Sermon Illustrations for Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 (2024)
Illustration
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
God’s presence changed Job. George Bush was changed by faith from a party-boy alcoholic to a serious politician, a governor, and finally our president. Famed 20th-century Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin so powerfully expressed this awesomeness of God. He wrote:
Lord Jesus Christ, you truly contain without your gentleness, within your humanity, all the unyielding immensity and grandeur of the world. And it is because of this, it is because there exists in you this ineffable synthesis of what our human thought and experience would never have dared join together in order to adore them... that my heart, enamored of cosmic reality, gives itself passionately to you. (Hymn of the Universe, p.75)
Centuries ago St. Augustine sang a similar song to and about God:
But if you fill heaven and earth, do they contain you? Or do you fill them, and yet have much over since that cannot contain you? Is there some other place into which that surplus of you pour that heaven and earth cannot hold?... Or are you not in everyplace at once in the totality of your being, while nothing contains your wholly? (Confessions [Sheed and Ward edition], p.4)
Visions of God like this must change you. Billy Graham was correct when he claimed: “Only God who made us can touch us and change us and save us from ourselves.”
Mark E.
* * *
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Throughout The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Samwise Gamgee continually demonstrates what reliability and faithfulness looks like. From beginning to end, he is right by Frodo’s side, doing everything he can to help him. The climax comes toward the end of the third film, The Return of the King . They’ve reached the last part of their journey, but Frodo is too exhausted and corrupted to go any further. Samwise tells him, “I can’t carry it for you. But I can carry you!” He picks up Frodo to help him finish his journey.
“I can carry you.” When I read this review of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I thought of the end of the book of Job. God has allowed Satan to take his best shot at Job and he’s been battered. He’s lost a lot and God did not intervene or carry it for him. However, at the end, I believe we see the incredible truth that God did carry Job. “And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (vs. 12). There may be times when we go through the fire. God may not turn down the heat, but he will carry us through.
Bill T.
* * *
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
(This is the second of my reflections on Job this quarter that is taken from my self-published book, Job: The Bootleg Commentary, by Robert W. Neff and Frank Ramirez.)
So properly translated Job repents from dust and ashes. He recognizes that his life is hard, but he’s still alive, and is ready to go back to living. He will never replace his loved ones, but he starts a new family. Meanwhile his friends repent and admit their errors. Job is vindicated. He is not told within the context of this book what actually happened in the heavenly court, but even without that knowledge he is ready to go on.
In an earlier book Bob and I wrote:
...from the speech from the whirlwind, Job has an expanded view of God’s creative power. ...Job has already been on a heap of dust and ashes. So, does this response simply mean more groveling on Job’s part. The answer is no. ...Job has formulated a case against God, based on inadequate understanding (see vv. 2-5), and therefore he drops his case. More importantly, Job has discovered God’s creative presence, which brings an end to his complaint and remorse.
Job repents from dust and ashes. He changes his mind about the way he will look at the world. He will abandon lamentation for a new approach. Job has his answer – God exists – and he is ready to return to something like normal life, though his life will always include the pain and loss he has endured.
The book of Job does not resolve the mysteries in our lives either, but it challenges us to endure, and triumph. Life remains mysterious, much is unexplained, and inexplicable. Yet we do more than endure — we live, wounded, mourning always the losses that strike at our hearts — but we laugh as well. It’s a big universe out there, and somehow we’re a part of it.
Despite having taken a great risk in granting us free will, God is still in the heavens, and doesn’t seem to regret having gambled on us.
What we discover in this journey through the book of Job is a devotion not built on rewards, but on the recognition of God’s free gift to us.
Frank R.
* * *
Hebrews 7:23-28
John Calvin concisely points out what is at stake in recognizing that Christ’s sacrifice need not be repeated. If the sacrifice must be repeated, he claims, “there was not real expiation; for sins remain when purgation is repeated.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXII/1, p.177) Famed 20th-century follower of Calvin’s legacy Karl Barth claimed that Christ’s work is finished, for “Man is no longer seriously regarded by God as sinner.” (Dogmatics in Outline, p.121) This leads Barth to conclude:
We died [on Christ’s Cross]: the totality of all sinful men, those living, those long dead , and those still to be born... his death was the death of all; quite independently of their attitude or response to this event... (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/1, p.295)
Mark E.
* * *
Hebrews 7:23-28
Jesus is the high priest of all the priests. His reign and intercession for us never ends. There is great comfort in that, at least for those of us who believe. I often don’t know what to pray for when I am sad or depressed. Do I pray for comfort, for joy, for hope, for peace? Recently the last remaining uncle in my family died. His family and I were very close as kids, but as we all moved into adulthood and across different states we grew apart. I decided to travel the 7-hour drive to attend the calling hours and funeral. It felt so important to me.
I stayed at the same hotel with my cousins. My sister even flew in from North Carolina to be with us. There was sadness that Uncle Bill had passed, and gratitude for his 97 years of life. I remembered Uncle Bill fondly. There was also great comfort and joy in seeing the family, in seeing my cousins’ children and meeting their grandchildren. My cousin Rose and I, both matriarchs of our families now, vowed to stay in better touch and to move the family to do the same. So, Jesus, my prayers were confused, some for comfort and some for joy. Fortunately, you heard them all, even the ones I couldn’t speak.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 10:46-52
One of the recurring images in the Gospel of Mark is that outsiders (like the demons who possessed the demoniac, or the centurion at the foot of the cross, or as in this blind man named Bartimaeus) understand who Jesus is while those who ought to recognize Jesus as the Son of God seem to fail. The irony is richly doubt in this story in that Bartimaeus is blind, yet he’s the one who recognizes Jesus by his royal title, Son of David. And unlike the rich young man who cannot abandon his possession, Bartimaeus casts aside his cloak, on which passersby would throw coins. Leaving his station he cast aside the cloak and coins, with no way of knowing if they would be stolen, lost, or ever recovered, in his quest to meet Jesus.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 10:46-52
How many of us have called on the name of Jesus in our trials and our challenges? I love the story of Bartimeus. He freely called out to Jesus. Those around him assured Bartimeus that Jesus had heard him. Jesus talked with Bartimeus and asked what he was seeking. It was likely obvious that Bartimeus was blind and wanted to see, but the fact that Jesus asked, humanizes the encounter. Jesus heals Bartimeus but assures him that it is, in fact, his faith that Jesus could heal him that has made him well.
Do we believe, as Bartimeus did, that Jesus hears us, that Jesus responds to us, that Jesus heals us? Is our faith that strong? I hope so. I hope mine is, so that when I call out to Jesus, Jesus tells me, “your faith has made you well.”
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 10:46-52
I came across this story on social media this week.
Bo Paske was an eleven-year-old student at his Florida middle school in 2016. Paske has autism and often ate lunch by himself in the school cafeteria. One day, some of the football players from the Florida State University team visited the school. Wide receiver Travis Rudolph noticed Paske sitting by himself. So, Rudolph joined him for lunch. He sat at his table and interacted with the middle school student. It changed Paske’s life at the middle school. He became much more popular with other students. His mom was deeply touched by Rudolph’s gesture.
Reaching out to those that the world ignores makes a difference. Travis Rudolph did. So did Jesus.
A random blind man sat by the road begging. He heard Jesus was coming by and called out to him. Many told him to “be quiet,” but Jesus stopped and interacted with the man. He did more than spend time with him, though, he brough him healing.
There’s more to both stories. After playing a time in the NFL, Travis Rudolph found himself on trial in 2023. He was overwhelmed and surprised to see Bo Paske and his mom at the courthouse to support him. Travis had become very special to them. They all celebrated when Rudolph was found “not guilty.” Notice, too, at the end of the account in Mark, after immediately regaining his sight, Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way. When people are touched by acts of compassion, it affects them in profound ways.
Bill T.
God’s presence changed Job. George Bush was changed by faith from a party-boy alcoholic to a serious politician, a governor, and finally our president. Famed 20th-century Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin so powerfully expressed this awesomeness of God. He wrote:
Lord Jesus Christ, you truly contain without your gentleness, within your humanity, all the unyielding immensity and grandeur of the world. And it is because of this, it is because there exists in you this ineffable synthesis of what our human thought and experience would never have dared join together in order to adore them... that my heart, enamored of cosmic reality, gives itself passionately to you. (Hymn of the Universe, p.75)
Centuries ago St. Augustine sang a similar song to and about God:
But if you fill heaven and earth, do they contain you? Or do you fill them, and yet have much over since that cannot contain you? Is there some other place into which that surplus of you pour that heaven and earth cannot hold?... Or are you not in everyplace at once in the totality of your being, while nothing contains your wholly? (Confessions [Sheed and Ward edition], p.4)
Visions of God like this must change you. Billy Graham was correct when he claimed: “Only God who made us can touch us and change us and save us from ourselves.”
Mark E.
* * *
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Throughout The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Samwise Gamgee continually demonstrates what reliability and faithfulness looks like. From beginning to end, he is right by Frodo’s side, doing everything he can to help him. The climax comes toward the end of the third film, The Return of the King . They’ve reached the last part of their journey, but Frodo is too exhausted and corrupted to go any further. Samwise tells him, “I can’t carry it for you. But I can carry you!” He picks up Frodo to help him finish his journey.
“I can carry you.” When I read this review of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I thought of the end of the book of Job. God has allowed Satan to take his best shot at Job and he’s been battered. He’s lost a lot and God did not intervene or carry it for him. However, at the end, I believe we see the incredible truth that God did carry Job. “And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (vs. 12). There may be times when we go through the fire. God may not turn down the heat, but he will carry us through.
Bill T.
* * *
Job 42:1-6, 10-17
(This is the second of my reflections on Job this quarter that is taken from my self-published book, Job: The Bootleg Commentary, by Robert W. Neff and Frank Ramirez.)
So properly translated Job repents from dust and ashes. He recognizes that his life is hard, but he’s still alive, and is ready to go back to living. He will never replace his loved ones, but he starts a new family. Meanwhile his friends repent and admit their errors. Job is vindicated. He is not told within the context of this book what actually happened in the heavenly court, but even without that knowledge he is ready to go on.
In an earlier book Bob and I wrote:
...from the speech from the whirlwind, Job has an expanded view of God’s creative power. ...Job has already been on a heap of dust and ashes. So, does this response simply mean more groveling on Job’s part. The answer is no. ...Job has formulated a case against God, based on inadequate understanding (see vv. 2-5), and therefore he drops his case. More importantly, Job has discovered God’s creative presence, which brings an end to his complaint and remorse.
Job repents from dust and ashes. He changes his mind about the way he will look at the world. He will abandon lamentation for a new approach. Job has his answer – God exists – and he is ready to return to something like normal life, though his life will always include the pain and loss he has endured.
The book of Job does not resolve the mysteries in our lives either, but it challenges us to endure, and triumph. Life remains mysterious, much is unexplained, and inexplicable. Yet we do more than endure — we live, wounded, mourning always the losses that strike at our hearts — but we laugh as well. It’s a big universe out there, and somehow we’re a part of it.
Despite having taken a great risk in granting us free will, God is still in the heavens, and doesn’t seem to regret having gambled on us.
What we discover in this journey through the book of Job is a devotion not built on rewards, but on the recognition of God’s free gift to us.
Frank R.
* * *
Hebrews 7:23-28
John Calvin concisely points out what is at stake in recognizing that Christ’s sacrifice need not be repeated. If the sacrifice must be repeated, he claims, “there was not real expiation; for sins remain when purgation is repeated.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXII/1, p.177) Famed 20th-century follower of Calvin’s legacy Karl Barth claimed that Christ’s work is finished, for “Man is no longer seriously regarded by God as sinner.” (Dogmatics in Outline, p.121) This leads Barth to conclude:
We died [on Christ’s Cross]: the totality of all sinful men, those living, those long dead , and those still to be born... his death was the death of all; quite independently of their attitude or response to this event... (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/1, p.295)
Mark E.
* * *
Hebrews 7:23-28
Jesus is the high priest of all the priests. His reign and intercession for us never ends. There is great comfort in that, at least for those of us who believe. I often don’t know what to pray for when I am sad or depressed. Do I pray for comfort, for joy, for hope, for peace? Recently the last remaining uncle in my family died. His family and I were very close as kids, but as we all moved into adulthood and across different states we grew apart. I decided to travel the 7-hour drive to attend the calling hours and funeral. It felt so important to me.
I stayed at the same hotel with my cousins. My sister even flew in from North Carolina to be with us. There was sadness that Uncle Bill had passed, and gratitude for his 97 years of life. I remembered Uncle Bill fondly. There was also great comfort and joy in seeing the family, in seeing my cousins’ children and meeting their grandchildren. My cousin Rose and I, both matriarchs of our families now, vowed to stay in better touch and to move the family to do the same. So, Jesus, my prayers were confused, some for comfort and some for joy. Fortunately, you heard them all, even the ones I couldn’t speak.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 10:46-52
One of the recurring images in the Gospel of Mark is that outsiders (like the demons who possessed the demoniac, or the centurion at the foot of the cross, or as in this blind man named Bartimaeus) understand who Jesus is while those who ought to recognize Jesus as the Son of God seem to fail. The irony is richly doubt in this story in that Bartimaeus is blind, yet he’s the one who recognizes Jesus by his royal title, Son of David. And unlike the rich young man who cannot abandon his possession, Bartimaeus casts aside his cloak, on which passersby would throw coins. Leaving his station he cast aside the cloak and coins, with no way of knowing if they would be stolen, lost, or ever recovered, in his quest to meet Jesus.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 10:46-52
How many of us have called on the name of Jesus in our trials and our challenges? I love the story of Bartimeus. He freely called out to Jesus. Those around him assured Bartimeus that Jesus had heard him. Jesus talked with Bartimeus and asked what he was seeking. It was likely obvious that Bartimeus was blind and wanted to see, but the fact that Jesus asked, humanizes the encounter. Jesus heals Bartimeus but assures him that it is, in fact, his faith that Jesus could heal him that has made him well.
Do we believe, as Bartimeus did, that Jesus hears us, that Jesus responds to us, that Jesus heals us? Is our faith that strong? I hope so. I hope mine is, so that when I call out to Jesus, Jesus tells me, “your faith has made you well.”
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 10:46-52
I came across this story on social media this week.
Bo Paske was an eleven-year-old student at his Florida middle school in 2016. Paske has autism and often ate lunch by himself in the school cafeteria. One day, some of the football players from the Florida State University team visited the school. Wide receiver Travis Rudolph noticed Paske sitting by himself. So, Rudolph joined him for lunch. He sat at his table and interacted with the middle school student. It changed Paske’s life at the middle school. He became much more popular with other students. His mom was deeply touched by Rudolph’s gesture.
Reaching out to those that the world ignores makes a difference. Travis Rudolph did. So did Jesus.
A random blind man sat by the road begging. He heard Jesus was coming by and called out to him. Many told him to “be quiet,” but Jesus stopped and interacted with the man. He did more than spend time with him, though, he brough him healing.
There’s more to both stories. After playing a time in the NFL, Travis Rudolph found himself on trial in 2023. He was overwhelmed and surprised to see Bo Paske and his mom at the courthouse to support him. Travis had become very special to them. They all celebrated when Rudolph was found “not guilty.” Notice, too, at the end of the account in Mark, after immediately regaining his sight, Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way. When people are touched by acts of compassion, it affects them in profound ways.
Bill T.
