Sermons Illustrations for Proper 24 | OT 29 (2016)
Illustration
Object:
Jeremiah 31:27-34
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. -- Jeremiah 31:27
As this is being written, it seems that the news is reporting a higher-than-average number of solution-defying economic, social, and political problems. For example:
• Political tensions have reached levels not experienced since the election of Abraham Lincoln.
• Income inequality has been steadily expanding for more than three decades.
• Every two years more Americans die from gunshots within our national borders than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.
• Despite spending on national defense and police protection, we have yet to see a way to prevent radicalized-on-the-internet lone wolves from becoming suicide bombers.
• We cannot agree on a way to reconcile our anti-immigrant fever with the Statue of Liberty’s invitation to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Thanks, Jeremiah -- it is good to hear a word of hope and promise in an otherwise dark and difficult time. We need to be reminded of God’s unfailing faithfulness.
R. Robert C.
Jeremiah 31:27-34
Trapped by mistakes of the past, busy with his career, Jerome Bibby never had time for his daughter Elaine. She grew up feeling unloved, unimportant. Today she is a single mother with bad relationships with men. Children do indeed pay for the sins of elders, like today’s youth will be paying for the budget excesses of the baby boomers and the poor pay for our budget cuts.
The New Covenant to which Jeremiah refers is a fresh start. Fresh starts make you happy. They create new connections in our brain cells, which in turn lead to the secretion of the brain chemical dopamine which gives us a high, makes us happy (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging). Oprah Winfrey offers other helpful reflections about the virtues of living life from the perspective of a fresh start: “I want every day to be a fresh start on expanding what is possible,” she says. The past that has placed us in the mess we are in is not so important when you live with that perspective, knowing that God is giving you a fresh start. And so famed medieval mystic Meister Eckhart could advise us: “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” With that point of view sinners like us, feeling trapped by our pasts, can agree with Martin Luther that “all that a Christian does is nothing but fruit. Everything... is easy for him” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 230).
Mark E.
Jeremiah 31:27-34
James “Jimmy” Nederlander took over the fledging Nederlander organization of stage productions from his father and made it into one of the largest theater chains in the world. In New York City alone he had eight theaters. One of the reasons for his success was his ability for innovation. He was the first theater operator who allowed those who purchased tickets to select where they would like to be seated in the theater. In 1992 he teamed up with Ticketmaster to make it easier for individuals to purchase theater tickets.
Application: Jeremiah talks about restoration, and we can all be a part of that process if we can have the same creative ingenuity as Jimmy Nederlander.
Ron L.
2 Timothy 3:14--4:5
What Christian myths do we believe these days? Do we believe in sound teaching and the truth as expressed by Jesus, or have we allowed someone to interpret scripture to us in a questionable manner? Are we remembering the Beatitudes or the prosperity gospel or the Deuteronomical idea that we get what deserve? Are we blaming the poor for their poverty, the ill for their illness, the unemployed for their lack of job opportunities? Or perhaps are we beginning to recognize that the good of all people is part of our responsibility, that caring for the least among us is our calling as Christians, that peace and reconciliation are the approaches we should take in relationships with one another?
It’s easy to hate, to destroy, and to malign. It is more difficult to love, to build up, and to offer compassion. Forgiveness of our enemies does not come naturally, but it is what Jesus calls us to express. It’s hard to love someone who hurts us, but that is the call Jesus gives us. Paul reminds Timothy to remain faithful to the Truth. Paul warns of a time when false prophets and teachers will abound. It is incumbent on people of faith to rely on the words of Jesus -- words of reconciliation, wholeness, healing, love, and challenge of the status quo as we live in our time and place. Cling to and express the truth.
Bonnie B.
2 Timothy 3:14--4:5
It is interesting to note what people have said about the Bible over the years. Consider these:
I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book. -- Abraham Lincoln
The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. -- Søren Kierkegaard
It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand. -- Mark Twain
The primary purpose of reading the Bible is not to know the Bible but to know God. -- James Merritt
Nearing the end of Paul’s last letter, he reminds Timothy of the importance and the power of God’s word. Testimonies about the Bible are interesting and sometimes challenging to read. The greatest challenge, though, is not a statement about God’s word, but rather the question of whether you are living God’s word. Eli, the main character in the 2010 movie The Book of Eli, said: “In all these years I’ve been carrying it and reading it every day, I got so caught up in keeping it safe that I forgot to live by what I learned from it.” That’s a good point. Timothy was told to live by it. Will you?
Bill T.
2 Timothy 3:14--4:5
When Paul wrote that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (3:16), there wasn’t any agreement about what constituted scripture or what was meant by scripture. Paul quotes any number of books from the Hebrew scriptures in his writings. He also quotes from a couple of pagan poets, and on occasion seems to refer to common wisdom. Maybe one question for us with regard to scripture is if we are engaging the Bible as a living book, one in which our relationship through reading and living it helps God to speak to us. We 21st-century Christians have inherited a finite number of biblical books we refer to as the Word of God, and there is certainly no reason to add or subtract from this number. However, the same measure applies to non-biblical books -- are we inspired by certain writings that provide insight into God, humanity, and our lives? Has something proven useful to us or to others in times of crisis or grief? I wonder if we should use a capital “S” for scripture when we’re talking about the Bible, and a lowercase “s” when we speak about something we might simply call “good books.”
Frank R.
2 Timothy 3:13--4:5
So Timothy was born in the faith. His mother taught him first, before he knew Paul. My own mother would read the Bible to me every evening when I was in my baby bed ready to sleep. Other parents may use fairy tales, but my mom used scripture! That was my only source of doctrine until confirmation. It sounds like Paul taught confirmation to Timothy, so that he could tell the difference between true and false doctrine. Doesn’t it challenge us when we hear so many different interpretations of God’s word from people of other denominations (and even some from our own)? Some are not wrong -- they just use different words. We can all have the Lord’s supper, mass, or communion -- but it is still God’s supper. We even hear words from our own denominations that don’t seem to fit our concept. We must keep our nose in God’s Word to find the truth. One scripture text may seem to contradict another. Some passages in the Old Testament tell Israel to kill every one of their enemies, but Jesus tells us to love our enemies!
Love your enemy, but condemn those who stray from scripture. If you take the new teaching that we should respect “gay” and “lesbians,” you must look at many other passages to find agreement.
The pastor of every church is the “Paul” who is training new teachers for the church and for wherever there are needs. The pastor still does the preaching.
Parents are required to teach their children from what they have learned in church and from reading scripture. We need prayer and meditation to absorb God’s Word. It should be so much a part of us that we are confident enough to correct those who have drifted from the truth. This means you might endure condemnation and even lose friendships! So be patient and choose your words carefully. Don’t shout and scream that those who disagree with you are going to hell -- people are won by love and patience.
Bob O.
Luke 18:1-8
In this parable the widow brings a petition to the court on a matter where she is clearly in the right. The most casual observer understands that a ruling should immediately be made in her favor. Unfortunately, the judge assigned to this case neither fears God nor respects people. In order for justice to be done, the woman must persevere. Eventually the judge tires of dealing with her and finds in her favor. Her perseverance is rewarded.
The message of the parable is that if an evil judge will respond to perseverance, how much more easily will God do justice. The suggestion is, however, that even prayer requires some perseverance.
I am reminded of a scene in that classic western movie The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). The title character (portrayed by Clint Eastwood) and a distinguished-appearing older Native American named Lone Watie (played by Dan George) are having a campfire conversation. The topic turns to the plight of the plains Indians and their pursuit of justice. Lone Watie reminisces about a trip he took to Washington, DC before the Civil War. The group he was with received an audience with the Secretary of the Interior. That high official complimented the Indians on how civilized they looked, but offered no positive assistance in their pursuit of justice. As Lone Watie put it, “We told him how our land had been stolen; our people were dying,” and the Secretary’s only suggestion was to recommend that they “endeavor to persevere.”
It was left unclear how endeavoring to persevere could alleviate the suffering of their people, but as Lone Watie remembered: “We thought about it for a long time. ‘Endeavor to persevere.’ And when we had thought about it long enough, we declared war on the Union.”
I guess the lesson is that sometimes the pursuit of justice requires more perseverance than pestering a faithless, indifferent judge. Fortunately, the lesson of the parable still holds. God responds to our needs more readily than even an indifferent government or an attentive bureaucrat official.
R. Robert C.
Luke 18:1-8
Jesus likes persistence, our lesson states. On that topic Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will solve the problems of the human race.”
A similar point is made by the American writer James Whitcomb Riley, as he claimed that “the most essential factor is persistence -- the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.” Persistence with God is also good for faith. When we persist in our relationship to God through prayer, then what French Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once prayed for in writing is likely to happen in our lives: “Lord, lock me up in the deepest depths of your heart; and then, holding me there, burn me, set me on fire, sublimate me, till I become utterly what you would have me be, through the utter annihilation of my ego” (Hymn of the Universe, p. 32).
Mark E.
Luke 18:1-8
Helen Delich Bentley was one of the first women to serve in the United States House of Representatives. Her Maryland district included included the port of Baltimore, which Bentley had a great love for as well as a passion to make it the best port possible. After her second year in office she was able to appropriate enough funds to have the port dredged to 50 feet, allowing it to accommodate the largest cargo ships sailing the ocean. Prior to being elected to Congress, Bentley was a print and television reporter who frequently covered the port, keeping its importance before the public. Bentley even had a weekly television show that ran from 1950 to 1965 that was called The Port that Built a City and State.
Application: We are taught by Jesus in this reading that we are to be persistent.
Ron L.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. -- Jeremiah 31:27
As this is being written, it seems that the news is reporting a higher-than-average number of solution-defying economic, social, and political problems. For example:
• Political tensions have reached levels not experienced since the election of Abraham Lincoln.
• Income inequality has been steadily expanding for more than three decades.
• Every two years more Americans die from gunshots within our national borders than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.
• Despite spending on national defense and police protection, we have yet to see a way to prevent radicalized-on-the-internet lone wolves from becoming suicide bombers.
• We cannot agree on a way to reconcile our anti-immigrant fever with the Statue of Liberty’s invitation to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Thanks, Jeremiah -- it is good to hear a word of hope and promise in an otherwise dark and difficult time. We need to be reminded of God’s unfailing faithfulness.
R. Robert C.
Jeremiah 31:27-34
Trapped by mistakes of the past, busy with his career, Jerome Bibby never had time for his daughter Elaine. She grew up feeling unloved, unimportant. Today she is a single mother with bad relationships with men. Children do indeed pay for the sins of elders, like today’s youth will be paying for the budget excesses of the baby boomers and the poor pay for our budget cuts.
The New Covenant to which Jeremiah refers is a fresh start. Fresh starts make you happy. They create new connections in our brain cells, which in turn lead to the secretion of the brain chemical dopamine which gives us a high, makes us happy (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging). Oprah Winfrey offers other helpful reflections about the virtues of living life from the perspective of a fresh start: “I want every day to be a fresh start on expanding what is possible,” she says. The past that has placed us in the mess we are in is not so important when you live with that perspective, knowing that God is giving you a fresh start. And so famed medieval mystic Meister Eckhart could advise us: “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” With that point of view sinners like us, feeling trapped by our pasts, can agree with Martin Luther that “all that a Christian does is nothing but fruit. Everything... is easy for him” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 230).
Mark E.
Jeremiah 31:27-34
James “Jimmy” Nederlander took over the fledging Nederlander organization of stage productions from his father and made it into one of the largest theater chains in the world. In New York City alone he had eight theaters. One of the reasons for his success was his ability for innovation. He was the first theater operator who allowed those who purchased tickets to select where they would like to be seated in the theater. In 1992 he teamed up with Ticketmaster to make it easier for individuals to purchase theater tickets.
Application: Jeremiah talks about restoration, and we can all be a part of that process if we can have the same creative ingenuity as Jimmy Nederlander.
Ron L.
2 Timothy 3:14--4:5
What Christian myths do we believe these days? Do we believe in sound teaching and the truth as expressed by Jesus, or have we allowed someone to interpret scripture to us in a questionable manner? Are we remembering the Beatitudes or the prosperity gospel or the Deuteronomical idea that we get what deserve? Are we blaming the poor for their poverty, the ill for their illness, the unemployed for their lack of job opportunities? Or perhaps are we beginning to recognize that the good of all people is part of our responsibility, that caring for the least among us is our calling as Christians, that peace and reconciliation are the approaches we should take in relationships with one another?
It’s easy to hate, to destroy, and to malign. It is more difficult to love, to build up, and to offer compassion. Forgiveness of our enemies does not come naturally, but it is what Jesus calls us to express. It’s hard to love someone who hurts us, but that is the call Jesus gives us. Paul reminds Timothy to remain faithful to the Truth. Paul warns of a time when false prophets and teachers will abound. It is incumbent on people of faith to rely on the words of Jesus -- words of reconciliation, wholeness, healing, love, and challenge of the status quo as we live in our time and place. Cling to and express the truth.
Bonnie B.
2 Timothy 3:14--4:5
It is interesting to note what people have said about the Bible over the years. Consider these:
I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book. -- Abraham Lincoln
The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. -- Søren Kierkegaard
It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand. -- Mark Twain
The primary purpose of reading the Bible is not to know the Bible but to know God. -- James Merritt
Nearing the end of Paul’s last letter, he reminds Timothy of the importance and the power of God’s word. Testimonies about the Bible are interesting and sometimes challenging to read. The greatest challenge, though, is not a statement about God’s word, but rather the question of whether you are living God’s word. Eli, the main character in the 2010 movie The Book of Eli, said: “In all these years I’ve been carrying it and reading it every day, I got so caught up in keeping it safe that I forgot to live by what I learned from it.” That’s a good point. Timothy was told to live by it. Will you?
Bill T.
2 Timothy 3:14--4:5
When Paul wrote that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (3:16), there wasn’t any agreement about what constituted scripture or what was meant by scripture. Paul quotes any number of books from the Hebrew scriptures in his writings. He also quotes from a couple of pagan poets, and on occasion seems to refer to common wisdom. Maybe one question for us with regard to scripture is if we are engaging the Bible as a living book, one in which our relationship through reading and living it helps God to speak to us. We 21st-century Christians have inherited a finite number of biblical books we refer to as the Word of God, and there is certainly no reason to add or subtract from this number. However, the same measure applies to non-biblical books -- are we inspired by certain writings that provide insight into God, humanity, and our lives? Has something proven useful to us or to others in times of crisis or grief? I wonder if we should use a capital “S” for scripture when we’re talking about the Bible, and a lowercase “s” when we speak about something we might simply call “good books.”
Frank R.
2 Timothy 3:13--4:5
So Timothy was born in the faith. His mother taught him first, before he knew Paul. My own mother would read the Bible to me every evening when I was in my baby bed ready to sleep. Other parents may use fairy tales, but my mom used scripture! That was my only source of doctrine until confirmation. It sounds like Paul taught confirmation to Timothy, so that he could tell the difference between true and false doctrine. Doesn’t it challenge us when we hear so many different interpretations of God’s word from people of other denominations (and even some from our own)? Some are not wrong -- they just use different words. We can all have the Lord’s supper, mass, or communion -- but it is still God’s supper. We even hear words from our own denominations that don’t seem to fit our concept. We must keep our nose in God’s Word to find the truth. One scripture text may seem to contradict another. Some passages in the Old Testament tell Israel to kill every one of their enemies, but Jesus tells us to love our enemies!
Love your enemy, but condemn those who stray from scripture. If you take the new teaching that we should respect “gay” and “lesbians,” you must look at many other passages to find agreement.
The pastor of every church is the “Paul” who is training new teachers for the church and for wherever there are needs. The pastor still does the preaching.
Parents are required to teach their children from what they have learned in church and from reading scripture. We need prayer and meditation to absorb God’s Word. It should be so much a part of us that we are confident enough to correct those who have drifted from the truth. This means you might endure condemnation and even lose friendships! So be patient and choose your words carefully. Don’t shout and scream that those who disagree with you are going to hell -- people are won by love and patience.
Bob O.
Luke 18:1-8
In this parable the widow brings a petition to the court on a matter where she is clearly in the right. The most casual observer understands that a ruling should immediately be made in her favor. Unfortunately, the judge assigned to this case neither fears God nor respects people. In order for justice to be done, the woman must persevere. Eventually the judge tires of dealing with her and finds in her favor. Her perseverance is rewarded.
The message of the parable is that if an evil judge will respond to perseverance, how much more easily will God do justice. The suggestion is, however, that even prayer requires some perseverance.
I am reminded of a scene in that classic western movie The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). The title character (portrayed by Clint Eastwood) and a distinguished-appearing older Native American named Lone Watie (played by Dan George) are having a campfire conversation. The topic turns to the plight of the plains Indians and their pursuit of justice. Lone Watie reminisces about a trip he took to Washington, DC before the Civil War. The group he was with received an audience with the Secretary of the Interior. That high official complimented the Indians on how civilized they looked, but offered no positive assistance in their pursuit of justice. As Lone Watie put it, “We told him how our land had been stolen; our people were dying,” and the Secretary’s only suggestion was to recommend that they “endeavor to persevere.”
It was left unclear how endeavoring to persevere could alleviate the suffering of their people, but as Lone Watie remembered: “We thought about it for a long time. ‘Endeavor to persevere.’ And when we had thought about it long enough, we declared war on the Union.”
I guess the lesson is that sometimes the pursuit of justice requires more perseverance than pestering a faithless, indifferent judge. Fortunately, the lesson of the parable still holds. God responds to our needs more readily than even an indifferent government or an attentive bureaucrat official.
R. Robert C.
Luke 18:1-8
Jesus likes persistence, our lesson states. On that topic Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will solve the problems of the human race.”
A similar point is made by the American writer James Whitcomb Riley, as he claimed that “the most essential factor is persistence -- the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.” Persistence with God is also good for faith. When we persist in our relationship to God through prayer, then what French Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once prayed for in writing is likely to happen in our lives: “Lord, lock me up in the deepest depths of your heart; and then, holding me there, burn me, set me on fire, sublimate me, till I become utterly what you would have me be, through the utter annihilation of my ego” (Hymn of the Universe, p. 32).
Mark E.
Luke 18:1-8
Helen Delich Bentley was one of the first women to serve in the United States House of Representatives. Her Maryland district included included the port of Baltimore, which Bentley had a great love for as well as a passion to make it the best port possible. After her second year in office she was able to appropriate enough funds to have the port dredged to 50 feet, allowing it to accommodate the largest cargo ships sailing the ocean. Prior to being elected to Congress, Bentley was a print and television reporter who frequently covered the port, keeping its importance before the public. Bentley even had a weekly television show that ran from 1950 to 1965 that was called The Port that Built a City and State.
Application: We are taught by Jesus in this reading that we are to be persistent.
Ron L.
