Proper 12
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 29:15-28 (C)
I suppose if one reads this report as a Bible scholar, one could get involved in issues such as whether the two Jahwist historians had quite different versions of the Jacob and Rachel romance, so they shuffled them together, and so on. Reading as a preacher, about the only good thing that comes to mind quickly is the fact that Jacob had pulled a fast one on his brother Esau; now his uncle Laban has evened the score. We could make something of the willingness of Jacob to endure fourteen years of working for Laban in order to win Rachel. Makes you wonder how old they were by the time they finally got together. You also have to feel sorry for Leah, who was "hated" yet whose only flaw seemed to be that she had weak eyes. All in all, an interesting insight into a family of rascals and con-artists, but not a text most of us would select to preach about. Given the high moral values of Judaism, it's interesting that the Genesis writers raise no moral objections to the conduct of their honored ancestors. That was left for the reader to do.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 (RC); 1 Kings 3:5-12 (E)
This is a much more appropriate passage than the one from Genesis. Solomon asks God for "an understanding mind." Also, he wants to be able to discern good from evil among the people. God is so impressed with Solomon and the fact that he didn't ask for personal benefits, he gives him those as well. Although Solomon awakens to find this was a dream, it was still a valid transaction with God inasmuch as the ancients believed that dreams are one means by which God communicates. Clearly, we have a far higher moral plane here than in the Genesis passage.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:26-39 (C); Romans 8:28-30 (RC); Romans 8:26-34 (E)
This is another of those Bible passages which could serve for a whole series of sermons. At least three highly relevant themes stand out. First, there is Paul's assurance that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness." He's right, in my case. There are times when I don't know what to pray. I feel like Solomon, we shouldn't always be asking for things for ourselves. On the other hand, there are times when I desperately need some help from the Higher Power. What one must do is assume an attitude of prayer, say what you want, because God already knows. Recall the Collect for Purity of Heart, which begins "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid ..."
A second important theme is Paul's assurance that "all things work for good, for those who love God ..." I have seen this happen time after time. It has happened in my life, like the time I was fired from a job I liked and had to move to another city in order to find another job. There I met the man who won me to the church and, eventually, to the ministry. Of course, Paul threw in another caveat: "(those) who are called according to his purpose." That threw an earlier generation into a tizzy because of the predestination issue. I think Paul really intended that all of us are called by God. The more important condition is to "love" God.
The third theme which stands out is Paul's contention that "neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." What a powerful assurance. If none of those things can separate us from God's love, nothing can, not even our own sinfulness.
Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (C); Matthew 13:44-52 (RC); Matthew 13:31-33, 44-49a (E)
Jesus now defines the Kingdom in a variety of ways, using homey parables to describe its various characteristics. Probably the most familiar is the grain of mustard seed parable which, after barely perceptible beginnings, grows to immense proportions where even the birds can find a home there. It is also like cooking yeast, a small quantity giving rise to enrichment and growth. It is like a treasure in a field, one of such great value that one might very well give up everything else in order to possess it. This point is reiterated in the case of a merchant who seeing a pearl "of great price," sells everything else in his possession in order to have that one best pearl. Then Jesus concludes with a bit of an ominous warning. The Kingdom is also like the net which a fisherman retrieves, filled with good and bad fish, so the fisherman must throw away the bad fish. Likewise, those who do not deserve the Kingdom will be thrown "into the furnace of fire."
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Prayer And The Generosity Of God"
Text: 1 Kings 3:5-12
Theme: Solomon was known as a wise man. This is evident in his prayer dream. He did not ask God for any of the trappings of wealth or greatness. He sought only the wisdom by which to govern his people wisely and justly. Having recently assumed his kingship from David, his father, he was obviously sincere in desiring to be a good king.
1. Solomon asked for wisdom and a just mind. Our prayers come from deep within us and our actual motivations are known to God (see epistle passage). The more we pray for the good of others and for qualities of life which are those taught by Jesus, the more appreciative God will probably be.
2. God gave Solomon what he asked for, and more besides. This doesn't mean God will give us wealth or fame. It does mean, however, that God will enable us to do our life's work well and with honor. If it so happens that such endeavors result in wealth and/or fame, I don't think God will disapprove of that. The measure lies in what we do with those benefits of prayer.
3. God told Solomon he would answer his prayers because he asked. So often we hesitate for one reason or another. Isn't it interesting how many of us will devote hours to physical exercise, spend hours per week socializing with friends, more hours in front of television or at some other leisure activity, but find little or no time for worship and prayer? Yet it is there that our hope lies for a rich, productive life.
Title: "Prayer And The Will Of God"
Text: Romans 8:26
Theme: We earlier recognized three possible themes for preaching: prayer, the fact that God can make all things work for good, and the fact that nothing stands in the way of our relationship with God if we love him. My choice, to be consistent with the basic theme of the Sunday, is Paul's promise that the Spirit intercedes for us in our prayer life.
1. God sees deep within. Each of us has depths to our psyche which we ourselves do not understand. Some psychotherapists believe that if we could get in touch with those dimensions, we could be set free of some of our destructive emotional problems. Often our prayers are the wrong ones, but God knows what is best for us. The Spirit intercedes.
2. Sometimes we pray for wrong things. I can't know what is going to happen in my life in the future. God does. Earlier I used the example of my earnest plea for roller skates from my parents. They knew I was too young. I got them a couple years later, but might very well not be here today if I had been allowed to go skating down Carrollton Avenue at the age of six. God says "no" to some of our requests, but that's because of his love for us.
3. God sees to it that we receive what is appropriate. This does allude to Paul's other reminder that God makes all things work for good. Since God has chosen never to intervene in the physical world, events happen which can be disastrous. But God shows me how to use those things in creative ways. One of the most admired men I know was severely injured and crippled in college. He spent a year in bed. Deprived of an active life, he devoted himself to his studies, became a brilliant professional man, and finally retired as CEO of an internationally known corporation. Those injuries were probably a great blessing.
Title: "The Higher Happiness"
Text: Matthew 13:44
Theme: Better to focus on one parable. Let's consider the Pearl of Great Price. Jesus said the Kingdom of God can be likened to a pearl which a merchant sees and decides he wants to own. To raise the money, he must dispose of all other assets.
1. Total commitment is the means to know the Kingdom. To try to know it otherwise is like someone trying to learn to swim in shallow water. It can be done, after a fashion, but one never knows until thrown into deep water. So with the Kingdom. The weekly venture to church, the quick little prayer in the morning, while not totally wasted, are not, of themselves, the means by which one will truly experience the Kingdom.
2. This requires giving up some bad habits. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that to deny God's entry into any one facet of one's life is to deny God's entrance into the whole of one's life. My bad temper, my overindulgence in alcohol, my secret disloyalty to my spouse (I hope the reader knows I'm speaking rhetorically), my misrepresentation of the product I make or sell, my unwillingness to acknowledge the harm I may do by dealing in certain products like cigarettes, my self-importance which allows me to overcharge a client with no sense of guilt, my tendency to gossip or to speak ill of persons not present -- on and on. These are the temptations of life which we must seek to give up if the inner peace and self-assurance which accompany the Kingdom's arrival are to be known. To that we can add the need to give up some of our wealth for the good of more needful people.
3. The result is a higher happiness. God is on our side, understands our shortcomings. I discount the Bible passages which speak of fire and punishment if they are thought to say we're either good or bad. We're all a little of both, struggling people who never fully give up our faults. I've known a person or two who insists I'm wrong about this, but a certain hardness of heart seems to me to accompany such theology. I expect to be judged, but I expect to be judged on the basis of honest effort, coupled with enough self-critical faculty to realize I'm not always good. Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No man is good." No! This giving up is difficult work with much slipping backward. But if we persevere, are generous in our judgments of others but demanding in our expectations of ourselves, we will find that higher happiness.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Peter Marshall, so brilliant as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate and pastor of a Presbyterian Church which served national leaders, admitted that there were times when he became so busy he neglected his prayer life to the point he found himself exhausted and at times ineffective. When he returned to his prayer life, his life changed.
____________
Lyman Beecher, a masterful clergy figure in New England a long time ago, was scheduled to exchange pulpits with a nearby Baptist church's pastor. The two, friends for years, had an ongoing debate about predestination, in which the Baptist believed and Beecher did not. On the appointed Sunday, the two men rode their horses toward each other's church and happened to meet at an intersection. The Baptist gentlemen greeted his friend with this observation: "Doctor Beecher, I wish to call to your attention that before the creation of the world God arranged that you were to preach in my pulpit and I in yours on this particular Sabbath." "Is that so?" said Beecher, glaring at him. "Then I won't do it!" He thereupon turned his horse around and rode back to his own church.
____________
"Take heed to yourselves. Do not saunter into the life of ministry with half-open eyes. Count the cost of the work upon which you are entering ... You have seen men fail in the work which you are about to undertake ... The time was when they were young men, fresh from college, inspired with high ideals, full of hope like yourself. Then they as little dreamed of failure as you do today. Why did they fail? Because the cost of the work proved more than they had calculated. They began to build, but they were not able to finish."
-- Forbes Robinson
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 105:1-11 (C) -- "Sing to him, sing praises to him."
Psalm 119:129-136 (RC, E) -- "The unfolding of your words gives light."
Prayer Of The Day
Eternal God of love, we who have been called to preach your sacred word do, we confess, grow tired at times. There are temptations which beset us. There are times when we are jealous of the rewards and commendations given others. There are times when we resent the decisions of those you have called to direct us. There are days when we wish for financial rewards greater than we presently receive. Forgive us, O God, and grant us the maturity to resist these assaults, that we may be faithful to our call. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Genesis 29:15-28 (C)
I suppose if one reads this report as a Bible scholar, one could get involved in issues such as whether the two Jahwist historians had quite different versions of the Jacob and Rachel romance, so they shuffled them together, and so on. Reading as a preacher, about the only good thing that comes to mind quickly is the fact that Jacob had pulled a fast one on his brother Esau; now his uncle Laban has evened the score. We could make something of the willingness of Jacob to endure fourteen years of working for Laban in order to win Rachel. Makes you wonder how old they were by the time they finally got together. You also have to feel sorry for Leah, who was "hated" yet whose only flaw seemed to be that she had weak eyes. All in all, an interesting insight into a family of rascals and con-artists, but not a text most of us would select to preach about. Given the high moral values of Judaism, it's interesting that the Genesis writers raise no moral objections to the conduct of their honored ancestors. That was left for the reader to do.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 (RC); 1 Kings 3:5-12 (E)
This is a much more appropriate passage than the one from Genesis. Solomon asks God for "an understanding mind." Also, he wants to be able to discern good from evil among the people. God is so impressed with Solomon and the fact that he didn't ask for personal benefits, he gives him those as well. Although Solomon awakens to find this was a dream, it was still a valid transaction with God inasmuch as the ancients believed that dreams are one means by which God communicates. Clearly, we have a far higher moral plane here than in the Genesis passage.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:26-39 (C); Romans 8:28-30 (RC); Romans 8:26-34 (E)
This is another of those Bible passages which could serve for a whole series of sermons. At least three highly relevant themes stand out. First, there is Paul's assurance that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness." He's right, in my case. There are times when I don't know what to pray. I feel like Solomon, we shouldn't always be asking for things for ourselves. On the other hand, there are times when I desperately need some help from the Higher Power. What one must do is assume an attitude of prayer, say what you want, because God already knows. Recall the Collect for Purity of Heart, which begins "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid ..."
A second important theme is Paul's assurance that "all things work for good, for those who love God ..." I have seen this happen time after time. It has happened in my life, like the time I was fired from a job I liked and had to move to another city in order to find another job. There I met the man who won me to the church and, eventually, to the ministry. Of course, Paul threw in another caveat: "(those) who are called according to his purpose." That threw an earlier generation into a tizzy because of the predestination issue. I think Paul really intended that all of us are called by God. The more important condition is to "love" God.
The third theme which stands out is Paul's contention that "neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." What a powerful assurance. If none of those things can separate us from God's love, nothing can, not even our own sinfulness.
Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (C); Matthew 13:44-52 (RC); Matthew 13:31-33, 44-49a (E)
Jesus now defines the Kingdom in a variety of ways, using homey parables to describe its various characteristics. Probably the most familiar is the grain of mustard seed parable which, after barely perceptible beginnings, grows to immense proportions where even the birds can find a home there. It is also like cooking yeast, a small quantity giving rise to enrichment and growth. It is like a treasure in a field, one of such great value that one might very well give up everything else in order to possess it. This point is reiterated in the case of a merchant who seeing a pearl "of great price," sells everything else in his possession in order to have that one best pearl. Then Jesus concludes with a bit of an ominous warning. The Kingdom is also like the net which a fisherman retrieves, filled with good and bad fish, so the fisherman must throw away the bad fish. Likewise, those who do not deserve the Kingdom will be thrown "into the furnace of fire."
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Prayer And The Generosity Of God"
Text: 1 Kings 3:5-12
Theme: Solomon was known as a wise man. This is evident in his prayer dream. He did not ask God for any of the trappings of wealth or greatness. He sought only the wisdom by which to govern his people wisely and justly. Having recently assumed his kingship from David, his father, he was obviously sincere in desiring to be a good king.
1. Solomon asked for wisdom and a just mind. Our prayers come from deep within us and our actual motivations are known to God (see epistle passage). The more we pray for the good of others and for qualities of life which are those taught by Jesus, the more appreciative God will probably be.
2. God gave Solomon what he asked for, and more besides. This doesn't mean God will give us wealth or fame. It does mean, however, that God will enable us to do our life's work well and with honor. If it so happens that such endeavors result in wealth and/or fame, I don't think God will disapprove of that. The measure lies in what we do with those benefits of prayer.
3. God told Solomon he would answer his prayers because he asked. So often we hesitate for one reason or another. Isn't it interesting how many of us will devote hours to physical exercise, spend hours per week socializing with friends, more hours in front of television or at some other leisure activity, but find little or no time for worship and prayer? Yet it is there that our hope lies for a rich, productive life.
Title: "Prayer And The Will Of God"
Text: Romans 8:26
Theme: We earlier recognized three possible themes for preaching: prayer, the fact that God can make all things work for good, and the fact that nothing stands in the way of our relationship with God if we love him. My choice, to be consistent with the basic theme of the Sunday, is Paul's promise that the Spirit intercedes for us in our prayer life.
1. God sees deep within. Each of us has depths to our psyche which we ourselves do not understand. Some psychotherapists believe that if we could get in touch with those dimensions, we could be set free of some of our destructive emotional problems. Often our prayers are the wrong ones, but God knows what is best for us. The Spirit intercedes.
2. Sometimes we pray for wrong things. I can't know what is going to happen in my life in the future. God does. Earlier I used the example of my earnest plea for roller skates from my parents. They knew I was too young. I got them a couple years later, but might very well not be here today if I had been allowed to go skating down Carrollton Avenue at the age of six. God says "no" to some of our requests, but that's because of his love for us.
3. God sees to it that we receive what is appropriate. This does allude to Paul's other reminder that God makes all things work for good. Since God has chosen never to intervene in the physical world, events happen which can be disastrous. But God shows me how to use those things in creative ways. One of the most admired men I know was severely injured and crippled in college. He spent a year in bed. Deprived of an active life, he devoted himself to his studies, became a brilliant professional man, and finally retired as CEO of an internationally known corporation. Those injuries were probably a great blessing.
Title: "The Higher Happiness"
Text: Matthew 13:44
Theme: Better to focus on one parable. Let's consider the Pearl of Great Price. Jesus said the Kingdom of God can be likened to a pearl which a merchant sees and decides he wants to own. To raise the money, he must dispose of all other assets.
1. Total commitment is the means to know the Kingdom. To try to know it otherwise is like someone trying to learn to swim in shallow water. It can be done, after a fashion, but one never knows until thrown into deep water. So with the Kingdom. The weekly venture to church, the quick little prayer in the morning, while not totally wasted, are not, of themselves, the means by which one will truly experience the Kingdom.
2. This requires giving up some bad habits. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that to deny God's entry into any one facet of one's life is to deny God's entrance into the whole of one's life. My bad temper, my overindulgence in alcohol, my secret disloyalty to my spouse (I hope the reader knows I'm speaking rhetorically), my misrepresentation of the product I make or sell, my unwillingness to acknowledge the harm I may do by dealing in certain products like cigarettes, my self-importance which allows me to overcharge a client with no sense of guilt, my tendency to gossip or to speak ill of persons not present -- on and on. These are the temptations of life which we must seek to give up if the inner peace and self-assurance which accompany the Kingdom's arrival are to be known. To that we can add the need to give up some of our wealth for the good of more needful people.
3. The result is a higher happiness. God is on our side, understands our shortcomings. I discount the Bible passages which speak of fire and punishment if they are thought to say we're either good or bad. We're all a little of both, struggling people who never fully give up our faults. I've known a person or two who insists I'm wrong about this, but a certain hardness of heart seems to me to accompany such theology. I expect to be judged, but I expect to be judged on the basis of honest effort, coupled with enough self-critical faculty to realize I'm not always good. Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No man is good." No! This giving up is difficult work with much slipping backward. But if we persevere, are generous in our judgments of others but demanding in our expectations of ourselves, we will find that higher happiness.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Peter Marshall, so brilliant as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate and pastor of a Presbyterian Church which served national leaders, admitted that there were times when he became so busy he neglected his prayer life to the point he found himself exhausted and at times ineffective. When he returned to his prayer life, his life changed.
____________
Lyman Beecher, a masterful clergy figure in New England a long time ago, was scheduled to exchange pulpits with a nearby Baptist church's pastor. The two, friends for years, had an ongoing debate about predestination, in which the Baptist believed and Beecher did not. On the appointed Sunday, the two men rode their horses toward each other's church and happened to meet at an intersection. The Baptist gentlemen greeted his friend with this observation: "Doctor Beecher, I wish to call to your attention that before the creation of the world God arranged that you were to preach in my pulpit and I in yours on this particular Sabbath." "Is that so?" said Beecher, glaring at him. "Then I won't do it!" He thereupon turned his horse around and rode back to his own church.
____________
"Take heed to yourselves. Do not saunter into the life of ministry with half-open eyes. Count the cost of the work upon which you are entering ... You have seen men fail in the work which you are about to undertake ... The time was when they were young men, fresh from college, inspired with high ideals, full of hope like yourself. Then they as little dreamed of failure as you do today. Why did they fail? Because the cost of the work proved more than they had calculated. They began to build, but they were not able to finish."
-- Forbes Robinson
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 105:1-11 (C) -- "Sing to him, sing praises to him."
Psalm 119:129-136 (RC, E) -- "The unfolding of your words gives light."
Prayer Of The Day
Eternal God of love, we who have been called to preach your sacred word do, we confess, grow tired at times. There are temptations which beset us. There are times when we are jealous of the rewards and commendations given others. There are times when we resent the decisions of those you have called to direct us. There are days when we wish for financial rewards greater than we presently receive. Forgive us, O God, and grant us the maturity to resist these assaults, that we may be faithful to our call. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
