Sermon Illustrations for Proper 6 | OT 11 | Pentecost 4 (2016)
Illustration
Object:
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14) 15-21a
A lavish wedding scene opens the classic film The Godfather. Don Vito Corleone is hosting a series of people seeking favors from this one called the Godfather. Eventually Johnny Fontane, a nationally acclaimed nightclub singer, third-rate actor, and longtime Corleone family friend, is ushered into the presence of Don Vito.
Rather than share his request with respect, Fontane whines. He tells the Godfather his voice is failing and that he will have to earn his living as an actor. Hollywood, Fontane claims, is not treating him fairly. A movie producer by the name of Woltz has a part that is perfect for Fontane, but Woltz has refused to give it to Johnny. The singer tearfully laments, “Oh, Godfather, I don’t know what to do.”
After a fierce lecture on the need to stop whining and start behaving like a man, Don Vito gives instructions to an associate to go to California and convince the movie mogul to give Johnny Fontane what he wants. When asked how that is to happen, Don Corleone answers, “Tell him I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
In one of the most memorable sequences in movie history, Mr. Woltz refuses. The next morning Woltz awakens with the bloodied, severed head of his $600,000 racehorse in bed with him.
The price of not accepting a proposal from Vito Corleone is incredibly high. Of course, the consequence of accepting one of Don Corleone’s offers is also significant. Being in the don’s debt is not unlike selling one’s soul to Mephistopheles.
Consider this connection to 1 Kings 21. Just as Mr. Woltz suffered the consequences of dealing with Don Vito, so both Naboth and King Ahab suffered the consequences of dealing with Jezebel.
R. Robert C.
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14) 15-21a
On July 19, 2015, University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing shot and killed Samuel Dubose as he sat in his car. Tensing tried to mislead investigators as to what really happened, but he could not deny what his body camera revealed. The footage showed a police officer who lost his temper because Dubose would not get out of his car for a minor traffic violation. (The car did not have a front license plate.) Hamilton County prosecuting attorney Joseph Deters said, “This office has probably reviewed 100 police shootings, and this is the first time we thought, ‘This is without question a murder.’ ”
Application: As we learn from Naboth, there is evil in this world.
Ron L.
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14) 15-21a
The Federal Reserve reports that in 2015 the average credit card household debt was $16,140 and ever rising. Americans are a lot like Ahab and Jezebel. No matter how much we have, it is never enough. Like the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2548) says, we are “immoderately attached to the goods of this world.” We want “things” more than God most times. That’s why we get them even when we can’t afford them.
If we see ourselves this way, as the ones whom Elijah condemns, then that gets us ready for Good News -- that low as we are, we are still forgiven and loved by God. If you see yourself in this lesson, see how low you have sunk in your quest for the latest gadget, then as you lie there in the gutter of guilt you are ready to say with 18th-century English chemist and clergyman Oscar Wilde: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us [Christians] can see the stars.” Outside the gutter, you may miss the stars. And you might miss the vastness of God’s love for us -- so vast, Martin Luther says, so vast an ocean that we can only taste “a few drops of this immeasurable joy” (What Luther Says, p. 821).
Mark E.
Galatians 2:15-21
The argument about faith and works is ongoing. In Galatians Paul reminds us that it is grace, not our actions, that saves us. It is through our faith and our acknowledgement of our need for God in our lives that we are saved -- through God’s mercy and forgiveness. How is it then that we are so very busy in our churches, so very strident about doing the “right” thing? How is it that we judge each other harshly for that which we do or do not do? It’s a dichotomy. How we live is the external sign of our internal life, but often we spend a lot more time talking about what we do instead of about the grace and forgiveness we have received.
When my grandson asked me why I was a pastor, I told him it was because I loved God and I wanted other people to love God too. He was curious about why I went to so many meetings. Was God there? I wanted to laugh, but it is a good question. Is God there in our meetings, in our conversations, in our mission activities? Do we invite God into those experiences, and do we recognize that we live a Christian life as thanksgiving for grace, not to earn it? So yes, God is in the meetings I have. Yes, God is in the conversations I have with pastors and congregation members. Yes, God is present in the mission activities I do. Yes, God is present because I thank God for the grace and blessings I have received, and I live my life as thanksgiving for that gift -- not to earn the gift which has been freely given, but as thanksgiving for the life I have.
Bonnie B.
Galatians 2:15-21
Max Lucado, in his story “The Parable of the River,”writes of four brothers who lived with their father in a castle. It was a beautiful kingdom. The father warned the brothers to stay away from the river. The oldest does, but the other three get into the river and are taken by the current far away from the castle and the kingdom. The brothers realize what they’ve done and how they’ve messed up. They each have different responses, though, to their predicament. One of them decides to build a hut and live with the savages near the river. He becomes one of the people that live there. One of them decides to watch the first one and make a list of all the things he’s doing wrong. He becomes his brother’s critical observer. The third one realizes that he’s sinned and decides to do something about it. He plans to stack rocks to make a path that leads back to the castle. He is hoping that by working really hard, he can build his own way back to his father. When the older brother comes to rescue them, he finds all three of them. But only one seems to want to go back; the first two reject his offer. The rock stacker shakes his head as well. He says to his older brother, “I am a great sinner. I need much work.” His older brother replies, “No, my brother, you don’t need much work. You need much grace. The distance between you and our father’s house is too great. You haven’t enough strength nor the stones to build the road.” It is a sad and poignant parable.
Have you ever found yourself in that trap? There is something within us that says we have to do something to earn God’s favor. Something seems right about “working off” what we owe God. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. Paul notes that in this passage to the churches of Galatia. Our being right with God is only found in faith. It cannot be attained through the works of the law. There aren’t enough “rocks” or good deeds that can be done to pave the way back to the Father. Justification through faith; it’s the only way home.
Bill T.
Galatians 2:15-21
Motive is the key. Think of the different ways we are motivated. One might be to make money. That can be accomplished by trying to find ways around the law -- or at least ways that we can break the law without getting caught. Another motive might be to win praise from God and our fellow man by proudly keeping the law. We want others to look up to us for our character! Then, of course, we obey the law so that God will have to give us our reward. We like to feel that we have earned it by the obedient life we live.
What God is really looking for is that we put all our faith in Christ. We obey because we love our God and trust in him. That should be our main and only motive.
But when we do break some of God’s laws, we must have faith in Christ’s forgiveness -- not because we have earned it! Also, not because we think they are such minor sins that we don’t want to bother him.
We may not think it is just, but one judge excused a prisoner because he was his son (that does happen now and then!). That doesn’t sound right, does it? But in one respect, that is what this passage is suggesting. In other words, someone who tries hard to obey every letter of the law is probably looking for a reward, and is bragging to the judge about what he has done -- hoping he has earned forgiveness for what he might have failed to do. But how must he feel when he sees a person who is not perfect in every way get rewarded! As long as that person confesses his sin, believing that the Lord loves him and will forgive him, then his faith will save him
I knew that my parents would forgive me out of love if I failed to obey one or two of their commands. I had faith in their love for me. It was not something I had to earn by my obedience to every other command.
Most of us are not accustomed to getting something for nothing. It just doesn’t seem right. That might be true in many cases in our lives, but Paul is telling us that with Jesus all things are different. Jesus has already paid the price for our sins and us, so all have to do is believe that and have faith that Jesus really means it. The price he paid was a terrible death on a cross, so if we don’t believe that then we have hurt him by suggesting that he wasted his time and suffering. That would be the greatest sin!
Bob O.
Galatians 2:15-21
The larger context for this passage is centered around the table -- specifically the tables where the Christian community ate their common meal (and for some no doubt their only good meal of the day). Peter gave in to peer pressure and ate at an exclusive table that excluded people from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Modern English translations tend to put quotation marks around the statement Paul reports he made to Peter (“If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”), as if this were the end of the matter, but there were no quotation marks (or precious little other punctuation) in New Testament Greek. I think much of the rest of what follows Paul’s question to Peter ought to be in quotations marks as well. It is probably an encapsulation of the argument between Peter and Paul regarding what he’d done. Remember, no one is a villain in their own mind. As you read this passage, put yourself on the other side of the discussion and defend it. What excuses do we bring for not bridging cultural barriers, while staying in our comfort zones? Why do we take the easy road as a church? Why do we give into peer pressure? Why do we resist change? Paul’s questions may give you clues. Or just listen to the talk during coffee and cookies at church, and see if you recognize at least echoes of some of the exclusionary attitudes these brothers from Jerusalem brought with them in the things people say, who they visit with, and who they avoid.
Frank R.
Luke 7:36--8:3
Pay attention the next time you see people picking up trash along a busy highway. Each worker fills trash bags of biodegradable-resistant debris like discarded soda cans, wind-tossed advertisements, pieces of exploded truck tires, the occasional muffler, perhaps a sock that went that went mysteriously missing. When filled, the workers drag the bags to the side of the road and a waste disposal truck hauls the detritus away. If no one picked up roadside trash, our highways would be impassable.
The same is true of our religious lives. Generating spiritual trash is an inevitable part of being human. Paul reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The memory of sin, theologically and psychologically called guilt, is little more than spiritual trash. It accumulates. Like any toxic waste, it must be eliminated carefully and regularly. Confession is the means by which we arrange to have the trash collected, and forgiveness is means by which that happens.
Eliminate your spiritual trash regularly. God promises to take it away. Those who accumulate the especially heavy load may discover that God’s forgiveness brings such great joy they begin to think about acquiring a supply of perfumed ointment for washing the feet of Jesus.
R. Robert C.
Luke 7:36--8:3
Robert Lipsyte wrote an editorial for USA Today in which he said that we should forgive our fallen sports stars. Most notably he highlighted: Pete Rose, baseball’s hit king; Lance Armstrong, the winner of seven Tours de France; Tiger Woods, perhaps the greatest golfer in history; and Alex Rodriguez, a great all-around baseball player. Lipsyte does not think that these four understand what they really did. This is because, Lipsyte wrote, “none of the four has actually said ‘I’m sorry’ in ways we could believe.” But they are our favorite athletes. So, Lipsyte concludes, “Let’s forgive them. Let’s say thanks for the memories, and move on.”
Application: As we learn from our reading in Luke, forgiveness can be something that is very difficult to do.
Ron L.
Luke 7:36--8:3
A story about Mary Magdalene is likely to get us thinking about The Last Temptation of Christ or The DaVinci Code -- even if they are fantasies. What feminist theologian Jane Schaberg wrote about Mary is true: “No other biblical figure -- including Judas and perhaps even Jesus -- has had such a vivid and bizarre post-biblical life in the human imagination, in legend, and in art.”
But this lesson is not just about Mary Magdalene. It is also about whores like us! St. Augustine taught that we are all whores like Mary -- whoring after false gods, the latest person or product that infatuates us (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 4, p. 216).
Of course, none of us wants to think of ourselves this way. John Calvin tells us why: “I am quite aware how much more pleasing is that principle that invites us to weigh our good traits rather than to look upon our miserable want and dishonor, which ought to overwhelm us with shame. There is indeed nothing that man’s nature seeks more eagerly than to be flattered.... It is thus no wonder that the majority of men have erred so perniciously in this respect. For since blind self-love is innate in all mortals, they are most freely persuaded that nothing inheres in themselves that deserves to be considered hateful” (Institutes [Westminster Press edition], II/1/2).
We need this insight to help keep us from whoring, to make us realize how much God loves and forgives us. The great Christian martyr of World War II Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who died as a result of his efforts to assassinate Hitler, nicely explained why we need this insight: “God does not want to frighten people; he sends us the Word about judgment so that we may all the more passionately, all the more eagerly, seize the promise of grace, so that we recognize that we do not stand before God in our own strength, lest we should perish before him; that in spite of everything he does not desire our death, but rather life” (A Testament to Freedom, p. 230).
Mark E.
A lavish wedding scene opens the classic film The Godfather. Don Vito Corleone is hosting a series of people seeking favors from this one called the Godfather. Eventually Johnny Fontane, a nationally acclaimed nightclub singer, third-rate actor, and longtime Corleone family friend, is ushered into the presence of Don Vito.
Rather than share his request with respect, Fontane whines. He tells the Godfather his voice is failing and that he will have to earn his living as an actor. Hollywood, Fontane claims, is not treating him fairly. A movie producer by the name of Woltz has a part that is perfect for Fontane, but Woltz has refused to give it to Johnny. The singer tearfully laments, “Oh, Godfather, I don’t know what to do.”
After a fierce lecture on the need to stop whining and start behaving like a man, Don Vito gives instructions to an associate to go to California and convince the movie mogul to give Johnny Fontane what he wants. When asked how that is to happen, Don Corleone answers, “Tell him I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
In one of the most memorable sequences in movie history, Mr. Woltz refuses. The next morning Woltz awakens with the bloodied, severed head of his $600,000 racehorse in bed with him.
The price of not accepting a proposal from Vito Corleone is incredibly high. Of course, the consequence of accepting one of Don Corleone’s offers is also significant. Being in the don’s debt is not unlike selling one’s soul to Mephistopheles.
Consider this connection to 1 Kings 21. Just as Mr. Woltz suffered the consequences of dealing with Don Vito, so both Naboth and King Ahab suffered the consequences of dealing with Jezebel.
R. Robert C.
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14) 15-21a
On July 19, 2015, University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing shot and killed Samuel Dubose as he sat in his car. Tensing tried to mislead investigators as to what really happened, but he could not deny what his body camera revealed. The footage showed a police officer who lost his temper because Dubose would not get out of his car for a minor traffic violation. (The car did not have a front license plate.) Hamilton County prosecuting attorney Joseph Deters said, “This office has probably reviewed 100 police shootings, and this is the first time we thought, ‘This is without question a murder.’ ”
Application: As we learn from Naboth, there is evil in this world.
Ron L.
1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14) 15-21a
The Federal Reserve reports that in 2015 the average credit card household debt was $16,140 and ever rising. Americans are a lot like Ahab and Jezebel. No matter how much we have, it is never enough. Like the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2548) says, we are “immoderately attached to the goods of this world.” We want “things” more than God most times. That’s why we get them even when we can’t afford them.
If we see ourselves this way, as the ones whom Elijah condemns, then that gets us ready for Good News -- that low as we are, we are still forgiven and loved by God. If you see yourself in this lesson, see how low you have sunk in your quest for the latest gadget, then as you lie there in the gutter of guilt you are ready to say with 18th-century English chemist and clergyman Oscar Wilde: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us [Christians] can see the stars.” Outside the gutter, you may miss the stars. And you might miss the vastness of God’s love for us -- so vast, Martin Luther says, so vast an ocean that we can only taste “a few drops of this immeasurable joy” (What Luther Says, p. 821).
Mark E.
Galatians 2:15-21
The argument about faith and works is ongoing. In Galatians Paul reminds us that it is grace, not our actions, that saves us. It is through our faith and our acknowledgement of our need for God in our lives that we are saved -- through God’s mercy and forgiveness. How is it then that we are so very busy in our churches, so very strident about doing the “right” thing? How is it that we judge each other harshly for that which we do or do not do? It’s a dichotomy. How we live is the external sign of our internal life, but often we spend a lot more time talking about what we do instead of about the grace and forgiveness we have received.
When my grandson asked me why I was a pastor, I told him it was because I loved God and I wanted other people to love God too. He was curious about why I went to so many meetings. Was God there? I wanted to laugh, but it is a good question. Is God there in our meetings, in our conversations, in our mission activities? Do we invite God into those experiences, and do we recognize that we live a Christian life as thanksgiving for grace, not to earn it? So yes, God is in the meetings I have. Yes, God is in the conversations I have with pastors and congregation members. Yes, God is present in the mission activities I do. Yes, God is present because I thank God for the grace and blessings I have received, and I live my life as thanksgiving for that gift -- not to earn the gift which has been freely given, but as thanksgiving for the life I have.
Bonnie B.
Galatians 2:15-21
Max Lucado, in his story “The Parable of the River,”writes of four brothers who lived with their father in a castle. It was a beautiful kingdom. The father warned the brothers to stay away from the river. The oldest does, but the other three get into the river and are taken by the current far away from the castle and the kingdom. The brothers realize what they’ve done and how they’ve messed up. They each have different responses, though, to their predicament. One of them decides to build a hut and live with the savages near the river. He becomes one of the people that live there. One of them decides to watch the first one and make a list of all the things he’s doing wrong. He becomes his brother’s critical observer. The third one realizes that he’s sinned and decides to do something about it. He plans to stack rocks to make a path that leads back to the castle. He is hoping that by working really hard, he can build his own way back to his father. When the older brother comes to rescue them, he finds all three of them. But only one seems to want to go back; the first two reject his offer. The rock stacker shakes his head as well. He says to his older brother, “I am a great sinner. I need much work.” His older brother replies, “No, my brother, you don’t need much work. You need much grace. The distance between you and our father’s house is too great. You haven’t enough strength nor the stones to build the road.” It is a sad and poignant parable.
Have you ever found yourself in that trap? There is something within us that says we have to do something to earn God’s favor. Something seems right about “working off” what we owe God. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. Paul notes that in this passage to the churches of Galatia. Our being right with God is only found in faith. It cannot be attained through the works of the law. There aren’t enough “rocks” or good deeds that can be done to pave the way back to the Father. Justification through faith; it’s the only way home.
Bill T.
Galatians 2:15-21
Motive is the key. Think of the different ways we are motivated. One might be to make money. That can be accomplished by trying to find ways around the law -- or at least ways that we can break the law without getting caught. Another motive might be to win praise from God and our fellow man by proudly keeping the law. We want others to look up to us for our character! Then, of course, we obey the law so that God will have to give us our reward. We like to feel that we have earned it by the obedient life we live.
What God is really looking for is that we put all our faith in Christ. We obey because we love our God and trust in him. That should be our main and only motive.
But when we do break some of God’s laws, we must have faith in Christ’s forgiveness -- not because we have earned it! Also, not because we think they are such minor sins that we don’t want to bother him.
We may not think it is just, but one judge excused a prisoner because he was his son (that does happen now and then!). That doesn’t sound right, does it? But in one respect, that is what this passage is suggesting. In other words, someone who tries hard to obey every letter of the law is probably looking for a reward, and is bragging to the judge about what he has done -- hoping he has earned forgiveness for what he might have failed to do. But how must he feel when he sees a person who is not perfect in every way get rewarded! As long as that person confesses his sin, believing that the Lord loves him and will forgive him, then his faith will save him
I knew that my parents would forgive me out of love if I failed to obey one or two of their commands. I had faith in their love for me. It was not something I had to earn by my obedience to every other command.
Most of us are not accustomed to getting something for nothing. It just doesn’t seem right. That might be true in many cases in our lives, but Paul is telling us that with Jesus all things are different. Jesus has already paid the price for our sins and us, so all have to do is believe that and have faith that Jesus really means it. The price he paid was a terrible death on a cross, so if we don’t believe that then we have hurt him by suggesting that he wasted his time and suffering. That would be the greatest sin!
Bob O.
Galatians 2:15-21
The larger context for this passage is centered around the table -- specifically the tables where the Christian community ate their common meal (and for some no doubt their only good meal of the day). Peter gave in to peer pressure and ate at an exclusive table that excluded people from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Modern English translations tend to put quotation marks around the statement Paul reports he made to Peter (“If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”), as if this were the end of the matter, but there were no quotation marks (or precious little other punctuation) in New Testament Greek. I think much of the rest of what follows Paul’s question to Peter ought to be in quotations marks as well. It is probably an encapsulation of the argument between Peter and Paul regarding what he’d done. Remember, no one is a villain in their own mind. As you read this passage, put yourself on the other side of the discussion and defend it. What excuses do we bring for not bridging cultural barriers, while staying in our comfort zones? Why do we take the easy road as a church? Why do we give into peer pressure? Why do we resist change? Paul’s questions may give you clues. Or just listen to the talk during coffee and cookies at church, and see if you recognize at least echoes of some of the exclusionary attitudes these brothers from Jerusalem brought with them in the things people say, who they visit with, and who they avoid.
Frank R.
Luke 7:36--8:3
Pay attention the next time you see people picking up trash along a busy highway. Each worker fills trash bags of biodegradable-resistant debris like discarded soda cans, wind-tossed advertisements, pieces of exploded truck tires, the occasional muffler, perhaps a sock that went that went mysteriously missing. When filled, the workers drag the bags to the side of the road and a waste disposal truck hauls the detritus away. If no one picked up roadside trash, our highways would be impassable.
The same is true of our religious lives. Generating spiritual trash is an inevitable part of being human. Paul reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The memory of sin, theologically and psychologically called guilt, is little more than spiritual trash. It accumulates. Like any toxic waste, it must be eliminated carefully and regularly. Confession is the means by which we arrange to have the trash collected, and forgiveness is means by which that happens.
Eliminate your spiritual trash regularly. God promises to take it away. Those who accumulate the especially heavy load may discover that God’s forgiveness brings such great joy they begin to think about acquiring a supply of perfumed ointment for washing the feet of Jesus.
R. Robert C.
Luke 7:36--8:3
Robert Lipsyte wrote an editorial for USA Today in which he said that we should forgive our fallen sports stars. Most notably he highlighted: Pete Rose, baseball’s hit king; Lance Armstrong, the winner of seven Tours de France; Tiger Woods, perhaps the greatest golfer in history; and Alex Rodriguez, a great all-around baseball player. Lipsyte does not think that these four understand what they really did. This is because, Lipsyte wrote, “none of the four has actually said ‘I’m sorry’ in ways we could believe.” But they are our favorite athletes. So, Lipsyte concludes, “Let’s forgive them. Let’s say thanks for the memories, and move on.”
Application: As we learn from our reading in Luke, forgiveness can be something that is very difficult to do.
Ron L.
Luke 7:36--8:3
A story about Mary Magdalene is likely to get us thinking about The Last Temptation of Christ or The DaVinci Code -- even if they are fantasies. What feminist theologian Jane Schaberg wrote about Mary is true: “No other biblical figure -- including Judas and perhaps even Jesus -- has had such a vivid and bizarre post-biblical life in the human imagination, in legend, and in art.”
But this lesson is not just about Mary Magdalene. It is also about whores like us! St. Augustine taught that we are all whores like Mary -- whoring after false gods, the latest person or product that infatuates us (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 4, p. 216).
Of course, none of us wants to think of ourselves this way. John Calvin tells us why: “I am quite aware how much more pleasing is that principle that invites us to weigh our good traits rather than to look upon our miserable want and dishonor, which ought to overwhelm us with shame. There is indeed nothing that man’s nature seeks more eagerly than to be flattered.... It is thus no wonder that the majority of men have erred so perniciously in this respect. For since blind self-love is innate in all mortals, they are most freely persuaded that nothing inheres in themselves that deserves to be considered hateful” (Institutes [Westminster Press edition], II/1/2).
We need this insight to help keep us from whoring, to make us realize how much God loves and forgives us. The great Christian martyr of World War II Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who died as a result of his efforts to assassinate Hitler, nicely explained why we need this insight: “God does not want to frighten people; he sends us the Word about judgment so that we may all the more passionately, all the more eagerly, seize the promise of grace, so that we recognize that we do not stand before God in our own strength, lest we should perish before him; that in spite of everything he does not desire our death, but rather life” (A Testament to Freedom, p. 230).
Mark E.
