Sermon Illustrations for Advent 4 (2021)
Illustration
Micah 5:2-5a
Along with this text and its claim that Christ would be born in a back-water town like Bethlehem, Martin Luther commented on the significance of Christ’s birth in that town. In a sermon, he claimed that it is good to be reminded of Jesus’ lowly origins. For this softens God’s awesomeness, and makes it easier to be in Jesus’ awesome presence:
The person who wants to know God, free from unsubstantial speculation about him, must begin at the bottom and learn first to know the Virgin Mary’s son born in Bethlehem. Thereafter he will learn, as the text itself states, precisely who the virgin’s son is, namely the everlasting king and lord. This then will not be a dread-filled reality but a most beloved and comforting truth. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, pp.212-213)
In the same spirit, the first reformer speaks of the importance of Jesus’ humanity:
It is because of his [Christ’s] humanity and his incarnation that Christ becomes sweet to us, and through him, God becomes sweet to us. Let us therefore begin to ascend from Christ’s crying in his swaddling clothes up to his passion. Then we shall easily know God. I am saying this so that you do not begin to contemplate God from the top. But start with the weak elements. (Luther’s Works, Vol.17, p.331)
And if you have trouble with Jesus having weak elements, Luther adds: “Yes, but what the Lord God has in mind is this: Man, you ought to accept Christ just as God sent him, not as you want him to be.” (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.81)
Mark E.
* * *
Hebrews 10:5-10
It’s an old story, but I think it is one that is worth noting again. During the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast. One of the ministers said, “Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s response revealed his humility and understanding. “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.” The key to accomplishing anything is to do what the Lord wants us to do the way he wants us to do it.
President Lincoln knew that and so did Jesus. Jesus came to do the will of his Father. God was moving beyond sacrifices and offerings. It was time to deal with the sin issue once and for all. That’s why Jesus came. As Paul wrote, “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8) As we near the celebration of his first coming, let’s be mindful of the reason he came.
Bill T.
* * *
Hebrews 10:5-10
This whole chapter from Hebrews features what I call a cavalcade of scripture, for those of us who, when people make a suspect statement, respond, “Show it me in the Word of God.”
In these particular verses, the central passage is Psalm 40:6-8, as taken from the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures known as the Septuagint, which was produced three centuries before Jesus. Basically, it’s telling us what God wants and who Jesus is. What God wants is the elimination of the old way of justifying ourselves before God, including sacrifices, and who Jesus is comes down to one who can say, “See, God, I have come to do your will….” and that will is to abolish the old by instituting the new through the cross, the ultimate sacrifice. (By the way, people use the word ultimate as if it meant “the latest,” as in “the ultimate cleanser” when they just mean the one they’re trying to sell you right now, but it really means, the last, the absolute last, and Jesus is the last sacrifice, once for all).
The purpose of all these scriptures is to establish what it is that God has done “when Christ came into the world…” (10:5) But when there’s a child in the manger, it’s hard to focus on some of the mathematical a=b=c (God’s will equals Christ’s death equals our salvation). Better just sing a Christmas carol. Or hymn. Or spiritual song.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
Benjamin Franklin once said, “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” Martin Luther praised Mary’s humility in this story in contrast to such pride. In a sermon he commented:
But if we are Christians, we would be thinking: Dear friend, if the Mother was able thus to humble herself, should a miserable human being such as I give the lie to myself as I strut about in such a pompous, useless, and arrogant way? (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.345)
Luther proceeded to describe the significance of all this:
For we desecrate God’s name when we let ourselves be praised or honored, or when we take pleasure in ourselves and boast of our works or our possessions, as is the way of the world... When God’s name is hallowed by us, so that we lay claim to no work, fame, or self-satisfaction in it [only then God’s name] is rightly honored. (Luther’s Works, Vol.21, pp.329-330)
John Calvin further elaborated on what the Incarnation, understood in terms of humility, entails for us. It gives us more confidence in the divine love. He wrote:
This gives us good reason for growing confidence that we may venture more freely to call God our Father, because his only Son, in order that we might have a Father in common with him, chose to be our brother. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI, p.43)
Mark E.
Along with this text and its claim that Christ would be born in a back-water town like Bethlehem, Martin Luther commented on the significance of Christ’s birth in that town. In a sermon, he claimed that it is good to be reminded of Jesus’ lowly origins. For this softens God’s awesomeness, and makes it easier to be in Jesus’ awesome presence:
The person who wants to know God, free from unsubstantial speculation about him, must begin at the bottom and learn first to know the Virgin Mary’s son born in Bethlehem. Thereafter he will learn, as the text itself states, precisely who the virgin’s son is, namely the everlasting king and lord. This then will not be a dread-filled reality but a most beloved and comforting truth. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, pp.212-213)
In the same spirit, the first reformer speaks of the importance of Jesus’ humanity:
It is because of his [Christ’s] humanity and his incarnation that Christ becomes sweet to us, and through him, God becomes sweet to us. Let us therefore begin to ascend from Christ’s crying in his swaddling clothes up to his passion. Then we shall easily know God. I am saying this so that you do not begin to contemplate God from the top. But start with the weak elements. (Luther’s Works, Vol.17, p.331)
And if you have trouble with Jesus having weak elements, Luther adds: “Yes, but what the Lord God has in mind is this: Man, you ought to accept Christ just as God sent him, not as you want him to be.” (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.81)
Mark E.
* * *
Hebrews 10:5-10
It’s an old story, but I think it is one that is worth noting again. During the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast. One of the ministers said, “Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s response revealed his humility and understanding. “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.” The key to accomplishing anything is to do what the Lord wants us to do the way he wants us to do it.
President Lincoln knew that and so did Jesus. Jesus came to do the will of his Father. God was moving beyond sacrifices and offerings. It was time to deal with the sin issue once and for all. That’s why Jesus came. As Paul wrote, “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8) As we near the celebration of his first coming, let’s be mindful of the reason he came.
Bill T.
* * *
Hebrews 10:5-10
This whole chapter from Hebrews features what I call a cavalcade of scripture, for those of us who, when people make a suspect statement, respond, “Show it me in the Word of God.”
In these particular verses, the central passage is Psalm 40:6-8, as taken from the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures known as the Septuagint, which was produced three centuries before Jesus. Basically, it’s telling us what God wants and who Jesus is. What God wants is the elimination of the old way of justifying ourselves before God, including sacrifices, and who Jesus is comes down to one who can say, “See, God, I have come to do your will….” and that will is to abolish the old by instituting the new through the cross, the ultimate sacrifice. (By the way, people use the word ultimate as if it meant “the latest,” as in “the ultimate cleanser” when they just mean the one they’re trying to sell you right now, but it really means, the last, the absolute last, and Jesus is the last sacrifice, once for all).
The purpose of all these scriptures is to establish what it is that God has done “when Christ came into the world…” (10:5) But when there’s a child in the manger, it’s hard to focus on some of the mathematical a=b=c (God’s will equals Christ’s death equals our salvation). Better just sing a Christmas carol. Or hymn. Or spiritual song.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
Benjamin Franklin once said, “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” Martin Luther praised Mary’s humility in this story in contrast to such pride. In a sermon he commented:
But if we are Christians, we would be thinking: Dear friend, if the Mother was able thus to humble herself, should a miserable human being such as I give the lie to myself as I strut about in such a pompous, useless, and arrogant way? (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.345)
Luther proceeded to describe the significance of all this:
For we desecrate God’s name when we let ourselves be praised or honored, or when we take pleasure in ourselves and boast of our works or our possessions, as is the way of the world... When God’s name is hallowed by us, so that we lay claim to no work, fame, or self-satisfaction in it [only then God’s name] is rightly honored. (Luther’s Works, Vol.21, pp.329-330)
John Calvin further elaborated on what the Incarnation, understood in terms of humility, entails for us. It gives us more confidence in the divine love. He wrote:
This gives us good reason for growing confidence that we may venture more freely to call God our Father, because his only Son, in order that we might have a Father in common with him, chose to be our brother. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI, p.43)
Mark E.
