Epiphany 5
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle B
Theme of the Day
God's in control, even in tough and changing times.
Collect of the Day
God is praised for giving strength to the weak. A prayer to become agents of healing, that the good news may spread, follows. Strong emphasis on Sanctification and Social Ethics.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
* Hymn praising God for His universal power and providential care.
* God's concern for the oppressed is noted (vv. 6, 3).
* See Christmas 2 Psalm for other points.
Sermon Text and Title
"God Rules"
Isaiah 40:21-31
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To comfort us in our skepticism about whether God is really in charge of history (Providence).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A work of Second Isaiah written soon before the fall of Babylon.
* The text is taken from the Book of Consolation, a series of eschatological prophecies.
* In the context of offering comfort to the exiles, a discussion of God as creator of the universe begins in verse 12.
* The lesson begins with a hymn of God's lordship of history (vv. 21-24). It is stated that He rules even the earthly rulers, sitting above the earth.
* God's incomprehensibility and omniscience is affirmed (vv. 25-27). None compares to Him. He is able to call those He created by Name.
* God's creative work and His inexhaustible compassion for the faint and powerless are extolled (vv. 28-31). God will not abandon His people.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text addresses Creation and Providence (which is best developed with the image of God as band leader).
* John Calvin notes that verse 28 entails that God is not wearied in doing good (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VII/1, p. 236).
* He also contended that "We must therefore be fully convinced of our weakness that we may yield to the power of God" (Ibid., p. 239).
* Martin Luther insists that the God portrayed in the lesson is a God of love: "To think of God as wrathful is to believe in no God" (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 24). "Finally, He pours Himself out for me altogether" (Ibid., p. 28).
* For a further elaboration of Luther's view of the peace and joy that God's providential care afford, see the first Luther quotation in Theological Insights, Second Lesson, Epiphany 4.
* Alfred North Whitehead and his Process Philosophy explains God's rule over the cosmos and history in a panentheistic mode, as incarnate in every creative act, but transcendent in the sense of establishing the conditions of the events (Process and Reality, pp. 405-407). We can speak of God's rule of the events of history like a band leader controls the orchestra. Most of what happens is by God's design, but room is left for the band's/humanity's improvisation both for good and bad.
* The image of God as band leader was proposed by English theologian and Religion-Science dialogue expert Arthur Peacocke. (See Larry Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible, pp. 48, 288.)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* The poverty rate in America at the end of 2009 was 17% of the population and steadily climbing. At the end of 2008, 24.7% of African Americans and 23% of Hispanics were living below the poverty line.
5. Gimmick
Refer to the most recent natural catastrophe. Ask if God was involved, if He caused it. Then pause. Note the statistics above in the preceding section regarding poverty. Ask if God has abandoned the poor. Pause again. Then note that we have all experienced tragedies, career setbacks, and the loss of loved ones. Ask if God willed these things. Pause again.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Sometimes the setbacks and disparities in life challenge faith. We wonder if God caused these evils, or we are led to wonder if a good, loving God actually exists.
* The people of Israel (esp. the Judeans) in the late sixth century BC were asking these questions. They were a people in agony, their great city of Jerusalem conquered and in ruins, under Babylonian control. Where was their God in the midst of this national catastrophe?
* The writer of Isaiah did not doubt God, did not question His existence, but instead sang the hymn that makes up our First Lesson. This is a poem of comfort, a statement of trust in God. Proceed to analyze the lesson, using the last three bullet points in the Exegesis section above.
* The writer of the lesson (it may or may not have been Isaiah) was still inclined to praise God, despite all the hardships. Indeed, he expresses a confidence in God's love: He will not abandon His people and though His ways are hidden, He will give power to the powerless (vv. 26-28). Our lesson bears out the vision of God reflected in the words of the great Protestant reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther. (Elaborate on the quote by Calvin above in Theological Insights and the first Luther quotation in Theological Insights, Second Lesson, Epiphany 4.)
* As it is said in the African-American church in a kind of litany: The worship leader proclaims that "God is good." And the congregation excitedly responds: "All the time!" Repeat the litany, and then ask how God can still be good, all the time.
* Note that in our lesson, though God's incomprehensibility, power over nations, and all-knowing character (naming all His creation) are affirmed (vv. 22-26), nowhere does the lesson assert that God is omnipotent (all-powerful).
* Such an idea, that everything that happens is God's will, is not biblical. Look sometime at how God laments the course of humanity on account of our sin, wishing He had never made us (Genesis 6:7). Or how Jesus was prevented from doing miracles by a lack of faith in citizens of Capernaum (Mark 6:5). God is not omnipotent (all-powerful), it seems. Some things that happen (the natural catastrophes), loss of loved ones, poverty, are not God's doing. In fact our lesson says that our God is a God who cares for the poor, who "gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless" (v. 29). This is a theme evident in our prayer and in this Sunday's Psalm (vv. 6, 3).
* How can this God still be good and concerned with the poor, how can this God still rule, while all the evils in life remain? Note how theologians in dialogue with modern science have devised a way of depicting how God rules. Develop the final bullet point above in Theological Insights.
Focus on the fact that the band leader does rule -- is in charge, gets his or her way in the big picture. The performance he selected gets played. But sometimes the members of the band make good improvisations. But other times they make mistakes (even bad ones). Mistakes like our sin are the cause of evil, the natural catastrophes, and the economic inequalities. But just like the band leader is still in charge of the band even when it is improvising or making mistakes, so God still rules.
* Our lesson reminds us God is still ruling. Indeed, like that energetic, enthusiastic band leader, God does not tire. The lesson says that He does not faint or grow weary (v. 28). God continues to rule.
* Friends in the black church are right. God is good -- all the time. God rules -- all the time. God never abandons the music players who have erred. This loving, energetic God does not give up on us. Restoration of all those who have suffered is a sure thing our lesson says. The faint will receive power and the powerless will be strengthened (v. 29). Among the faithful, their strength will be renewed, they shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint (v. 31).
7. Wrap-Up
Close by directing the congregation to human problems, to their own lives in the midst of challenges or suffering. Invite them to remember that God rules in this way the next time a natural catastrophe hits, the next time they encounter death, suffering, poverty, or material want. And because God is ruling, the prophecy today studied promises strength. It is like the contemporary American poet William Mathews said about dealing with evil and hard time: "The difficulties, loads, and trials of life , the obstacles -- are positive blessings. They knot the muscles more firmly, can teach self-reliance." Christians would also add that such [negative] experiences also teach faith. Because our good God (the energetic eternal band leader) rules, even when we suffer or experience want we will still have a lot of good music to play. God is good! All the time!
Sermon Text and Title
"Serving and Doing Mission God's Way"
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim a new way of doing mission and ministry in the congregation and church as a whole, to recognize that the biblical vision and our freedom in Christ (Sanctification and Justification by Grace) direct us to tailor ministries to our context.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* After asserting his rights as an apostle in face of criticism (vv. 1-14), Paul waives his rights. He claims his preaching ministry gives him no grounds for boasting, for he has been obligated to do it (vv. 16-17).
* The gospel is to be given free of charge (v. 18).
* Returning to themes in the previous chapter, the apostle notes that the Christian is free, but free to serve -- a slave to all (v. 19).
* This leads to a reflection on ministerial strategy, that he becomes all things to all people for the sake of the gospel (vv. 20-23).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text pertains to Sanctification and Style of Ministry, as they relate to Christian freedom and Evangelism. Justification by Grace alone (without works of the law) is also addressed.
* Commenting on this text, John Calvin spoke of the responsibilities or courage associated with serving:
Let not the man, then, who has been once called to it, imagine that he is any longer at liberty to withdraw when he chooses, if, perhaps, he is harassed with vexatious occurrences, or weighed down with misfortunes, for he is devoted to the Lord and to the church, and bound by a sacred tie, which it were criminal to break asunder.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p. 301)
* Martin Luther tries to resolve the tension implicit in verse 19 by describing the Christian as both king and priest:
The nature of this priesthood and kingship is something like this: First, with respect to kingship, every Christian is by faith so exalted above all things that, by virtue of a spiritual power, he is lord of all things without exception, so that nothing can do him any harm… Not only are we the freest of kings, we are also priests forever, which is far more excellent than being kings, for as priests we are worthy to appear before God to pray for others and to teach one another divine things.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 31, pp. 354-355)
For more on Paul's reference to being free, but a slave to all, see Theological Insights for Second Lesson, Epiphany 2.
* Luther also elaborates on Paul's advice about becoming all things to all people (vv. 20-23). He would have us preach and teach laying greatest stress on where people experience the greatest need (The Book of Concord, p. 349).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Martin Luther King Jr. claimed that Sunday at 11:00 AM (worship time) remains the most segregated hour in America. This 1963 observation still seems relevant today.
5. Gimmick
Be all things to all people (v. 22). Ask Saint Paul if that is such a great idea, if it isn't having a lack of integrity. Ask Paul and the flock what kind of leaders, what kind of servants, we should be.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Change does not come easily in the church. And a lot of times we blame our leaders, both for making changes and for not making changes. Times have not changed much.
* Paul's ministry had been under fire, the object of criticisms in Corinth (vv. 1-14). In defending himself he not only waives his authority as an apostle (vv. 15-17). Church leaders today are wise not to try to exert too much authority over the membership as a whole.
* Then Paul returned to a theme he had previously addressed, whether a Christian might eat food consecrated to an idol. He had taken the position that though free to avoid Jewish strictures against eating such food, since the gospel had set us free, he would do nothing that would cause others to stumble or be offended (1 Corinthians 8:1-13; see Second Lesson, Epiphany 4). This seems to have created quite a stir among his critics, for Paul was going against the grain of established Jewish practice, but not giving up everything that the Gentiles or those Jews who understood the gospel like. When you go against the grain in church life, against what that congregation has always done, you get criticized.
* To the criticism (perhaps the Corinthians were accusing him of just "going along to get along"), Paul asserted that though free he was a slave to all, that to the Jews he would be a Jew (living under the law with those under the law) and to those outside the law become like them (vv. 19-21). He concluded that he would become all things to all people in order to save some (v. 22).
* This is a strategy for serving God and for doing ministry. Ask the congregation why we do not do it. Why do we continue to do things the way we have always done them?
* Ask the congregation if this is really the same town/neighborhood it was 25 years ago or the same as when the members joined the congregation. Suggest ways in which things are not the same. And when you do things the old way, you do not address every potential member (the new segments in the community).
* Megachurches like Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California or Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston operate this way, targeting their constituents. You adjust the ministry to this target.
* It's like one other megachurch pastor Lon Solomon of McLean (Virginia) Bible Church, put it: Sometimes you need to explain bananas in a different way.
* The fact that the church as a whole has not followed this advice and that we have not been willing to sacrifice our precious church traditions (worship styles, ways of "doing church") accounts for why Dr. King's comment about 11:00 AM Sunday being the most segregated hour is still true. Could we begin to break that down if we all tried to become all things for every person in our congregational life?
* Some would argue that you can't argue with success, and so their sort of targeting church life for this congregation is the way to go. But others may have heard of criticisms of the megachurch phenomenon, and so be skeptical of an evangelism-by-any-means-necessary approach.
* Note, in response, that the Bible, that Paul, that God's grace, makes this approach of ministry being all things to all people the way to go, the way God leads. Review Paul's claim that he is both free and a slave. Makes sense for Christians who are saved by grace apart from works, free from salvation by works of the law. Elaborate on Theological Insights and even the sermon outline of the Second Lesson, Epiphany 2, even using some of the quotations. Review the idea that freedom in the gospel makes one a servant or slave, an unwillingness to do anything that would offend the weak. Develop the quotation by Luther concerning the Christian as both king and priest in Theological Insights above. People who are free will gladly give things up for the sake of others. They can be freer, have a kind of reckless abandon regarding the old things that used to define them, because as justified sinners confident that God has affirmed them, they no longer need be defined by these other means (worship traditions, church structures, style).
* Assure the membership that nothing that is of the essence of the gospel should be surrendered, just matters of style (like music, rhetoric, or structure). Like that megachurch pastor from Virginia put it: We'll keep the banana. Just explain it in a different way.
* An attitude like that in all the members of this congregation would open the church to all members of the community, to anyone who walked through the door. Segregation on Sundays wouldn't have a chance if we became a church full of Christians who took Paul's advice.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation in closing how confident they are that God is in charge, that God loves them. Try to elicit a positive response, or affirm that they are loved by God. Then proclaim their freedom, reminding them that they must do nothing to gain God's approval, that they are "somebody." Remind them that as people with their own identity, knowing who they are, it will be a lot easier to give up some things for the sake of visitors and new members (for the sake of converts in the community) that used to define them. When you are confident in who you are, you can be a lot bolder in giving away things or modifying your style for the sake of service and communication. God has set us free to do things His way!
Sermon Text and Title
"Jesus' Authority Won't Let You Get Stuck in the Mud!"
Mark 1:29-39
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim and advocate the vision of the Christian life informed by Realized Eschatology, openness to the future, and its implications for both individual life and church life.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* After a healing in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus and His disciples visit Simon's and Andrew's home (v. 29).
* Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law, and she begins to serve them (vv. 30-31). His willingness to be served by women made Him more liberal than many rabbis of the era.
* That evening many who were sick are brought to Jesus, and He heals them, casting out demons who are forbidden to speak (vv. 32-34). The demand of silence may be an example of Mark's Jesus safeguarding the messianic secret (see 1:44; 7:36; 8:26).
* In the morning, Jesus retreats for prayer. The disciples find Him, indicating that people are looking for Him (vv. 35-37). They misunderstand the nature of His ministry.
* Jesus responds by indicating that it is time to move on to other towns. They journey throughout Galilee proclaiming His message in synagogues and casting out demons (vv. 38-39).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text deals with sanctification and ministry, a kind of eschatological openness to the future, moved by Christ. See the Gospel, Advent 1, for details.
* Reflecting on Jesus' strategy of moving on to other towns, John Calvin suggested that perhaps it is better that ministers of the gospel run here and there "to give only a slight and partial taste of it in each place…" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVI/1, p. 252).
* This lifestyle of openness to moving on is something like the lifestyle of rebellion, in the sense of French philosopher Albert Camus. He defines rebellion as the refusal to let the world be what it is, to assert meaning in face of the uncompromising meaninglessness of ordinary life (The Rebel, pp. 10-11, 306). The rebel moves on from what is, for the sake of the common good (Ibid., pp. 14-15).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* 2007 statistics indicate that only 17% of Americans regularly attend church. Even self-reported attendance percentages indicate a decline between 2000 and 2008.
* For statistics concerning American happiness levels and neurobiological research on the subject, see points made in this section for the Gospel for Epiphany 1.
5. Gimmick
Tell the story of the gospel in a "You Are There" mode. Begin by noting how the little town of Capernaum was buzzing over news of the short, bearded stranger and His healing and preaching in the local synagogue on the Sabbath. (Remind the congregation that the whole town had been so impressed with his ability to preach and discuss the Bible with rabbis, so that his healing of the crazy man had just been icing on the cake regarding the town's amazement. They were perceiving him as a man with great authority.) Then proceed to recount how Jesus, Simon, Andrew, and two other disciples entered Simon Peter's house in town (presumably he lived in Capernaum) (v. 29).
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Continue the story in the same mode. Peter pleads with Jesus to heal his mother-in-law. (Seems Peter wasn't celibate after all.) His mother-in-law actually began to serve them (vv. 30-31).
* News spread in town like wildfire. So by evening there was a whole flock of people at Peter's house hoping Jesus would heal them too. And sure enough, he did (vv. 32-34).
Jesus now had it made in Capernaum. He could have been elected king had he wished. This sort of acclaim certainly was not something Jesus had been used to in His earthly life. He was just a poor carpenter's kid who had known little but poverty His entire earthly life, and now suddenly was enjoying all the fame and attention anyone could want.
* The next morning Jesus went to a lonely place a mile or so from town to pray. Peter and some disciples tried to summon him back since everyone was searching for Him (vv. 35-37). There was every reason to return. After all, He was the center of attention in town. The disciples like Peter probably were enjoying the reflected glory too.
* But Jesus responds instead by saying it was time to move on to other towns to proclaim the message to them, for that was His mission, He said (v. 38). And that's what Jesus did (v. 39).
* Ask what this story and Jesus' decision to leave Capernaum in favor of going elsewhere to preach have to do with us. Who in their right mind would leave a good thing like Jesus did? The preacher should suggest he or she would not. But moving on was Jesus' style, He was always moving on (especially in Mark's version of the gospel) from one miracle to another, from one crowd to another, from one town to another. Mark often uses the word "immediately" (eutheos) to describe Jesus' ministry. He does it in verses 29 and 31.
* Jesus' activity tells us something about who God is, for God is always someone on the go, never content with the status quo. That's why creation was done after an eternity without it, why God continues to create, why He sent his Son to change his former way of relating to us. God is willing to change in order to make things better. (For the idea of God as God of the future, explore the Bultmann quotation in Theological Insights for the Gospel, Advent 1.)
* If the congregation has had any recent changes, note them. The congregation has been "moving on." But that seems to be Jesus' style. Not to change would be a little like telling Jesus to stay in Capernaum instead of spreading the gospel like He planned.
* God is a God of the future -- a God moving on to change. Not change for change's sake. Not change that distorts scripture or the rich heritage of this denomination. But God calls us to change, because we do not live in a perfect world but in a world filled with flaws (sin). Sure it's hard to change. Former Metallica (now Megadeath) singer David Mustaine has it right: "Moving on is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard." Maybe the reason the church in America is losing ground (cite statistics above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights) is because we have maintained those peculiar local ways of doing church to the detriment of the gospel of that future-looking God of ours.
* This message of moving on applies to the way we live our daily lives. Many of us get locked into bad situations. They may involve living in a town we don't really like, locked into an uncomfortable family situation, unhappy husband-wife patterns of relationship. To be afraid to explore alternatives is to reject Jesus' way. If you keep on doing what you have always done, you will not change the world.
Oprah Winfrey is on the money: "You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on."
* Life as we live it every day in secular existence is empty and meaningless, just a cycle of births, sicknesses, and death. Moving on, rebelliously defying the meaninglessness in favor of a promising future (the promise of God's kingdom which in Matthew 20 is for all sorts of people with different levels of accomplishment), can make life count for something. (Examine references to the philosophy of Albert Camus in Theological Insights above.) (We need to ask if our congregation is giving that witness of truly being a home of all, even for those who don't seem to have earned it.)
7. Wrap-Up
Note that God's style of calling us out of our ruts may at first glance appear distasteful. But the latest science indicates it's a way of happiness and health. Elaborate on the insights of Sherwin Nuland in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights of the Gospel, Epiphany 1. Only as we move to the future do we experience secretion of certain brain chemicals that promote feelings of happiness and impede aging by stimulating the brain to make new neural connections. Note that it is no accident that we would experience so many happy consequences of openness to moving with God into the future. That's why Jesus won't let us or this church get stuck in the mud.
God's in control, even in tough and changing times.
Collect of the Day
God is praised for giving strength to the weak. A prayer to become agents of healing, that the good news may spread, follows. Strong emphasis on Sanctification and Social Ethics.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
* Hymn praising God for His universal power and providential care.
* God's concern for the oppressed is noted (vv. 6, 3).
* See Christmas 2 Psalm for other points.
Sermon Text and Title
"God Rules"
Isaiah 40:21-31
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To comfort us in our skepticism about whether God is really in charge of history (Providence).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A work of Second Isaiah written soon before the fall of Babylon.
* The text is taken from the Book of Consolation, a series of eschatological prophecies.
* In the context of offering comfort to the exiles, a discussion of God as creator of the universe begins in verse 12.
* The lesson begins with a hymn of God's lordship of history (vv. 21-24). It is stated that He rules even the earthly rulers, sitting above the earth.
* God's incomprehensibility and omniscience is affirmed (vv. 25-27). None compares to Him. He is able to call those He created by Name.
* God's creative work and His inexhaustible compassion for the faint and powerless are extolled (vv. 28-31). God will not abandon His people.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text addresses Creation and Providence (which is best developed with the image of God as band leader).
* John Calvin notes that verse 28 entails that God is not wearied in doing good (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VII/1, p. 236).
* He also contended that "We must therefore be fully convinced of our weakness that we may yield to the power of God" (Ibid., p. 239).
* Martin Luther insists that the God portrayed in the lesson is a God of love: "To think of God as wrathful is to believe in no God" (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 24). "Finally, He pours Himself out for me altogether" (Ibid., p. 28).
* For a further elaboration of Luther's view of the peace and joy that God's providential care afford, see the first Luther quotation in Theological Insights, Second Lesson, Epiphany 4.
* Alfred North Whitehead and his Process Philosophy explains God's rule over the cosmos and history in a panentheistic mode, as incarnate in every creative act, but transcendent in the sense of establishing the conditions of the events (Process and Reality, pp. 405-407). We can speak of God's rule of the events of history like a band leader controls the orchestra. Most of what happens is by God's design, but room is left for the band's/humanity's improvisation both for good and bad.
* The image of God as band leader was proposed by English theologian and Religion-Science dialogue expert Arthur Peacocke. (See Larry Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible, pp. 48, 288.)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* The poverty rate in America at the end of 2009 was 17% of the population and steadily climbing. At the end of 2008, 24.7% of African Americans and 23% of Hispanics were living below the poverty line.
5. Gimmick
Refer to the most recent natural catastrophe. Ask if God was involved, if He caused it. Then pause. Note the statistics above in the preceding section regarding poverty. Ask if God has abandoned the poor. Pause again. Then note that we have all experienced tragedies, career setbacks, and the loss of loved ones. Ask if God willed these things. Pause again.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Sometimes the setbacks and disparities in life challenge faith. We wonder if God caused these evils, or we are led to wonder if a good, loving God actually exists.
* The people of Israel (esp. the Judeans) in the late sixth century BC were asking these questions. They were a people in agony, their great city of Jerusalem conquered and in ruins, under Babylonian control. Where was their God in the midst of this national catastrophe?
* The writer of Isaiah did not doubt God, did not question His existence, but instead sang the hymn that makes up our First Lesson. This is a poem of comfort, a statement of trust in God. Proceed to analyze the lesson, using the last three bullet points in the Exegesis section above.
* The writer of the lesson (it may or may not have been Isaiah) was still inclined to praise God, despite all the hardships. Indeed, he expresses a confidence in God's love: He will not abandon His people and though His ways are hidden, He will give power to the powerless (vv. 26-28). Our lesson bears out the vision of God reflected in the words of the great Protestant reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther. (Elaborate on the quote by Calvin above in Theological Insights and the first Luther quotation in Theological Insights, Second Lesson, Epiphany 4.)
* As it is said in the African-American church in a kind of litany: The worship leader proclaims that "God is good." And the congregation excitedly responds: "All the time!" Repeat the litany, and then ask how God can still be good, all the time.
* Note that in our lesson, though God's incomprehensibility, power over nations, and all-knowing character (naming all His creation) are affirmed (vv. 22-26), nowhere does the lesson assert that God is omnipotent (all-powerful).
* Such an idea, that everything that happens is God's will, is not biblical. Look sometime at how God laments the course of humanity on account of our sin, wishing He had never made us (Genesis 6:7). Or how Jesus was prevented from doing miracles by a lack of faith in citizens of Capernaum (Mark 6:5). God is not omnipotent (all-powerful), it seems. Some things that happen (the natural catastrophes), loss of loved ones, poverty, are not God's doing. In fact our lesson says that our God is a God who cares for the poor, who "gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless" (v. 29). This is a theme evident in our prayer and in this Sunday's Psalm (vv. 6, 3).
* How can this God still be good and concerned with the poor, how can this God still rule, while all the evils in life remain? Note how theologians in dialogue with modern science have devised a way of depicting how God rules. Develop the final bullet point above in Theological Insights.
Focus on the fact that the band leader does rule -- is in charge, gets his or her way in the big picture. The performance he selected gets played. But sometimes the members of the band make good improvisations. But other times they make mistakes (even bad ones). Mistakes like our sin are the cause of evil, the natural catastrophes, and the economic inequalities. But just like the band leader is still in charge of the band even when it is improvising or making mistakes, so God still rules.
* Our lesson reminds us God is still ruling. Indeed, like that energetic, enthusiastic band leader, God does not tire. The lesson says that He does not faint or grow weary (v. 28). God continues to rule.
* Friends in the black church are right. God is good -- all the time. God rules -- all the time. God never abandons the music players who have erred. This loving, energetic God does not give up on us. Restoration of all those who have suffered is a sure thing our lesson says. The faint will receive power and the powerless will be strengthened (v. 29). Among the faithful, their strength will be renewed, they shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint (v. 31).
7. Wrap-Up
Close by directing the congregation to human problems, to their own lives in the midst of challenges or suffering. Invite them to remember that God rules in this way the next time a natural catastrophe hits, the next time they encounter death, suffering, poverty, or material want. And because God is ruling, the prophecy today studied promises strength. It is like the contemporary American poet William Mathews said about dealing with evil and hard time: "The difficulties, loads, and trials of life , the obstacles -- are positive blessings. They knot the muscles more firmly, can teach self-reliance." Christians would also add that such [negative] experiences also teach faith. Because our good God (the energetic eternal band leader) rules, even when we suffer or experience want we will still have a lot of good music to play. God is good! All the time!
Sermon Text and Title
"Serving and Doing Mission God's Way"
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim a new way of doing mission and ministry in the congregation and church as a whole, to recognize that the biblical vision and our freedom in Christ (Sanctification and Justification by Grace) direct us to tailor ministries to our context.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* After asserting his rights as an apostle in face of criticism (vv. 1-14), Paul waives his rights. He claims his preaching ministry gives him no grounds for boasting, for he has been obligated to do it (vv. 16-17).
* The gospel is to be given free of charge (v. 18).
* Returning to themes in the previous chapter, the apostle notes that the Christian is free, but free to serve -- a slave to all (v. 19).
* This leads to a reflection on ministerial strategy, that he becomes all things to all people for the sake of the gospel (vv. 20-23).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text pertains to Sanctification and Style of Ministry, as they relate to Christian freedom and Evangelism. Justification by Grace alone (without works of the law) is also addressed.
* Commenting on this text, John Calvin spoke of the responsibilities or courage associated with serving:
Let not the man, then, who has been once called to it, imagine that he is any longer at liberty to withdraw when he chooses, if, perhaps, he is harassed with vexatious occurrences, or weighed down with misfortunes, for he is devoted to the Lord and to the church, and bound by a sacred tie, which it were criminal to break asunder.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p. 301)
* Martin Luther tries to resolve the tension implicit in verse 19 by describing the Christian as both king and priest:
The nature of this priesthood and kingship is something like this: First, with respect to kingship, every Christian is by faith so exalted above all things that, by virtue of a spiritual power, he is lord of all things without exception, so that nothing can do him any harm… Not only are we the freest of kings, we are also priests forever, which is far more excellent than being kings, for as priests we are worthy to appear before God to pray for others and to teach one another divine things.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 31, pp. 354-355)
For more on Paul's reference to being free, but a slave to all, see Theological Insights for Second Lesson, Epiphany 2.
* Luther also elaborates on Paul's advice about becoming all things to all people (vv. 20-23). He would have us preach and teach laying greatest stress on where people experience the greatest need (The Book of Concord, p. 349).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Martin Luther King Jr. claimed that Sunday at 11:00 AM (worship time) remains the most segregated hour in America. This 1963 observation still seems relevant today.
5. Gimmick
Be all things to all people (v. 22). Ask Saint Paul if that is such a great idea, if it isn't having a lack of integrity. Ask Paul and the flock what kind of leaders, what kind of servants, we should be.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Change does not come easily in the church. And a lot of times we blame our leaders, both for making changes and for not making changes. Times have not changed much.
* Paul's ministry had been under fire, the object of criticisms in Corinth (vv. 1-14). In defending himself he not only waives his authority as an apostle (vv. 15-17). Church leaders today are wise not to try to exert too much authority over the membership as a whole.
* Then Paul returned to a theme he had previously addressed, whether a Christian might eat food consecrated to an idol. He had taken the position that though free to avoid Jewish strictures against eating such food, since the gospel had set us free, he would do nothing that would cause others to stumble or be offended (1 Corinthians 8:1-13; see Second Lesson, Epiphany 4). This seems to have created quite a stir among his critics, for Paul was going against the grain of established Jewish practice, but not giving up everything that the Gentiles or those Jews who understood the gospel like. When you go against the grain in church life, against what that congregation has always done, you get criticized.
* To the criticism (perhaps the Corinthians were accusing him of just "going along to get along"), Paul asserted that though free he was a slave to all, that to the Jews he would be a Jew (living under the law with those under the law) and to those outside the law become like them (vv. 19-21). He concluded that he would become all things to all people in order to save some (v. 22).
* This is a strategy for serving God and for doing ministry. Ask the congregation why we do not do it. Why do we continue to do things the way we have always done them?
* Ask the congregation if this is really the same town/neighborhood it was 25 years ago or the same as when the members joined the congregation. Suggest ways in which things are not the same. And when you do things the old way, you do not address every potential member (the new segments in the community).
* Megachurches like Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California or Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston operate this way, targeting their constituents. You adjust the ministry to this target.
* It's like one other megachurch pastor Lon Solomon of McLean (Virginia) Bible Church, put it: Sometimes you need to explain bananas in a different way.
* The fact that the church as a whole has not followed this advice and that we have not been willing to sacrifice our precious church traditions (worship styles, ways of "doing church") accounts for why Dr. King's comment about 11:00 AM Sunday being the most segregated hour is still true. Could we begin to break that down if we all tried to become all things for every person in our congregational life?
* Some would argue that you can't argue with success, and so their sort of targeting church life for this congregation is the way to go. But others may have heard of criticisms of the megachurch phenomenon, and so be skeptical of an evangelism-by-any-means-necessary approach.
* Note, in response, that the Bible, that Paul, that God's grace, makes this approach of ministry being all things to all people the way to go, the way God leads. Review Paul's claim that he is both free and a slave. Makes sense for Christians who are saved by grace apart from works, free from salvation by works of the law. Elaborate on Theological Insights and even the sermon outline of the Second Lesson, Epiphany 2, even using some of the quotations. Review the idea that freedom in the gospel makes one a servant or slave, an unwillingness to do anything that would offend the weak. Develop the quotation by Luther concerning the Christian as both king and priest in Theological Insights above. People who are free will gladly give things up for the sake of others. They can be freer, have a kind of reckless abandon regarding the old things that used to define them, because as justified sinners confident that God has affirmed them, they no longer need be defined by these other means (worship traditions, church structures, style).
* Assure the membership that nothing that is of the essence of the gospel should be surrendered, just matters of style (like music, rhetoric, or structure). Like that megachurch pastor from Virginia put it: We'll keep the banana. Just explain it in a different way.
* An attitude like that in all the members of this congregation would open the church to all members of the community, to anyone who walked through the door. Segregation on Sundays wouldn't have a chance if we became a church full of Christians who took Paul's advice.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation in closing how confident they are that God is in charge, that God loves them. Try to elicit a positive response, or affirm that they are loved by God. Then proclaim their freedom, reminding them that they must do nothing to gain God's approval, that they are "somebody." Remind them that as people with their own identity, knowing who they are, it will be a lot easier to give up some things for the sake of visitors and new members (for the sake of converts in the community) that used to define them. When you are confident in who you are, you can be a lot bolder in giving away things or modifying your style for the sake of service and communication. God has set us free to do things His way!
Sermon Text and Title
"Jesus' Authority Won't Let You Get Stuck in the Mud!"
Mark 1:29-39
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim and advocate the vision of the Christian life informed by Realized Eschatology, openness to the future, and its implications for both individual life and church life.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* After a healing in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus and His disciples visit Simon's and Andrew's home (v. 29).
* Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law, and she begins to serve them (vv. 30-31). His willingness to be served by women made Him more liberal than many rabbis of the era.
* That evening many who were sick are brought to Jesus, and He heals them, casting out demons who are forbidden to speak (vv. 32-34). The demand of silence may be an example of Mark's Jesus safeguarding the messianic secret (see 1:44; 7:36; 8:26).
* In the morning, Jesus retreats for prayer. The disciples find Him, indicating that people are looking for Him (vv. 35-37). They misunderstand the nature of His ministry.
* Jesus responds by indicating that it is time to move on to other towns. They journey throughout Galilee proclaiming His message in synagogues and casting out demons (vv. 38-39).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text deals with sanctification and ministry, a kind of eschatological openness to the future, moved by Christ. See the Gospel, Advent 1, for details.
* Reflecting on Jesus' strategy of moving on to other towns, John Calvin suggested that perhaps it is better that ministers of the gospel run here and there "to give only a slight and partial taste of it in each place…" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVI/1, p. 252).
* This lifestyle of openness to moving on is something like the lifestyle of rebellion, in the sense of French philosopher Albert Camus. He defines rebellion as the refusal to let the world be what it is, to assert meaning in face of the uncompromising meaninglessness of ordinary life (The Rebel, pp. 10-11, 306). The rebel moves on from what is, for the sake of the common good (Ibid., pp. 14-15).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* 2007 statistics indicate that only 17% of Americans regularly attend church. Even self-reported attendance percentages indicate a decline between 2000 and 2008.
* For statistics concerning American happiness levels and neurobiological research on the subject, see points made in this section for the Gospel for Epiphany 1.
5. Gimmick
Tell the story of the gospel in a "You Are There" mode. Begin by noting how the little town of Capernaum was buzzing over news of the short, bearded stranger and His healing and preaching in the local synagogue on the Sabbath. (Remind the congregation that the whole town had been so impressed with his ability to preach and discuss the Bible with rabbis, so that his healing of the crazy man had just been icing on the cake regarding the town's amazement. They were perceiving him as a man with great authority.) Then proceed to recount how Jesus, Simon, Andrew, and two other disciples entered Simon Peter's house in town (presumably he lived in Capernaum) (v. 29).
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Continue the story in the same mode. Peter pleads with Jesus to heal his mother-in-law. (Seems Peter wasn't celibate after all.) His mother-in-law actually began to serve them (vv. 30-31).
* News spread in town like wildfire. So by evening there was a whole flock of people at Peter's house hoping Jesus would heal them too. And sure enough, he did (vv. 32-34).
Jesus now had it made in Capernaum. He could have been elected king had he wished. This sort of acclaim certainly was not something Jesus had been used to in His earthly life. He was just a poor carpenter's kid who had known little but poverty His entire earthly life, and now suddenly was enjoying all the fame and attention anyone could want.
* The next morning Jesus went to a lonely place a mile or so from town to pray. Peter and some disciples tried to summon him back since everyone was searching for Him (vv. 35-37). There was every reason to return. After all, He was the center of attention in town. The disciples like Peter probably were enjoying the reflected glory too.
* But Jesus responds instead by saying it was time to move on to other towns to proclaim the message to them, for that was His mission, He said (v. 38). And that's what Jesus did (v. 39).
* Ask what this story and Jesus' decision to leave Capernaum in favor of going elsewhere to preach have to do with us. Who in their right mind would leave a good thing like Jesus did? The preacher should suggest he or she would not. But moving on was Jesus' style, He was always moving on (especially in Mark's version of the gospel) from one miracle to another, from one crowd to another, from one town to another. Mark often uses the word "immediately" (eutheos) to describe Jesus' ministry. He does it in verses 29 and 31.
* Jesus' activity tells us something about who God is, for God is always someone on the go, never content with the status quo. That's why creation was done after an eternity without it, why God continues to create, why He sent his Son to change his former way of relating to us. God is willing to change in order to make things better. (For the idea of God as God of the future, explore the Bultmann quotation in Theological Insights for the Gospel, Advent 1.)
* If the congregation has had any recent changes, note them. The congregation has been "moving on." But that seems to be Jesus' style. Not to change would be a little like telling Jesus to stay in Capernaum instead of spreading the gospel like He planned.
* God is a God of the future -- a God moving on to change. Not change for change's sake. Not change that distorts scripture or the rich heritage of this denomination. But God calls us to change, because we do not live in a perfect world but in a world filled with flaws (sin). Sure it's hard to change. Former Metallica (now Megadeath) singer David Mustaine has it right: "Moving on is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard." Maybe the reason the church in America is losing ground (cite statistics above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights) is because we have maintained those peculiar local ways of doing church to the detriment of the gospel of that future-looking God of ours.
* This message of moving on applies to the way we live our daily lives. Many of us get locked into bad situations. They may involve living in a town we don't really like, locked into an uncomfortable family situation, unhappy husband-wife patterns of relationship. To be afraid to explore alternatives is to reject Jesus' way. If you keep on doing what you have always done, you will not change the world.
Oprah Winfrey is on the money: "You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on."
* Life as we live it every day in secular existence is empty and meaningless, just a cycle of births, sicknesses, and death. Moving on, rebelliously defying the meaninglessness in favor of a promising future (the promise of God's kingdom which in Matthew 20 is for all sorts of people with different levels of accomplishment), can make life count for something. (Examine references to the philosophy of Albert Camus in Theological Insights above.) (We need to ask if our congregation is giving that witness of truly being a home of all, even for those who don't seem to have earned it.)
7. Wrap-Up
Note that God's style of calling us out of our ruts may at first glance appear distasteful. But the latest science indicates it's a way of happiness and health. Elaborate on the insights of Sherwin Nuland in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights of the Gospel, Epiphany 1. Only as we move to the future do we experience secretion of certain brain chemicals that promote feelings of happiness and impede aging by stimulating the brain to make new neural connections. Note that it is no accident that we would experience so many happy consequences of openness to moving with God into the future. That's why Jesus won't let us or this church get stuck in the mud.
