Proper 11
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 28:10-19a (C)
Jacob has qualified as something of a scoundrel, considering his outwitting of his brother Esau. There are, of course, two strains of storytelling in this Genesis report, and they generally set aside any moral judging of Jacob in the interest of reporting the history of their own generations. Now we find Jacob, an exile from home, wandering haplessly in a barren land. Tired, disgusted with himself, lost in a wasteland, sorry for some of the things he has done, he lies down to sleep with a rock for a pillow. Jacob has every reason to feel alone, rejected, lost. That's probably exactly what he was feeling. Then, wonder of wonders, Jacob has a dream, a hopeful dream, a ladder reaching to the heavens and people climbing high to be with God. There were angels, and bright hope, and intimations of new life, of a destiny the significance of which would have far-reaching implications for Jacob and his people. He awakens thunderstruck with awe. That word "awe" has been greatly depreciated by a generation of teenagers for whom anything the least bit impressive is "awesome." But in its original meaning, the awe which Jacob felt was an overwhelming sense that something incomparable and life-changing has taken place. "Surely the Lord is in this place -- and I did not know it."
This passage is a great one for preaching. How many people today are wandering, feeling lost, remorseful, everything seeming barren and cold? How many have a rock for a pillow and little to recommend them based on past conduct? The one thing which saved Jacob was his instinctive belief in God. Undeserving as he may have been by human standards, he still believed. And God was able to call Jacob forth to a new life. And so, to the failing husband, the disloyal wife, the alcoholic and the drug-addicted, the wayward teen, the cheating preacher, the thief -- to all of us in our hour of self-loathing, of sadness for opportunities lost, of yearning for something clean and fresh and new -- here is the word. To all who deeply wish for One who can lead them back to the place where they belong, there can come that awesome word, that beckoning Lord. "Sinner, do you love my Jesus?" Yes, all those are called to be soldiers of the cross.
Lesson 1: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 (RC, E)
God's sovereign rule and power.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-25 (C); Romans 8:18-25 (E)
We looked at the latter portion of this passage last week. In the earlier verses, Paul warns that to "live according to the flesh results in death." This can be literally true, given the widespread problems of drug addiction and alcoholism and overeating and smoking which can, and often do, kill. But Paul is also referring to "death" as a condition of unhappiness, the opposite of what Jesus called "eternal life." Truthfully, as a pastor, I have wondered at times if anyone is ever very happy. I served a congregation filled with "successful" young men and women, beautiful people as it were. Many have fine homes, expensive cars, well-toned bodies from regular hours at the gym, great kids. Yet how frequently those people admitted to unhappy marriages, disappointment at work, frantic efforts to enjoy life, and general disappointment with the way things are. Oh, not all are this way, not even the majority. Many have found the Spirit Paul spoke about. Certainly nearly all are good people and "death" may be too harsh a word to describe many others. But one thing is true and we all find this out sooner or later, the world can seem cruel to those who search for the good life unless we have that inner Spirit which sustains and empowers and enriches, even in difficult times. It's what God wants for us. Paul calls us "children of God," and the analogy helps us understand as we think about our own children. We want their happiness. If we're at all good parents, we do everything we can to maximize their chances at happiness. But finally, we must turn them loose, let them exercise their freedom, and watch them become whatever they choose to be. God must do the same with us, and just as you and I stand ready to run to our children at their time of legitimate need (refusing, of course, to allow dependency), so God does for us, coming to us as the Spirit.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:26-27 (RC)
God intercedes to help us, weak as we are.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (C, E); Matthew 13:24-43 (RC)
Jesus explains that the bad seed in this parable is the evil people in the world, the field is that world, and the reaper will be the Lord Jesus. Thus, we have here a parable of the Last Judgment. It raises some serious questions. For example, is each of us one or the other? Surely not. Some days I feel like one of those weeds. Other days, I do pretty well, thank you very much. No, I think Jesus was exaggerating to make a point. Almost every person has enough good in him to be worth saving. I don't personally believe in a place of eternal punishment. I think Jesus was warning the listeners that there are consequences, sometimes severe ones, for wrongdoing. I think he was preaching to people for whom this might be his one and only chance to be heard, and he needed to make his point sharp and clear. Of course there do seem to be a few people who apparently have no kindly, humane instincts. Murderers, rapists, child abusers. But that raises yet another difficult question: Does God make allowances for destructive childhood relationships? I'm not inclined to make much allowance for this at law. If my loved one is injured, or worse, by someone I don't wish to hear about his sad childhood. I want him punished by the law. But I'm not God. God knows the true heart. What, then?
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Called To New Life"
Text: Genesis 28:10-19a
Theme: Jacob has reached bottom. He was bad, he is lost, he is miserable. Then along comes God who sees good in Jacob, sees that Jacob is capable of great things, if only he could get his life together. God decides to give this young man a chance.
1. God sees potential in Jacob. He had done wrong, true. But God sees deep into the heart, and saw something worth saving. I have read two news articles lately about young men who were addicted to drugs, were falling-down alcoholics, lives seeming hopeless. They were helped by people who saw the best in them, and today both young men work for service agencies, trying to help young people stay away from drugs and get their own lives on the right track. God also sees potential in each of us, even when we may be facing discouragement and failure. I well recall the time I was fired from a job I liked. Feeling like a total failure, I went home and cried. I was humiliated to let my wife and friends know of my failure. I hadn't done wrong, but in other ways I could identify with Jacob. Then, in answer to prayer, God arranged my life on a path which led to the ministry and to happiness.
2. God's response to Jacob's plight included a call to a mission. God has a habit of doing that. For a few people, that mission may be a large one. Jacob was to continue the Jewish race down through his part of history. Someone else may be called to be an honest carpenter, or a lawyer who has a zeal for justice. Many of my friends who were called into ministry first walked in some darkness as Jacob did. I would guess that more than a few readers of this did too. When God enters, he always puts us to work.
3. God promised to go with Jacob, to enable him in his mission. So with us. I know for a fact that God will always be there for us in times of struggle and faithful effort to do what we feel we are here to do in our lives. Prayer will always bring a response, if not exactly the one we had in mind. It may be a better one. He asks only that we be faithful to our calling.
Title: "A Touch Of Death, A Gift Of Life"
Text: Romans 8:12-13
Theme: As discussed above, Paul used "death" both in the literal sense and in the spiritual sense. To live "according to the flesh" means, according to my experience, some of the following. Selfishness, and we all have some of that. My wife's happiest hours are those spent with her family. Mine, on the other hand, are those spent with friends (and with her, of course). This means I must give up going to a gathering of friends to sit home and talk about school sometimes and, frankly, there are evenings when I am very unhappy about this. It would be selfish, however, always to get my way. Living in the flesh also means telling lies, giving in to jealousy, saying hurtful things to people, taking something which doesn't belong to us, drinking and driving, depriving a child of love, and so forth. Since we are all guilty at times, it follows that we all experience a touch of death in one form or another. Guilt. Remorse. (Ever come home from a party, remember something stupid you said, and wish to goodness you could unsay it?) Broken relationships. Our cities are full of people who seem devoid of humane sensitivity because it was never taught in the home. Their deaths often come in the form of gunshots and knife wounds.
1. The Spirit offers forgiveness. This requires genuine remorse on our part, along with a serious intent to do better.
2. The Spirit offers hope. Many unhappy people find, when they accept Christ into their lives, that happiness begins to replace feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness.
3. The Spirit offers help. Jesus made this clear in his assurances that prayers would be answered.
Title: "Knowing Weeds When We See Them"
Text: Matthew 13:1-9
Theme: I'm indebted to former Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy for some ideas on this parable. He suggested that this may be a parable of the Last Judgment but, as discussed above, this interpretation raises some problem questions. It's important for the well-informed pastor to wrestle with those questions, but for the younger, shorter attention-spanned generation, we need to make this relevant to the busy lives they lead. I propose:
1. We all wish for perfection, especially when young. Our dreams of the future are golden, hope-filled. However, as life moves along, we learn that some weeds creep into our fields -- imperfection, disappointments become part of life. If we are realists, we must understand and accept this reality. When I was young, I wanted to be a really good golfer. A friend and I took up the game together. After a year of frequent play, I was shooting around 100, he was in the low 90s. A year later, I was shooting around 100, he was in the high 70s. I never did know how he did that. What I knew was that try as I might, I would never do that. I once heard a sermon, the title of which made my heart leap with recognition. It was: "A thing worth doing is worth doing poorly." He didn't mean we should settle for mediocrity in life. He meant we should strive for excellence in our chosen work, but not drive ourselves nuts trying to master things we enjoy but aren't really equipped to do well.
2. Sometimes weeds look like pure grain. That is, we can't always recognize the fake. Kennedy pointed out that the weeds in the story were probably darnel, which looks much like the grain. It's hard to recognize in the early growing stage. Likewise, there are people in our lives who, for us, are weeds. The highschooler who falls in with kids who mislead him into wrongful conduct may, lacking life experience, think it's great fun to be part of the gang. The person who starts smoking, thinking to look "cool," may die of lung cancer at the age of fifty. The man who, unhappy with his wife, meets an attractive female at the office and decides that a clandestine fling is just the thing to make life better will almost certainly discover one of the most destructive of life's weeds.
3. The fruits are the judgment (a final thanks to Bishop Kennedy). That is, in the long run, the product of my life will tell who and what I am. Emerson once said something like this: "What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear you say what you are." If you follow me around for a few days, you'll know pretty accurately how legitimate my claims to a Christian faith are.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
A friend of mine walked unannounced into the office of a well-known clergyman and found the man in tears. Embarrassed, the man explained. Despite his fine reputation in other regards, his members frankly told him he was a poor preacher. He was at that moment trying to prepare a sermon which would measure up to those expectations, and he knew he was failing. He simply did not have the kind of mind which could make complicated ideas easily understandable, nor an ear for illustrations which make the point without "wagging the dog." He eventually went into a specialized ministry, one which did not require preaching skills, and became highly successful and nationally recognized. (He learned to live with imperfection.)
____________
Groucho Marx once agreed to serve as coach of a celebrity baseball team. When fellow comedian Jack Benny was due to bat, Marx ordered him to hit a home run. When Benny struck out, Marx got up and walked off the field, saying that he refused to work with people who wouldn't follow orders.
____________
As I write, three young people, just turned twenty, have been sentenced to thirty years in prison in Florida for stealing stop signs, the absence of one having caused an accident which killed three young men. Those guilty kids were probably not bad people. What they did was stupid, but it probably seemed like a lark at the time. I had a high school friend whose room was filled with street signs of various kinds -- but no "stop" signs. Those were weeds in their lives, those ideas of fun. They will pay an exorbitant price for their "fun." The judge promised to commute their sentences after fifteen years. But in Florida, one must serve at least 85 percent of a sentence, so they'll each spend at least thirteen years in prison.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 (C) -- "Where can I go from your Spirit?
Psalm 86:11-17 (RC, E) -- "Teach me your way, O Lord."
Prayer Of The Day
Eternal and loving God: we thank you for the gifts we have received from you, our abilities, our opportunities, the ways in which life becomes meaningful through the exercise of these gifts. Empower us, we pray, in doing the work which stands before us, that we may honor you, and ourselves, as worthy recipients of the gifts of life. In Christ's name. Amen.
Lesson 1: Genesis 28:10-19a (C)
Jacob has qualified as something of a scoundrel, considering his outwitting of his brother Esau. There are, of course, two strains of storytelling in this Genesis report, and they generally set aside any moral judging of Jacob in the interest of reporting the history of their own generations. Now we find Jacob, an exile from home, wandering haplessly in a barren land. Tired, disgusted with himself, lost in a wasteland, sorry for some of the things he has done, he lies down to sleep with a rock for a pillow. Jacob has every reason to feel alone, rejected, lost. That's probably exactly what he was feeling. Then, wonder of wonders, Jacob has a dream, a hopeful dream, a ladder reaching to the heavens and people climbing high to be with God. There were angels, and bright hope, and intimations of new life, of a destiny the significance of which would have far-reaching implications for Jacob and his people. He awakens thunderstruck with awe. That word "awe" has been greatly depreciated by a generation of teenagers for whom anything the least bit impressive is "awesome." But in its original meaning, the awe which Jacob felt was an overwhelming sense that something incomparable and life-changing has taken place. "Surely the Lord is in this place -- and I did not know it."
This passage is a great one for preaching. How many people today are wandering, feeling lost, remorseful, everything seeming barren and cold? How many have a rock for a pillow and little to recommend them based on past conduct? The one thing which saved Jacob was his instinctive belief in God. Undeserving as he may have been by human standards, he still believed. And God was able to call Jacob forth to a new life. And so, to the failing husband, the disloyal wife, the alcoholic and the drug-addicted, the wayward teen, the cheating preacher, the thief -- to all of us in our hour of self-loathing, of sadness for opportunities lost, of yearning for something clean and fresh and new -- here is the word. To all who deeply wish for One who can lead them back to the place where they belong, there can come that awesome word, that beckoning Lord. "Sinner, do you love my Jesus?" Yes, all those are called to be soldiers of the cross.
Lesson 1: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 (RC, E)
God's sovereign rule and power.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:12-25 (C); Romans 8:18-25 (E)
We looked at the latter portion of this passage last week. In the earlier verses, Paul warns that to "live according to the flesh results in death." This can be literally true, given the widespread problems of drug addiction and alcoholism and overeating and smoking which can, and often do, kill. But Paul is also referring to "death" as a condition of unhappiness, the opposite of what Jesus called "eternal life." Truthfully, as a pastor, I have wondered at times if anyone is ever very happy. I served a congregation filled with "successful" young men and women, beautiful people as it were. Many have fine homes, expensive cars, well-toned bodies from regular hours at the gym, great kids. Yet how frequently those people admitted to unhappy marriages, disappointment at work, frantic efforts to enjoy life, and general disappointment with the way things are. Oh, not all are this way, not even the majority. Many have found the Spirit Paul spoke about. Certainly nearly all are good people and "death" may be too harsh a word to describe many others. But one thing is true and we all find this out sooner or later, the world can seem cruel to those who search for the good life unless we have that inner Spirit which sustains and empowers and enriches, even in difficult times. It's what God wants for us. Paul calls us "children of God," and the analogy helps us understand as we think about our own children. We want their happiness. If we're at all good parents, we do everything we can to maximize their chances at happiness. But finally, we must turn them loose, let them exercise their freedom, and watch them become whatever they choose to be. God must do the same with us, and just as you and I stand ready to run to our children at their time of legitimate need (refusing, of course, to allow dependency), so God does for us, coming to us as the Spirit.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:26-27 (RC)
God intercedes to help us, weak as we are.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (C, E); Matthew 13:24-43 (RC)
Jesus explains that the bad seed in this parable is the evil people in the world, the field is that world, and the reaper will be the Lord Jesus. Thus, we have here a parable of the Last Judgment. It raises some serious questions. For example, is each of us one or the other? Surely not. Some days I feel like one of those weeds. Other days, I do pretty well, thank you very much. No, I think Jesus was exaggerating to make a point. Almost every person has enough good in him to be worth saving. I don't personally believe in a place of eternal punishment. I think Jesus was warning the listeners that there are consequences, sometimes severe ones, for wrongdoing. I think he was preaching to people for whom this might be his one and only chance to be heard, and he needed to make his point sharp and clear. Of course there do seem to be a few people who apparently have no kindly, humane instincts. Murderers, rapists, child abusers. But that raises yet another difficult question: Does God make allowances for destructive childhood relationships? I'm not inclined to make much allowance for this at law. If my loved one is injured, or worse, by someone I don't wish to hear about his sad childhood. I want him punished by the law. But I'm not God. God knows the true heart. What, then?
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Called To New Life"
Text: Genesis 28:10-19a
Theme: Jacob has reached bottom. He was bad, he is lost, he is miserable. Then along comes God who sees good in Jacob, sees that Jacob is capable of great things, if only he could get his life together. God decides to give this young man a chance.
1. God sees potential in Jacob. He had done wrong, true. But God sees deep into the heart, and saw something worth saving. I have read two news articles lately about young men who were addicted to drugs, were falling-down alcoholics, lives seeming hopeless. They were helped by people who saw the best in them, and today both young men work for service agencies, trying to help young people stay away from drugs and get their own lives on the right track. God also sees potential in each of us, even when we may be facing discouragement and failure. I well recall the time I was fired from a job I liked. Feeling like a total failure, I went home and cried. I was humiliated to let my wife and friends know of my failure. I hadn't done wrong, but in other ways I could identify with Jacob. Then, in answer to prayer, God arranged my life on a path which led to the ministry and to happiness.
2. God's response to Jacob's plight included a call to a mission. God has a habit of doing that. For a few people, that mission may be a large one. Jacob was to continue the Jewish race down through his part of history. Someone else may be called to be an honest carpenter, or a lawyer who has a zeal for justice. Many of my friends who were called into ministry first walked in some darkness as Jacob did. I would guess that more than a few readers of this did too. When God enters, he always puts us to work.
3. God promised to go with Jacob, to enable him in his mission. So with us. I know for a fact that God will always be there for us in times of struggle and faithful effort to do what we feel we are here to do in our lives. Prayer will always bring a response, if not exactly the one we had in mind. It may be a better one. He asks only that we be faithful to our calling.
Title: "A Touch Of Death, A Gift Of Life"
Text: Romans 8:12-13
Theme: As discussed above, Paul used "death" both in the literal sense and in the spiritual sense. To live "according to the flesh" means, according to my experience, some of the following. Selfishness, and we all have some of that. My wife's happiest hours are those spent with her family. Mine, on the other hand, are those spent with friends (and with her, of course). This means I must give up going to a gathering of friends to sit home and talk about school sometimes and, frankly, there are evenings when I am very unhappy about this. It would be selfish, however, always to get my way. Living in the flesh also means telling lies, giving in to jealousy, saying hurtful things to people, taking something which doesn't belong to us, drinking and driving, depriving a child of love, and so forth. Since we are all guilty at times, it follows that we all experience a touch of death in one form or another. Guilt. Remorse. (Ever come home from a party, remember something stupid you said, and wish to goodness you could unsay it?) Broken relationships. Our cities are full of people who seem devoid of humane sensitivity because it was never taught in the home. Their deaths often come in the form of gunshots and knife wounds.
1. The Spirit offers forgiveness. This requires genuine remorse on our part, along with a serious intent to do better.
2. The Spirit offers hope. Many unhappy people find, when they accept Christ into their lives, that happiness begins to replace feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness.
3. The Spirit offers help. Jesus made this clear in his assurances that prayers would be answered.
Title: "Knowing Weeds When We See Them"
Text: Matthew 13:1-9
Theme: I'm indebted to former Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy for some ideas on this parable. He suggested that this may be a parable of the Last Judgment but, as discussed above, this interpretation raises some problem questions. It's important for the well-informed pastor to wrestle with those questions, but for the younger, shorter attention-spanned generation, we need to make this relevant to the busy lives they lead. I propose:
1. We all wish for perfection, especially when young. Our dreams of the future are golden, hope-filled. However, as life moves along, we learn that some weeds creep into our fields -- imperfection, disappointments become part of life. If we are realists, we must understand and accept this reality. When I was young, I wanted to be a really good golfer. A friend and I took up the game together. After a year of frequent play, I was shooting around 100, he was in the low 90s. A year later, I was shooting around 100, he was in the high 70s. I never did know how he did that. What I knew was that try as I might, I would never do that. I once heard a sermon, the title of which made my heart leap with recognition. It was: "A thing worth doing is worth doing poorly." He didn't mean we should settle for mediocrity in life. He meant we should strive for excellence in our chosen work, but not drive ourselves nuts trying to master things we enjoy but aren't really equipped to do well.
2. Sometimes weeds look like pure grain. That is, we can't always recognize the fake. Kennedy pointed out that the weeds in the story were probably darnel, which looks much like the grain. It's hard to recognize in the early growing stage. Likewise, there are people in our lives who, for us, are weeds. The highschooler who falls in with kids who mislead him into wrongful conduct may, lacking life experience, think it's great fun to be part of the gang. The person who starts smoking, thinking to look "cool," may die of lung cancer at the age of fifty. The man who, unhappy with his wife, meets an attractive female at the office and decides that a clandestine fling is just the thing to make life better will almost certainly discover one of the most destructive of life's weeds.
3. The fruits are the judgment (a final thanks to Bishop Kennedy). That is, in the long run, the product of my life will tell who and what I am. Emerson once said something like this: "What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear you say what you are." If you follow me around for a few days, you'll know pretty accurately how legitimate my claims to a Christian faith are.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
A friend of mine walked unannounced into the office of a well-known clergyman and found the man in tears. Embarrassed, the man explained. Despite his fine reputation in other regards, his members frankly told him he was a poor preacher. He was at that moment trying to prepare a sermon which would measure up to those expectations, and he knew he was failing. He simply did not have the kind of mind which could make complicated ideas easily understandable, nor an ear for illustrations which make the point without "wagging the dog." He eventually went into a specialized ministry, one which did not require preaching skills, and became highly successful and nationally recognized. (He learned to live with imperfection.)
____________
Groucho Marx once agreed to serve as coach of a celebrity baseball team. When fellow comedian Jack Benny was due to bat, Marx ordered him to hit a home run. When Benny struck out, Marx got up and walked off the field, saying that he refused to work with people who wouldn't follow orders.
____________
As I write, three young people, just turned twenty, have been sentenced to thirty years in prison in Florida for stealing stop signs, the absence of one having caused an accident which killed three young men. Those guilty kids were probably not bad people. What they did was stupid, but it probably seemed like a lark at the time. I had a high school friend whose room was filled with street signs of various kinds -- but no "stop" signs. Those were weeds in their lives, those ideas of fun. They will pay an exorbitant price for their "fun." The judge promised to commute their sentences after fifteen years. But in Florida, one must serve at least 85 percent of a sentence, so they'll each spend at least thirteen years in prison.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 (C) -- "Where can I go from your Spirit?
Psalm 86:11-17 (RC, E) -- "Teach me your way, O Lord."
Prayer Of The Day
Eternal and loving God: we thank you for the gifts we have received from you, our abilities, our opportunities, the ways in which life becomes meaningful through the exercise of these gifts. Empower us, we pray, in doing the work which stands before us, that we may honor you, and ourselves, as worthy recipients of the gifts of life. In Christ's name. Amen.
