Addiction doesn't know class boundaries."
Application: The author of Hebrews confesses to us that Jesus is able to understand and sympathize with our weaknesses.
Ron L.
Hebrews 4:12-16
If Jesus was tempted in every way such as we are, then he can understand our temptations. He could have been tempted to marry Mary Magdalene and settle down. If not, then he doesn't understand my temptations. I think he must have been tempted to stay at home working in the carpenter shop instead of wandering the country and risking death. As a missionary, I know that temptation. It was a real temptation not to try Satan's advice to advance his ministry quickly by jumping off the temple roof and winning over the stubborn Pharisees and scribes. Jesus must have had all the temptations I have, but he did not fail. He is my only hope of resisting those temptations. He knows what I am suffering, and when temptations come, as they will, call on the only one who understands and can help.
Bob O.
Hebrews 4:12-16
As a church youth director, Ardi received lots of flyers in her mailbox. Information on whitewater rafting, VeggieTale DVDs, free bowling at Recreation Lanes, Vacation Bible School material, servant events, and on and on. Most often they were deposited into File 13 (wastebasket). However, one caught her eye -- an adult confirmation training in Las Vegas. "Hmmm..." she thought, "I've never been to Vegas. What a place to hold a church event."
The Chamber of Commerce promotion materials highlighted the many casinos, free alcoholic beverages, low-budget buffets, chorus-line dancers, and musical shows featuring stars like Neil Diamond or plays like Jersey Boys. What temptations! Ardi called to obtain more information (housing, presenters, time frame, event sponsors, and so forth.).
Question? "Why Las Vegas?"
Answer? "Low airplane rates and reasonable housing."
"I do have a budget," she smiled. Asking Church Council for the money, she kept her mind on her purpose but didn't feel guilty with her free afternoon.
Cynthia C.
Mark 10:17-31
Unlike the rich man in our biblical text, Francis of Assisi was willing to give up all his riches for the kingdom.
Francis had stolen goods that belonged to his father and had given them to the poor. His father, Pietro, brought his son before the city council to settle the case. It was a cold morning but many people in the city came to see the outcome of this prominent family squabble. The bishop ruled in favor of the father against the son. Francis had brought back the money to give to his father, but he also astounded the crowd by tearing off his expensive bright clothes and stripping down to his hair shirt, a sign of penitence.
Then shocking all present, Francis exclaimed, "Hear ye all, and understand: until now have I called Pietro Bernadone my father; now I give back all that I had of him, desiring to say only, 'Our Father, which art in heaven,' with whom I have laid up my whole treasure and on whom I have set my trust and hope."
Richard H.
Mark 10:17-31
Why is Jesus so tough on the rich? Why is it harder to enter God's kingdom if you are rich? After all, "Greed is good." This is why according to the Institute for Policy Studies the average pay for CEOs was 319 times that of the average worker.
Martin Luther helps us understand Jesus' hang-up about the dangers of wealth: "Many a person thinks he has God and everything he needs when he has money and property; in them he trusts and of them he boasts so stubbornly and securely that he cares for no one. Surely such a man also has a god -- mammon by name, that is money and possessions..." (The Book of Concord, pp. 365-366).
Don't make wealth so important; tear down that monetary idol you've been worshiping, and it's a little easier to let God be God.
Mark E.
Like Job, Americans do not like to admit that they are sinners, but rather like to think of themselves as good and righteous. A 2000 poll conducted by The New York Times found that 73% of the American public thinks people are good. A more recent Barna Group survey echoes these sentiments, as the data compiled indicates that 3 in 4 Americans think salvation is earned by how we live (presumably most think they are getting there).
This feeling that we have to defend our goodness is isolating. To paraphrase the old Billy Joel rock song "Only the Good Die Young," most times "we'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints." Why is it more fun to laugh with the sinners? They are not so pretentious; they are more spiritual, because they need God and other people more than the self-righteous saints. Keep this and the wisdom of seventeenth-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal in mind next time you don't want to confess your sinfulness: "Man's greatness comes from knowing he is wretched" (Pensees, p. 59).
Mark E.
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
At one time C.S. Lewis, the great apologist for the Christian faith during the twentieth century, like Job, wanted to present his case before God and explain why he was being unfairly treated. He explains in his book A Grief Observed how he felt after his wife Joy died of cancer: "Meanwhile where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing him, if you turn to him then with praise, you will be welcomed with open arms. But go to him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After then, silence. You may as well turn away."
Lewis concluded: "You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you."
Richard H.
Hebrews 4:12-16
The history of swords is fascinating, spanning thousands of years and a multitude of cultures. There are short swords and long swords, single-edged swords and double-edged swords, curved swords with a cutting edge on the outside of the curve and some on the inside of the curve. There are one-handed swords and two-handed swords; battle swords and fencing swords; wooden, bronze, iron, and steel swords. The double-edged sword spoken of here was most likely of the Roman variety that was about 22 inches long, made of iron, single-grip, and in the hands of a trained soldier a potent weapon, cutting both ways, and with a pointed tip capable of thrusting an injury into an enemy on the battlefield. The sword has been referred by some as "the queen of weapons."
Mark M.
Hebrews 4:12-16
Great Britain's richest woman was American-born Eva Rausing. Along with her husband, their net worth was in the billions. Yet nickel bags of cocaine and heroin brought Eva to her death. The 48-year-old, who gave millions of dollars to drug rehabilitation facilities, was unable to deal with her own addiction.
Amanda Thornson, spokesperson for Action on Addiction, which Rausing contributed money to, said, "Addiction doesn't know class boundaries."
Application: The author of Hebrews confesses to us that Jesus is able to understand and sympathize with our weaknesses.
Ron L.
Hebrews 4:12-16
If Jesus was tempted in every way such as we are, then he can understand our temptations. He could have been tempted to marry Mary Magdalene and settle down. If not, then he doesn't understand my temptations. I think he must have been tempted to stay at home working in the carpenter shop instead of wandering the country and risking death. As a missionary, I know that temptation. It was a real temptation not to try Satan's advice to advance his ministry quickly by jumping off the temple roof and winning over the stubborn Pharisees and scribes. Jesus must have had all the temptations I have, but he did not fail. He is my only hope of resisting those temptations. He knows what I am suffering, and when temptations come, as they will, call on the only one who understands and can help.
Bob O.
Hebrews 4:12-16
As a church youth director, Ardi received lots of flyers in her mailbox. Information on whitewater rafting, VeggieTale DVDs, free bowling at Recreation Lanes, Vacation Bible School material, servant events, and on and on. Most often they were deposited into File 13 (wastebasket). However, one caught her eye -- an adult confirmation training in Las Vegas. "Hmmm..." she thought, "I've never been to Vegas. What a place to hold a church event."
The Chamber of Commerce promotion materials highlighted the many casinos, free alcoholic beverages, low-budget buffets, chorus-line dancers, and musical shows featuring stars like Neil Diamond or plays like Jersey Boys. What temptations! Ardi called to obtain more information (housing, presenters, time frame, event sponsors, and so forth.).
Question? "Why Las Vegas?"
Answer? "Low airplane rates and reasonable housing."
"I do have a budget," she smiled. Asking Church Council for the money, she kept her mind on her purpose but didn't feel guilty with her free afternoon.
Cynthia C.
Mark 10:17-31
Unlike the rich man in our biblical text, Francis of Assisi was willing to give up all his riches for the kingdom.
Francis had stolen goods that belonged to his father and had given them to the poor. His father, Pietro, brought his son before the city council to settle the case. It was a cold morning but many people in the city came to see the outcome of this prominent family squabble. The bishop ruled in favor of the father against the son. Francis had brought back the money to give to his father, but he also astounded the crowd by tearing off his expensive bright clothes and stripping down to his hair shirt, a sign of penitence.
Then shocking all present, Francis exclaimed, "Hear ye all, and understand: until now have I called Pietro Bernadone my father; now I give back all that I had of him, desiring to say only, 'Our Father, which art in heaven,' with whom I have laid up my whole treasure and on whom I have set my trust and hope."
Richard H.
Mark 10:17-31
Why is Jesus so tough on the rich? Why is it harder to enter God's kingdom if you are rich? After all, "Greed is good." This is why according to the Institute for Policy Studies the average pay for CEOs was 319 times that of the average worker.
Martin Luther helps us understand Jesus' hang-up about the dangers of wealth: "Many a person thinks he has God and everything he needs when he has money and property; in them he trusts and of them he boasts so stubbornly and securely that he cares for no one. Surely such a man also has a god -- mammon by name, that is money and possessions..." (The Book of Concord, pp. 365-366).
Don't make wealth so important; tear down that monetary idol you've been worshiping, and it's a little easier to let God be God.
Mark E.
