Sermon Illustrations for Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 (2012)
Illustration
Object:
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Job's encounter with God left him speechless, silenced him regarding all his previous questions and doubts. Truly to encounter God, not just read about him or hear about him, leads to an experience like author Christopher Morley described in his book Inward Ho: "I had a thousand questions to ask God; but when I met him they all fled and didn't seem to matter." When you think of your lover, are told stories about this loved one, all sorts of things about him or her go through your mind. But in the actual encounter of being told you love her/him, or hearing love proclaimed to you, all those thoughts seem to flee as you focus on your lover. Famed singer Pearl Bailey reminds us that direct encounters like that with God happen all the time, if only we would stop being content with just being taught about God. As she put it, "People see God every day, they just don't recognize him." Don't let all your questions and preconceptions stop you from recognizing God this week.
Mark E.
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Wesley C. Baker, in his book More Than a Man Can Take, tells the story in the comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines where the movie spoofs the pre-World War I German army. In this particular scene the Prussian colonel is alarmed that the pilot of his primitive airplane is too sick to fly in a major international race. The colonel decides to fly the plane himself. The pilot who is ill asks, "How will you learn?" The colonel responds curtly, "The way any German officer learns anything, from the book of instructions!"
Job also relied on "the book of instructions" at first. He felt he was right in contrast to the advice of his friends. He followed his tradition faithfully. But he needed more than blind adherence to the instructions. What he needed was the fellowship of the instructor. Job said it best of all: "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (Job 42:5).
Richard H.
Hebrews 7:23-28
Oftentimes new technology becomes so commonplace that we fail to realize its revolutionary social change. In 2003, GPS systems became popular, especially as Christmas presents. The GPS technology has evolved to the point that there are no longer any independent devices but are an integrated part of our smart phones.
With the advent of the GPS, the paper fold-up map started its downward spiral to extinction. Presently, only half as many maps are being printed as previously and most of these are for visitor centers. Many younger people no longer even give a thought to a map, as they dwell in a technological arena.
Whatever map one is comfortable with, the paper or the electronic, both will lead you to the same destination.
Application: The author of Hebrews speaks of the timelessness of Jesus and how Jesus will always be our guide, our map. Whether we study the teachings of Jesus from the printed word or the word displayed electronically, the message will always be the same.
Ron L.
Hebrews 7:23-28
In 70 AD, General Titus (destined to become Caesar) brought the Roman Legions to Jerusalem to quell a rebellion that had begun a few years earlier. He virtually destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple (never to be rebuilt to this day). This monumental event signaled the effective end of the animal sacrifice system that had been in place since the time of Abraham and codified in the time of Moses. No longer would there be a ritual atonement offered by the high priest in the temple for the sins of the people. Synagogues replaced the temple as centers for worship, and rabbis replaced the priests as spiritual leaders. (Rabbinic Judaism was born.) The writer of Hebrews seizes upon this and points to Jesus as the one who has himself offered the final sacrifice on the cross, so that believers can be assured of their right standing before God through him.
Mark M.
Hebrews 7:23-28
We often hear about soldiers who sacrificed for our country but seldom hear about the one who sacrificed for the whole world -- even for the enemy our country is trying to destroy. It is sometimes politically incorrect to talk about that person in public. It may be illegal in some government situations. But he will be around long after those who fear to mention his name are gone, because he is more important than our constitution. He sacrificed for those who are ashamed to speak of him in public -- those who are too weak to acknowledge his sovereignty. Some in this world have sacrificed their lives and suffered in jail for his sake, but all their sacrifices are nothing compared to his one sacrifice that covers us all from the consequences of our sin. The only attorney we need is his Holy Spirit. Jesus has already paid his fee!
Bob O.
Hebrews 7:23-28
The British poet Lord Byron wrote, "They never fail who die in a great cause." Over the centuries many have done so. World War II death-camp prisoners sacrificed their food to keep others alive. Men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood against Hitler and the Nazi party. Ultimately Bonhoeffer was martyred for his beliefs and convictions. Women like Corrie ten Boom helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust. In her book The Hiding Place, she writes about sacrifice as a daily event.
Today we could name many who sacrificed of themselves on 9/11: the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who rebelled against hijackers trying to crash the plane; firefighters, police, search and rescue teams, and Red Cross volunteers. May we never forget that sacrifice has a cost, a very high one.
Cynthia C.
Mark 10:46-52
A Russian pilgrim in the nineteenth century wandered into a church service and heard the pastor preach on the text "Pray without ceasing." He wondered how that it was possible. He set out to find a solution to his problem by walking across the vast expanse of his native land until he could find someone to explain this text to him. No one seemed to have an answer until one day he asked a gentle starets, a Russian holy man, who taught him to say the Jesus prayer. He began to repeat this prayer audibly and then silently, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." In so doing, he learned how to "pray without ceasing."
We are not quite sure of the origin of the Jesus prayer, but the words of blind Bartimaeus are certainly close to it: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."
Richard H.
Mark 10:46-52
Martin Luther suggests that Bartimaeus represents all of us who want a closer walk with God: "The blind man represents... the state of every man born of Adam who neither sees nor knows the kingdom of God; but it is of grace that he feels and knows his blindness and would gladly be delivered from it. They are saintly sinners who feel their faults and sigh for grace" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/2, p. 131).
Saintly sinners yearn for God and his love. And yearning is good for you. In yearning the brain makes new neural connections, like what happens in the brains of young people. More protein substances are produced in the brain and these in turn create new nerve cells capable of replacing what has been damaged due to aging (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging, pp. 367-370). Yearning keeps you young. Yearning for God like Bartimaeus did keeps your faith young and vibrant!
Mark E.
Job's encounter with God left him speechless, silenced him regarding all his previous questions and doubts. Truly to encounter God, not just read about him or hear about him, leads to an experience like author Christopher Morley described in his book Inward Ho: "I had a thousand questions to ask God; but when I met him they all fled and didn't seem to matter." When you think of your lover, are told stories about this loved one, all sorts of things about him or her go through your mind. But in the actual encounter of being told you love her/him, or hearing love proclaimed to you, all those thoughts seem to flee as you focus on your lover. Famed singer Pearl Bailey reminds us that direct encounters like that with God happen all the time, if only we would stop being content with just being taught about God. As she put it, "People see God every day, they just don't recognize him." Don't let all your questions and preconceptions stop you from recognizing God this week.
Mark E.
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Wesley C. Baker, in his book More Than a Man Can Take, tells the story in the comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines where the movie spoofs the pre-World War I German army. In this particular scene the Prussian colonel is alarmed that the pilot of his primitive airplane is too sick to fly in a major international race. The colonel decides to fly the plane himself. The pilot who is ill asks, "How will you learn?" The colonel responds curtly, "The way any German officer learns anything, from the book of instructions!"
Job also relied on "the book of instructions" at first. He felt he was right in contrast to the advice of his friends. He followed his tradition faithfully. But he needed more than blind adherence to the instructions. What he needed was the fellowship of the instructor. Job said it best of all: "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (Job 42:5).
Richard H.
Hebrews 7:23-28
Oftentimes new technology becomes so commonplace that we fail to realize its revolutionary social change. In 2003, GPS systems became popular, especially as Christmas presents. The GPS technology has evolved to the point that there are no longer any independent devices but are an integrated part of our smart phones.
With the advent of the GPS, the paper fold-up map started its downward spiral to extinction. Presently, only half as many maps are being printed as previously and most of these are for visitor centers. Many younger people no longer even give a thought to a map, as they dwell in a technological arena.
Whatever map one is comfortable with, the paper or the electronic, both will lead you to the same destination.
Application: The author of Hebrews speaks of the timelessness of Jesus and how Jesus will always be our guide, our map. Whether we study the teachings of Jesus from the printed word or the word displayed electronically, the message will always be the same.
Ron L.
Hebrews 7:23-28
In 70 AD, General Titus (destined to become Caesar) brought the Roman Legions to Jerusalem to quell a rebellion that had begun a few years earlier. He virtually destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple (never to be rebuilt to this day). This monumental event signaled the effective end of the animal sacrifice system that had been in place since the time of Abraham and codified in the time of Moses. No longer would there be a ritual atonement offered by the high priest in the temple for the sins of the people. Synagogues replaced the temple as centers for worship, and rabbis replaced the priests as spiritual leaders. (Rabbinic Judaism was born.) The writer of Hebrews seizes upon this and points to Jesus as the one who has himself offered the final sacrifice on the cross, so that believers can be assured of their right standing before God through him.
Mark M.
Hebrews 7:23-28
We often hear about soldiers who sacrificed for our country but seldom hear about the one who sacrificed for the whole world -- even for the enemy our country is trying to destroy. It is sometimes politically incorrect to talk about that person in public. It may be illegal in some government situations. But he will be around long after those who fear to mention his name are gone, because he is more important than our constitution. He sacrificed for those who are ashamed to speak of him in public -- those who are too weak to acknowledge his sovereignty. Some in this world have sacrificed their lives and suffered in jail for his sake, but all their sacrifices are nothing compared to his one sacrifice that covers us all from the consequences of our sin. The only attorney we need is his Holy Spirit. Jesus has already paid his fee!
Bob O.
Hebrews 7:23-28
The British poet Lord Byron wrote, "They never fail who die in a great cause." Over the centuries many have done so. World War II death-camp prisoners sacrificed their food to keep others alive. Men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood against Hitler and the Nazi party. Ultimately Bonhoeffer was martyred for his beliefs and convictions. Women like Corrie ten Boom helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust. In her book The Hiding Place, she writes about sacrifice as a daily event.
Today we could name many who sacrificed of themselves on 9/11: the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who rebelled against hijackers trying to crash the plane; firefighters, police, search and rescue teams, and Red Cross volunteers. May we never forget that sacrifice has a cost, a very high one.
Cynthia C.
Mark 10:46-52
A Russian pilgrim in the nineteenth century wandered into a church service and heard the pastor preach on the text "Pray without ceasing." He wondered how that it was possible. He set out to find a solution to his problem by walking across the vast expanse of his native land until he could find someone to explain this text to him. No one seemed to have an answer until one day he asked a gentle starets, a Russian holy man, who taught him to say the Jesus prayer. He began to repeat this prayer audibly and then silently, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." In so doing, he learned how to "pray without ceasing."
We are not quite sure of the origin of the Jesus prayer, but the words of blind Bartimaeus are certainly close to it: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."
Richard H.
Mark 10:46-52
Martin Luther suggests that Bartimaeus represents all of us who want a closer walk with God: "The blind man represents... the state of every man born of Adam who neither sees nor knows the kingdom of God; but it is of grace that he feels and knows his blindness and would gladly be delivered from it. They are saintly sinners who feel their faults and sigh for grace" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/2, p. 131).
Saintly sinners yearn for God and his love. And yearning is good for you. In yearning the brain makes new neural connections, like what happens in the brains of young people. More protein substances are produced in the brain and these in turn create new nerve cells capable of replacing what has been damaged due to aging (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging, pp. 367-370). Yearning keeps you young. Yearning for God like Bartimaeus did keeps your faith young and vibrant!
Mark E.
