Proper 28, Pentecost 26, Ordinary Time 33
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle A
Object:
Seasonal Theme
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.
Theme For The Day
We are stewards of our gifts and talents which God has given to us.
Old Testament Lesson
Judges 4:1-7
Debra And Barak
Jabin, King of Canaan, and Sisera, his general, are seen as judgment against Israel's spiritual apostasy which had gotten worse and worse since the death of Ehud. Hazor, a once powerful Canaanite city in north Palestine, was west of the Sea of Galilee near what is now the Israel-Lebanon border. Jabin was a title for the King of Hazor. The name Sisera was the leader of a group called "Sea People" who had migrated to Palestine by ship from the eastern Aegean. So Jabin found in them an ally against the Israelites.
The action took place close to the Kishon River (v. 7) which flows into what today is called Haifa. There are three who saved Israel this time: Deborah the prophetess and judge (vv. 4 and 5); Barak whom Deborah asked to lead in battle (vv. 6-16); and Jael who drives a stake through the head of Sisera by herself.
It is my opinion that if this is read in the service, one must continue on further than verse 7, at least to verse 24. In rescuing Israel again, the Lord took the victory from a man (v. 9) and gave it to a woman, Jael. In fact, women dominate in this story. We have here the image of two independent and courageous women.
Judges 3 is the story of three leaders who saved Israel by using that talent they had to do so. This book contains the stories of nineteen women, more than any other book of the Bible. Later women somehow decline in importance in the writing of our Bible.
New Testament Lesson
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
A Thief In The Night
We are now near the end of the liturgical church year when the readings turn toward the last things. This reading is toward the end of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians and thus it deals with last things as well. An Old Testament idea, the Day of the Lord, when the Messiah would arrive, has been carried over to Christian use. Paul uses a phrase similar to what Jesus used: a thief in the night (v. 2). Jesus used it in Matthew 24:43-44 and Luke 12:39-40. The idea is surprise. The thief comes when we are not expecting it. No one knows the time of Jesus. Jesus didn't either. See Mark 13:32; Matthew 24:36; and Acts 1:7.
So Paul tells them simply to be ready anytime. They are to live their Christian lives in the openness not in the dark where shameful things might be hidden (vv. 6 and 7). Then he advises on what kind of life they ought to live in order to be ready anytime: a life of faith, hope, and love with which the letter began will be the best preparation.
Verse 9 is a wonderful assurance. God has planned for us to be saved through what Jesus did for us on the cross. And so we ought to support, uphold, and inspire each other (v. 11).
The Gospel
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable Of Talents
This parable Jesus told perhaps to demonstrate how he felt about the Scribes and Pharisees whose whole mission in life was to keep the law and the practice of religion just the way it was. Here the slaves who ventured out are the ones who are rewarded. A closed mind is condemned. The one scolded is the one who didn't even try. It also tells us that we all have different gifts and that it is not how much but what we do with what we have. Another thing in this parable -- the more we use our gifts, the more we can do with them. And the way to best keep a gift is to share it.
Remember that the word talent meant a weight. This parable is probably best interpreted as one of judgment. It's our stewardship in light of the unexpected return of the master. The fact Matthew places it here in his Gospel hints it's about last things.
Our "talents" are whatever God has entrusted to us. Actually no person is one-talented. We are invited to reach the full potential of our lives. Because this owner is called "a harsh man" (v. 24) it may not be good to make the owner represent God.
Preaching Possibilities
A. The Second Reading and the Gospel can easily be connected and support each other if we go with the theme of last things. In both we have the unexpected return. The thief in the night and the slave owner both talk of judgment. It fits the season of the church year and the end of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians and Matthew's Gospel. If we want to go with that theme we could point out:
1. No one knows the time of Jesus' return.
2. It will be a surprise when he does return.
3. We will be judged on the basis of what we did with what God had given us.
4. What Jesus did on the cross will cover our shortcomings.
B. The Old Testament Reading is something else! If I had to preach on it, I would talk of the role of women in our faith and the potential in a church which would take them seriously as physical and spiritual leaders. I would also claim that in the writing of the salvation history by men, women have been short-changed. It's a stretch, but one could say that the talented people in the Gospel parable represent women as well as men when it comes to what our contribution ought to be to the church and to humankind.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
I'll take an unusual approach to this Gospel parable recorded in Matthew and Luke. Consider what this parable says about gift identification for discipleship and sensitivity toward the less talented people of our land.
1. Begin the sermon with one of the below listed stories.
2. Then move to a similar story Jesus told (the Gospel Reading). Retell it in your own words. (An alternate beginning would be to put the same story in contemporary context: "A wealthy woman once gave to each of her children blue-chip stock...," and so on.
3. Then move to explain that each of the people receiving the talents became stewards of that gift and we are stewards of whatever talent (gifts) God has given us. This means wise management of these gifts.
4. Now explain the concept of gift identification used in becoming a disciple and steward in the practice of ministry in our daily lives. Speak of the opportunities open to our congregational members in their daily lives to minister to others using these gifts.
5. Now consider the flip side1 of this parable which I believe is two fold:
a. As many-talented people we need be encouraging and affirming toward the one-talented people in our lives.
b. This slave owner needs to be much more understanding than what is portrayed in this story. As managers of other people, parents of children and even in positions of leadership we must show compassion and respect for the one-talented as well as the many-talented.
6. Finish your sermon by listing the points you have made, this time in reverse order, and then frame by returning to your opening story.
Prayer Of The Day
Help us to use best what we have been given as stewards in your kingdom, O God, that we might be found faithful whenever you come to be with us. Keep us mindful of our responsibilities to share our gifts and to be affirming and helpful to those who have been given much less. And may we be ready anytime to greet you with joy. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Stories
Dick Peterman told a story of a pastor who stayed in the same parish for fifty years. It was in Pennsylvania. His first wedding was the daughter of a wealthy coal mine owner. The father gave the pastor a gift of a pair of kid gloves, which the pastor didn't use. Fifty years later at retirement, the pastor tried on the gloves and found a ten dollar bill in each finger, given to him during the Depression when that was a lot of money. For fifty years he didn't use his gift. Identifying and using our gifts to the best use is the essence of stewardship.
Corinne Chilstrom wrote to me to tell of using a story about Doris Bergman. The choir director at a rehearsal said to Doris, "Doris, I think there is a solo in there!" And there was! He convinced her to sing and it was lovely, and many congregations have been blessed since by that fresh, young choir director's gift identification.
A sign in the restroom of an American Airlines plane: "As a courtesy to the next passenger after you, may we suggest you use your towel to wipe off the basin." A basic tenet of Christian stewardship is to consider the effect of our lives on the people who come after us. It could be called resource inheritance.
While teaching at a seminary in Indonesia, I gradually learned some basic Batak language. Now that I have been gone from there for several years, I have lost the ability to communicate in that language any longer. It is sad when I now try to talk with an Indonesian Batak. But we have known it all along -- you do lose what you don't use.
____________
1. For a sermon by Schmalenberger on this parable, see his book titled The Parables Of Jesus And Their Flip Side, CSS Publishing Company, Lima, Ohio, 2001.
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.
Theme For The Day
We are stewards of our gifts and talents which God has given to us.
Old Testament Lesson
Judges 4:1-7
Debra And Barak
Jabin, King of Canaan, and Sisera, his general, are seen as judgment against Israel's spiritual apostasy which had gotten worse and worse since the death of Ehud. Hazor, a once powerful Canaanite city in north Palestine, was west of the Sea of Galilee near what is now the Israel-Lebanon border. Jabin was a title for the King of Hazor. The name Sisera was the leader of a group called "Sea People" who had migrated to Palestine by ship from the eastern Aegean. So Jabin found in them an ally against the Israelites.
The action took place close to the Kishon River (v. 7) which flows into what today is called Haifa. There are three who saved Israel this time: Deborah the prophetess and judge (vv. 4 and 5); Barak whom Deborah asked to lead in battle (vv. 6-16); and Jael who drives a stake through the head of Sisera by herself.
It is my opinion that if this is read in the service, one must continue on further than verse 7, at least to verse 24. In rescuing Israel again, the Lord took the victory from a man (v. 9) and gave it to a woman, Jael. In fact, women dominate in this story. We have here the image of two independent and courageous women.
Judges 3 is the story of three leaders who saved Israel by using that talent they had to do so. This book contains the stories of nineteen women, more than any other book of the Bible. Later women somehow decline in importance in the writing of our Bible.
New Testament Lesson
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
A Thief In The Night
We are now near the end of the liturgical church year when the readings turn toward the last things. This reading is toward the end of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians and thus it deals with last things as well. An Old Testament idea, the Day of the Lord, when the Messiah would arrive, has been carried over to Christian use. Paul uses a phrase similar to what Jesus used: a thief in the night (v. 2). Jesus used it in Matthew 24:43-44 and Luke 12:39-40. The idea is surprise. The thief comes when we are not expecting it. No one knows the time of Jesus. Jesus didn't either. See Mark 13:32; Matthew 24:36; and Acts 1:7.
So Paul tells them simply to be ready anytime. They are to live their Christian lives in the openness not in the dark where shameful things might be hidden (vv. 6 and 7). Then he advises on what kind of life they ought to live in order to be ready anytime: a life of faith, hope, and love with which the letter began will be the best preparation.
Verse 9 is a wonderful assurance. God has planned for us to be saved through what Jesus did for us on the cross. And so we ought to support, uphold, and inspire each other (v. 11).
The Gospel
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable Of Talents
This parable Jesus told perhaps to demonstrate how he felt about the Scribes and Pharisees whose whole mission in life was to keep the law and the practice of religion just the way it was. Here the slaves who ventured out are the ones who are rewarded. A closed mind is condemned. The one scolded is the one who didn't even try. It also tells us that we all have different gifts and that it is not how much but what we do with what we have. Another thing in this parable -- the more we use our gifts, the more we can do with them. And the way to best keep a gift is to share it.
Remember that the word talent meant a weight. This parable is probably best interpreted as one of judgment. It's our stewardship in light of the unexpected return of the master. The fact Matthew places it here in his Gospel hints it's about last things.
Our "talents" are whatever God has entrusted to us. Actually no person is one-talented. We are invited to reach the full potential of our lives. Because this owner is called "a harsh man" (v. 24) it may not be good to make the owner represent God.
Preaching Possibilities
A. The Second Reading and the Gospel can easily be connected and support each other if we go with the theme of last things. In both we have the unexpected return. The thief in the night and the slave owner both talk of judgment. It fits the season of the church year and the end of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians and Matthew's Gospel. If we want to go with that theme we could point out:
1. No one knows the time of Jesus' return.
2. It will be a surprise when he does return.
3. We will be judged on the basis of what we did with what God had given us.
4. What Jesus did on the cross will cover our shortcomings.
B. The Old Testament Reading is something else! If I had to preach on it, I would talk of the role of women in our faith and the potential in a church which would take them seriously as physical and spiritual leaders. I would also claim that in the writing of the salvation history by men, women have been short-changed. It's a stretch, but one could say that the talented people in the Gospel parable represent women as well as men when it comes to what our contribution ought to be to the church and to humankind.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
I'll take an unusual approach to this Gospel parable recorded in Matthew and Luke. Consider what this parable says about gift identification for discipleship and sensitivity toward the less talented people of our land.
1. Begin the sermon with one of the below listed stories.
2. Then move to a similar story Jesus told (the Gospel Reading). Retell it in your own words. (An alternate beginning would be to put the same story in contemporary context: "A wealthy woman once gave to each of her children blue-chip stock...," and so on.
3. Then move to explain that each of the people receiving the talents became stewards of that gift and we are stewards of whatever talent (gifts) God has given us. This means wise management of these gifts.
4. Now explain the concept of gift identification used in becoming a disciple and steward in the practice of ministry in our daily lives. Speak of the opportunities open to our congregational members in their daily lives to minister to others using these gifts.
5. Now consider the flip side1 of this parable which I believe is two fold:
a. As many-talented people we need be encouraging and affirming toward the one-talented people in our lives.
b. This slave owner needs to be much more understanding than what is portrayed in this story. As managers of other people, parents of children and even in positions of leadership we must show compassion and respect for the one-talented as well as the many-talented.
6. Finish your sermon by listing the points you have made, this time in reverse order, and then frame by returning to your opening story.
Prayer Of The Day
Help us to use best what we have been given as stewards in your kingdom, O God, that we might be found faithful whenever you come to be with us. Keep us mindful of our responsibilities to share our gifts and to be affirming and helpful to those who have been given much less. And may we be ready anytime to greet you with joy. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Stories
Dick Peterman told a story of a pastor who stayed in the same parish for fifty years. It was in Pennsylvania. His first wedding was the daughter of a wealthy coal mine owner. The father gave the pastor a gift of a pair of kid gloves, which the pastor didn't use. Fifty years later at retirement, the pastor tried on the gloves and found a ten dollar bill in each finger, given to him during the Depression when that was a lot of money. For fifty years he didn't use his gift. Identifying and using our gifts to the best use is the essence of stewardship.
Corinne Chilstrom wrote to me to tell of using a story about Doris Bergman. The choir director at a rehearsal said to Doris, "Doris, I think there is a solo in there!" And there was! He convinced her to sing and it was lovely, and many congregations have been blessed since by that fresh, young choir director's gift identification.
A sign in the restroom of an American Airlines plane: "As a courtesy to the next passenger after you, may we suggest you use your towel to wipe off the basin." A basic tenet of Christian stewardship is to consider the effect of our lives on the people who come after us. It could be called resource inheritance.
While teaching at a seminary in Indonesia, I gradually learned some basic Batak language. Now that I have been gone from there for several years, I have lost the ability to communicate in that language any longer. It is sad when I now try to talk with an Indonesian Batak. But we have known it all along -- you do lose what you don't use.
____________
1. For a sermon by Schmalenberger on this parable, see his book titled The Parables Of Jesus And Their Flip Side, CSS Publishing Company, Lima, Ohio, 2001.
