Third Sunday Of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 9:1-16 (7-20) (C); Acts 9:1-19a (E)
Ananias is one of the real heroes of the New Testament. Imagine what all of this must have seemed like from his point of view. The Lord suddenly appears to him, out of the blue so far as he knew, telling him to go to some strange part of town where he is to look for none other than the most feared of all enemies of the Christian people. This fellow Saul was widely known as an enemy who saw to it that Christian people were delivered to prisons, and to who knows what awful fates. I don't blame Ananias one bit for his reluctance. He went, of course. Hindsight tells us that it was all part of God's plan, but at the time I have to think Ananias obeyed with great trepidation. Still, he went because he believed that when God calls someone to a difficult, even dangerous work, God will go with that person to supply needed courage and wisdom.
Lesson 1: Acts 5:27-32, 40-41 (RC)
(See Second Sunday Of Easter.)
Lesson 2: Revelation 5:11-14 (C, RC); Revelation 5:6-14 (E)
John's vision reveals great numbers of people accepting Jesus as Christ the Lord.
Gospel: John 21:1-19 (C, RC); John 21:1-14 (E)
There's some reason to believe this chapter is a later addition to John's Gospel. Be that as it may, we have here the much loved report of a third appearance by Jesus to Peter and several of his friends. The story is alive with energy and dynamism. Peter and James and John, Thomas, and a couple other apostles (who, it would seem, have remained very close to each other) are fishing. They see a strange yet familiar figure standing on the shore. Peter knew. He recognized Jesus, though it would appear that Jesus had a somewhat altered form since his closest friends seemed often unsure of his identity. Then there follows that incredible conversation between Jesus and Peter in which Jesus three times asks Peter if he loves him. Each time Peter answers, with increasing urgency, that of course he does. And each time, Jesus then asks him to feed his sheep
Is it possible that this twice repeated question is a counterpart to the three denials in the courtyard? Perhaps. It's also interesting that neither of them alludes to the denial, though we know that Peter was absolutely devastated by his failure that evening. If we receive this report as historically accurate, it may be one of what must surely have been many occasions when only a small part of the discussion has been reported for posterity. After all, the number of words attributed to Jesus throughout his ministry are less than most preachers speak in a typical Sunday morning sermon.
The focal point here seems to be that if Peter truly loves Jesus, he will demonstrate that love by caring for the people whom Jesus loves. This reminds us of Jesus' earlier statement that "Whoever does this unto the least of these, my friends, does it unto me."
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Courage, My Friend"
Text: Acts 9:1-20
Theme: Maybe the highest form of heroism is to do something when you're deathly afraid. Much has been made about the movie Saving Private Ryan, about the heroism of those men who landed at Omaha Beach (and all the other beaches of America's wars). Thousands of young men landed there. A few were genuine heroes. Some Congressional Medals of Honor were earned there. Quite a number of men earned Silver and Bronze Stars. But the great majority were young men, frightened as any intelligent person would be, yet willing to rise above their fears, to go where they were sent, to try to do what they were sent there to do. Thousands died. More thousands ended up in hospitals, many with life-limiting injuries. But they went. There are virtually no reports of even one single man refusing to leave his landing craft in the face of devastating enemy fire. Kids. Most just months removed from high school, boys who in any other generation would have been deciding where to go to college, or where to get their first job, looking for a girl friend. Now there are thousands upon thousands of white crosses gracing well-kept cemeteries, marking where these young men ended their lives. But they were heroes. Not because of any noteworthy acts, but because they were faithful to their commitments. Very few were religious in the sense that some of us are. But nearly all turned to God in one way or another in the moment when they must meet their fate. They were scared. They could see what awaited them. But without exception, they went.
This, I believe, is how God wants us to live our lives. Not, of course, on a blood drenched battlefield. God protect us from that. But life has its own battlefields of a more subtle sort. To go through school, to choose a vocation, make one's way, perhaps fall in love, marry, raise a family, establish a home, become an honorable member of a community, see to the enablement of its charities, and to face that most challenging of all battlefields, one's own inner emotional growth -- to do these things without compromise, without turning away out of fear, or greed, or animosity, or irresponsibility -- that, in the long run, is a high form of heroism. To that we are all called. To face each of these life challenges with integrity, with goodness and kindly love, that is what the true Christian life is all about. To give up some of what we possess, in terms of money, time, energy, talent, so that people less able to succeed in life can have their chance, that is our calling. To quietly, without fanfare or protest, share our lives, that is the Christian way.
A religious leader of an earlier era, Henry Drummond, wrote this: "The final test of religion is not religiousness, but love ... not what I have done, not what I have believed, not what I have achieved, but how I have discharged the common charities of life." Yes, love! That's what we are called to epitomize in our own lives. But it takes courage. That God will supply if we will go where we are led.
Title: "Making Love Real"
Text: John 21:1-19
Theme: How easily we Christians show love in the abstract but not in the concrete. It's not uncommon to see the Christian who advocates good works, perhaps participates in charitable activities, contributes to all the right causes, yet lacks something when it comes to day to day treatment of other people. This text offers a good opportunity to translate the abstract injunction to "feed my sheep" into concrete terms.
1. It's how we treat people in the market place. A young man was discussing business over lunch, when a waitress accidentally spilled coffee on his jacket. It so happened it was her first day, she having remarked on this to the man when she approached his table. Of course the man jumped up, and the waitress began to cry. Hurriedly, the young man reassured her, and when the manager, seeing the disturbance, approached the table, the young man explained that he felt it was mostly his fault, that he had moved suddenly, just as the waitress had approached with the coffee pot. Tragedy was avoided, but only because of a quick thinking young man's kindly willingness to blame himself so a young girl wouldn't lose her job.
2. It's how we treat people at home. This should be obvious, and yet the woods are full of Christians who, though known for their admirable business and social lives, are no fun to live with at home. The good marriage is one in which she is primarily interested to see that he is happy, and he is primarily interested to see that she is happy.
3. It's how we treat people at work. A highly successful businessman once came to me for help. One of his trusted employees had become an alcoholic. There were plenty of others in the company waiting for promotion, but the CEO who came to me explained that the man had been a loyal employee, and while it would be easy to fire him and promote someone else, he wanted to save this man's job for him. It wasn't possible, but the CEO tried for quite some time before he had to give up. He was acting in love.
4. It's how we treat people at church. Strange, isn't it, how often churches become the focal point for personal antagonisms. I went through five major building programs in one church and in each case, we lost one or more members because they didn't get their way. What use is the church unless it fosters the kindly love which Jesus was calling for?
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws.
-- Lewis Carroll
____________
I am only one.
But still, I am one.
I cannot do everything.
But still, I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
-- Edward Everett Hale
____________
Dr. Reuel Howe told of a father whose hobby was raising roses. He would enter them in competitions at the fair and elsewhere. One season, Dad had cultivated what he knew to be the perfect rose. One evening at dinner, he was telling his family about this remarkable rose, how proud of it he was, and how sure he felt that it would win the blue ribbon at the forthcoming flower show. He didn't notice his little three-year-old son slip away from the table. But soon the little fellow returned, bearing a precious gift for his beloved daddy: the perfect rose, which he had plucked from its stem so he could show his daddy how much he loved him. (What a test of a father's love!)
____________
A missionary family recently entertained a Jewish family and one Sunday, asked if they would be interested in attending a church service with them. They said they would, and took with them their guests' daughter who was handicapped and wheelchair-bound. When the time came for the people to stand and sing a hymn, the girl struggled to rise from her wheelchair since though she could not walk, she could stand. As she struggled to stand, the man seated behind her gently placed his hands under her elbows and helped her up.
After church, the group went to a restaurant for Sunday brunch. The host asked the family how they liked seeing a Christian worship service. They said it was very interesting. Then he asked the girl what impressed her the most. Without hesitation, she replied: "The man behind me who helped me to stand."
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 30 -- "I will extol you, O Lord."
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God, we are all of us a confused combination of kindly love and selfish, petty inclinations. Help us, we pray, as we engage in the sometimes touch and go effort to empower the one and thwart the other. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Acts 9:1-16 (7-20) (C); Acts 9:1-19a (E)
Ananias is one of the real heroes of the New Testament. Imagine what all of this must have seemed like from his point of view. The Lord suddenly appears to him, out of the blue so far as he knew, telling him to go to some strange part of town where he is to look for none other than the most feared of all enemies of the Christian people. This fellow Saul was widely known as an enemy who saw to it that Christian people were delivered to prisons, and to who knows what awful fates. I don't blame Ananias one bit for his reluctance. He went, of course. Hindsight tells us that it was all part of God's plan, but at the time I have to think Ananias obeyed with great trepidation. Still, he went because he believed that when God calls someone to a difficult, even dangerous work, God will go with that person to supply needed courage and wisdom.
Lesson 1: Acts 5:27-32, 40-41 (RC)
(See Second Sunday Of Easter.)
Lesson 2: Revelation 5:11-14 (C, RC); Revelation 5:6-14 (E)
John's vision reveals great numbers of people accepting Jesus as Christ the Lord.
Gospel: John 21:1-19 (C, RC); John 21:1-14 (E)
There's some reason to believe this chapter is a later addition to John's Gospel. Be that as it may, we have here the much loved report of a third appearance by Jesus to Peter and several of his friends. The story is alive with energy and dynamism. Peter and James and John, Thomas, and a couple other apostles (who, it would seem, have remained very close to each other) are fishing. They see a strange yet familiar figure standing on the shore. Peter knew. He recognized Jesus, though it would appear that Jesus had a somewhat altered form since his closest friends seemed often unsure of his identity. Then there follows that incredible conversation between Jesus and Peter in which Jesus three times asks Peter if he loves him. Each time Peter answers, with increasing urgency, that of course he does. And each time, Jesus then asks him to feed his sheep
Is it possible that this twice repeated question is a counterpart to the three denials in the courtyard? Perhaps. It's also interesting that neither of them alludes to the denial, though we know that Peter was absolutely devastated by his failure that evening. If we receive this report as historically accurate, it may be one of what must surely have been many occasions when only a small part of the discussion has been reported for posterity. After all, the number of words attributed to Jesus throughout his ministry are less than most preachers speak in a typical Sunday morning sermon.
The focal point here seems to be that if Peter truly loves Jesus, he will demonstrate that love by caring for the people whom Jesus loves. This reminds us of Jesus' earlier statement that "Whoever does this unto the least of these, my friends, does it unto me."
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Courage, My Friend"
Text: Acts 9:1-20
Theme: Maybe the highest form of heroism is to do something when you're deathly afraid. Much has been made about the movie Saving Private Ryan, about the heroism of those men who landed at Omaha Beach (and all the other beaches of America's wars). Thousands of young men landed there. A few were genuine heroes. Some Congressional Medals of Honor were earned there. Quite a number of men earned Silver and Bronze Stars. But the great majority were young men, frightened as any intelligent person would be, yet willing to rise above their fears, to go where they were sent, to try to do what they were sent there to do. Thousands died. More thousands ended up in hospitals, many with life-limiting injuries. But they went. There are virtually no reports of even one single man refusing to leave his landing craft in the face of devastating enemy fire. Kids. Most just months removed from high school, boys who in any other generation would have been deciding where to go to college, or where to get their first job, looking for a girl friend. Now there are thousands upon thousands of white crosses gracing well-kept cemeteries, marking where these young men ended their lives. But they were heroes. Not because of any noteworthy acts, but because they were faithful to their commitments. Very few were religious in the sense that some of us are. But nearly all turned to God in one way or another in the moment when they must meet their fate. They were scared. They could see what awaited them. But without exception, they went.
This, I believe, is how God wants us to live our lives. Not, of course, on a blood drenched battlefield. God protect us from that. But life has its own battlefields of a more subtle sort. To go through school, to choose a vocation, make one's way, perhaps fall in love, marry, raise a family, establish a home, become an honorable member of a community, see to the enablement of its charities, and to face that most challenging of all battlefields, one's own inner emotional growth -- to do these things without compromise, without turning away out of fear, or greed, or animosity, or irresponsibility -- that, in the long run, is a high form of heroism. To that we are all called. To face each of these life challenges with integrity, with goodness and kindly love, that is what the true Christian life is all about. To give up some of what we possess, in terms of money, time, energy, talent, so that people less able to succeed in life can have their chance, that is our calling. To quietly, without fanfare or protest, share our lives, that is the Christian way.
A religious leader of an earlier era, Henry Drummond, wrote this: "The final test of religion is not religiousness, but love ... not what I have done, not what I have believed, not what I have achieved, but how I have discharged the common charities of life." Yes, love! That's what we are called to epitomize in our own lives. But it takes courage. That God will supply if we will go where we are led.
Title: "Making Love Real"
Text: John 21:1-19
Theme: How easily we Christians show love in the abstract but not in the concrete. It's not uncommon to see the Christian who advocates good works, perhaps participates in charitable activities, contributes to all the right causes, yet lacks something when it comes to day to day treatment of other people. This text offers a good opportunity to translate the abstract injunction to "feed my sheep" into concrete terms.
1. It's how we treat people in the market place. A young man was discussing business over lunch, when a waitress accidentally spilled coffee on his jacket. It so happened it was her first day, she having remarked on this to the man when she approached his table. Of course the man jumped up, and the waitress began to cry. Hurriedly, the young man reassured her, and when the manager, seeing the disturbance, approached the table, the young man explained that he felt it was mostly his fault, that he had moved suddenly, just as the waitress had approached with the coffee pot. Tragedy was avoided, but only because of a quick thinking young man's kindly willingness to blame himself so a young girl wouldn't lose her job.
2. It's how we treat people at home. This should be obvious, and yet the woods are full of Christians who, though known for their admirable business and social lives, are no fun to live with at home. The good marriage is one in which she is primarily interested to see that he is happy, and he is primarily interested to see that she is happy.
3. It's how we treat people at work. A highly successful businessman once came to me for help. One of his trusted employees had become an alcoholic. There were plenty of others in the company waiting for promotion, but the CEO who came to me explained that the man had been a loyal employee, and while it would be easy to fire him and promote someone else, he wanted to save this man's job for him. It wasn't possible, but the CEO tried for quite some time before he had to give up. He was acting in love.
4. It's how we treat people at church. Strange, isn't it, how often churches become the focal point for personal antagonisms. I went through five major building programs in one church and in each case, we lost one or more members because they didn't get their way. What use is the church unless it fosters the kindly love which Jesus was calling for?
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws.
-- Lewis Carroll
____________
I am only one.
But still, I am one.
I cannot do everything.
But still, I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
-- Edward Everett Hale
____________
Dr. Reuel Howe told of a father whose hobby was raising roses. He would enter them in competitions at the fair and elsewhere. One season, Dad had cultivated what he knew to be the perfect rose. One evening at dinner, he was telling his family about this remarkable rose, how proud of it he was, and how sure he felt that it would win the blue ribbon at the forthcoming flower show. He didn't notice his little three-year-old son slip away from the table. But soon the little fellow returned, bearing a precious gift for his beloved daddy: the perfect rose, which he had plucked from its stem so he could show his daddy how much he loved him. (What a test of a father's love!)
____________
A missionary family recently entertained a Jewish family and one Sunday, asked if they would be interested in attending a church service with them. They said they would, and took with them their guests' daughter who was handicapped and wheelchair-bound. When the time came for the people to stand and sing a hymn, the girl struggled to rise from her wheelchair since though she could not walk, she could stand. As she struggled to stand, the man seated behind her gently placed his hands under her elbows and helped her up.
After church, the group went to a restaurant for Sunday brunch. The host asked the family how they liked seeing a Christian worship service. They said it was very interesting. Then he asked the girl what impressed her the most. Without hesitation, she replied: "The man behind me who helped me to stand."
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 30 -- "I will extol you, O Lord."
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God, we are all of us a confused combination of kindly love and selfish, petty inclinations. Help us, we pray, as we engage in the sometimes touch and go effort to empower the one and thwart the other. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
