Eighth Sunday After The Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
Eighth Sunday After The Epiphany
Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time
Revised Common
Hosea 2:14-20
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:13-22
Roman Catholic
Hosea 2:16-17, 21-22
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:18-22
Episcopal
Hosea 2:14-23
2 Corinthians 3:(4-11) 17--4:2
Mark 2:18-22
Seasonal Theme
Jesus grows up and it begins to dawn on some who and what he is.
Theme For The Day
The wonderful righteousness, dependable love, wide mercy, and faithfulness of our God.
Old Testament Lesson
Hosea 2:14-20
Acknowledging The Lord
Here the Lord tells of his love for Israel and the promise of a future reaction to it. The same word for "allure" is used in Exodus 22:16. It often means to seduce a young woman. After time in the wilderness, God will lead the people in to the promised land (v. 15). Verse 17 reminds us of the Israelites' worship of Baal. Verse 18 promises that they will live in peace with no more war. It will be like the Lord and Israel going back to their earlier romantic days. In those days to be betrothed was to be treated as legally married (Deuteronomy 20:7; 22:23-24). When a couple got engaged, the man would pay a price to seal the covenant (2 Samuel 3:14). The Lord's price will be: righteousness ... justice ... love ... compassion, and faithfulness.
Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., explains these words in The Bible Knowledge Commentary:
1. "Righteousness and justice refer to the maintenance of Israel's just cause, which includes vindication through deliverance.
2. Love is an unswerving devotion which fulfills the responsibilities arising from a relationship.
3. Mercy is tender feeling which motivates one to gracious action.
4. Faithfulness implies dependability and constant loyalty."
In response, Israel will not forget her Lord as before (v. 13) but will remember and be loyal to him.
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Letter Of Commendation
In those days, there was a common practice of writing a person a letter of commendation. Romans 16 is such a letter written by Paul to introduce Phoebe to the church at Rome. Here, Paul is saying that what he had just written sounded like a letter or commendation about himself. But that's not necessary (v. 1b) as the Corinthians are his commendation. He had told them of Christ and how they lived that out in the world was testimony of what Paul had taught them.
He continues to say that his effectiveness is not his own cleverness but, rather, it comes from God. And that we are all ministers of a new covenant -- not based on the law but on the Spirit (v. 6). Nice words about how others read us like an e-mail and test the Gospel's validity by how they see us live it out in the world.
The Gospel
Mark 2:13-22
The Newness Of The Call
Now Mark, in his usual breathtaking speed, relates Jesus' call to Matthew, the question about fasting, and the metaphor for teaching about new wine in old wineskins. It's a just right passage of scripture to bring a close to this season of Epiphany, when Jesus begins his ministry and it begins to dawn on people who and what he is.
Verses 13-17 remind us that Jesus recruited lay people to follow him and be disciples. The question about fasting reminds us that this is not just another Jewish prophet; but here is something a lot more than his cousin John the Baptist. Perhaps verse 20 also predicts the outcome of Jesus' ministry.
Verses 21 and 22 remind us that this new relationship to our God will not fit into the old Jewish religion -- this will demand a whole new, fresh religious response.
Preaching Possibilities
This is a very pregnant collection of scripture readings!
A. A textual sermon will work well on any one of the following verses:
1. Hosea 2:19-20 God's gift to us and our proper response: righteousness, justice, steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness.
2. 2 Corinthians 3:5b-6 We have God's help in our ministries.
3. Mark 2:21-22 Our relationship to our God calls for a whole new way of living and worshiping God.
B. Another approach this week is to preach about the rich metaphors for our faith:
1. Our relationship to God is like to a spouse (Old Testament Lesson).
2. We are all like letters of Christ to the world (New Testament Lesson).
3. We are called to a celebration banquet of sinners like a wedding reception with fresh drink in new containers.
C. A third approach could be to connect the bride and groom analogy in the Hosea passage with the bride and groom and wedding celebration in Mark's Gospel. We learn from the two that:
1. Our proper response to God's righteousness, steadfast love, and mercy is faithfulness (Hosea 2:19-20).
2. Our practice of the faith ought be celebratory and not one of morbid denial.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin by reviewing the calls to discipleship we already heard in this season:
1. Jesus' call to ministry and his baptism
2. The call of Peter and Andrew, James and John
3. And now the call of an IRS man at his office
B. After relating Matthew's call by Jesus, go back to the Old Testament Lesson and use it to discover to what we are called, using the words:
1. Righteousness and justice (use the "letter of Christ" in Paul's letter to illustrate)
2. Steadfast love (use some of the definitions of love given by four- to eight-year-olds quoted below in "Possible Metaphors And Stories" to illustrate)
3. Mercy (use one of the two illustrations of mercy given below in "Possible Metaphors And Stories")
4. Faithfulness, which implies constant dependability (use the illustration below of faithfulness by Florence Nightingale)
C. Now pull it all together with a summary in reverse order of what we have learned about God today:
4. We can depend on God and God wants us to depend on our faithfulness.
3. God has mercy and wants us to be merciful to others.
2. God's love is not fickle and God would have our love for God and for others be steadfast, also.
1. We are to live righteous lives which serve as models (letters) to others who see us.
D. Now pray the Prayer for the Day below.
Prayer For The Day
We celebrate today your justice, love, mercy, and faithfulness for us and ask your Holy Spirit to help us to be like this out in the world where we live. Dear Jesus, you have lived the model Hosea described; now we ask for your help in being faithful in our response. In your name, Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four- to eight-year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers got broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.
"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way." "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs." "Love is a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay."
On the television show Hill Street Blues, Andy Renko said to Bobby Hill after freezing up in a crisis, "Just because I made this one mistake, you can't cancel every other thing I've done right up till now."
There is a wideness in God's mercy which ought to encourage a wideness in our mercy for others.
"In front of an Abidjan, Ivory Coast, hospice where I had to stay overnight, I saw a soldier in a taxi he had commandeered pull over another taxi. He pulled the driver out of the taxi and beat him on one side of the head and then the other. The driver knelt in the street and begged for mercy as the soldier continued to scream at him and pummel him and kick him. Many watched but no one intervened. He then reached down and took from his shirt pocket all the driver's cash for the day, got in the other taxi, and demanded to be driven away. The beaten and robbed driver remained on his knees bleeding in the street. I think he said in French that he will probably be beaten again by the owner of the cab when he tells him he lost the day's fares. '... And who is my neighbor?' I could only hand him a dirty undershirt out of my bag to wipe off and stop some of the blood. How I wish I could have been more merciful" (from Dear Friends and Family by Jerry L. Schmalenberger, CSS Publishing, 2001).
In an NBC special on the life of Florence Nightingale, there was war between Russia and England in 1853. Nightingale felt "called by God" to go to Turkey to help care for the soldiers as a nurse. "You will be going to a country in the worst of circumstances." Florence replied, "No, the worst of circumstances would be to do nothing." It's still the worst of circumstances for Christians to do nothing. Richard Mills, whom she loved, wrote to her as she was about to leave: "Florence, hold your head high -- few of us can ever say, 'I made a difference' -- you are one of those few."
Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time
Revised Common
Hosea 2:14-20
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:13-22
Roman Catholic
Hosea 2:16-17, 21-22
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Mark 2:18-22
Episcopal
Hosea 2:14-23
2 Corinthians 3:(4-11) 17--4:2
Mark 2:18-22
Seasonal Theme
Jesus grows up and it begins to dawn on some who and what he is.
Theme For The Day
The wonderful righteousness, dependable love, wide mercy, and faithfulness of our God.
Old Testament Lesson
Hosea 2:14-20
Acknowledging The Lord
Here the Lord tells of his love for Israel and the promise of a future reaction to it. The same word for "allure" is used in Exodus 22:16. It often means to seduce a young woman. After time in the wilderness, God will lead the people in to the promised land (v. 15). Verse 17 reminds us of the Israelites' worship of Baal. Verse 18 promises that they will live in peace with no more war. It will be like the Lord and Israel going back to their earlier romantic days. In those days to be betrothed was to be treated as legally married (Deuteronomy 20:7; 22:23-24). When a couple got engaged, the man would pay a price to seal the covenant (2 Samuel 3:14). The Lord's price will be: righteousness ... justice ... love ... compassion, and faithfulness.
Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., explains these words in The Bible Knowledge Commentary:
1. "Righteousness and justice refer to the maintenance of Israel's just cause, which includes vindication through deliverance.
2. Love is an unswerving devotion which fulfills the responsibilities arising from a relationship.
3. Mercy is tender feeling which motivates one to gracious action.
4. Faithfulness implies dependability and constant loyalty."
In response, Israel will not forget her Lord as before (v. 13) but will remember and be loyal to him.
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
Letter Of Commendation
In those days, there was a common practice of writing a person a letter of commendation. Romans 16 is such a letter written by Paul to introduce Phoebe to the church at Rome. Here, Paul is saying that what he had just written sounded like a letter or commendation about himself. But that's not necessary (v. 1b) as the Corinthians are his commendation. He had told them of Christ and how they lived that out in the world was testimony of what Paul had taught them.
He continues to say that his effectiveness is not his own cleverness but, rather, it comes from God. And that we are all ministers of a new covenant -- not based on the law but on the Spirit (v. 6). Nice words about how others read us like an e-mail and test the Gospel's validity by how they see us live it out in the world.
The Gospel
Mark 2:13-22
The Newness Of The Call
Now Mark, in his usual breathtaking speed, relates Jesus' call to Matthew, the question about fasting, and the metaphor for teaching about new wine in old wineskins. It's a just right passage of scripture to bring a close to this season of Epiphany, when Jesus begins his ministry and it begins to dawn on people who and what he is.
Verses 13-17 remind us that Jesus recruited lay people to follow him and be disciples. The question about fasting reminds us that this is not just another Jewish prophet; but here is something a lot more than his cousin John the Baptist. Perhaps verse 20 also predicts the outcome of Jesus' ministry.
Verses 21 and 22 remind us that this new relationship to our God will not fit into the old Jewish religion -- this will demand a whole new, fresh religious response.
Preaching Possibilities
This is a very pregnant collection of scripture readings!
A. A textual sermon will work well on any one of the following verses:
1. Hosea 2:19-20 God's gift to us and our proper response: righteousness, justice, steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness.
2. 2 Corinthians 3:5b-6 We have God's help in our ministries.
3. Mark 2:21-22 Our relationship to our God calls for a whole new way of living and worshiping God.
B. Another approach this week is to preach about the rich metaphors for our faith:
1. Our relationship to God is like to a spouse (Old Testament Lesson).
2. We are all like letters of Christ to the world (New Testament Lesson).
3. We are called to a celebration banquet of sinners like a wedding reception with fresh drink in new containers.
C. A third approach could be to connect the bride and groom analogy in the Hosea passage with the bride and groom and wedding celebration in Mark's Gospel. We learn from the two that:
1. Our proper response to God's righteousness, steadfast love, and mercy is faithfulness (Hosea 2:19-20).
2. Our practice of the faith ought be celebratory and not one of morbid denial.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin by reviewing the calls to discipleship we already heard in this season:
1. Jesus' call to ministry and his baptism
2. The call of Peter and Andrew, James and John
3. And now the call of an IRS man at his office
B. After relating Matthew's call by Jesus, go back to the Old Testament Lesson and use it to discover to what we are called, using the words:
1. Righteousness and justice (use the "letter of Christ" in Paul's letter to illustrate)
2. Steadfast love (use some of the definitions of love given by four- to eight-year-olds quoted below in "Possible Metaphors And Stories" to illustrate)
3. Mercy (use one of the two illustrations of mercy given below in "Possible Metaphors And Stories")
4. Faithfulness, which implies constant dependability (use the illustration below of faithfulness by Florence Nightingale)
C. Now pull it all together with a summary in reverse order of what we have learned about God today:
4. We can depend on God and God wants us to depend on our faithfulness.
3. God has mercy and wants us to be merciful to others.
2. God's love is not fickle and God would have our love for God and for others be steadfast, also.
1. We are to live righteous lives which serve as models (letters) to others who see us.
D. Now pray the Prayer for the Day below.
Prayer For The Day
We celebrate today your justice, love, mercy, and faithfulness for us and ask your Holy Spirit to help us to be like this out in the world where we live. Dear Jesus, you have lived the model Hosea described; now we ask for your help in being faithful in our response. In your name, Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four- to eight-year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers got broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.
"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way." "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs." "Love is a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay."
On the television show Hill Street Blues, Andy Renko said to Bobby Hill after freezing up in a crisis, "Just because I made this one mistake, you can't cancel every other thing I've done right up till now."
There is a wideness in God's mercy which ought to encourage a wideness in our mercy for others.
"In front of an Abidjan, Ivory Coast, hospice where I had to stay overnight, I saw a soldier in a taxi he had commandeered pull over another taxi. He pulled the driver out of the taxi and beat him on one side of the head and then the other. The driver knelt in the street and begged for mercy as the soldier continued to scream at him and pummel him and kick him. Many watched but no one intervened. He then reached down and took from his shirt pocket all the driver's cash for the day, got in the other taxi, and demanded to be driven away. The beaten and robbed driver remained on his knees bleeding in the street. I think he said in French that he will probably be beaten again by the owner of the cab when he tells him he lost the day's fares. '... And who is my neighbor?' I could only hand him a dirty undershirt out of my bag to wipe off and stop some of the blood. How I wish I could have been more merciful" (from Dear Friends and Family by Jerry L. Schmalenberger, CSS Publishing, 2001).
In an NBC special on the life of Florence Nightingale, there was war between Russia and England in 1853. Nightingale felt "called by God" to go to Turkey to help care for the soldiers as a nurse. "You will be going to a country in the worst of circumstances." Florence replied, "No, the worst of circumstances would be to do nothing." It's still the worst of circumstances for Christians to do nothing. Richard Mills, whom she loved, wrote to her as she was about to leave: "Florence, hold your head high -- few of us can ever say, 'I made a difference' -- you are one of those few."
