Sermon Illustrations for Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
We often do not see God in our everyday lives, in the work we do and in our economic transactions. In fact, the business deal described in our lesson had great spiritual significance; it was an emblem of God's plans to restore the land of Israel to his people. Ordinary business transactions can be sacred works. Martin Luther referred to this concept as the priesthood of all believers, the belief that every job when done in service to the Lord is a sacred vocation:
Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it, and through it he wants to bestow his blessing on you. This praise of work should be inscribed on all tools, on the forehead and the face that sweat from toiling. For the world does not consider labor a blessing. Therefore it flees and hates it… But the pious, who fear the Lord, labor with a ready and cheerful heart; for they know God's command and will.
(Weimar Ausgabe, Vol. 40III, p. 280)
God uses our work, Luther says. It is "a mask under which he blesses and dispenses his gifts..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 9, p. 96). Famed modern theologian Karl Barth picks up on this theme to remind us that our jobs give us an opportunity to share God's love with others: "Fundamentally, we can work aright only when we work hand in hand. The nourishing bread to be gained from work can only be bread broken and shared with the fellow worker" (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/4, p. 537).
Mark E.
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Dashiell Hammett, before becoming a great American novelist, was a police detective for the Pinkerton agency. One day he discovered that not only was he an excellent sleuth, but he also had a great sense of direction. When a man that he was trailing became lost in the country, Hammett gave him directions back to the city.
Application: We are all in the ministry of restoration.
Ron L.
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
The Harmonist Community began in Germany under "prophet" Georg Rapp in the last years of the 18th century. In 1804, they bought land a few miles west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and started their own town. They lived alone, about 800 of them altogether, and worked on perfecting themselves to get ready for the second coming. Jesus was scheduled to return and begin his reign on earth on September 15, 1829. There was no need to plan for the future after that date. The Harmonists never married and never had children. Their graves never had tombstones. The normal everyday things of normal everyday life were no longer necessary.
Scott B.
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Joseph Heller authored the popular novel Catch 22. While at a party hosted by a billionaire hedge fund manager, a friend of Heller's commented that the host had made more money in a single day than Heller had made throughout the years with the royalties on his book. Heller responded: "Yes, but I have something he will never have... enough."
Mark M.
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Be content with what you have! How many times have you heard that -- even as children growing up! We always want to answer, "It may be easy for you to say!" Today there are many who have little food or clothing even in our country. Sometimes I have seen them begging on street corners. I can understand why those people would have trouble being content.
It was surprising to me when I lived in Nepal, where the "annual" income of a person averages the equivalent of $200! Yes, things are cheaper over there, but a meal can still cost a dollar. A pastor's monthly salary is around $30, which has to cover not only his food and lodging and clothing for his children but also the cost of renting the room for his church and buying Bibles and hymnals! Yet they were always positive and happy. When I saw that it made me more content with what the Lord had given me.
There is nothing wrong with making money. It is the desire for more and more, the love of money that is the problem, not money in itself. Money is a part of life and we can't ignore that, but we can't allow it to take over our lives. If we are not content with what the Lord has given us, then it can drive us to spend our time and effort trying to make more money. One problem we all have is: Where do you draw the line? But if you are drawing lines it means that you are not content with what you have. Sometimes when we see other people enjoying a fulfilled life it makes us discontented with what we have.
If we are struggling for something, let it be endurance and gentleness, and of course the faith that gives us strength. It sounds like faith is a fight! It doesn't just happen. We need to reach out for it more than money or any earthly thing. If we hold on to the eternal life we confessed before witnesses (our confirmation?), then we will inherit eternity.
Our eternal security comes from the one who earned it for us on the cross -- the one who stood faithfully in hard times so we could find eternity with him.
We are commanded to live a clean life without blemish. That doesn't mean we are earning our way to be with the Lord! We should do it out of gratitude for what he has done for us. We are supposed to be rich, not in money, but in good deeds, laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. That will give us a solid foundation. That should give us something to meditate on -- even for a lifetime!
Bob O.
Luke 16:19-31
A week after his public confession to Oprah Winfrey acknowledging his use of performance enhancing drugs, Lance Armstrong was sued by a group of readers of his autobiographies. In particular the suit centers on two books, It's Not About the Bike and Every Second Counts. The lawsuit contends that Armstrong's lies and deceptions falsified the triumphs and promises made in the books. The suit contends that his lies were a part of "illegal conduct that spanned years" for economic gain.
Application: People seek sincerity and truth, something that was lacking in the rich man in the story of Lazarus.
Ron L.
Luke 16:19-31
Who counts? Who is really a person? Ethicists and biologists ask those questions, as do religious leaders and generals. They get asked in some form or other on every playground. One of the most chilling answers actually found its way into the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3). The "three fifths compromise" was a way of giving the southern states the benefits of the their slave population when it came to how many congressmen and how many electoral votes they would get, without having to give any benefits such as the right to vote to the slaves themselves. In a census of how many people lived in any particular state, a slave would be counted as 3/5 of a person.
Scott B.
Luke 16:19-31
We don't need any more miracles today; we already have all the ones we will ever need. That seems to be the lesson delivered by Abraham to the rich man. Famed modern New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann concisely echoes this conclusion. The message is this: It is not right to ask God for a miracle as confirmation of his will: "We have all that is necessary."
John Wesley makes a similar point: "But a thousand apparitions cannot affect this [repentance]. God only can, applying his word" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 448).
Who needs miracles to stir up faith? The Bible gives us all we need for faith. Famed Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards well illustrates this observation: "The scripture is full of instances, sufficient to convince us, that if the word of God will not awaken and convert sinners, nothing will" (Works, Vol. 2, p. 70).
Mark E.
We often do not see God in our everyday lives, in the work we do and in our economic transactions. In fact, the business deal described in our lesson had great spiritual significance; it was an emblem of God's plans to restore the land of Israel to his people. Ordinary business transactions can be sacred works. Martin Luther referred to this concept as the priesthood of all believers, the belief that every job when done in service to the Lord is a sacred vocation:
Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it, and through it he wants to bestow his blessing on you. This praise of work should be inscribed on all tools, on the forehead and the face that sweat from toiling. For the world does not consider labor a blessing. Therefore it flees and hates it… But the pious, who fear the Lord, labor with a ready and cheerful heart; for they know God's command and will.
(Weimar Ausgabe, Vol. 40III, p. 280)
God uses our work, Luther says. It is "a mask under which he blesses and dispenses his gifts..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 9, p. 96). Famed modern theologian Karl Barth picks up on this theme to remind us that our jobs give us an opportunity to share God's love with others: "Fundamentally, we can work aright only when we work hand in hand. The nourishing bread to be gained from work can only be bread broken and shared with the fellow worker" (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/4, p. 537).
Mark E.
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Dashiell Hammett, before becoming a great American novelist, was a police detective for the Pinkerton agency. One day he discovered that not only was he an excellent sleuth, but he also had a great sense of direction. When a man that he was trailing became lost in the country, Hammett gave him directions back to the city.
Application: We are all in the ministry of restoration.
Ron L.
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
The Harmonist Community began in Germany under "prophet" Georg Rapp in the last years of the 18th century. In 1804, they bought land a few miles west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and started their own town. They lived alone, about 800 of them altogether, and worked on perfecting themselves to get ready for the second coming. Jesus was scheduled to return and begin his reign on earth on September 15, 1829. There was no need to plan for the future after that date. The Harmonists never married and never had children. Their graves never had tombstones. The normal everyday things of normal everyday life were no longer necessary.
Scott B.
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Joseph Heller authored the popular novel Catch 22. While at a party hosted by a billionaire hedge fund manager, a friend of Heller's commented that the host had made more money in a single day than Heller had made throughout the years with the royalties on his book. Heller responded: "Yes, but I have something he will never have... enough."
Mark M.
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Be content with what you have! How many times have you heard that -- even as children growing up! We always want to answer, "It may be easy for you to say!" Today there are many who have little food or clothing even in our country. Sometimes I have seen them begging on street corners. I can understand why those people would have trouble being content.
It was surprising to me when I lived in Nepal, where the "annual" income of a person averages the equivalent of $200! Yes, things are cheaper over there, but a meal can still cost a dollar. A pastor's monthly salary is around $30, which has to cover not only his food and lodging and clothing for his children but also the cost of renting the room for his church and buying Bibles and hymnals! Yet they were always positive and happy. When I saw that it made me more content with what the Lord had given me.
There is nothing wrong with making money. It is the desire for more and more, the love of money that is the problem, not money in itself. Money is a part of life and we can't ignore that, but we can't allow it to take over our lives. If we are not content with what the Lord has given us, then it can drive us to spend our time and effort trying to make more money. One problem we all have is: Where do you draw the line? But if you are drawing lines it means that you are not content with what you have. Sometimes when we see other people enjoying a fulfilled life it makes us discontented with what we have.
If we are struggling for something, let it be endurance and gentleness, and of course the faith that gives us strength. It sounds like faith is a fight! It doesn't just happen. We need to reach out for it more than money or any earthly thing. If we hold on to the eternal life we confessed before witnesses (our confirmation?), then we will inherit eternity.
Our eternal security comes from the one who earned it for us on the cross -- the one who stood faithfully in hard times so we could find eternity with him.
We are commanded to live a clean life without blemish. That doesn't mean we are earning our way to be with the Lord! We should do it out of gratitude for what he has done for us. We are supposed to be rich, not in money, but in good deeds, laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. That will give us a solid foundation. That should give us something to meditate on -- even for a lifetime!
Bob O.
Luke 16:19-31
A week after his public confession to Oprah Winfrey acknowledging his use of performance enhancing drugs, Lance Armstrong was sued by a group of readers of his autobiographies. In particular the suit centers on two books, It's Not About the Bike and Every Second Counts. The lawsuit contends that Armstrong's lies and deceptions falsified the triumphs and promises made in the books. The suit contends that his lies were a part of "illegal conduct that spanned years" for economic gain.
Application: People seek sincerity and truth, something that was lacking in the rich man in the story of Lazarus.
Ron L.
Luke 16:19-31
Who counts? Who is really a person? Ethicists and biologists ask those questions, as do religious leaders and generals. They get asked in some form or other on every playground. One of the most chilling answers actually found its way into the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3). The "three fifths compromise" was a way of giving the southern states the benefits of the their slave population when it came to how many congressmen and how many electoral votes they would get, without having to give any benefits such as the right to vote to the slaves themselves. In a census of how many people lived in any particular state, a slave would be counted as 3/5 of a person.
Scott B.
Luke 16:19-31
We don't need any more miracles today; we already have all the ones we will ever need. That seems to be the lesson delivered by Abraham to the rich man. Famed modern New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann concisely echoes this conclusion. The message is this: It is not right to ask God for a miracle as confirmation of his will: "We have all that is necessary."
John Wesley makes a similar point: "But a thousand apparitions cannot affect this [repentance]. God only can, applying his word" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 448).
Who needs miracles to stir up faith? The Bible gives us all we need for faith. Famed Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards well illustrates this observation: "The scripture is full of instances, sufficient to convince us, that if the word of God will not awaken and convert sinners, nothing will" (Works, Vol. 2, p. 70).
Mark E.
