Seventh Sunday After The Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 45:3-11, 15 (C); Genesis 45:3-11, 21-28 (E)
It's very difficult for most of us to identify with Joseph in this passage. What sublime beauty of human character. The temptation to gloat, to lord it over his brothers, must surely have been well nigh irresistible. Considering that they had mugged the poor kid, then sold him to a bunch of slave traders, considering the (as we would say today) dysfunctional family life in which all of them had been raised, and then to discover such supremely beautiful forgiving love in Joseph is deeply moving.
This passage is the perfect passage for a sermon on forgiveness. Perfect, because Joseph didn't just "forgive" his brothers. He forgave them in that he acted out that forgiveness by accepting them as brothers again, by accepting responsibility for their well-being, and by not making them feel guilty. This is a splendid example of the true nature of forgiveness.
There is, of course, another major theme here. Joseph seems to have accepted what happened as God's will, and seen his brothers as agents of God's actions. However, the New Testament would later raise questions about that idea. Not that God doesn't act in our lives, but we would have trouble with the idea that God would lead people to commit heartless crimes in order to work out his will. I would go with the theme of forgiveness.
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 (RC)
You could make something of David's merciful unwillingness to put an end to Samuel because of his, David's, faith in God. Not, however, one of my early choices for a sermon text.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50 (C, E); 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (RC)
In essence, Paul here assures us that there is a spiritual body which will, upon our death, replace the physical body. Since the physical body cannot "possess immortality," we will be buried, then "raised" in spiritual form. He used the analogy of Adam. The first one, the human Adam, was destined to die just as are all of us. The "last Adam" is, in fact, the "life giving Spirit."
Since our text stops with verse 50, we don't have to wrestle in this sermon with Paul's assumption that all of this will take place rather soon, timewise. Paul was obviously expressing a truth which, at the same time, was somewhat beyond Paul's capacity to understand fully. Not that I think he was wrong, except as to timing. To use a homey analogy, imagine yourself in the mountains at night. It's very dark. The mountain has roads, switch backs, sharp curves and winding, dangerous stretches of narrow roadway. Suddenly, you see the blaze of headlights rounding a curve, stabbing the night sky with their unexpected, sudden brilliance. From where you stand, those headlights -- that vehicle -- seem to be close, nearly upon you. You expect to see it momentarily. But in fact, that is an illusion which results from the deceptive sense of distance which this confusing topography causes. In fact, the car is on its way to you, no question. But it is still a few miles away. You were quite right to assume it would reach you. Your sense of timing was thrown off by the darkened mysteries of the mountain roads between. A natural, understandable mistake. And not a serious one. So with Paul. His timing was off; his basic assumption was correct.
I would probably use as my text verse 42b. This passage pretty much requires that we deal with the question of life after death. There are a lot of issues raised here. Some people believe the resurrection will be a restoration of the actual body we are stuck with now. I recall a gravestone in England which bears this legend: "Here lies the body of poor John Pound. He was lost at sea and never found." My point being that if we are to be restored to this body, then I want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Seriously, if we are to live in a totally different sphere of existence, then the bodies we occupy at present would not suffice, not even the good ones. In sum, Paul believed that those who accept Christ will be safely restored to life following death and as to that body, "it will be beautiful and strong."
Gospel: Luke 6:27-38 (C, RC, E)
In a word: agape. Love which does not seek anything in return. Love which takes the form of action. Love which does not depend on feelings. Dr. Karl Menninger, one of the most famous people in the field of emotional illness and healing, arrived at the conclusion that most of his patients were sick because they had not experienced enough love. "There was a deficiency of love in their lives." So he reorganized his internationally known mental hospital around the concept of love. Dr. Smiley Blanton, another well-known psychologist, wrote a book the title of which expressed his view: Love Or Perish.
Jesus understood and taught that unfailing kindness in the face of mistreatment has the effect of saving both the victim and the wrongdoer. As one character in Lloyd Douglas' Magnificent Obsession put the matter, "Every time you send a man to Hell ... he takes part of you along with him." Jesus knew this. Jesus' underlying premise to all of his teachings was that love can make all things new and well, and that selfishness, and hatred, and blatant self-interest inevitably lead to misery and death.
An article in the Asbury Seminary newsletter some time ago told of the tragic death of a young teenaged boy, caused by the mishandling of a firearm by one of his friends. The guilty boy, broken heartedly sorry, attended the funeral. When the parents of the deceased boy entered the room, other attenders watched with apprehension as, when walking down the aisle to their seats, the parents saw the boy who had accidentally killed their son. But the mother called the boy over, asked him to sit with her for the funeral. In words overheard by others, she told the boy that she knew he had been her son's friend, that she knew he was sorry, and that she loved him and forgave him. The article reporting this concluded with this line: "Love had triumphed again."
There's our sermon. If we would live out the faith we profess, we must pay the price of swallowing our hatreds and our petty self-interest, must pray for forgiving, generous hearts, and must practice the work of love wherever we go. Jesus, in urging this, used many examples: endure mistreatment, forgive those who fail to return your possessions, give to those who ask.
There is one potential problem. Jesus spoke of reward. "You will then have a great reward," he promised. A cynic could suspect that some of our so-called goodness was, in fact, a means by which we hoped to gain some selfish ends. But in verses 32 and 33, Jesus disposed of that idea. The reward we are to receive will not be some earthly reward, not a plaque from Rotary Club, or the Missioner Of The Year award from the denomination, nor an honorary degree from our university. It will be a far more subtle reward, but one which eventually will prove to be the highest reward of all. But we must first practice agape love.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: Judgment And Forgiveness
Text: Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Theme: This could be a very complicated theme to develop. In light of the contemporary state of morality in American society, there are many who argue that we must beware of the kind of forgiveness which is not redemptive, forgiveness which, in Bonhoeffer's words, amounts to little more than cheap grace. In thinking about this passage, I see three points which I think might be made.
1. Joseph is a symbol for God. You and I are those selfish, thoughtless brothers. Of course most of us would never stoop to such heartless and unloving conduct as theirs, but in our way, we are all capable of wrongful actions and hurtful attitudes. All we have to do is read Paul's writings to be reminded that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I won't go into detail, but I admit here and now that there are several memories with which I live which produce in me deep regret. The thought of one day paying for those things would be frightening indeed, were I not convinced that God will redeem me.
2. Joseph is a role model for us. For me, the key to Joseph's character is that he did not dwell on his past with bitterness. He was faithful to God, allowed love to work in him, and when he finally met his brothers again, he didn't have it in him to hold a grudge. And because he forgave his brothers, his own life was blessed, and so were theirs. We all know people who hang onto their sense of mistreatment, or of injustice. If that leads one to right some terrible wrong, as when Abe Lincoln was outraged at a slave market in Saint Augustine, that's one thing. But simply to obsess over something that has been done to hurt us is simply destructive of our own spirit. I once read that a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes turn and bite itself. I have no idea whether that is true, but the image is true. It's what many people do. Joseph showed us the better way.
3. There is, however, a place for judgment. William Bennet recently wrote this: "Of course all of us are in favor of tolerance and forgiveness. But the moral pendulum has swung too far in the direction of relativism. If a nation of free people can no longer make pronouncements on fundamental matters of right and wrong -- for example, that a married fifty-year-old commander-in-chief ought not to have sexual relations with a young intern in his office and then lie about it -- it has lost its way." Here, then, is the preacher's challenge, to at once hold high the exalted love which forgives, yet which also understands that to overlook wrong doing does, in the long run, destroy the wrong doer. There has to be a difference between judgment and judgmentalism.
4. Christian judgment begins with oneself. I first must "take the log out of my own eye." Harsh expressions of disapproval of others which mask my own shortcomings, are anathema. But I do have a right to acknowledge, and to decry, immorality where it is hurting others. In America, Bennett points out the rather stinging observation that "we are a nation that has experienced so much decadence, in so short a period of time, that we have become the kind of place to which civilized countries used to send missionaries." It may be that the Joseph story was told in the face of bitter judgmentalism on the part of the ruling classes of the time, and an example of the lofty quality of forgiveness was needed. In 1570 B.C. Ahmose I, the founder of the brilliant Eighteenth Dynasty, overthrew the hated foreign regime of the Hyksos who had dominated for a century and a half. Bernhard Anderson suggests that while this story has elements of a folk tale, it also was a very possible scenario for the time. "It is precisely in the Hyksos period when Egypt was under Semitic rule, that the conditions were right for the friendly welcome of Jacob's family and for Joseph's rise to a position of leadership in the royal court," wrote Anderson.
Title: You Only Live Twice
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:42b (Read the entire assigned passage, however)
Theme: This is usually an Easter theme, but I find that the issue of death and what lies beyond is of concern to most people at any time. Of course, it's a faith issue since we haven't the slightest proof that anything really lies beyond. However, most of us have an instinct which tells us that if there is no life beyond this life, then the inequities of this life are unexplainable. I watched two young women in a restaurant the other day. One was absolutely drop-dead lovely, with a slender, shapely figure, long golden hair, and a smile which could easily have graced a magazine cover. The other was what I believe physicians call morbidly obese. She could hardly get around. While I do understand that many people are overweight because of slovenly, undisciplined lifestyle, I also realize there are many others who were simply short-changed in their genetic inheritance. That was obviously true of this sad young woman. The pretty girl was seated with several people, and was the center of attention. The other young woman ate alone. God has to have some way to balance that sort of thing.
1. Jesus promised life after death.
2. Jesus promised it would be a joyous existence.
3. Jesus promised that then we will be surrounded by love.
Title: Love Or Perish
Text: Luke 6:27-38
Theme: Jesus taught that under all circumstances we are to try to react with love. He didn't mean love as we associate it with romance, or with the affection we feel toward family and friends. He meant that other, more difficult love which takes the form of action. I may or may not like another individual. Either way, I can act in that person's best interests. I may at times feel misused or unjustly dealt with. Love then requires that I find within myself -- and within my relationship with Jesus -- the capacity to rise above my angry, outraged feelings and do what, in my best, quiet, moments, I believe to be right. To do this will require great strength of character. At times, it may be more than I am capable of doing. In that case, I am to try to react in love and in doing so, I will grow in my ability to love. The ultimate effect of this will be a great reward -- not a worldly one perhaps, but a higher reward. For that I must take Jesus' word. I must trust him.
1. To act in love is an act of courage. This is no easy calling. We all have our failings when it comes to tendencies to judge, to resent, to be jealous, to envy. It's easy to be loving toward people we like. It's when someone we don't particularly care for does something or says something which sparks one of our negative responses that we must exercise the courage to do and say what we know, in our heart of hearts, is the right thing to do. Turning the other cheek is an act of supremely sterling character. I told elsewhere of the item in an eastern city newspaper about the truck driver who confronted the driver of a car whom he fancied had cut in front of him. The trucker challenged the man to come out and fight. Instead, the car driver simply apologized even though his offense was unintentional. The trucker gloated over his easy victory as the car pulled away, until an observer pointed out to the trucker that the car driver was a recent light heavyweight Golden Gloves champion. A reporter, apparently intrigued by the driver-boxer's pacifist reaction, checked and learned the man was a recent Christian and was practicing what Jesus taught.
2. To act in love brings healing to others. If I act in an unloving way toward someone, and that person responds to me in a loving way, I may or may not have enough character to admit my wrong, but in my heart I will realize it. This can prompt in me, the wrongdoer, a growing sense of what love can do. And as already pointed out above, no less than the famed Karl Menninger discovered that most of the misery which he encountered resulted from the absence of love.
3. To act in love brings healing to oneself. Teilhard de Chardin wrote: "It is in free and loving service to his fellow-men that the individual finds himself, finds the world, finds God." Even though the initial effort to act in love sometimes seems difficult, even painful, the final result is inevitably one of inner peace and joy. (Just as to act unlovingly always produces regret and damaged relationships.)
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Indianapolis -- January 1998. Mark Marshall had always taught the Boy Scouts in his troop to be prepared for all emergencies in life. Then driving home from work he saw a young woman jump from the bridge over Fall Creek, into fast-moving frigid waters. He stopped, realized he would quickly freeze if he entered the river. So would the woman. The 41-year-old Marshall then practiced what he had long preached. He jumped into the freezing water and somehow made his way to the drowning woman. He managed to grab her coat, turn her over, struggle for shore. Tree limbs blocked his way. The cold "gripped his lungs like a vise. Within fifteen feet of the bank he could hardly breathe or move." He was losing consciousness, yet refused to let the woman go. Then another man, Robert Dillahay, having gotten lost after crossing the bridge, turned back, saw a crowd watching, dived in also. Later he said of Marshall, "It didn't look like he was going to give her up to save his life." Dillahay was able to grab a tree limb and thereby give Marshall something by which to pull himself in to shore. As he stood shivering on the bank, Marshall remarked to a policeman that he wondered if he'd done the right thing since the woman apparently wanted to die. The officer replied: "Anytime a person saves a life he does the right thing."
The two men received medals for bravery from the Indianapolis Fire Department. The woman fully recovered and said she was happy to be alive.
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We sometimes feel there are few worthy role models left in the world of athletics. There are some, however. Take "The Big O" -- Oscar Robertson. He led his high school basketball team to two state championships in the basketball state of Indiana, led his Cincinnati Bearcats to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament twice and was national scoring champion with an average 33.8 points per game, was a three time All American, led the 1960 Olympic team to a gold medal, was Rookie of the Year in the NBA in 1961 and MVP in 1964, led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship in 1971, was named to the NBA All-Star team twelve times, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. How's that for a career?
Oscar was approached by a nationally-known sporting shoe company and offered a lot of money to let them feature his name. Despite the fact that he played before the inflated salaries we read about today, Oscar Robertson said "No!" He was recently interviewed by an Indianapolis Star reporter and asked if he didn't need the money. Yes, he needed the money all right. But it was a matter of integrity. During his playing days, White players were making large sums by lending their names to shoe companies while Black players were ignored. In effect, he said if they didn't need him then, he didn't need them now.
Robertson has written a book about basketball. It will no doubt be read by a great many young people. His main message? Discipline is the guiding force of life. Whatever you're doing, "do what you're supposed to do." That's the message those young people need to hear. And by the way, Oscar Robertson learned a couple years ago that his daughter was seriously ill and needed a kidney transplant. Without thinking twice, Robertson donated his own kidney to his daughter. This world could use a few more people like this man.
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The story is told of the woman whose husband was pronounced dead. After the funeral, this being in a small village, the casket was carried by pall bearers through a gate, and they accidentally bumped the casket against the gate-post. This knocked the lid from the casket, at which point the supposedly deceased gentleman aroused, and thereafter went home. A few months later, the man became ill, was again pronounced dead. Another funeral was held, the pall bearers again carried the casket to the grave. As they approached the gate, the woman said to them: "Be careful of that gate-post."
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A business executive was a member of a Bible study group. It happened that he had a subordinate employee whom he disliked. He thought about firing the man, especially since the man's work wasn't very good anyway. But when he discussed this with the members of the group, they agreed that whatever he did, it must be done in love, not with mere cold decision.
One day the executive asked the man to go to lunch with him. There, quite frankly, he told of his feelings toward the man, but he also said he didn't feel right about his feelings and would like to hear the other man's point of view. That man first shared that he was facing some serious problems in his personal life. He also had felt that he was unfairly treated in his workplace. They agreed that for a while, they would meet for lunch once each week and try to work through to an appropriate decision as to what they should do.
One night the executive told his group the outcome. The other man had begun to do much better work, obviously motivated now to do well. He also shared that after getting to know the man and understand him, he had actually begun to like the man and the unexpected result was that the two became friends and the man remained as a valuable employee.
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A teacher in a poor section of Chicago shared this story with me some time ago. She had a little girl from an impoverished family in the ghetto. She was a good little girl, always cooperative. One day the teacher sent a note home, telling Mom what a good little girl she had. The child was absent the next day. The teacher, concerned, called the home and learned that the mother had spanked the child and sent her to bed as punishment. It seems the mother was unable to read and assumed a note from the teacher meant her daughter had been bad. What a sad example of the many tragedies which result from ignorance and underprivilege.
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Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, wrote this: "When I go down to the grave, I can say, like many others, I have finished my day's work, but I cannot say I have finished my life. My day's work will begin the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the twilight, to open on the dawn."
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Robert Ingersoll stood at the grave of his brother and said: "Life is a narrow veil between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive to look beyond their heights. We cry aloud and the only answer is the echo of our wailng cry. But hope sees a star, and in the night of death, listening love can hear the rustle of an angel's wing."
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40 -- "Fret not yourself because of the wicked."
Prayer Of The Day
Oh God of love: in Jesus' name we pray for that inner quality of strong courage by which we may learn to overcome our own petty reactions to the injuries we imagine ourselves to suffer, that we might fulfill this holy calling -- that we be the agents of thy saving love. In the exalted name of Jesus we pray.
Lesson 1: Genesis 45:3-11, 15 (C); Genesis 45:3-11, 21-28 (E)
It's very difficult for most of us to identify with Joseph in this passage. What sublime beauty of human character. The temptation to gloat, to lord it over his brothers, must surely have been well nigh irresistible. Considering that they had mugged the poor kid, then sold him to a bunch of slave traders, considering the (as we would say today) dysfunctional family life in which all of them had been raised, and then to discover such supremely beautiful forgiving love in Joseph is deeply moving.
This passage is the perfect passage for a sermon on forgiveness. Perfect, because Joseph didn't just "forgive" his brothers. He forgave them in that he acted out that forgiveness by accepting them as brothers again, by accepting responsibility for their well-being, and by not making them feel guilty. This is a splendid example of the true nature of forgiveness.
There is, of course, another major theme here. Joseph seems to have accepted what happened as God's will, and seen his brothers as agents of God's actions. However, the New Testament would later raise questions about that idea. Not that God doesn't act in our lives, but we would have trouble with the idea that God would lead people to commit heartless crimes in order to work out his will. I would go with the theme of forgiveness.
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 (RC)
You could make something of David's merciful unwillingness to put an end to Samuel because of his, David's, faith in God. Not, however, one of my early choices for a sermon text.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50 (C, E); 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (RC)
In essence, Paul here assures us that there is a spiritual body which will, upon our death, replace the physical body. Since the physical body cannot "possess immortality," we will be buried, then "raised" in spiritual form. He used the analogy of Adam. The first one, the human Adam, was destined to die just as are all of us. The "last Adam" is, in fact, the "life giving Spirit."
Since our text stops with verse 50, we don't have to wrestle in this sermon with Paul's assumption that all of this will take place rather soon, timewise. Paul was obviously expressing a truth which, at the same time, was somewhat beyond Paul's capacity to understand fully. Not that I think he was wrong, except as to timing. To use a homey analogy, imagine yourself in the mountains at night. It's very dark. The mountain has roads, switch backs, sharp curves and winding, dangerous stretches of narrow roadway. Suddenly, you see the blaze of headlights rounding a curve, stabbing the night sky with their unexpected, sudden brilliance. From where you stand, those headlights -- that vehicle -- seem to be close, nearly upon you. You expect to see it momentarily. But in fact, that is an illusion which results from the deceptive sense of distance which this confusing topography causes. In fact, the car is on its way to you, no question. But it is still a few miles away. You were quite right to assume it would reach you. Your sense of timing was thrown off by the darkened mysteries of the mountain roads between. A natural, understandable mistake. And not a serious one. So with Paul. His timing was off; his basic assumption was correct.
I would probably use as my text verse 42b. This passage pretty much requires that we deal with the question of life after death. There are a lot of issues raised here. Some people believe the resurrection will be a restoration of the actual body we are stuck with now. I recall a gravestone in England which bears this legend: "Here lies the body of poor John Pound. He was lost at sea and never found." My point being that if we are to be restored to this body, then I want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Seriously, if we are to live in a totally different sphere of existence, then the bodies we occupy at present would not suffice, not even the good ones. In sum, Paul believed that those who accept Christ will be safely restored to life following death and as to that body, "it will be beautiful and strong."
Gospel: Luke 6:27-38 (C, RC, E)
In a word: agape. Love which does not seek anything in return. Love which takes the form of action. Love which does not depend on feelings. Dr. Karl Menninger, one of the most famous people in the field of emotional illness and healing, arrived at the conclusion that most of his patients were sick because they had not experienced enough love. "There was a deficiency of love in their lives." So he reorganized his internationally known mental hospital around the concept of love. Dr. Smiley Blanton, another well-known psychologist, wrote a book the title of which expressed his view: Love Or Perish.
Jesus understood and taught that unfailing kindness in the face of mistreatment has the effect of saving both the victim and the wrongdoer. As one character in Lloyd Douglas' Magnificent Obsession put the matter, "Every time you send a man to Hell ... he takes part of you along with him." Jesus knew this. Jesus' underlying premise to all of his teachings was that love can make all things new and well, and that selfishness, and hatred, and blatant self-interest inevitably lead to misery and death.
An article in the Asbury Seminary newsletter some time ago told of the tragic death of a young teenaged boy, caused by the mishandling of a firearm by one of his friends. The guilty boy, broken heartedly sorry, attended the funeral. When the parents of the deceased boy entered the room, other attenders watched with apprehension as, when walking down the aisle to their seats, the parents saw the boy who had accidentally killed their son. But the mother called the boy over, asked him to sit with her for the funeral. In words overheard by others, she told the boy that she knew he had been her son's friend, that she knew he was sorry, and that she loved him and forgave him. The article reporting this concluded with this line: "Love had triumphed again."
There's our sermon. If we would live out the faith we profess, we must pay the price of swallowing our hatreds and our petty self-interest, must pray for forgiving, generous hearts, and must practice the work of love wherever we go. Jesus, in urging this, used many examples: endure mistreatment, forgive those who fail to return your possessions, give to those who ask.
There is one potential problem. Jesus spoke of reward. "You will then have a great reward," he promised. A cynic could suspect that some of our so-called goodness was, in fact, a means by which we hoped to gain some selfish ends. But in verses 32 and 33, Jesus disposed of that idea. The reward we are to receive will not be some earthly reward, not a plaque from Rotary Club, or the Missioner Of The Year award from the denomination, nor an honorary degree from our university. It will be a far more subtle reward, but one which eventually will prove to be the highest reward of all. But we must first practice agape love.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: Judgment And Forgiveness
Text: Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Theme: This could be a very complicated theme to develop. In light of the contemporary state of morality in American society, there are many who argue that we must beware of the kind of forgiveness which is not redemptive, forgiveness which, in Bonhoeffer's words, amounts to little more than cheap grace. In thinking about this passage, I see three points which I think might be made.
1. Joseph is a symbol for God. You and I are those selfish, thoughtless brothers. Of course most of us would never stoop to such heartless and unloving conduct as theirs, but in our way, we are all capable of wrongful actions and hurtful attitudes. All we have to do is read Paul's writings to be reminded that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I won't go into detail, but I admit here and now that there are several memories with which I live which produce in me deep regret. The thought of one day paying for those things would be frightening indeed, were I not convinced that God will redeem me.
2. Joseph is a role model for us. For me, the key to Joseph's character is that he did not dwell on his past with bitterness. He was faithful to God, allowed love to work in him, and when he finally met his brothers again, he didn't have it in him to hold a grudge. And because he forgave his brothers, his own life was blessed, and so were theirs. We all know people who hang onto their sense of mistreatment, or of injustice. If that leads one to right some terrible wrong, as when Abe Lincoln was outraged at a slave market in Saint Augustine, that's one thing. But simply to obsess over something that has been done to hurt us is simply destructive of our own spirit. I once read that a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes turn and bite itself. I have no idea whether that is true, but the image is true. It's what many people do. Joseph showed us the better way.
3. There is, however, a place for judgment. William Bennet recently wrote this: "Of course all of us are in favor of tolerance and forgiveness. But the moral pendulum has swung too far in the direction of relativism. If a nation of free people can no longer make pronouncements on fundamental matters of right and wrong -- for example, that a married fifty-year-old commander-in-chief ought not to have sexual relations with a young intern in his office and then lie about it -- it has lost its way." Here, then, is the preacher's challenge, to at once hold high the exalted love which forgives, yet which also understands that to overlook wrong doing does, in the long run, destroy the wrong doer. There has to be a difference between judgment and judgmentalism.
4. Christian judgment begins with oneself. I first must "take the log out of my own eye." Harsh expressions of disapproval of others which mask my own shortcomings, are anathema. But I do have a right to acknowledge, and to decry, immorality where it is hurting others. In America, Bennett points out the rather stinging observation that "we are a nation that has experienced so much decadence, in so short a period of time, that we have become the kind of place to which civilized countries used to send missionaries." It may be that the Joseph story was told in the face of bitter judgmentalism on the part of the ruling classes of the time, and an example of the lofty quality of forgiveness was needed. In 1570 B.C. Ahmose I, the founder of the brilliant Eighteenth Dynasty, overthrew the hated foreign regime of the Hyksos who had dominated for a century and a half. Bernhard Anderson suggests that while this story has elements of a folk tale, it also was a very possible scenario for the time. "It is precisely in the Hyksos period when Egypt was under Semitic rule, that the conditions were right for the friendly welcome of Jacob's family and for Joseph's rise to a position of leadership in the royal court," wrote Anderson.
Title: You Only Live Twice
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:42b (Read the entire assigned passage, however)
Theme: This is usually an Easter theme, but I find that the issue of death and what lies beyond is of concern to most people at any time. Of course, it's a faith issue since we haven't the slightest proof that anything really lies beyond. However, most of us have an instinct which tells us that if there is no life beyond this life, then the inequities of this life are unexplainable. I watched two young women in a restaurant the other day. One was absolutely drop-dead lovely, with a slender, shapely figure, long golden hair, and a smile which could easily have graced a magazine cover. The other was what I believe physicians call morbidly obese. She could hardly get around. While I do understand that many people are overweight because of slovenly, undisciplined lifestyle, I also realize there are many others who were simply short-changed in their genetic inheritance. That was obviously true of this sad young woman. The pretty girl was seated with several people, and was the center of attention. The other young woman ate alone. God has to have some way to balance that sort of thing.
1. Jesus promised life after death.
2. Jesus promised it would be a joyous existence.
3. Jesus promised that then we will be surrounded by love.
Title: Love Or Perish
Text: Luke 6:27-38
Theme: Jesus taught that under all circumstances we are to try to react with love. He didn't mean love as we associate it with romance, or with the affection we feel toward family and friends. He meant that other, more difficult love which takes the form of action. I may or may not like another individual. Either way, I can act in that person's best interests. I may at times feel misused or unjustly dealt with. Love then requires that I find within myself -- and within my relationship with Jesus -- the capacity to rise above my angry, outraged feelings and do what, in my best, quiet, moments, I believe to be right. To do this will require great strength of character. At times, it may be more than I am capable of doing. In that case, I am to try to react in love and in doing so, I will grow in my ability to love. The ultimate effect of this will be a great reward -- not a worldly one perhaps, but a higher reward. For that I must take Jesus' word. I must trust him.
1. To act in love is an act of courage. This is no easy calling. We all have our failings when it comes to tendencies to judge, to resent, to be jealous, to envy. It's easy to be loving toward people we like. It's when someone we don't particularly care for does something or says something which sparks one of our negative responses that we must exercise the courage to do and say what we know, in our heart of hearts, is the right thing to do. Turning the other cheek is an act of supremely sterling character. I told elsewhere of the item in an eastern city newspaper about the truck driver who confronted the driver of a car whom he fancied had cut in front of him. The trucker challenged the man to come out and fight. Instead, the car driver simply apologized even though his offense was unintentional. The trucker gloated over his easy victory as the car pulled away, until an observer pointed out to the trucker that the car driver was a recent light heavyweight Golden Gloves champion. A reporter, apparently intrigued by the driver-boxer's pacifist reaction, checked and learned the man was a recent Christian and was practicing what Jesus taught.
2. To act in love brings healing to others. If I act in an unloving way toward someone, and that person responds to me in a loving way, I may or may not have enough character to admit my wrong, but in my heart I will realize it. This can prompt in me, the wrongdoer, a growing sense of what love can do. And as already pointed out above, no less than the famed Karl Menninger discovered that most of the misery which he encountered resulted from the absence of love.
3. To act in love brings healing to oneself. Teilhard de Chardin wrote: "It is in free and loving service to his fellow-men that the individual finds himself, finds the world, finds God." Even though the initial effort to act in love sometimes seems difficult, even painful, the final result is inevitably one of inner peace and joy. (Just as to act unlovingly always produces regret and damaged relationships.)
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Indianapolis -- January 1998. Mark Marshall had always taught the Boy Scouts in his troop to be prepared for all emergencies in life. Then driving home from work he saw a young woman jump from the bridge over Fall Creek, into fast-moving frigid waters. He stopped, realized he would quickly freeze if he entered the river. So would the woman. The 41-year-old Marshall then practiced what he had long preached. He jumped into the freezing water and somehow made his way to the drowning woman. He managed to grab her coat, turn her over, struggle for shore. Tree limbs blocked his way. The cold "gripped his lungs like a vise. Within fifteen feet of the bank he could hardly breathe or move." He was losing consciousness, yet refused to let the woman go. Then another man, Robert Dillahay, having gotten lost after crossing the bridge, turned back, saw a crowd watching, dived in also. Later he said of Marshall, "It didn't look like he was going to give her up to save his life." Dillahay was able to grab a tree limb and thereby give Marshall something by which to pull himself in to shore. As he stood shivering on the bank, Marshall remarked to a policeman that he wondered if he'd done the right thing since the woman apparently wanted to die. The officer replied: "Anytime a person saves a life he does the right thing."
The two men received medals for bravery from the Indianapolis Fire Department. The woman fully recovered and said she was happy to be alive.
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We sometimes feel there are few worthy role models left in the world of athletics. There are some, however. Take "The Big O" -- Oscar Robertson. He led his high school basketball team to two state championships in the basketball state of Indiana, led his Cincinnati Bearcats to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament twice and was national scoring champion with an average 33.8 points per game, was a three time All American, led the 1960 Olympic team to a gold medal, was Rookie of the Year in the NBA in 1961 and MVP in 1964, led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship in 1971, was named to the NBA All-Star team twelve times, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. How's that for a career?
Oscar was approached by a nationally-known sporting shoe company and offered a lot of money to let them feature his name. Despite the fact that he played before the inflated salaries we read about today, Oscar Robertson said "No!" He was recently interviewed by an Indianapolis Star reporter and asked if he didn't need the money. Yes, he needed the money all right. But it was a matter of integrity. During his playing days, White players were making large sums by lending their names to shoe companies while Black players were ignored. In effect, he said if they didn't need him then, he didn't need them now.
Robertson has written a book about basketball. It will no doubt be read by a great many young people. His main message? Discipline is the guiding force of life. Whatever you're doing, "do what you're supposed to do." That's the message those young people need to hear. And by the way, Oscar Robertson learned a couple years ago that his daughter was seriously ill and needed a kidney transplant. Without thinking twice, Robertson donated his own kidney to his daughter. This world could use a few more people like this man.
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The story is told of the woman whose husband was pronounced dead. After the funeral, this being in a small village, the casket was carried by pall bearers through a gate, and they accidentally bumped the casket against the gate-post. This knocked the lid from the casket, at which point the supposedly deceased gentleman aroused, and thereafter went home. A few months later, the man became ill, was again pronounced dead. Another funeral was held, the pall bearers again carried the casket to the grave. As they approached the gate, the woman said to them: "Be careful of that gate-post."
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A business executive was a member of a Bible study group. It happened that he had a subordinate employee whom he disliked. He thought about firing the man, especially since the man's work wasn't very good anyway. But when he discussed this with the members of the group, they agreed that whatever he did, it must be done in love, not with mere cold decision.
One day the executive asked the man to go to lunch with him. There, quite frankly, he told of his feelings toward the man, but he also said he didn't feel right about his feelings and would like to hear the other man's point of view. That man first shared that he was facing some serious problems in his personal life. He also had felt that he was unfairly treated in his workplace. They agreed that for a while, they would meet for lunch once each week and try to work through to an appropriate decision as to what they should do.
One night the executive told his group the outcome. The other man had begun to do much better work, obviously motivated now to do well. He also shared that after getting to know the man and understand him, he had actually begun to like the man and the unexpected result was that the two became friends and the man remained as a valuable employee.
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A teacher in a poor section of Chicago shared this story with me some time ago. She had a little girl from an impoverished family in the ghetto. She was a good little girl, always cooperative. One day the teacher sent a note home, telling Mom what a good little girl she had. The child was absent the next day. The teacher, concerned, called the home and learned that the mother had spanked the child and sent her to bed as punishment. It seems the mother was unable to read and assumed a note from the teacher meant her daughter had been bad. What a sad example of the many tragedies which result from ignorance and underprivilege.
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Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, wrote this: "When I go down to the grave, I can say, like many others, I have finished my day's work, but I cannot say I have finished my life. My day's work will begin the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the twilight, to open on the dawn."
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Robert Ingersoll stood at the grave of his brother and said: "Life is a narrow veil between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive to look beyond their heights. We cry aloud and the only answer is the echo of our wailng cry. But hope sees a star, and in the night of death, listening love can hear the rustle of an angel's wing."
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40 -- "Fret not yourself because of the wicked."
Prayer Of The Day
Oh God of love: in Jesus' name we pray for that inner quality of strong courage by which we may learn to overcome our own petty reactions to the injuries we imagine ourselves to suffer, that we might fulfill this holy calling -- that we be the agents of thy saving love. In the exalted name of Jesus we pray.
