Proper 17, Pentecost 15, Ordinary Time 22
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle A
Object:
Seasonal Theme
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.
Theme For The Day
Our call from God to take up our cross and be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Old Testament Lesson
Exodus 3:1-15
The Call And Commission Of Moses
Here is a familiar story of the presence and the call of God made clear to the deliverer of the people, Moses. He receives not only a call but a commission as well. The place seems to be distant, one far from father-in-law and priest Jethro's usual grazing. It's interesting that the various sources of the Old Testament are woven together and we have Elohim (v. 4), the fire, and Yahweh of verse 2 as a composite picture. The Old Testament many times uses fire as a symbol of God's presence (Exodus 19; Psalm 18). The nature of the bush is really not all that important. It's the theopanic fire which is important. In Deuteronomy 33:16 the bush is mentioned one more time. The fire is described five times in verses 2 and 3.
In verses 4 and 5 we have further evidence of God's presence in the removal of sandals. The God talking to Moses is not only the God of his father but also the God of the fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promised presence in verse 12, "I am with you," is a theological formula we will see appear time and again (almost 100 times) in the Old Testament. So God is to be with Moses while on his mission and that adds authority for his call. There is a promise that the sons of Israel, with Moses, will return to worship on this very mountain again.
New Testament Lesson
Romans 12:9-21
Ethical Admonitions
Paul is using a writing style called "parenesis." This simply means listing admonitions of a general ethical content. The wisdom is borrowed from many sources and really doesn't need a sequence of thought or development of a single theme. Parenesis usually has a very general audience. It could fit 12:9-12 very well as Paul seems to be providing a general summary of his ethical teachings -- they also fit with the situation in Rome. Some scholars call this section "catechumen virtues," which was what was taught to new converts before baptism like 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 and 1 Peter 3:8-12. It's Paul's analog to the Sermon on the Mount.
The key word here, as in 1 Corinthians 13, is love. So from this passage let's make a list of Paul's marks of a true Christian: love one another, hold on to good, honor each other, serve the lord, keep the zeal, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, extend hospitality, contribute to the church, bless those who persecute you, rejoice and weep with those who rejoice and weep, live in harmony with others, do the noble, live peaceably with all, feed your enemy, and overcome evil with good.
The things we are to refrain from doing are: lagging in spirit, cursing those who persecute us, being haughty, claiming to be wiser than we are, repaying anyone evil for evil, avenging ourselves, or being overcome by evil. This latter teaching is more definite in 13:10 and may be found in 13:11-12 also.
Jesus' words in Matthew 5:43-48 say the same advice as 12:19-21. Christians are forbidden to "get even." Paul quotes the Old Testament like a rabbi would (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 32:35; and Proverbs 25:21-22). Burning coals in verse 20 is not explainable. It may mean to move them to burning shame -- or repentance.
The Gospel
Matthew 16:21-28
Suffering Predicted
Jesus begins to prepare his disciples that his mission involves his own suffering and death. Peter, who had thought of the Messiah in terms of politics and power, just can't believe it! Satan here represents any power which makes human desires take the place of God's will for us. The temptation Jesus faced from Peter is one of the worst: when someone who loves you tries to persuade. Perhaps the details of Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death were added into Matthew after the fact. But we can be sure Jesus knew of his coming death, saw it as divine purpose, and here he warns his disciples of what they can expect.
Verses 24-26 give us the conditions of discipleship. This is one of the themes spoken over and over in Jesus' teachings (Matthew 10:37-39; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:23-27; 14:25-27; 17:33). If we will be followers of Jesus, we must 1) deny ourselves, 2) take up our cross, and 3) follow Jesus. It's a sacrificial life of denial and with obedience to Jesus.
Matthew was writing at a time of severe persecution of Christians. These were times when they could save their physical life by giving up their faith. And in a real sense they had lost their life. The person who will risk greatly for Christ will find real life. I would quote Shakespeare here. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says to Romeo, "The more love I give to thee, the more I have." There it is again -- we give it away and it most affects us. Then in verse 26 he teaches us that it's possible to get all we wanted in life and discover we have missed the most important things of all.
Verse 28 is almost impossible to explain. Of course there have been many tries at it. William Barclay says in his Daily Study Bible that this is a promise that nothing can hinder the expansions of the Kingdom of God. Howard C. Kee in The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible states that Jesus in "... the sense of urgency and power... actually expected the end to come within that generation. It didn't happen in that way but the coming of the spirit on Pentecost brought about transforming effects in the lives of many before those who were hearing Jesus that day had died."
Preaching Possibilities
A. The Old Testament reading gives us a marvelous opportunity to do narrative preaching. It's a familiar story to many older Christians but may not be so for younger ones. One approach might be to imagine it in contemporary language and place like seeing a light bulb burning continually in a dark room without being in a light socket or hooked up any way to electricity. Or how about a computer which continues to work even though you unplug it and remove the battery? And then reading on the screen a message which is signed with God's e-mail address (GodAlmighty@Trinity.com).
Then move into what God would tell us our holy place, calling, and mission might be. Perhaps the ordained ministry, perhaps a ministry in our daily lives, perhaps God is calling us to be stewards and share what we have to support others' ministry. Or perhaps our calling, not unlike Moses, is to also lead people from slavery to freedom. Those enslaved today might be addicted to power, prejudice, wealth, sexual gratification, etc. Then you could conclude the sermon by reading the Old Testament lesson.
B. The Second Lesson, again from Paul, is hard to know how to bring about a focus unless you generally plead for being a genuine Christian. The listing in the Second Lesson commentary above might work saying what Paul asks us to be and from what he asks us to refrain. The best focus might be to point us to the first part of verse 9, "Let love be genuine."
Verse 12 would make a good single, three-point homily in how to survive our stresses of life now, and what kind of ministry we ought be doing together.
1. As Christians we are never without hope and help.
2. As Christians we can be patient in our suffering.
3. As Christians we must persist in our praying.
C. One other way we might approach this Sunday is by using all three readings under the theme of "This Sunday's discipleship."
1. Exodus 3:10. We also have a call and mission like Moses.
2. Romans 12:12. We also are to live a new kind of life like Paul.
3. Matthew 16:24. We also are to take up our cross like Jesus.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. Begin with this story: A special on 60 Minutes, October 18, 1987, was about Sister Emmanuel who lives in the garbage of the city of Cairo. She claims she has "married the slums." Sixty-two years old, her theory is that you must live with the people you serve. They raised one million dollars and built a hospital. She has to fight the parents to get the children in school. One of her concerns is the women beaten by husbands she calls "beaten slaves of the garbage." This woman began life as a pampered daughter of a rich businessman. What is it that moves some to help?
2. Now tell how this woman of the garbage evidently has discovered what Jesus meant when he told his disciples Matthew 16:24 and 25. The truth is that:
a. There will be some very well intentioned who love us, who will tempt us not to deny ourselves. Yet there is joy in self-denial.
b. We can gain much but not experience real life.
c. There are those who hear this who will soon know God's kingdom in heaven. And we can know it here as well.
3. Quote Mother Teresa -- Mother Teresa of India said, "Unless life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile." That is the call of Jesus to live as his disciples and give our lives away for others.
Prayer Of The Day
Help us to be faithful in serving you and all those in need. Show us the way to take up our cross and resist the temptation to play it safe. And, God, from time to time, burn a bush for us too, so we might be reminded of our call. In the name of Christ. Amen.
Possible Stories
At the funeral of James Simmons I attended, Rev. Parish said, "I did not come today to preach a funeral -- for we all preach our own funerals by the lives we live here. I came to share these few moments of tragedy with this family." What a sobering idea that we prepare our own funeral sermons by the lives we live! But we also have a cross, Easter grace, and a returned spirit to be with us now to get us through.
PLTS Chaplain Ben Borson said: "When you invite Jesus into your hearts, he does not come in alone." Put that with Marriott Hotel's claim, "Service, the ultimate luxury," and you have the life of a disciple.
The Marines have a television ad that says: "The few, the proud -- the Marines." What might be an ad for disciples of Christ? "The few, the humble, those who serve -- Christ's Disciples."
When a knight came to the court of King Arthur, he did not come to spend the rest of his days in knightly feasting and celebration. He came reporting for duty, asking on which mission he might go which would be done for Arthur. So too our discipleship.
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.
Theme For The Day
Our call from God to take up our cross and be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Old Testament Lesson
Exodus 3:1-15
The Call And Commission Of Moses
Here is a familiar story of the presence and the call of God made clear to the deliverer of the people, Moses. He receives not only a call but a commission as well. The place seems to be distant, one far from father-in-law and priest Jethro's usual grazing. It's interesting that the various sources of the Old Testament are woven together and we have Elohim (v. 4), the fire, and Yahweh of verse 2 as a composite picture. The Old Testament many times uses fire as a symbol of God's presence (Exodus 19; Psalm 18). The nature of the bush is really not all that important. It's the theopanic fire which is important. In Deuteronomy 33:16 the bush is mentioned one more time. The fire is described five times in verses 2 and 3.
In verses 4 and 5 we have further evidence of God's presence in the removal of sandals. The God talking to Moses is not only the God of his father but also the God of the fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promised presence in verse 12, "I am with you," is a theological formula we will see appear time and again (almost 100 times) in the Old Testament. So God is to be with Moses while on his mission and that adds authority for his call. There is a promise that the sons of Israel, with Moses, will return to worship on this very mountain again.
New Testament Lesson
Romans 12:9-21
Ethical Admonitions
Paul is using a writing style called "parenesis." This simply means listing admonitions of a general ethical content. The wisdom is borrowed from many sources and really doesn't need a sequence of thought or development of a single theme. Parenesis usually has a very general audience. It could fit 12:9-12 very well as Paul seems to be providing a general summary of his ethical teachings -- they also fit with the situation in Rome. Some scholars call this section "catechumen virtues," which was what was taught to new converts before baptism like 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 and 1 Peter 3:8-12. It's Paul's analog to the Sermon on the Mount.
The key word here, as in 1 Corinthians 13, is love. So from this passage let's make a list of Paul's marks of a true Christian: love one another, hold on to good, honor each other, serve the lord, keep the zeal, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, extend hospitality, contribute to the church, bless those who persecute you, rejoice and weep with those who rejoice and weep, live in harmony with others, do the noble, live peaceably with all, feed your enemy, and overcome evil with good.
The things we are to refrain from doing are: lagging in spirit, cursing those who persecute us, being haughty, claiming to be wiser than we are, repaying anyone evil for evil, avenging ourselves, or being overcome by evil. This latter teaching is more definite in 13:10 and may be found in 13:11-12 also.
Jesus' words in Matthew 5:43-48 say the same advice as 12:19-21. Christians are forbidden to "get even." Paul quotes the Old Testament like a rabbi would (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 32:35; and Proverbs 25:21-22). Burning coals in verse 20 is not explainable. It may mean to move them to burning shame -- or repentance.
The Gospel
Matthew 16:21-28
Suffering Predicted
Jesus begins to prepare his disciples that his mission involves his own suffering and death. Peter, who had thought of the Messiah in terms of politics and power, just can't believe it! Satan here represents any power which makes human desires take the place of God's will for us. The temptation Jesus faced from Peter is one of the worst: when someone who loves you tries to persuade. Perhaps the details of Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death were added into Matthew after the fact. But we can be sure Jesus knew of his coming death, saw it as divine purpose, and here he warns his disciples of what they can expect.
Verses 24-26 give us the conditions of discipleship. This is one of the themes spoken over and over in Jesus' teachings (Matthew 10:37-39; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:23-27; 14:25-27; 17:33). If we will be followers of Jesus, we must 1) deny ourselves, 2) take up our cross, and 3) follow Jesus. It's a sacrificial life of denial and with obedience to Jesus.
Matthew was writing at a time of severe persecution of Christians. These were times when they could save their physical life by giving up their faith. And in a real sense they had lost their life. The person who will risk greatly for Christ will find real life. I would quote Shakespeare here. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says to Romeo, "The more love I give to thee, the more I have." There it is again -- we give it away and it most affects us. Then in verse 26 he teaches us that it's possible to get all we wanted in life and discover we have missed the most important things of all.
Verse 28 is almost impossible to explain. Of course there have been many tries at it. William Barclay says in his Daily Study Bible that this is a promise that nothing can hinder the expansions of the Kingdom of God. Howard C. Kee in The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible states that Jesus in "... the sense of urgency and power... actually expected the end to come within that generation. It didn't happen in that way but the coming of the spirit on Pentecost brought about transforming effects in the lives of many before those who were hearing Jesus that day had died."
Preaching Possibilities
A. The Old Testament reading gives us a marvelous opportunity to do narrative preaching. It's a familiar story to many older Christians but may not be so for younger ones. One approach might be to imagine it in contemporary language and place like seeing a light bulb burning continually in a dark room without being in a light socket or hooked up any way to electricity. Or how about a computer which continues to work even though you unplug it and remove the battery? And then reading on the screen a message which is signed with God's e-mail address (GodAlmighty@Trinity.com).
Then move into what God would tell us our holy place, calling, and mission might be. Perhaps the ordained ministry, perhaps a ministry in our daily lives, perhaps God is calling us to be stewards and share what we have to support others' ministry. Or perhaps our calling, not unlike Moses, is to also lead people from slavery to freedom. Those enslaved today might be addicted to power, prejudice, wealth, sexual gratification, etc. Then you could conclude the sermon by reading the Old Testament lesson.
B. The Second Lesson, again from Paul, is hard to know how to bring about a focus unless you generally plead for being a genuine Christian. The listing in the Second Lesson commentary above might work saying what Paul asks us to be and from what he asks us to refrain. The best focus might be to point us to the first part of verse 9, "Let love be genuine."
Verse 12 would make a good single, three-point homily in how to survive our stresses of life now, and what kind of ministry we ought be doing together.
1. As Christians we are never without hope and help.
2. As Christians we can be patient in our suffering.
3. As Christians we must persist in our praying.
C. One other way we might approach this Sunday is by using all three readings under the theme of "This Sunday's discipleship."
1. Exodus 3:10. We also have a call and mission like Moses.
2. Romans 12:12. We also are to live a new kind of life like Paul.
3. Matthew 16:24. We also are to take up our cross like Jesus.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. Begin with this story: A special on 60 Minutes, October 18, 1987, was about Sister Emmanuel who lives in the garbage of the city of Cairo. She claims she has "married the slums." Sixty-two years old, her theory is that you must live with the people you serve. They raised one million dollars and built a hospital. She has to fight the parents to get the children in school. One of her concerns is the women beaten by husbands she calls "beaten slaves of the garbage." This woman began life as a pampered daughter of a rich businessman. What is it that moves some to help?
2. Now tell how this woman of the garbage evidently has discovered what Jesus meant when he told his disciples Matthew 16:24 and 25. The truth is that:
a. There will be some very well intentioned who love us, who will tempt us not to deny ourselves. Yet there is joy in self-denial.
b. We can gain much but not experience real life.
c. There are those who hear this who will soon know God's kingdom in heaven. And we can know it here as well.
3. Quote Mother Teresa -- Mother Teresa of India said, "Unless life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile." That is the call of Jesus to live as his disciples and give our lives away for others.
Prayer Of The Day
Help us to be faithful in serving you and all those in need. Show us the way to take up our cross and resist the temptation to play it safe. And, God, from time to time, burn a bush for us too, so we might be reminded of our call. In the name of Christ. Amen.
Possible Stories
At the funeral of James Simmons I attended, Rev. Parish said, "I did not come today to preach a funeral -- for we all preach our own funerals by the lives we live here. I came to share these few moments of tragedy with this family." What a sobering idea that we prepare our own funeral sermons by the lives we live! But we also have a cross, Easter grace, and a returned spirit to be with us now to get us through.
PLTS Chaplain Ben Borson said: "When you invite Jesus into your hearts, he does not come in alone." Put that with Marriott Hotel's claim, "Service, the ultimate luxury," and you have the life of a disciple.
The Marines have a television ad that says: "The few, the proud -- the Marines." What might be an ad for disciples of Christ? "The few, the humble, those who serve -- Christ's Disciples."
When a knight came to the court of King Arthur, he did not come to spend the rest of his days in knightly feasting and celebration. He came reporting for duty, asking on which mission he might go which would be done for Arthur. So too our discipleship.
