Sermon Illustrations for Advent 3 (2021)
Illustration
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Mariano Rivera was one of the greatest closers Major League Baseball has ever seen. Rivera retired from the New York Yankees in 2013 after playing nineteen seasons. Rivera was loved by the Yankees and their fans and dreaded by his opponents. Yankees’ manager Joe Torre once said, “He's the best I've ever been around. Not only the ability to pitch and perform under pressure, but the calm he puts over the clubhouse. He's very important for us because he's a special person." Former Yankee pitcher Goose Gossage said of Rivera, "When Rivera takes the mound, the other team —is sitting in the dugout thinking, 'We've got no chance. It's over.' This guy walks into the game, and they are done."
Mariano Rivera brought calm and comfort to his team. His opponents feared him and dreaded him coming in. As we look at this Old Testament prophetic passage, it seems to me, in a bigger way, that that’s how it is for the Lord. The phrase “The Lord is in your midst” is said twice (vs. 15 and vs. 17). There is no reason for fear. It is time for victory. The Lord is with you, people of God.
I can’t help but be reminded of Emmanuel. He is still with us today. No fear. No doubt. Look for the victory.
Bill T.
* * *
Zephaniah 3:14-20
This short book of prophecy, rich with oracles of judgement against the nations and against Jerusalem, turns on a dime here with the good news of what can happen with a change of heart and action! Here comes a warrior to set things straight (3:17). What kind of warrior? This warrior does not come to set kings on thrones and bolster the rich and powerful. This warrior has come to bless the lame and the outcasts (3:19), the ones usually caught between warring parties and the losers in any change of power. The promised restoration of fortune is for those who are usually overlooked. And that, of course, is part of what the coming infant will do when he comes into his own, not only in first century Judea and Galilee, but now and forever!
Frank R.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
Preaching on this text and its call to rejoice in the Lord, Martin Luther claimed that “joy is the natural fruit of faith.” (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.93) He proceeded to explain how the gospel provides such joy in liberating us from an accusing conscience:
He who would have a quiet conscience, and would be sensitive of God’s mercy must not, like the apostates, depend on works still further doing violence to the heart and increasing its hatred of God. He must place no hope whatever in works. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.94)
The lesson also refers to a peace that passes all understanding. On this matter the first reformer proclaimed:
But they who rejoice in God, finding their peace in him, are contented [in the midst of tribulations]. They calmly endure tribulation, not desiring what reason dictates as peace – removal of the evil. Standing firm, they await the inner peace wrought by faith. It is not theirs to inquire whether the evil will be short or long in duration. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.110)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
How many times have you reminded folks that the word gospel means literally good news? Well, this passage from Luke doesn’t seem like good news, and it certainly doesn’t feel Christmasy. John the Baptist referring to his listeners as the brood of vipers is doubly creepy. First of all, some people just don’t like snakes. It creeps them out. Second, it was believed at the time that the newly born vipers ate their way out of their mother, killing her in the process. Yuck! John is suggesting that many of us who take pride in our religious heritage are eating away the church from within because of our behavior.
But the passage continues with what I think is the good news. Turn your heart around, turn your behavior backwards from your wayward ways, remember that there are no entitlements. Better yet, tax collectors and the occupying Roman Army, symbols of Roman oppression, are part of the family. They too in turning the other direction (the word for repentance is metanoia, turning your mind around, and changing direction) become part of the family of faith.
The child in the manger will grow up to challenge those in political and religious authority. Calling yourself a child of Abraham, or a fifth-generation member of this church, is not enough. Share your coat, give back your ill-gotten gains, walk the extra mile for the salvation of the outsider. This is what Jesus is coming to proclaim.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
You may have read about town criers. Town criers were the original newsmen finding their origins in ancient Greece. Town criers in Britain are thought to have started in 1066 when news of William of Normandy’s invasion was known. Men were employed to remind everybody of the king’s authority and passed information from town to town. Specifically, these individuals were to call out the king’s proclamation. In later times, they were provided with a bell and used to make important proclamations in the area in which they lived.
While reading about town criers, I discovered that both men and women were employed in the role. They begin their proclamations with the French phrase, “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez,” which means “Hear” or “Listen.” As the literacy of Britain’s population remained low well into the late 19th century, people came to rely on criers and heralds as a useful way of hearing about proclamations, edicts, laws, and news, since books and newspapers were only accessible to a small percentage of the English population. Proclamations, edicts, laws, and news may well have been written on paper, or parchment, however they were usually passed on to the general public by the town crier – the first (talking) newspaper. It is from the life and work of the town crier that the saying, “don’t shoot the messenger” arose.
Why all this about town criers? As I read through this familiar passage in Luke again, I was struck by how John was the messenger to the people about the coming Messiah. When asked whether he was the Messiah, John gave a reply that could have been preceded by “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez.” He said, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (vs. 16-17)
It was a message that people then and today need to hear.
Bill T.
Mariano Rivera was one of the greatest closers Major League Baseball has ever seen. Rivera retired from the New York Yankees in 2013 after playing nineteen seasons. Rivera was loved by the Yankees and their fans and dreaded by his opponents. Yankees’ manager Joe Torre once said, “He's the best I've ever been around. Not only the ability to pitch and perform under pressure, but the calm he puts over the clubhouse. He's very important for us because he's a special person." Former Yankee pitcher Goose Gossage said of Rivera, "When Rivera takes the mound, the other team —is sitting in the dugout thinking, 'We've got no chance. It's over.' This guy walks into the game, and they are done."
Mariano Rivera brought calm and comfort to his team. His opponents feared him and dreaded him coming in. As we look at this Old Testament prophetic passage, it seems to me, in a bigger way, that that’s how it is for the Lord. The phrase “The Lord is in your midst” is said twice (vs. 15 and vs. 17). There is no reason for fear. It is time for victory. The Lord is with you, people of God.
I can’t help but be reminded of Emmanuel. He is still with us today. No fear. No doubt. Look for the victory.
Bill T.
* * *
Zephaniah 3:14-20
This short book of prophecy, rich with oracles of judgement against the nations and against Jerusalem, turns on a dime here with the good news of what can happen with a change of heart and action! Here comes a warrior to set things straight (3:17). What kind of warrior? This warrior does not come to set kings on thrones and bolster the rich and powerful. This warrior has come to bless the lame and the outcasts (3:19), the ones usually caught between warring parties and the losers in any change of power. The promised restoration of fortune is for those who are usually overlooked. And that, of course, is part of what the coming infant will do when he comes into his own, not only in first century Judea and Galilee, but now and forever!
Frank R.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
Preaching on this text and its call to rejoice in the Lord, Martin Luther claimed that “joy is the natural fruit of faith.” (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.93) He proceeded to explain how the gospel provides such joy in liberating us from an accusing conscience:
He who would have a quiet conscience, and would be sensitive of God’s mercy must not, like the apostates, depend on works still further doing violence to the heart and increasing its hatred of God. He must place no hope whatever in works. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.94)
The lesson also refers to a peace that passes all understanding. On this matter the first reformer proclaimed:
But they who rejoice in God, finding their peace in him, are contented [in the midst of tribulations]. They calmly endure tribulation, not desiring what reason dictates as peace – removal of the evil. Standing firm, they await the inner peace wrought by faith. It is not theirs to inquire whether the evil will be short or long in duration. (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, p.110)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
How many times have you reminded folks that the word gospel means literally good news? Well, this passage from Luke doesn’t seem like good news, and it certainly doesn’t feel Christmasy. John the Baptist referring to his listeners as the brood of vipers is doubly creepy. First of all, some people just don’t like snakes. It creeps them out. Second, it was believed at the time that the newly born vipers ate their way out of their mother, killing her in the process. Yuck! John is suggesting that many of us who take pride in our religious heritage are eating away the church from within because of our behavior.
But the passage continues with what I think is the good news. Turn your heart around, turn your behavior backwards from your wayward ways, remember that there are no entitlements. Better yet, tax collectors and the occupying Roman Army, symbols of Roman oppression, are part of the family. They too in turning the other direction (the word for repentance is metanoia, turning your mind around, and changing direction) become part of the family of faith.
The child in the manger will grow up to challenge those in political and religious authority. Calling yourself a child of Abraham, or a fifth-generation member of this church, is not enough. Share your coat, give back your ill-gotten gains, walk the extra mile for the salvation of the outsider. This is what Jesus is coming to proclaim.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
You may have read about town criers. Town criers were the original newsmen finding their origins in ancient Greece. Town criers in Britain are thought to have started in 1066 when news of William of Normandy’s invasion was known. Men were employed to remind everybody of the king’s authority and passed information from town to town. Specifically, these individuals were to call out the king’s proclamation. In later times, they were provided with a bell and used to make important proclamations in the area in which they lived.
While reading about town criers, I discovered that both men and women were employed in the role. They begin their proclamations with the French phrase, “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez,” which means “Hear” or “Listen.” As the literacy of Britain’s population remained low well into the late 19th century, people came to rely on criers and heralds as a useful way of hearing about proclamations, edicts, laws, and news, since books and newspapers were only accessible to a small percentage of the English population. Proclamations, edicts, laws, and news may well have been written on paper, or parchment, however they were usually passed on to the general public by the town crier – the first (talking) newspaper. It is from the life and work of the town crier that the saying, “don’t shoot the messenger” arose.
Why all this about town criers? As I read through this familiar passage in Luke again, I was struck by how John was the messenger to the people about the coming Messiah. When asked whether he was the Messiah, John gave a reply that could have been preceded by “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez.” He said, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (vs. 16-17)
It was a message that people then and today need to hear.
Bill T.
