Proper 17
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle C
The Church Year Theological Clue
If this were Year/Cycle A, instead of C, the preacher might, unintentionally, observe St. Matthew's Day which occurs near this date depending on the lectionary followed and the calendar year as he preaches upon the Gospel of St. Matthew. Although this is Year/Cycle C, some preachers may wish intentionally - as their liturgical rubrics allow so - to preach from the selection of readings assigned to St. Matthew's Day. The festival highlights the work of those called to discipleship - not simply that Matthew wrote one of the gospels about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is never enough to be called and converted to faith in Jesus Christ; our relationship to Jesus is more than a private matter, and involves all who confess Jesus as Lord in the work of the kingdom. Specifically, thanksgiving and praise and other acts of adoration are linked to the business of evangelism and the work of mercy in the world.
There is also a theological link between the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost and St. Matthew's Day; it occurs in the Gospel for the Day (15th Pentecost), where Jesus suggests, in the second parable, that there is room at his "table" for those who don't seem to belong there. Matthew would surely be numbered among those who should have been rejected by Jesus Christ. But all of us are unworthy of Christ and the blessings of the kingdom, and none of us can claim to be deserving of a place of honor at his "table." Grace is the means by which any of us gains favor with Jesus and his heavenly Father; there is no other way to attain access to the benefits and blessings of his death and resurrection. "He gives us him-self," as Paul Scherer once declared, "Both hands quite full."
As the church year moves into its last phase, and as it is "informed" by the combination of St. Matthew's Day and the Gospel for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the mercy and grace of God are highlighted in the ministry of Jesus Christ and his claim upon all believers.
The Prayer Of The Day
The classic collect for this Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost underlines the "mercy-theme" in the latter part of Jesus' "parable of the table:" "Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."
The prayer for St. Matthew's Day, as revised in The Lutheran Book Of Worship, suggests the wide scope of Jesus' mercy and grace: "Almighty God, your Son our Savior called a despised collector of taxes to become one of his apostles. Help us, like Matthew, to respond to the transforming call of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever." The Gospel of the Day shows how that call makes disciples of all who answer it in faith.
The Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 68:3-6, 9-10 (RC) - The Book Of Common Prayer appoints a longer and more inclusive version of this psalm for the Seventh Sunday of Easter in Years A, B, C, but this is the only occasion on which Psalm 68 is used in the Roman Catholic ORDO. These verses emphasize the grace and mercy of God, particularly in his concern and care of the poor. The Christian church has always found a veiled reference to the coming of Christ in verse 9 - "You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; you refreshed the land when it was weary."
Psalm prayer (68 - LBW) - "Lord Jesus, king of the universe, you have given us joy in your holy meal. Help us to understand the significance of your death and to acknowledge you as the conqueror of death, seated at the right hand of the Father, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever."
Psalm 112 (E, L) - It is a psalm that had a variety of interpretations - as a glorification of the law, a psalm of comfort, the strength and power there is in trusting God - which are all secondary, from the perspective of the church, to emphasis upon the light, Jesus Christ. It functions well as a responsory psalm, picking up the heart of the Old Testament reading. "Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily" (Isaiah 58:8), and moving into the Second Lesson, where Paul says, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2)." He is the light of the world; he is the light of love.
Psalm prayer (112 - LBW) - "Lord Jesus, you are the light shining in the darkness for the upright. Teach us to love one another as you love us, that we might bring peace and joy to the world and find the happiness of your home, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever."
The Readings
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 (RC) - The "wisdom" of Ben Sirach instructs people to be humble and to trust the Lord God, who loves and accepts humble persons, not simply because their humility has won his grace and mercy, but because such persons know that they have to trust God implicitly for their deliverance and salvation and they do just that. This theme is picked up and magnified in the first parable that Jesus gives in the Gospel for the Day and is, no doubt, the reason that this selection was made in the ORDO. The reading also suggests that proud people have no real chance to enjoy a loving relationship with the Lord, because their pride gets in the way of genuine faith in God. Pride really does go be-fore a fall, but humility opens the hearts and minds of the faithful to God's gracious activity in Jesus Christ.
Ecclesiastes 1O:(7-11), 12-18 (E) - Rather than using the title of Sirach, The Book Of Common Prayer employs the Ecclesiastes name for its choice of first reading from the same book. Again, it is a warning against pride, informing people that pride causes persons to trust themselves and turn away from God. Pride begins with an attitude that results in sinning and breaking away from God; the proud strike out on their own because they believe in, and trust, themselves instead of God. The writer affirms that God destroys the proud and puts the humble in their places.
Proverbs 25:6-7 (L) - The Lutheran lectionary reduced its original choice for this reading from verses 6-22 to these two verses in order to sharpen the "pride" theme and make the reading more compatible with the Gospel of the Day. Once more, the reading contains a warning against pride and its attempt to usurp a place in the eyes of God - and people, too - that one is not entitled to. The last portion of verse seven is reworded by Jesus in the parable he gave at the dinner with the Pharisees.
Ezekiel 18:1-9, 25-29 (C) - Two readings from Ezekiel have been selected as the first readings for this and next Sunday, Propers 17, 18, as a kind of "mini-course" of lections. In his vision during the exile, which began with a kind of heavenly UFO that the prophet identified correctly as coming from God, he spoke of Israel's sin and her broken relationship with the Lord and the punishment that the children of Israel received for turning away from God. In this reading, the prophet outlines the nature of true righteousness, which involves one's relationship with others as vital to one's orientation toward God. The children of God are to show justice to all people, just as God has shown justice to them, a type of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." People who are unjust in their relationships with people are destroying themselves, but those who trust God and are just in their dealings with other persons are righteous in the sight of God.
Hebrews 12:18-19, 11-24a (RC) - The other lectionaries - Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common - employed this selection for last Sunday's second reading. Comments are included with the materials for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Hebrews 13:1-8 (E, L, C) - This last chapter of the letter to the Hebrews begins with an exhortation to love people, strangers as well as those who are close to a loved one. It contains that familiar "some have entertained angels unaware" in it in verse 2, and ends with that very well-known verse, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." In between, the faithful are urged to "remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them," to care for those who are "ill-treated," to honor marriage and "let the marriage bed be undefiled," and to love and trust God rather than putting one's heart and soul into the quest for money. Christians are to put their trust in God, imitating their devout leaders, who have staked their lives upon the mercy and grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Luke 14:1, 7-14 (RC, E, L, C) - The very setting of this set of parables by Jesus - a dinner in the home of a "ruler of the Pharisees" suggests that God loves all people, and that there is room in the kingdom of God for everyone. At the same time, as Jesus issues a veiled invitation to the eschatological feast of the kingdom, he makes it patently clear that those who think they deserve a place in the kingdom of God - as some of the Pharisees do - will find themselves outside looking in. The proud eliminate themselves by putting themselves in the place of God and believing that they deserve the best that God can give them in his kingdom. Rather, it is the people who know that they don't deserve any blessings at the hand of God who will receive forgiveness and God's approval, as Jesus said, "Friend, go up higher." The "paradox of the proud" affirms that those who think they have earned God's blessings actually lose them, while those who believe themselves to be unworthy of God's grace are the ones who can really receive it.
The second little parable also is more than a gem of advice for those who have the means to entertain others; it, too, has eschatological dimensions, suggesting that humility has a side that includes one's relationship to others, too. This "other side" of humility is informed by the love of God in Christ Jesus, and is actively engaged in unmerited and generous outpouring of love and mercy to people in need, thereby reflecting the mercy and grace of God toward believing and helpless sinners. Charitable works are an essential dimension of true humility, and humble Christians who engage in such activities may be positive about their acceptance by God.
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 14:1, 7-14 (RC, E, L, C) - "The Problem Of Proud People. " - There was a "lot of Jesus" in Pope John XXIII; he often disturbed the religious leaders by his words and actions, by doing the sort of things that Jesus did. For example, at Christmas, 1958, he visited a jail in Rome, blessed the prisoners and told them "that he learned how serious a jail sentence was when one of his cousins had to serve time for hunting without a license." Father John Jay Hughes, who tells the story, says, "This remark was omitted from the account in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, the next day. The editor was afraid that pious readers would be shocked to learn that a papal relative had been in jail. The editor was kept quite busy the next four years editing out similar papal 'indiscretions' from the copy that crossed his desk." Father Hughes writes, "Pope John's experience with the religious Establishment was not unlike that of Jesus Christ." Fortunately, the gospel writers did not eliminate seemingly embarrassing incidents, such as this dinner at the home of an important Pharisee. Luke says that "they were watching him." Jesus might have added, "I hope they were listening, too."
1. The Pharisees were proud, and they thought that they had reason to be; they were the very heart of the religious community in Jerusalem and their nation. Their pride surfaced in their game of "no place markers," in which they must have rushed to sit in the most important places at the dinner. Jesus renewed the ancient teaching that "pride goeth before a fall." They fell "from their seats," as it were, but they probably didn't know what he was talking about. (A tie-in of Sirach/Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, is evident at this point, and involves all proud people.)
2. That there is something of the Pharisee in many of us is all too true an observation that has been made by numerous observers of the Christian church. It is human for devout persons to think like the Pharisees: Namely, to believe that our faith and works have won special standing with God for us. That's when we "lose our seats" at the feast that God has prepared for his children. Pride usually results in a fall from the grace of God. It is a sin, which religious people commonly commit and fall. (See Reinhold Niebuhr's classic, The Nature And Destiny Of Man.)
3. Genuine Christians, informed by the gospel, know that they have not, and cannot, earn God's favor and blessings; hope and salvation are gifts in Jesus Christ, gifts of love, mercy, and grace. It is this knowledge that makes us humble, realizing that we have no claim on God's love and that we are not better than other people who claim to be Christians. Humble Christians are produced when people really know and understand the gospel and believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. Only the humble are great in the eyes of God! (This is what the writer of Proverbs was saying to the people of God.)
4. There is a place at the table of the Lord now - and in that eternal feast in the future - for those who love the Lord and trust his sacrificial death and resurrection for their deliverance. The proud have already lost their seats at the banquet of the Lord, but the humble will hear him say, "Come up higher."
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 27-29 (RC) - "The Paradox Of Pride."
1. Human beings ought to strive to be the best and greatest that they can be as children of God.
2. Truly great persons will be, at the same time, genuinely humble persons; they know that they have received great gifts from God and have merely made the most of them. They know that God loves all of his people.
3. There is little hope in God's kingdom for the proud, who think they are better than others; pride is an incurable disease, a type of spiritual cancer, according to Jesus ben Sirach. But humble people, who give themselves to others, will be loved by all, including God.
Ecclesiastes 10:(7-11), 12-18 (E) - "Twin Sins."
1. Pride and injustice are linked together.
2. Pride creates injustice, because it fosters self concern, greed, and disregards others.
3. Pride, in all its forms, is sin against God, others, and oneself.
4. The only hope of the proud is in the cross of Christ, which creates a "Mea Culpa" in the human heart and opens the way for God's redeeming love and grace.
Proverbs 25:6-7 (L) - This reading almost "begs" to be included in any sermon on the Gospel for the Day, as suggested above. I would incorporate it into any such sermon rather than preaching a separate sermon on this text. It offers an opportunity to preach law in conjunction with Jesus' first parable in the Gospel for the Day.
Ezekiel 18:1-9 (C) - "Sweet And Sour Grapes."
1. Sour grapes - Jeremiah's prophecy of doom for sinners, repeated by Ezekiel to the people of God.
2. There is no such thing as "sour grapes" in God's intention for his people; he loves all people and his grapes are sweet indeed.
3. And so, those who know how much God loves them - in Jesus Christ - ought to live in the spirit of that love morally and ethically. God's grapes, in his word, sweeten our lives.
4. "Sweet grapes" support and sustain righteous people, so that they may live in hope. and love.
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a (RC) - See the comments and sermon suggestions for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. This reading was "bracketed" by the second readings of the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common lectionaries.
Hebrews 13:1-8 (E, L, C) - "Entertaining The Angels."
1. That's what Hebrews calls the charitable work of Christians - "entertaining angels ..."
2. The failure to show love, generosity, and hospitality to all people, especially to those who may be strangers, can mean that we have "entertained angels unawares." These include people in prison, persons who are "ill-treated" by others and by life.
3. Revere marriage and holy relationships, uphold those who are Christian leaders and entertain angels by "imitating" the lives of true saints. (The writer of Hebrews takes it for granted that Christian leaders live exemplary lives, worthy of imitation, which is not always so.)
4. Trust in, and love, Jesus Christ, who is and always will be the same and hope in his name and you will be prepared to "entertain angels" encountered in this life.
If this were Year/Cycle A, instead of C, the preacher might, unintentionally, observe St. Matthew's Day which occurs near this date depending on the lectionary followed and the calendar year as he preaches upon the Gospel of St. Matthew. Although this is Year/Cycle C, some preachers may wish intentionally - as their liturgical rubrics allow so - to preach from the selection of readings assigned to St. Matthew's Day. The festival highlights the work of those called to discipleship - not simply that Matthew wrote one of the gospels about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is never enough to be called and converted to faith in Jesus Christ; our relationship to Jesus is more than a private matter, and involves all who confess Jesus as Lord in the work of the kingdom. Specifically, thanksgiving and praise and other acts of adoration are linked to the business of evangelism and the work of mercy in the world.
There is also a theological link between the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost and St. Matthew's Day; it occurs in the Gospel for the Day (15th Pentecost), where Jesus suggests, in the second parable, that there is room at his "table" for those who don't seem to belong there. Matthew would surely be numbered among those who should have been rejected by Jesus Christ. But all of us are unworthy of Christ and the blessings of the kingdom, and none of us can claim to be deserving of a place of honor at his "table." Grace is the means by which any of us gains favor with Jesus and his heavenly Father; there is no other way to attain access to the benefits and blessings of his death and resurrection. "He gives us him-self," as Paul Scherer once declared, "Both hands quite full."
As the church year moves into its last phase, and as it is "informed" by the combination of St. Matthew's Day and the Gospel for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the mercy and grace of God are highlighted in the ministry of Jesus Christ and his claim upon all believers.
The Prayer Of The Day
The classic collect for this Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost underlines the "mercy-theme" in the latter part of Jesus' "parable of the table:" "Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."
The prayer for St. Matthew's Day, as revised in The Lutheran Book Of Worship, suggests the wide scope of Jesus' mercy and grace: "Almighty God, your Son our Savior called a despised collector of taxes to become one of his apostles. Help us, like Matthew, to respond to the transforming call of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever." The Gospel of the Day shows how that call makes disciples of all who answer it in faith.
The Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 68:3-6, 9-10 (RC) - The Book Of Common Prayer appoints a longer and more inclusive version of this psalm for the Seventh Sunday of Easter in Years A, B, C, but this is the only occasion on which Psalm 68 is used in the Roman Catholic ORDO. These verses emphasize the grace and mercy of God, particularly in his concern and care of the poor. The Christian church has always found a veiled reference to the coming of Christ in verse 9 - "You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; you refreshed the land when it was weary."
Psalm prayer (68 - LBW) - "Lord Jesus, king of the universe, you have given us joy in your holy meal. Help us to understand the significance of your death and to acknowledge you as the conqueror of death, seated at the right hand of the Father, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever."
Psalm 112 (E, L) - It is a psalm that had a variety of interpretations - as a glorification of the law, a psalm of comfort, the strength and power there is in trusting God - which are all secondary, from the perspective of the church, to emphasis upon the light, Jesus Christ. It functions well as a responsory psalm, picking up the heart of the Old Testament reading. "Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily" (Isaiah 58:8), and moving into the Second Lesson, where Paul says, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2)." He is the light of the world; he is the light of love.
Psalm prayer (112 - LBW) - "Lord Jesus, you are the light shining in the darkness for the upright. Teach us to love one another as you love us, that we might bring peace and joy to the world and find the happiness of your home, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever."
The Readings
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 (RC) - The "wisdom" of Ben Sirach instructs people to be humble and to trust the Lord God, who loves and accepts humble persons, not simply because their humility has won his grace and mercy, but because such persons know that they have to trust God implicitly for their deliverance and salvation and they do just that. This theme is picked up and magnified in the first parable that Jesus gives in the Gospel for the Day and is, no doubt, the reason that this selection was made in the ORDO. The reading also suggests that proud people have no real chance to enjoy a loving relationship with the Lord, because their pride gets in the way of genuine faith in God. Pride really does go be-fore a fall, but humility opens the hearts and minds of the faithful to God's gracious activity in Jesus Christ.
Ecclesiastes 1O:(7-11), 12-18 (E) - Rather than using the title of Sirach, The Book Of Common Prayer employs the Ecclesiastes name for its choice of first reading from the same book. Again, it is a warning against pride, informing people that pride causes persons to trust themselves and turn away from God. Pride begins with an attitude that results in sinning and breaking away from God; the proud strike out on their own because they believe in, and trust, themselves instead of God. The writer affirms that God destroys the proud and puts the humble in their places.
Proverbs 25:6-7 (L) - The Lutheran lectionary reduced its original choice for this reading from verses 6-22 to these two verses in order to sharpen the "pride" theme and make the reading more compatible with the Gospel of the Day. Once more, the reading contains a warning against pride and its attempt to usurp a place in the eyes of God - and people, too - that one is not entitled to. The last portion of verse seven is reworded by Jesus in the parable he gave at the dinner with the Pharisees.
Ezekiel 18:1-9, 25-29 (C) - Two readings from Ezekiel have been selected as the first readings for this and next Sunday, Propers 17, 18, as a kind of "mini-course" of lections. In his vision during the exile, which began with a kind of heavenly UFO that the prophet identified correctly as coming from God, he spoke of Israel's sin and her broken relationship with the Lord and the punishment that the children of Israel received for turning away from God. In this reading, the prophet outlines the nature of true righteousness, which involves one's relationship with others as vital to one's orientation toward God. The children of God are to show justice to all people, just as God has shown justice to them, a type of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." People who are unjust in their relationships with people are destroying themselves, but those who trust God and are just in their dealings with other persons are righteous in the sight of God.
Hebrews 12:18-19, 11-24a (RC) - The other lectionaries - Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common - employed this selection for last Sunday's second reading. Comments are included with the materials for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Hebrews 13:1-8 (E, L, C) - This last chapter of the letter to the Hebrews begins with an exhortation to love people, strangers as well as those who are close to a loved one. It contains that familiar "some have entertained angels unaware" in it in verse 2, and ends with that very well-known verse, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." In between, the faithful are urged to "remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them," to care for those who are "ill-treated," to honor marriage and "let the marriage bed be undefiled," and to love and trust God rather than putting one's heart and soul into the quest for money. Christians are to put their trust in God, imitating their devout leaders, who have staked their lives upon the mercy and grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Luke 14:1, 7-14 (RC, E, L, C) - The very setting of this set of parables by Jesus - a dinner in the home of a "ruler of the Pharisees" suggests that God loves all people, and that there is room in the kingdom of God for everyone. At the same time, as Jesus issues a veiled invitation to the eschatological feast of the kingdom, he makes it patently clear that those who think they deserve a place in the kingdom of God - as some of the Pharisees do - will find themselves outside looking in. The proud eliminate themselves by putting themselves in the place of God and believing that they deserve the best that God can give them in his kingdom. Rather, it is the people who know that they don't deserve any blessings at the hand of God who will receive forgiveness and God's approval, as Jesus said, "Friend, go up higher." The "paradox of the proud" affirms that those who think they have earned God's blessings actually lose them, while those who believe themselves to be unworthy of God's grace are the ones who can really receive it.
The second little parable also is more than a gem of advice for those who have the means to entertain others; it, too, has eschatological dimensions, suggesting that humility has a side that includes one's relationship to others, too. This "other side" of humility is informed by the love of God in Christ Jesus, and is actively engaged in unmerited and generous outpouring of love and mercy to people in need, thereby reflecting the mercy and grace of God toward believing and helpless sinners. Charitable works are an essential dimension of true humility, and humble Christians who engage in such activities may be positive about their acceptance by God.
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 14:1, 7-14 (RC, E, L, C) - "The Problem Of Proud People. " - There was a "lot of Jesus" in Pope John XXIII; he often disturbed the religious leaders by his words and actions, by doing the sort of things that Jesus did. For example, at Christmas, 1958, he visited a jail in Rome, blessed the prisoners and told them "that he learned how serious a jail sentence was when one of his cousins had to serve time for hunting without a license." Father John Jay Hughes, who tells the story, says, "This remark was omitted from the account in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, the next day. The editor was afraid that pious readers would be shocked to learn that a papal relative had been in jail. The editor was kept quite busy the next four years editing out similar papal 'indiscretions' from the copy that crossed his desk." Father Hughes writes, "Pope John's experience with the religious Establishment was not unlike that of Jesus Christ." Fortunately, the gospel writers did not eliminate seemingly embarrassing incidents, such as this dinner at the home of an important Pharisee. Luke says that "they were watching him." Jesus might have added, "I hope they were listening, too."
1. The Pharisees were proud, and they thought that they had reason to be; they were the very heart of the religious community in Jerusalem and their nation. Their pride surfaced in their game of "no place markers," in which they must have rushed to sit in the most important places at the dinner. Jesus renewed the ancient teaching that "pride goeth before a fall." They fell "from their seats," as it were, but they probably didn't know what he was talking about. (A tie-in of Sirach/Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, is evident at this point, and involves all proud people.)
2. That there is something of the Pharisee in many of us is all too true an observation that has been made by numerous observers of the Christian church. It is human for devout persons to think like the Pharisees: Namely, to believe that our faith and works have won special standing with God for us. That's when we "lose our seats" at the feast that God has prepared for his children. Pride usually results in a fall from the grace of God. It is a sin, which religious people commonly commit and fall. (See Reinhold Niebuhr's classic, The Nature And Destiny Of Man.)
3. Genuine Christians, informed by the gospel, know that they have not, and cannot, earn God's favor and blessings; hope and salvation are gifts in Jesus Christ, gifts of love, mercy, and grace. It is this knowledge that makes us humble, realizing that we have no claim on God's love and that we are not better than other people who claim to be Christians. Humble Christians are produced when people really know and understand the gospel and believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. Only the humble are great in the eyes of God! (This is what the writer of Proverbs was saying to the people of God.)
4. There is a place at the table of the Lord now - and in that eternal feast in the future - for those who love the Lord and trust his sacrificial death and resurrection for their deliverance. The proud have already lost their seats at the banquet of the Lord, but the humble will hear him say, "Come up higher."
Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 27-29 (RC) - "The Paradox Of Pride."
1. Human beings ought to strive to be the best and greatest that they can be as children of God.
2. Truly great persons will be, at the same time, genuinely humble persons; they know that they have received great gifts from God and have merely made the most of them. They know that God loves all of his people.
3. There is little hope in God's kingdom for the proud, who think they are better than others; pride is an incurable disease, a type of spiritual cancer, according to Jesus ben Sirach. But humble people, who give themselves to others, will be loved by all, including God.
Ecclesiastes 10:(7-11), 12-18 (E) - "Twin Sins."
1. Pride and injustice are linked together.
2. Pride creates injustice, because it fosters self concern, greed, and disregards others.
3. Pride, in all its forms, is sin against God, others, and oneself.
4. The only hope of the proud is in the cross of Christ, which creates a "Mea Culpa" in the human heart and opens the way for God's redeeming love and grace.
Proverbs 25:6-7 (L) - This reading almost "begs" to be included in any sermon on the Gospel for the Day, as suggested above. I would incorporate it into any such sermon rather than preaching a separate sermon on this text. It offers an opportunity to preach law in conjunction with Jesus' first parable in the Gospel for the Day.
Ezekiel 18:1-9 (C) - "Sweet And Sour Grapes."
1. Sour grapes - Jeremiah's prophecy of doom for sinners, repeated by Ezekiel to the people of God.
2. There is no such thing as "sour grapes" in God's intention for his people; he loves all people and his grapes are sweet indeed.
3. And so, those who know how much God loves them - in Jesus Christ - ought to live in the spirit of that love morally and ethically. God's grapes, in his word, sweeten our lives.
4. "Sweet grapes" support and sustain righteous people, so that they may live in hope. and love.
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a (RC) - See the comments and sermon suggestions for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. This reading was "bracketed" by the second readings of the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common lectionaries.
Hebrews 13:1-8 (E, L, C) - "Entertaining The Angels."
1. That's what Hebrews calls the charitable work of Christians - "entertaining angels ..."
2. The failure to show love, generosity, and hospitality to all people, especially to those who may be strangers, can mean that we have "entertained angels unawares." These include people in prison, persons who are "ill-treated" by others and by life.
3. Revere marriage and holy relationships, uphold those who are Christian leaders and entertain angels by "imitating" the lives of true saints. (The writer of Hebrews takes it for granted that Christian leaders live exemplary lives, worthy of imitation, which is not always so.)
4. Trust in, and love, Jesus Christ, who is and always will be the same and hope in his name and you will be prepared to "entertain angels" encountered in this life.
