Sermon Illustrations for Proper 27 | OT 32 (2022)
Illustration
Haggai 1:15b--2:9
We are about ready to celebrate a holy day of American freedom this week — the elections. And yet Americans are not very hopeful and not really celebrating. A July 2022 poll conducted by The New York Times found that 58% of Americans believe our Constitutional system needs major reforms or a complete overhaul. We need some prophets of good news like God raised up Haggai to proclaim Good News.
Part of the problem may be our false understanding of freedom. Martin Luther reminds us that freedom is not all about self-fulfillment and me getting my way. He famously wrote two propositions regarding freedom:
A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.344)
If freedom is to work, it must include a willingness to serve. That is the kind of politics we need.
Another problem in our politics today may be related to our failure to realize Haggai’s point that ultimately our fate is in God’s hands, that what humans can do in society is always imperfect. This is why we are so divided that we are now demonizing the other guy’s/gal’s politics, because we are so sure that our side is the right one. Famed American theologian and social commentator Reinhold Niebuhr calls us to stand under God’s judgment about our biases and realize that we really not so different than our political opponent:
One of the great resources of this faith for social achievement is the sense of humility which must result from the recognition of our common sinfulness... To subject human righteousness to the righteousness of God is to realize the imperfection of all our perfections, the taint of interest in all our virtues, and the natural limitations of our ideals. Men who are thus prompted to humility may differ in their ideals; but they will know themselves in the fact that they must differ... (Reinhold Niebuhr: theologian of public life, pp.132-133)
Like the ancient Hebrews whom Haggai addressed, we Americans really are in the same boat.
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
In commenting on this Psalm and its praise of the greatness of God, Augustine offers some compelling remarks:
Think not then that He, Whose Greatness has no end can ever be praised enough by thee... For how great things besides has His boundless Goodness and illimitable Greatness made, which we do not know! (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.8, p.657)
The Psalm’s celebration of God’s ongoing care for the faithful is noted by John Calvin:
He [David] insists upon the same truth — that God is near to His people to help them in the time of need; this being a sure proof of his presence, that by his mercy they came safe and unhurt out of every danger which befalls them. (Calvin’s Commentaries, VI/2, p.283)
The famed Medieval theologian Anselm well embodies the Psalm’s praise of God, as he wrote:
I do not try, Lord, to attain Your lofty heights, because my understanding is in no way equal to it. But I do desire to understand Your truth a little, that truth that my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, so I may understand. (Proslogion, 1)
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 98
Referring to the praise of the sea and the song of the hills, 19th-century English Baptist leader Charles Spurgeon writes:
Doth not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Doth not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Hath not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?
Famed African-American Agricultural Scientist George Washington Carver elaborates on this point. He once wrote: “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
The Psalm calls for joyful celebration about God’s victory (vv.2,4-6). Martin Luther gives valuable insight about our way of celebrating God, and what needs to change:
Therefore we all gladly hear and desire the future good, and it sounds clear to us... The future joys please us, but we do not want to disturb our sins. (Luther’s Works, Vol.11, p.275)
Mark E.
* * *
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Time reported this on June 24, 2001. The Israeli settlement of Netzarim in the heart of the Gaza Strip was a point of much conflict with militant Palestinians for several years. The conflict was so great that the settlement was evacuated in 2005.
Those who lived in Netzarim did so at great personal risk because they felt it was an important part of keeping their land free. A schoolteacher, Shlomit Ziv, who lived in Netzarim in 2001 said, “I don’t live where it’s comfortable; I live where it’s important to live.”
“I don’t live where it is comfortable. I live where it is important to live.” What a powerful statement. Paul is telling the Christians in Thessalonica that they shouldn’t be alarmed thinking the end had come. Instead, they were to “stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). They were to stand strong, live confidently where they were. God had chosen them. They needed to stand.
Oswald Chambers wrote, “I have chosen you. Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that he has got you. Why is God at work in me, bending, breaking, molding, doing just as He chooses? For one purpose only-that He may be able to say, ‘This is my man, my woman.’”
Bill T.
* * *
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
It seems to me that the New Testament, whether it’s the apostle Paul, John the Letter Writer, John the Revelator, or Jesus himself in the Synoptic Gospels, is clear on two things. First, God is in control of history, including its ending, and that will include the return of the Son of Man, Jesus himself, revealed in glory as the king of kings, and lord of lord.
Second — calm down. Take a deep breath. I told you he’s coming. But it’s not yet. It’s easy to mistake the signs. In the meantime, endure.
In this letter the apostle says there has to be a rebellion, which sounds like it is going to have to be of cosmic proportions, because its leader is someone he describes as “the man without laws, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. (2:4) This is quite an order. In a way, you can say this goes for every dictator or would-be dictator, a sociopath and/or psychopath with an inflated ego who can’t imagine he was ever wrong, who runs roughshod over friend and foe alike.
My guess is that none of us quite qualifies for this title, but in the right – or wrong – circumstances any one of us, any one of our parishioners, may set themselves up as a tyrant within a company, a family, a town, or a church. As it says a few verses later, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work…. (2:7) My guess is its going to take God to kick the lawless one off the divine throne, but we ourselves should be looking within our hearts to see if we need to be dethroned from an imagined unlawfully high opinion of ourselves.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 20:27-38
A 2014 poll reported on in First Things found that less than half of mainline Protestants and Catholics believe in the resurrection of the body. Sermons on this matter and on what we believe are certainly in order. Martin Luther offers some interesting images for describing our resurrected bodies:
After a man’s body has decayed in the earth, it will rise in much greater beauty and glory. It will be the body of a human being, just as was created; but the body will have a different appearance and use. It will not eat, drink, digest, procreate children, keep house. It will need none of the things that pertain to this transient life and bodily sustenance... The difference between man and woman, which God established in creation will continue. (What Luther Says, p.1218)
Augustine also offers an interesting description of the resurrected body:
And thus the body, being the source of uneasiness because it can feel no want, shall be animated by a spirit perfectly pure and happy, and shall enjoy unbroken peace. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.2, p.527)
Mark E.
We are about ready to celebrate a holy day of American freedom this week — the elections. And yet Americans are not very hopeful and not really celebrating. A July 2022 poll conducted by The New York Times found that 58% of Americans believe our Constitutional system needs major reforms or a complete overhaul. We need some prophets of good news like God raised up Haggai to proclaim Good News.
Part of the problem may be our false understanding of freedom. Martin Luther reminds us that freedom is not all about self-fulfillment and me getting my way. He famously wrote two propositions regarding freedom:
A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.344)
If freedom is to work, it must include a willingness to serve. That is the kind of politics we need.
Another problem in our politics today may be related to our failure to realize Haggai’s point that ultimately our fate is in God’s hands, that what humans can do in society is always imperfect. This is why we are so divided that we are now demonizing the other guy’s/gal’s politics, because we are so sure that our side is the right one. Famed American theologian and social commentator Reinhold Niebuhr calls us to stand under God’s judgment about our biases and realize that we really not so different than our political opponent:
One of the great resources of this faith for social achievement is the sense of humility which must result from the recognition of our common sinfulness... To subject human righteousness to the righteousness of God is to realize the imperfection of all our perfections, the taint of interest in all our virtues, and the natural limitations of our ideals. Men who are thus prompted to humility may differ in their ideals; but they will know themselves in the fact that they must differ... (Reinhold Niebuhr: theologian of public life, pp.132-133)
Like the ancient Hebrews whom Haggai addressed, we Americans really are in the same boat.
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
In commenting on this Psalm and its praise of the greatness of God, Augustine offers some compelling remarks:
Think not then that He, Whose Greatness has no end can ever be praised enough by thee... For how great things besides has His boundless Goodness and illimitable Greatness made, which we do not know! (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.8, p.657)
The Psalm’s celebration of God’s ongoing care for the faithful is noted by John Calvin:
He [David] insists upon the same truth — that God is near to His people to help them in the time of need; this being a sure proof of his presence, that by his mercy they came safe and unhurt out of every danger which befalls them. (Calvin’s Commentaries, VI/2, p.283)
The famed Medieval theologian Anselm well embodies the Psalm’s praise of God, as he wrote:
I do not try, Lord, to attain Your lofty heights, because my understanding is in no way equal to it. But I do desire to understand Your truth a little, that truth that my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, so I may understand. (Proslogion, 1)
Mark E.
* * *
Psalm 98
Referring to the praise of the sea and the song of the hills, 19th-century English Baptist leader Charles Spurgeon writes:
Doth not all nature around me praise God? If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration? Doth not the lightning write His name in letters of fire? Hath not the whole earth a voice? And shall I, can I, silent be?
Famed African-American Agricultural Scientist George Washington Carver elaborates on this point. He once wrote: “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
The Psalm calls for joyful celebration about God’s victory (vv.2,4-6). Martin Luther gives valuable insight about our way of celebrating God, and what needs to change:
Therefore we all gladly hear and desire the future good, and it sounds clear to us... The future joys please us, but we do not want to disturb our sins. (Luther’s Works, Vol.11, p.275)
Mark E.
* * *
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Time reported this on June 24, 2001. The Israeli settlement of Netzarim in the heart of the Gaza Strip was a point of much conflict with militant Palestinians for several years. The conflict was so great that the settlement was evacuated in 2005.
Those who lived in Netzarim did so at great personal risk because they felt it was an important part of keeping their land free. A schoolteacher, Shlomit Ziv, who lived in Netzarim in 2001 said, “I don’t live where it’s comfortable; I live where it’s important to live.”
“I don’t live where it is comfortable. I live where it is important to live.” What a powerful statement. Paul is telling the Christians in Thessalonica that they shouldn’t be alarmed thinking the end had come. Instead, they were to “stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). They were to stand strong, live confidently where they were. God had chosen them. They needed to stand.
Oswald Chambers wrote, “I have chosen you. Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that he has got you. Why is God at work in me, bending, breaking, molding, doing just as He chooses? For one purpose only-that He may be able to say, ‘This is my man, my woman.’”
Bill T.
* * *
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
It seems to me that the New Testament, whether it’s the apostle Paul, John the Letter Writer, John the Revelator, or Jesus himself in the Synoptic Gospels, is clear on two things. First, God is in control of history, including its ending, and that will include the return of the Son of Man, Jesus himself, revealed in glory as the king of kings, and lord of lord.
Second — calm down. Take a deep breath. I told you he’s coming. But it’s not yet. It’s easy to mistake the signs. In the meantime, endure.
In this letter the apostle says there has to be a rebellion, which sounds like it is going to have to be of cosmic proportions, because its leader is someone he describes as “the man without laws, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. (2:4) This is quite an order. In a way, you can say this goes for every dictator or would-be dictator, a sociopath and/or psychopath with an inflated ego who can’t imagine he was ever wrong, who runs roughshod over friend and foe alike.
My guess is that none of us quite qualifies for this title, but in the right – or wrong – circumstances any one of us, any one of our parishioners, may set themselves up as a tyrant within a company, a family, a town, or a church. As it says a few verses later, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work…. (2:7) My guess is its going to take God to kick the lawless one off the divine throne, but we ourselves should be looking within our hearts to see if we need to be dethroned from an imagined unlawfully high opinion of ourselves.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 20:27-38
A 2014 poll reported on in First Things found that less than half of mainline Protestants and Catholics believe in the resurrection of the body. Sermons on this matter and on what we believe are certainly in order. Martin Luther offers some interesting images for describing our resurrected bodies:
After a man’s body has decayed in the earth, it will rise in much greater beauty and glory. It will be the body of a human being, just as was created; but the body will have a different appearance and use. It will not eat, drink, digest, procreate children, keep house. It will need none of the things that pertain to this transient life and bodily sustenance... The difference between man and woman, which God established in creation will continue. (What Luther Says, p.1218)
Augustine also offers an interesting description of the resurrected body:
And thus the body, being the source of uneasiness because it can feel no want, shall be animated by a spirit perfectly pure and happy, and shall enjoy unbroken peace. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.2, p.527)
Mark E.
