Sermon Illustrations For Epiphany 3 (2017)
Illustration
Isaiah 9:1-4
Breaking the bonds of the oppressor takes on new meaning in our world. Who are the oppressed? If you look around the world, in many places it is the non-dominant tribe or group. In other places it is women. In many places it is children. In still other places it is people whose sexual orientation or gender identity is difference from our own. Who are the oppressed in your neighborhood? Is it the person who is homeless? Is it the recently released or paroled felon? Is it the child with no school supplies or the elder with no prescription coverage?
Who are the oppressed, and how do you break the bonds of oppression? Sometimes shining the light on oppression is enough, but sometimes more is needed: advocacy, legislative changes, monetary donations, economic restructuring, more homes and shelters, more medical care and coverage. Whatever is causing oppression in your neighborhood -- greed, ignorance, prejudice, hate, or fear -- we are called to act against oppression, to break the bonds of the oppressor. For a faithful person, there can be no greater calling.
Bonnie B.
Isaiah 9:1-4
There is a line near the end of Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun that I think sums up the play in a powerful way. Mama tells Beneatha: “There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing.” This famous line indicates in a powerful and poignant way that no matter how bleak a situation may be, there is always a place for love and hope. I thought about that line as I considered this text.
At the end of Isaiah 8 and going into Isaiah 9, the prophet is decrying the darkness and gloom that Israel’s sin has brought. It is, indeed, a troubling time. The Assyrian invasion would be brutal, and among other things would bring about a food shortage, leaving the people famished, roaming the land, and cursing God. It seems to be a hopeless time. God has a message, though, that pierces the despair: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined.” The point here is clear and twofold. For Israel, a day was coming when they would again enjoy God’s favor. The rod of the oppressor would be shattered. The text, though, is much deeper than just relief from a political foe. God is also speaking, as Matthew would later note, of the coming of the messiah. The hopelessness and desperation of the world as we know it will melt away at his coming. The darkness and despair that accompany sin will be driven away as sin is vanquished. The messiah’s coming brings joy, victory, hope, and assurance.
No matter how dark the night may get, the sun comes. It might be better said this way: no matter how dark the night, the Son comes.
Bill T.
Isaiah 9:1-4
Thanks to its appearance as one of our Christmas scriptures, the words of this passage are familiar. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined.” But appearances can be deceiving. Two different Hebrew words are translated by one English word -- “darkness.”
The first word, koshekh, means darkness, but the second one, tsolmaveth, is more sinister, and even more dangerous -- an impenetrable gloom, death-shadow, pitch black. It is used several times in the book of Job to signify the dark and mysterious situation he finds himself in, but the most familiar usage of this latter word is found in Psalm 23:4 -- that valley of the shadow of death where we fear no evil because God is with us!
Isaiah seems to want first to instill the fear that comes with darkness, the helplessness we feel when we just can’t see -- and then to ramp it up a notch by adding to that fear an even deeper dread, one of impending doom and death!
Frank R.
Isaiah 9:1-4
Isaiah is writing about the time when the greatest persecution has passed fairly long before. The people are still coming out of a period of great darkness.
Both candidates in our recent election promised that they would bring our country out of great darkness. It will be a time when outsiders are honored. That will be a change! Now, as in Jesus’ day, we will have to look for the light.
Those darn Gentiles who had mingled with the people in the northlands of Israel and had caused a part of the problem will also see the light.
Our light is not just a new president, but the savior who stands above all the problems of the past. The people of our country have also mingled with “outsiders who were also American.” Now they can all see the light of God’s Savior!
One of the blessings of being in the mission field is to see the light of Christ shine out on the faces of the converts. They know they have come out of great darkness. They can still see the darkness in the faces of the unconverted!
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
A 2010 study by the New York Times revealed that 23% of pastors have been fired or forced to resign. Of course, polarization and decline of authority typifies esteem for leadership throughout our nation.
John Calvin once commented on how scandalous this lack of harmony among Christians is: “Let us then observe that nothing is more inconsistent on the part of Christians than to be at variance among themselves, for it is the main article of our religion that we be in harmony among ourselves” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p. 62). We need a lesson on unity which our text provides.
American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck offers a helpful insight about harmony and unity. He writes: “We cannot let another person into our heart or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can only truly listen to him or truly hear her only out of emptiness.” Mother Teresa once made a similar point: “Love [and so God’s love]... must empty us of self.”
In fact, as Martin Luther made clear, Christians are empty, like empty cups who have nothing but what God fills us with. And he fills us with love for the neighbor, with a desire for harmony: “See according to this fuel the good things we have from God should flow from one to the other and be common to all, so that everyone should ‘put on’ his neighbor and so conduct himself toward him as if he were in the other’s place” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 371).
These points are further elaborated on in a remark by religion author Kent M. Keith on how to deal with difficult people: “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.... The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Be happy anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
C.S. Lewis is a name familiar to many Christians. He is the author of such widely read books as Mere Christianity, A Grief Observed, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Though he was raised in a Christian home, he rebelled against Christianity and became an atheist. On September 22, 1931, he was riding to the zoo, sitting in the sidecar of his brother Warnie’s motorcycle. From the conversation he had with his brother that day, Lewis once again committed his life to Christ and rejoined the Anglican Church that he had left. Lewis would often comment that he found Christ in the sidecar of a motorcycle.
Application: Paul instructs us to be witnesses for the Lord.
Ron L.
Matthew 4:12-23
I marvel at the call stories in scripture. How many of us would respond to a sudden call from God? I reflect on this passage from Matthew, the call of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They simply drop their nets, leave their families, and follow Jesus. It doesn’t seem real. How could they do that? How could they just walk away from everything and everyone at the simple command of Jesus? I remember how long I argued with God about my call into the ministry. I think about all the stumbling blocks I thought were in my way: my job, my house, my family, money.
It’s funny, though. When I responded with a “yes” to the call, God moved a lot of those stumbling blocks out of the way. Scholarships became available. My house sold in one day for the asking price without a realtor. I got a full-time job with benefits and flexible hours that allowed me to work and go to school. The support of my church community and even my family was admirable. God had a way of making what I thought was impossible, possible. God still does. Where are you being called, and what stumbling blocks and impossibilities do you see? Maybe they are pathways to something new that is really possible.
Bonnie B.
Matthew 4:12-23
I’m not much of a hunter. In fact, I’ve only been hunting one time, with practically no success. However, one of my favorite books is about hunting: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. It’s a powerful and poignant story of a boy and his hunting dogs, Old Dan and Little Anne. While there is a lot to discuss from that book, one thing came back to me as I looked at this text. In the story, Billy’s grandpa shares with him an old method of how to catch a raccoon. What he tells him is simple. Put a shiny object into a log with a very narrow opening. The raccoon will see the shiny object and put its paw in to grab it, but because it is in its paw, the paw will be too big to pull out. The raccoon will not leave the object behind, however, to be free. He will be trapped because he refuses to let go.
I don’t know if that method catches raccoons or not. An online search into whether that really works yielded mixed reviews. It did raise a question, though. Is there anything we need to let go of in order to follow Jesus? In our text Peter, Andrew, James, and John were willing to leave behind their fishing business, the security of life as they’d always known it, and possibly even the respect of others to follow the one who said, “I will make you fish for people.” Is there something holding us back from better serving our Lord? Is there something we’re holding onto that prevents us from giving our all to him? As we head into the new year, be willing to risk letting go to better live.
Bill T.
Matthew 4:12-23
A month ago, I wrote how the text from Isaiah which Matthew alludes to in this passage points to the failures of King Ahaz, which led in part to the eventual eradication of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Even though the situation looks dark and gloomy, a great light is shining!
Of course, we see what Matthew wants us to see -- that Jesus is the light shining in the darkness! But what does that light shine upon? What do we see? We see Jesus calling for repentance from sin and pointing towards the coming Kingdom of Heaven. And we see Jesus calling disciples who are a part of that ministry of light. This is a shared ministry, 2,000 years ago and now! Through our faithfulness to Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven, we too are called to shine the light!
Frank R.
Matthew 4:12-23
Poor John. He was Jesus’ relative, the one who baptized him, and the one who was preparing the way for him. Great prophets like John don’t always have a noble end. Few, if any, prophets did! Their rewards were definitely not on earth. The three who came next had sad endings about as bad as John the Baptist’s. Only John, Jesus’ favorite disciple, escaped. I visited the place where the John of Revelation spent a few years. It was a miserable cave -- hardly a reward for the disciple whom Jesus loved. The John in this lesson was a relative born about the same time as Jesus. He did not die of old age, but he had a time of popularity before he was thrown in prison and executed.
I had a great time serving the Lord as a missionary in Nepal, but I knew and read about others who had sad experiences. If the Lord calls you for any service, don’t look for your reward here on earth. We will all get our reward, but it is up to God what and where it will be given!
I have a friend who was called to Africa to serve our Lord, but his mother complained that he should stay home and take care of her. She felt that was his first duty -- but he went anyway. He got so sick he almost died at the end of his first mission there, but went on to serve again. And his mother complained again.
Did the disciples who got out of their boat to follow Jesus get any complaints from their family? It never says, but I’m sure they were missed! They went back to fishing later, but it didn’t last long.
You never know when you will get your call. I had a motion picture business when my call came and I enjoyed it. I would have left a fishing boat immediately! We must always keep our ears and eyes open for God’s call. I was 30 when I became an apostle and 70 when I became a missionary. We can make plans until God calls -- then his work becomes our plan.
Bob O.
Breaking the bonds of the oppressor takes on new meaning in our world. Who are the oppressed? If you look around the world, in many places it is the non-dominant tribe or group. In other places it is women. In many places it is children. In still other places it is people whose sexual orientation or gender identity is difference from our own. Who are the oppressed in your neighborhood? Is it the person who is homeless? Is it the recently released or paroled felon? Is it the child with no school supplies or the elder with no prescription coverage?
Who are the oppressed, and how do you break the bonds of oppression? Sometimes shining the light on oppression is enough, but sometimes more is needed: advocacy, legislative changes, monetary donations, economic restructuring, more homes and shelters, more medical care and coverage. Whatever is causing oppression in your neighborhood -- greed, ignorance, prejudice, hate, or fear -- we are called to act against oppression, to break the bonds of the oppressor. For a faithful person, there can be no greater calling.
Bonnie B.
Isaiah 9:1-4
There is a line near the end of Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun that I think sums up the play in a powerful way. Mama tells Beneatha: “There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing.” This famous line indicates in a powerful and poignant way that no matter how bleak a situation may be, there is always a place for love and hope. I thought about that line as I considered this text.
At the end of Isaiah 8 and going into Isaiah 9, the prophet is decrying the darkness and gloom that Israel’s sin has brought. It is, indeed, a troubling time. The Assyrian invasion would be brutal, and among other things would bring about a food shortage, leaving the people famished, roaming the land, and cursing God. It seems to be a hopeless time. God has a message, though, that pierces the despair: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined.” The point here is clear and twofold. For Israel, a day was coming when they would again enjoy God’s favor. The rod of the oppressor would be shattered. The text, though, is much deeper than just relief from a political foe. God is also speaking, as Matthew would later note, of the coming of the messiah. The hopelessness and desperation of the world as we know it will melt away at his coming. The darkness and despair that accompany sin will be driven away as sin is vanquished. The messiah’s coming brings joy, victory, hope, and assurance.
No matter how dark the night may get, the sun comes. It might be better said this way: no matter how dark the night, the Son comes.
Bill T.
Isaiah 9:1-4
Thanks to its appearance as one of our Christmas scriptures, the words of this passage are familiar. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined.” But appearances can be deceiving. Two different Hebrew words are translated by one English word -- “darkness.”
The first word, koshekh, means darkness, but the second one, tsolmaveth, is more sinister, and even more dangerous -- an impenetrable gloom, death-shadow, pitch black. It is used several times in the book of Job to signify the dark and mysterious situation he finds himself in, but the most familiar usage of this latter word is found in Psalm 23:4 -- that valley of the shadow of death where we fear no evil because God is with us!
Isaiah seems to want first to instill the fear that comes with darkness, the helplessness we feel when we just can’t see -- and then to ramp it up a notch by adding to that fear an even deeper dread, one of impending doom and death!
Frank R.
Isaiah 9:1-4
Isaiah is writing about the time when the greatest persecution has passed fairly long before. The people are still coming out of a period of great darkness.
Both candidates in our recent election promised that they would bring our country out of great darkness. It will be a time when outsiders are honored. That will be a change! Now, as in Jesus’ day, we will have to look for the light.
Those darn Gentiles who had mingled with the people in the northlands of Israel and had caused a part of the problem will also see the light.
Our light is not just a new president, but the savior who stands above all the problems of the past. The people of our country have also mingled with “outsiders who were also American.” Now they can all see the light of God’s Savior!
One of the blessings of being in the mission field is to see the light of Christ shine out on the faces of the converts. They know they have come out of great darkness. They can still see the darkness in the faces of the unconverted!
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
A 2010 study by the New York Times revealed that 23% of pastors have been fired or forced to resign. Of course, polarization and decline of authority typifies esteem for leadership throughout our nation.
John Calvin once commented on how scandalous this lack of harmony among Christians is: “Let us then observe that nothing is more inconsistent on the part of Christians than to be at variance among themselves, for it is the main article of our religion that we be in harmony among ourselves” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p. 62). We need a lesson on unity which our text provides.
American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck offers a helpful insight about harmony and unity. He writes: “We cannot let another person into our heart or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can only truly listen to him or truly hear her only out of emptiness.” Mother Teresa once made a similar point: “Love [and so God’s love]... must empty us of self.”
In fact, as Martin Luther made clear, Christians are empty, like empty cups who have nothing but what God fills us with. And he fills us with love for the neighbor, with a desire for harmony: “See according to this fuel the good things we have from God should flow from one to the other and be common to all, so that everyone should ‘put on’ his neighbor and so conduct himself toward him as if he were in the other’s place” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 371).
These points are further elaborated on in a remark by religion author Kent M. Keith on how to deal with difficult people: “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.... The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Be happy anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
C.S. Lewis is a name familiar to many Christians. He is the author of such widely read books as Mere Christianity, A Grief Observed, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Though he was raised in a Christian home, he rebelled against Christianity and became an atheist. On September 22, 1931, he was riding to the zoo, sitting in the sidecar of his brother Warnie’s motorcycle. From the conversation he had with his brother that day, Lewis once again committed his life to Christ and rejoined the Anglican Church that he had left. Lewis would often comment that he found Christ in the sidecar of a motorcycle.
Application: Paul instructs us to be witnesses for the Lord.
Ron L.
Matthew 4:12-23
I marvel at the call stories in scripture. How many of us would respond to a sudden call from God? I reflect on this passage from Matthew, the call of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They simply drop their nets, leave their families, and follow Jesus. It doesn’t seem real. How could they do that? How could they just walk away from everything and everyone at the simple command of Jesus? I remember how long I argued with God about my call into the ministry. I think about all the stumbling blocks I thought were in my way: my job, my house, my family, money.
It’s funny, though. When I responded with a “yes” to the call, God moved a lot of those stumbling blocks out of the way. Scholarships became available. My house sold in one day for the asking price without a realtor. I got a full-time job with benefits and flexible hours that allowed me to work and go to school. The support of my church community and even my family was admirable. God had a way of making what I thought was impossible, possible. God still does. Where are you being called, and what stumbling blocks and impossibilities do you see? Maybe they are pathways to something new that is really possible.
Bonnie B.
Matthew 4:12-23
I’m not much of a hunter. In fact, I’ve only been hunting one time, with practically no success. However, one of my favorite books is about hunting: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. It’s a powerful and poignant story of a boy and his hunting dogs, Old Dan and Little Anne. While there is a lot to discuss from that book, one thing came back to me as I looked at this text. In the story, Billy’s grandpa shares with him an old method of how to catch a raccoon. What he tells him is simple. Put a shiny object into a log with a very narrow opening. The raccoon will see the shiny object and put its paw in to grab it, but because it is in its paw, the paw will be too big to pull out. The raccoon will not leave the object behind, however, to be free. He will be trapped because he refuses to let go.
I don’t know if that method catches raccoons or not. An online search into whether that really works yielded mixed reviews. It did raise a question, though. Is there anything we need to let go of in order to follow Jesus? In our text Peter, Andrew, James, and John were willing to leave behind their fishing business, the security of life as they’d always known it, and possibly even the respect of others to follow the one who said, “I will make you fish for people.” Is there something holding us back from better serving our Lord? Is there something we’re holding onto that prevents us from giving our all to him? As we head into the new year, be willing to risk letting go to better live.
Bill T.
Matthew 4:12-23
A month ago, I wrote how the text from Isaiah which Matthew alludes to in this passage points to the failures of King Ahaz, which led in part to the eventual eradication of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Even though the situation looks dark and gloomy, a great light is shining!
Of course, we see what Matthew wants us to see -- that Jesus is the light shining in the darkness! But what does that light shine upon? What do we see? We see Jesus calling for repentance from sin and pointing towards the coming Kingdom of Heaven. And we see Jesus calling disciples who are a part of that ministry of light. This is a shared ministry, 2,000 years ago and now! Through our faithfulness to Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven, we too are called to shine the light!
Frank R.
Matthew 4:12-23
Poor John. He was Jesus’ relative, the one who baptized him, and the one who was preparing the way for him. Great prophets like John don’t always have a noble end. Few, if any, prophets did! Their rewards were definitely not on earth. The three who came next had sad endings about as bad as John the Baptist’s. Only John, Jesus’ favorite disciple, escaped. I visited the place where the John of Revelation spent a few years. It was a miserable cave -- hardly a reward for the disciple whom Jesus loved. The John in this lesson was a relative born about the same time as Jesus. He did not die of old age, but he had a time of popularity before he was thrown in prison and executed.
I had a great time serving the Lord as a missionary in Nepal, but I knew and read about others who had sad experiences. If the Lord calls you for any service, don’t look for your reward here on earth. We will all get our reward, but it is up to God what and where it will be given!
I have a friend who was called to Africa to serve our Lord, but his mother complained that he should stay home and take care of her. She felt that was his first duty -- but he went anyway. He got so sick he almost died at the end of his first mission there, but went on to serve again. And his mother complained again.
Did the disciples who got out of their boat to follow Jesus get any complaints from their family? It never says, but I’m sure they were missed! They went back to fishing later, but it didn’t last long.
You never know when you will get your call. I had a motion picture business when my call came and I enjoyed it. I would have left a fishing boat immediately! We must always keep our ears and eyes open for God’s call. I was 30 when I became an apostle and 70 when I became a missionary. We can make plans until God calls -- then his work becomes our plan.
Bob O.
