Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VIII, Cycle B
Revised Common
Proverbs 1:20-33 or Isaiah 50:5-9a
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Roman Catholic
Isaiah 50:5-9a
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35
Episcopal
Isaiah 50:4-9
James 2:1-5, 8-10, 14-18
Mark 8:27-38 or Mark 9:14-29
Theme For The Day
Words have the power to wound, or to heal: we should choose ours carefully.
Old Testament Lesson
Proverbs 1:20-33
Wisdom Cries Out In the Street To Pay Heed To Her Teaching
A striking device in the book of Proverbs is the personification of Wisdom as a female figure, introduced for the first time in this passage: "Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice ... 'How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?' " (20, 22a). Wisdom, here, is taunting those who will not pay heed to her teaching. For those who do not, there are consequences: "I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm ... Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me." (1:26b-27a, 28). These stern but loving admonitions are meant to keep young students of the scriptures at their task, in all diligence and faithfulness.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 50:5-9a
The Third Servant Song
This passage has previously occurred in the lectionary on Sunday Of The Passion / Palm Sunday (p. 99).
New Testament Lesson
James 3:1-12
The Tongue Is A Fire
James has previously had some things to say about the importance of using human speech in ways that serve God and neighbor, but that effort reaches its climax in this passage. He begins by speaking directly to those who teach the faith: "You know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (v. 1). As a small bridle guides a horse, and a small rudder guides a ship, so "the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits" (v. 5). Yet, as a small flame can set a whole forest ablaze, so, too, can the tongue cause terrible damage: for "the tongue is a fire" (v. 6). The tongue is nearly impossible to tame (v. 8). "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing" (v. 10). While James' words may seem at first glance antiquated, in fact, speech is a topic that is constantly in the public imagination. Bitter debates rage in the media about the right to "free speech." E-mail and instant-messaging give us more venues for speech than ever before. We are surrounded by a sea of words: yet so many of them are at best insignificant, and at worst harmful. Truly, this is a timely topic.
The Gospel
Mark 8:27-38
"Who Do People Say That I Am?"
This text is one of the turning points of Mark's Gospel. Until now, Jesus has been teaching and performing healings, all the while urging his disciples to remain quiet about what they have heard and seen. Now, in a private moment, he turns directly to his disciples and asks them, "Who do people say that I am?" (v. 27b). Like good campaign workers, the disciples tell him what the most recent polls are saying: "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets" (v. 28). But Jesus isn't interested in what the polls say. He wants to know what they have say about him, personally. Peter is the first one to speak: "You are the Messiah" (v. 29b). Mark gives no sign of how Jesus receives this news, other than to observe that he commands them to tell no one of this. The second part of this selection has already occurred in the lectionary, on the Second Sunday In Lent (p. 83).
Preaching Possibilities
"Sticks and stones may break my bones," the children chant, "but names can never hurt me."
Oh yes, they can. Mocking names may only be words, but words can wound: sometimes very deeply. It's that sort of criticism James has in mind, as he describes the human tongue as "a fire ... [that] stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell." You can tame wild animals, he says, but "no one can tame the tongue"; it is "a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
"The tongue is a fire" -- Adolf Hitler knew all about that. Just look at that old documentary footage of his Nuremberg rallies: the clipped, staccato speech, the eyes glowing like two black coals, the angry forefinger stabbing the air -- then wave upon wave of sheer adulation from the crowd, shouting, "Sieg heil! Sieg heil!" It was only words that Hitler spoke; yet those words packed sufficient power to set a continent ablaze, and then a world. Millions perished.
On the other side of the English Channel stood Winston Churchill: hand on hip, watch on fob, bulldog chin extended. They used to say Churchill's tongue could cause more damage to the German cause than a V-1 rocket. In the darkest days of the war, all over England the British people huddled around their radio cabinets, straining to hear what he would say next. James says the tongue is like the rudder of a ship: small in size, but oh-so-important.
Churchill began his service as prime minister by announcing, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat." We can hardly imagine a politician today getting away with that brand of brutal honesty. (How would that sound bite play on the evening news?) But the British people loved it. Churchill told it like it was.
Just a month later, two days before the French surrendered to the Nazis, and the Spitfire pilots stood alone against the mighty Luftwaffe, Churchill came on the radio again. He told the people, "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for 1,000 years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' "
A blazing fire; a tried-and-true, unfailing rudder -- the human tongue may be applied to the cause of evil, or to good! The tongue can deliver a testimonial address; it can also taunt ... and mock ... and needle ... and nag. The tongue can swear allegiance; it can also tell lies ... or cheat ... or vainly boast. The tongue can utter public prayer; or it can befoul the air with profanity. The tongue can offer a wedding vow; or it can whisper sweet, adulterous nothings into a lover's ear.
We've all witnessed the power of the tongue to make a person wilt in embarrassment -- to bring that "I-wish-I-could-just-sink-into-the-floor" look to the face. Maybe we've caused that sort of reaction ourselves ... with that little word of cutting criticism, maybe veiled as a compliment: "I'll bet you've been dieting! Why, you're looking sooo good!" or "I'm so glad you didn't go out of your way to clean before we came over!" or "You're going to have big shoes to fill, as the new office manager!"
How much better it is to use our tongues to encourage and build up other people! Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." The author of Proverbs concurs: "Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up" (12:25). In another place, Proverbs teaches that "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (16:24).
When the Holy Spirit falls upon the gathered church at Pentecost, which part of the body does it first affect? The tongue! Not only is the Holy Spirit seen by the apostles as "tongues of fire," that same Spirit empowers them to "speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."
Pentecost symbolizes, in a certain sense, the redeeming of the tongue. What was it that Peter had done, not long before that day, that still made him feel so desperately ashamed? He had betrayed his Lord. He had used his tongue to say he did not know him. Yet, it is none other than Peter -- ecstatically filled with the Holy Spirit -- who throws open the doors of the house where they've been huddling, and preaches the gospel. A faithless tongue is redeemed, for holy purposes!
There's a great shortage in our world of kind and gentle words -- words that upbuild, words that encourage. Such upbuilding words are so much more than flattery -- those cheap compliments handed out wholesale to all comers, merely to grease the wheels of social interaction. No, what we need much more of are words carefully chosen, expressing appreciation of another person's uniqueness. "Make other people like themselves a little better," Norman Vincent Peale used to say, "and they will like you very much."
It's a blindingly simple bit of wisdom -- yet so wondrously profound. "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing," says James. Many times each day, we have those two choices offered to us. We may bless, or we may curse. We may tear down, or we may build up. We may speak of kindness and gratitude, or of bitter, selfish striving.
It's all in the tongue -- and in the tales the tongue tells.
Prayer For The Day
Great God, you have given us hands to help, backs to bear burdens, feet to rush to where the needs are, ears to listen. You have also given us tongues to speak. May we use them to share words that build others up, rather than tearing them down. Use our tongues, just as you use every other part of us. Amen.
To Illustrate
There's a story about the famous preacher of the last century, Henry Ward Beecher. One Sunday, he ascended the great pulpit of Boston's Plymouth Congregational Church, and there he found a note waiting for him. Beecher glanced at the note, then announced, "I received a letter from one of you this morning. It states quite simply, 'Fool.' "
Beecher paused, then grinned maliciously. "I often receive letters from people who forget to sign their names," he said, "but this is the first time someone has signed their name and forgotten to write the letter."
***
One place where the tongue can cause particular damage is in the church. Two people are hard at work on projects close to their hearts, and they bump up against each other. One person speaks without thinking; the other feels offended. The second person begins avoiding the first, maybe even stops coming to church altogether -- because of course you can't express anger in a church setting (that wouldn't be Christian)! Instead, she goes home and starts calling friends, suggesting changes that will keep this sort of thing from ever happening again -- for the good of the church, of course.
The second person gets wind of the proposed changes, and begins calling his friends. Together they come up with all sorts of reasons why the first group's proposal is not a wise idea. Before long, trenches are dug, barbed wire is strung, and shells are being lobbed so high that no one can tell exactly where they're coming from. Life in the church is suddenly punctuated by mysterious crashes and explosions and puffs of smoke, coming from no-one-knows-where -- as people from one side get irritated by things the other side has done (even if they're perfectly innocent).
If the pastor (or anyone else) tries to visit either side, those being visited will steadfastly deny there's any problem -- even as they hand the aspiring peacemaker one of their side's uniforms. Rarely is anyone so crass as to ask, "Are you on our side, or theirs?" Instead, they ask pointed questions, to try to find out -- or, if they're subtle, they send their friends to do it in their place.
These stealth conflicts can simmer on and on for years -- with all parties denying that a conflict exists. People can be found, months or even years later, arguing (with surprising vehemence) over what color to paint a wall, or who should have copies of a certain key. The wall treatment, or the locksmith's fee, is not the issue, of course; it's that real or imagined slight from long ago -- those hurtful words that were uttered, but could never be acknowledged, because the unspoken rules declare that all conflict in church is un-Christian!
***
A woman who was known as a harsh critic of other people once told John Wesley, "Mr. Wesley, my talent is to speak my mind."
"Madam," Wesley replied, "God wouldn't care a bit if you would bury that talent."
***
If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it.
-- William Penn
***
There's a story about a society woman in London who attended two dinner parties, a week apart. At the first, she was seated next to the prime minister, William Gladstone. At the second, she found herself next to Benjamin Disraeli, leader of the opposition party.
A friend later asked her what she thought of the two men. "When I left the dining room after sitting with Mr. Gladstone," she said, "I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England."
Such is the power of words to build up.
Proverbs 1:20-33 or Isaiah 50:5-9a
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Roman Catholic
Isaiah 50:5-9a
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35
Episcopal
Isaiah 50:4-9
James 2:1-5, 8-10, 14-18
Mark 8:27-38 or Mark 9:14-29
Theme For The Day
Words have the power to wound, or to heal: we should choose ours carefully.
Old Testament Lesson
Proverbs 1:20-33
Wisdom Cries Out In the Street To Pay Heed To Her Teaching
A striking device in the book of Proverbs is the personification of Wisdom as a female figure, introduced for the first time in this passage: "Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice ... 'How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?' " (20, 22a). Wisdom, here, is taunting those who will not pay heed to her teaching. For those who do not, there are consequences: "I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm ... Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me." (1:26b-27a, 28). These stern but loving admonitions are meant to keep young students of the scriptures at their task, in all diligence and faithfulness.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 50:5-9a
The Third Servant Song
This passage has previously occurred in the lectionary on Sunday Of The Passion / Palm Sunday (p. 99).
New Testament Lesson
James 3:1-12
The Tongue Is A Fire
James has previously had some things to say about the importance of using human speech in ways that serve God and neighbor, but that effort reaches its climax in this passage. He begins by speaking directly to those who teach the faith: "You know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (v. 1). As a small bridle guides a horse, and a small rudder guides a ship, so "the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits" (v. 5). Yet, as a small flame can set a whole forest ablaze, so, too, can the tongue cause terrible damage: for "the tongue is a fire" (v. 6). The tongue is nearly impossible to tame (v. 8). "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing" (v. 10). While James' words may seem at first glance antiquated, in fact, speech is a topic that is constantly in the public imagination. Bitter debates rage in the media about the right to "free speech." E-mail and instant-messaging give us more venues for speech than ever before. We are surrounded by a sea of words: yet so many of them are at best insignificant, and at worst harmful. Truly, this is a timely topic.
The Gospel
Mark 8:27-38
"Who Do People Say That I Am?"
This text is one of the turning points of Mark's Gospel. Until now, Jesus has been teaching and performing healings, all the while urging his disciples to remain quiet about what they have heard and seen. Now, in a private moment, he turns directly to his disciples and asks them, "Who do people say that I am?" (v. 27b). Like good campaign workers, the disciples tell him what the most recent polls are saying: "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets" (v. 28). But Jesus isn't interested in what the polls say. He wants to know what they have say about him, personally. Peter is the first one to speak: "You are the Messiah" (v. 29b). Mark gives no sign of how Jesus receives this news, other than to observe that he commands them to tell no one of this. The second part of this selection has already occurred in the lectionary, on the Second Sunday In Lent (p. 83).
Preaching Possibilities
"Sticks and stones may break my bones," the children chant, "but names can never hurt me."
Oh yes, they can. Mocking names may only be words, but words can wound: sometimes very deeply. It's that sort of criticism James has in mind, as he describes the human tongue as "a fire ... [that] stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell." You can tame wild animals, he says, but "no one can tame the tongue"; it is "a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
"The tongue is a fire" -- Adolf Hitler knew all about that. Just look at that old documentary footage of his Nuremberg rallies: the clipped, staccato speech, the eyes glowing like two black coals, the angry forefinger stabbing the air -- then wave upon wave of sheer adulation from the crowd, shouting, "Sieg heil! Sieg heil!" It was only words that Hitler spoke; yet those words packed sufficient power to set a continent ablaze, and then a world. Millions perished.
On the other side of the English Channel stood Winston Churchill: hand on hip, watch on fob, bulldog chin extended. They used to say Churchill's tongue could cause more damage to the German cause than a V-1 rocket. In the darkest days of the war, all over England the British people huddled around their radio cabinets, straining to hear what he would say next. James says the tongue is like the rudder of a ship: small in size, but oh-so-important.
Churchill began his service as prime minister by announcing, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat." We can hardly imagine a politician today getting away with that brand of brutal honesty. (How would that sound bite play on the evening news?) But the British people loved it. Churchill told it like it was.
Just a month later, two days before the French surrendered to the Nazis, and the Spitfire pilots stood alone against the mighty Luftwaffe, Churchill came on the radio again. He told the people, "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for 1,000 years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' "
A blazing fire; a tried-and-true, unfailing rudder -- the human tongue may be applied to the cause of evil, or to good! The tongue can deliver a testimonial address; it can also taunt ... and mock ... and needle ... and nag. The tongue can swear allegiance; it can also tell lies ... or cheat ... or vainly boast. The tongue can utter public prayer; or it can befoul the air with profanity. The tongue can offer a wedding vow; or it can whisper sweet, adulterous nothings into a lover's ear.
We've all witnessed the power of the tongue to make a person wilt in embarrassment -- to bring that "I-wish-I-could-just-sink-into-the-floor" look to the face. Maybe we've caused that sort of reaction ourselves ... with that little word of cutting criticism, maybe veiled as a compliment: "I'll bet you've been dieting! Why, you're looking sooo good!" or "I'm so glad you didn't go out of your way to clean before we came over!" or "You're going to have big shoes to fill, as the new office manager!"
How much better it is to use our tongues to encourage and build up other people! Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." The author of Proverbs concurs: "Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up" (12:25). In another place, Proverbs teaches that "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (16:24).
When the Holy Spirit falls upon the gathered church at Pentecost, which part of the body does it first affect? The tongue! Not only is the Holy Spirit seen by the apostles as "tongues of fire," that same Spirit empowers them to "speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."
Pentecost symbolizes, in a certain sense, the redeeming of the tongue. What was it that Peter had done, not long before that day, that still made him feel so desperately ashamed? He had betrayed his Lord. He had used his tongue to say he did not know him. Yet, it is none other than Peter -- ecstatically filled with the Holy Spirit -- who throws open the doors of the house where they've been huddling, and preaches the gospel. A faithless tongue is redeemed, for holy purposes!
There's a great shortage in our world of kind and gentle words -- words that upbuild, words that encourage. Such upbuilding words are so much more than flattery -- those cheap compliments handed out wholesale to all comers, merely to grease the wheels of social interaction. No, what we need much more of are words carefully chosen, expressing appreciation of another person's uniqueness. "Make other people like themselves a little better," Norman Vincent Peale used to say, "and they will like you very much."
It's a blindingly simple bit of wisdom -- yet so wondrously profound. "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing," says James. Many times each day, we have those two choices offered to us. We may bless, or we may curse. We may tear down, or we may build up. We may speak of kindness and gratitude, or of bitter, selfish striving.
It's all in the tongue -- and in the tales the tongue tells.
Prayer For The Day
Great God, you have given us hands to help, backs to bear burdens, feet to rush to where the needs are, ears to listen. You have also given us tongues to speak. May we use them to share words that build others up, rather than tearing them down. Use our tongues, just as you use every other part of us. Amen.
To Illustrate
There's a story about the famous preacher of the last century, Henry Ward Beecher. One Sunday, he ascended the great pulpit of Boston's Plymouth Congregational Church, and there he found a note waiting for him. Beecher glanced at the note, then announced, "I received a letter from one of you this morning. It states quite simply, 'Fool.' "
Beecher paused, then grinned maliciously. "I often receive letters from people who forget to sign their names," he said, "but this is the first time someone has signed their name and forgotten to write the letter."
***
One place where the tongue can cause particular damage is in the church. Two people are hard at work on projects close to their hearts, and they bump up against each other. One person speaks without thinking; the other feels offended. The second person begins avoiding the first, maybe even stops coming to church altogether -- because of course you can't express anger in a church setting (that wouldn't be Christian)! Instead, she goes home and starts calling friends, suggesting changes that will keep this sort of thing from ever happening again -- for the good of the church, of course.
The second person gets wind of the proposed changes, and begins calling his friends. Together they come up with all sorts of reasons why the first group's proposal is not a wise idea. Before long, trenches are dug, barbed wire is strung, and shells are being lobbed so high that no one can tell exactly where they're coming from. Life in the church is suddenly punctuated by mysterious crashes and explosions and puffs of smoke, coming from no-one-knows-where -- as people from one side get irritated by things the other side has done (even if they're perfectly innocent).
If the pastor (or anyone else) tries to visit either side, those being visited will steadfastly deny there's any problem -- even as they hand the aspiring peacemaker one of their side's uniforms. Rarely is anyone so crass as to ask, "Are you on our side, or theirs?" Instead, they ask pointed questions, to try to find out -- or, if they're subtle, they send their friends to do it in their place.
These stealth conflicts can simmer on and on for years -- with all parties denying that a conflict exists. People can be found, months or even years later, arguing (with surprising vehemence) over what color to paint a wall, or who should have copies of a certain key. The wall treatment, or the locksmith's fee, is not the issue, of course; it's that real or imagined slight from long ago -- those hurtful words that were uttered, but could never be acknowledged, because the unspoken rules declare that all conflict in church is un-Christian!
***
A woman who was known as a harsh critic of other people once told John Wesley, "Mr. Wesley, my talent is to speak my mind."
"Madam," Wesley replied, "God wouldn't care a bit if you would bury that talent."
***
If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it.
-- William Penn
***
There's a story about a society woman in London who attended two dinner parties, a week apart. At the first, she was seated next to the prime minister, William Gladstone. At the second, she found herself next to Benjamin Disraeli, leader of the opposition party.
A friend later asked her what she thought of the two men. "When I left the dining room after sitting with Mr. Gladstone," she said, "I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England."
Such is the power of words to build up.
