Proper 20
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
Two-thirds of the Pentecost cycle/season will have been completed in this Sunday's and next week's worship and work. Pastors and people ought to be aware of the acceleration of the pace which the pilgrimage of the people of God makes during this part of Pentecost. The end of this half-year of growth and sanctification is in sight and should, ideally, generate excitement and new energy in the people of God as Christ the King Sunday and the beginning of Advent are anticipated. The probability is that any excitement in the parishes comes from the fall programs, which are underway and in high-gear by the latter part of Septemher. The liturgy needs to remind people that they are celebrating the resurrection of the Lord every Sunday and also in their response to the Gospel - their work for the Lord and his people - during the coming week. The Gospel for the Day, which amplifies Jesus' announcement of his impending suffering, death, and resurrection in last Sunday's Gospel, insists that preachers should preach the word in its kerygmatic context, the death, resurrection, and the second coming of the Lord. The Gospel - nothing other or less then the Gospel - must be proclaimed from the pulpits of those churches which call themselves Christian.
The Prayer of the Day
The first line of the Prayer of the Day in the LBW reveals that this collect was prepared with the Matthew 20 Gospel of Cycle A in mind: "Lord God, you will call us to work in your vineyard and leave no one standing idle." The Book of Common Prayer collect, which avoids being tied to any one of the Gospels of the Day in the three-year cycle, does, however, catch the temper of the times and the mood of the last part of Pentecost:
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who loves and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 54 (E); 54:1-4, 6 (R); 54:1-4, 6-7a (L) - The "virtuous man," who "claims to have knowledge of God and calls himself a son of the Lord," speaks for himself in this psalm: "Save me, O God, by your name; in your might defend my cause. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth." He is conscious of his predicament, which is outlined graphically in the Wisdom and the Jeremiah readings: "For the arrogant have risen up against me, and the ruthless have sought my life, those who have no regard for God." The Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches have deleted verses 5 and, at least, 7 or 7b from this responsory because they are a cry for revenge and are totally out of character with the Christ who spoke from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The psalm offers an effective response to the first reading and preparation for the Gospel for the Day.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Father, hear our prayer and come to the aid of your church. Mercifully deliver us from evil, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting we may offer you a pure sacrifice of praise; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Wisdom 1:16--2:1 (6-11) 12-22 (E); 2:12, 17-20 (R)
The Book of Common Prayer assigns most (2:1, 12-24) of this reading in all three years of the lectionary, while adding two verses onto one of the alternate scripture selections for Good Friday. In the longer reading, it identifies those who seek to do harm to the "virtuous man" as the "godless," who are living for and enjoying a way of life that is strictly devoted to pleasure. They are not unlike the Stoics with their, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." At the heart of this reading, verses 12 to 22 (which includes the Roman Catholic lection, of course) reasons are given for the hatred and opposition of the "godless" for the "virtuous man." His very righteousness convicts the "ungodly" for their way of thinking and living; they have to get rid of him. Although the writer is giving a picture of conditions in Israel, this has long been considered a prediction of the passion of our Lord -
and a very graphic and detailed description, at that, of what Jesus would endure in his passion, death, and glorification at the hand of God.
Job 28:20-28 (C)
The same question is asked twice in this chapter that has been called "a hymn of praise of wisdom:" "But tell me, where does wisdom come from? Where is understanding to be found?" In the last few verses of the chapter, an answer is given that really declares God to be the source of all wisdom; there is no other. The last verse, which comes after a description of how God followed the path of wisdom when he created the earth, does not really answer the question. It explains what wisdom and understanding are: "And he said to man, 'Wisdom? It is the fear of the Lord. Understanding? - avoidance of evil.' " This reading, therefore, does harmonize with the last part of the Gospel of the Day, where the disciples demonstrate, by their discussion of who was the greatest among them, that they had neither wisdom nor understanding. This latter condition is not resolved in the Gospel of Mark until after Jesus' death and resurrection. It also connects with the reading from James 3, which contrasts earth-bound wisdom with the wisdom which comes from above.
James 3:13-18 (C); 3:16--4:3 (R); 3:16--4:6 (E, L)
The reading, as set in the Common lectionary, (3:13-18) was a choice suggested in some of the trial lectionaries. James, in this tenth exhortation in his book, describes wisdom and understanding in terms of one's work, one's response to the Gospel of the Lord. The righteous person shows his wisdom in the way that he actually lives out the faith. That person, ultimately, lives in the fear of the Lord and thereby becomes a peacemaker. The longer reading puts down those who claim to be Christians, but live for themselves so completely that they even pray for the wrong things. They prove themselves to lack wisdom and understanding by what they want and desire and in the way they actually live.
Mark 9:30-37
This is the second prediction of his passion that Jesus made, according to Mark, and it takes the form of a specific quotation by Jesus rather than the general announcement referred to in Mark 8. Jesus once more tells the disciples what he is convinced will happen to him in Jerusalem. He will be "delivered" to the authorities, who will kill him, but after three days "he will rise again." That they still did not understand him - because their minds were "closed" to the truth of what he said - becomes evident in the discussion between them as they went to Capernaum. Jesus had overheard, or if not that, suspected what they were talking about and questioned them about it. He got only silence from the disciples, so he spoke to them about servanthood. Those who would be great must be humble servants; those who would be first must be last. He demonstrated what he meant - and really stopped the discussion forever - when he picked up a child, put him "in the midst of them," and gave them an object lesson, telling them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." They were effectively silenced, but they still did not understand who he was and what the nature of his mission here on earth was.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 9:30-37 - "The Bottom Line - Love and Hope."
Tomorrow, a new chapter will be written in a four-year-old story about two people. One is a thirty-one-year-old mother, Lisa Marthaler, and the other person is a sixteen-year-old girl, Tara Cataloni, who is dying of cystic fibrosis. Tomorrow they will meet for the first time, after numerous letters and telephone calls over this four-year period. Tara, who knows full well that she is terminally ill, yet lives life joyously and sensitively - and beneficially - said recently to Lisa, whom she has come to love as a friend and almost like a second mother, "I wish I could meet you before I go home to God, but I never will." She was wrong, because tomorrow she and her mother will be spending a week with the Marthaler family. Tara sent two boxes with presents for the Marthaler family, saying, "No way are you allowed to open these boxes until I get there." Then they will be opened - and enjoyed. Lisa told a reporter (Jim Klobuchar, Minneapolis Star Tribune): "I told her honestly, I said I didn't know exactly what would happen if we got together except that we love each other by now." That genuine and selfless love they have for one another will be the determining factor in this new stage of their relationship this week, which will probably be the only week that Tara and Lisa will ever spend with each other. Tara may not have long to live, but she lives in love and hope.
It should have been that way with the disciples and Jesus. That he really loved them cannot be doubted. But did they really love him? They were concerned about themselves, so much so that, despite his announcement of his impending passion and death, they worried about themselves, about their "pecking order" in Jesus' affections, about their future relationship with him. And so Jesus had to set them down and talk turkey to them about humility and servanthood - and give them an object lesson - to drive home his point. That they did not understand him, or perhaps that they simply refused to understand what he was saying about his fate, causes one to wonder how much they loved Jesus at this point and what sort of hope they had for eternal life.
1. Jesus came to spend an extremely short time in public ministry - not over three years -
knowing that it would end tragically. But that tragedy would be turned into triumph on the "third day." That brief ministry has changed everything for those who believe him to be the Christ, the Son of God, and Savior of the world. He had to die - and rise from the grave - to set things right between God and his people.
2. The story of Jesus' love should create wonder in the hearts and minds of those who hear the story and come to love him in response to his love. Instead of talking about which of them was the greatest, the disciples ought to have wondered about the miracle of God's love in Jesus Christ. Why would he allow such a thing - his passion and death - to happen? Why didn't he find another way to reconcile human beings to God? Why did Jesus want to sacrifice himself to God? Why?
3. The cross was the only way to accomplish what God intended him to do here on earth. Because his life and death were more than an act of reconciliation, he also demonstrated what Godly living is all about by living for others - and, especially, by suffering so that others might be freed from sin and death and live. He was willing to become no one, a dead person, so that other people might benefit from his pain and anguish. And that's the model for Christian living - humility and servanthood as obedience to God the Father - that he has given to all of us.
4. The ambition which is appropriate in a Christian is the kind that drives a person to serve the Lord whom he/she has come to love. The Christian is not only willing to be humble, but loves Jesus Christ and his people enough to accept the status of a servant. And that makes people of faith, whom Jesus saved at the cross, completely acceptable to Jesus Christ. They really are new creatures, who are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. And they can look to the future with hope of a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5. Charles Wesley's Hymn, "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" is one of the few hymns that was not modernized in the LBW. The last verse prays to God and gets to the bottom line - love and hope in Jesus Christ:
Finish then thy new creation
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee!
Changed from Glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Wisdom 1:16--2:1 (6-11) 12-22 (E); 2:12, 17-20 (R) - "We Only Live Once."
1. That's what pleasure-centered, godless people have always believed. It was true centunes before Jesus Christ. It was true in Jesus' day. It is true now. You only live once, you know!
2. The godless always have to get rid of those who make them feel guilty. They may either be ignored, or if they are too troublesome, they might even have to be eliminated. That's how it was when Jesus appeared in Israel; he had to be removed from the scene so they crucified him.
3. In this more sophisticated age, people simply ignore Jesus and his church. They pretend there is nothing wrong with any way of life that might be construed as contrary to the will of God. Sin? There is no such thing as sin.
4. But there is. You know and I know. Sin crucified Jesus - the sin of people who preferred to embrace Satan and godlessness rather than the Son of God. Could it be that our task is to convince the world of sin and judgment - and to proclaim the Good News to saints and sinners alike? In him you live once - and once again forever!
Job 28:20-28 (C) - "Wisdom - Where and What?"
1. Wisdom, as Jews and Christians understand it, is the ability to discern right from wrong, the godly way of living from the godless type of life. But not many people really seem to have genuine wisdom, do they? It is one of the most precious commodities of life. But where does it come from and how do you get it?
2. God is the source of all wisdom. The signs of his wisdom are seen in all of nature, in the laws he gave to Moses and the people of Israel, and in the mystery of the cross of Jesus Christ. But wisdom remains a mystery. It is beyond our grasp, even when we know that God is the source of it. "Wisdom is the fear of the Lord."
3. How does one obtain wisdom, become wise, when it can't be bought, can't be earned, or even learned? Wisdom is obtained as a gift of God to the humble and contrite, who cast their lot with God - and with Jesus the Lord. Wisdom, as a saving grace, is a loving gift of God to those who are instructed by the Word and the Holy Spirit.
4. That gift enables believers to know and embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The evidence of that gift is the "avoidance of evil." That is the true wisdom which gives life to the faithful.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, James 3:13-18 (C); 3:16--4:3 (R); 3:16--4:6 (E, L) - "The Higher and Lower Wisdom."
1. One's life and works reveal the sort of wisdom which direct one's life. The wise person responds to God's grace and lives the new life in Christ, the godly and service-centered life.
2. The self-centered and selfish person is ruled by earthy wisdom, which tells that person to live for him/herself. Such wisdom is folly, because it ultimately destroys persons who really think they are wise but aren't.
3. The wisdom from above, coming through Word and Spirit, moves people to live godly life, doing good works in the name of Jesus, who embraced foolishness to save all people. That foolishness was the wisdom of God. The wise are peaceable, gentle, reasonable, merciful, and produce good works without compunction.
4. The wise participate in the "harvest of righteousness," which is sown in peace through their witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord.
The Prayer of the Day
The first line of the Prayer of the Day in the LBW reveals that this collect was prepared with the Matthew 20 Gospel of Cycle A in mind: "Lord God, you will call us to work in your vineyard and leave no one standing idle." The Book of Common Prayer collect, which avoids being tied to any one of the Gospels of the Day in the three-year cycle, does, however, catch the temper of the times and the mood of the last part of Pentecost:
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who loves and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 54 (E); 54:1-4, 6 (R); 54:1-4, 6-7a (L) - The "virtuous man," who "claims to have knowledge of God and calls himself a son of the Lord," speaks for himself in this psalm: "Save me, O God, by your name; in your might defend my cause. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth." He is conscious of his predicament, which is outlined graphically in the Wisdom and the Jeremiah readings: "For the arrogant have risen up against me, and the ruthless have sought my life, those who have no regard for God." The Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches have deleted verses 5 and, at least, 7 or 7b from this responsory because they are a cry for revenge and are totally out of character with the Christ who spoke from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The psalm offers an effective response to the first reading and preparation for the Gospel for the Day.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Father, hear our prayer and come to the aid of your church. Mercifully deliver us from evil, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting we may offer you a pure sacrifice of praise; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Wisdom 1:16--2:1 (6-11) 12-22 (E); 2:12, 17-20 (R)
The Book of Common Prayer assigns most (2:1, 12-24) of this reading in all three years of the lectionary, while adding two verses onto one of the alternate scripture selections for Good Friday. In the longer reading, it identifies those who seek to do harm to the "virtuous man" as the "godless," who are living for and enjoying a way of life that is strictly devoted to pleasure. They are not unlike the Stoics with their, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." At the heart of this reading, verses 12 to 22 (which includes the Roman Catholic lection, of course) reasons are given for the hatred and opposition of the "godless" for the "virtuous man." His very righteousness convicts the "ungodly" for their way of thinking and living; they have to get rid of him. Although the writer is giving a picture of conditions in Israel, this has long been considered a prediction of the passion of our Lord -
and a very graphic and detailed description, at that, of what Jesus would endure in his passion, death, and glorification at the hand of God.
Job 28:20-28 (C)
The same question is asked twice in this chapter that has been called "a hymn of praise of wisdom:" "But tell me, where does wisdom come from? Where is understanding to be found?" In the last few verses of the chapter, an answer is given that really declares God to be the source of all wisdom; there is no other. The last verse, which comes after a description of how God followed the path of wisdom when he created the earth, does not really answer the question. It explains what wisdom and understanding are: "And he said to man, 'Wisdom? It is the fear of the Lord. Understanding? - avoidance of evil.' " This reading, therefore, does harmonize with the last part of the Gospel of the Day, where the disciples demonstrate, by their discussion of who was the greatest among them, that they had neither wisdom nor understanding. This latter condition is not resolved in the Gospel of Mark until after Jesus' death and resurrection. It also connects with the reading from James 3, which contrasts earth-bound wisdom with the wisdom which comes from above.
James 3:13-18 (C); 3:16--4:3 (R); 3:16--4:6 (E, L)
The reading, as set in the Common lectionary, (3:13-18) was a choice suggested in some of the trial lectionaries. James, in this tenth exhortation in his book, describes wisdom and understanding in terms of one's work, one's response to the Gospel of the Lord. The righteous person shows his wisdom in the way that he actually lives out the faith. That person, ultimately, lives in the fear of the Lord and thereby becomes a peacemaker. The longer reading puts down those who claim to be Christians, but live for themselves so completely that they even pray for the wrong things. They prove themselves to lack wisdom and understanding by what they want and desire and in the way they actually live.
Mark 9:30-37
This is the second prediction of his passion that Jesus made, according to Mark, and it takes the form of a specific quotation by Jesus rather than the general announcement referred to in Mark 8. Jesus once more tells the disciples what he is convinced will happen to him in Jerusalem. He will be "delivered" to the authorities, who will kill him, but after three days "he will rise again." That they still did not understand him - because their minds were "closed" to the truth of what he said - becomes evident in the discussion between them as they went to Capernaum. Jesus had overheard, or if not that, suspected what they were talking about and questioned them about it. He got only silence from the disciples, so he spoke to them about servanthood. Those who would be great must be humble servants; those who would be first must be last. He demonstrated what he meant - and really stopped the discussion forever - when he picked up a child, put him "in the midst of them," and gave them an object lesson, telling them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." They were effectively silenced, but they still did not understand who he was and what the nature of his mission here on earth was.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 9:30-37 - "The Bottom Line - Love and Hope."
Tomorrow, a new chapter will be written in a four-year-old story about two people. One is a thirty-one-year-old mother, Lisa Marthaler, and the other person is a sixteen-year-old girl, Tara Cataloni, who is dying of cystic fibrosis. Tomorrow they will meet for the first time, after numerous letters and telephone calls over this four-year period. Tara, who knows full well that she is terminally ill, yet lives life joyously and sensitively - and beneficially - said recently to Lisa, whom she has come to love as a friend and almost like a second mother, "I wish I could meet you before I go home to God, but I never will." She was wrong, because tomorrow she and her mother will be spending a week with the Marthaler family. Tara sent two boxes with presents for the Marthaler family, saying, "No way are you allowed to open these boxes until I get there." Then they will be opened - and enjoyed. Lisa told a reporter (Jim Klobuchar, Minneapolis Star Tribune): "I told her honestly, I said I didn't know exactly what would happen if we got together except that we love each other by now." That genuine and selfless love they have for one another will be the determining factor in this new stage of their relationship this week, which will probably be the only week that Tara and Lisa will ever spend with each other. Tara may not have long to live, but she lives in love and hope.
It should have been that way with the disciples and Jesus. That he really loved them cannot be doubted. But did they really love him? They were concerned about themselves, so much so that, despite his announcement of his impending passion and death, they worried about themselves, about their "pecking order" in Jesus' affections, about their future relationship with him. And so Jesus had to set them down and talk turkey to them about humility and servanthood - and give them an object lesson - to drive home his point. That they did not understand him, or perhaps that they simply refused to understand what he was saying about his fate, causes one to wonder how much they loved Jesus at this point and what sort of hope they had for eternal life.
1. Jesus came to spend an extremely short time in public ministry - not over three years -
knowing that it would end tragically. But that tragedy would be turned into triumph on the "third day." That brief ministry has changed everything for those who believe him to be the Christ, the Son of God, and Savior of the world. He had to die - and rise from the grave - to set things right between God and his people.
2. The story of Jesus' love should create wonder in the hearts and minds of those who hear the story and come to love him in response to his love. Instead of talking about which of them was the greatest, the disciples ought to have wondered about the miracle of God's love in Jesus Christ. Why would he allow such a thing - his passion and death - to happen? Why didn't he find another way to reconcile human beings to God? Why did Jesus want to sacrifice himself to God? Why?
3. The cross was the only way to accomplish what God intended him to do here on earth. Because his life and death were more than an act of reconciliation, he also demonstrated what Godly living is all about by living for others - and, especially, by suffering so that others might be freed from sin and death and live. He was willing to become no one, a dead person, so that other people might benefit from his pain and anguish. And that's the model for Christian living - humility and servanthood as obedience to God the Father - that he has given to all of us.
4. The ambition which is appropriate in a Christian is the kind that drives a person to serve the Lord whom he/she has come to love. The Christian is not only willing to be humble, but loves Jesus Christ and his people enough to accept the status of a servant. And that makes people of faith, whom Jesus saved at the cross, completely acceptable to Jesus Christ. They really are new creatures, who are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. And they can look to the future with hope of a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5. Charles Wesley's Hymn, "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" is one of the few hymns that was not modernized in the LBW. The last verse prays to God and gets to the bottom line - love and hope in Jesus Christ:
Finish then thy new creation
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee!
Changed from Glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Wisdom 1:16--2:1 (6-11) 12-22 (E); 2:12, 17-20 (R) - "We Only Live Once."
1. That's what pleasure-centered, godless people have always believed. It was true centunes before Jesus Christ. It was true in Jesus' day. It is true now. You only live once, you know!
2. The godless always have to get rid of those who make them feel guilty. They may either be ignored, or if they are too troublesome, they might even have to be eliminated. That's how it was when Jesus appeared in Israel; he had to be removed from the scene so they crucified him.
3. In this more sophisticated age, people simply ignore Jesus and his church. They pretend there is nothing wrong with any way of life that might be construed as contrary to the will of God. Sin? There is no such thing as sin.
4. But there is. You know and I know. Sin crucified Jesus - the sin of people who preferred to embrace Satan and godlessness rather than the Son of God. Could it be that our task is to convince the world of sin and judgment - and to proclaim the Good News to saints and sinners alike? In him you live once - and once again forever!
Job 28:20-28 (C) - "Wisdom - Where and What?"
1. Wisdom, as Jews and Christians understand it, is the ability to discern right from wrong, the godly way of living from the godless type of life. But not many people really seem to have genuine wisdom, do they? It is one of the most precious commodities of life. But where does it come from and how do you get it?
2. God is the source of all wisdom. The signs of his wisdom are seen in all of nature, in the laws he gave to Moses and the people of Israel, and in the mystery of the cross of Jesus Christ. But wisdom remains a mystery. It is beyond our grasp, even when we know that God is the source of it. "Wisdom is the fear of the Lord."
3. How does one obtain wisdom, become wise, when it can't be bought, can't be earned, or even learned? Wisdom is obtained as a gift of God to the humble and contrite, who cast their lot with God - and with Jesus the Lord. Wisdom, as a saving grace, is a loving gift of God to those who are instructed by the Word and the Holy Spirit.
4. That gift enables believers to know and embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The evidence of that gift is the "avoidance of evil." That is the true wisdom which gives life to the faithful.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, James 3:13-18 (C); 3:16--4:3 (R); 3:16--4:6 (E, L) - "The Higher and Lower Wisdom."
1. One's life and works reveal the sort of wisdom which direct one's life. The wise person responds to God's grace and lives the new life in Christ, the godly and service-centered life.
2. The self-centered and selfish person is ruled by earthy wisdom, which tells that person to live for him/herself. Such wisdom is folly, because it ultimately destroys persons who really think they are wise but aren't.
3. The wisdom from above, coming through Word and Spirit, moves people to live godly life, doing good works in the name of Jesus, who embraced foolishness to save all people. That foolishness was the wisdom of God. The wise are peaceable, gentle, reasonable, merciful, and produce good works without compunction.
4. The wise participate in the "harvest of righteousness," which is sown in peace through their witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord.
