Sermon Illustrations for Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 (2015)
Illustration
Object:
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
The child was no older than five. However, he brandished the sword as if he were a fearless hero, protecting the innocent and slaying evildoers and monsters. “How dare you capture the princess,” he exclaimed to his imaginary foe. “Here’s my sword!” He swung with all his might, and in his mind cut down the dark knight. He stood over his conquered foe and freed the princess. As he did, he held his sword aloft. He stood in triumph. He saw in his imagination a glorious picture. He was the champion. He was great, powerful, and awesome. What he didn’t see, though, was his father creeping up behind him. As he lifted his sword as the hero, his dad grabbed his sword and arm. In one quick movement the brave hero was snatched up in a squishy hug by an even stronger force -- his father.
A story of child’s play. Really? How does that connect in any way with God? I wonder, sometimes, if our heavenly Father sees us and what we do as “child’s play.” Maybe all that we are up against and see as important is, well, not that significant. Perhaps these questions for Job are to remind him of who really is the strong one.
Bill T.
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
In his autobiography Man in Black Johnny Cash recounts more than a career in music, confessing to self-destructive demons that robbed him of contentment and self-worth. Privileged to reside in Israel during the filming of Gospel Road, Cash found that his favorite location for privacy was on the mountaintop of Mount Arabel, which overlooked Galilee. There he would rest upon a rock, seeking direction in life. He pondered if Jesus sat upon the same rock in moments of quiet meditation. As Cash sat there in reflection, he spoke to himself: “[M]aybe he stood here with his disciples around him, teaching them. Teach me too, I whispered. The more I learn of you, the more I realize I don’t know you.” On the mountaintop he sought solace; beneath the studio lights he found both exposure and expression.
Application: Job teaches us to seek the counsel of wisdom and knowledge.
Ron L.
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
John Calvin offered two comments that well express the intentions of God’s interactions with Job in this lesson:
If men attempt to reach the infinite height to which God is exalted, although they fly above the clouds, they must fall in the midst of their course. Those who seek to see him in his naked majesty are certainly foolish. That we may enjoy the sight of him, he must come forth to view with his clothing; that is to say, we must cast our eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the work in which he wishes to be seen by us, and not be too curious and rash in searching into his secret essence (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. VI/1, p. 164).
If a small portion of the works of God make us amazed, how inadequate are our feeble minds to comprehend the whole extent of them! (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. VI/1, p. 164).
It is as Martin Luther once put it: “But God’s word and works do not proceed according to our view of things, but in a way incomprehensible to reason” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 37, p. 207). Famed 19th-century English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning offered a similar observation: “God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.”
Mark E.
Hebrews 5:1-10
Being an ordained minister is a tough job. We stand in line with Jesus, with Paul, with others who have formed and led churches, who have struggled with human weakness, who find themselves sometimes suffering and sometimes crying just like the rest of the population. Being called by God to lead in ministry is not a cakewalk. Surely there are times of joy and reward, times of celebration, but often the road of ministry is a lonely path, a path where God’s presence is felt -- but we too suffer in obedience and in life.
As someone called by God, I remember the advice I was given by the clergywoman who preached at my ordination. She clearly said, “Just love your people.” It’s a message we all need to be reminded about. Just love your people, all your people, all your neighbors, al the strangers, all the others in your midst. But friends, ministers need love too. I am writing to ministers here, but how many of you love other ministers in your midst in the same way you are called to love your people, God’s people? Maybe it would be a good thing to try. All of us could do with a little more love.
Bonnie B.
Hebrews 5:1-10
Sounds like a pastor’s job, doesn’t it? We represent our people when needed, and distribute their offerings where most needed. We offer communion for our sins and our people’s sins. We can be counselors to those in trouble. Our job is laid out for us if we want to keep getting our salary.
It is important to realize that we also have weaknesses and trials, which can make us all the more wanted. I have a son who is a counselor to drug and alcohol addicts, but was an addict himself once. This made his counseling more acceptable, because he knew what his patients were going through. They loved him because he understood what they needed.
We pastors should not put ourselves above others. We must be humble: just one sinner helping another!
Years ago, a beautiful red-headed woman who had lost her husband threw herself into my arms after the funeral, thanking me for my support. My marriage was in trouble at the time, but I resisted her approaches (which were genuine) because I knew it could ruin my ministry -- which came first. Only God can give us his strength! The only positive side of this is that I was sympathetic to others who were likewise tempted. I was a fellow sinner! No, I did not give in, but the Bible tells us that if we even look at another woman lustfully we have sinned. No, I did not cut out an eye! (Wouldn’t we have to pluck out both in such a case?)
I always liked that passage which said that Jesus was tempted in every way like we are, except without sin. I thought that if he was tempted in every way that I am tempted, then he must have thought how nice it would be to settle down with Mary Magdalene and go back to the carpentry business where he was brought up. But he knew that was not his assignment from his Father in heaven.
Jesus’ assignment was not one he looked forward to; he sweated blood over it and even cried that it might be taken from him -- but as he said, “not my will but thine be done.”
As a man on earth, Jesus learned obedience to the Father. We should learn from him, even if it means a cross (of some kind).
Bob O.
Mark 10:35-45
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” How many children have heard that question? It’s likely that you heard it as you were growing up too. What kind of answers do we get to that question? When I was growing up, the first thing I wanted to be was a garbageman. I know, it sounds weird, but I thought it would be great fun to be able to ride on the back of that truck, throw in trash, and watch it get smashed. As I grew a bit older, I wanted to be a baseball player. Not very original, but it was my hope. In high school, for a while I entertained the idea of being a lawyer.
Now, I don’t want to bore you with my stories of growing up. Is there a point to all of this reminiscing? Yes, there is. I cannot recall at any point of my life thinking I hope when I get older I can be a servant! I doubt if you ever thought or said that either. Why? It’s obvious, isn’t it? No one has that as a goal. However, Jesus makes it clear that if you want to be great, you seek to be a servant. Greatness is measured not by how much you make and accomplish, but by how much you have served those around you.
Whenever I hear that question asked, and I still do, I think about it just a bit differently. I’m still waiting for someone to say “I want to be a servant.” I wonder if I’ll hear it.
Bill T.
Mark 10:35-45
John Calvin provides a thoughtful insight about the meaning of this lesson: “He [Jesus] does not explain generally how deadly a plague ambition is, but simply warns them that nothing is more foolish than to fight about nothing. He shows that the primacy, which is the occasion of dispute among them, has no existence in His Kingdom” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVI/2, pp. 423-424).
Martin Luther also nicely described the insidious self-seeking evident in James and John. He wrote: “But the impure and perverted lovers who are nothing else than parasites and who seek their own advantage in God, neither love nor praise his bare goodness, but have an eye to themselves and consider how only God is to them. They delighted in their salvation much more than in their Savior, in the gift more than in the giver, in the creature rather than in the creator” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, p. 309).
Playwright Eugene O’Neill in The Great God Brown well expresses what a difference the wonderful love of God can make in our lives: “Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.” With grace as our glue, when we realize our goodness has not earned anything, it is a little easier to give away your goodness, becomes a little easier to serve. Martin Luther made this point: “...if someone desires from me a service I can render him, I will gladly do it out of goodwill.... All our works should be of such a nature that they flow from pleasure and love... since for ourselves we need nothing to make us pious” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, pp. 78-79).
Mark E.
Mark 10:35-45
One summer Saturday morning in 1864, when Theodore Roosevelt was six years old, he was playing tag with a group of children in a New York City park across the street from the church where the Roosevelt family worshiped. Noticing that the huge wooden doors of the church were open, the curious child was drawn to the building. The sexton greeted the lad at the door and invited him in for a tour. Suddenly Roosevelt balked, exclaiming “I know what you’ve got in there!” The sexton tried to assure the little one that everything in the church could be seen and touched. Roosevelt remained adamant in his refusal to enter; he turned, leapt down the church steps, and ran home. Once he returned home, young Teddy talked to his mother about the friendly sexton and his own fear of entering the church. Concerned, his mother slowly, cautiously prodded her son to explain. Eventually Teddy admitted he did not enter the building because he was afraid the “zeal” would attack him. Teddy emphasized, “Last Sunday I heard the minister read from the Bible about the zeal, and it made me afraid.” The child was unable to elaborate. Puzzled, Mrs. Roosevelt went to her concordance and read each passage that mentioned the word “zeal.” Quickly she found the verse that disturbed her son; it was Psalm 69:9: “For the zeal of this house hath eaten me up.”
Application: Our lesson says we are to have zeal, because we are not to be served but to serve.
Ron L.
The child was no older than five. However, he brandished the sword as if he were a fearless hero, protecting the innocent and slaying evildoers and monsters. “How dare you capture the princess,” he exclaimed to his imaginary foe. “Here’s my sword!” He swung with all his might, and in his mind cut down the dark knight. He stood over his conquered foe and freed the princess. As he did, he held his sword aloft. He stood in triumph. He saw in his imagination a glorious picture. He was the champion. He was great, powerful, and awesome. What he didn’t see, though, was his father creeping up behind him. As he lifted his sword as the hero, his dad grabbed his sword and arm. In one quick movement the brave hero was snatched up in a squishy hug by an even stronger force -- his father.
A story of child’s play. Really? How does that connect in any way with God? I wonder, sometimes, if our heavenly Father sees us and what we do as “child’s play.” Maybe all that we are up against and see as important is, well, not that significant. Perhaps these questions for Job are to remind him of who really is the strong one.
Bill T.
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
In his autobiography Man in Black Johnny Cash recounts more than a career in music, confessing to self-destructive demons that robbed him of contentment and self-worth. Privileged to reside in Israel during the filming of Gospel Road, Cash found that his favorite location for privacy was on the mountaintop of Mount Arabel, which overlooked Galilee. There he would rest upon a rock, seeking direction in life. He pondered if Jesus sat upon the same rock in moments of quiet meditation. As Cash sat there in reflection, he spoke to himself: “[M]aybe he stood here with his disciples around him, teaching them. Teach me too, I whispered. The more I learn of you, the more I realize I don’t know you.” On the mountaintop he sought solace; beneath the studio lights he found both exposure and expression.
Application: Job teaches us to seek the counsel of wisdom and knowledge.
Ron L.
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
John Calvin offered two comments that well express the intentions of God’s interactions with Job in this lesson:
If men attempt to reach the infinite height to which God is exalted, although they fly above the clouds, they must fall in the midst of their course. Those who seek to see him in his naked majesty are certainly foolish. That we may enjoy the sight of him, he must come forth to view with his clothing; that is to say, we must cast our eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the work in which he wishes to be seen by us, and not be too curious and rash in searching into his secret essence (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. VI/1, p. 164).
If a small portion of the works of God make us amazed, how inadequate are our feeble minds to comprehend the whole extent of them! (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. VI/1, p. 164).
It is as Martin Luther once put it: “But God’s word and works do not proceed according to our view of things, but in a way incomprehensible to reason” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 37, p. 207). Famed 19th-century English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning offered a similar observation: “God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.”
Mark E.
Hebrews 5:1-10
Being an ordained minister is a tough job. We stand in line with Jesus, with Paul, with others who have formed and led churches, who have struggled with human weakness, who find themselves sometimes suffering and sometimes crying just like the rest of the population. Being called by God to lead in ministry is not a cakewalk. Surely there are times of joy and reward, times of celebration, but often the road of ministry is a lonely path, a path where God’s presence is felt -- but we too suffer in obedience and in life.
As someone called by God, I remember the advice I was given by the clergywoman who preached at my ordination. She clearly said, “Just love your people.” It’s a message we all need to be reminded about. Just love your people, all your people, all your neighbors, al the strangers, all the others in your midst. But friends, ministers need love too. I am writing to ministers here, but how many of you love other ministers in your midst in the same way you are called to love your people, God’s people? Maybe it would be a good thing to try. All of us could do with a little more love.
Bonnie B.
Hebrews 5:1-10
Sounds like a pastor’s job, doesn’t it? We represent our people when needed, and distribute their offerings where most needed. We offer communion for our sins and our people’s sins. We can be counselors to those in trouble. Our job is laid out for us if we want to keep getting our salary.
It is important to realize that we also have weaknesses and trials, which can make us all the more wanted. I have a son who is a counselor to drug and alcohol addicts, but was an addict himself once. This made his counseling more acceptable, because he knew what his patients were going through. They loved him because he understood what they needed.
We pastors should not put ourselves above others. We must be humble: just one sinner helping another!
Years ago, a beautiful red-headed woman who had lost her husband threw herself into my arms after the funeral, thanking me for my support. My marriage was in trouble at the time, but I resisted her approaches (which were genuine) because I knew it could ruin my ministry -- which came first. Only God can give us his strength! The only positive side of this is that I was sympathetic to others who were likewise tempted. I was a fellow sinner! No, I did not give in, but the Bible tells us that if we even look at another woman lustfully we have sinned. No, I did not cut out an eye! (Wouldn’t we have to pluck out both in such a case?)
I always liked that passage which said that Jesus was tempted in every way like we are, except without sin. I thought that if he was tempted in every way that I am tempted, then he must have thought how nice it would be to settle down with Mary Magdalene and go back to the carpentry business where he was brought up. But he knew that was not his assignment from his Father in heaven.
Jesus’ assignment was not one he looked forward to; he sweated blood over it and even cried that it might be taken from him -- but as he said, “not my will but thine be done.”
As a man on earth, Jesus learned obedience to the Father. We should learn from him, even if it means a cross (of some kind).
Bob O.
Mark 10:35-45
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” How many children have heard that question? It’s likely that you heard it as you were growing up too. What kind of answers do we get to that question? When I was growing up, the first thing I wanted to be was a garbageman. I know, it sounds weird, but I thought it would be great fun to be able to ride on the back of that truck, throw in trash, and watch it get smashed. As I grew a bit older, I wanted to be a baseball player. Not very original, but it was my hope. In high school, for a while I entertained the idea of being a lawyer.
Now, I don’t want to bore you with my stories of growing up. Is there a point to all of this reminiscing? Yes, there is. I cannot recall at any point of my life thinking I hope when I get older I can be a servant! I doubt if you ever thought or said that either. Why? It’s obvious, isn’t it? No one has that as a goal. However, Jesus makes it clear that if you want to be great, you seek to be a servant. Greatness is measured not by how much you make and accomplish, but by how much you have served those around you.
Whenever I hear that question asked, and I still do, I think about it just a bit differently. I’m still waiting for someone to say “I want to be a servant.” I wonder if I’ll hear it.
Bill T.
Mark 10:35-45
John Calvin provides a thoughtful insight about the meaning of this lesson: “He [Jesus] does not explain generally how deadly a plague ambition is, but simply warns them that nothing is more foolish than to fight about nothing. He shows that the primacy, which is the occasion of dispute among them, has no existence in His Kingdom” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVI/2, pp. 423-424).
Martin Luther also nicely described the insidious self-seeking evident in James and John. He wrote: “But the impure and perverted lovers who are nothing else than parasites and who seek their own advantage in God, neither love nor praise his bare goodness, but have an eye to themselves and consider how only God is to them. They delighted in their salvation much more than in their Savior, in the gift more than in the giver, in the creature rather than in the creator” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, p. 309).
Playwright Eugene O’Neill in The Great God Brown well expresses what a difference the wonderful love of God can make in our lives: “Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.” With grace as our glue, when we realize our goodness has not earned anything, it is a little easier to give away your goodness, becomes a little easier to serve. Martin Luther made this point: “...if someone desires from me a service I can render him, I will gladly do it out of goodwill.... All our works should be of such a nature that they flow from pleasure and love... since for ourselves we need nothing to make us pious” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21, pp. 78-79).
Mark E.
Mark 10:35-45
One summer Saturday morning in 1864, when Theodore Roosevelt was six years old, he was playing tag with a group of children in a New York City park across the street from the church where the Roosevelt family worshiped. Noticing that the huge wooden doors of the church were open, the curious child was drawn to the building. The sexton greeted the lad at the door and invited him in for a tour. Suddenly Roosevelt balked, exclaiming “I know what you’ve got in there!” The sexton tried to assure the little one that everything in the church could be seen and touched. Roosevelt remained adamant in his refusal to enter; he turned, leapt down the church steps, and ran home. Once he returned home, young Teddy talked to his mother about the friendly sexton and his own fear of entering the church. Concerned, his mother slowly, cautiously prodded her son to explain. Eventually Teddy admitted he did not enter the building because he was afraid the “zeal” would attack him. Teddy emphasized, “Last Sunday I heard the minister read from the Bible about the zeal, and it made me afraid.” The child was unable to elaborate. Puzzled, Mrs. Roosevelt went to her concordance and read each passage that mentioned the word “zeal.” Quickly she found the verse that disturbed her son; it was Psalm 69:9: “For the zeal of this house hath eaten me up.”
Application: Our lesson says we are to have zeal, because we are not to be served but to serve.
Ron L.
