Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 3 (OT 3) Cycle C (2022)
Illustration
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
In a comment which explains a lot of what is happening in contemporary America, the Greek philosopher Aristotle observed, “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” Mahatma Gandhi is said to have observed that “Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
Singer-songwriter Bono observed in a comment in accord with a Christian reading of this lesson (esp.vv.9-10): “To me a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor... it’s nothing.” The initiator of black theology James Cone made a similar comment:
The authentic identity of Christians with the poor is found in the claim which the Jesus-encounter lays upon their own lifestyle, a claim that connects the word "Christian" with the liberation of the poor (God of the Oppressed).
If such commitments seem too liberal or un-American, consider the observations of Thomas Jefferson:
[W]henever there are in any country uncultivated land and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right... If for the encouragement of industry we allow it [the land] to be appropriated, we must take care that other employment be provided to those excluded from the appropriation. (Writings, pp.841-842)
Mark E.
* * *
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Aesop’s Fables were not considered literature. Why would anyone think so? They were written by a slave, and they weren’t high poetry. But the fables continue to speak to us.
Reading this passage, in which Paul compares us to different body parts, and reminds us that we are interconnected, and need each other, I wonder if Paul was familiar with the fable which we know as “The Stomach and the Feet.”
It goes something like this. The stomach and the feet were arguing about their comparative importance. The feet boasted of their strength, which was far superior to the stomach. The feet carried not just the stomach, but the whole body here and there. The stomach replied, “If I didn’t receive the food and provide strength to the whole body, you wouldn’t get anywhere.”
130 Perry Index H 197 Fabulae Aesopicae Collectae, ed. C Halm Leipzig (Tuebner) 1852.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) once said, “All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors--in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."
In researching for this passage, I found several attestations of a story Gary Inrig shares in his book Life in His Body. Inrig wrote, “Several years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest-ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together.”
In this passage, Paul notes the different roles and gifts in the body of Christ, emphasizing that each one has a part to play. Let’s recognize and celebrate that each follower of Jesus brings something to enrich and benefit the whole body.
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 4:14-21
The focus of this biblical account on eschatology (illustrated by Jesus’ focus on the coming Messiah reported in Isaiah 61:1-2) is also related to concern for the poor. This theme of how preparing for the end has implications for how we use the goods of the earth is reflected in comments first by John Calvin and then by Martin Luther:
Hence, it is not without good reason, that the apostle, with the view of arousing us from this stupidity, calls us to consider the shortness of this life, and infers from this, that we ought to use all things of this world, as if we did not use them. For the man who considers that he a stranger in the world uses the things of this world as if they were another’s — that is, as things lent to us for a single day. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XX/1, p.257)
This is the general teaching for all Christians, that they should treasure that eternal blessing, which is theirs in the faith, despising this life so that they do not sink too deeply into it either with love and desire or suffering and boredom, but should rather behave like guests on earth, using everything for a short time because of need and not just pleasure. (Luther’s Works, Vol.28, p.52)
Insights about living for the future have been provided by Bill Clinton’s spiritual advisor Rev. Tony Campolo and by Thomas Jefferson. Campolo advises, “Your past is important, but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future.” And Jefferson once observed, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
Mark E.
In a comment which explains a lot of what is happening in contemporary America, the Greek philosopher Aristotle observed, “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” Mahatma Gandhi is said to have observed that “Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
Singer-songwriter Bono observed in a comment in accord with a Christian reading of this lesson (esp.vv.9-10): “To me a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor... it’s nothing.” The initiator of black theology James Cone made a similar comment:
The authentic identity of Christians with the poor is found in the claim which the Jesus-encounter lays upon their own lifestyle, a claim that connects the word "Christian" with the liberation of the poor (God of the Oppressed).
If such commitments seem too liberal or un-American, consider the observations of Thomas Jefferson:
[W]henever there are in any country uncultivated land and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right... If for the encouragement of industry we allow it [the land] to be appropriated, we must take care that other employment be provided to those excluded from the appropriation. (Writings, pp.841-842)
Mark E.
* * *
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Aesop’s Fables were not considered literature. Why would anyone think so? They were written by a slave, and they weren’t high poetry. But the fables continue to speak to us.
Reading this passage, in which Paul compares us to different body parts, and reminds us that we are interconnected, and need each other, I wonder if Paul was familiar with the fable which we know as “The Stomach and the Feet.”
It goes something like this. The stomach and the feet were arguing about their comparative importance. The feet boasted of their strength, which was far superior to the stomach. The feet carried not just the stomach, but the whole body here and there. The stomach replied, “If I didn’t receive the food and provide strength to the whole body, you wouldn’t get anywhere.”
130 Perry Index H 197 Fabulae Aesopicae Collectae, ed. C Halm Leipzig (Tuebner) 1852.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) once said, “All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors--in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."
In researching for this passage, I found several attestations of a story Gary Inrig shares in his book Life in His Body. Inrig wrote, “Several years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest-ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together.”
In this passage, Paul notes the different roles and gifts in the body of Christ, emphasizing that each one has a part to play. Let’s recognize and celebrate that each follower of Jesus brings something to enrich and benefit the whole body.
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 4:14-21
The focus of this biblical account on eschatology (illustrated by Jesus’ focus on the coming Messiah reported in Isaiah 61:1-2) is also related to concern for the poor. This theme of how preparing for the end has implications for how we use the goods of the earth is reflected in comments first by John Calvin and then by Martin Luther:
Hence, it is not without good reason, that the apostle, with the view of arousing us from this stupidity, calls us to consider the shortness of this life, and infers from this, that we ought to use all things of this world, as if we did not use them. For the man who considers that he a stranger in the world uses the things of this world as if they were another’s — that is, as things lent to us for a single day. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XX/1, p.257)
This is the general teaching for all Christians, that they should treasure that eternal blessing, which is theirs in the faith, despising this life so that they do not sink too deeply into it either with love and desire or suffering and boredom, but should rather behave like guests on earth, using everything for a short time because of need and not just pleasure. (Luther’s Works, Vol.28, p.52)
Insights about living for the future have been provided by Bill Clinton’s spiritual advisor Rev. Tony Campolo and by Thomas Jefferson. Campolo advises, “Your past is important, but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future.” And Jefferson once observed, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
Mark E.
