Proper 28 / Pentecost 25 / Ordinary Time 33
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle B
Object:
Theme of the Day
Christ has made it a new day dawning. This is an especially appropriate theme with the celebration of Christ's kingship upcoming the following Sunday.
Collect of the Day
Acknowledging that God's sovereign purpose brings salvation, petitions are offered that we be given faith to be steadfast amid tumults in the world, trusting that the kingdom of God comes. Divine sovereignty, Justification by Grace, and Eschatology are reflected.
Psalm of the Day
1 Samuel 2:1-10
* A Song of Hannah, in gratitude for the birth of her son Samuel. It may be a Psalm of national thanksgiving inserted in the narrative by the editor. This text is the model for Mary's famed song of thanksgiving, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
* With God as our strength (it is common in Hebrew poetry for references to the individual to connote a group), we can be assured of victory over enemies (v. 1). With God the rock on their side, the enemies can be rebuked, for Yahweh weighs human actions (vv. 2-3).
* A reversal of the ill fortunes of the oppressed is foretold (v. 4).
* Reference is made to the barren bearing seven, presumably a reference to Hannah's many children born after Samuel (v. 5; cf. v. 21).
* Testimony is given to God's control over all life, as He kills and brings to life, raises up the poor (vv. 6-8). It is promised that the faithful will be guarded and the wicked be judged (vv. 9-10).
or Psalm 16
* A song of trust, attributed to David. The Psalmist prays for deliverance from trouble (v. 1), based on God's power to save.
* The Psalmist confesses that there is no good apart from the Lord (v. 2). He claims to delight in the holy ones in the land who have not chosen other gods (vv. 3-4).
* Yahweh is praised for giving counsel and instruction (v. 7).
* Confidence that God will not abandon the faithful (Justification by Grace), gives joy, confidence, and direction for living (Sanctification) (vv. 9-11).
Sermon Text and Title
"Surprise and Gratitude Make Life New and Fresh!"
1 Samuel 1:4-20
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim a joyful vision of the Christian life (Sanctification), which is linked to the element of viewing life and God's ways as surprises. The ever-surprised Christian is future-oriented (Eschatology). Testimony should also be given to how such a vision leads both to joy and gratitude.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The story of the miraculous birth of Samuel.
* The account pertains first to a man named Elkanah (Samuel's father) who had, it seems, a Levitical/priestly background (which would later qualify his son for the priesthood). His home of Ramathaim is called Arimathea in the New Testament (v. 1). His two wives, Peninnah (who had children) and his favorite spouse Hannah (who did not), are introduced (vv. 2, 5).
* He journeys to Shiloh, just north of Jerusalem, which at that time was Israel's central sanctuary (v. 3). The lesson begins with Hannah going to the Shiloh temple, presenting herself before Yahweh, in deep distress (vv. 9-10). She prays for a son, promising to give him back to the Lord for service as a Nazarite (holy people who lived by strict lifestyle standards in lives dedicated to God [Numbers 6:1-21]) (v. 11).
* The priest Eli observes Hannah, thinking she is drunk at first and then engages her in conversation (vv. 12-16). He promises her that the Lord will grant her prayer (v. 17). Upon return home Samuel is born to her (vv. 19-20).
* The name given the child, "Samuel," does not precisely mean "I have asked him of the Lord" as the text reads (v. 20). The Hebrew shemu'el may be more properly related to the Hebrew term shaal implying "borrowed" -- borrowed from the Lord.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text reveals the surprising character of the Christian life (Sanctification), reminding us that all that we have in life is a gift of grace, on loan from God.
* The surprising character of the Christian life suggests Martin Luther's concept of the Theology of the Cross. Consider again the last bullet points pertaining to his Theology of the Cross in this section for the First Lesson, Epiphany 6, and Second Lesson, Ash Wednesday; also see the second bullet points for Second Lessons, Lent 3 and Pentecost 5. Also see the comment by Karl Barth in the last bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Pentecost 24.
* Martin Luther claims that sinful human beings are like wounded people whose wounds are bound up and brought to an inn, cherished and fed for Christ's sake in the lap of God (Luther's Works, Vol. 26, p. 260). But this entails that all that we have belongs to the innkeeper, is on loan from God (Ibid., p. 13).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* See the statistics cited in this section for the Second Lesson of Lent 3 as a way indicating how odd many Americans find the Christian faith to be.
* A research study by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough on the nature of happiness revealed in a 2003 article in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology indicates that expressions of gratitude facilitate well-being and happiness.
5. Gimmick
Play the role of a contemporary of baby Samuel's parents who knew them: What a wonderful surprise! The once childless Hannah finally had a baby! She was such a nice lady, her neighbors felt. After all, she was a well-loved wife of her husband Elkanah (v. 5).
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Proceed in character to speak of how badly Hannah had wanted that baby. Rehearse as a story known in town about how she had traveled to the Shiloh temple, even met with the famed priest Eli. She was so intense he thought she was drunk. That woman was ready to do anything to have a baby (vv. 9-18).
* With surprise, note that her prayers were answered; she conceived and bore a son, and named him Samuel (vv. 19-20)! It seems that in her prayer she had promised that if she had a son she'd give him back to the Lord, dedicate that lad to the service of God by becoming a Nazarite (see definition in the third bullet point of Exegesis, and use it to explain what a Nazarite was to congregation) (v. 11).
* Step out of character. Note how surprising it was that this woman had a boy and that he would actually grow up to become a great prophet of Israel (3:19-20) and its judge (7:15) -- a de facto political leader! What a surprise!
* Life is full of surprises. It is like the anonymous quote says: "The road of life can only reveal itself as it is traveled; each turn in the road reveals a surprise. Man's future is hidden."
* Life itself is a surprise. Indian poet and playwright Rabindranath Taqore put it this way: "That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life."
* No surprise, then, that God would engage in surprises. (If your sermon for the previous week was on the First Lesson, note that we explored this point last week, but today we will see how such surprise prompts a new [grateful] way of life.) Point out how God's ways are surprising, how Christian faith is a religion that often confounds reason in surprising ways. Note the surprising character of how we are saved (by a lowly carpenter's son through death as a criminal on a cross), the surprise that death could lead to life eternal!
* Follow the leads in the second bullet point of Theological Insights for additional leads to demonstrate how Christianity defies expectations, is a faith of surprise.
* Surprise is one of the most wonderful experiences in life, especially when it is occasioned by a nice thing happening to you that you don't expect.
* Surprise can make you grateful, for in surprise there is the feeling that you don't deserve what you received.
* We see how such gratitude took over Hannah's life. Even her son's name "Samuel" conveys this. Elaborate on the last bullet point of Exegesis, to note that the boy was seen by his mother as on loan. That's why she had dedicated him before his birth to the Lord's service (see second bullet point above). So there was gratitude expressed by Hannah in that way. And we also hear it expressed in her song of gratitude in the Psalm of the Day (1 Samuel 2:1-10).
* Such gratitude is good for us, good for everybody. Cite the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights regarding how psychological and biological studies have demonstrated that when gratitude is shown it makes you happy. Gratitude also leads to actions that help others and make things better (a future-oriented Eschatological Perspective). Think of what a difference it has made to Israel's history that Hannah gave her son Samuel to service to the Lord and His people. When you are grateful, you get yourself out of the way to help others.
7. Wrap-Up
Being surprised about life, not treating it like it was humdrum and boring, is good for your health and happiness (cite the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights of First Lesson, Advent 2). It also drives you to a happy life of gratitude. We have a God always creating new, fresh things in our lives. Wish the congregation a week of happy surprises!
Sermon Text and Title
"What Christ's Sacrifice Has Done for You and Me"
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the atonement in such a way that we come to recognize how it has brought us into a new era (Realized Eschatology) marked by a forgiving kind of love of God (Justification by Grace) and a life of spontaneous love on our part driven by God (Sanctification as Freedom from the Law).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Conclusion of a discussion of the characteristics of Christ's sacrifice followed by exhortation.
* When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, then He entered the holy place not through the sacrifice of animals, but with His own blood (vv. 11-12). Speaks of the blood of Christ as Christ's offering Himself to God through the eternal Spirit. This purifies the conscience of the faithful from dead works (v. 14).
* Refers next to a new covenant, a reality in which the Lord puts His laws on the faithful's hearts, remembering sins no more. (This point is made by quoting Jeremiah 31:33-34.) No need for sacrifice where there is forgiveness of sin (vv. 15-18).
* After describing the new reality for Christians, filled with confidence and able to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Christ, our great high priest (vv. 19-21), notes and exhorts three privileges and duties: (1) Approach God in faith and worship (v. 22); (2) Hold fast to the confession of hope (v. 23); and (3) Provoke one another to love and good deeds (v. 24).
* Notes that the end times are coming (v. 25).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text provides insights into the implications of Christ's sacrifice (Satisfaction Theory of Atonement) for Justification and the Christian life (Sanctification), especially a new covenant (Realized Eschatology) that involves freedom from the law.
* John Calvin offers a penetrating observation about the nature of our sin that Christ's sacrifice must remedy:
It is an evil which prevails everywhere among humankind, that every one sets himself above others, and especially that those who seem in anything to excel cannot well endure inferiors to be on an equality with themselves.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXII/1, p. 240)
* Martin Luther elaborates on the love that springs from Christ's atoning work:
This, therefore, is the Christian love that is shown to those who are contemptible and unworthy of love; this, in fact, is the kindness that is bestowed on those who are evil and ungrateful. For this is what Christ and God did for us….
(Luther's Works, Vol. 29, p. 227)
* Regarding how Christ's work creates the new covenant, inserts the law in the faithful, Luther writes:
People make a Moses of Christ for us, whereas He did not purchase us with His shed blood merely to teach us how to lead a good life, but in order to live and rule in us Himself and to be our Lord, working all good works within us, something that takes place only through faith in Him.
(What Luther Says, p. 185)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Consider the leads noted in this Section for Second Lesson, Pentecost 24.
5. Gimmick
Ask the congregation: What have you done for me lately? Is that not the main question modern American society has us asking? We expect what we buy, those who serve us, those who are our colleagues, even too often our families to do something for us, to meet our needs. And when they don't, we move on. So how about it, Jesus: What have you done for us lately? The lesson gives an answer. He purifies the conscience of the faithful from dead works (v. 14). Jesus gets us off the treadmill of always looking for something, looking for something that we can get out of it.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Dead works. Life is full of dead works, so full of the useless things we have to do. The busy work and meaningless contacts that have to be made to earn a buck, to get ahead, to get what we want. It gets so dull and meaningless, in part because life lived that way becomes all about each of us (all about "me"). Craving admiration or entertainment, determined to find what is good for ourselves, there is nothing but emptiness inside our deepest selves, because we will let nothing or anybody "in" -- into the depths of our lives that might define who we are.
* Use the quote by Calvin in Theological Insights in order to illustrate further our self-seeking. This self-seeking is a kind of bondage, because the more we have the more we keep craving. Nothing is enough. Nothing satisfies.
* Thank God, Christ has come to set us free from the incessant craving! Our Hebrews text tells us that the one sacrifice of Christ has created a new covenant, brought about a new day (vv. 15, 25). Our sins, all the emptiness caused by our vain pursuits, are remembered no more (v. 17)!
* The new day coming is a word of love, of God's forgiving love. Cite the first quotation by Martin Luther in Theological Insights. No matter how contemptible you may feel about yourself, Jesus dies for you, God is kindly disposed to you. It is not so important to be seeking gratification, to be bound and determine to find what people can do for us. When you know you're "somebody," you don't as urgently need others to make you feel that way. Christ's sacrifice does indeed set us free.
* These realities change the way we relate to people around us. They put an end to self-seeking gratification. They can lead us too to love the contemptible and unworthy (use Luther's words in the preceding quote). Not that Jesus demands it. This new life of doing good not because of what we can get out of it, but to do good for the sake of those whom we can get nothing out of is a behavior that just seems to happen, something that Jesus and the Holy Spirit seem to make happen (v. 16). (This is what it means in our text to have the law written in our hearts.) (See last quotation by Martin Luther in Theological Insights.) This is a lifestyle in which our works are no longer dead and self-serving, but living, lively deeds full of energy.
* Use quotation by Bernard of Clairveaux in the last bullet point of Theological Insights for the Second Lesson for Pentecost 21. You cannot help but live for others when Christ and His sacrifice get into your life. Filled with such energy, the emptiness of our lives that craves things to fill it no longer demands the use of others to fill ourselves.
* Consider the quotation by Martin Luther in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights for the First Lesson, Lent 5.
7. Wrap-Up
Jesus' sacrificial death on our behalf has indeed introduced a new way of life. How sweet to be free from the treadmill of aimless seeking and instead to be stirred and energized almost out of our own minds with joy! Wish the congregation a week of meaningful, busy, fulfilling service for others. Thanks to Jesus, life looks and feels a lot different than the old way of trying to get something for ourselves out of life. You don't need anything more when you realize what Jesus has already done for you and me.
Sermon Text and Title
"Life's Not the Same Since Easter!"
Mark 13:1-8
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim how Jesus and His sacrifice (atonement) has placed us in the end of time and brought us a new day with the confidence of having a loving God and offering us hope (Eschatology).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Jesus prophesies the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the whole city.
* Jesus comes to the Temple during the last week of His life and prophesies in response to one of His disciples' comments about the large stones and great buildings to be seen that not one stone will be left (vv. 1-2).
* Subsequently in a more private conversation with Peter, James, John, and Andrew on the Mount of Olives near the Temple, He is asked when the Temple will be destroyed and what signs will be evident (vv. 3-4).
* Jesus warns them against being led astray, for many will come in His name claiming the name "I am" [and so divinity, as such a phrase is related to the name of Yahweh] (vv. 5-6).
* The signs of this approaching cataclysm are wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines (vv. 7-8).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* In depicting a new reality, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and its implications for spiritual life, the text clearly testifies to Eschatology. Insofar as this insight is related to Jesus and in light of the following observations, it seems that Eschatology should be related to the work of Christ (that the end is understood as having begun with Him).
* The anonymous writings of the second or third centuries, Pseudo-Clement, nicely explains what occasioned the destruction of the Temple theologically. It had to do with the sacrifice of Christ, abolishing the need for other sacrifices, and so of the need for the Jerusalem Temple (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, p. 94).
* In a related observation, the famed reformed theologian of the last century, Karl Barth, observed that "The discourse of Mark 13 is a repetition of the three prophecies of the passion and resurrection of Jesus [Mark 8:31; 9:30-32; 10:33] elevated to a cosmic scale." He proceeds then to contend that the destruction of the Temple is a reflection of the death of Jesus Himself and to speak of the church's task in terms of watching and being prepared (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 501).
* Also see this section of the Second Lesson, Christ the King. For a more Realized Eschatological perspective, see this section of the Gospel, Advent 1.
* Martin Luther defined the character of the kingdom of God while explaining how it comes about: "Whenever our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that through His grace we believe His Holy word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity" (The Book of Concord, pp. 356-357).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* See the poll data in this section for the Second Lesson, All Saints, regarding the significant number of Americans who do not believe in Christ's second coming.
* Links between Eschatology and Justice are nicely made by theologian Reginald Stackhouse in his book The End of the World: "The end of the world meant the end of injustice, the kingdom of God meant a just society, and the return of Christ meant following Him on earth."
5. Gimmick
What a strange story: Jesus visits the Temple in Jerusalem and prophesies in response to one of His disciple's comments about the large stones and great buildings to be seen that not one stone will be left (vv. 1-2). The Temple, the whole city, will be destroyed, Jesus says! Yes, the Temple was destroyed later in the first century by the Romans, never to be rebuilt. But why is that significant for Christians?
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* We have a God, a Lord, who is always creating something new. Thank God, because the present and the past can be so darn oppressive. The early modern French intellectual Blaise Pascal explained the chokehold the present has on us:
Our imagination so magnifies the present, because we are continually thinking about it, and so reduces eternity, because we do not think about it, that we turn eternity into nothing and nothing into eternity, and all this is so strongly rooted within us that all our reason cannot save us from it and…
(Pensees, p. 164)
Thomas Jefferson offered a similar warning against letting the present define our future. (See the sixth bullet point of this section for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 3.)
* Tell the story of Miriam, never able in adult years to get over feelings of inferiority and lack of lovableness due to a childhood of being the less-loved daughter, no matter how significant her accomplishments. Or introduce the congregation to Maria and Mario, a middle-aged couple who know they need to do a better job saving for retirement, but who are unable to get over their profligate spendthrift ways.
* The past and even the present can oppress us, stifle our efforts to change and make things better. We need somebody, some way, to get us free from its chains. That's where Jesus and His prophecy about the Temple become so very relevant for us today.
* Jesus came to bring in a new day. In speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, He was essentially contending that the old way of life, its ancient customs, would not endure in light of His presence. Note the observations of Pseudo-Clement cited above in Theological Insights. There is no need for the Temple and its cult of sacrifice now that Jesus the One true sacrifice has come! It is a new day.
* Consider the third and fourth bullet points of Theological Insights. Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple has implications for the whole world and so even for us in our daily lives. No more do we need a savior, someone to bail us out. With Jesus, the world has changed.
* Life is not the same since Jesus offered the sacrifice and conquered death. But here Jesus cautions us that this new reality that breaks with the old ways is nothing if not associated with Him (vv. 5-6). The great African theologian of the church's early centuries, Origen, said it well. In the gospel, he said, "Jesus… is the kingdom Himself."
* Nineteenth-century Anglican priest James Long offered similar reflections that closely link the kingdom of God to Christ: "To express is simple, the kingdom is where the king is." So early in the gospels, the news is announced: "The kingdom of God is near you" (Luke 10:9). The kingdom of God was near because the king was near. And yet, though near, the kingdom was not a locality, not a province to be entered.
* This insight entails that in a sense the kingdom of God has come, is among us! As long as Christ has been among us it has come. (Note how Jesus' proclamation in Mark 1:15 suggests this.) And since it was with His resurrection that His work was fulfilled, it seems that the kingdom has at least come in part with Easter. Life is not the same since Easter. That entails that life, that nothing in history, is the same. Consider the quotation by Karl Barth in Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Christ the King.
* Refer back to the people we met at the beginning of the sermon, to Miriam along with Maria and Mario. Feeling all alone in struggling with destructive patterns of the past they (and we) need courage, need a companion, need to break with this bondage. We are too frightened.
* The end times frighten us because they are new. Twentieth-century English writer G.K. Chesterton said it well: "The end of every episode is the end of the world."
To break with the present and the past is frightful. It is why we need Jesus along with us when facing the future. And since Easter, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit among us, we always have His loving companionship.
* Things are new since Jesus came! The old ways of the present and past that chain us are gone, destroyed; like the Temple, that icon of the past was destroyed.
7. Wrap-Up
All this talk about the end times is good news for Christians. Martin Luther tells us why. (Use the quotation in the last bullet point of Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Christ the King.) The judgment of the end times is one of love and forgiveness. Nothing, not even old habits and attitudes, can oppress us. Whatever is destructive in your life is gone! And what you have for the journey in the new episodes of your life is this wonderful companion who loves you.
Christ has made it a new day dawning. This is an especially appropriate theme with the celebration of Christ's kingship upcoming the following Sunday.
Collect of the Day
Acknowledging that God's sovereign purpose brings salvation, petitions are offered that we be given faith to be steadfast amid tumults in the world, trusting that the kingdom of God comes. Divine sovereignty, Justification by Grace, and Eschatology are reflected.
Psalm of the Day
1 Samuel 2:1-10
* A Song of Hannah, in gratitude for the birth of her son Samuel. It may be a Psalm of national thanksgiving inserted in the narrative by the editor. This text is the model for Mary's famed song of thanksgiving, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
* With God as our strength (it is common in Hebrew poetry for references to the individual to connote a group), we can be assured of victory over enemies (v. 1). With God the rock on their side, the enemies can be rebuked, for Yahweh weighs human actions (vv. 2-3).
* A reversal of the ill fortunes of the oppressed is foretold (v. 4).
* Reference is made to the barren bearing seven, presumably a reference to Hannah's many children born after Samuel (v. 5; cf. v. 21).
* Testimony is given to God's control over all life, as He kills and brings to life, raises up the poor (vv. 6-8). It is promised that the faithful will be guarded and the wicked be judged (vv. 9-10).
or Psalm 16
* A song of trust, attributed to David. The Psalmist prays for deliverance from trouble (v. 1), based on God's power to save.
* The Psalmist confesses that there is no good apart from the Lord (v. 2). He claims to delight in the holy ones in the land who have not chosen other gods (vv. 3-4).
* Yahweh is praised for giving counsel and instruction (v. 7).
* Confidence that God will not abandon the faithful (Justification by Grace), gives joy, confidence, and direction for living (Sanctification) (vv. 9-11).
Sermon Text and Title
"Surprise and Gratitude Make Life New and Fresh!"
1 Samuel 1:4-20
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim a joyful vision of the Christian life (Sanctification), which is linked to the element of viewing life and God's ways as surprises. The ever-surprised Christian is future-oriented (Eschatology). Testimony should also be given to how such a vision leads both to joy and gratitude.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The story of the miraculous birth of Samuel.
* The account pertains first to a man named Elkanah (Samuel's father) who had, it seems, a Levitical/priestly background (which would later qualify his son for the priesthood). His home of Ramathaim is called Arimathea in the New Testament (v. 1). His two wives, Peninnah (who had children) and his favorite spouse Hannah (who did not), are introduced (vv. 2, 5).
* He journeys to Shiloh, just north of Jerusalem, which at that time was Israel's central sanctuary (v. 3). The lesson begins with Hannah going to the Shiloh temple, presenting herself before Yahweh, in deep distress (vv. 9-10). She prays for a son, promising to give him back to the Lord for service as a Nazarite (holy people who lived by strict lifestyle standards in lives dedicated to God [Numbers 6:1-21]) (v. 11).
* The priest Eli observes Hannah, thinking she is drunk at first and then engages her in conversation (vv. 12-16). He promises her that the Lord will grant her prayer (v. 17). Upon return home Samuel is born to her (vv. 19-20).
* The name given the child, "Samuel," does not precisely mean "I have asked him of the Lord" as the text reads (v. 20). The Hebrew shemu'el may be more properly related to the Hebrew term shaal implying "borrowed" -- borrowed from the Lord.
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text reveals the surprising character of the Christian life (Sanctification), reminding us that all that we have in life is a gift of grace, on loan from God.
* The surprising character of the Christian life suggests Martin Luther's concept of the Theology of the Cross. Consider again the last bullet points pertaining to his Theology of the Cross in this section for the First Lesson, Epiphany 6, and Second Lesson, Ash Wednesday; also see the second bullet points for Second Lessons, Lent 3 and Pentecost 5. Also see the comment by Karl Barth in the last bullet point of this section for the First Lesson, Pentecost 24.
* Martin Luther claims that sinful human beings are like wounded people whose wounds are bound up and brought to an inn, cherished and fed for Christ's sake in the lap of God (Luther's Works, Vol. 26, p. 260). But this entails that all that we have belongs to the innkeeper, is on loan from God (Ibid., p. 13).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* See the statistics cited in this section for the Second Lesson of Lent 3 as a way indicating how odd many Americans find the Christian faith to be.
* A research study by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough on the nature of happiness revealed in a 2003 article in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology indicates that expressions of gratitude facilitate well-being and happiness.
5. Gimmick
Play the role of a contemporary of baby Samuel's parents who knew them: What a wonderful surprise! The once childless Hannah finally had a baby! She was such a nice lady, her neighbors felt. After all, she was a well-loved wife of her husband Elkanah (v. 5).
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Proceed in character to speak of how badly Hannah had wanted that baby. Rehearse as a story known in town about how she had traveled to the Shiloh temple, even met with the famed priest Eli. She was so intense he thought she was drunk. That woman was ready to do anything to have a baby (vv. 9-18).
* With surprise, note that her prayers were answered; she conceived and bore a son, and named him Samuel (vv. 19-20)! It seems that in her prayer she had promised that if she had a son she'd give him back to the Lord, dedicate that lad to the service of God by becoming a Nazarite (see definition in the third bullet point of Exegesis, and use it to explain what a Nazarite was to congregation) (v. 11).
* Step out of character. Note how surprising it was that this woman had a boy and that he would actually grow up to become a great prophet of Israel (3:19-20) and its judge (7:15) -- a de facto political leader! What a surprise!
* Life is full of surprises. It is like the anonymous quote says: "The road of life can only reveal itself as it is traveled; each turn in the road reveals a surprise. Man's future is hidden."
* Life itself is a surprise. Indian poet and playwright Rabindranath Taqore put it this way: "That I exist is a perpetual surprise which is life."
* No surprise, then, that God would engage in surprises. (If your sermon for the previous week was on the First Lesson, note that we explored this point last week, but today we will see how such surprise prompts a new [grateful] way of life.) Point out how God's ways are surprising, how Christian faith is a religion that often confounds reason in surprising ways. Note the surprising character of how we are saved (by a lowly carpenter's son through death as a criminal on a cross), the surprise that death could lead to life eternal!
* Follow the leads in the second bullet point of Theological Insights for additional leads to demonstrate how Christianity defies expectations, is a faith of surprise.
* Surprise is one of the most wonderful experiences in life, especially when it is occasioned by a nice thing happening to you that you don't expect.
* Surprise can make you grateful, for in surprise there is the feeling that you don't deserve what you received.
* We see how such gratitude took over Hannah's life. Even her son's name "Samuel" conveys this. Elaborate on the last bullet point of Exegesis, to note that the boy was seen by his mother as on loan. That's why she had dedicated him before his birth to the Lord's service (see second bullet point above). So there was gratitude expressed by Hannah in that way. And we also hear it expressed in her song of gratitude in the Psalm of the Day (1 Samuel 2:1-10).
* Such gratitude is good for us, good for everybody. Cite the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights regarding how psychological and biological studies have demonstrated that when gratitude is shown it makes you happy. Gratitude also leads to actions that help others and make things better (a future-oriented Eschatological Perspective). Think of what a difference it has made to Israel's history that Hannah gave her son Samuel to service to the Lord and His people. When you are grateful, you get yourself out of the way to help others.
7. Wrap-Up
Being surprised about life, not treating it like it was humdrum and boring, is good for your health and happiness (cite the last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights of First Lesson, Advent 2). It also drives you to a happy life of gratitude. We have a God always creating new, fresh things in our lives. Wish the congregation a week of happy surprises!
Sermon Text and Title
"What Christ's Sacrifice Has Done for You and Me"
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the atonement in such a way that we come to recognize how it has brought us into a new era (Realized Eschatology) marked by a forgiving kind of love of God (Justification by Grace) and a life of spontaneous love on our part driven by God (Sanctification as Freedom from the Law).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Conclusion of a discussion of the characteristics of Christ's sacrifice followed by exhortation.
* When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, then He entered the holy place not through the sacrifice of animals, but with His own blood (vv. 11-12). Speaks of the blood of Christ as Christ's offering Himself to God through the eternal Spirit. This purifies the conscience of the faithful from dead works (v. 14).
* Refers next to a new covenant, a reality in which the Lord puts His laws on the faithful's hearts, remembering sins no more. (This point is made by quoting Jeremiah 31:33-34.) No need for sacrifice where there is forgiveness of sin (vv. 15-18).
* After describing the new reality for Christians, filled with confidence and able to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Christ, our great high priest (vv. 19-21), notes and exhorts three privileges and duties: (1) Approach God in faith and worship (v. 22); (2) Hold fast to the confession of hope (v. 23); and (3) Provoke one another to love and good deeds (v. 24).
* Notes that the end times are coming (v. 25).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text provides insights into the implications of Christ's sacrifice (Satisfaction Theory of Atonement) for Justification and the Christian life (Sanctification), especially a new covenant (Realized Eschatology) that involves freedom from the law.
* John Calvin offers a penetrating observation about the nature of our sin that Christ's sacrifice must remedy:
It is an evil which prevails everywhere among humankind, that every one sets himself above others, and especially that those who seem in anything to excel cannot well endure inferiors to be on an equality with themselves.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXII/1, p. 240)
* Martin Luther elaborates on the love that springs from Christ's atoning work:
This, therefore, is the Christian love that is shown to those who are contemptible and unworthy of love; this, in fact, is the kindness that is bestowed on those who are evil and ungrateful. For this is what Christ and God did for us….
(Luther's Works, Vol. 29, p. 227)
* Regarding how Christ's work creates the new covenant, inserts the law in the faithful, Luther writes:
People make a Moses of Christ for us, whereas He did not purchase us with His shed blood merely to teach us how to lead a good life, but in order to live and rule in us Himself and to be our Lord, working all good works within us, something that takes place only through faith in Him.
(What Luther Says, p. 185)
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Consider the leads noted in this Section for Second Lesson, Pentecost 24.
5. Gimmick
Ask the congregation: What have you done for me lately? Is that not the main question modern American society has us asking? We expect what we buy, those who serve us, those who are our colleagues, even too often our families to do something for us, to meet our needs. And when they don't, we move on. So how about it, Jesus: What have you done for us lately? The lesson gives an answer. He purifies the conscience of the faithful from dead works (v. 14). Jesus gets us off the treadmill of always looking for something, looking for something that we can get out of it.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Dead works. Life is full of dead works, so full of the useless things we have to do. The busy work and meaningless contacts that have to be made to earn a buck, to get ahead, to get what we want. It gets so dull and meaningless, in part because life lived that way becomes all about each of us (all about "me"). Craving admiration or entertainment, determined to find what is good for ourselves, there is nothing but emptiness inside our deepest selves, because we will let nothing or anybody "in" -- into the depths of our lives that might define who we are.
* Use the quote by Calvin in Theological Insights in order to illustrate further our self-seeking. This self-seeking is a kind of bondage, because the more we have the more we keep craving. Nothing is enough. Nothing satisfies.
* Thank God, Christ has come to set us free from the incessant craving! Our Hebrews text tells us that the one sacrifice of Christ has created a new covenant, brought about a new day (vv. 15, 25). Our sins, all the emptiness caused by our vain pursuits, are remembered no more (v. 17)!
* The new day coming is a word of love, of God's forgiving love. Cite the first quotation by Martin Luther in Theological Insights. No matter how contemptible you may feel about yourself, Jesus dies for you, God is kindly disposed to you. It is not so important to be seeking gratification, to be bound and determine to find what people can do for us. When you know you're "somebody," you don't as urgently need others to make you feel that way. Christ's sacrifice does indeed set us free.
* These realities change the way we relate to people around us. They put an end to self-seeking gratification. They can lead us too to love the contemptible and unworthy (use Luther's words in the preceding quote). Not that Jesus demands it. This new life of doing good not because of what we can get out of it, but to do good for the sake of those whom we can get nothing out of is a behavior that just seems to happen, something that Jesus and the Holy Spirit seem to make happen (v. 16). (This is what it means in our text to have the law written in our hearts.) (See last quotation by Martin Luther in Theological Insights.) This is a lifestyle in which our works are no longer dead and self-serving, but living, lively deeds full of energy.
* Use quotation by Bernard of Clairveaux in the last bullet point of Theological Insights for the Second Lesson for Pentecost 21. You cannot help but live for others when Christ and His sacrifice get into your life. Filled with such energy, the emptiness of our lives that craves things to fill it no longer demands the use of others to fill ourselves.
* Consider the quotation by Martin Luther in the fifth bullet point of Theological Insights for the First Lesson, Lent 5.
7. Wrap-Up
Jesus' sacrificial death on our behalf has indeed introduced a new way of life. How sweet to be free from the treadmill of aimless seeking and instead to be stirred and energized almost out of our own minds with joy! Wish the congregation a week of meaningful, busy, fulfilling service for others. Thanks to Jesus, life looks and feels a lot different than the old way of trying to get something for ourselves out of life. You don't need anything more when you realize what Jesus has already done for you and me.
Sermon Text and Title
"Life's Not the Same Since Easter!"
Mark 13:1-8
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim how Jesus and His sacrifice (atonement) has placed us in the end of time and brought us a new day with the confidence of having a loving God and offering us hope (Eschatology).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* Jesus prophesies the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the whole city.
* Jesus comes to the Temple during the last week of His life and prophesies in response to one of His disciples' comments about the large stones and great buildings to be seen that not one stone will be left (vv. 1-2).
* Subsequently in a more private conversation with Peter, James, John, and Andrew on the Mount of Olives near the Temple, He is asked when the Temple will be destroyed and what signs will be evident (vv. 3-4).
* Jesus warns them against being led astray, for many will come in His name claiming the name "I am" [and so divinity, as such a phrase is related to the name of Yahweh] (vv. 5-6).
* The signs of this approaching cataclysm are wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines (vv. 7-8).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* In depicting a new reality, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and its implications for spiritual life, the text clearly testifies to Eschatology. Insofar as this insight is related to Jesus and in light of the following observations, it seems that Eschatology should be related to the work of Christ (that the end is understood as having begun with Him).
* The anonymous writings of the second or third centuries, Pseudo-Clement, nicely explains what occasioned the destruction of the Temple theologically. It had to do with the sacrifice of Christ, abolishing the need for other sacrifices, and so of the need for the Jerusalem Temple (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, p. 94).
* In a related observation, the famed reformed theologian of the last century, Karl Barth, observed that "The discourse of Mark 13 is a repetition of the three prophecies of the passion and resurrection of Jesus [Mark 8:31; 9:30-32; 10:33] elevated to a cosmic scale." He proceeds then to contend that the destruction of the Temple is a reflection of the death of Jesus Himself and to speak of the church's task in terms of watching and being prepared (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 501).
* Also see this section of the Second Lesson, Christ the King. For a more Realized Eschatological perspective, see this section of the Gospel, Advent 1.
* Martin Luther defined the character of the kingdom of God while explaining how it comes about: "Whenever our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that through His grace we believe His Holy word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity" (The Book of Concord, pp. 356-357).
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* See the poll data in this section for the Second Lesson, All Saints, regarding the significant number of Americans who do not believe in Christ's second coming.
* Links between Eschatology and Justice are nicely made by theologian Reginald Stackhouse in his book The End of the World: "The end of the world meant the end of injustice, the kingdom of God meant a just society, and the return of Christ meant following Him on earth."
5. Gimmick
What a strange story: Jesus visits the Temple in Jerusalem and prophesies in response to one of His disciple's comments about the large stones and great buildings to be seen that not one stone will be left (vv. 1-2). The Temple, the whole city, will be destroyed, Jesus says! Yes, the Temple was destroyed later in the first century by the Romans, never to be rebuilt. But why is that significant for Christians?
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* We have a God, a Lord, who is always creating something new. Thank God, because the present and the past can be so darn oppressive. The early modern French intellectual Blaise Pascal explained the chokehold the present has on us:
Our imagination so magnifies the present, because we are continually thinking about it, and so reduces eternity, because we do not think about it, that we turn eternity into nothing and nothing into eternity, and all this is so strongly rooted within us that all our reason cannot save us from it and…
(Pensees, p. 164)
Thomas Jefferson offered a similar warning against letting the present define our future. (See the sixth bullet point of this section for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 3.)
* Tell the story of Miriam, never able in adult years to get over feelings of inferiority and lack of lovableness due to a childhood of being the less-loved daughter, no matter how significant her accomplishments. Or introduce the congregation to Maria and Mario, a middle-aged couple who know they need to do a better job saving for retirement, but who are unable to get over their profligate spendthrift ways.
* The past and even the present can oppress us, stifle our efforts to change and make things better. We need somebody, some way, to get us free from its chains. That's where Jesus and His prophecy about the Temple become so very relevant for us today.
* Jesus came to bring in a new day. In speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, He was essentially contending that the old way of life, its ancient customs, would not endure in light of His presence. Note the observations of Pseudo-Clement cited above in Theological Insights. There is no need for the Temple and its cult of sacrifice now that Jesus the One true sacrifice has come! It is a new day.
* Consider the third and fourth bullet points of Theological Insights. Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple has implications for the whole world and so even for us in our daily lives. No more do we need a savior, someone to bail us out. With Jesus, the world has changed.
* Life is not the same since Jesus offered the sacrifice and conquered death. But here Jesus cautions us that this new reality that breaks with the old ways is nothing if not associated with Him (vv. 5-6). The great African theologian of the church's early centuries, Origen, said it well. In the gospel, he said, "Jesus… is the kingdom Himself."
* Nineteenth-century Anglican priest James Long offered similar reflections that closely link the kingdom of God to Christ: "To express is simple, the kingdom is where the king is." So early in the gospels, the news is announced: "The kingdom of God is near you" (Luke 10:9). The kingdom of God was near because the king was near. And yet, though near, the kingdom was not a locality, not a province to be entered.
* This insight entails that in a sense the kingdom of God has come, is among us! As long as Christ has been among us it has come. (Note how Jesus' proclamation in Mark 1:15 suggests this.) And since it was with His resurrection that His work was fulfilled, it seems that the kingdom has at least come in part with Easter. Life is not the same since Easter. That entails that life, that nothing in history, is the same. Consider the quotation by Karl Barth in Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Christ the King.
* Refer back to the people we met at the beginning of the sermon, to Miriam along with Maria and Mario. Feeling all alone in struggling with destructive patterns of the past they (and we) need courage, need a companion, need to break with this bondage. We are too frightened.
* The end times frighten us because they are new. Twentieth-century English writer G.K. Chesterton said it well: "The end of every episode is the end of the world."
To break with the present and the past is frightful. It is why we need Jesus along with us when facing the future. And since Easter, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit among us, we always have His loving companionship.
* Things are new since Jesus came! The old ways of the present and past that chain us are gone, destroyed; like the Temple, that icon of the past was destroyed.
7. Wrap-Up
All this talk about the end times is good news for Christians. Martin Luther tells us why. (Use the quotation in the last bullet point of Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Christ the King.) The judgment of the end times is one of love and forgiveness. Nothing, not even old habits and attitudes, can oppress us. Whatever is destructive in your life is gone! And what you have for the journey in the new episodes of your life is this wonderful companion who loves you.
