Proper 9
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
Usually by this Sunday in the northern hemisphere, the church finds itself approaching mid-summer, with its subsequent slump in attendance at worship services. The very impressive services of Easter are now fourteen weeks behind the contemporary situation of the churches They are but a dim memory unless pastor and people are aware of what they are doing when they gather together for the Sunday worship. Sunday sends a signal to the supplicants as it echoes the refrain of Easter, "Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!" At the same time, the Gospel of St. Mark, as the readings progress through the book and the churches move toward Christ the King Sunday, becomes more and more insistent that "he will come again." Mark's "Watch!" increases in volume and intensity, because it is being read between Easter and the promised parousia of the Lord.
The Prayer of the Day
The collect in the LBW has been shaped into a response to the Gospel for the Day:
God of glory, Father of love, peace comes from you alone. Send us as peacemakers and witnesses to your kingdom, and fill our hearts with joy in your promises of salvation; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The prayer offered in the Book of Common Prayer serves equally well:
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor. Grant us the grace ofyour Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 123 (E); 123:1-4 (R) - Just in what specific situation, or situations, this Psalm of Ascent was employed by the people of Israel as they went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover cannot be determined today. That it is a song of complete dependence upon the mercy of God cannot be denied. This song ends in a lament that bridges the gap between the first reading from Ezekiel and the Gospel for the Day. Most of the prophets of the Lord (including Jesus Christ, who referred to himself as a prophet in the Gospel) could join in the psalmist's lament: "Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy, for we have had more than enough of contempt, too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, and of the derision of the proud."
Psalm 143:1-2, 5-8 (L) - Jesus might have prayed a prayer like the one in the beginning of this psalm after his experience in the synagogue in Capernaum (although Psalm 123 speaks more directly to the resistance and outright rejection he found in his friends and neighbors). Again, it is the conclusion of the selection which best addresses Christ's disappointment at his homecoming: "Let me hear of your lovingkindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; show me the road I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you."
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord Jesus, you bring the first light of dawn to those who dwell in darkness and make your love known to them. Enter not into judgment against your servants, but let your Spirit guide us into the land of justice, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and forever.
The readings:
Ezekiel 2:1-5 (L); 2:2-5 (R); 2:1-7 (E)
In this, the first account of Ezekiel's call by God, the prophet testifies that the Spirit of God entered his being and took possession of him. God outlined his mission in the world - to go to the people of Israel, God's peculiar people, and tell them what God has to say - "Thus says the Lord" reminding them of their relationship with God which they have broken time and again. God, through the Holy Spirit, also warns him of the resistance that he will experience as a prophet to Israel - "the people are impudent and stubborn. God assures him that he can be assured of a hearing by the people: "and whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them." These words might have been ringing in Jesus' ears after he had known the hard-heartedness of the people of Capernaum.
2 Samuel 7:1-17 (C)
Once David's "house of cedar" had been constructed and occupied by the king, he reminded Nathan that the Ark had always dwelt in a tent, not a house. David wanted to build a suitable "house" for the Ark. Nathan received instructions from God, telling him what he should say to King David in response to his revelation. God had never asked the people of Israel to build a house for the Ark. He was content to have the Ark kept in a tent, so that it could move around with the people wherever they went. Nathan was told to inform David that he would establish his throne for all time, as well as a place for his people to dwell, and that his fame would always be remembered and his offspring would rule Israel. One of them would build a house for God (the temple), but not David. He was to be content with his role as King of Israel and to do his best to rule with justice and equity.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (C); 12:2-10 (E); 12:7-10 (R, L)
In contrast to the false teachers, who have been "bad mouthing" him and, at the same time, bragging about the special signs and visions that the Lord has bestowed upon them in their ministry, Paul speaks of his affliction, the "thorn in the flesh," which seems to have been a chronic illness or some other condition that could not be cured. Even prayer to God - three times, he said - did not result in the removal or correction of this malady. But Paul, reflecting upon this "thorn," points out that it has been a blessing for him, because he has discovered in God the strength that he needed to deal with his problem and conquer it. He learned that one of the greatest of all lessons about the grace of God is, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Healing - not physical, but spiritual - has occurred in Paul on a much deeper level than he asked for from God. The "throne in the flesh" became a cruciform model for his life and his ministry.
Mark 6:1-6
Here is the tale of a hometown young man, who returns to the city where he grew up and attempts to minister to the people who knew him so well. When Jesus began to speak in the synagogue, his former friends and neighbors were, first, amazed at his biblical and theological knowledge. They were confounded by the "mighty works of his hands" - the reports of his miraculous healings that had come to him. To them, he was the carpenter, the son of Mary, brother to James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, as well as to several sisters. Who was he to be speaking so authoritatively and to be doing such spectacular works in the name of God? The bottom line was that they were offended by Jesus' teaching, prompting Jesus to remark, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." On discovering that he could perform only limited kinds of miracles there because they did not believe in him, he "marveled because of their unbelief" and went on to teach in other towns and villages . But they at least knew that there had been a prophet among them, whether or not they liked it.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 6:1-6 - "A Tough Time in His Hometown."
In a sermon on prayer - "Pray!" that he preached some years ago at a mid-winter pastoral conference, Wendell Frerichs spoke to pastors who were encountering difficulties with their congregations similar to Jesus' experience in his hometown synagogue. He said, in part:
You are yourself the one who is suffering.... You are not appreciated in your parish any more. Both you and your congregation are frustrated over your still being there. Your sermons have taken on a sour, sharp tone, vindictive, defensive, loads of law and little Gospel. Quite obviously, both for you and the parish, the honeymoon is over. Is there any way of turning that around, short of resigning without call? It would be simplistic to say, "Why don't you pray about it?" Obviously you have.... But What else is there to do? Make one more call to the district office? Do some further commiserating with your friends? Will that really help? Why not pray and pray some more if only out of sheer desperation and frustration and anger? God hears prayers like that too.... Perhaps the Lord can redeem even your hopeless situation....
Jesus got himself into that kind of mess when he began to speak in the synagogue in Nazareth - and with good reason.
1. Nothing had really changed - the people of Israel were just as "impudent and stubborn," just as rebellious in Jesus' day as they had been centuries before when Ezekiel spoke to them on behalf of God. Things haven't changed much since then with the people of God, have they?
2. The problem with the people who belonged to the synagogue was that they really didn't believe that Jesus was anything more - or could be any more - than the carpenter, Mary's son, only a man. Their problem was that they were so familiar with him that they couldn't really hear what he was saying or recognize him for who he really was. Do we? An unknown poet wrote:
If Jesus Christ is a man,
And only a man, I say,
That of all mankind, I will cling to him,
And to him I will cling alway.
But if Jesus Christ is a God,
And the only God, I swear,
I will follow him through heaven and hell,
The sky, the sea, the air.
3. But their basic problem was their failure to believe in God. They lacked faith in the God who had promised to send a Savior into the world, a Messiah, who would deliver God's people. At least, they didn't think it could happen this way - in the person of Jesus, the son of Mary. So, they "turned off" Jesus Christ (and their salvation, at the same time) "and he could do no mighty work there ..." - any more than he can with us,if we lack faith in God and him, as the beloved Son of God.
4. That's the way it always is between Jesus and human beings: he moves on when people refuse to believe that he is the Lord, the Anointed of God. But he remains and abides with his own, with those who trust him and call him "Lord of Lords" and his authoritative word abides with them and keeps them forever.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Ezekiel 2:1-5 (L); 2:1-7 (E); 2:2-5 (R) - "How God Deals with Rebellion."
Nearly everyone who has had experience with his/her own children, grandchildren, or some one else's children, has encountered the rebellious child who wants to make his/her own decisions and to determine what he or she will or will not do. Small wonder that the people of Israel are sometimes called the Children of God; they have acted like little children almost from the beginning of time. Is it any different with those of us who claim to be his children through baptism today?
1. Rebellion against God was, and always will be, the basic form of sin, whether it be outright and obvious rebellion or more subtle in form.
2. God confronts the rebellious by speaking to them through his prophets and his Word. That Word convinces people that they have sinned - have rebelled - against God by ignoring his commands and doing what they please, or what pleases them.
3. God's Word through prophets and preachers puts people on the spot; they must either hear, repent, and obey or, as Peter Marshall once put it, reject God and "if Baal be God, worship him, and go to Hell."
4. God has spoken his last Word to the world in Jesus Christ, and that Word has to be declared to all people so that they may hear what God is saying and live in and through Jesus Christ, the Lord.
2 Samuel 7:1-17 (C) - "When Good Intentions Are Not Enough."
1. David was a man of good intentions. He recognized a need. He realized that the Ark of God should have a more permanent dwelling-place. He wanted to build the temple of the Lord that would house it.
2. His good intentions were not enough. There's nothing unusual about that, is there? What he didn't reckon with was that God had other plans; his son would be the one God had chosen to build the temple.
I saw this happen with two pastors, some years ago. The congregation served by the first pastor desperately needed a new church building; under his leadership they started a building fund, which grew to sufficient size to begin the planning and construction of the edifice. Nothing happened for several years - not until he resigned and was replaced by the second pastor - because the congregation decided that he was not the person to lead the project through to completion. When the second pastor took over, within three months the congregation had purchased land a few blocks away on which to build the church, raised more money within six months, and in about two years completed the initial phase of their building program. That's something of what happened to David and his intention to build the temple.
3. God always knows what is best. He, who is in charge of heaven and earth, always attempts to communicate to the church, through his Word and Holy Spirit, what is best for his kingdom and his people. Good intentions - doing what we might think is best - may not be enough.
4. Hear the Word of the Lord! Obey him! Good intentions are not enough. His intentions are better. They are the best that he can do for us and that we can do for ourselves and our world.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (C); 12:2-10 (E); 12:7-10 (R, L) - "The Wimp Who Became Macho Man."
1. Once there was a little man, who was something of a physical wimp. He complained to God - and even prayed to him - when he developed a disability over which he had no control.
2. The transformation- God changed him through his grace and strength into a macho man. "My strength," said the Lord God, "is made perfect in weakness." He feared nothing nor anyone - not even the swordsman who lopped off his head. (Paul really was a blood brother to John the Baptizer!)
3. Macho men and women - that is, people who think that they are strong enough by themselves to face anything in life - may discover, sooner or later, that they are really spiritual wimps who desperately need God.
4. The cross - the sign of Jesus' strength in God - is a reminder of our weakness. The empty tomb directs us to rely on the power of God and tells us that we can do anything - be really macho for God - through Jesus Christ, the risen Lord who strengthens us for whatever life holds for us.
5. His strength really is made perfect in our weakness!
The Prayer of the Day
The collect in the LBW has been shaped into a response to the Gospel for the Day:
God of glory, Father of love, peace comes from you alone. Send us as peacemakers and witnesses to your kingdom, and fill our hearts with joy in your promises of salvation; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The prayer offered in the Book of Common Prayer serves equally well:
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor. Grant us the grace ofyour Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 123 (E); 123:1-4 (R) - Just in what specific situation, or situations, this Psalm of Ascent was employed by the people of Israel as they went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover cannot be determined today. That it is a song of complete dependence upon the mercy of God cannot be denied. This song ends in a lament that bridges the gap between the first reading from Ezekiel and the Gospel for the Day. Most of the prophets of the Lord (including Jesus Christ, who referred to himself as a prophet in the Gospel) could join in the psalmist's lament: "Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy, for we have had more than enough of contempt, too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, and of the derision of the proud."
Psalm 143:1-2, 5-8 (L) - Jesus might have prayed a prayer like the one in the beginning of this psalm after his experience in the synagogue in Capernaum (although Psalm 123 speaks more directly to the resistance and outright rejection he found in his friends and neighbors). Again, it is the conclusion of the selection which best addresses Christ's disappointment at his homecoming: "Let me hear of your lovingkindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; show me the road I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you."
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord Jesus, you bring the first light of dawn to those who dwell in darkness and make your love known to them. Enter not into judgment against your servants, but let your Spirit guide us into the land of justice, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and forever.
The readings:
Ezekiel 2:1-5 (L); 2:2-5 (R); 2:1-7 (E)
In this, the first account of Ezekiel's call by God, the prophet testifies that the Spirit of God entered his being and took possession of him. God outlined his mission in the world - to go to the people of Israel, God's peculiar people, and tell them what God has to say - "Thus says the Lord" reminding them of their relationship with God which they have broken time and again. God, through the Holy Spirit, also warns him of the resistance that he will experience as a prophet to Israel - "the people are impudent and stubborn. God assures him that he can be assured of a hearing by the people: "and whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them." These words might have been ringing in Jesus' ears after he had known the hard-heartedness of the people of Capernaum.
2 Samuel 7:1-17 (C)
Once David's "house of cedar" had been constructed and occupied by the king, he reminded Nathan that the Ark had always dwelt in a tent, not a house. David wanted to build a suitable "house" for the Ark. Nathan received instructions from God, telling him what he should say to King David in response to his revelation. God had never asked the people of Israel to build a house for the Ark. He was content to have the Ark kept in a tent, so that it could move around with the people wherever they went. Nathan was told to inform David that he would establish his throne for all time, as well as a place for his people to dwell, and that his fame would always be remembered and his offspring would rule Israel. One of them would build a house for God (the temple), but not David. He was to be content with his role as King of Israel and to do his best to rule with justice and equity.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (C); 12:2-10 (E); 12:7-10 (R, L)
In contrast to the false teachers, who have been "bad mouthing" him and, at the same time, bragging about the special signs and visions that the Lord has bestowed upon them in their ministry, Paul speaks of his affliction, the "thorn in the flesh," which seems to have been a chronic illness or some other condition that could not be cured. Even prayer to God - three times, he said - did not result in the removal or correction of this malady. But Paul, reflecting upon this "thorn," points out that it has been a blessing for him, because he has discovered in God the strength that he needed to deal with his problem and conquer it. He learned that one of the greatest of all lessons about the grace of God is, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Healing - not physical, but spiritual - has occurred in Paul on a much deeper level than he asked for from God. The "throne in the flesh" became a cruciform model for his life and his ministry.
Mark 6:1-6
Here is the tale of a hometown young man, who returns to the city where he grew up and attempts to minister to the people who knew him so well. When Jesus began to speak in the synagogue, his former friends and neighbors were, first, amazed at his biblical and theological knowledge. They were confounded by the "mighty works of his hands" - the reports of his miraculous healings that had come to him. To them, he was the carpenter, the son of Mary, brother to James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, as well as to several sisters. Who was he to be speaking so authoritatively and to be doing such spectacular works in the name of God? The bottom line was that they were offended by Jesus' teaching, prompting Jesus to remark, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." On discovering that he could perform only limited kinds of miracles there because they did not believe in him, he "marveled because of their unbelief" and went on to teach in other towns and villages . But they at least knew that there had been a prophet among them, whether or not they liked it.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 6:1-6 - "A Tough Time in His Hometown."
In a sermon on prayer - "Pray!" that he preached some years ago at a mid-winter pastoral conference, Wendell Frerichs spoke to pastors who were encountering difficulties with their congregations similar to Jesus' experience in his hometown synagogue. He said, in part:
You are yourself the one who is suffering.... You are not appreciated in your parish any more. Both you and your congregation are frustrated over your still being there. Your sermons have taken on a sour, sharp tone, vindictive, defensive, loads of law and little Gospel. Quite obviously, both for you and the parish, the honeymoon is over. Is there any way of turning that around, short of resigning without call? It would be simplistic to say, "Why don't you pray about it?" Obviously you have.... But What else is there to do? Make one more call to the district office? Do some further commiserating with your friends? Will that really help? Why not pray and pray some more if only out of sheer desperation and frustration and anger? God hears prayers like that too.... Perhaps the Lord can redeem even your hopeless situation....
Jesus got himself into that kind of mess when he began to speak in the synagogue in Nazareth - and with good reason.
1. Nothing had really changed - the people of Israel were just as "impudent and stubborn," just as rebellious in Jesus' day as they had been centuries before when Ezekiel spoke to them on behalf of God. Things haven't changed much since then with the people of God, have they?
2. The problem with the people who belonged to the synagogue was that they really didn't believe that Jesus was anything more - or could be any more - than the carpenter, Mary's son, only a man. Their problem was that they were so familiar with him that they couldn't really hear what he was saying or recognize him for who he really was. Do we? An unknown poet wrote:
If Jesus Christ is a man,
And only a man, I say,
That of all mankind, I will cling to him,
And to him I will cling alway.
But if Jesus Christ is a God,
And the only God, I swear,
I will follow him through heaven and hell,
The sky, the sea, the air.
3. But their basic problem was their failure to believe in God. They lacked faith in the God who had promised to send a Savior into the world, a Messiah, who would deliver God's people. At least, they didn't think it could happen this way - in the person of Jesus, the son of Mary. So, they "turned off" Jesus Christ (and their salvation, at the same time) "and he could do no mighty work there ..." - any more than he can with us,if we lack faith in God and him, as the beloved Son of God.
4. That's the way it always is between Jesus and human beings: he moves on when people refuse to believe that he is the Lord, the Anointed of God. But he remains and abides with his own, with those who trust him and call him "Lord of Lords" and his authoritative word abides with them and keeps them forever.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Ezekiel 2:1-5 (L); 2:1-7 (E); 2:2-5 (R) - "How God Deals with Rebellion."
Nearly everyone who has had experience with his/her own children, grandchildren, or some one else's children, has encountered the rebellious child who wants to make his/her own decisions and to determine what he or she will or will not do. Small wonder that the people of Israel are sometimes called the Children of God; they have acted like little children almost from the beginning of time. Is it any different with those of us who claim to be his children through baptism today?
1. Rebellion against God was, and always will be, the basic form of sin, whether it be outright and obvious rebellion or more subtle in form.
2. God confronts the rebellious by speaking to them through his prophets and his Word. That Word convinces people that they have sinned - have rebelled - against God by ignoring his commands and doing what they please, or what pleases them.
3. God's Word through prophets and preachers puts people on the spot; they must either hear, repent, and obey or, as Peter Marshall once put it, reject God and "if Baal be God, worship him, and go to Hell."
4. God has spoken his last Word to the world in Jesus Christ, and that Word has to be declared to all people so that they may hear what God is saying and live in and through Jesus Christ, the Lord.
2 Samuel 7:1-17 (C) - "When Good Intentions Are Not Enough."
1. David was a man of good intentions. He recognized a need. He realized that the Ark of God should have a more permanent dwelling-place. He wanted to build the temple of the Lord that would house it.
2. His good intentions were not enough. There's nothing unusual about that, is there? What he didn't reckon with was that God had other plans; his son would be the one God had chosen to build the temple.
I saw this happen with two pastors, some years ago. The congregation served by the first pastor desperately needed a new church building; under his leadership they started a building fund, which grew to sufficient size to begin the planning and construction of the edifice. Nothing happened for several years - not until he resigned and was replaced by the second pastor - because the congregation decided that he was not the person to lead the project through to completion. When the second pastor took over, within three months the congregation had purchased land a few blocks away on which to build the church, raised more money within six months, and in about two years completed the initial phase of their building program. That's something of what happened to David and his intention to build the temple.
3. God always knows what is best. He, who is in charge of heaven and earth, always attempts to communicate to the church, through his Word and Holy Spirit, what is best for his kingdom and his people. Good intentions - doing what we might think is best - may not be enough.
4. Hear the Word of the Lord! Obey him! Good intentions are not enough. His intentions are better. They are the best that he can do for us and that we can do for ourselves and our world.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (C); 12:2-10 (E); 12:7-10 (R, L) - "The Wimp Who Became Macho Man."
1. Once there was a little man, who was something of a physical wimp. He complained to God - and even prayed to him - when he developed a disability over which he had no control.
2. The transformation- God changed him through his grace and strength into a macho man. "My strength," said the Lord God, "is made perfect in weakness." He feared nothing nor anyone - not even the swordsman who lopped off his head. (Paul really was a blood brother to John the Baptizer!)
3. Macho men and women - that is, people who think that they are strong enough by themselves to face anything in life - may discover, sooner or later, that they are really spiritual wimps who desperately need God.
4. The cross - the sign of Jesus' strength in God - is a reminder of our weakness. The empty tomb directs us to rely on the power of God and tells us that we can do anything - be really macho for God - through Jesus Christ, the risen Lord who strengthens us for whatever life holds for us.
5. His strength really is made perfect in our weakness!
