Sermon Illustrations for Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 (2015)
Illustration
Object:
Ruth 1:1-18
As a minister I have been asked to use this scripture for weddings time and time again. I patiently remind the bride and groom that this passage means that the bride will follow the mother-in-law should something happen to the groom. That usually does it, and the couple goes on to choose another scripture.
Taken in historical context, this passage demonstrates a marvelous commitment between Ruth and Naomi. After the loss of her husband, rather than returning to her own kin Ruth makes a commitment to her mother-in-law to go and lodge with her, to accept her people as her own, and to celebrate in Naomi’s faith and fortune, whatever that may be. I loved my own mother-in-law deeply, but I would not have made this commitment. The depth of Ruth’s devotion is to be honored for what it is -- the solidarity of two women, both in grief and with unknown futures, clinging together in love and in faith. It is a lesson we all could learn from.
Bonnie B.
Ruth 1:1-18
Is there anything that touches us more deeply than love and loyalty? It was a second marriage for both of them. They met shortly after their respective spouses had died. They had a lot in common and grew to be friends. The friendship blossomed into something deeper, and they got engaged. But a month or so before the wedding, the woman was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was facing a long road of surgery and treatment. She was sure they should put off the wedding. Her fiancé would hear nothing of it. Though he had just been through a battle with cancer with his first wife who’d died, he geared up for another fight. He went with her to the doctor. He heard the diagnosis. He was there for the surgery, and he walked with her through months of chemotherapy and treatments. He held her hand. He prayed with her. He cried with her. He loved her. Last year they celebrated two years of her victory over cancer. When they talk about it, though, it is the Lord’s victory that they shared together.
Together -- that’s a really good word. This couple was committed to fight cancer together. Ruth wanted to do life, facing whatever might come their way, together with Naomi. It seems to be a fairly simple math fact. Loyalty plus love equals together.
Bill T.
Ruth 1:1-18
We are fickle people. This is why tastes and a sense of what is “in” are always changing. The 17th-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal well described this fickleness: “However sad a man may be, if you can persuade him to take up some diversion he will be happy while it lasts, and however happy a man may be, if he lacks diversion and has no absorbing passions of entertainment to keep boredom away, he will soon be depressed and unhappy” (Pensees, pp. 70-71). Pascal also says: “So while the present never satisfies us, experience deceives us and leads us on from one misfortune to another until death comes” (Pensees, p. 75).
Loyalty is the contrast to all the fickleness. It is such a nice word. It’s like American author Napoleon Hill once put it: “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” This is why Ruth’s loyalty so moves us. It overcomes the fickleness that characterizes ordinary life. And likewise, it is why we feel so good and so inspired in the presence of loving spouses who have been together for 40, 50, even 60 years. They seem to make the quest for meaning in life so simple; the anxiety we feel when we are trying to find ourselves withers away when it is confronted with certainties in life like love and loyalty. A great theologian of the early church named Irenaeus reminds us that we all have access to this kind of loyalty, for God is loyal to us and his promises: “...all men are indeed guilty of falsehood inasmuch as they change from one thing to another; but such is not the case with God, for he always continues true” (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 572).
Mark E.
Hebrews 9:11-14
As a pastor said, “Every Sunday after the service, God’s church leaves the building and goes out into the world.” We are his tabernacles. Since he said it was not man-made, he could have been talking about his own body. His body and blood make us part of his body.
We don’t come to our Lord through our own sacrifices. They may only make us outwardly clean. It is not bad to have that also, but only through Christ can we be inwardly clean. God only looks in the heart. Only he can cleanse us from acts that lead to death. One of the purposes of a “church” is to help us to know what they are and to avoid those acts of death.
Every time we take the Lord’s Supper we are receiving his blood to heal us so that we might serve him. To fulfill our purpose in life, we have to hear what he is calling us to do for him. We may each have a different job, but first we have to let him purify us with his blood at the altar.
Throughout scripture we are always reminded of the difference between our exterior and our interior person, and of course, Paul points up the great difference.
If we compare this to our house, we can clean up and make ready the entire outside, but what do we find when we open the door? No matter how clean the outside, it makes no difference if you can’t find the inside livable. It reminds me of my study! It is not bad that we make the outside attractive (for others to see as they pass), but how can we invite anyone inside unless and until it is clean there also?
When we see a bum on the street, he might be an alcoholic just looking for a little help to buy some more booze, but he could also be a poor man who has lost his job and is trying to find out how he can feed his family. We can’t tell what is inside by looking at the outside.
When a person came to my church door for a handout, I prayed that the Lord would give me the wisdom to know if he was genuine and honest.
One thing we can ask our pastor and our friends in the church whom we have gotten to know is: “What do see inside of me, now that you know me?”
Our goal must be to allow God to clean our innards so we can go out into the world and serve him.
Bob O.
Hebrews 9:11-14
Marcy Borders, who became known as the “dust lady” from an iconic photograph, was working on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower when terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. There was chaos -- the building was shaking and the dust was so thick she was choking. There was so much dust and it was so dark that Borders reported she could not even see her hand in front of her face. As she descended the stairwell, “I was just saying to myself and saying out loud that I didn’t want to die.” She eventually made it downstairs and into a neighboring building, where a photojournalist took her picture. She was a golden brown statue, completely covered from head to foot with dust. The photograph of the “dust lady” was published internationally and became a symbol of the 9/11 ordeal. (Note: If your sanctuary has a screen, you may want to show the photograph.)
Application: We all need the high priest as we cry out in desperation.
Ron L.
Hebrews 9:11-14
What then is this heavenly Tabernacle? Some preparation will be made for the answer if we call to mind the two main purposes of the transitory Tabernacle. It was designed on the one hand to symbolize the Presence of God among his people; and on the other to afford under certain restrictions a means of approach to him. The heavenly Tabernacle must then satisfy these two ends in the highest possible degree. It must represent the Presence of God, and offer a way of approach to God, being in both respects eternal, spiritual, idea.
In seeking for some conception which shall satisfy these conditions it is obvious that all images of local circumscription must be laid aside, or at least used only by way of accommodation. The spiritual Tabernacle must not be defined by the limitations which belong to “this creation.” We may then at once set aside all such interpretations as those which suppose that the lower heavens, through which Christ passed, or the supra-mundane realm or the like are “the greater tabernacle.” We must look for some spiritual antitype to the local sanctuary.
And here we are brought to the patristic interpretation which it requires some effort to grasp. The fathers, both Greek and Latin, commonly understood the greater Tabernacle to be the Lord’s “flesh,” or “humanity.”
(Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 256)
Frank R.
Mark 12:28-34
“Are we there yet?” How many parents on vacation with their kids have heard that question and replied “Almost”? People tend to get excited when they are not far from their destination. I can remember being with a group of kids when we were going to Six Flags in St. Louis. The trip was going all right. The kids were sleeping or listening to music. One of them, though, spotted the arch in the distance. Right away the entire group perked up. If we can see the arch, then we are not far from the park. It won’t be long now. The Batman ride is going to be so amazing! Can’t wait to ride Superman. I hear they have a new coaster called “The Boss.” Can’t wait to ride that. Being “not far” creates enthusiasm and excitement.
The text for today is a familiar passage. A couple of scribes are debating which commandment is the greatest. One of them asks Jesus. He tells them, and the inquiring scribe agrees. “There is one God. To love him with all of your heart, strength, and understanding and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than burnt offerings or sacrifices.” Jesus hears his statement, and as I see this play out in my mind’s eye he smiles. “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Did you hear what he said? Jesus told him he was not far from God’s kingdom! Wow! What a great place to be. How exciting would it be to hear that said of us?
Bill T.
Mark 12:28-34
The Shema, the first six words of the first commandment that Jesus shares, comes from the Torah, the Hebrew Scriptures, and the book of Deuteronomy. It is a part of the daily declaration of faith for Jews. We don’t have to question the wisdom of Jesus in responding to the scribes with these two commandments. They are the support for all the others. These commandments are more important than the rituals of either the Jewish or the Christian faith; loving, the essence of both commands, brings us into closer relationship with God and with each other, moves us into community.
The wisdom of love ends the questions of Jesus’ authority in this setting. Would, in fact, our wisdom of love shared with one another end the questions about the relevance of Christianity? Maybe if we acted in love, rather than in ritual or doctrine, the world might find that Christianity is even more relevant now than it ever has been. What do you think? Could we change the face of the world, the relevance of the “church,” if we lived out these two commandments fully with one another?
Bonnie B.
Mark 12:28-34
Preaching on this text about the Great Commandments, John Wesley reminded his hearers about the right priorities, about the source of love: “...gratitude toward our creator cannot but produce benevolence to our fellow-creatures.... It is in consequence of our knowing God loves us, that we love him, and love our neighbor as ourselves” (The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 7, p. 269). Pope Benedict XVI offered a parallel understanding of the relation between our love and God’s grace: “...in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know.... Then I learn to look on this other person, not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend.... I can give to them much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love they crave” (God Is Love, p. 45).
Living by the two Great Commandments is not burdensome. Neurobiologists have observed that friendship involves trust, and when that happens the soothing neurochemical oxytocin seems to play a role in impacting the brain (Michael Kosfield et al, in Nature [June 2005]). John Wesley did a nice job explaining the joy this lifestyle brings: “Now is not this the very principle that should be inculcated upon every human creature -- ‘You are made to be happy in God,’ as soon as ever reason dawns?... He made you; and he made you to be happy in him; and nothing else can make you happy” (The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 7, p. 267).
Mark E.
As a minister I have been asked to use this scripture for weddings time and time again. I patiently remind the bride and groom that this passage means that the bride will follow the mother-in-law should something happen to the groom. That usually does it, and the couple goes on to choose another scripture.
Taken in historical context, this passage demonstrates a marvelous commitment between Ruth and Naomi. After the loss of her husband, rather than returning to her own kin Ruth makes a commitment to her mother-in-law to go and lodge with her, to accept her people as her own, and to celebrate in Naomi’s faith and fortune, whatever that may be. I loved my own mother-in-law deeply, but I would not have made this commitment. The depth of Ruth’s devotion is to be honored for what it is -- the solidarity of two women, both in grief and with unknown futures, clinging together in love and in faith. It is a lesson we all could learn from.
Bonnie B.
Ruth 1:1-18
Is there anything that touches us more deeply than love and loyalty? It was a second marriage for both of them. They met shortly after their respective spouses had died. They had a lot in common and grew to be friends. The friendship blossomed into something deeper, and they got engaged. But a month or so before the wedding, the woman was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was facing a long road of surgery and treatment. She was sure they should put off the wedding. Her fiancé would hear nothing of it. Though he had just been through a battle with cancer with his first wife who’d died, he geared up for another fight. He went with her to the doctor. He heard the diagnosis. He was there for the surgery, and he walked with her through months of chemotherapy and treatments. He held her hand. He prayed with her. He cried with her. He loved her. Last year they celebrated two years of her victory over cancer. When they talk about it, though, it is the Lord’s victory that they shared together.
Together -- that’s a really good word. This couple was committed to fight cancer together. Ruth wanted to do life, facing whatever might come their way, together with Naomi. It seems to be a fairly simple math fact. Loyalty plus love equals together.
Bill T.
Ruth 1:1-18
We are fickle people. This is why tastes and a sense of what is “in” are always changing. The 17th-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal well described this fickleness: “However sad a man may be, if you can persuade him to take up some diversion he will be happy while it lasts, and however happy a man may be, if he lacks diversion and has no absorbing passions of entertainment to keep boredom away, he will soon be depressed and unhappy” (Pensees, pp. 70-71). Pascal also says: “So while the present never satisfies us, experience deceives us and leads us on from one misfortune to another until death comes” (Pensees, p. 75).
Loyalty is the contrast to all the fickleness. It is such a nice word. It’s like American author Napoleon Hill once put it: “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” This is why Ruth’s loyalty so moves us. It overcomes the fickleness that characterizes ordinary life. And likewise, it is why we feel so good and so inspired in the presence of loving spouses who have been together for 40, 50, even 60 years. They seem to make the quest for meaning in life so simple; the anxiety we feel when we are trying to find ourselves withers away when it is confronted with certainties in life like love and loyalty. A great theologian of the early church named Irenaeus reminds us that we all have access to this kind of loyalty, for God is loyal to us and his promises: “...all men are indeed guilty of falsehood inasmuch as they change from one thing to another; but such is not the case with God, for he always continues true” (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 572).
Mark E.
Hebrews 9:11-14
As a pastor said, “Every Sunday after the service, God’s church leaves the building and goes out into the world.” We are his tabernacles. Since he said it was not man-made, he could have been talking about his own body. His body and blood make us part of his body.
We don’t come to our Lord through our own sacrifices. They may only make us outwardly clean. It is not bad to have that also, but only through Christ can we be inwardly clean. God only looks in the heart. Only he can cleanse us from acts that lead to death. One of the purposes of a “church” is to help us to know what they are and to avoid those acts of death.
Every time we take the Lord’s Supper we are receiving his blood to heal us so that we might serve him. To fulfill our purpose in life, we have to hear what he is calling us to do for him. We may each have a different job, but first we have to let him purify us with his blood at the altar.
Throughout scripture we are always reminded of the difference between our exterior and our interior person, and of course, Paul points up the great difference.
If we compare this to our house, we can clean up and make ready the entire outside, but what do we find when we open the door? No matter how clean the outside, it makes no difference if you can’t find the inside livable. It reminds me of my study! It is not bad that we make the outside attractive (for others to see as they pass), but how can we invite anyone inside unless and until it is clean there also?
When we see a bum on the street, he might be an alcoholic just looking for a little help to buy some more booze, but he could also be a poor man who has lost his job and is trying to find out how he can feed his family. We can’t tell what is inside by looking at the outside.
When a person came to my church door for a handout, I prayed that the Lord would give me the wisdom to know if he was genuine and honest.
One thing we can ask our pastor and our friends in the church whom we have gotten to know is: “What do see inside of me, now that you know me?”
Our goal must be to allow God to clean our innards so we can go out into the world and serve him.
Bob O.
Hebrews 9:11-14
Marcy Borders, who became known as the “dust lady” from an iconic photograph, was working on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower when terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. There was chaos -- the building was shaking and the dust was so thick she was choking. There was so much dust and it was so dark that Borders reported she could not even see her hand in front of her face. As she descended the stairwell, “I was just saying to myself and saying out loud that I didn’t want to die.” She eventually made it downstairs and into a neighboring building, where a photojournalist took her picture. She was a golden brown statue, completely covered from head to foot with dust. The photograph of the “dust lady” was published internationally and became a symbol of the 9/11 ordeal. (Note: If your sanctuary has a screen, you may want to show the photograph.)
Application: We all need the high priest as we cry out in desperation.
Ron L.
Hebrews 9:11-14
What then is this heavenly Tabernacle? Some preparation will be made for the answer if we call to mind the two main purposes of the transitory Tabernacle. It was designed on the one hand to symbolize the Presence of God among his people; and on the other to afford under certain restrictions a means of approach to him. The heavenly Tabernacle must then satisfy these two ends in the highest possible degree. It must represent the Presence of God, and offer a way of approach to God, being in both respects eternal, spiritual, idea.
In seeking for some conception which shall satisfy these conditions it is obvious that all images of local circumscription must be laid aside, or at least used only by way of accommodation. The spiritual Tabernacle must not be defined by the limitations which belong to “this creation.” We may then at once set aside all such interpretations as those which suppose that the lower heavens, through which Christ passed, or the supra-mundane realm or the like are “the greater tabernacle.” We must look for some spiritual antitype to the local sanctuary.
And here we are brought to the patristic interpretation which it requires some effort to grasp. The fathers, both Greek and Latin, commonly understood the greater Tabernacle to be the Lord’s “flesh,” or “humanity.”
(Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 256)
Frank R.
Mark 12:28-34
“Are we there yet?” How many parents on vacation with their kids have heard that question and replied “Almost”? People tend to get excited when they are not far from their destination. I can remember being with a group of kids when we were going to Six Flags in St. Louis. The trip was going all right. The kids were sleeping or listening to music. One of them, though, spotted the arch in the distance. Right away the entire group perked up. If we can see the arch, then we are not far from the park. It won’t be long now. The Batman ride is going to be so amazing! Can’t wait to ride Superman. I hear they have a new coaster called “The Boss.” Can’t wait to ride that. Being “not far” creates enthusiasm and excitement.
The text for today is a familiar passage. A couple of scribes are debating which commandment is the greatest. One of them asks Jesus. He tells them, and the inquiring scribe agrees. “There is one God. To love him with all of your heart, strength, and understanding and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than burnt offerings or sacrifices.” Jesus hears his statement, and as I see this play out in my mind’s eye he smiles. “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Did you hear what he said? Jesus told him he was not far from God’s kingdom! Wow! What a great place to be. How exciting would it be to hear that said of us?
Bill T.
Mark 12:28-34
The Shema, the first six words of the first commandment that Jesus shares, comes from the Torah, the Hebrew Scriptures, and the book of Deuteronomy. It is a part of the daily declaration of faith for Jews. We don’t have to question the wisdom of Jesus in responding to the scribes with these two commandments. They are the support for all the others. These commandments are more important than the rituals of either the Jewish or the Christian faith; loving, the essence of both commands, brings us into closer relationship with God and with each other, moves us into community.
The wisdom of love ends the questions of Jesus’ authority in this setting. Would, in fact, our wisdom of love shared with one another end the questions about the relevance of Christianity? Maybe if we acted in love, rather than in ritual or doctrine, the world might find that Christianity is even more relevant now than it ever has been. What do you think? Could we change the face of the world, the relevance of the “church,” if we lived out these two commandments fully with one another?
Bonnie B.
Mark 12:28-34
Preaching on this text about the Great Commandments, John Wesley reminded his hearers about the right priorities, about the source of love: “...gratitude toward our creator cannot but produce benevolence to our fellow-creatures.... It is in consequence of our knowing God loves us, that we love him, and love our neighbor as ourselves” (The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 7, p. 269). Pope Benedict XVI offered a parallel understanding of the relation between our love and God’s grace: “...in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know.... Then I learn to look on this other person, not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend.... I can give to them much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love they crave” (God Is Love, p. 45).
Living by the two Great Commandments is not burdensome. Neurobiologists have observed that friendship involves trust, and when that happens the soothing neurochemical oxytocin seems to play a role in impacting the brain (Michael Kosfield et al, in Nature [June 2005]). John Wesley did a nice job explaining the joy this lifestyle brings: “Now is not this the very principle that should be inculcated upon every human creature -- ‘You are made to be happy in God,’ as soon as ever reason dawns?... He made you; and he made you to be happy in him; and nothing else can make you happy” (The Works of John Wesley, Vol. 7, p. 267).
Mark E.
