Proper 9
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 (C)
This story is an excellent illustration of love, courtship, and marriage in the ancient world. Abraham has sent a trusted servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. After going through several previously agreed upon conditions, the servant selects Rebekah. The extended family all agree, and Rebekah returns with the servant and entourage, where she meets her intended, they fall in love and marry. Although the process of finding a wife is extremely different from Western world standards, it does seem to have turned out well in this situation. While a sermon on marriage suggests itself, there is a problem in the fact that cultural differences between this story and our present world are so great it's hard to make any comparisons.
Theologically and exegetically, we face the same dilemma we always face with Old Testament stories. How did the writer of Genesis know all these details? Did God really engineer the selection? Is this a made-up story designed to qualify Isaac as the next step in the genetic train of Judaism? I think the only way to benefit from such a story, apart from appreciating a bit of ancient tradition, is to realize that this is not primarily recorded history but is, rather, "history" of the tradition which would one day bind together an immensely admirable race of people in an unbreakable solidarity which remains to this day.
Lesson 1: Zechariah 9:9-10 (RC); Zechariah 9:9-12 (E)
Writing poetically, Zechariah, or more likely his later admirers, announce the future arrival of a messianic king who will establish peace upon the earth, set the prisoners free, all by virtue of the blood of the covenant.
Lesson 2: Romans 7:15-25a (C); Romans 7:21--8:6 (E)
This passage speaks to many of us. Paul quite honestly admits to a problem which besets most of us. His intentions are good but sometimes forces within him lead to conduct which, upon more reasonable reflection, he knows to be wrong. At times he doesn't understand his own actions. I can identify with that. Furthermore, I find Paul believable in the other things he writes because of his openness and vulnerability as evidenced in passages like this. The Bible repeatedly calls for repentance as an early step toward salvation. But there can be no repentance until we are strong enough, and courageous enough, and honest enough, to admit the things we have done which are wrong, and the things we should have done, but failed to do. Here we have a vivid admission which constitutes the beginning of repentance.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:9, 11-13 (RC)
If we are "in Christ," the Spirit which raised him to life dwells in us as well. This enables us to choose life in the spirit rather than life in the flesh (which promises death). Thus, we are promised life to our mortal bodies.
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (C); Matthew 11:25-30 (RC, E)
Once again, in this brief passage we find several preaching possibilities. The people mentioned in verses 16-19 are like some people we know. They criticized John as a stuffed shirt because he wouldn't eat or drink with them. Then Jesus came along, eating and drinking with friends, and they criticized him too, calling him a glutton and a drunkard. Sometimes you can't win. A sermon on people who are always criticizing others might be used.
One might deal with Jesus' remark that the wonders of God's world are hidden from the wise and the intelligent, and made clear to infants. He probably didn't mean to find fault with wisdom and intelligence as such, but with the know-it-all philosophers of the time who thought they knew all the answers. The open-mindedness of children still ready to learn had a better chance of understanding what Jesus came to say.
The most perplexing issue raised here is Jesus' statement that "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." And finally, the heart-warming invitation that any of us who is overburdened with life's demands can come to him and find rest. And by taking his "yoke" upon us, we will find it surprisingly easy. There is much to think about here.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Marriage And A Happy Life"
Text: Genesis 24:58-67
Theme: Whether one wishes to interpret this story literally or not, there are some characteristics of ancient marriage customs from which we might learn. Preaching on marriage is somewhat risky in these days when we are told that 43 percent of all new marriages will end in divorce and, between us, those statistics are about the same for clergy. Still, we can learn from failure as well as from success.
1. Marriage was based on practical considerations, not just physical attraction. That doesn't sound very romantic, given our fascination with romantic movies, novels, and television shows. Edward Dickinson, father of Emily, started his letter of proposal to his wife-to-be with this uninspired line: "Let us prepare for a life of rational happiness" (rest of letter below). But the sad fact is that the romantic physical attraction which prompts so many relationships is destined to wither away before long. Scott Peck said, "Sex is a trick played on you by your genes to trap you into marriage." Speaking as a counselor, which most of my readers are as well, we know that those couples who do pay attention to the practical considerations are the ones who have the happiest marriages. (I didn't mean there shouldn't always be romance in a marriage. But it won't serve as the primary basis of marriage.)
2. Marriage was based on compatibility. Rebekah's willingness to water the camels which belonged to Abraham's servant indicated a sweet and generous nature. True, Isaac didn't do the choosing, but one can assume that the way he fell in love with her was partly because of her cooperative spirit. Compatibility is, in the long run, indispensable to good marriage. Opposites attract, likes stay together. Speaking as a happily married man, one factor is that we like the same kind of people, like the same sports, like to vacation the same places, like to eat in the same restaurants. We have a similar faith (differing politics, but nobody's perfect).
3. Marriages joined families as well as individuals. We would not, of course, wish to have Dad choose wives for sons or husbands for daughters. I wouldn't propose we go back that far. But extended families play a major part in marital happiness. Many a marriage has been ruined by interfering in-laws, by a husband who refused to get along happily with his wife's family or vice versa. My son-in-law and I have a great time together and I suspect had we not, the pain would have been as great for my daughter as for me. Families who are there for us in times of need, who will baby-sit, who will help in all kinds of troubled situations, who are glad to share what they have with each other, are nearly always happy families. This doesn't mean one must marry a whole family. It does mean the wise couple starts early to cultivate cordial inter-family relations.
Title: "Mixed Motives"
Text: Romans 7:15-25a
Theme: I personally like this passage because it reminds me of me. Truthfully, though, don't we all struggle with mixed motives? Remember the scene in the original movie M.A.S.H. where the officer and the nurse were in bed together having an extremely personal and intimate conversation? One of the soldiers had secretly rigged a microphone in their room and then had attached it to the camp public address system. Everyone in camp thus heard that intensely private conversation. I remember being absolutely horrified (you put yourself in there a little bit), but also doubled up with laughter. What a clash of values most of us felt at that scene. That's what life is like. The good and the bad are at constant war within us, as with Paul.
1. We all are like Paul. Therefore, we rationalize our actions. Dr. Buttrick told of a man who was hypnotized at a public demonstration. He was instructed to go home, take a potted plant from a table, wrap it in a towel, place it on a couch, then bow to it three times. Then he was awakened from the spell. Later, two of the man's friends took him home, secretly wanting to see if the man did as instructed. He did it exactly. When his friends asked why he did what he did, the man, not knowing of the hypnotic instructions, matter-of-factly explained that he was afraid the plant was cold, so he wrapped it in a towel and placed it on the couch, away from the breeze. Then, pleased with what he had done, he had impulsively bowed three times. Buttrick's point was that we all find reasons for what we do, reasons we can live with. We rationalize.
2. We must recognize the negatives in our personalities if we are to change. Jesus was crucified because people could not understand true love. They imputed wrong motives to Jesus because of their own wrong motives. Jeremiah said it: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?" Give Paul credit for seeing these forces within himself. Remember, he used to persecute Christians himself until Jesus got to him. Jesus himself said, "No man is good," and Paul wrote that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's in the recognition and admission of these forces within us that our hope lies.
3. If we will submit ourselves and our inner, wrongful, tendencies to God we can be saved. An older generation used to ask their pastors if there is any such thing as an unforgivable sin. The answer was (and is) "yes." It is to think we do not need forgiveness. Remember Oscar Wilde's Picture Of Dorian Gray? It's about a man who kept a painting of himself in his attic. He, a selfish, thoughtless man, maintained the outward appearance of handsome charm. But the painting slowly grew ugly and hateful-looking. At last, the man died and was revealed in all his ugliness. We too can often appear to others as good people. But unless we deal with those other forces, let God help us overcome them, we could also die in ugliness.
Title: "The Good Father"
Text: Matthew 11:27
Theme: Jesus elsewhere is quoted as saying "no one comes to the Father but by me." Here he says, "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." These passages used to trouble me, because I have great respect for the other religions of the world. I refuse to believe that some little brown-skinned boy, growing up in poverty on the streets of Bombay, having heard nothing of Jesus, or even if he had, raised by practitioners of another religion, destined to die of starvation, will never know God. I cannot believe the God of love we know through Christ would be that frivolous. Then, one day, it dawned on me: Jesus didn't say "No one knows God ..." He said "Father." Of course. It is the nature of God as symbolized by the "father" relationship (now, the parental relationship) which is unknown to other religions.
1. A good father knows us personally.
2. A good father oversees a family and I'm a member, thus bonded to others.
3. A good father cares for the needs of his children. So, God is personally involved in my life.
4. A good father grieves if I, his son, am hurt.
5. A good father will die to save his child. My heavenly father, in a sense, did. Thus, it is the nature of God which is uniquely known through Jesus Christ.
Title: "Rest For The Weary"
Text: Matthew 11:28-30
Theme: Jesus promised assistance from God, in the form of rest and recuperation for our life's tasks. He invited us to wear his "yoke," a contrivance worn by farm animals so they could pull heavy loads. In other words, the work we do is to be associated with him, and we will find it easy.
1. God helps us when we're weary. In other words, we are to work hard, not expect our prayer life to free us of the necessity of facing the sometimes stern demands of life. God is not going to take the labor out of life.
2. When we're genuinely and deservedly tired from honest work (physical or mental), God promises renewal of that strength.
3. Our work is to be in accord with Jesus' teachings. Obviously that doesn't mean necessarily church related. Any worthy vocation would qualify if it has three characteristics: (A) honest, (B) contributes to the good of others, and (C) utilizes our God-given talents and, I suppose limitations, so we are fulfilling our life's mission.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
That letter by Edward Dickinson, father of Emily Dickinson, went like this: "Let us prepare for a life of rational happiness. I do not either wish or expect a life of pleasure. May we be happy and useful and successful and each be an ornament in society, and gain the respect and confidence of all with whom we may be connected." That, in a letter to the woman to whom he was proposing. Some romance.
____________
Keith Miller told of the time he and his wife had a quarrel. She, being of the "never go to bed angry" school, leaned over that night and said to her husband that she loved him. His reply: "Well, I don't love you, and I don't love myself, and right now I don't love anyone. All I can promise is that when I do decide to love someone again, I'll put you first."
____________
Halford Luccock told of a young man who, many years ago, was dating a girl in Philadelphia. He didn't have a car, and to get to her house he had to take a streetcar (I hope the youngest readers can imagine what that was -- they still have them in San Francisco). She lived on Herron Hill, and the last car back to town passed her stop at 11:00. Finally, after two years, he asked her to marry him. She refused and he was dumbfounded. She explained: "For two years you have been out here several times a week. Never once did you miss the last car back to the city. I can't risk marrying a man who never forgets himself." Luccock concluded with this observation: "Bright girl."
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 45:10-17 (C) -- "In many-colored robes she is led to the king."
Psalm 145:1-2, 13b-21 (RC, E) -- "And bless your name forever."
Prayer Of The Day
We come to thee, O Lord, weary as the night draws near. We have sinned, given in to lesser desires, yet we would be faithful to thee and to this calling. Forgive our failures, Lord, we pray. Renew us in body that we may continue in our work, and in spirit that we may continue to become, more and more, that person you meant for us to be. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Lesson 1: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 (C)
This story is an excellent illustration of love, courtship, and marriage in the ancient world. Abraham has sent a trusted servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. After going through several previously agreed upon conditions, the servant selects Rebekah. The extended family all agree, and Rebekah returns with the servant and entourage, where she meets her intended, they fall in love and marry. Although the process of finding a wife is extremely different from Western world standards, it does seem to have turned out well in this situation. While a sermon on marriage suggests itself, there is a problem in the fact that cultural differences between this story and our present world are so great it's hard to make any comparisons.
Theologically and exegetically, we face the same dilemma we always face with Old Testament stories. How did the writer of Genesis know all these details? Did God really engineer the selection? Is this a made-up story designed to qualify Isaac as the next step in the genetic train of Judaism? I think the only way to benefit from such a story, apart from appreciating a bit of ancient tradition, is to realize that this is not primarily recorded history but is, rather, "history" of the tradition which would one day bind together an immensely admirable race of people in an unbreakable solidarity which remains to this day.
Lesson 1: Zechariah 9:9-10 (RC); Zechariah 9:9-12 (E)
Writing poetically, Zechariah, or more likely his later admirers, announce the future arrival of a messianic king who will establish peace upon the earth, set the prisoners free, all by virtue of the blood of the covenant.
Lesson 2: Romans 7:15-25a (C); Romans 7:21--8:6 (E)
This passage speaks to many of us. Paul quite honestly admits to a problem which besets most of us. His intentions are good but sometimes forces within him lead to conduct which, upon more reasonable reflection, he knows to be wrong. At times he doesn't understand his own actions. I can identify with that. Furthermore, I find Paul believable in the other things he writes because of his openness and vulnerability as evidenced in passages like this. The Bible repeatedly calls for repentance as an early step toward salvation. But there can be no repentance until we are strong enough, and courageous enough, and honest enough, to admit the things we have done which are wrong, and the things we should have done, but failed to do. Here we have a vivid admission which constitutes the beginning of repentance.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:9, 11-13 (RC)
If we are "in Christ," the Spirit which raised him to life dwells in us as well. This enables us to choose life in the spirit rather than life in the flesh (which promises death). Thus, we are promised life to our mortal bodies.
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (C); Matthew 11:25-30 (RC, E)
Once again, in this brief passage we find several preaching possibilities. The people mentioned in verses 16-19 are like some people we know. They criticized John as a stuffed shirt because he wouldn't eat or drink with them. Then Jesus came along, eating and drinking with friends, and they criticized him too, calling him a glutton and a drunkard. Sometimes you can't win. A sermon on people who are always criticizing others might be used.
One might deal with Jesus' remark that the wonders of God's world are hidden from the wise and the intelligent, and made clear to infants. He probably didn't mean to find fault with wisdom and intelligence as such, but with the know-it-all philosophers of the time who thought they knew all the answers. The open-mindedness of children still ready to learn had a better chance of understanding what Jesus came to say.
The most perplexing issue raised here is Jesus' statement that "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." And finally, the heart-warming invitation that any of us who is overburdened with life's demands can come to him and find rest. And by taking his "yoke" upon us, we will find it surprisingly easy. There is much to think about here.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Marriage And A Happy Life"
Text: Genesis 24:58-67
Theme: Whether one wishes to interpret this story literally or not, there are some characteristics of ancient marriage customs from which we might learn. Preaching on marriage is somewhat risky in these days when we are told that 43 percent of all new marriages will end in divorce and, between us, those statistics are about the same for clergy. Still, we can learn from failure as well as from success.
1. Marriage was based on practical considerations, not just physical attraction. That doesn't sound very romantic, given our fascination with romantic movies, novels, and television shows. Edward Dickinson, father of Emily, started his letter of proposal to his wife-to-be with this uninspired line: "Let us prepare for a life of rational happiness" (rest of letter below). But the sad fact is that the romantic physical attraction which prompts so many relationships is destined to wither away before long. Scott Peck said, "Sex is a trick played on you by your genes to trap you into marriage." Speaking as a counselor, which most of my readers are as well, we know that those couples who do pay attention to the practical considerations are the ones who have the happiest marriages. (I didn't mean there shouldn't always be romance in a marriage. But it won't serve as the primary basis of marriage.)
2. Marriage was based on compatibility. Rebekah's willingness to water the camels which belonged to Abraham's servant indicated a sweet and generous nature. True, Isaac didn't do the choosing, but one can assume that the way he fell in love with her was partly because of her cooperative spirit. Compatibility is, in the long run, indispensable to good marriage. Opposites attract, likes stay together. Speaking as a happily married man, one factor is that we like the same kind of people, like the same sports, like to vacation the same places, like to eat in the same restaurants. We have a similar faith (differing politics, but nobody's perfect).
3. Marriages joined families as well as individuals. We would not, of course, wish to have Dad choose wives for sons or husbands for daughters. I wouldn't propose we go back that far. But extended families play a major part in marital happiness. Many a marriage has been ruined by interfering in-laws, by a husband who refused to get along happily with his wife's family or vice versa. My son-in-law and I have a great time together and I suspect had we not, the pain would have been as great for my daughter as for me. Families who are there for us in times of need, who will baby-sit, who will help in all kinds of troubled situations, who are glad to share what they have with each other, are nearly always happy families. This doesn't mean one must marry a whole family. It does mean the wise couple starts early to cultivate cordial inter-family relations.
Title: "Mixed Motives"
Text: Romans 7:15-25a
Theme: I personally like this passage because it reminds me of me. Truthfully, though, don't we all struggle with mixed motives? Remember the scene in the original movie M.A.S.H. where the officer and the nurse were in bed together having an extremely personal and intimate conversation? One of the soldiers had secretly rigged a microphone in their room and then had attached it to the camp public address system. Everyone in camp thus heard that intensely private conversation. I remember being absolutely horrified (you put yourself in there a little bit), but also doubled up with laughter. What a clash of values most of us felt at that scene. That's what life is like. The good and the bad are at constant war within us, as with Paul.
1. We all are like Paul. Therefore, we rationalize our actions. Dr. Buttrick told of a man who was hypnotized at a public demonstration. He was instructed to go home, take a potted plant from a table, wrap it in a towel, place it on a couch, then bow to it three times. Then he was awakened from the spell. Later, two of the man's friends took him home, secretly wanting to see if the man did as instructed. He did it exactly. When his friends asked why he did what he did, the man, not knowing of the hypnotic instructions, matter-of-factly explained that he was afraid the plant was cold, so he wrapped it in a towel and placed it on the couch, away from the breeze. Then, pleased with what he had done, he had impulsively bowed three times. Buttrick's point was that we all find reasons for what we do, reasons we can live with. We rationalize.
2. We must recognize the negatives in our personalities if we are to change. Jesus was crucified because people could not understand true love. They imputed wrong motives to Jesus because of their own wrong motives. Jeremiah said it: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?" Give Paul credit for seeing these forces within himself. Remember, he used to persecute Christians himself until Jesus got to him. Jesus himself said, "No man is good," and Paul wrote that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's in the recognition and admission of these forces within us that our hope lies.
3. If we will submit ourselves and our inner, wrongful, tendencies to God we can be saved. An older generation used to ask their pastors if there is any such thing as an unforgivable sin. The answer was (and is) "yes." It is to think we do not need forgiveness. Remember Oscar Wilde's Picture Of Dorian Gray? It's about a man who kept a painting of himself in his attic. He, a selfish, thoughtless man, maintained the outward appearance of handsome charm. But the painting slowly grew ugly and hateful-looking. At last, the man died and was revealed in all his ugliness. We too can often appear to others as good people. But unless we deal with those other forces, let God help us overcome them, we could also die in ugliness.
Title: "The Good Father"
Text: Matthew 11:27
Theme: Jesus elsewhere is quoted as saying "no one comes to the Father but by me." Here he says, "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." These passages used to trouble me, because I have great respect for the other religions of the world. I refuse to believe that some little brown-skinned boy, growing up in poverty on the streets of Bombay, having heard nothing of Jesus, or even if he had, raised by practitioners of another religion, destined to die of starvation, will never know God. I cannot believe the God of love we know through Christ would be that frivolous. Then, one day, it dawned on me: Jesus didn't say "No one knows God ..." He said "Father." Of course. It is the nature of God as symbolized by the "father" relationship (now, the parental relationship) which is unknown to other religions.
1. A good father knows us personally.
2. A good father oversees a family and I'm a member, thus bonded to others.
3. A good father cares for the needs of his children. So, God is personally involved in my life.
4. A good father grieves if I, his son, am hurt.
5. A good father will die to save his child. My heavenly father, in a sense, did. Thus, it is the nature of God which is uniquely known through Jesus Christ.
Title: "Rest For The Weary"
Text: Matthew 11:28-30
Theme: Jesus promised assistance from God, in the form of rest and recuperation for our life's tasks. He invited us to wear his "yoke," a contrivance worn by farm animals so they could pull heavy loads. In other words, the work we do is to be associated with him, and we will find it easy.
1. God helps us when we're weary. In other words, we are to work hard, not expect our prayer life to free us of the necessity of facing the sometimes stern demands of life. God is not going to take the labor out of life.
2. When we're genuinely and deservedly tired from honest work (physical or mental), God promises renewal of that strength.
3. Our work is to be in accord with Jesus' teachings. Obviously that doesn't mean necessarily church related. Any worthy vocation would qualify if it has three characteristics: (A) honest, (B) contributes to the good of others, and (C) utilizes our God-given talents and, I suppose limitations, so we are fulfilling our life's mission.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
That letter by Edward Dickinson, father of Emily Dickinson, went like this: "Let us prepare for a life of rational happiness. I do not either wish or expect a life of pleasure. May we be happy and useful and successful and each be an ornament in society, and gain the respect and confidence of all with whom we may be connected." That, in a letter to the woman to whom he was proposing. Some romance.
____________
Keith Miller told of the time he and his wife had a quarrel. She, being of the "never go to bed angry" school, leaned over that night and said to her husband that she loved him. His reply: "Well, I don't love you, and I don't love myself, and right now I don't love anyone. All I can promise is that when I do decide to love someone again, I'll put you first."
____________
Halford Luccock told of a young man who, many years ago, was dating a girl in Philadelphia. He didn't have a car, and to get to her house he had to take a streetcar (I hope the youngest readers can imagine what that was -- they still have them in San Francisco). She lived on Herron Hill, and the last car back to town passed her stop at 11:00. Finally, after two years, he asked her to marry him. She refused and he was dumbfounded. She explained: "For two years you have been out here several times a week. Never once did you miss the last car back to the city. I can't risk marrying a man who never forgets himself." Luccock concluded with this observation: "Bright girl."
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 45:10-17 (C) -- "In many-colored robes she is led to the king."
Psalm 145:1-2, 13b-21 (RC, E) -- "And bless your name forever."
Prayer Of The Day
We come to thee, O Lord, weary as the night draws near. We have sinned, given in to lesser desires, yet we would be faithful to thee and to this calling. Forgive our failures, Lord, we pray. Renew us in body that we may continue in our work, and in spirit that we may continue to become, more and more, that person you meant for us to be. In Jesus' name. Amen.
