Proper 16
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 1:4-10 (C)
Jeremiah, who has been called the father of true prayer, here declares his sense of predestination as a prophet. As to his protest that he is too young and inexperienced for this role, God has reassured him of divine assistance in his work. It occurs to me that this could apply to many of us preachers and pastors. I myself have a profound feeling that I was born to do what I do. Partly, I believe this because I'm not good at anything else. Also, I can look back at events in my life which seemed at the time to be terribly unfortunate, even tragic, yet which played an important role in my preparation for ministry.
Also, I have -- as I know most of you have -- a clear sense of guidance from outside myself in my ministry. Time and again I have faced quandaries which, knowing myself, I would have thought to be too much for me to solve, and yet I have found myself diving in and succeeding in what I felt called to do. When I have allowed worldly matters to draw me away from my commitments, I have grown in my sense of discomfort. When I have made the sacrifices which are often necessary to do the work to which we have been called, I have sensed the rightness of such choices and have nearly always been glad of such decisions. I think a sense of the rightness of life accompanies this discovery.
This leads me to wonder how true this may be of other callings. Medicine, for instance. Are certain men and women prepared from the beginnings of their times to be healers, or researchers? What about law, or carpentry, or nursing, or brick laying, or teaching, or selling in a retail store? Is it possible that in order for an orderly society to form and grow and move toward some distant goal, a rich variety of vocations is necessary and thus a rich variety of people are prepared for this life so that such a society might have a chance of accomplishing what it as a cultural system is designed to accomplish? One can derive a great deal of confidence from the belief that we are doing what God prepared us to do. In sum, I think we were all born to do something special with our lives, something which serves other people and which serves God. Until we find that we may never be happy. But God will help those who earnestly seek and are willing to commit their lives to that work.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 66:18-21 (RC)
Trito-Isaiah, whoever that may have been, here declares that all the people from far-flung lands will draw near to the God who dwells in Jerusalem. We see here the concept of monotheism, yet centered in an earthly location. Hence, we see here the slow evolution of monotheism from that of a mountain dwelling deity toward the wider understanding of the true nature of God so much as that can be known.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 28:14-22 (E)
This must have gotten everyone's attention. The figurative language in this passage is spectacular (as so often is true of prophetic writing). Its essence is the warning that a "terrible scourge" will sweep through the land, destroying everything in its path in order to establish justice and righteousness. One wonders if, after all, the promise of this warning would come to pass, only it is now in process and will require many centuries to complete its work.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 12:18-29 (C); Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29 (E)
After some prophetic style warning, the writer's main point is that we are recipients of and residents of a kingdom that nothing can shake. The only acceptable response is to worship God with reverence and awe. The final word, "For our God is a consuming fire," is to reiterate the writer's conviction that failure to do this could be costly indeed.
As to a sermon, I would see this as an opportunity to preach on worship. These days, church worship is undergoing some heavy duty rearranging. New music, some very good, some passable, much of it banal, is proliferating even as we speak. Everywhere we turn, experimental worship seems the order of the day. Many churches are rent with dissension by young pastors with a preference for what is frequently referred to as Contemporary Worship. No two versions, within my limited experience, are alike. The most innovative introduction into worship is the use of video clips. Enormous screens are being installed in sanctuaries so that scenes from movies or locally-made videos can be used. A few times, I have found myself moved by these scenes. The youthful preference for loud music has swept the church to the dismay of an older generation who do not like that much volume. Meanwhile, pastors are leaving their robes in the closet, many are walking the aisles or at the least parading back and forth across the chancel while preaching (an especially distracting practice). Instrumental music has replaced organ music in many churches, while dress codes for singing groups, sometimes known as choirs, have been altered to prescribe only dressy casual, or maybe even jeans and sweatshirts. Undoubtedly this description only constitutes a surface scanning of the landscape of church worship as the beat goes on and innovation continues. The true validation of any worship form is this: does it create the worship environment in which the worshipers are led to a sense of awe and a sense of openness to the Spirit in such a way that we are motivated to serve others and to serve God?
Lesson 2: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 (RC)
This writer advocates the value of discipline, using the analogy of an earthly father who disciplines his children, insisting that however loving that earthly father, how much more yet we are to be grateful for the Lord's discipline. It may smart now, but its eventual effect will be a blessing to our lives. This raises the question as to the form such discipline takes in this life. If God withholds judgment during the course of this life, and if God does not dispense rewards and punishment in this life, we are left with the Bible and with Church authority as the source of discipline as this writer describes it.
Gospel: Luke 13:10-17 (C)
The Pharisees certainly were sticklers for rules. One could use this lesson to preach on respect for the Sabbath. However, given the many people who must work on Sunday, I'm not sure that would be very helpful. Or, we could discuss the fact that the Sabbath observance was not intended to be slavishly done. It was meant to foster rest, family togetherness, and time for reflection. Those are qualities which every person needs in order to live a fulfilled life. Even those who have no families or whose families have moved away need time with beloved friends.
Of course there's another theme here too. The bent-over woman was healed because she trusted Jesus. Healing is one of the promises of the Spirit. Not all physical ailments can be healed, though it would seem that many can, but there are other ailments which bend us over too, afflictions like anxiety, depression, loneliness, fear, guilt, to name a few. These can be healed by Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30 (RC, E)
"Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." Jesus meant here that one's worldly status gives no hint of one's status in the Kingdom. It may be well and good to achieve success. But unless that has been done by the standards set before us by God, it will have no meaning in God's eyes. If a group of kids go out on the football field and run back and forth across the goal line, running up a large score, it will be meaningless unless they played by the rules of the game. Likewise in life. In the Kingdom it will be those who lived as good, decent people who showed kindness, had integrity, who lived responsibly and lovingly who will fare best in God's Kingdom.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Do What You Do Best"
Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Theme: Work is necessary for the fulfillment of a human life. Each of us has a certain assortment of gifts -- of natural abilities, instincts, likes and dislikes as well as some weaknesses and shortcomings. Those latter are not necessarily bad. Just as one cannot be both short and tall, one apparently cannot be a whiz at details and at the same time a gifted viewer of the larger scene. I myself am poor at details and frankly, if there was a button I could push which would suddenly make me good at them I wouldn't push it, because in gaining one thing I would surely lose another. I'm good at other things. But I could never write this if it weren't for those fabulous masters of technical details who were able to invent and produce this word processor which I can barely work.
Title: "Partners In Preaching"
Text: Hebrews 12:28-29
Theme: There is not one best form of worship. There is worship which works for me, and there is worship which works for you. Surely, that's why God must accept the various forms which have proliferated in America. All the way from high church to the service I attended at a major university a few months ago in which enormous speakers exploded with contemporary Christian music as 600 enthusiastic college-age kids swayed back and forth with glowing smiles on their faces. Did that produce reverence and awe? It seemed to me that while it did not do that for an old fogy like me, it surely did for them.
I would try to help my parishioners come at the issue of worship with open minds. I happen to prefer the old fashioned way, what I suppose is usually referred to today as traditional worship. Yet I recently attended a service with video clips, instrumental music consisting of drum, synthesizer, piano, some percussion, a good ten minute sermon, an acted-out version of the Scripture passage, and I left with tears in my eyes. Is that the same as awe and reverence? For me it was. My heart was touched, and I would argue that worship which does not sometimes have that effect is not effective worship. The church which I often attend now has two traditional services and one contemporary. That is the fullest service and there is grumbling in the ranks from some of the elders who are threatened by this. Those churches which plan to experiment need to be sure the congregation understands what is happening and why.
1. Worship must touch us emotionally and intellectually. There must be elements of both for truly effective worship. We're all aware that people being different, some people are most affected by stimulating, thoughtful presentations, and some by heart warming, emotionally meaningful worship. Unless both elements are responsibly portrayed, the desired result -- awe and adoration -- may not take place.
2. It is the worshipers who make worship effective. The member who attends with an attitude of "Okay, make me feel something" has the wrong attitude. It is God to whom we are to attend. Granted, the clergy and the musicians have an important role. But we're only human. To expect even the most gifted preacher to "ring the bell every Sunday" (as one of my old preachers used to say) is asking too much. Same with music. But when we attend church with a lively spirit, with love in our hearts for those who are doing the best they can (and preachers must be sure that's the case), and with an openness for God to touch us as He may wish, wonderful things may happen. Someone, I think it was Reuel Howe, wrote a book years ago with the title Partners In Preaching. That said it. The worshiper who can listen for what truth is there rather than as a judge of public speaking skill will derive the most from worship.
3. We should prepare for worship. Ideally it would be wonderful to take time before leaving for church to sit quietly, take a deep breath, say a brief but sincere prayer for God's help in worship. We should start early enough that the family doesn't feel rushed, that we don't get out of sorts in the parking lot. If we know in advance what the Scripture passage is, read it in advance. We always printed the lesson on which the sermon was to be based in our bulletin so people could read it before the sermon and refer to it if they wished during the sermon. While I don't like the practice of asking parishioners to greet everyone around us myself, I do advocate finding opportunities to speak a warm and friendly word to others. Also, keep an eye out for a visitor or someone who looks a little bit lonely. I always assumed that in my congregation there was someone there who was deeply saddened by some terrible problem, someone who needed a kindly greeting.
4. The final measure of worship is what happens afterward. What kind of man am I when I leave? Is there love in my heart? Do people with whom I work trust and respect me, and do I deserve that? Am I kind to my spouse and children, respectful and thoughtful of my parents? Am I to be found going out of my way to do little kindnesses for others, especially when there is no possibility of reward? Am I grateful to God for what I have and am able to do? If the answers to these questions are yes, then my worship is effective.
Title: "The Spirit Of Sunday"
Text: Luke 13:10-17
Theme: The slavish adherence to rules of any kind can, in the long run, thwart the very thing they were designed to accomplish. This is true of the ancient idea of the Sabbath. No one I know observes this convention today. I myself have not been unknown to go home on Sunday and mow the lawn. Besides, don't you think that preaching two or three times on Sunday is hard work? Our members who work in hospitals, and pharmacy, and filling stations, and shopping malls don't have much choice. It is the spirit of Sabbath which is important. There was wisdom in that prescription. It was an awareness that there are some things we require in our lives if we are to be healthy minded, well adjusted human beings. That is what is implied in this lesson. The Sabbath is not a particular day (of course in Judaism it is Saturday and for us it is Sunday). But the point is, the wisdom which led to the Sabbath -- God rested -- is the fact that we all need certain qualities of life if we are to be whole people.
1. We need time with families. Many statistics cited today suggest how little time busy parents, especially fathers, spend with their children. Bill Hybels tells of the conscious decision his family made to plan vacations together. They would involve the children in decisions about motels, routes, sights to see, restaurants. One day as his family sat around their dinner table, he asked his children, now grown, what they remembered most fondly about family life. They all agreed it was their trips together, and they each reported vivid specific memories. My wife is a teacher, and she insists that children who grow up in homes where two characteristics are to be found -- good values on the part of parents, and plenty of together time (fun activities, homework, yard work, and so on) -- always have a good attitude in school and always turn out to be good people.
2. We all need time to rest. That doesn't necessarily mean just sitting. My wife, for reasons unexplainable to my male psyche, loves cleaning the house. It revives her for a week as a teacher. Many of my friends play golf. Until recent years, I loved getting together with friends for a long bike ride. Whatever. The important thing is the need for a period of time away from one's primary vocation. The more one's mind is withdrawn from the ordinary pressures, the more rest takes place. This may be done on Sunday. It must be done some time.
3. We all need time for reflection. Someone spoke of the curse of the unexamined life. Perhaps a good book can facilitate healthy introspection. Or a long walk. The idea of Sabbath implies a willingness to look at oneself. Where am I going? What has become important? Have I been neglecting someone I love? Have I unwittingly hurt anyone? What am I forgetting? Am I living up to the standards I set for myself in the beginning?
4. Worship is essential to a fulfilling life. Church is part of that. The idea of Sabbath implies time for a conscious period of prayer and self-examination in the presence of God. To say I love God but never enter His house is like saying I love my wife but I never go home. That kind of relationship is sure to wither and die.
The whole meaning of the Sabbath in our time is not slavish obedience to an ironclad rule. It is to allow time each week to worship God, be together as family, take our minds away from the pressures of our work, and to take an inward look to be sure we are the person we know, deep, down, we are created to be.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Mother is loving
Mother is caring
Mother is thoughtful
Mother loves sharing.
Mother is wonderful
Mother is kind
If I get muddy mother doesn't mind.
-- Ben Brown, aged 8
____________
"Strong parents produce children who are destined either to conform to their values or to wage a fierce battle to escape the mold. I loved my parents, therefore I kill them in order to become myself." So wrote Sam Keen. Then, writing of his own children, he wrote: "No doubt my son Clifford and my daughter Lael will do battle in the dark with faceless forces for half of their lifetime before they kick me out of their psyches. I hope I may live to see them celebrate independence day."
____________
After Handel had composed the incomparable Messiah he received a great deal of praise and admiration. But to this he replied: "This is not what I had hoped for. The Messiah was not written to gain admiration for myself but to celebrate the gift of God."
____________
Several years ago an insurance salesman for New York Life was continually at the top of their list of salesmen because of the large volume of his sales. He was interviewed by a magazine. He said he finally went to management and asked that they please remove his name from all lists henceforth. "You see," he said, "when I see a list I have to get to the top of it."
____________
A very insightful lady named Ruth Knowlton of La Crescenta, California, wrote to Guideposts magazine and told of her neighbor who lived in an apartment on the same floor but across the courtyard from Knowlton's room. She did not know the other lady, but often noticed her reading or sewing in a chair beside her window. But as time went on, she noticed that the other lady's windows had gotten dirty from lack of care. She said she wondered why that woman didn't do a better job of housecleaning. But one day, she herself did a thorough job of spring cleaning which included washing her own windows. Then, she said, she noticed that the other woman's windows now seemed clean as well. But then Ms. Knowlton said she had a burst of sudden insight. "It dawned on me," she wrote, " I had been criticizing her dirty windows, but all the time I was observing them through my dirty windows."
"That was an object lesson for me," Knowlton continued. "How often I had looked at and criticized others through the veil of my own ignorance, through the mist of my own shortcomings. Since then, whenever I have been tempted to pass judgment on someone, I first ask myself: Am I looking at him through my own dirty windows? Then I try to polish the windows of my own world so that I may see the world around me with more clarity." She concluded: "You know, it doesn't look half bad."
____________
A friend of mine stepped into his pulpit one Sunday and, to his amazement, saw his old third grade teacher whom he hadn't seen for more than thirty years. He said he was far more nervous than he would have been to have had his Bishop drop in. After the service, he greeted the now elderly lady. She looked him up and down, then said "Ben, I'm not surprised to see you serving God...." Ben was momentarily modestly proud, but she continued, "I'm not surprised because you had the right family life to prepare you." Yes. What a profound factor that is in determining what kind of people we become. What a tremendous advantage in life goes to those who have the right family life.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 71:1-6 -- "In thee, O Lord, do I take refuge."
Prayer Of The Day
Grant us serenity of spirit that we might, for a needed time, see deep within ourselves, that we might better know the person we are becoming, that we might yet become the person you let us know we are here to be. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 1:4-10 (C)
Jeremiah, who has been called the father of true prayer, here declares his sense of predestination as a prophet. As to his protest that he is too young and inexperienced for this role, God has reassured him of divine assistance in his work. It occurs to me that this could apply to many of us preachers and pastors. I myself have a profound feeling that I was born to do what I do. Partly, I believe this because I'm not good at anything else. Also, I can look back at events in my life which seemed at the time to be terribly unfortunate, even tragic, yet which played an important role in my preparation for ministry.
Also, I have -- as I know most of you have -- a clear sense of guidance from outside myself in my ministry. Time and again I have faced quandaries which, knowing myself, I would have thought to be too much for me to solve, and yet I have found myself diving in and succeeding in what I felt called to do. When I have allowed worldly matters to draw me away from my commitments, I have grown in my sense of discomfort. When I have made the sacrifices which are often necessary to do the work to which we have been called, I have sensed the rightness of such choices and have nearly always been glad of such decisions. I think a sense of the rightness of life accompanies this discovery.
This leads me to wonder how true this may be of other callings. Medicine, for instance. Are certain men and women prepared from the beginnings of their times to be healers, or researchers? What about law, or carpentry, or nursing, or brick laying, or teaching, or selling in a retail store? Is it possible that in order for an orderly society to form and grow and move toward some distant goal, a rich variety of vocations is necessary and thus a rich variety of people are prepared for this life so that such a society might have a chance of accomplishing what it as a cultural system is designed to accomplish? One can derive a great deal of confidence from the belief that we are doing what God prepared us to do. In sum, I think we were all born to do something special with our lives, something which serves other people and which serves God. Until we find that we may never be happy. But God will help those who earnestly seek and are willing to commit their lives to that work.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 66:18-21 (RC)
Trito-Isaiah, whoever that may have been, here declares that all the people from far-flung lands will draw near to the God who dwells in Jerusalem. We see here the concept of monotheism, yet centered in an earthly location. Hence, we see here the slow evolution of monotheism from that of a mountain dwelling deity toward the wider understanding of the true nature of God so much as that can be known.
Lesson 1: Isaiah 28:14-22 (E)
This must have gotten everyone's attention. The figurative language in this passage is spectacular (as so often is true of prophetic writing). Its essence is the warning that a "terrible scourge" will sweep through the land, destroying everything in its path in order to establish justice and righteousness. One wonders if, after all, the promise of this warning would come to pass, only it is now in process and will require many centuries to complete its work.
Lesson 2: Hebrews 12:18-29 (C); Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29 (E)
After some prophetic style warning, the writer's main point is that we are recipients of and residents of a kingdom that nothing can shake. The only acceptable response is to worship God with reverence and awe. The final word, "For our God is a consuming fire," is to reiterate the writer's conviction that failure to do this could be costly indeed.
As to a sermon, I would see this as an opportunity to preach on worship. These days, church worship is undergoing some heavy duty rearranging. New music, some very good, some passable, much of it banal, is proliferating even as we speak. Everywhere we turn, experimental worship seems the order of the day. Many churches are rent with dissension by young pastors with a preference for what is frequently referred to as Contemporary Worship. No two versions, within my limited experience, are alike. The most innovative introduction into worship is the use of video clips. Enormous screens are being installed in sanctuaries so that scenes from movies or locally-made videos can be used. A few times, I have found myself moved by these scenes. The youthful preference for loud music has swept the church to the dismay of an older generation who do not like that much volume. Meanwhile, pastors are leaving their robes in the closet, many are walking the aisles or at the least parading back and forth across the chancel while preaching (an especially distracting practice). Instrumental music has replaced organ music in many churches, while dress codes for singing groups, sometimes known as choirs, have been altered to prescribe only dressy casual, or maybe even jeans and sweatshirts. Undoubtedly this description only constitutes a surface scanning of the landscape of church worship as the beat goes on and innovation continues. The true validation of any worship form is this: does it create the worship environment in which the worshipers are led to a sense of awe and a sense of openness to the Spirit in such a way that we are motivated to serve others and to serve God?
Lesson 2: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 (RC)
This writer advocates the value of discipline, using the analogy of an earthly father who disciplines his children, insisting that however loving that earthly father, how much more yet we are to be grateful for the Lord's discipline. It may smart now, but its eventual effect will be a blessing to our lives. This raises the question as to the form such discipline takes in this life. If God withholds judgment during the course of this life, and if God does not dispense rewards and punishment in this life, we are left with the Bible and with Church authority as the source of discipline as this writer describes it.
Gospel: Luke 13:10-17 (C)
The Pharisees certainly were sticklers for rules. One could use this lesson to preach on respect for the Sabbath. However, given the many people who must work on Sunday, I'm not sure that would be very helpful. Or, we could discuss the fact that the Sabbath observance was not intended to be slavishly done. It was meant to foster rest, family togetherness, and time for reflection. Those are qualities which every person needs in order to live a fulfilled life. Even those who have no families or whose families have moved away need time with beloved friends.
Of course there's another theme here too. The bent-over woman was healed because she trusted Jesus. Healing is one of the promises of the Spirit. Not all physical ailments can be healed, though it would seem that many can, but there are other ailments which bend us over too, afflictions like anxiety, depression, loneliness, fear, guilt, to name a few. These can be healed by Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30 (RC, E)
"Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." Jesus meant here that one's worldly status gives no hint of one's status in the Kingdom. It may be well and good to achieve success. But unless that has been done by the standards set before us by God, it will have no meaning in God's eyes. If a group of kids go out on the football field and run back and forth across the goal line, running up a large score, it will be meaningless unless they played by the rules of the game. Likewise in life. In the Kingdom it will be those who lived as good, decent people who showed kindness, had integrity, who lived responsibly and lovingly who will fare best in God's Kingdom.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Do What You Do Best"
Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Theme: Work is necessary for the fulfillment of a human life. Each of us has a certain assortment of gifts -- of natural abilities, instincts, likes and dislikes as well as some weaknesses and shortcomings. Those latter are not necessarily bad. Just as one cannot be both short and tall, one apparently cannot be a whiz at details and at the same time a gifted viewer of the larger scene. I myself am poor at details and frankly, if there was a button I could push which would suddenly make me good at them I wouldn't push it, because in gaining one thing I would surely lose another. I'm good at other things. But I could never write this if it weren't for those fabulous masters of technical details who were able to invent and produce this word processor which I can barely work.
Title: "Partners In Preaching"
Text: Hebrews 12:28-29
Theme: There is not one best form of worship. There is worship which works for me, and there is worship which works for you. Surely, that's why God must accept the various forms which have proliferated in America. All the way from high church to the service I attended at a major university a few months ago in which enormous speakers exploded with contemporary Christian music as 600 enthusiastic college-age kids swayed back and forth with glowing smiles on their faces. Did that produce reverence and awe? It seemed to me that while it did not do that for an old fogy like me, it surely did for them.
I would try to help my parishioners come at the issue of worship with open minds. I happen to prefer the old fashioned way, what I suppose is usually referred to today as traditional worship. Yet I recently attended a service with video clips, instrumental music consisting of drum, synthesizer, piano, some percussion, a good ten minute sermon, an acted-out version of the Scripture passage, and I left with tears in my eyes. Is that the same as awe and reverence? For me it was. My heart was touched, and I would argue that worship which does not sometimes have that effect is not effective worship. The church which I often attend now has two traditional services and one contemporary. That is the fullest service and there is grumbling in the ranks from some of the elders who are threatened by this. Those churches which plan to experiment need to be sure the congregation understands what is happening and why.
1. Worship must touch us emotionally and intellectually. There must be elements of both for truly effective worship. We're all aware that people being different, some people are most affected by stimulating, thoughtful presentations, and some by heart warming, emotionally meaningful worship. Unless both elements are responsibly portrayed, the desired result -- awe and adoration -- may not take place.
2. It is the worshipers who make worship effective. The member who attends with an attitude of "Okay, make me feel something" has the wrong attitude. It is God to whom we are to attend. Granted, the clergy and the musicians have an important role. But we're only human. To expect even the most gifted preacher to "ring the bell every Sunday" (as one of my old preachers used to say) is asking too much. Same with music. But when we attend church with a lively spirit, with love in our hearts for those who are doing the best they can (and preachers must be sure that's the case), and with an openness for God to touch us as He may wish, wonderful things may happen. Someone, I think it was Reuel Howe, wrote a book years ago with the title Partners In Preaching. That said it. The worshiper who can listen for what truth is there rather than as a judge of public speaking skill will derive the most from worship.
3. We should prepare for worship. Ideally it would be wonderful to take time before leaving for church to sit quietly, take a deep breath, say a brief but sincere prayer for God's help in worship. We should start early enough that the family doesn't feel rushed, that we don't get out of sorts in the parking lot. If we know in advance what the Scripture passage is, read it in advance. We always printed the lesson on which the sermon was to be based in our bulletin so people could read it before the sermon and refer to it if they wished during the sermon. While I don't like the practice of asking parishioners to greet everyone around us myself, I do advocate finding opportunities to speak a warm and friendly word to others. Also, keep an eye out for a visitor or someone who looks a little bit lonely. I always assumed that in my congregation there was someone there who was deeply saddened by some terrible problem, someone who needed a kindly greeting.
4. The final measure of worship is what happens afterward. What kind of man am I when I leave? Is there love in my heart? Do people with whom I work trust and respect me, and do I deserve that? Am I kind to my spouse and children, respectful and thoughtful of my parents? Am I to be found going out of my way to do little kindnesses for others, especially when there is no possibility of reward? Am I grateful to God for what I have and am able to do? If the answers to these questions are yes, then my worship is effective.
Title: "The Spirit Of Sunday"
Text: Luke 13:10-17
Theme: The slavish adherence to rules of any kind can, in the long run, thwart the very thing they were designed to accomplish. This is true of the ancient idea of the Sabbath. No one I know observes this convention today. I myself have not been unknown to go home on Sunday and mow the lawn. Besides, don't you think that preaching two or three times on Sunday is hard work? Our members who work in hospitals, and pharmacy, and filling stations, and shopping malls don't have much choice. It is the spirit of Sabbath which is important. There was wisdom in that prescription. It was an awareness that there are some things we require in our lives if we are to be healthy minded, well adjusted human beings. That is what is implied in this lesson. The Sabbath is not a particular day (of course in Judaism it is Saturday and for us it is Sunday). But the point is, the wisdom which led to the Sabbath -- God rested -- is the fact that we all need certain qualities of life if we are to be whole people.
1. We need time with families. Many statistics cited today suggest how little time busy parents, especially fathers, spend with their children. Bill Hybels tells of the conscious decision his family made to plan vacations together. They would involve the children in decisions about motels, routes, sights to see, restaurants. One day as his family sat around their dinner table, he asked his children, now grown, what they remembered most fondly about family life. They all agreed it was their trips together, and they each reported vivid specific memories. My wife is a teacher, and she insists that children who grow up in homes where two characteristics are to be found -- good values on the part of parents, and plenty of together time (fun activities, homework, yard work, and so on) -- always have a good attitude in school and always turn out to be good people.
2. We all need time to rest. That doesn't necessarily mean just sitting. My wife, for reasons unexplainable to my male psyche, loves cleaning the house. It revives her for a week as a teacher. Many of my friends play golf. Until recent years, I loved getting together with friends for a long bike ride. Whatever. The important thing is the need for a period of time away from one's primary vocation. The more one's mind is withdrawn from the ordinary pressures, the more rest takes place. This may be done on Sunday. It must be done some time.
3. We all need time for reflection. Someone spoke of the curse of the unexamined life. Perhaps a good book can facilitate healthy introspection. Or a long walk. The idea of Sabbath implies a willingness to look at oneself. Where am I going? What has become important? Have I been neglecting someone I love? Have I unwittingly hurt anyone? What am I forgetting? Am I living up to the standards I set for myself in the beginning?
4. Worship is essential to a fulfilling life. Church is part of that. The idea of Sabbath implies time for a conscious period of prayer and self-examination in the presence of God. To say I love God but never enter His house is like saying I love my wife but I never go home. That kind of relationship is sure to wither and die.
The whole meaning of the Sabbath in our time is not slavish obedience to an ironclad rule. It is to allow time each week to worship God, be together as family, take our minds away from the pressures of our work, and to take an inward look to be sure we are the person we know, deep, down, we are created to be.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Mother is loving
Mother is caring
Mother is thoughtful
Mother loves sharing.
Mother is wonderful
Mother is kind
If I get muddy mother doesn't mind.
-- Ben Brown, aged 8
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"Strong parents produce children who are destined either to conform to their values or to wage a fierce battle to escape the mold. I loved my parents, therefore I kill them in order to become myself." So wrote Sam Keen. Then, writing of his own children, he wrote: "No doubt my son Clifford and my daughter Lael will do battle in the dark with faceless forces for half of their lifetime before they kick me out of their psyches. I hope I may live to see them celebrate independence day."
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After Handel had composed the incomparable Messiah he received a great deal of praise and admiration. But to this he replied: "This is not what I had hoped for. The Messiah was not written to gain admiration for myself but to celebrate the gift of God."
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Several years ago an insurance salesman for New York Life was continually at the top of their list of salesmen because of the large volume of his sales. He was interviewed by a magazine. He said he finally went to management and asked that they please remove his name from all lists henceforth. "You see," he said, "when I see a list I have to get to the top of it."
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A very insightful lady named Ruth Knowlton of La Crescenta, California, wrote to Guideposts magazine and told of her neighbor who lived in an apartment on the same floor but across the courtyard from Knowlton's room. She did not know the other lady, but often noticed her reading or sewing in a chair beside her window. But as time went on, she noticed that the other lady's windows had gotten dirty from lack of care. She said she wondered why that woman didn't do a better job of housecleaning. But one day, she herself did a thorough job of spring cleaning which included washing her own windows. Then, she said, she noticed that the other woman's windows now seemed clean as well. But then Ms. Knowlton said she had a burst of sudden insight. "It dawned on me," she wrote, " I had been criticizing her dirty windows, but all the time I was observing them through my dirty windows."
"That was an object lesson for me," Knowlton continued. "How often I had looked at and criticized others through the veil of my own ignorance, through the mist of my own shortcomings. Since then, whenever I have been tempted to pass judgment on someone, I first ask myself: Am I looking at him through my own dirty windows? Then I try to polish the windows of my own world so that I may see the world around me with more clarity." She concluded: "You know, it doesn't look half bad."
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A friend of mine stepped into his pulpit one Sunday and, to his amazement, saw his old third grade teacher whom he hadn't seen for more than thirty years. He said he was far more nervous than he would have been to have had his Bishop drop in. After the service, he greeted the now elderly lady. She looked him up and down, then said "Ben, I'm not surprised to see you serving God...." Ben was momentarily modestly proud, but she continued, "I'm not surprised because you had the right family life to prepare you." Yes. What a profound factor that is in determining what kind of people we become. What a tremendous advantage in life goes to those who have the right family life.
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 71:1-6 -- "In thee, O Lord, do I take refuge."
Prayer Of The Day
Grant us serenity of spirit that we might, for a needed time, see deep within ourselves, that we might better know the person we are becoming, that we might yet become the person you let us know we are here to be. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
