Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle A
Object:
Seasonal Theme
The dawning on many who Jesus was and the dawning of a new light into the dark world as promised.
Theme For The Day
The absolute joy of being a Christian. We celebrate the joy and seek ways to live it out in our daily lives.
Old Testament Lesson
Micah 6:1-18
God's People
This is a grand liturgy which contains some of the most glorious verbiage in all the Old Testament. God challenges people to remember their history and all he has done for them and how God saved them on the way to Gilgal. Notice God calls them "his people" (v. 6). This leads to the precious words to follow. Let's be careful how we interpret verses 6 and 7. In the context of right offerings we think of "the law of the first born" (Exodus 13:2, 11-13), and the boy Samuel (1 Samuel 1:27-28), and the boy Jesus (Luke 2:22-23).
We are talking about a human life totally dedicated to God. That leads us to this masterpiece of verse following. The whole passage tells us no offering is perfect and all are humble and imperfect. Verse 8b can stand on its own: See justice is done, let mercy be our concern and humbly obey God.
Justice is a Hebrew noun which is the right, duty, and responsibility of all of us (see Luke 3:10-14). Mercy is sometimes translated as "steadfast love" but also more often kindness. "Humbly obey your God" signifies a personal commitment to whatever God commands. What God has done as recited earlier is our motivation to live and worship in this way. It tells us what we are to see, to be concerned about, and how we ought carry it all out.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Christ Crucified
We continue reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians and take up where we finished reading last week. Here is Paul's bold claim that Jesus the Christ is God's power and wisdom. He wanted to be sure the Corinthians think Christianity was not just another form of wisdom like some Greek philosophy. So he tells them that Christ crucified for them has done much more than the wisdom and power of humans. Then he says to consider how they used to live and be reminded they have no reason to brag. Some here read into this passage that Paul is defending himself against the charge that Apollos was much more sophisticated than Paul.
Notice verse 19 is from Isaiah 29:14 and verse 31 is from Jeremiah 9:24. It is verses 22 and 23 which knock my socks off! One party wants one thing, another party another -- and in those difficult circumstances, Paul preaches Christ crucified. That's the way it is and ought to be. Right on, Saint Paul!
The Gospel
Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
Now we have the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. We'll face them again on All Saints' Day. Probably these are summaries of Jesus' preaching and are placed here to say that after the birth in Bethlehem, living in Nazareth, baptism in the Jordan as his ordination, the calling of disciples to carry on the work, then carrying out his ministry of teaching and preaching, this is what he preached.
It is Matthew's way of writing to collect things together which fit under one heading. Here, then, is Jesus opening up his heart to those who would follow after him and serve with him.
Remember that these are not predictions of how it will be one day. These are descriptions of how it is now for Christians. They could be headed, "The Joy of Following Christ," with the subheadings as follows:
For those who totally depend on God
For those who are sorry for the way things are in the world
For the humble and not arrogant
For those who work hard at obeying God
For those who sympathize with others
For those whose motives are unmixed
For those who make peace
For those who suffer for the faith
These are not moral laws to live by but promises Jesus gave to his newly called disciples describing how it is to follow him.
Preaching Possibilities
A. I doubt that hooking these three passages together is a wise way to proceed. But there are a couple possibilities.
1. If you begin with Paul's preaching Christ (vv. 22 and 23) then you could move to the Beatitudes as describing how it is for those of us who follow the Christ about whom Paul preaches. Then you might transition to the Old Testament lesson and point out our responsibilities because we have this blessed life of a Christian, i.e., we work for justice, give out mercy, and do God's wishes humbly -- Micah 6:8. If we go this way, I think it important theologically to start with Christ crucified, blessings of Christian life, and then turn to what we ought do as a response in Micah.
2. A rich possibility is to do a series on the Beatitudes the next Sundays until The Transfiguration and title it something like: "The Blessing of Being a Christian."
a. Depending on God (v. 3)
b. Obeying God (v. 6)
c. Having God's mercy for others (v. 7)
d. Making God's peace (v. 9)
e. Suffering for God (v. 10)
B. Of course the Micah account provides an outline for our being God's children. We remember all God has done for us and respond by seeing justice is done, mercy carried out, and practicing humility (Micah 6:8). Just use the three ready-made points and sing a hymn after each one which relates justice -- mercy -- humility.
C. The Corinthian passage can strongly stand on its own and begs for preaching. We can talk about what wisdom is and isn't. We can address the fact that people in congregations have very different expectations and needs. And then remind them Christ crucified is the heart of our message and while that may at times seem not relevant, it's the message we are called to preach. Everything else must come after this.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. Begin by briefly reviewing the Epiphanies so far:
a. Jesus is baptized by his cousin and it dawns on him who he is.
b. He is tempted and figures out there in the wilderness what his ministry will be like.
c. He calls people to be his disciples now.
d. He teaches the disciples what are the blessings of being a Christian.
2. Now explain how we have in these Beatitudes congratulations on how it is being a Christian.
a. Go through them one at a time asking your hearers to congratulate each other outloud after each Beatitude is explained.
b. Have them stand up, shake hands of neighbors, and congratulate each other each time. It's a sermon they will not forget.
3. A variation on this is to select a verse of a hymn and have them sing it after each one. Some examples would be:
Verse 3: those who depend on him -- "O God, our help in ages past" verse 2
Verse 5: those who are humble -- "Come down, O love Divine" verse 3
Verse 7: those who have mercy -- "O God of mercy, God of Light" verse 5
4. Still one more variation is to have lay people prepare short prayers they may read after you read and explain each Beatitude.
Of course you may want to combine these suggestions or use various methods after each one, i.e., after one have them congratulate, after the next sing a hymn verse, and after the next offer a prayer.
Prayer Of The Day
Bless our celebration today, dear God, of how it is to be a disciple and follow you. And show us the way to live out our discipleship so that we depend only on you, sorry for our sins, humble in our lives together, obeying your wishes for us, being merciful to others, with pure hearts, and making peace where ever you lead us. We pray it in the name of the one who has called us also, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Possible Stories
At the Batak celebration, called a Hula Hula, of pregnancy, birth, marriage, ordinations, or a very special visit, all sit on straw mats on the floor to drink and eat with their fingers. Speeches are made and when the speaker says something especially wise and worthwhile all assembled say in unison, "Ima tutu!" which means, "May it be so!" The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are the ima tutus of Jesus. Blessed are the poor, those who mourn, who grieve, and so forth. Ima tutu. May our ministries make it be so.
There is a little steakhouse named Toppers in Des Moines, Iowa, between Mercy and Lutheran Hospitals. When I had my collar on, they always slipped an extra piece of steak under the regular order (special). It's a real bonus just for being there. What are the bonuses of our regular Christian lives?
One of my Nepali students in Hong Kong told of a boy who converted from the dominant Hindu faith to Christianity. His father in response was so humiliated he tried to kill his own son! Rita Kabo said she stood between them and prevented the murder. "God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called God's children" (Matthew 5:9).
The dawning on many who Jesus was and the dawning of a new light into the dark world as promised.
Theme For The Day
The absolute joy of being a Christian. We celebrate the joy and seek ways to live it out in our daily lives.
Old Testament Lesson
Micah 6:1-18
God's People
This is a grand liturgy which contains some of the most glorious verbiage in all the Old Testament. God challenges people to remember their history and all he has done for them and how God saved them on the way to Gilgal. Notice God calls them "his people" (v. 6). This leads to the precious words to follow. Let's be careful how we interpret verses 6 and 7. In the context of right offerings we think of "the law of the first born" (Exodus 13:2, 11-13), and the boy Samuel (1 Samuel 1:27-28), and the boy Jesus (Luke 2:22-23).
We are talking about a human life totally dedicated to God. That leads us to this masterpiece of verse following. The whole passage tells us no offering is perfect and all are humble and imperfect. Verse 8b can stand on its own: See justice is done, let mercy be our concern and humbly obey God.
Justice is a Hebrew noun which is the right, duty, and responsibility of all of us (see Luke 3:10-14). Mercy is sometimes translated as "steadfast love" but also more often kindness. "Humbly obey your God" signifies a personal commitment to whatever God commands. What God has done as recited earlier is our motivation to live and worship in this way. It tells us what we are to see, to be concerned about, and how we ought carry it all out.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Christ Crucified
We continue reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians and take up where we finished reading last week. Here is Paul's bold claim that Jesus the Christ is God's power and wisdom. He wanted to be sure the Corinthians think Christianity was not just another form of wisdom like some Greek philosophy. So he tells them that Christ crucified for them has done much more than the wisdom and power of humans. Then he says to consider how they used to live and be reminded they have no reason to brag. Some here read into this passage that Paul is defending himself against the charge that Apollos was much more sophisticated than Paul.
Notice verse 19 is from Isaiah 29:14 and verse 31 is from Jeremiah 9:24. It is verses 22 and 23 which knock my socks off! One party wants one thing, another party another -- and in those difficult circumstances, Paul preaches Christ crucified. That's the way it is and ought to be. Right on, Saint Paul!
The Gospel
Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
Now we have the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. We'll face them again on All Saints' Day. Probably these are summaries of Jesus' preaching and are placed here to say that after the birth in Bethlehem, living in Nazareth, baptism in the Jordan as his ordination, the calling of disciples to carry on the work, then carrying out his ministry of teaching and preaching, this is what he preached.
It is Matthew's way of writing to collect things together which fit under one heading. Here, then, is Jesus opening up his heart to those who would follow after him and serve with him.
Remember that these are not predictions of how it will be one day. These are descriptions of how it is now for Christians. They could be headed, "The Joy of Following Christ," with the subheadings as follows:
For those who totally depend on God
For those who are sorry for the way things are in the world
For the humble and not arrogant
For those who work hard at obeying God
For those who sympathize with others
For those whose motives are unmixed
For those who make peace
For those who suffer for the faith
These are not moral laws to live by but promises Jesus gave to his newly called disciples describing how it is to follow him.
Preaching Possibilities
A. I doubt that hooking these three passages together is a wise way to proceed. But there are a couple possibilities.
1. If you begin with Paul's preaching Christ (vv. 22 and 23) then you could move to the Beatitudes as describing how it is for those of us who follow the Christ about whom Paul preaches. Then you might transition to the Old Testament lesson and point out our responsibilities because we have this blessed life of a Christian, i.e., we work for justice, give out mercy, and do God's wishes humbly -- Micah 6:8. If we go this way, I think it important theologically to start with Christ crucified, blessings of Christian life, and then turn to what we ought do as a response in Micah.
2. A rich possibility is to do a series on the Beatitudes the next Sundays until The Transfiguration and title it something like: "The Blessing of Being a Christian."
a. Depending on God (v. 3)
b. Obeying God (v. 6)
c. Having God's mercy for others (v. 7)
d. Making God's peace (v. 9)
e. Suffering for God (v. 10)
B. Of course the Micah account provides an outline for our being God's children. We remember all God has done for us and respond by seeing justice is done, mercy carried out, and practicing humility (Micah 6:8). Just use the three ready-made points and sing a hymn after each one which relates justice -- mercy -- humility.
C. The Corinthian passage can strongly stand on its own and begs for preaching. We can talk about what wisdom is and isn't. We can address the fact that people in congregations have very different expectations and needs. And then remind them Christ crucified is the heart of our message and while that may at times seem not relevant, it's the message we are called to preach. Everything else must come after this.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. Begin by briefly reviewing the Epiphanies so far:
a. Jesus is baptized by his cousin and it dawns on him who he is.
b. He is tempted and figures out there in the wilderness what his ministry will be like.
c. He calls people to be his disciples now.
d. He teaches the disciples what are the blessings of being a Christian.
2. Now explain how we have in these Beatitudes congratulations on how it is being a Christian.
a. Go through them one at a time asking your hearers to congratulate each other outloud after each Beatitude is explained.
b. Have them stand up, shake hands of neighbors, and congratulate each other each time. It's a sermon they will not forget.
3. A variation on this is to select a verse of a hymn and have them sing it after each one. Some examples would be:
Verse 3: those who depend on him -- "O God, our help in ages past" verse 2
Verse 5: those who are humble -- "Come down, O love Divine" verse 3
Verse 7: those who have mercy -- "O God of mercy, God of Light" verse 5
4. Still one more variation is to have lay people prepare short prayers they may read after you read and explain each Beatitude.
Of course you may want to combine these suggestions or use various methods after each one, i.e., after one have them congratulate, after the next sing a hymn verse, and after the next offer a prayer.
Prayer Of The Day
Bless our celebration today, dear God, of how it is to be a disciple and follow you. And show us the way to live out our discipleship so that we depend only on you, sorry for our sins, humble in our lives together, obeying your wishes for us, being merciful to others, with pure hearts, and making peace where ever you lead us. We pray it in the name of the one who has called us also, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Possible Stories
At the Batak celebration, called a Hula Hula, of pregnancy, birth, marriage, ordinations, or a very special visit, all sit on straw mats on the floor to drink and eat with their fingers. Speeches are made and when the speaker says something especially wise and worthwhile all assembled say in unison, "Ima tutu!" which means, "May it be so!" The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are the ima tutus of Jesus. Blessed are the poor, those who mourn, who grieve, and so forth. Ima tutu. May our ministries make it be so.
There is a little steakhouse named Toppers in Des Moines, Iowa, between Mercy and Lutheran Hospitals. When I had my collar on, they always slipped an extra piece of steak under the regular order (special). It's a real bonus just for being there. What are the bonuses of our regular Christian lives?
One of my Nepali students in Hong Kong told of a boy who converted from the dominant Hindu faith to Christianity. His father in response was so humiliated he tried to kill his own son! Rita Kabo said she stood between them and prevented the murder. "God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called God's children" (Matthew 5:9).
