Proper 23
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII Cycle C
Seasonal Theme
Jesus' acts of compassion and teaching ministry.
Theme For The Day
Our fellowship of thanksgiving for God's abundant blessings.
Old Testament Lesson
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
A Message To Those In Exile
Zedekiah is going to send an envoy to Babylon so Jeremiah asks them to carry a letter to all the Jews now in exile there. He tells the exiles to go right on and build a life for themselves there, for they will be there for a long time. He says to be good citizens there as they will benefit from it. I wonder if the advice of verse 6 might have another motive -- to increase the number of Jews so that they would become more and more powerful, perhaps even enough to eventually overthrow. Just a suspicious thought.
New Testament Lesson
2 Timothy 2:8-15
God's Approval
For Paul, the most prominent Christian truth is the resurrection of Christ. So this is "his" Gospel. It's what he is suffering for and what he is enduring so that the elect will know this good news.
Verses 11-13 are part of a Christian hymn Paul is quoting. It says that even if we are facing hardship now we have great things to anticipate. So Paul is saying his suffering is all worthwhile.
Paul then gives Timothy advice for dealing with false teachers. Right beliefs are called for. We who teach must never forget our responsibility to those who listen. Verse 15 calls for a value of self-discipline and being a living example of the truth with God's blessing. (See Ephesians 1:13 and Colossians 1:5.) Its an interesting piece of advice to try to do our ministry always asking if God would approve and even be pleased.
The Gospel
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
Luke uses this story to illustrate that outcasts like these Samaritan lepers are more ready to accept Jesus' ministry than his own, the Jews. It might be based on Luke 5:12-16. Instead of crying, "Unclean," these call for mercy. Sending them to their priest is a kind of test to establish that they really have the disease. The Samaritan who returns to give thanks is an example for Israel (Luke 4:27). He also serves as an example of thankfulness to God. Could it be that the other nine just did their thanking God in their synagogue that day?
Notice Jesus says that it is faith which does the miracle of healing. I wonder what all never takes place in our lives and churches because we just don't have the faith that it will?
This text is often used for a day of thanksgiving in our American churches.
Preaching Possibilities
A. It's a stretch but we could use all three readings by going with the theme of: "Reaction to hard times."
1. Jeremiah's reaction was to go on with life and make the best of it.
2. Paul's advice was to figure it was all worthwhile if it brought others to Christ. And to be sure we kept living a faithful example for others.
3. The Samaritan's way was to approach Jesus for mercy and when it was given, to express thanks.
B. The Jeremiah text is difficult to use on its own but could be referred to in preaching on either the New Testament Reading or the Gospel.
C. Paul's advice will do well for a sermon on "This is my Gospel" based on verse 2:8. It is an opportunity to give your own witness to the faith. The hymn "This is my story, this is my song ..." could be used.
1. Begin by telling the background of Paul writing to Timothy and move to Paul's situation when he was writing this letter. Then move to what is Paul's "Gospel" as he calls it in verse 8.
2. Now make our own witness:
a. The good news for me is ...
b. The way that affects my life is ...
c. What I pray for this congregation is ...
d. The hope I have in our future together is ...
3. Close by using verses 11-13. See if you can put it to a plainsong chant. Or use a verse from a hymn you can sing from your hymnal.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
For a treatment of this particular miracle of healing see "One Out Of Ten Isn't All That Bad" in The Miracles Of Jesus And Their Flip Side (CSS Publishing Company, 2000).
Let's use my formula for presenting the miracles in narrative form.
A. Tell the story in your own words. You can do it in your own context or back then in Jesus' day. "Ten patients came into the local trauma center at the same time to seek relief from their auto accident ..."
B. Tell what it teaches us about God. God will hear us and help if we believe ...
C. Explain what it reveals about us. We often forget to give thanks for many ways God blesses us and for the daily miracles of healing to our bodies.
D. Prayerfully discover why the author wanted this preserved. Luke was a doctor with great interest in healing. He also wanted to make the point that outcasts like this Samaritan leper were more ready to receive Jesus' ministry than his own people, the Jews.
E. Look for a fresh flip side focus. We often keep our distance from Jesus and we do have a ministry of healing to carry out in our ministries.
F. Answer the so what? Let's intentionally invite to our congregation the contemporary outcasts and lepers of our day. Let's begin a ministry of healing and let's develop more ways of thanking God for all our blessings.
G. Frame by returning to the first few sentences. Return to your narrative of ten appearing in the trauma center and have them all go to church the next Sunday and join in singing "Now Thank We All Our God."
Prayer For The Day
Give us thankful hearts, O God, and move us often to speak our appreciation for all you do for us. Show us the way to include all sorts and kinds of people into our fellowship. And here at worship, let the praise be loud and glorious and the thanksgiving sincere. In Jesus the Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Tom Brokaw, on the Thanksgiving evening news, said, "When we sing the dirges, we must also sing the anthem." He went on to say we must recognize not only the miseries of life but also the joys. So it is being a sinner and living in an imperfect world.
"All the races of men have sprung from the same blood and thus have the same bloodline ... as I in my age am a drop of the great river, a member of the church, so am I a brother of the fathers who came before me and the children who come after me" (Wilhelm Loehe).
I purchased three goldfish for our fountain. When I let them out, two swam in a tight little circle as if still in the plastic bag. One really went for it and swam all around from side to side. Sometimes we remain confined by our own lack of risk-taking.
I saw a sign hanging from a crane which said simply: "My Linda's O.K." What marvelous things we have to celebrate!
Jesus' acts of compassion and teaching ministry.
Theme For The Day
Our fellowship of thanksgiving for God's abundant blessings.
Old Testament Lesson
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
A Message To Those In Exile
Zedekiah is going to send an envoy to Babylon so Jeremiah asks them to carry a letter to all the Jews now in exile there. He tells the exiles to go right on and build a life for themselves there, for they will be there for a long time. He says to be good citizens there as they will benefit from it. I wonder if the advice of verse 6 might have another motive -- to increase the number of Jews so that they would become more and more powerful, perhaps even enough to eventually overthrow. Just a suspicious thought.
New Testament Lesson
2 Timothy 2:8-15
God's Approval
For Paul, the most prominent Christian truth is the resurrection of Christ. So this is "his" Gospel. It's what he is suffering for and what he is enduring so that the elect will know this good news.
Verses 11-13 are part of a Christian hymn Paul is quoting. It says that even if we are facing hardship now we have great things to anticipate. So Paul is saying his suffering is all worthwhile.
Paul then gives Timothy advice for dealing with false teachers. Right beliefs are called for. We who teach must never forget our responsibility to those who listen. Verse 15 calls for a value of self-discipline and being a living example of the truth with God's blessing. (See Ephesians 1:13 and Colossians 1:5.) Its an interesting piece of advice to try to do our ministry always asking if God would approve and even be pleased.
The Gospel
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
Luke uses this story to illustrate that outcasts like these Samaritan lepers are more ready to accept Jesus' ministry than his own, the Jews. It might be based on Luke 5:12-16. Instead of crying, "Unclean," these call for mercy. Sending them to their priest is a kind of test to establish that they really have the disease. The Samaritan who returns to give thanks is an example for Israel (Luke 4:27). He also serves as an example of thankfulness to God. Could it be that the other nine just did their thanking God in their synagogue that day?
Notice Jesus says that it is faith which does the miracle of healing. I wonder what all never takes place in our lives and churches because we just don't have the faith that it will?
This text is often used for a day of thanksgiving in our American churches.
Preaching Possibilities
A. It's a stretch but we could use all three readings by going with the theme of: "Reaction to hard times."
1. Jeremiah's reaction was to go on with life and make the best of it.
2. Paul's advice was to figure it was all worthwhile if it brought others to Christ. And to be sure we kept living a faithful example for others.
3. The Samaritan's way was to approach Jesus for mercy and when it was given, to express thanks.
B. The Jeremiah text is difficult to use on its own but could be referred to in preaching on either the New Testament Reading or the Gospel.
C. Paul's advice will do well for a sermon on "This is my Gospel" based on verse 2:8. It is an opportunity to give your own witness to the faith. The hymn "This is my story, this is my song ..." could be used.
1. Begin by telling the background of Paul writing to Timothy and move to Paul's situation when he was writing this letter. Then move to what is Paul's "Gospel" as he calls it in verse 8.
2. Now make our own witness:
a. The good news for me is ...
b. The way that affects my life is ...
c. What I pray for this congregation is ...
d. The hope I have in our future together is ...
3. Close by using verses 11-13. See if you can put it to a plainsong chant. Or use a verse from a hymn you can sing from your hymnal.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
For a treatment of this particular miracle of healing see "One Out Of Ten Isn't All That Bad" in The Miracles Of Jesus And Their Flip Side (CSS Publishing Company, 2000).
Let's use my formula for presenting the miracles in narrative form.
A. Tell the story in your own words. You can do it in your own context or back then in Jesus' day. "Ten patients came into the local trauma center at the same time to seek relief from their auto accident ..."
B. Tell what it teaches us about God. God will hear us and help if we believe ...
C. Explain what it reveals about us. We often forget to give thanks for many ways God blesses us and for the daily miracles of healing to our bodies.
D. Prayerfully discover why the author wanted this preserved. Luke was a doctor with great interest in healing. He also wanted to make the point that outcasts like this Samaritan leper were more ready to receive Jesus' ministry than his own people, the Jews.
E. Look for a fresh flip side focus. We often keep our distance from Jesus and we do have a ministry of healing to carry out in our ministries.
F. Answer the so what? Let's intentionally invite to our congregation the contemporary outcasts and lepers of our day. Let's begin a ministry of healing and let's develop more ways of thanking God for all our blessings.
G. Frame by returning to the first few sentences. Return to your narrative of ten appearing in the trauma center and have them all go to church the next Sunday and join in singing "Now Thank We All Our God."
Prayer For The Day
Give us thankful hearts, O God, and move us often to speak our appreciation for all you do for us. Show us the way to include all sorts and kinds of people into our fellowship. And here at worship, let the praise be loud and glorious and the thanksgiving sincere. In Jesus the Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Tom Brokaw, on the Thanksgiving evening news, said, "When we sing the dirges, we must also sing the anthem." He went on to say we must recognize not only the miseries of life but also the joys. So it is being a sinner and living in an imperfect world.
"All the races of men have sprung from the same blood and thus have the same bloodline ... as I in my age am a drop of the great river, a member of the church, so am I a brother of the fathers who came before me and the children who come after me" (Wilhelm Loehe).
I purchased three goldfish for our fountain. When I let them out, two swam in a tight little circle as if still in the plastic bag. One really went for it and swam all around from side to side. Sometimes we remain confined by our own lack of risk-taking.
I saw a sign hanging from a crane which said simply: "My Linda's O.K." What marvelous things we have to celebrate!
