Sermon Illustrations For Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 4 (2023)
Illustration
Genesis 21:8-21
In May of 2001, Erik Weihenmayer accomplished something that only about 150 people a year do—climb to the top of Mount Everest. What made Erik’s achievement rarer is that he was the first blind person to succeed in scaling the tallest mountain in the world. Erik was born with a disease called retinoschisis, and by the time he was thirteen he was completely blind. Rather than focus on what he could not do, he made the choice to focus on what he could do and went much further than almost anyone expected. Erik Weihenmayer’s autobiography is entitled Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See.
I thought of Weihenmayer as I read this familiar account of Hagar and Abraham. Abraham sends Hagar away in the desert of Beersheba. He gives them bread and water and they are off. When the water is gone, Hagar is desperate. Ishmael is not in good shape and it’s possible she is hurting, too. At this moment, Hagar is distressed and in despair. God, however, did not turn a blind eye to Hagar and her son. He spoke to her and directed her to a well of water. God demonstrated for Hagar and for us today that he is “El Roi.” He is the God who sees.
Bill T.
* * *
Genesis 21:8-21
Abraham and Sarah are our spiritual parents. All of us, regardless of national, ethnic, or cultural background, are their spiritual descendants. The three great religions of the book, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, look back – and up – to them.
However, despite the fact they’re our parents, this is not a good look, no matter how you parse it. And it doesn’t have to be. This is a human story. Our ancestors were as human as us. Sarah demanded Abraham expel Hagar and Ishmael from their midst, in effect sentencing them to death. And Abraham does it. Yeah, God said it would have come out all right, but in my opinion, God shouldn’t have had to rescue the situation. Abraham could have said no. Still, at least he agonized about it. But he did it.
Remember, this whole surrogate birth thing was Sarah’s idea in the first place. She was trying to improve on God’s promise and make it come true when it seemed to have been delayed. Attempting to bypass and improve on God’s plan still involves human beings, and human beings suffer in the collateral damage.
Now the first two verses of the passage about Ishmael playing and supposedly abusing Isaac at his weaning party revolves around a word that shares its three letter root with laughter. We see it a lot in this passage. Sarah laughs after childbirth, and names Isaac ‘laughter.’ Then Ishmael does something that allows for several different interpretations. Check different bible translations to see for yourself. The ambiguity of the word is probably intentional. Whatever Ishmael’s actions actually were, and he might have been laughing at something that had nothing to do with Isaac, we need to remember that when it comes to children, their mistakes, or our misinterpretations of their actions, we still have to be the adults.
The Bible is filled with examples of what we ought not to do. Don’t do this.
Not every biblical story can be tied up in a neat bow in which the patriarchs and matriarchs are justified. Indeed, sometimes the stories are stood on their heads. In Paul’s reinterpretation of this story, our basic assumption that we’re the good guys is erased in favor of challenging us to see ourselves as the children of slavery. I’m not quite sure I go along with Paul a hundred percent there, but I’m always willing to be thrown off my moorings.
So maybe this story is not as instructive for us as we’d like. One thing is for sure. God seems to see that there is no repairing the breach, and so tells Abraham to listen to the voice of Sarah – but God also listens to the cries of Ishmael.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 6:1b-11
We need to live as Paul writes in this letter — “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (NRSV). I imagine that as Paul wrote to the church of Rome, he knew people would still sin. Yet, Paul didn’t want people to rest in their sin, to be condemned by it. Instead, Paul wrote of the atonement of the crucifixion of Jesus. As Jesus died, so did the power of sin to destroy us. The sacrifice of going to the cross, without violence and in love, enables us to be forgiven. Jesus chose to love us, to die in the face of injustice and hate, so that in our lives we, too, could die to injustice and hate, so that our sins could die in the face of forgiveness. We are alive in Jesus because Jesus is alive for and in us. That is the gift of God’s love — that Jesus could die and conquer sin and death for all time. It is the gift God offers to us. I am so grateful.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Romans 6:1b-11
Martin Luther well summarized the meaning of this lesson. He wrote:
Therefore, this whole life is nothing else that a spiritual baptism which does not cease till death... You ask, “How does Baptism help me if it does not altogether blot out and remove sin?”... The blessed sacrament of baptism helps you because in it God allies himself with you and becomes o9ne with you in a gracious covenant of comfort. (Luther’s Works, Vol.35, p.32)
Of course, because of remaining sin, the spiritual baptism of life involves trying to kill such sin. On that topic, Luther advised:
This is why I said that each man must test himself that he may know in what estate [vocation in life] he may best slay sin and put a check upon it. (Ibid., p.41)
About us a life of sacrifice, Martin Luther King, Jr. writes: “... To suffer in a righteous cause is to grow to our humanity’s full stature.” (A Testament of Hope, p.487) When we focus on projects bigger than we are (engaging in lives of sacrifice for others like Luther and King advocate), neurobiologists tells us that it results in pleasure and joy. It seems that such activities demand heavier use of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, resulting in the secretion of the pleasurable brain chemical dopamine and with it the experience of happiness (Andrew Walsh, The Science of Love; Daniel Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, p.81).
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 10:24-39
Context. It helps.
I have sometimes heard these words spoken by Jesus about family relations, about family turning on each other, used as justification by some Christians who are being drawn into a cult as an excuse to reject family and friends. It’s hard to argue with a verse when it’s spoken by Jesus, especially in the context of single verses taken out of context. Cult leaders draw converts away from what are supportive family structures expressing concern about someone being drawn into something that is all-consuming and altogether un-Christlike.
That’s not to say there aren’t sometimes toxic relationships within families that must be shed for new life to emerge. Sadly, it’s all too true. But these sayings made much better sense in the context of a hostile Roman empire, in a social situation where families shared in a craft that had its own god or goddess that the family worshipped together as a part of their shared activity. In those circumstances, families had to break up because new Christians could not worship the family god, but instead honored the one God, and God’s incarnational presence in Jesus. Instead new Christians joining house churches also shared the craft the house church produced and honored Christ together.
So as far as considering Jesus anti-family, remember that the immediate context of this passage is the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus called believers to a more authentic, deeper, spiritual reinterpretation of the Torah, or Law of Moses, where one might be innocent of murder but could be guilty of murdering someone in their minds over and over again, or innocent of adultery but guilty of objectifying another person sexually in their hearts. The language Jesus used, like many of his contemporaries, relied on exaggeration, or hyperbole, for effect. One is not expected to actually pluck out an eye or cut off a hand or foot, but to reevaluate priorities.
And if actions speak louder than words, certainly the fact that Jesus prioritized taking care of his mother’s well-being by assigning her care to the beloved disciple should serve as a check for using theses verses to condemn healthy familial relationships.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 10:24-39
With reference to the idea that the Gospel of Jesus sets families against each other vv.34-36), famed preacher of the early church, John Chrysostom, claims that we are set against family members only if one desires to be loved more than Christ is loved (Ante-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.10, p.233). Famed 17th century French scholar Blaise Pascal well describes in a similar manner the dynamics we need to undergo when we are set free from ourselves to be totally committed to God. He wrote:
The true and only virtue is therefore to hate ourselves for our concupiscence makes us hateful, and to seek for a being really worthy of life in order to love him. (Pensées, p.222)
Life really is all about loving God above all things. And when you live that way, Martin Luther claims that living the Christian life is sheer joy. As he once put it:
The life of such a person and whatever he does, whether great or small and no matter what it is called is nothing but fruit and cannot be without fruit; for in Christ he has been born into a new existence, in order that he may constantly be full of good fruit. Everything such a person does becomes easy for him, not troublesome or vexatious. Nothing is too arduous for him or too difficult to suffer and bear. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p.230)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 10:24-39
“So, do not be afraid” (vs. 31). Are there any more important words of encouragement, hope and comfort? “Don’t be afraid” or “fear not” are used frequently throughout scripture. Human beings have a tendency, when things get hard, to be afraid. God’s message is clear. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
One of the best-loved hymns of the faith, It Is Well with My Soul, was written by Horatio Spafford. Spafford, a wealthy businessman in Chicago, lost much of his real estate in the Great Chicago Fire. After the fire, he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to Europe, intending to join them later, for a time of rest as well as to assist Dwight L. Moody with a revival in Great Britain. But the ship they were on was struck by an iron sailing ship and sank within twelve minutes. Only Anna Spafford, Horatio’s wife, survived. A message from her reached him in the United States. The message included the words, “saved alone.”
Spafford quickly decided to join his wife. When they reached the spot where his daughters had drowned, Spafford marked that sad event with words of hope: “When peace like a river attends my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, ‘it is well, it is well with my soul.’” Spafford understood that, despite what he faced, the Lord was with him. Jesus’ message in Matthew 10 also resounds with hope. God knows about you, and he cares.
Bill T.
In May of 2001, Erik Weihenmayer accomplished something that only about 150 people a year do—climb to the top of Mount Everest. What made Erik’s achievement rarer is that he was the first blind person to succeed in scaling the tallest mountain in the world. Erik was born with a disease called retinoschisis, and by the time he was thirteen he was completely blind. Rather than focus on what he could not do, he made the choice to focus on what he could do and went much further than almost anyone expected. Erik Weihenmayer’s autobiography is entitled Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See.
I thought of Weihenmayer as I read this familiar account of Hagar and Abraham. Abraham sends Hagar away in the desert of Beersheba. He gives them bread and water and they are off. When the water is gone, Hagar is desperate. Ishmael is not in good shape and it’s possible she is hurting, too. At this moment, Hagar is distressed and in despair. God, however, did not turn a blind eye to Hagar and her son. He spoke to her and directed her to a well of water. God demonstrated for Hagar and for us today that he is “El Roi.” He is the God who sees.
Bill T.
* * *
Genesis 21:8-21
Abraham and Sarah are our spiritual parents. All of us, regardless of national, ethnic, or cultural background, are their spiritual descendants. The three great religions of the book, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, look back – and up – to them.
However, despite the fact they’re our parents, this is not a good look, no matter how you parse it. And it doesn’t have to be. This is a human story. Our ancestors were as human as us. Sarah demanded Abraham expel Hagar and Ishmael from their midst, in effect sentencing them to death. And Abraham does it. Yeah, God said it would have come out all right, but in my opinion, God shouldn’t have had to rescue the situation. Abraham could have said no. Still, at least he agonized about it. But he did it.
Remember, this whole surrogate birth thing was Sarah’s idea in the first place. She was trying to improve on God’s promise and make it come true when it seemed to have been delayed. Attempting to bypass and improve on God’s plan still involves human beings, and human beings suffer in the collateral damage.
Now the first two verses of the passage about Ishmael playing and supposedly abusing Isaac at his weaning party revolves around a word that shares its three letter root with laughter. We see it a lot in this passage. Sarah laughs after childbirth, and names Isaac ‘laughter.’ Then Ishmael does something that allows for several different interpretations. Check different bible translations to see for yourself. The ambiguity of the word is probably intentional. Whatever Ishmael’s actions actually were, and he might have been laughing at something that had nothing to do with Isaac, we need to remember that when it comes to children, their mistakes, or our misinterpretations of their actions, we still have to be the adults.
The Bible is filled with examples of what we ought not to do. Don’t do this.
Not every biblical story can be tied up in a neat bow in which the patriarchs and matriarchs are justified. Indeed, sometimes the stories are stood on their heads. In Paul’s reinterpretation of this story, our basic assumption that we’re the good guys is erased in favor of challenging us to see ourselves as the children of slavery. I’m not quite sure I go along with Paul a hundred percent there, but I’m always willing to be thrown off my moorings.
So maybe this story is not as instructive for us as we’d like. One thing is for sure. God seems to see that there is no repairing the breach, and so tells Abraham to listen to the voice of Sarah – but God also listens to the cries of Ishmael.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 6:1b-11
We need to live as Paul writes in this letter — “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (NRSV). I imagine that as Paul wrote to the church of Rome, he knew people would still sin. Yet, Paul didn’t want people to rest in their sin, to be condemned by it. Instead, Paul wrote of the atonement of the crucifixion of Jesus. As Jesus died, so did the power of sin to destroy us. The sacrifice of going to the cross, without violence and in love, enables us to be forgiven. Jesus chose to love us, to die in the face of injustice and hate, so that in our lives we, too, could die to injustice and hate, so that our sins could die in the face of forgiveness. We are alive in Jesus because Jesus is alive for and in us. That is the gift of God’s love — that Jesus could die and conquer sin and death for all time. It is the gift God offers to us. I am so grateful.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Romans 6:1b-11
Martin Luther well summarized the meaning of this lesson. He wrote:
Therefore, this whole life is nothing else that a spiritual baptism which does not cease till death... You ask, “How does Baptism help me if it does not altogether blot out and remove sin?”... The blessed sacrament of baptism helps you because in it God allies himself with you and becomes o9ne with you in a gracious covenant of comfort. (Luther’s Works, Vol.35, p.32)
Of course, because of remaining sin, the spiritual baptism of life involves trying to kill such sin. On that topic, Luther advised:
This is why I said that each man must test himself that he may know in what estate [vocation in life] he may best slay sin and put a check upon it. (Ibid., p.41)
About us a life of sacrifice, Martin Luther King, Jr. writes: “... To suffer in a righteous cause is to grow to our humanity’s full stature.” (A Testament of Hope, p.487) When we focus on projects bigger than we are (engaging in lives of sacrifice for others like Luther and King advocate), neurobiologists tells us that it results in pleasure and joy. It seems that such activities demand heavier use of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, resulting in the secretion of the pleasurable brain chemical dopamine and with it the experience of happiness (Andrew Walsh, The Science of Love; Daniel Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, p.81).
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 10:24-39
Context. It helps.
I have sometimes heard these words spoken by Jesus about family relations, about family turning on each other, used as justification by some Christians who are being drawn into a cult as an excuse to reject family and friends. It’s hard to argue with a verse when it’s spoken by Jesus, especially in the context of single verses taken out of context. Cult leaders draw converts away from what are supportive family structures expressing concern about someone being drawn into something that is all-consuming and altogether un-Christlike.
That’s not to say there aren’t sometimes toxic relationships within families that must be shed for new life to emerge. Sadly, it’s all too true. But these sayings made much better sense in the context of a hostile Roman empire, in a social situation where families shared in a craft that had its own god or goddess that the family worshipped together as a part of their shared activity. In those circumstances, families had to break up because new Christians could not worship the family god, but instead honored the one God, and God’s incarnational presence in Jesus. Instead new Christians joining house churches also shared the craft the house church produced and honored Christ together.
So as far as considering Jesus anti-family, remember that the immediate context of this passage is the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus called believers to a more authentic, deeper, spiritual reinterpretation of the Torah, or Law of Moses, where one might be innocent of murder but could be guilty of murdering someone in their minds over and over again, or innocent of adultery but guilty of objectifying another person sexually in their hearts. The language Jesus used, like many of his contemporaries, relied on exaggeration, or hyperbole, for effect. One is not expected to actually pluck out an eye or cut off a hand or foot, but to reevaluate priorities.
And if actions speak louder than words, certainly the fact that Jesus prioritized taking care of his mother’s well-being by assigning her care to the beloved disciple should serve as a check for using theses verses to condemn healthy familial relationships.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 10:24-39
With reference to the idea that the Gospel of Jesus sets families against each other vv.34-36), famed preacher of the early church, John Chrysostom, claims that we are set against family members only if one desires to be loved more than Christ is loved (Ante-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.10, p.233). Famed 17th century French scholar Blaise Pascal well describes in a similar manner the dynamics we need to undergo when we are set free from ourselves to be totally committed to God. He wrote:
The true and only virtue is therefore to hate ourselves for our concupiscence makes us hateful, and to seek for a being really worthy of life in order to love him. (Pensées, p.222)
Life really is all about loving God above all things. And when you live that way, Martin Luther claims that living the Christian life is sheer joy. As he once put it:
The life of such a person and whatever he does, whether great or small and no matter what it is called is nothing but fruit and cannot be without fruit; for in Christ he has been born into a new existence, in order that he may constantly be full of good fruit. Everything such a person does becomes easy for him, not troublesome or vexatious. Nothing is too arduous for him or too difficult to suffer and bear. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p.230)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 10:24-39
“So, do not be afraid” (vs. 31). Are there any more important words of encouragement, hope and comfort? “Don’t be afraid” or “fear not” are used frequently throughout scripture. Human beings have a tendency, when things get hard, to be afraid. God’s message is clear. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
One of the best-loved hymns of the faith, It Is Well with My Soul, was written by Horatio Spafford. Spafford, a wealthy businessman in Chicago, lost much of his real estate in the Great Chicago Fire. After the fire, he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to Europe, intending to join them later, for a time of rest as well as to assist Dwight L. Moody with a revival in Great Britain. But the ship they were on was struck by an iron sailing ship and sank within twelve minutes. Only Anna Spafford, Horatio’s wife, survived. A message from her reached him in the United States. The message included the words, “saved alone.”
Spafford quickly decided to join his wife. When they reached the spot where his daughters had drowned, Spafford marked that sad event with words of hope: “When peace like a river attends my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, ‘it is well, it is well with my soul.’” Spafford understood that, despite what he faced, the Lord was with him. Jesus’ message in Matthew 10 also resounds with hope. God knows about you, and he cares.
Bill T.
