Sermon Illustrations for Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 (2023)
Illustration
Judges 4:1-7
History knows the names Oscar Schindler, Jaap Penraat, and Jan and Antonina Zabinski as courageous men and women who saved countless numbers of Jews from death at the hand of Hitler’s Nazis. Schindler’s story might be the most well-known of the three of them because his was made into a blockbuster 1993 movie, Schindler’s List, by Steven Spielberg.
Throughout history God has raised up men and women to deliver his people from oppression and death. Jabin, king of Hazor oppressed the Israelites for twenty years and God decided it was time for deliverance. Deborah was judging Israel at the time. She called for Barak to lead the army of Israel against Jabin’s army led by Sisera. The words the Lord spoke through Deborah to Barak must have been a comfort for God’s people. “I will give him into your hand.” God cares for his people and will take care of them. He did it in the past and he does now.
Bill T.
* * *
Judges 4:1-7
A 2021Pew Research Center poll indicated that there is agreement among Americans that it is easier for a man to get a political or business leadership position than a woman. Deborah is a most relevant refutation of whether God approves of this sexism. As feminist Sarah Bessy once noted, “Women have more to offer the church than mad decorating skills or craft nights.” (Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible). Indeed, we have a God who favors those on the margins.
Of course, the world as a whole and those in power (in Deborah’s day and today) do not want to hear this. As Martin Luther once noted:
It [the gospel] is and remains a teaching which causes offense but not to unimportant people. Experience has shown it remains a teaching which causes offense... They [the self-righteous] consider the gospel an annoying rebellious teaching. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.67)
But this God of ours keeps seeking out the weak, showering them and us with love and care. The first reformer added:
The love of God which lives in man loves sinners, evil persons, fools and weaklings in order to make them righteous, good, wise, and strong. Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.57)
Mark E.
* * *
Judges 4:1-7
Deborah, Devorah in Hebrew, is the word for bee. Just as the bee is a pollinating insect, spreading pollen from flower to flower and causing them to increase, so Deborah as a judge is meant to spread inspiration among the individuals in her land, that they might reach their full potential as God’s people. Also, there’s a pun involved, as is often the case with Hebrew stories. Her name sounds like davor, “word,” and especially the divine word. She speaks prophetically, and God’s will is done — despite Barak’s reluctance to go forward in faith without her.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Paul calls the church into a continuing and strengthened relationship with God. There was some belief that Jesus would return to the earth during their lifetimes. The people needed to be ready, needed to put on the breastplate of love, the helmet of hope in salvation. The people needed to be ready. And Paul reminded the people to encourage one another. When is the last time you shared your faith, or you encouraged a believer? When was the last time you thought about love being your breastplate — that which would protect your very heart and spirit? I have always been a minister of hope — and it’s not just about optimism. My hope is in God, in God’s love, faithfulness, steadfastness, and encouragement. The life I live as a believer is strengthened in a community of believers who support me, hold me up when I am falling, and nurture me when I feel lost or alone. That is what a community of faith is called to be. That is what we as Christians are called to do. So, strengthen your relationship with God and then share your love, faith and hope with those around you.
Bonnie B.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Describing Paul’s purpose in this text, John Calvin writes:
He... calls them back from a curious and unprofitable inquiry as to times, but in the meantime admonishes them to be constantly in a state of preparation for receiving Christ... Now Christ deigned that the day of his coming should be hid from us, that, being in suspense, we might be as it were on watch. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXI/2, p.285)
Martin Luther’s teaching of the Theology of the Cross emphasizes how God likes to surprise us by confounding our wisdom:
For what is good for us is hidden and so deeply that it is under hate for ourselves... salvation under damnation, heaven under hell... and universally our every assertion of anything good is hidden under the denial of it, so that faith may have its place in God, who is a negative essence and goodness and wisdom and righteousness. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 25, pp.382-383)
Research on the human brain verifies that surprises make us happy. It seems that addressing the surprises of life leads us to build new neural connections in the brain, a process that includes the secreting of the good-feeling brain chemical dopamine (Stephan Klein, The Science of Happiness).
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 25:14-30
Almost everyone recognizes the voice of Darth Vader. It’s the legendary actor, James Earl Jones. As he wrapped up his role in the 2014 Star Wars film Rogue One, Jones spoke candidly about his struggles with a speech impediment. Knowing his deep booming voice and how it threatened all those who crossed his path in the Star Wars empire, most would never realize that the talent for which Jones is best known is a struggle.
He talked about how he was largely silent in his younger years, a result of a severe stutter. Though he was quiet, a teacher noticed that he enjoyed writing poetry, and told him that if he liked words so much, he ought to be able to say them. He and the teacher worked hard to address the stutter. Later, he began performing Shakespeare. He shares, "If I hadn't been a stutterer, I would never have been an actor."
It is clear that James Earl Jones has a talent or gift for acting and especially his voice. He was willing to use that talent, even though it was hard to do so. In using it, he developed it even further. This passage in Matthew’s Gospel makes it clear that the Lord expects people to use the talents he has given them. We may have less than some or more than others. That is not the issue. The question is what did you do with what you were given? It was an important question for the servants of the man who went on a journey. It’s an important question for us, too.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 25:14-30
The ancient Olympics were not for amateurs. That was a myth created by the modern Olympic movement back in the 19th century as a way of keeping out working-class people.
The champions in the ancient Olympians earned cash, houses, or even an income for life on top of fame. They also brought glory to the Greek and Roman gods. The Olympics were a decidedly pagan event.
Enter Sarapammon, a pagan who lived in the third Christian century at a time when Christianity was still illegal. He had the right to add the title Olympic Victor after his name. At one point he wrote a letter from Antioch in Syria to his mother, who lived in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus (Oxy-rink-us), the “City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish.”
From: Sarapammon, Olympian, to his mother, and Didymus, many greetings!
I want you to know that I am very well. I got the letter that you wrote -- my brother Ion brought it -- so I know all about you. Do not agonize about me. For I want you to know I am not coming home until after athletic events in Antioch, but I'll come after that.
I am sending you two talents via Sotas the Christian.... (SB 12 10772, translated by the author)
First of all, in sending two talents to his mother, Serapammon is sending her a very large amount of cash. So, the question is worth asking — what’s a talent?
The term comes from the Greek talanton, which means scale, or balance. The exact value of a talent is contested by the experts. However, one estimate is that two talents, at the time this letter was written, was the equivalent of forty years’ worth of salary for a common day laborer.
This is a staggering amount of money! Who do you trust with that much cash? Remember, Sarapammon can't transfer this money digitally. He needed a courier he could trust. Who did he choose? A man named Sotas who he identifies as "the Christian." Even though Sotas is a member of an illegal religion, the pagan Olympic champion trusts Sotas the Christian to deliver a staggering sum of money to his mother.
Who was this Sotas? He is someone who wrote or is mentioned in several letters from the ancient world. He was the episkopos of the Egyptian village of Oxyrhynchus during the latter part of the 3rd Century AD. The word, from which we derive Episcopal, is often translated as “bishop,” but it literally means “overseer,” as in the slave who supervises the other slaves. From the other letters we know he had a hand in financial matters in the community, arranged hospitality for Christians traveling from one community to another, and provided spiritual leadership.
His reputation was so good, even beyond the confines of his church, that a pagan could trust him to deliver that kind of money to his mother!
Frank R.
History knows the names Oscar Schindler, Jaap Penraat, and Jan and Antonina Zabinski as courageous men and women who saved countless numbers of Jews from death at the hand of Hitler’s Nazis. Schindler’s story might be the most well-known of the three of them because his was made into a blockbuster 1993 movie, Schindler’s List, by Steven Spielberg.
Throughout history God has raised up men and women to deliver his people from oppression and death. Jabin, king of Hazor oppressed the Israelites for twenty years and God decided it was time for deliverance. Deborah was judging Israel at the time. She called for Barak to lead the army of Israel against Jabin’s army led by Sisera. The words the Lord spoke through Deborah to Barak must have been a comfort for God’s people. “I will give him into your hand.” God cares for his people and will take care of them. He did it in the past and he does now.
Bill T.
* * *
Judges 4:1-7
A 2021Pew Research Center poll indicated that there is agreement among Americans that it is easier for a man to get a political or business leadership position than a woman. Deborah is a most relevant refutation of whether God approves of this sexism. As feminist Sarah Bessy once noted, “Women have more to offer the church than mad decorating skills or craft nights.” (Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible). Indeed, we have a God who favors those on the margins.
Of course, the world as a whole and those in power (in Deborah’s day and today) do not want to hear this. As Martin Luther once noted:
It [the gospel] is and remains a teaching which causes offense but not to unimportant people. Experience has shown it remains a teaching which causes offense... They [the self-righteous] consider the gospel an annoying rebellious teaching. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.67)
But this God of ours keeps seeking out the weak, showering them and us with love and care. The first reformer added:
The love of God which lives in man loves sinners, evil persons, fools and weaklings in order to make them righteous, good, wise, and strong. Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.57)
Mark E.
* * *
Judges 4:1-7
Deborah, Devorah in Hebrew, is the word for bee. Just as the bee is a pollinating insect, spreading pollen from flower to flower and causing them to increase, so Deborah as a judge is meant to spread inspiration among the individuals in her land, that they might reach their full potential as God’s people. Also, there’s a pun involved, as is often the case with Hebrew stories. Her name sounds like davor, “word,” and especially the divine word. She speaks prophetically, and God’s will is done — despite Barak’s reluctance to go forward in faith without her.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Paul calls the church into a continuing and strengthened relationship with God. There was some belief that Jesus would return to the earth during their lifetimes. The people needed to be ready, needed to put on the breastplate of love, the helmet of hope in salvation. The people needed to be ready. And Paul reminded the people to encourage one another. When is the last time you shared your faith, or you encouraged a believer? When was the last time you thought about love being your breastplate — that which would protect your very heart and spirit? I have always been a minister of hope — and it’s not just about optimism. My hope is in God, in God’s love, faithfulness, steadfastness, and encouragement. The life I live as a believer is strengthened in a community of believers who support me, hold me up when I am falling, and nurture me when I feel lost or alone. That is what a community of faith is called to be. That is what we as Christians are called to do. So, strengthen your relationship with God and then share your love, faith and hope with those around you.
Bonnie B.
* * *
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Describing Paul’s purpose in this text, John Calvin writes:
He... calls them back from a curious and unprofitable inquiry as to times, but in the meantime admonishes them to be constantly in a state of preparation for receiving Christ... Now Christ deigned that the day of his coming should be hid from us, that, being in suspense, we might be as it were on watch. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XXI/2, p.285)
Martin Luther’s teaching of the Theology of the Cross emphasizes how God likes to surprise us by confounding our wisdom:
For what is good for us is hidden and so deeply that it is under hate for ourselves... salvation under damnation, heaven under hell... and universally our every assertion of anything good is hidden under the denial of it, so that faith may have its place in God, who is a negative essence and goodness and wisdom and righteousness. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 25, pp.382-383)
Research on the human brain verifies that surprises make us happy. It seems that addressing the surprises of life leads us to build new neural connections in the brain, a process that includes the secreting of the good-feeling brain chemical dopamine (Stephan Klein, The Science of Happiness).
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 25:14-30
Almost everyone recognizes the voice of Darth Vader. It’s the legendary actor, James Earl Jones. As he wrapped up his role in the 2014 Star Wars film Rogue One, Jones spoke candidly about his struggles with a speech impediment. Knowing his deep booming voice and how it threatened all those who crossed his path in the Star Wars empire, most would never realize that the talent for which Jones is best known is a struggle.
He talked about how he was largely silent in his younger years, a result of a severe stutter. Though he was quiet, a teacher noticed that he enjoyed writing poetry, and told him that if he liked words so much, he ought to be able to say them. He and the teacher worked hard to address the stutter. Later, he began performing Shakespeare. He shares, "If I hadn't been a stutterer, I would never have been an actor."
It is clear that James Earl Jones has a talent or gift for acting and especially his voice. He was willing to use that talent, even though it was hard to do so. In using it, he developed it even further. This passage in Matthew’s Gospel makes it clear that the Lord expects people to use the talents he has given them. We may have less than some or more than others. That is not the issue. The question is what did you do with what you were given? It was an important question for the servants of the man who went on a journey. It’s an important question for us, too.
Bill T.
* * *
Matthew 25:14-30
The ancient Olympics were not for amateurs. That was a myth created by the modern Olympic movement back in the 19th century as a way of keeping out working-class people.
The champions in the ancient Olympians earned cash, houses, or even an income for life on top of fame. They also brought glory to the Greek and Roman gods. The Olympics were a decidedly pagan event.
Enter Sarapammon, a pagan who lived in the third Christian century at a time when Christianity was still illegal. He had the right to add the title Olympic Victor after his name. At one point he wrote a letter from Antioch in Syria to his mother, who lived in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus (Oxy-rink-us), the “City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish.”
From: Sarapammon, Olympian, to his mother, and Didymus, many greetings!
I want you to know that I am very well. I got the letter that you wrote -- my brother Ion brought it -- so I know all about you. Do not agonize about me. For I want you to know I am not coming home until after athletic events in Antioch, but I'll come after that.
I am sending you two talents via Sotas the Christian.... (SB 12 10772, translated by the author)
First of all, in sending two talents to his mother, Serapammon is sending her a very large amount of cash. So, the question is worth asking — what’s a talent?
The term comes from the Greek talanton, which means scale, or balance. The exact value of a talent is contested by the experts. However, one estimate is that two talents, at the time this letter was written, was the equivalent of forty years’ worth of salary for a common day laborer.
This is a staggering amount of money! Who do you trust with that much cash? Remember, Sarapammon can't transfer this money digitally. He needed a courier he could trust. Who did he choose? A man named Sotas who he identifies as "the Christian." Even though Sotas is a member of an illegal religion, the pagan Olympic champion trusts Sotas the Christian to deliver a staggering sum of money to his mother.
Who was this Sotas? He is someone who wrote or is mentioned in several letters from the ancient world. He was the episkopos of the Egyptian village of Oxyrhynchus during the latter part of the 3rd Century AD. The word, from which we derive Episcopal, is often translated as “bishop,” but it literally means “overseer,” as in the slave who supervises the other slaves. From the other letters we know he had a hand in financial matters in the community, arranged hospitality for Christians traveling from one community to another, and provided spiritual leadership.
His reputation was so good, even beyond the confines of his church, that a pagan could trust him to deliver that kind of money to his mother!
Frank R.
