Sermon Illustrations for Proper 8 | OT 13 (2022)
Illustration
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
As Christians, we stand in a rich heritage, filled with many inspiring ancestors and stories, just as Elisha stood in the heritage of Elijah in this lesson. Tradition and heritage are good things when we use them correctly in accord with the advice of famed English writer, W. Somerset Maugham.As he put it, “Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” As heirs to a rich heritage, we owe an obligation of trust, John F. Kennedy once observed. In his view, “The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.” In an era when all the economic trends pull us away from appreciating experience and heritage, because globalization demands that we are always re-inventing ourselves and depending on ourselves, sociologist Richard Sennett observes that the experience of sharing a legacy provides nurture, a sense of fidelity to oneself which in turn enhances character (The Corrosion of Character, pp.145-148).
Mark E.
* * *
Psalms 77:1-2, 11-20
Commenting on this psalm, John Calvin once noted that “the glory of God is so near us and that he has so openly and clearly unfolded himself that we cannot justly pretend any excuse of ignorance.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. V/2, p.220) Martin Luther offers comfort with the awareness that God uses all creation to work good:
Thus every Christian should certainly fear, hope, love, and hate in connection with every use of a creature, for he should recognize that these are the works of God, who does good to him... (Luther’s Works, Vol.11, p.11)
Mark E.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Stephen Ambrose wrote in his book, Band of Brothers, about the cost of freedom and what it involves.
During World War II, a young soldier named David Webster of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne wrote his mother: “Stop worrying about me. I joined the parachutists to fight. I intend to fight. If necessary, I shall die fighting, but don’t worry about this because no war can be won without young men dying. Those things which are precious are saved only by sacrifice.”
Freedom is something to celebrate and enjoy. Paul writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (v. 1). Freedom, however, must be used wisely because of how it was purchased. Those who are free must turn from what our human nature wants and pursue the fruit of the Spirit. By crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires, we show we belong to Jesus. Are we willing to make that sacrifice?
Bill T.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
When Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18b, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” he’s getting triple value for his biblical allusion. Paul was trained as a Pharisee under Gamaliel who was a student of Hillel. Look them up in your search engine. Because of the abuses of a few Pharisees in the New Testament, we think of all Pharisees as a league of super villains, but the Pharisees were the biblical scholars who took the part of the people, unlike the Sadducees. They were the ones from whom were drawn the rabbis providing instruction and comfort to the local synagogues. This sentence isn’t well written?
Part of their training involved memorization of scripture for the purpose of providing context. Paul only quotes half a verse, but he is expecting some of his listeners to recognize that this verse comes from Leviticus 19, which I like to call the “Sermon on the Mount of the Hebrew scriptures.” This passage calls on its listeners to treat everyone with love made visible through action. The immediate context is this injunction: “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:17-18)
In the midst of a struggle between personalities who are insistent on redefining another person’s Christianity in their own image, Paul redefines loving your neighbor in a larger context. These are your kin, whether you think of yourselves as different. Remember that earlier Paul said “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (3:28) No grudges, no vengeance, no hate. One may have to reprove a neighbor – stop telling racist jokes, for instance, otherwise you’re a party to their error, but it’s always in the larger context – love your neighbor as yourself. These two verses close with a statement that clarifies where this command comes from, one repeated several times in this chapter. “I am the Lord.”
And of course, this is one more instance – and there are more than you think – where Paul quotes Jesus. No gospels as we know them were yet written, but the sayings of Jesus no doubt circulated, quoted, and were well known. And Jesus referred to two greatest commandments, not one, which is a reminder that part of the Pharisaic tradition is open discussion. Both Jesus and Paul give the right answer for the contexts within which they find themselves.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 9:51-62
About Jesus’ remark concerning the dead must bury the dead, Martin Luther once commented in a lecture:
Thus the second table [of The Ten Commandments] contains commandments dealing with love toward the brethren; but when a new commandment is added... Then we... must forget all love, even if a son has to be sacrificed. For the statement, “I am the Lord your God” annuls that other commandment about loving one’s neighbor, honoring one’s parents. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 4, p. 44)
Luther adds elsewhere that ultimately death has no say in the life of Christians:
So from today’s gospel let us learn that all adversity, no matter how great it appears in your eyes, is in the eyes of God nothing. For if death has no part of a Christian, then even less so blindness, deafness, leprosy, and pestilence; they are of no significance. (Complete Sermons. Vol. 7, p. 190)
Mark E.
As Christians, we stand in a rich heritage, filled with many inspiring ancestors and stories, just as Elisha stood in the heritage of Elijah in this lesson. Tradition and heritage are good things when we use them correctly in accord with the advice of famed English writer, W. Somerset Maugham.As he put it, “Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” As heirs to a rich heritage, we owe an obligation of trust, John F. Kennedy once observed. In his view, “The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.” In an era when all the economic trends pull us away from appreciating experience and heritage, because globalization demands that we are always re-inventing ourselves and depending on ourselves, sociologist Richard Sennett observes that the experience of sharing a legacy provides nurture, a sense of fidelity to oneself which in turn enhances character (The Corrosion of Character, pp.145-148).
Mark E.
* * *
Psalms 77:1-2, 11-20
Commenting on this psalm, John Calvin once noted that “the glory of God is so near us and that he has so openly and clearly unfolded himself that we cannot justly pretend any excuse of ignorance.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. V/2, p.220) Martin Luther offers comfort with the awareness that God uses all creation to work good:
Thus every Christian should certainly fear, hope, love, and hate in connection with every use of a creature, for he should recognize that these are the works of God, who does good to him... (Luther’s Works, Vol.11, p.11)
Mark E.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Stephen Ambrose wrote in his book, Band of Brothers, about the cost of freedom and what it involves.
During World War II, a young soldier named David Webster of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne wrote his mother: “Stop worrying about me. I joined the parachutists to fight. I intend to fight. If necessary, I shall die fighting, but don’t worry about this because no war can be won without young men dying. Those things which are precious are saved only by sacrifice.”
Freedom is something to celebrate and enjoy. Paul writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (v. 1). Freedom, however, must be used wisely because of how it was purchased. Those who are free must turn from what our human nature wants and pursue the fruit of the Spirit. By crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires, we show we belong to Jesus. Are we willing to make that sacrifice?
Bill T.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
When Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18b, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” he’s getting triple value for his biblical allusion. Paul was trained as a Pharisee under Gamaliel who was a student of Hillel. Look them up in your search engine. Because of the abuses of a few Pharisees in the New Testament, we think of all Pharisees as a league of super villains, but the Pharisees were the biblical scholars who took the part of the people, unlike the Sadducees. They were the ones from whom were drawn the rabbis providing instruction and comfort to the local synagogues. This sentence isn’t well written?
Part of their training involved memorization of scripture for the purpose of providing context. Paul only quotes half a verse, but he is expecting some of his listeners to recognize that this verse comes from Leviticus 19, which I like to call the “Sermon on the Mount of the Hebrew scriptures.” This passage calls on its listeners to treat everyone with love made visible through action. The immediate context is this injunction: “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:17-18)
In the midst of a struggle between personalities who are insistent on redefining another person’s Christianity in their own image, Paul redefines loving your neighbor in a larger context. These are your kin, whether you think of yourselves as different. Remember that earlier Paul said “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (3:28) No grudges, no vengeance, no hate. One may have to reprove a neighbor – stop telling racist jokes, for instance, otherwise you’re a party to their error, but it’s always in the larger context – love your neighbor as yourself. These two verses close with a statement that clarifies where this command comes from, one repeated several times in this chapter. “I am the Lord.”
And of course, this is one more instance – and there are more than you think – where Paul quotes Jesus. No gospels as we know them were yet written, but the sayings of Jesus no doubt circulated, quoted, and were well known. And Jesus referred to two greatest commandments, not one, which is a reminder that part of the Pharisaic tradition is open discussion. Both Jesus and Paul give the right answer for the contexts within which they find themselves.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 9:51-62
About Jesus’ remark concerning the dead must bury the dead, Martin Luther once commented in a lecture:
Thus the second table [of The Ten Commandments] contains commandments dealing with love toward the brethren; but when a new commandment is added... Then we... must forget all love, even if a son has to be sacrificed. For the statement, “I am the Lord your God” annuls that other commandment about loving one’s neighbor, honoring one’s parents. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 4, p. 44)
Luther adds elsewhere that ultimately death has no say in the life of Christians:
So from today’s gospel let us learn that all adversity, no matter how great it appears in your eyes, is in the eyes of God nothing. For if death has no part of a Christian, then even less so blindness, deafness, leprosy, and pestilence; they are of no significance. (Complete Sermons. Vol. 7, p. 190)
Mark E.
