Sermon Illustrations for Third Sunday of Advent (2017)
Illustration
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Her name is Najwa Huda. It is likely you’ve never heard of her. She is a 2016 graduate of Michigan State University, and she has a bachelor’s degree in physics. She had many opportunities to use her degree and begin a lucrative career. What she did, though, may come as a surprise. She went back to her native Malaysia to join the Teach for Malaysia Fellowship. When asked why she wanted to do that, Huda replied: “I want to educate, motivate, inspire, and change lives. I’ve heard stories of so many children in Malaysia who are not able to live up to their fullest potential because they lack access to opportunities.”
Why do people do what they do? Sometimes it can be hard to understand, I suppose. Reading this news item on Ms. Huda made me ponder that question a bit. Reading the passage from Isaiah that Jesus himself would later quote made me think about it quite a bit more. Why did Jesus come?
In this passage from Isaiah, we have perhaps the prophet speaking for himself or possibly a fifth Servant Song. Whichever is the case, Jesus identified himself with the speaker as it is recorded in Luke 4. Those benefiting from the speaker’s message are the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, and the prisoners. Good news, binding up, liberty, and release are at the heart of the message. Jesus left the splendor and glory of where he was to bring these things to an oppressed people. This scripture was fulfilled in the hearing of those who heard Jesus read it. Hard to understand why he’d do that, isn’t it? Better just receive it.
Bill T.
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Until Jesus quoted the first few verses of this passage from Isaiah at his hometown synagogue, it sounds like people were looking forward to hearing him speak. Why else would they make the carpenter’s son the guest speaker at worship?
But Jesus chose not only to quote these verse from Isaiah, he also made the claim that this economic program, based on the Year of Jubilee described in Leviticus 25, was going to be fulfilled in his ministry. He unashamedly dragged economics into the whole idea of holiness. Economic justice, debt forgiveness, restoration of the land, concern for people and the care of creation -- it’s all tied together.
And what was the result? Jesus became very, very unpopular with the hometown folks. They probably wanted some of that old time religion and weren’t interested in what the Bible actually teaches. According to Luke, it just about got Jesus killed!
(Developed from chapter 10 of the book I co-authored with Dr. Robert W. Neff, Ten Reasons to Love Leviticus.)
Frank R.
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
It is time we stop pretending otherwise. It is Christmas, and the name does matter.
According to David French, a columnist for Patheos, a website dedicated to inter-religious dialogue, we are continuing our “War on Christmas.” We have moved beyond the standard criticism of this holiday season as one of secularization and merchandizing to an ideological battle of reason versus faith and inclusiveness versus a singular religious identity. These conflicting views cannot be shooed away as inconsequential, for it matters immensely if one refers to this season as a “Happy Holiday” or a “Merry Christmas.”
To be empowered and inspired by Christmas, one must identify with it by affirming its name. John Chrysostom (347-407), the bishop of Constantinople, acknowledged this in his Homily 4 on the gospel of Matthew. He preached on God’s empowerment of Joseph as he participated in the nativity. Chrysostom wrote that God said to Joseph: “You never touched the virgin. Nevertheless, I am giving you what pertains to a father. I give you the honor of giving a name to the One who is to be born. For you, Joseph, shall name him.” The name given to the child of Mary was Jesus. As Chrysostom attested, only when we associate ourselves with the name do we become an active participant in the event.
This is affirmed by Catholic theologian Tim Muldoon in a column for the Washington Post when he wrote: “At their root, religious holidays are both expressions of a group’s identity and an invitation to others to learn about them. In the case of Christmas, believers are expressing what it means to believe that God became a human being when Jesus was born.” Christmas is a testimony of a religious conviction, unadorned with gold and silver tinsel. Its public celebration is not to coerce, but to inform and invite.
Nations, like individuals, need a moral compass. Regarding Christmas, David French concluded that the name does matter, for “our national past shapes our national future.” French substantiated this when he asserted: “For those who despise Christianity or see America as a purely secular state, old crosses in the desert, chiseled religious images on public buildings, and a more than 200-year legacy of public prayer say we were -- and are -- a religious people, a people who wish to acknowledge their God in public life.” Imperfect as we may be as a nation, the message of Christmas has been our guiding principle.
Probably the real war on Christmas began at its conception. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE established that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25. The celebration of “Christ’s Mass” was to counter the Roman pagan festival held that same day in honor of Sol Invictus (“The Invincible God”). As Christians participated in the celebration of the eucharist, they would abstain from engaging in the pagan rituals associated with the official sun god of the emperor.
Christ is in Christmas. “Xmas” does keep Christ in Christmas. The “X” comes from the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated as “Christ.” The following word “mass” is Latin, which references the liturgical Mass conducted on Christmas Day. Xmas does not take Christ out of Christmas but places him at the center of the celebration. It was used by the church fathers as both as a symbol and as an abbreviation confessing “Christ Mass.”
We should refrain from overgeneralizations, but if Christmas becomes “Happy Holidays” and “Season Greetings,” do we surrender its meaning to the type of god it was supposed to triumph over? Perhaps then, the critics who maintain that Christmas is a meaningless secularized religious holiday may be correct.
Application: Our reading discusses the importance of worship. In this Advent and Christmas season, worship should be at the forefront of all that we do.
Ron L.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
I used to think it was impossible to pray without ceasing. After all, who can pray every second of every minute of every hour of every day? That’s not possible. Then I encountered an extreme difficulty in the eighth month of my pregnancy for twins. I prayed all during the doctor’s appointment and the ultrasound. I prayed all the way on the trip from the doctor’s office to the hospital to have another ultrasound. I prayed all the way from the hospital back to the doctor’s office, where my husband, son, and I were told that our twins no longer had heartbeats.
I prayed all that weekend while I waited to go to the hospital on Monday morning to deliver them. I prayed all during labor and delivery and in the days after. Sometimes I prayed for strength. Sometimes I prayed for everything to be okay. Sometimes I didn’t even have the strength to know for what I was praying, but still I prayed. My husband and I did not get to feed and change and run and play with our twin sons, but we love them nonetheless. Our surviving son never got to hold or play with his brothers, but he named his firstborn son after them. Through it all I prayed. I continue to pray, and now I know that one can pray without ceasing.
Bonnie B.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
The Pauline text refers to the need to “pray without ceasing” (v. 17). About this matter John Wesley claimed that prayers are the breath of our spiritual life, so we can no more as Christians stop praying than we can stop breathing and living (Commentary on the Bible, p. 551). A closing reference to the faithfulness of God (v. 24) moved John Calvin to note: “For he [God] does not promise to be as Father to us merely for one day, but adopts us with this understanding that he is to cherish us ever afterwards” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XXI/2, p. 305).
Calvin seems to relate such divine faithfulness to the theme of prophecy which dominates in the lesson. This resonates with the reflections of Selma Richardson, a veteran of the civil rights movement and the widow of the founding president of the largest accredited African-American seminary. Prophecy for her must include the hope of Christ. As she put it while still living vibrantly in her 90s, too much of what passes for prophetic preaching today is about judgment. Echoing themes later made popular by Barack Obama (The Audacity of Hope), she wanted more preaching that gives hope.
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
This is a hard command in some cases, isn’t it? But God is telling us to be joyful in all circumstances. We only have that kind of joy through Jesus Christ, who is in charge of our future. When we feel God’s great love in sending his Son, who was willing to die a terrible death for us, we can only feel joy. Even on our deathbed wracked with pain, we know that we still have God’s love. It is so easy to put out the Spirit’s fire when we are suffering. Only God can give us the strength to be joyful.
Even when it might be easy and comforting to do or say something to free ourselves from pain, we are still ordered to obey God’s Spirit within us and avoid every kind of evil.
I have talked with investors who tell me that there are so many even slightly dishonest things we can do which might make us rich -- and we can get away with them with no danger from the law; yet we should still obey God and avoid all evil.
A prospective citizen may have to go through days and even weeks or years of submitting one document after another, but it is worth it for the great reward that lies ahead.
We could say the same about getting a degree, applying for a job, or buying a house. They all may require unpleasant circumstances. The greater the reward, the harder it may be to earn it. This can be true of our salvation! This is one of things our church can do for us: give us the strength to survive all the circumstances that face us in life. We don’t have to do much of it alone, knowing that we have friends to support us emotionally.
When my uncle was dying, I would stop on the way home after school to ask how he was. One day I came in and everyone was smiling. I assumed he was better, but when I asked they said: “He went home to be with the Lord!” That was a real time of waking up for me. It told me why we should give thanks in all circumstances.
Bob O.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain came from a modest life in the small town of Brewer, Maine, and he chose the professions of ministry and academia, filling the post of professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College during the tumultuous 1850s. As the Civil War broke out, Chamberlain felt the urge to serve based on his belief in preserving the union and his moral conviction against the institution of slavery. In early 1862, Chamberlain expressed his desire to serve to the Governor of Maine, who offered him the rank of colonel in the Maine volunteers.
In a time where political commissions and high-ranking appointments were common, Chamberlain declined the prestige of command and deferred instead to accept a commission at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Believing he needed to gain experience and knowledge of the military profession, Chamberlain’s uncommon act of humility set a tone for the remainder of his service. You may remember Chamberlain when he ordered his troops, the 20th Maine Regiment, to execute a daring counterattack against the 15th Alabama Regiment of the Confederate Army on July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. In defense of “Little Round Top,” the 20th Maine fought off repeated assaults for several hours against John B. Hood’s Confederate soldiers. The contribution Chamberlain and his soldiers made was acknowledged as a significant factor in allowing the Union forces to win that battle and turn the tide of the war.
Though Chamberlain went on to accomplish great things in his military career and beyond, he is well known for his humility. His humility and desire to simply do his part are seen in his words: “I long to be in the field again, doing my part to keep the old flag up, with all its stars.”
Humility and doing one’s part for a greater cause; these were the traits of an academic turned military hero, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. They also describe the heart and character of a radical preacher out in the wilderness. His name was John. He declared “I am not the Messiah,” but that one is coming who is. John was there to humbly do his part for the greater cause, preparing the way for Jesus.
Bill T.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Folks tend to want to connect celebrities or sports stars of the present with heroes from the past. A new home run king is called the next Babe Ruth. When British actor and director Kenneth Branagh emerged on the scene, he was compared to Laurence Olivier. And it’s not just celebrities and sports heroes. Children are compared to their grandparents or parents or siblings. People are not allowed to be who they are. It’s as if there were no such thing as something totally and radically new!
The people want to know who John is, and when he tells them that he is not the messiah, they ask him if he is Elijah, or the prophet. Well, there were rumors that Elijah, who did not die but was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, was going to come back some day. In another gospel passage Jesus would ask his disciples who people said he was, and they replied that people thought he might be John the Baptist come back to life or Elijah returned from the dead, or one of the prophets.
John was John. Jesus was Jesus. And each one of us is a new creation in Christ!
Frank R.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Producer Don Ohlmeyer was the architect of Monday Night Football. The program debuted during the 1970 football season, and was originally aired on ABC. Ohlmeyer’s notoriety can be seen from the fact that Monday Night Football is still one of the most popular television programs today.
The durability of the program began with a question. Ohlmeyer asked himself, “People have seen thousands of games. How do you get them to watch my telecast?” His approach was to enliven the drama of athletic matchups by having more cameras and more camera angles. Since the original telecast, Monday Night Football has continued to see new technical innovations to enliven the drama.
Application: When we witness and when we preach, we need to ask ourselves: “How can I enliven the message so people will listen?”
Ron L.
Her name is Najwa Huda. It is likely you’ve never heard of her. She is a 2016 graduate of Michigan State University, and she has a bachelor’s degree in physics. She had many opportunities to use her degree and begin a lucrative career. What she did, though, may come as a surprise. She went back to her native Malaysia to join the Teach for Malaysia Fellowship. When asked why she wanted to do that, Huda replied: “I want to educate, motivate, inspire, and change lives. I’ve heard stories of so many children in Malaysia who are not able to live up to their fullest potential because they lack access to opportunities.”
Why do people do what they do? Sometimes it can be hard to understand, I suppose. Reading this news item on Ms. Huda made me ponder that question a bit. Reading the passage from Isaiah that Jesus himself would later quote made me think about it quite a bit more. Why did Jesus come?
In this passage from Isaiah, we have perhaps the prophet speaking for himself or possibly a fifth Servant Song. Whichever is the case, Jesus identified himself with the speaker as it is recorded in Luke 4. Those benefiting from the speaker’s message are the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, and the prisoners. Good news, binding up, liberty, and release are at the heart of the message. Jesus left the splendor and glory of where he was to bring these things to an oppressed people. This scripture was fulfilled in the hearing of those who heard Jesus read it. Hard to understand why he’d do that, isn’t it? Better just receive it.
Bill T.
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Until Jesus quoted the first few verses of this passage from Isaiah at his hometown synagogue, it sounds like people were looking forward to hearing him speak. Why else would they make the carpenter’s son the guest speaker at worship?
But Jesus chose not only to quote these verse from Isaiah, he also made the claim that this economic program, based on the Year of Jubilee described in Leviticus 25, was going to be fulfilled in his ministry. He unashamedly dragged economics into the whole idea of holiness. Economic justice, debt forgiveness, restoration of the land, concern for people and the care of creation -- it’s all tied together.
And what was the result? Jesus became very, very unpopular with the hometown folks. They probably wanted some of that old time religion and weren’t interested in what the Bible actually teaches. According to Luke, it just about got Jesus killed!
(Developed from chapter 10 of the book I co-authored with Dr. Robert W. Neff, Ten Reasons to Love Leviticus.)
Frank R.
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
It is time we stop pretending otherwise. It is Christmas, and the name does matter.
According to David French, a columnist for Patheos, a website dedicated to inter-religious dialogue, we are continuing our “War on Christmas.” We have moved beyond the standard criticism of this holiday season as one of secularization and merchandizing to an ideological battle of reason versus faith and inclusiveness versus a singular religious identity. These conflicting views cannot be shooed away as inconsequential, for it matters immensely if one refers to this season as a “Happy Holiday” or a “Merry Christmas.”
To be empowered and inspired by Christmas, one must identify with it by affirming its name. John Chrysostom (347-407), the bishop of Constantinople, acknowledged this in his Homily 4 on the gospel of Matthew. He preached on God’s empowerment of Joseph as he participated in the nativity. Chrysostom wrote that God said to Joseph: “You never touched the virgin. Nevertheless, I am giving you what pertains to a father. I give you the honor of giving a name to the One who is to be born. For you, Joseph, shall name him.” The name given to the child of Mary was Jesus. As Chrysostom attested, only when we associate ourselves with the name do we become an active participant in the event.
This is affirmed by Catholic theologian Tim Muldoon in a column for the Washington Post when he wrote: “At their root, religious holidays are both expressions of a group’s identity and an invitation to others to learn about them. In the case of Christmas, believers are expressing what it means to believe that God became a human being when Jesus was born.” Christmas is a testimony of a religious conviction, unadorned with gold and silver tinsel. Its public celebration is not to coerce, but to inform and invite.
Nations, like individuals, need a moral compass. Regarding Christmas, David French concluded that the name does matter, for “our national past shapes our national future.” French substantiated this when he asserted: “For those who despise Christianity or see America as a purely secular state, old crosses in the desert, chiseled religious images on public buildings, and a more than 200-year legacy of public prayer say we were -- and are -- a religious people, a people who wish to acknowledge their God in public life.” Imperfect as we may be as a nation, the message of Christmas has been our guiding principle.
Probably the real war on Christmas began at its conception. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE established that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25. The celebration of “Christ’s Mass” was to counter the Roman pagan festival held that same day in honor of Sol Invictus (“The Invincible God”). As Christians participated in the celebration of the eucharist, they would abstain from engaging in the pagan rituals associated with the official sun god of the emperor.
Christ is in Christmas. “Xmas” does keep Christ in Christmas. The “X” comes from the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated as “Christ.” The following word “mass” is Latin, which references the liturgical Mass conducted on Christmas Day. Xmas does not take Christ out of Christmas but places him at the center of the celebration. It was used by the church fathers as both as a symbol and as an abbreviation confessing “Christ Mass.”
We should refrain from overgeneralizations, but if Christmas becomes “Happy Holidays” and “Season Greetings,” do we surrender its meaning to the type of god it was supposed to triumph over? Perhaps then, the critics who maintain that Christmas is a meaningless secularized religious holiday may be correct.
Application: Our reading discusses the importance of worship. In this Advent and Christmas season, worship should be at the forefront of all that we do.
Ron L.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
I used to think it was impossible to pray without ceasing. After all, who can pray every second of every minute of every hour of every day? That’s not possible. Then I encountered an extreme difficulty in the eighth month of my pregnancy for twins. I prayed all during the doctor’s appointment and the ultrasound. I prayed all the way on the trip from the doctor’s office to the hospital to have another ultrasound. I prayed all the way from the hospital back to the doctor’s office, where my husband, son, and I were told that our twins no longer had heartbeats.
I prayed all that weekend while I waited to go to the hospital on Monday morning to deliver them. I prayed all during labor and delivery and in the days after. Sometimes I prayed for strength. Sometimes I prayed for everything to be okay. Sometimes I didn’t even have the strength to know for what I was praying, but still I prayed. My husband and I did not get to feed and change and run and play with our twin sons, but we love them nonetheless. Our surviving son never got to hold or play with his brothers, but he named his firstborn son after them. Through it all I prayed. I continue to pray, and now I know that one can pray without ceasing.
Bonnie B.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
The Pauline text refers to the need to “pray without ceasing” (v. 17). About this matter John Wesley claimed that prayers are the breath of our spiritual life, so we can no more as Christians stop praying than we can stop breathing and living (Commentary on the Bible, p. 551). A closing reference to the faithfulness of God (v. 24) moved John Calvin to note: “For he [God] does not promise to be as Father to us merely for one day, but adopts us with this understanding that he is to cherish us ever afterwards” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XXI/2, p. 305).
Calvin seems to relate such divine faithfulness to the theme of prophecy which dominates in the lesson. This resonates with the reflections of Selma Richardson, a veteran of the civil rights movement and the widow of the founding president of the largest accredited African-American seminary. Prophecy for her must include the hope of Christ. As she put it while still living vibrantly in her 90s, too much of what passes for prophetic preaching today is about judgment. Echoing themes later made popular by Barack Obama (The Audacity of Hope), she wanted more preaching that gives hope.
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
This is a hard command in some cases, isn’t it? But God is telling us to be joyful in all circumstances. We only have that kind of joy through Jesus Christ, who is in charge of our future. When we feel God’s great love in sending his Son, who was willing to die a terrible death for us, we can only feel joy. Even on our deathbed wracked with pain, we know that we still have God’s love. It is so easy to put out the Spirit’s fire when we are suffering. Only God can give us the strength to be joyful.
Even when it might be easy and comforting to do or say something to free ourselves from pain, we are still ordered to obey God’s Spirit within us and avoid every kind of evil.
I have talked with investors who tell me that there are so many even slightly dishonest things we can do which might make us rich -- and we can get away with them with no danger from the law; yet we should still obey God and avoid all evil.
A prospective citizen may have to go through days and even weeks or years of submitting one document after another, but it is worth it for the great reward that lies ahead.
We could say the same about getting a degree, applying for a job, or buying a house. They all may require unpleasant circumstances. The greater the reward, the harder it may be to earn it. This can be true of our salvation! This is one of things our church can do for us: give us the strength to survive all the circumstances that face us in life. We don’t have to do much of it alone, knowing that we have friends to support us emotionally.
When my uncle was dying, I would stop on the way home after school to ask how he was. One day I came in and everyone was smiling. I assumed he was better, but when I asked they said: “He went home to be with the Lord!” That was a real time of waking up for me. It told me why we should give thanks in all circumstances.
Bob O.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain came from a modest life in the small town of Brewer, Maine, and he chose the professions of ministry and academia, filling the post of professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College during the tumultuous 1850s. As the Civil War broke out, Chamberlain felt the urge to serve based on his belief in preserving the union and his moral conviction against the institution of slavery. In early 1862, Chamberlain expressed his desire to serve to the Governor of Maine, who offered him the rank of colonel in the Maine volunteers.
In a time where political commissions and high-ranking appointments were common, Chamberlain declined the prestige of command and deferred instead to accept a commission at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Believing he needed to gain experience and knowledge of the military profession, Chamberlain’s uncommon act of humility set a tone for the remainder of his service. You may remember Chamberlain when he ordered his troops, the 20th Maine Regiment, to execute a daring counterattack against the 15th Alabama Regiment of the Confederate Army on July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. In defense of “Little Round Top,” the 20th Maine fought off repeated assaults for several hours against John B. Hood’s Confederate soldiers. The contribution Chamberlain and his soldiers made was acknowledged as a significant factor in allowing the Union forces to win that battle and turn the tide of the war.
Though Chamberlain went on to accomplish great things in his military career and beyond, he is well known for his humility. His humility and desire to simply do his part are seen in his words: “I long to be in the field again, doing my part to keep the old flag up, with all its stars.”
Humility and doing one’s part for a greater cause; these were the traits of an academic turned military hero, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. They also describe the heart and character of a radical preacher out in the wilderness. His name was John. He declared “I am not the Messiah,” but that one is coming who is. John was there to humbly do his part for the greater cause, preparing the way for Jesus.
Bill T.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Folks tend to want to connect celebrities or sports stars of the present with heroes from the past. A new home run king is called the next Babe Ruth. When British actor and director Kenneth Branagh emerged on the scene, he was compared to Laurence Olivier. And it’s not just celebrities and sports heroes. Children are compared to their grandparents or parents or siblings. People are not allowed to be who they are. It’s as if there were no such thing as something totally and radically new!
The people want to know who John is, and when he tells them that he is not the messiah, they ask him if he is Elijah, or the prophet. Well, there were rumors that Elijah, who did not die but was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, was going to come back some day. In another gospel passage Jesus would ask his disciples who people said he was, and they replied that people thought he might be John the Baptist come back to life or Elijah returned from the dead, or one of the prophets.
John was John. Jesus was Jesus. And each one of us is a new creation in Christ!
Frank R.
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Producer Don Ohlmeyer was the architect of Monday Night Football. The program debuted during the 1970 football season, and was originally aired on ABC. Ohlmeyer’s notoriety can be seen from the fact that Monday Night Football is still one of the most popular television programs today.
The durability of the program began with a question. Ohlmeyer asked himself, “People have seen thousands of games. How do you get them to watch my telecast?” His approach was to enliven the drama of athletic matchups by having more cameras and more camera angles. Since the original telecast, Monday Night Football has continued to see new technical innovations to enliven the drama.
Application: When we witness and when we preach, we need to ask ourselves: “How can I enliven the message so people will listen?”
Ron L.
