Sermon Illustrations for Advent 2 (2022)
Illustration
Isaiah 11:1-10
There is something about the past that, I think, attracts us. It seems that deep in human heart is a desire to recreate some pleasant time gone by long ago. Though it rarely works out quite like we envision it, there is a hope that the thrill can be recaptured, and the excitement felt all over again.
Some adults buy a lake house because they want to experience again the joys they had as a child at the lake. Some adults decorate their homes with oil-burning lamps and candles, exactly like those that their parents and grandparents so eagerly cast aside when rural electrification came to their farm. They do it to try to recapture what is perceived as a simpler, gentler time.
The truth is, though, we really can’t capture the past. In most cases, it wasn’t as joyous as we remember it. As Christians, we do acknowledge that there was a time when things were right. There was a time when things were as they were created to be. That time was before sin entered the world. That time existed only briefly before Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Will things ever be right again? Today’s cynicism proclaims things will never be as they were intended to be. This passage from Isaiah argues the opposite.
“The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). The Messiah, Jesus, is the one who makes all things new (Revelation 21:5). Because of Jesus, there will come a day when all will be as it was created to be.
Bill T.
* * *
Isaiah 11:1-10
Our lesson indicates that the faithful and our rulers are to be concerned about the plight of the poor. As recently as in February, 14.4% of Americans were impoverished. Whereas in 2021, Americans averaged $86 per gift just on Christmas shopping. John Calvin offered a thoughtful reflection on the greed which causes poverty:
...for in all it is natural and so deeply rooted, that they seek their own advantage and not that of others, think that they are born for themselves and not for others, and would wish to make the whole world subject to them, if they could. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VII/1, p.387)
A future orientation like we find in this lesson, which characterizes Advent, can liberate. Latin American Liberation Theologian Rubem Alves nicely makes this point:
The presence of the future is therefore the object of hatred because it relativizes desacralizes, judges, and ultimately abrogates the ultimate messianic pretensions of the powers that dominate the established order. (A Theology of Hope, pp.114-114)
Mark E.
* * *
Isaiah 11:1-10
Isaiah has confronted King Ahaz over his plan to make an unwise alliance with Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, because of his fears about an alliance made between the kings of Syria and Israel. Despite the assurances of the Lord through Isaiah that the latter two kings will burn out like cheap torches, he refuses the advice given to him by the prophet.
God’s response will be to raise up a new king — hardly the thing any reigning king wants to hear. Isaiah makes it clear that God’s ultimate intention is to raise up a different kind of king, one who will honor the Lord instead of relying on shaky alliances. This will be a king with a heart for the poor, who will “decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth….” (11:4). He shall wear righteousness and faithfulness as a belt around his waist and will usher in a messianic age in which “The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them.” (11:6) Ultimately “…the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (11:9)
It's no wonder that some early Christian, upon reading this scripture, and reflecting on the words, work, and ministry of Jesus, probably raised a hand and said, “We have a match!”
The insight may even have come from Jesus himself! Luke 24 makes it clear that Jesus unpacked the law and the prophets to his disciples after the resurrection, so they could see his life written clearly in advance. This might very well have been one of the passages Jesus pointed to when “…he opened their minds to understand the scriptures….” (Luke 24:45). Think about it — you and Jesus are preaching the same teaching.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 15:4-13
How do you celebrate your relationships with God? Paul is proclaiming to the church in Rome that what was written in days of old is fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. There is a call for peace and harmony, a seeking of connection to the past and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit, but there is also a proclamation of the steadfastness of God. There will be hope for everyone — Jews and Gentiles — everyone is included in the love of God. This is new and revolutionary thinking. Surely there are the “chosen” and the “other.” Isn’t that how it was in the days of old? And yet, Paul writes "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope." There is hope for everyone. There is no other. There are only those whom God loves. Through that belief there is empowerment and hope in the Spirit. Thanks be to God.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Romans 15:4-13
Commenting on this lesson and its exhortation to the faithful, Martin Luther once wrote:
Hope therefore removes all material things. Hence, we need patience. And in place of material things he gives us the word of comfort by which we are sustained so that we do not lack in patience. Thus, to give us a tangible thing for the words and the scripture is truly a big order. And people do not do this unless they have died to all material things. (Luther’s Works, Vol.25, pp.515-516)
This way of life entails a concern for others, Luther adds:
Let us learn from this that the life of Christian love does not consist in seeking godly, upright, holy individuals, but in making them godly, upright and holy. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.36)
The first reformer makes clear that such a way of living is not arduous, for it is more like our need to eat and drink:
Just as a living person cannot refrain from moving about, eating, and drinking and laboring, it being impossible that such activities should cease while he lives, no one need command and drive him to do such work... so nothing more is required in order that good works may be done, than faith. (Complete Sermons, Vol.2/1, p.187)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 3:1-12
I’m intrigued by the appearance of the Pharisees and Sadducees who come out to hear the harsh message of John the Baptist. The gospels often pair the Pharisees and Sadducees together, to the point where a casual listener might assume they were allies. They’re not. They were fierce rivals, with very different outlooks on scripture and life.
Although portrayed as hidebound literalists observing with the eyes of a hawk for the slightest infraction of the letter of the law, most American Christians would have felt quite comfortable with the Pharisees if they had lived during their time. The Pharisees believed in angels and the afterlife. Their canon of the Hebrew scriptures was probably pretty close to our Old Testament canon. The leadership of the local synagogues came from among the Pharisees. We would have known and loved the Pharisee preaching from our pulpit.
One can hardly call the great Hillel, a Pharisee, either hidebound or humorless. Once asked by a gentile philosopher if he could recite all the laws of the Jews while standing on one leg, took up the challenge and said, “Whatever you don’t want done to you, don’t do to another.” Hillel was the teacher of Gamaliel who was the teacher of Saul, also known as Paul.
By contrast the Sadducees believed only in the Torah, the five books of Moses. They tended to come from the richest echelons of society. They did not believe in an afterlife, but believed the poor were poor because they deserved it, and the rich were beloved of God and rewarded with their heaven, right now, in the form of their prosperity. They tended to occupy many positions of power.
Sadducees and Pharisees could be bitter rivals, which we see when, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul declares before a Gentile judge that he is on trial because of his belief in the resurrection of the dead, causing the two factions, momentarily united in their loathing of Paul, to turn on each other (see Acts 23:6-9).
What is most interesting in this passage that could be easily overlooked, is that they are both there to hear John’s message of condemnation, repentance, and renewal. “You brood of vipers!” John declares, accusing them and warning them “even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees, therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7,10)
They stayed and listened to the Baptist despite his harsh words. What is our response to a challenging sermon? Do we listen, or do we reject the messenger out of hand?
In our age we choose our echo chamber, where our prejudices are reinforced, and make no effort to listen to the concerns of our rivals. The Pharisees and Sadducees were willing to listen, and perhaps to repent while there was still time. Advent is a time when we are given one more chance to repent as well.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 3:1-12
I came across an interesting article on the Wonderopolis website that described how to build a road. The first step in building a road is planning. This will involve engineers and construction experts who will decide what type of road should be made and what it should be made from. They do so by assessing the amount and type of traffic that will use it.
The simplest of roads can take months of planning. More complex roads that include bridges or overpasses can take years. Public meetings are usually held to allow any citizens with concerns about the project to voice their opinions. To help them keep the costs down. government entities building the road will also ask for construction bids from contractors. It is after this process that the actual building can start.
Preparing a road is not an easy task. It was not easy for the one who prepared the way for Jesus, either. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance in preparation for the kingdom of God. His baptism was a precursor to the one Jesus would bring. John’s task was filled with challenges, but he was committed to “prepare the way of the Lord: make his paths straight.”
Bill T.
There is something about the past that, I think, attracts us. It seems that deep in human heart is a desire to recreate some pleasant time gone by long ago. Though it rarely works out quite like we envision it, there is a hope that the thrill can be recaptured, and the excitement felt all over again.
Some adults buy a lake house because they want to experience again the joys they had as a child at the lake. Some adults decorate their homes with oil-burning lamps and candles, exactly like those that their parents and grandparents so eagerly cast aside when rural electrification came to their farm. They do it to try to recapture what is perceived as a simpler, gentler time.
The truth is, though, we really can’t capture the past. In most cases, it wasn’t as joyous as we remember it. As Christians, we do acknowledge that there was a time when things were right. There was a time when things were as they were created to be. That time was before sin entered the world. That time existed only briefly before Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Will things ever be right again? Today’s cynicism proclaims things will never be as they were intended to be. This passage from Isaiah argues the opposite.
“The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). The Messiah, Jesus, is the one who makes all things new (Revelation 21:5). Because of Jesus, there will come a day when all will be as it was created to be.
Bill T.
* * *
Isaiah 11:1-10
Our lesson indicates that the faithful and our rulers are to be concerned about the plight of the poor. As recently as in February, 14.4% of Americans were impoverished. Whereas in 2021, Americans averaged $86 per gift just on Christmas shopping. John Calvin offered a thoughtful reflection on the greed which causes poverty:
...for in all it is natural and so deeply rooted, that they seek their own advantage and not that of others, think that they are born for themselves and not for others, and would wish to make the whole world subject to them, if they could. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VII/1, p.387)
A future orientation like we find in this lesson, which characterizes Advent, can liberate. Latin American Liberation Theologian Rubem Alves nicely makes this point:
The presence of the future is therefore the object of hatred because it relativizes desacralizes, judges, and ultimately abrogates the ultimate messianic pretensions of the powers that dominate the established order. (A Theology of Hope, pp.114-114)
Mark E.
* * *
Isaiah 11:1-10
Isaiah has confronted King Ahaz over his plan to make an unwise alliance with Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, because of his fears about an alliance made between the kings of Syria and Israel. Despite the assurances of the Lord through Isaiah that the latter two kings will burn out like cheap torches, he refuses the advice given to him by the prophet.
God’s response will be to raise up a new king — hardly the thing any reigning king wants to hear. Isaiah makes it clear that God’s ultimate intention is to raise up a different kind of king, one who will honor the Lord instead of relying on shaky alliances. This will be a king with a heart for the poor, who will “decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth….” (11:4). He shall wear righteousness and faithfulness as a belt around his waist and will usher in a messianic age in which “The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them.” (11:6) Ultimately “…the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (11:9)
It's no wonder that some early Christian, upon reading this scripture, and reflecting on the words, work, and ministry of Jesus, probably raised a hand and said, “We have a match!”
The insight may even have come from Jesus himself! Luke 24 makes it clear that Jesus unpacked the law and the prophets to his disciples after the resurrection, so they could see his life written clearly in advance. This might very well have been one of the passages Jesus pointed to when “…he opened their minds to understand the scriptures….” (Luke 24:45). Think about it — you and Jesus are preaching the same teaching.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 15:4-13
How do you celebrate your relationships with God? Paul is proclaiming to the church in Rome that what was written in days of old is fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. There is a call for peace and harmony, a seeking of connection to the past and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit, but there is also a proclamation of the steadfastness of God. There will be hope for everyone — Jews and Gentiles — everyone is included in the love of God. This is new and revolutionary thinking. Surely there are the “chosen” and the “other.” Isn’t that how it was in the days of old? And yet, Paul writes "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope." There is hope for everyone. There is no other. There are only those whom God loves. Through that belief there is empowerment and hope in the Spirit. Thanks be to God.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Romans 15:4-13
Commenting on this lesson and its exhortation to the faithful, Martin Luther once wrote:
Hope therefore removes all material things. Hence, we need patience. And in place of material things he gives us the word of comfort by which we are sustained so that we do not lack in patience. Thus, to give us a tangible thing for the words and the scripture is truly a big order. And people do not do this unless they have died to all material things. (Luther’s Works, Vol.25, pp.515-516)
This way of life entails a concern for others, Luther adds:
Let us learn from this that the life of Christian love does not consist in seeking godly, upright, holy individuals, but in making them godly, upright and holy. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.36)
The first reformer makes clear that such a way of living is not arduous, for it is more like our need to eat and drink:
Just as a living person cannot refrain from moving about, eating, and drinking and laboring, it being impossible that such activities should cease while he lives, no one need command and drive him to do such work... so nothing more is required in order that good works may be done, than faith. (Complete Sermons, Vol.2/1, p.187)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 3:1-12
I’m intrigued by the appearance of the Pharisees and Sadducees who come out to hear the harsh message of John the Baptist. The gospels often pair the Pharisees and Sadducees together, to the point where a casual listener might assume they were allies. They’re not. They were fierce rivals, with very different outlooks on scripture and life.
Although portrayed as hidebound literalists observing with the eyes of a hawk for the slightest infraction of the letter of the law, most American Christians would have felt quite comfortable with the Pharisees if they had lived during their time. The Pharisees believed in angels and the afterlife. Their canon of the Hebrew scriptures was probably pretty close to our Old Testament canon. The leadership of the local synagogues came from among the Pharisees. We would have known and loved the Pharisee preaching from our pulpit.
One can hardly call the great Hillel, a Pharisee, either hidebound or humorless. Once asked by a gentile philosopher if he could recite all the laws of the Jews while standing on one leg, took up the challenge and said, “Whatever you don’t want done to you, don’t do to another.” Hillel was the teacher of Gamaliel who was the teacher of Saul, also known as Paul.
By contrast the Sadducees believed only in the Torah, the five books of Moses. They tended to come from the richest echelons of society. They did not believe in an afterlife, but believed the poor were poor because they deserved it, and the rich were beloved of God and rewarded with their heaven, right now, in the form of their prosperity. They tended to occupy many positions of power.
Sadducees and Pharisees could be bitter rivals, which we see when, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul declares before a Gentile judge that he is on trial because of his belief in the resurrection of the dead, causing the two factions, momentarily united in their loathing of Paul, to turn on each other (see Acts 23:6-9).
What is most interesting in this passage that could be easily overlooked, is that they are both there to hear John’s message of condemnation, repentance, and renewal. “You brood of vipers!” John declares, accusing them and warning them “even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees, therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7,10)
They stayed and listened to the Baptist despite his harsh words. What is our response to a challenging sermon? Do we listen, or do we reject the messenger out of hand?
In our age we choose our echo chamber, where our prejudices are reinforced, and make no effort to listen to the concerns of our rivals. The Pharisees and Sadducees were willing to listen, and perhaps to repent while there was still time. Advent is a time when we are given one more chance to repent as well.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 3:1-12
I came across an interesting article on the Wonderopolis website that described how to build a road. The first step in building a road is planning. This will involve engineers and construction experts who will decide what type of road should be made and what it should be made from. They do so by assessing the amount and type of traffic that will use it.
The simplest of roads can take months of planning. More complex roads that include bridges or overpasses can take years. Public meetings are usually held to allow any citizens with concerns about the project to voice their opinions. To help them keep the costs down. government entities building the road will also ask for construction bids from contractors. It is after this process that the actual building can start.
Preparing a road is not an easy task. It was not easy for the one who prepared the way for Jesus, either. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance in preparation for the kingdom of God. His baptism was a precursor to the one Jesus would bring. John’s task was filled with challenges, but he was committed to “prepare the way of the Lord: make his paths straight.”
Bill T.
