Sermon Illustrations for Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 (2020)
Illustration
Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18; Psalm 1
I have been very active in the Black Lives Matter movement in my community and lately have been working to move funds from police departments into community services. I have walked with my BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) siblings and witnessed their anger; a righteous anger, to be sure. The most amazing thing to me is that the BIPOC people I have encountered are not full of hate — they are full of desire to make the world a fairer, more just place of all people. They hate the systems of institutional racism, white supremacy and white privilege, but they don’t hate people. They aren’t seeking vengeance. They are seeking the freedoms promised and denied them. How would I feel? How did I feel when doors closed to me because I was a woman? I pray for transformation and grace. I pray for justice and freedom. Please God don’t let our impatience, fear, and anger turn to hate.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Americans are awfully legalistic. A 2013 Barna Reseach poll found that 51% of American Christians have a Pharisaical, self-righteous view of faith. An earlier 2008 Pew Research Center found that 33% of mainline Protestants identify actions as most important factor in being saved. Prominent social commentator Thomas Frank calls our attention to meritocracy — “the conviction that the successful deserve their rewards, that the people at the top are there because they are the best. This is the first commandment of the professional- managerial class [he adds].” (Listen, Liberal, p.31) This lesson (on the eve of the protestant reformation) offers a helpful antidote to these findings and observations regarding our role in constructing the good life. In fact, no one gets anywhere without God and his gospel.
The story of Moses’ death is understood by John Wesley, Martin Luther, and many others as a reminder that the premier teacher of the law [Moses], and so the commandments themselves must die. Wesley noted:
Neither his [Moses’] piety nor his usefulness would exempt him from death. God’s servants must die, that they must rest from their labors, receive the recompense and make room for others. (Commentary On the Bible, p.150)
Yes, the law is good and important, but not like the gospel. It is the gospel that has the final word, for Moses and the law pass away so the Gospel may shine. Martin Luther offers a compelling image:
The Gospel of Christ is the sun, the law is the moon. The moon is like a bronze kettle when the sun is not shining. If you do not have the gospel, the law inspires fear and terror. But when the sun’s light is reflected by the moon it, too, is a brilliant and shining light... so long as the two lights are shining, you can distinguish between day and night, between light and darkness, but when these two lights disappear you have total night, complete darkness, absolute blackout. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, pp,68-69)
If you don’t have the gospel, the law and Moses don’t mean much.
Mark E.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
President Donald Trump has always relied on conservative Fox News to promote his agenda. Trump could always count on the unwavering support from the two evening hosts, the ultimate conservatives Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. The day show has become more moderate, hosted by Chris Wallace and Neil Cavuto.
In July 2020, while flying to Texas aboard Air Force One, upon landing in Texas and disembarking from the plane, having watched the mid-day broadcast, Trump expressed his rage that Fox News had challenged him. In a tweet he expressed that Fox News “totally forgot who got them where they are!” This statement was about himself and it was his presence on Fox News that increased their ratings. Trump later tweeted that, “Fox isn’t working for us anymore!” An expression of anger that Fox News is to support his agenda, but did not do so that afternoon.
In response to this, Neil Cavuto, who has been with Fox News for more than 24 years, responded, “First of all, Mr. President, we don’t work for you. I don’t work for you. My job is to cover you, not fawn over you or rip you, just report on you. Call balls and strikes on you. My job, Mr. President, our job here, is to keep the scores, not settle scores.”
Ron L.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
The shameful treatment Paul refers to occurred after he commanded an evil spirit to leave a slave girl, rendering her useless to the consortium of her owners. Lost income led to false accusations, and extraordinarily brutal treatment -- stripped of their clothes they were beaten with rods on the soles of their feet before being cast into jail. However, an earthquake and the destruction of their shackles led to the conversion of the jailer’s whole household. Paul’s mission to Thessalonica followed hard on the heels (pardon the expression) of this mistreatment. As we read in Acts 17:1-6 some of the new believers in Thessalonica were dragged before the authorities and were forced to post bail as a guarantee that the peace would be kept. These words of praise and thankfulness on Paul’s part are grounded in a reality where the faith faced danger and physical persecution.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
In her book Rough Rider in the White House: Theodore Roosevelt and the Politics of Desire, Sarah Watts describes an interesting interaction between Theodore Roosevelt and his sons, especially Ted Jr. She writes, “Fatherly approval was contingent on manly performance, which his four boys, Ted, Kermit, Archie and Quintin, strove mightily to achieve—perhaps too mightily in Ted’s case, for at the age of ten, he suffered what Roosevelt admitted was a nervous breakdown. Roosevelt blamed himself, saying, “I guess I pushed him a little too hard. It has been a great temptation to push him. The little fellow has bidden to be all things I would have liked to have been but wasn’t.” He concluded, “Hereafter I shall never press Ted either in body or mind.”
The father was true to his word. From then on, he paid close attention to how he treated his sons. Ted Jr. responded. On D-Day, he was the only general to land by sea on Utah Beach.
Challenging has its place, I suppose, but gentleness matters, too. In the text, it’s clear that Paul and his traveling party want the Christians in Thessalonica to know that they were genuine. They weren’t seeking to berate or extort money from them as some false teachers who might only want to guilt them into giving money. He uses a domestic image to convey his concern: his nurturing of the Thessalonian Christians. “Though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.” (vs. 7)
John Stott wrote, “The very first thing which needs to be said about Christian ministers of all kinds is that they are ‘under’ people as their servants rather than ‘over’ them (as their leaders, let alone their lords). Jesus made this absolutely plain. His chief characteristic of Christian leaders, he insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power.”
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 22:34-46
Keep in mind that there are two commandments according to Jesus, but remember which one is the greatest — the one that is about God. There is no love without the love of God. Here is how Martin Luther put it while preaching on this text:
You may indeed do works outwardly, but God is not thus satisfied, when they are not done from the heart, out of love; and this is never done except man is born anew through the Holy Spirit. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/1, p.180)
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said much the same in our century:
No longer is it a question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others.
Love grows through love. Love is “divine” because it comes from God and unites us to God; through this unifying process it makes us a “we” which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is “all in all.” (God Is Love, pp,46-47)
Mother Teresa offers some profound reflections on such Christian love:
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway...
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 22:34-46
The greatest commandments encompass all the others: love God and love our neighbors. Oh, if we could focus on those commandments! Often when I preach on this passage, I ask people to think about the ways they love God. I can see the hope and the faith in the people of the congregations. Then I ask people about loving their neighbors. Often the best responses come from children. They take neighbor quite literally and it’s interesting to speak with them about the neighbors they don’t like very well. How will they love them? Most of the children talk about being kind, about listening, about not fighting with them. So, I ask us, how do we love our neighbors, all our neighbors? I admit it’s easier to love the neighbors who think like me, believe like me, and agree with me. It’s harder to love those who are different, whose opinions are the opposite of mine, who argue with me. Danny Gokey recently recorded a song, “Love God, Love People.” The lyrics call me to simple acts of loving. “Gotta keep it real simple, keep it real simple. Bring everything right back to ground zero; 'Cause it all comes down to this; Love God and love people (People). We're living in a world that keeps breakin'; But if we want to find a way to change it; It all comes down to this
Love God and love people.” (Lyrics for “Love God Love People.”)
Bonnie B.
I have been very active in the Black Lives Matter movement in my community and lately have been working to move funds from police departments into community services. I have walked with my BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) siblings and witnessed their anger; a righteous anger, to be sure. The most amazing thing to me is that the BIPOC people I have encountered are not full of hate — they are full of desire to make the world a fairer, more just place of all people. They hate the systems of institutional racism, white supremacy and white privilege, but they don’t hate people. They aren’t seeking vengeance. They are seeking the freedoms promised and denied them. How would I feel? How did I feel when doors closed to me because I was a woman? I pray for transformation and grace. I pray for justice and freedom. Please God don’t let our impatience, fear, and anger turn to hate.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Americans are awfully legalistic. A 2013 Barna Reseach poll found that 51% of American Christians have a Pharisaical, self-righteous view of faith. An earlier 2008 Pew Research Center found that 33% of mainline Protestants identify actions as most important factor in being saved. Prominent social commentator Thomas Frank calls our attention to meritocracy — “the conviction that the successful deserve their rewards, that the people at the top are there because they are the best. This is the first commandment of the professional- managerial class [he adds].” (Listen, Liberal, p.31) This lesson (on the eve of the protestant reformation) offers a helpful antidote to these findings and observations regarding our role in constructing the good life. In fact, no one gets anywhere without God and his gospel.
The story of Moses’ death is understood by John Wesley, Martin Luther, and many others as a reminder that the premier teacher of the law [Moses], and so the commandments themselves must die. Wesley noted:
Neither his [Moses’] piety nor his usefulness would exempt him from death. God’s servants must die, that they must rest from their labors, receive the recompense and make room for others. (Commentary On the Bible, p.150)
Yes, the law is good and important, but not like the gospel. It is the gospel that has the final word, for Moses and the law pass away so the Gospel may shine. Martin Luther offers a compelling image:
The Gospel of Christ is the sun, the law is the moon. The moon is like a bronze kettle when the sun is not shining. If you do not have the gospel, the law inspires fear and terror. But when the sun’s light is reflected by the moon it, too, is a brilliant and shining light... so long as the two lights are shining, you can distinguish between day and night, between light and darkness, but when these two lights disappear you have total night, complete darkness, absolute blackout. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, pp,68-69)
If you don’t have the gospel, the law and Moses don’t mean much.
Mark E.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
President Donald Trump has always relied on conservative Fox News to promote his agenda. Trump could always count on the unwavering support from the two evening hosts, the ultimate conservatives Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. The day show has become more moderate, hosted by Chris Wallace and Neil Cavuto.
In July 2020, while flying to Texas aboard Air Force One, upon landing in Texas and disembarking from the plane, having watched the mid-day broadcast, Trump expressed his rage that Fox News had challenged him. In a tweet he expressed that Fox News “totally forgot who got them where they are!” This statement was about himself and it was his presence on Fox News that increased their ratings. Trump later tweeted that, “Fox isn’t working for us anymore!” An expression of anger that Fox News is to support his agenda, but did not do so that afternoon.
In response to this, Neil Cavuto, who has been with Fox News for more than 24 years, responded, “First of all, Mr. President, we don’t work for you. I don’t work for you. My job is to cover you, not fawn over you or rip you, just report on you. Call balls and strikes on you. My job, Mr. President, our job here, is to keep the scores, not settle scores.”
Ron L.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
The shameful treatment Paul refers to occurred after he commanded an evil spirit to leave a slave girl, rendering her useless to the consortium of her owners. Lost income led to false accusations, and extraordinarily brutal treatment -- stripped of their clothes they were beaten with rods on the soles of their feet before being cast into jail. However, an earthquake and the destruction of their shackles led to the conversion of the jailer’s whole household. Paul’s mission to Thessalonica followed hard on the heels (pardon the expression) of this mistreatment. As we read in Acts 17:1-6 some of the new believers in Thessalonica were dragged before the authorities and were forced to post bail as a guarantee that the peace would be kept. These words of praise and thankfulness on Paul’s part are grounded in a reality where the faith faced danger and physical persecution.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
In her book Rough Rider in the White House: Theodore Roosevelt and the Politics of Desire, Sarah Watts describes an interesting interaction between Theodore Roosevelt and his sons, especially Ted Jr. She writes, “Fatherly approval was contingent on manly performance, which his four boys, Ted, Kermit, Archie and Quintin, strove mightily to achieve—perhaps too mightily in Ted’s case, for at the age of ten, he suffered what Roosevelt admitted was a nervous breakdown. Roosevelt blamed himself, saying, “I guess I pushed him a little too hard. It has been a great temptation to push him. The little fellow has bidden to be all things I would have liked to have been but wasn’t.” He concluded, “Hereafter I shall never press Ted either in body or mind.”
The father was true to his word. From then on, he paid close attention to how he treated his sons. Ted Jr. responded. On D-Day, he was the only general to land by sea on Utah Beach.
Challenging has its place, I suppose, but gentleness matters, too. In the text, it’s clear that Paul and his traveling party want the Christians in Thessalonica to know that they were genuine. They weren’t seeking to berate or extort money from them as some false teachers who might only want to guilt them into giving money. He uses a domestic image to convey his concern: his nurturing of the Thessalonian Christians. “Though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.” (vs. 7)
John Stott wrote, “The very first thing which needs to be said about Christian ministers of all kinds is that they are ‘under’ people as their servants rather than ‘over’ them (as their leaders, let alone their lords). Jesus made this absolutely plain. His chief characteristic of Christian leaders, he insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power.”
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 22:34-46
Keep in mind that there are two commandments according to Jesus, but remember which one is the greatest — the one that is about God. There is no love without the love of God. Here is how Martin Luther put it while preaching on this text:
You may indeed do works outwardly, but God is not thus satisfied, when they are not done from the heart, out of love; and this is never done except man is born anew through the Holy Spirit. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/1, p.180)
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said much the same in our century:
No longer is it a question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others.
Love grows through love. Love is “divine” because it comes from God and unites us to God; through this unifying process it makes us a “we” which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is “all in all.” (God Is Love, pp,46-47)
Mother Teresa offers some profound reflections on such Christian love:
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway...
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 22:34-46
The greatest commandments encompass all the others: love God and love our neighbors. Oh, if we could focus on those commandments! Often when I preach on this passage, I ask people to think about the ways they love God. I can see the hope and the faith in the people of the congregations. Then I ask people about loving their neighbors. Often the best responses come from children. They take neighbor quite literally and it’s interesting to speak with them about the neighbors they don’t like very well. How will they love them? Most of the children talk about being kind, about listening, about not fighting with them. So, I ask us, how do we love our neighbors, all our neighbors? I admit it’s easier to love the neighbors who think like me, believe like me, and agree with me. It’s harder to love those who are different, whose opinions are the opposite of mine, who argue with me. Danny Gokey recently recorded a song, “Love God, Love People.” The lyrics call me to simple acts of loving. “Gotta keep it real simple, keep it real simple. Bring everything right back to ground zero; 'Cause it all comes down to this; Love God and love people (People). We're living in a world that keeps breakin'; But if we want to find a way to change it; It all comes down to this
Love God and love people.” (Lyrics for “Love God Love People.”)
Bonnie B.
