Epiphany 8
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook, SERIES II
for use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Comments on the Lessons
The Isaiah passage is the conclusion of the book of Deutero-Isaiah and has close connections with the beginning of the book. This is especially evident in 40:6ff. It speaks of the power of God's word to create the response for which it was sent forth. The thrust of the Jeremiah passage is that true religion consists not in the temple's presence but in a complete moral change. Sirach cautions as to the test of wisdom. There is virtual consensus on the 1 Corinthians reading, which picks up where last Sunday's lesson left off. There is virtual consensus on the Lucan passage, but verses 46-49 are included in (C) (L) because they serve to provide for a more complete sermon.
Commentary
Isaiah 55:10-13 (C)
The preceding verses 8-9 point to the boundless horizons of God's ways and designs which are beyond human imagining. All things are possible with God. Now in verses 10ff the corollary is stated: God can be depended upon. The general statement about God's words alludes to the word of salvation which is now being spoken to Israel. The people can depend upon the fact that what God wills with it, it accomplishes. For Isaiah the word of God was not primarily something with content but rather the instrument by which God accomplishes something. God's word does something! "So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (v. 11) One special feature of the word of God as set forth by the prophets was that it had nothing to safeguard it. It rested solely on the fact that it was transmitted to the messenger who had come on the scene with it. It was a word which came to a particular man, and so was an entirely personal word. While it might be doubted or silenced, or even disdained, it was heard from a particular instrument of God.
The word of salvation spoken to Israel does not work automatically, but is spoken to people who can either accept or reject it. It comes as a personal word between two persons. The Word of God effects what it designs to do through those who harken to it and accept its message of salvation. Note that verses 10ff are the substantiation of the invitation given in verse 6: "Seek the Lord, while he may be found, call upon him while he is near!" The words at the end of Deutero-Isaiah's message declare that what has been proclaimed by God still continues in being. This fresh Word of God achieves its purpose and fulfillment. The one thing that is certain is that prophecy inevitably results in fulfillment, for the Word never returns to God void. This God who fulfills his promises is the one whose thoughts and ways are far greater than those of human beings.
In verses 12-13 we have the New Exodus described, a trip into an Eden-like land. Deutero-Isaiah is summing up what he has described before - the hour of departure and the joy of the way back home. The one who frees Israel from Exile is no less than the Lord of history. The singing described here is the one and necessary reaction on the part of the exiles as they set forth for home. They have been in a foreign country for a long time, and now they set out for their own land. The one who frees Israel is also the creator God, therefore all creation joins in the joy of those set free. Notice the relationship to the Psalms, which describe the singing of the redeemed and the call to all creation to join in praise of God. The Bible sees that in the mind of God creation and history are a unity, and therefore cannot be separated. The final words of 13b point away from the redemption itself to the redeemer. All that happens does so for God's honor, even as all creation exists in order to praise him.
This poem closes with the liberation from Exile, which is the dominant theme of all the poems, and which moves the prophet's deepest feeling and more lyrical expression. The exiles depart in joy and are led forth in peace, which restates the note of comfort with which the poems began. God's Word is effective and the people of God respond to it. The Hebrew entertained vivid imagery of the aliveness of nature joining in the songs and praise to God.
Jeremiah 7:1-7 (8-15) (L)
The "temple sermon," as it is called, extends only through verse 15. The rest of the verses are from other occasions. The parallel to this temple sermon is in Jeremiah 26:4-6, which includes only the essence of 7:2-15. Notice that the words of the prophet reach their climax in 7:14-15 and 26:6. It is reported that the religious leaders would not allow Jeremiah to continue, but arrested him immediately as 26:8ff reports. It seems that 7:21-26 were spoken in the temple also, but not at the same time as verses 1-15. This temple sermon was one of the most important events in Jeremiah's life, and reveals his dauntless courage. It created strong opposition to him, and shows his attitude toward the Jerusalem temple. The sermon is built around the ambiguous term "place" which means temple, or land. (v. 7) Note that chapter 26 concentrates on the threat to the city, but here verses 1-15 use that threat to make observations on matters which relate to worship in the temple.
The way in which the editor of this material shapes the sermon expresses a divine Word proclaimed in the temple dated in 26:1 . "In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord." It was delivered perhaps during the Feast of Booths (September-October) 609 B.C.
There are four elements in the sermon:
1. an admonition, verses 2-4;
2. a second admonition, verses 5-7;
3. an invective, verses 9-11;
4. a threat, verses 12-14.
The thrust of Jeremiah's sermon is a call to the nation to amend its ways in order that it might be allowed to live in the land, or that God might remain with them. Jeremiah preaches to the people not to trust in a lie, "these deceptive words," (v. 4) but to trust in God. While the lie is not defined, it seems to refer to verse 4, or to verse 10, "and say 'We are delivered!' only to go on doing all these abominations?" The lie is reflected in the false trust in the incantation, which apparently was repeated like a magical charm: "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord." (v. 4) This referred to the complex of buildings believed to be the home of Yahweh. Trust in buildings is trust in a lie. Only amendment of life will give the people what they want, namely guaranteed security.
Note that the sermon goes directly counter to the object of public trust. Their trust in the temple is false because security is not to be found in the possession of a divine house. (The current "steeple chase" of churches for bigger church plants and taller steeples is a parallel.) This repetition of "the temple of the Lord" is a striking illustration of mindless worship, expressive of much of what passes for religion on television evangelistic shows. This type of behavior turns the temple, God's house, into a robbers' cave. (v. 11)
Notice that Jeremiah's sermon is not against temple worship as such. The tradition is not against cultic practice. But it shows a different relationship between ethics and worship than was commonly held. The amendment of life is spelled out in verses 5-6:
1. Execute justice one with another
2. Do not oppress the alien, the fatherless, or the widow
3. Do not shed innocent blood in this place
4. Do not go after other gods to your own hurt
Jeremiah declares that if the people will so amend their ethical behavior, then God says he will dwell in this place (temple), in the land that he gave them of old to their fathers, to be theirs forever.
Sirach 27:4-7 (RC)
This is part of a digression in verses 4-10 of an even larger section dealing with sins and sinners. (26:29--28:26) The writer says that the surest test of a person is to hear that person reason. What the person says reveals what she or he thinks and is. Shaking in a sieve or firing in a kiln reveals any coarseness or hidden flaws. There is nothing sadder than to see a person, whose mind was never trained to think, stumble along in a conversation, unable to express a feeling or thought. The fruit of a tree reveals the skill of its grower, says the author. An underdeveloped apple or peach with worms reveals a careless or indifferent grower. So a person's thoughts reveal that person's character. Hence, the admonition is to withhold praise of a person until you hear the person in discussion, for this is the acid test.
Jesus made a similar observation when he said, "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man." (Matthew 15:18) Jesus also talked about good trees producing good fruit. (Matthew 12:33) The truth of Jesus Christ in the Gospel releases minds from the bondage of guilt and sin to express beauty and truth. The message of Sirach gives good advice, but leaves us without the Gospel - that a mind bound by fear and ignorance can be released by the power of God in Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (C) (L)
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (RC)
The passage of verses 50-58 deals with the Christian life now. Earlier Paul has dealt with the timetable of salvation, the fact that Christ is raised as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Now he discusses the other side of his dilemma, namely our flesh and blood composition. Notice how, in Paul's description of what will happen at the End, he anticipates the logical question: If we at present bear the image of the earthly Adam, and at the same time know that we shall some day bear the image of the second Adam (Christ), then what relationship is there between our present existence and our future one, and how do we move from one to the other?
The Jews knew much about the pictures of the End from the literature of Daniel and those after him. Gentiles, on the other hand, would not be familiar with these ideas. For this reason it was for them a mystery. (v. 51) A mystery as described here is a secret made known in Christ. Paul makes it clear that human beings as they are, even though they live by God's breath and know and have received God's Spirit, nevertheless cannot be resurrected. Flesh and blood is not what will be raised.
But if this is the case, then what continuity is there between what is sown and what is raised in the resurrection? Paul expresses the continuity in two ways: (1) the content of the mystery or secret is: we shall be changed by an act of God in which our mode of existence will be radically changed, but our identity will remain. This will happen, says Paul, "in a moment," or "twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet," (v. 52) (2) but this change is not thought of as happening solely in the time to come, for Christ has already been given a resurrection body. He has become a Spirit.
Paul expresses the concept that believers are already caught up in this in a number of ways. He speaks of being in Christ, or of the body of Christ, or bearing the image of Christ. (v. 49) But the Christian experiences this process of redemption as a tension within, a tension taking the form of a simultaneous dying and living.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)
Even while we are experiencing death in this life, we know that life and another self is somehow being formed.
Paul says that this perishable nature and this mortal nature must put on immortality. This language would be more familiar to Gentile Christians than would the apocalyptic imagery Paul uses in writing to the Thessalonians.
Then Paul refers to Old Testament Scripture from Isaiah 25:8, and Hosea 13:14, which in Greek versions of the Hebrew Scripture come close to Paul's words here. While the final victory over sin and death is yet in the future for Christians, it is a process in which Christians are involved now.
In verses 56ff Paul points to realities of everyday life. He says the sting of death is sin, like the sting of a deadly serpent or insect. The power of sin is the law, says Paul. But the victory over both sin and death is through our Lord Jesus Christ. This victory is ours now!
Yet this is not a victory in idea only, as the Gnostics might have it, but a victory here and now as we abound in the work of the Lord. Obedience is the key to victorious living now and in the future. Christians are to abound in this work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord their labor is not in vain. He urges them to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. This is what resurrection faith means here and now. We know that the work we do here and now in the Lord has consequences in the New Age. We are in the process of redemption. Christ is the beginning of this process. He has already defeated the enemies of the Lord, sin and death. No matter how much the evidence of daily living may go counter to this, in faith we believe this is so. Evil, like a chicken whose head has been severed, flops and jerks about in its death throes, but its death is sure. Even so, now the violence and abundance of evil points to the fact that evil's doom is sure, for Christ on the cross broke its power once for all. We believe that our faithfulness, our obedience to the Living Christ is somehow taken up into the redemptive process, and has ultimate meaning and results.
Luke 6:39-49 (C) (L)
Luke 6:39-45 (RC)
This is the third and final part of the Sermon on the Plain. It consists of four parables:
1. Verses 39-40 - the teacher must not be blind
2. Verses 41-42 - the guide should be self-critical and transformed
3. Verses 43-45 - good trees produce good fruit, not bad
4. Verses 46-49 - the house built upon a rock foundation
Luke says that Jesus told them a parable. (v. 39) In 15:3 Luke says Jesus told them "this parable" (singular), but follows with three parables in the remainder of the chapter. Similarly, here the singular parable statement is followed by four parables. The fact that Luke introduces this with the singular indicates the unity of the stories which follow as Luke sees them. Here Luke is particularly concerned about Christian influences.
Verses 39-45 follow an ABA' pattern, with the central section, B, formed by verses 41-42, which emphasize the need to take stock of oneself before trying to improve others. However, this does not mean a permissive "live and let live" attitude toward evil, for mutual admonition in the community of faith is essential. The other two components, A, verses 39-40, and A, verses 43-45, serve as motivations for the central issue of personal transformation before attempting to change others.
In the first parable, verses 39-40, Jesus says that a person becomes like his teacher. The pupil can be no better than her or his teacher. If a person learns from Christ, then the disciple will not be like some Pharisees are, blind leaders of the blind.
In the second parable, 40-42, the emphasis is on the leader reforming his or her own life rather than judging the lives of others. The imagery used here was also used by the rabbis. The true leader should be personally transformed before taking up the task of admonishing and transforming the life of a fellow disciple.
The third parable, verses 43-45, speaks of motivation. Personal transformation of the leader or teacher is critical, because what one does and what one says is an expression of what one truly is. Character determines conduct. What a person does reflects what he or she is at heart.
The fourth parable, verses 46-49, is of a flash flood in Palestine. Luke's key word is "foundation." Matthew 7:24ff gives an even more vivid description of the same parable. There may be an allusion here to Christians who have promoted false teachings and so do not have firm foundations. This final parable serves both as the end of section three, verses 39-49, and as the conclusion of the whole Sermon on the Plain. The function of this parable is exhortation. The thrust of it is the disciple's doing what has been heard. The person who does what she or he has heard is stable in times of crisis. But those who hear only are unstable.
The Gospel of Luke shares with the epistle of James a strong concern that a disciple not think of Christian faith as a belief or confession only but as a belief and walk in the world. Faith and action go together. Jesus had warned those who "call me, Lord, Lord" but do not follow his commands. This final parable is a fitting conclusion to the Sermon since it stresses the indisoluble union between confession of faith and walk with Christ in obedience.
Theological Reflections
The thrust of the Isaiah passage is that God can be depended upon, that his Word will accomplish its goal. God's Word will prosper in the thing for which it is sent. The people will go out in joy and be led forth in peace in the New Exodus. Jeremiah calls the people to amend their ways rather than trust in magical formulas of security in the temple buildings. Sirach stresses the fact that a person's discourse reveals the character and heart of the person. In Corinthians, Paul discusses the End, when the mortal nature must put on immortality, and the victory through Christ is complete. Because of this resurrection faith one is to live now doing the work of the Lord since this work is not in vain. Luke records the end of the Sermon on the Plain in which Jesus stresses the need for the teacher or leader to be personally transformed before seeking to lead others. Jesus points to the essential foundation of the Christian life, namely hearing and obeying his word.
Homiletical Moves
Isaiah 55:10-13 (C)
God's Word Accomplishes Its Purpose
1. As the forces of nature, rain and snow, function to produce new growth and seed, so God's word will produce what it is sent forth to do
2. God calls his people to go forth in the new Exodus with joy, and in peace, as nature itself joins in the celebration
3. God has delivered us from the exile of sin by the death and resurrection of Christ
4. Let us return to God in joy and peace, knowing that his word will not return to him empty but will produce fruit
Jeremiah 7:1-7 (8-15) (L)
Amend Your Ways and So Dwell in God's Land
1. Trust in magical incantations of "the temple of the Lord," or other misplaced faith will not secure a dwelling with God
2. Only if we amend our ways and doings, and execute justice with one another, will we be allowed to dwell in God's place
3. Therefore, let us repent of our sins, and turn once again to God that we may dwell securely with him wherever we may go
Sirach 27:4-7 (RC)
Thought Reveals Character!
1. As a sieve reveals coarseness and the kiln reveals flaws in ceramics, so a person is tried in debate
2. The fruit of a tree reveals the skill of its grower, and so the expression of a person's thoughts reveals character
3. The power of the Gospel can transform human character
4. Therefore, let us believe in Christ and invite the Spirit to transform our lives
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (C) (L)
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (RC)
Be Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord!
1. The mystery made known in Christ is that at the End we shall all be changed into a body chosen by God
2. Death, sin, and the power of sin, the law, have been overcome by Christ's death and resurrection
3. Therefore, let us be always binding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain
This Preacher's Preference
Luke 6:39-49 (C) (L)
Luke 6:39-45 (RC)
Hearing and Doing the Word of the Lord
1. A teacher and leader must be transformed in order to lead others to the truth, and be self-critical in order to help others
2. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
3. A person who hears and does the words of the Lord is like a person whose house is built on a rock that withstands the storms of life
4. A person who hears but does not do the Lord's will is like a person whose house is built on the ground without a solid foundation, which is destroyed by the storms of life
5. Therefore, let us hear and do the words Jesus tells us, and we will have true security in the storms of life
Hymn for Epiphany 8: O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee
Prayer
Gracious God, we trust in your word which accomplishes its purpose. We pray that we may so amend our ways, and do justice to all, that we may dwell securely with you. Take away our false trust in possessions and holy places that we may trust in you alone. Give us the faith to always abound in the work of the Lord since we know Christ has won the victory over death, sin, and the law. May we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Grant that we may not only hear, but do, the Lord's word, and so build our life upon a solid foundation. Amen
The Isaiah passage is the conclusion of the book of Deutero-Isaiah and has close connections with the beginning of the book. This is especially evident in 40:6ff. It speaks of the power of God's word to create the response for which it was sent forth. The thrust of the Jeremiah passage is that true religion consists not in the temple's presence but in a complete moral change. Sirach cautions as to the test of wisdom. There is virtual consensus on the 1 Corinthians reading, which picks up where last Sunday's lesson left off. There is virtual consensus on the Lucan passage, but verses 46-49 are included in (C) (L) because they serve to provide for a more complete sermon.
Commentary
Isaiah 55:10-13 (C)
The preceding verses 8-9 point to the boundless horizons of God's ways and designs which are beyond human imagining. All things are possible with God. Now in verses 10ff the corollary is stated: God can be depended upon. The general statement about God's words alludes to the word of salvation which is now being spoken to Israel. The people can depend upon the fact that what God wills with it, it accomplishes. For Isaiah the word of God was not primarily something with content but rather the instrument by which God accomplishes something. God's word does something! "So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (v. 11) One special feature of the word of God as set forth by the prophets was that it had nothing to safeguard it. It rested solely on the fact that it was transmitted to the messenger who had come on the scene with it. It was a word which came to a particular man, and so was an entirely personal word. While it might be doubted or silenced, or even disdained, it was heard from a particular instrument of God.
The word of salvation spoken to Israel does not work automatically, but is spoken to people who can either accept or reject it. It comes as a personal word between two persons. The Word of God effects what it designs to do through those who harken to it and accept its message of salvation. Note that verses 10ff are the substantiation of the invitation given in verse 6: "Seek the Lord, while he may be found, call upon him while he is near!" The words at the end of Deutero-Isaiah's message declare that what has been proclaimed by God still continues in being. This fresh Word of God achieves its purpose and fulfillment. The one thing that is certain is that prophecy inevitably results in fulfillment, for the Word never returns to God void. This God who fulfills his promises is the one whose thoughts and ways are far greater than those of human beings.
In verses 12-13 we have the New Exodus described, a trip into an Eden-like land. Deutero-Isaiah is summing up what he has described before - the hour of departure and the joy of the way back home. The one who frees Israel from Exile is no less than the Lord of history. The singing described here is the one and necessary reaction on the part of the exiles as they set forth for home. They have been in a foreign country for a long time, and now they set out for their own land. The one who frees Israel is also the creator God, therefore all creation joins in the joy of those set free. Notice the relationship to the Psalms, which describe the singing of the redeemed and the call to all creation to join in praise of God. The Bible sees that in the mind of God creation and history are a unity, and therefore cannot be separated. The final words of 13b point away from the redemption itself to the redeemer. All that happens does so for God's honor, even as all creation exists in order to praise him.
This poem closes with the liberation from Exile, which is the dominant theme of all the poems, and which moves the prophet's deepest feeling and more lyrical expression. The exiles depart in joy and are led forth in peace, which restates the note of comfort with which the poems began. God's Word is effective and the people of God respond to it. The Hebrew entertained vivid imagery of the aliveness of nature joining in the songs and praise to God.
Jeremiah 7:1-7 (8-15) (L)
The "temple sermon," as it is called, extends only through verse 15. The rest of the verses are from other occasions. The parallel to this temple sermon is in Jeremiah 26:4-6, which includes only the essence of 7:2-15. Notice that the words of the prophet reach their climax in 7:14-15 and 26:6. It is reported that the religious leaders would not allow Jeremiah to continue, but arrested him immediately as 26:8ff reports. It seems that 7:21-26 were spoken in the temple also, but not at the same time as verses 1-15. This temple sermon was one of the most important events in Jeremiah's life, and reveals his dauntless courage. It created strong opposition to him, and shows his attitude toward the Jerusalem temple. The sermon is built around the ambiguous term "place" which means temple, or land. (v. 7) Note that chapter 26 concentrates on the threat to the city, but here verses 1-15 use that threat to make observations on matters which relate to worship in the temple.
The way in which the editor of this material shapes the sermon expresses a divine Word proclaimed in the temple dated in 26:1 . "In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord." It was delivered perhaps during the Feast of Booths (September-October) 609 B.C.
There are four elements in the sermon:
1. an admonition, verses 2-4;
2. a second admonition, verses 5-7;
3. an invective, verses 9-11;
4. a threat, verses 12-14.
The thrust of Jeremiah's sermon is a call to the nation to amend its ways in order that it might be allowed to live in the land, or that God might remain with them. Jeremiah preaches to the people not to trust in a lie, "these deceptive words," (v. 4) but to trust in God. While the lie is not defined, it seems to refer to verse 4, or to verse 10, "and say 'We are delivered!' only to go on doing all these abominations?" The lie is reflected in the false trust in the incantation, which apparently was repeated like a magical charm: "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord." (v. 4) This referred to the complex of buildings believed to be the home of Yahweh. Trust in buildings is trust in a lie. Only amendment of life will give the people what they want, namely guaranteed security.
Note that the sermon goes directly counter to the object of public trust. Their trust in the temple is false because security is not to be found in the possession of a divine house. (The current "steeple chase" of churches for bigger church plants and taller steeples is a parallel.) This repetition of "the temple of the Lord" is a striking illustration of mindless worship, expressive of much of what passes for religion on television evangelistic shows. This type of behavior turns the temple, God's house, into a robbers' cave. (v. 11)
Notice that Jeremiah's sermon is not against temple worship as such. The tradition is not against cultic practice. But it shows a different relationship between ethics and worship than was commonly held. The amendment of life is spelled out in verses 5-6:
1. Execute justice one with another
2. Do not oppress the alien, the fatherless, or the widow
3. Do not shed innocent blood in this place
4. Do not go after other gods to your own hurt
Jeremiah declares that if the people will so amend their ethical behavior, then God says he will dwell in this place (temple), in the land that he gave them of old to their fathers, to be theirs forever.
Sirach 27:4-7 (RC)
This is part of a digression in verses 4-10 of an even larger section dealing with sins and sinners. (26:29--28:26) The writer says that the surest test of a person is to hear that person reason. What the person says reveals what she or he thinks and is. Shaking in a sieve or firing in a kiln reveals any coarseness or hidden flaws. There is nothing sadder than to see a person, whose mind was never trained to think, stumble along in a conversation, unable to express a feeling or thought. The fruit of a tree reveals the skill of its grower, says the author. An underdeveloped apple or peach with worms reveals a careless or indifferent grower. So a person's thoughts reveal that person's character. Hence, the admonition is to withhold praise of a person until you hear the person in discussion, for this is the acid test.
Jesus made a similar observation when he said, "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man." (Matthew 15:18) Jesus also talked about good trees producing good fruit. (Matthew 12:33) The truth of Jesus Christ in the Gospel releases minds from the bondage of guilt and sin to express beauty and truth. The message of Sirach gives good advice, but leaves us without the Gospel - that a mind bound by fear and ignorance can be released by the power of God in Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (C) (L)
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (RC)
The passage of verses 50-58 deals with the Christian life now. Earlier Paul has dealt with the timetable of salvation, the fact that Christ is raised as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Now he discusses the other side of his dilemma, namely our flesh and blood composition. Notice how, in Paul's description of what will happen at the End, he anticipates the logical question: If we at present bear the image of the earthly Adam, and at the same time know that we shall some day bear the image of the second Adam (Christ), then what relationship is there between our present existence and our future one, and how do we move from one to the other?
The Jews knew much about the pictures of the End from the literature of Daniel and those after him. Gentiles, on the other hand, would not be familiar with these ideas. For this reason it was for them a mystery. (v. 51) A mystery as described here is a secret made known in Christ. Paul makes it clear that human beings as they are, even though they live by God's breath and know and have received God's Spirit, nevertheless cannot be resurrected. Flesh and blood is not what will be raised.
But if this is the case, then what continuity is there between what is sown and what is raised in the resurrection? Paul expresses the continuity in two ways: (1) the content of the mystery or secret is: we shall be changed by an act of God in which our mode of existence will be radically changed, but our identity will remain. This will happen, says Paul, "in a moment," or "twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet," (v. 52) (2) but this change is not thought of as happening solely in the time to come, for Christ has already been given a resurrection body. He has become a Spirit.
Paul expresses the concept that believers are already caught up in this in a number of ways. He speaks of being in Christ, or of the body of Christ, or bearing the image of Christ. (v. 49) But the Christian experiences this process of redemption as a tension within, a tension taking the form of a simultaneous dying and living.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)
Even while we are experiencing death in this life, we know that life and another self is somehow being formed.
Paul says that this perishable nature and this mortal nature must put on immortality. This language would be more familiar to Gentile Christians than would the apocalyptic imagery Paul uses in writing to the Thessalonians.
Then Paul refers to Old Testament Scripture from Isaiah 25:8, and Hosea 13:14, which in Greek versions of the Hebrew Scripture come close to Paul's words here. While the final victory over sin and death is yet in the future for Christians, it is a process in which Christians are involved now.
In verses 56ff Paul points to realities of everyday life. He says the sting of death is sin, like the sting of a deadly serpent or insect. The power of sin is the law, says Paul. But the victory over both sin and death is through our Lord Jesus Christ. This victory is ours now!
Yet this is not a victory in idea only, as the Gnostics might have it, but a victory here and now as we abound in the work of the Lord. Obedience is the key to victorious living now and in the future. Christians are to abound in this work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord their labor is not in vain. He urges them to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. This is what resurrection faith means here and now. We know that the work we do here and now in the Lord has consequences in the New Age. We are in the process of redemption. Christ is the beginning of this process. He has already defeated the enemies of the Lord, sin and death. No matter how much the evidence of daily living may go counter to this, in faith we believe this is so. Evil, like a chicken whose head has been severed, flops and jerks about in its death throes, but its death is sure. Even so, now the violence and abundance of evil points to the fact that evil's doom is sure, for Christ on the cross broke its power once for all. We believe that our faithfulness, our obedience to the Living Christ is somehow taken up into the redemptive process, and has ultimate meaning and results.
Luke 6:39-49 (C) (L)
Luke 6:39-45 (RC)
This is the third and final part of the Sermon on the Plain. It consists of four parables:
1. Verses 39-40 - the teacher must not be blind
2. Verses 41-42 - the guide should be self-critical and transformed
3. Verses 43-45 - good trees produce good fruit, not bad
4. Verses 46-49 - the house built upon a rock foundation
Luke says that Jesus told them a parable. (v. 39) In 15:3 Luke says Jesus told them "this parable" (singular), but follows with three parables in the remainder of the chapter. Similarly, here the singular parable statement is followed by four parables. The fact that Luke introduces this with the singular indicates the unity of the stories which follow as Luke sees them. Here Luke is particularly concerned about Christian influences.
Verses 39-45 follow an ABA' pattern, with the central section, B, formed by verses 41-42, which emphasize the need to take stock of oneself before trying to improve others. However, this does not mean a permissive "live and let live" attitude toward evil, for mutual admonition in the community of faith is essential. The other two components, A, verses 39-40, and A, verses 43-45, serve as motivations for the central issue of personal transformation before attempting to change others.
In the first parable, verses 39-40, Jesus says that a person becomes like his teacher. The pupil can be no better than her or his teacher. If a person learns from Christ, then the disciple will not be like some Pharisees are, blind leaders of the blind.
In the second parable, 40-42, the emphasis is on the leader reforming his or her own life rather than judging the lives of others. The imagery used here was also used by the rabbis. The true leader should be personally transformed before taking up the task of admonishing and transforming the life of a fellow disciple.
The third parable, verses 43-45, speaks of motivation. Personal transformation of the leader or teacher is critical, because what one does and what one says is an expression of what one truly is. Character determines conduct. What a person does reflects what he or she is at heart.
The fourth parable, verses 46-49, is of a flash flood in Palestine. Luke's key word is "foundation." Matthew 7:24ff gives an even more vivid description of the same parable. There may be an allusion here to Christians who have promoted false teachings and so do not have firm foundations. This final parable serves both as the end of section three, verses 39-49, and as the conclusion of the whole Sermon on the Plain. The function of this parable is exhortation. The thrust of it is the disciple's doing what has been heard. The person who does what she or he has heard is stable in times of crisis. But those who hear only are unstable.
The Gospel of Luke shares with the epistle of James a strong concern that a disciple not think of Christian faith as a belief or confession only but as a belief and walk in the world. Faith and action go together. Jesus had warned those who "call me, Lord, Lord" but do not follow his commands. This final parable is a fitting conclusion to the Sermon since it stresses the indisoluble union between confession of faith and walk with Christ in obedience.
Theological Reflections
The thrust of the Isaiah passage is that God can be depended upon, that his Word will accomplish its goal. God's Word will prosper in the thing for which it is sent. The people will go out in joy and be led forth in peace in the New Exodus. Jeremiah calls the people to amend their ways rather than trust in magical formulas of security in the temple buildings. Sirach stresses the fact that a person's discourse reveals the character and heart of the person. In Corinthians, Paul discusses the End, when the mortal nature must put on immortality, and the victory through Christ is complete. Because of this resurrection faith one is to live now doing the work of the Lord since this work is not in vain. Luke records the end of the Sermon on the Plain in which Jesus stresses the need for the teacher or leader to be personally transformed before seeking to lead others. Jesus points to the essential foundation of the Christian life, namely hearing and obeying his word.
Homiletical Moves
Isaiah 55:10-13 (C)
God's Word Accomplishes Its Purpose
1. As the forces of nature, rain and snow, function to produce new growth and seed, so God's word will produce what it is sent forth to do
2. God calls his people to go forth in the new Exodus with joy, and in peace, as nature itself joins in the celebration
3. God has delivered us from the exile of sin by the death and resurrection of Christ
4. Let us return to God in joy and peace, knowing that his word will not return to him empty but will produce fruit
Jeremiah 7:1-7 (8-15) (L)
Amend Your Ways and So Dwell in God's Land
1. Trust in magical incantations of "the temple of the Lord," or other misplaced faith will not secure a dwelling with God
2. Only if we amend our ways and doings, and execute justice with one another, will we be allowed to dwell in God's place
3. Therefore, let us repent of our sins, and turn once again to God that we may dwell securely with him wherever we may go
Sirach 27:4-7 (RC)
Thought Reveals Character!
1. As a sieve reveals coarseness and the kiln reveals flaws in ceramics, so a person is tried in debate
2. The fruit of a tree reveals the skill of its grower, and so the expression of a person's thoughts reveals character
3. The power of the Gospel can transform human character
4. Therefore, let us believe in Christ and invite the Spirit to transform our lives
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (C) (L)
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (RC)
Be Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord!
1. The mystery made known in Christ is that at the End we shall all be changed into a body chosen by God
2. Death, sin, and the power of sin, the law, have been overcome by Christ's death and resurrection
3. Therefore, let us be always binding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain
This Preacher's Preference
Luke 6:39-49 (C) (L)
Luke 6:39-45 (RC)
Hearing and Doing the Word of the Lord
1. A teacher and leader must be transformed in order to lead others to the truth, and be self-critical in order to help others
2. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
3. A person who hears and does the words of the Lord is like a person whose house is built on a rock that withstands the storms of life
4. A person who hears but does not do the Lord's will is like a person whose house is built on the ground without a solid foundation, which is destroyed by the storms of life
5. Therefore, let us hear and do the words Jesus tells us, and we will have true security in the storms of life
Hymn for Epiphany 8: O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee
Prayer
Gracious God, we trust in your word which accomplishes its purpose. We pray that we may so amend our ways, and do justice to all, that we may dwell securely with you. Take away our false trust in possessions and holy places that we may trust in you alone. Give us the faith to always abound in the work of the Lord since we know Christ has won the victory over death, sin, and the law. May we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Grant that we may not only hear, but do, the Lord's word, and so build our life upon a solid foundation. Amen
