Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 br...
Illustration
Object:
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Grant Wood, creator of the famous painting, American Gothic, grew up in Anamosa, Iowa. When this Iowa farm boy decided to become a painter, he imagined there was only one place for him to go: Paris. He joined the expatriate American art community there, and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.
Then, one day in the year 1926, Wood woke up with a chilling thought. "Everything I've done up to now," he told his friend, the historian William Shirer, "is wrong -- and, my God, I'm halfway through my life!" Wood told Shirer he'd come to the realization that he would never be able to beat the French impressionists at their own game.
Shirer offered his friend some lukewarm encouragement, along the lines of, "Don't worry, things will get better," but Wood plunged on:
"Listen, Bill. I think ... at last ... I've learned something. At least, about myself. I think you have to paint ... what you know. And despite the years in Europe -- all I really know is home. Iowa. The farm at Anamosa. Milking cows. Cedar Rapids. The typical small town, all right. Everything commonplace. Your neighbors, the quiet streets, the clapboard homes, the drab clothes, the dried-up lives, the hypocritical talk, the silly boosters, the poverty of culture. Bill, I'm going home for good. And I'm going to paint those cows and barns and barnyards and cornfields and little red schoolhouses and all those pinched faces and the women in their aprons and the men in their overalls and the storefronts and the look of a field or a street in the heat of summer or when it's ten below and the snow is piled six feet high. I'm going to do it."
And so, he did. American Gothic is very possibly the most famous American painting of the twentieth century. It's one of very few paintings that's instantly recognizable the world over, to everyone from art critics to grocery clerks. That image of the farmer in his overalls with his pitchfork, and his wife in the apron with the cameo at her neck, is a bit of scathing social commentary that's been reproduced on posters and buttons and T-shirts and book covers. It's become a beloved icon of our culture.
Grant Wood used to imagine that he was in exile, in rural Iowa. It was only when he learned to "seek the welfare" of that place that he was able to achieve his God-given potential as an artist.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
When Stan accepted a job on the Canadian prairies, necessitating a move from California, it felt like the end of the world to his wife, Alyssa. Who wanted to move to a part of the continent where the temperature dropped to -40? C, where rain was scarce, trees didn't grow, and wind blew constantly? Alyssa's mother comforted her daughter with words similar to Jeremiah's advice to the Babylonian exiles. "This will be your home. Settle in. Make friends. Get a job. Volunteer in the community and church. It will make your stay much more enjoyable." Alyssa took her mother's advice to heart. She made the new city and country her home, and before she knew it, two children were born and raised, retirement loomed, and grandchildren romped in her yard. Thirty-three years after she arrived on the prairies, Alyssa can't imagine living anywhere else.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
It has been a difficult two years for the residents of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While the people have all kinds of problems in the recovery effort, with government agencies and insurance companies, there remains a strong resolve to rebuild. Our continued prayers and financial support are still needed.
People who lost their homes and all their belongings desire to rebuild. It is a sign of tenacity and a sign of hope. While the hurricane destroyed property it could not kill their resolute spirit. Resident after resident stood up at a town meeting saying, "I was born here and desire to live no where else." A new sense of hope is emerging from the destruction.
A group of Christian students spent their spring break this year helping people repair and rebuild their homes in New Orleans. One young woman reflects, "The hard part was when a resident said it meant so much to her that we were there because she thought that everyone forgot about her and everyone else." And then she adds, "The sand that made its way into my bag isn't from the beach but from the future homes of people who lost everything they owned in the hurricane."
In the worst of times, the prophet Jeremiah bought land. The city was under siege and Jeremiah was confined. The people felt like all hope was gone. With that symbolic act of buying land, Jeremiah was telling the people that there was hope.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Israel was humiliated. The once-proud nation whom God miraculously delivered from slavery had just lost its freedom. Now they were exiled again and subservient to another ungodly nation, the Babylonians. Many of the Israelites wondered how they should try to live under the domination of people who didn't acknowledge God. Jeremiah told them what God wanted them to do.
Christians presently agonize over how to deal with governments that don't necessarily agree with them. Many believing US citizens regularly protest actions by the government. It's difficult, if not impossible, to find authorization for their criticism in Jesus' teaching.
The word of the Lord to Jeremiah doesn't give approval to a fault-finding position. In fact, the Lord gave Jeremiah the opposite advice: "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." We, too, should seek the welfare of our country and its rulers, and pray for them -- even the ones we don't agree with.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Two hundred years ago, people defined preaching as sixty minutes to raise the dead. One hundred years ago, preaching was declared 45 minutes to raise the dead. Fifty years ago, it was calculated as thirty minutes to raise the dead. In the twenty-first century, it's fifteen minutes to raise the dead. If we didn't have evidence to the contrary, we'd conclude that people are less spiritually dead now than 200 years ago.
Paul's announcing that "the word of God is not chained," probably refers to preaching. The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary states "... the expression 'word of God' in scripture does not usually refer to the written word at all, but rather to God's or his emissaries' speaking and inspiration."
Christian tradition began calling the Bible the word of God, but we dare not forget that Christians speaking (or even preaching) about Jesus is the very Word of God that is not chained.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Having watched the various figure skating championships this past winter, we often do not realize the amount of sacrifice involved in those personal stories of triumph. One story was told of an Olympian's mother who had spent years driving her daughter to skating practice (two hours each way). Helping her daughter this way meant giving up many social events and opportunities for fellowship and service with her friends.
She endured foul weather, car trouble, tricky scheduling decisions, and more than one session of family tension. But, her daughter had a dream of being in the Olympics someday. She figured all of the inconvenience and sacrifice and endurance of troubles was worth it if her daughter could realize a lifelong dream in the process.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
What the middle verses indicate is that we need to be mindful of Christ. Indeed, "Remember Jesus Christ."
A man went to his physician for a checkup. The doctor told the man there was nothing seriously wrong, but that he should be more active. The man said he did not play any sports. The doctor persuaded the man to get a hoop and stick and to roll it to work and back. The man would check the hoop and stick with the parking attendant in the morning and reclaim them after work. One night, the parking attendant couldn't find the hoop and stick. The man became very upset. The attendant, seeking to assure the man, said, "There's no need to get upset. In the morning I'll go out and buy you another hoop and stick." This did not soothe the man, who exclaimed, "That's all right for tomorrow, but how am I supposed to get home tonight?"
We are not merely to be creatures of habit. We are to remember our Creator.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
When John G. Paton, the first missionary to the cannibals of the South Pacific Islands, was working on translating the Holy Bible into their native language, he could find no word for "faith." One day an exhausted runner, in utter exhaustion, flopped down on his bamboo couch and spoke a word Paton had never heard before. He jumped to his feet, and asked the tired runner to repeat the word which he did, meaning he could cast his weary body on the couch and be supported.
Paton responded: "That's what faith is, it means you can cast your self upon Jesus Christ for reconciliation, for forgiveness, for redemption, for peace, and for eternal life. Yes, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Luke 17:11-19
A swimming teacher tells how difficult it is to teach four-year-old children to swim. The teacher realized, on his very first day of work, how terrifying it is for a four-year-old to go from standing on the side of the pool, shivering in a towel, to floating in the water (let alone swimming). The only way to do it is gradually. You have to support young children in your arms, slowly bending your knees until the kids discover the property of buoyancy: that they can indeed trust the water to hold them up, if they position their body the right way. Yet without a teacher -- without someone to take them from point A to point B, whispering to them all the while that it's going to be all right -- it's well-nigh impossible. Despite all the folklore that says you can teach children by the "sink or swim" method, it almost never happens that way.
So, too, with any journey of healing or recovery: as trite as it may sound to say it, the only way to get anywhere is one step at a time. And, the most important step of all is the first. That's the risk -- the challenge -- the leap -- of faith. Jesus says to us, as he said to the lepers, "Go." He doesn't tell us what the journey will look like, what awaits us around each turn. He just says, "It's time to get started."
Luke 17:11-19
One Thanksgiving, Debbie Lynn Matoren watched as patrons of a restaurant gobbled down their food with nary a word of thanks. So she stood up and a read a little grace that she had clipped out of the newspaper. The diners, many not too happy at having their meal interrupted, bowed their heads as she read. A few months later, in January 1988, Debbie died while at school. Her mother phoned the newspaper for the Thanksgiving prayer that Debbie had clipped out and courageously read at the restaurant. It was read at her funeral. The prayer in part, goes like this:
We gather as one today under the tent of our Creator. We stand in awe before the miracle of life and give thanks for: The bounty before us; those who toiled in field and kitchen to bring us this meal; every wonder that helped this food grow -- sun and rain, soil and seed, the hands of the farmer. The company that shares our table and the loved ones missing, but still with us. The generations who brought us to this day.
Luke 17:11-19
A recently married couple had a beautiful baby girl. The church wanted to do something special for them. It was decided to have people bring gifts to the church and then on the appointed Sunday surprise the couple with a baby shower. People were thrilled to do something nice for this couple just starting out. In the weeks before, people were telling each other about the cute outfit they bought at the children's store. Some of the people had not bought baby clothing for years. It was a lot of fun.
On Sunday, the gifts, along with balloons adorned the front of the church. The new mother was completely surprised. Several members helped load their van with all the gifts. It was a portrait of the church at its best -- helping a young family.
About two months later some of the members were upset that they had never received a thank-you note from the couple. Some said they would never again help anyone because of the lack of gratitude from this couple. The atmosphere at church took a negative turn. People became upset demanding that someone talk to the couple to explain that people had hurt feelings in the church, and demand that they should write thank-you notes to everyone.
The wise pastor was able to defuse the situation. She explained that helping other people was its own reward and that they should not always expect notes of thanks. She asked them to focus on why they had bought the gifts in the first place -- to help or to receive a thank-you note.
In our lesson, Jesus healed ten leapers with only one coming back to offer thanks. However, the other nine were still healed.
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus healed ten lepers all at once. How eager they must have been to get back with their loved ones. But Jewish law required they first follow this procedure:
• Get to the priest and have him examine them.
• Offer the necessary sacrifices.
• Go through a waiting period.
These men had been away a long time and wanted to get back into circulation. All must have been thankful to be cured of that wasting disease. But one guy -- a Samaritan -- realized that Jesus had made it happen. He returned, praised God in a loud voice, threw himself at Jesus' feet, and told him how grateful he was.
It meant that he'd be delayed in being declared clean, and it'd be longer before he'd see his family. But he wanted to tell Jesus how grateful he was. The Samaritan's thankful faith healed him. Faith is vital. But faith must be married to gratitude. Without thanksgiving, it is deficient. It turns off God and other people. Take time to stop and praise God. Then give thanks to someone who has helped you.
Grant Wood, creator of the famous painting, American Gothic, grew up in Anamosa, Iowa. When this Iowa farm boy decided to become a painter, he imagined there was only one place for him to go: Paris. He joined the expatriate American art community there, and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.
Then, one day in the year 1926, Wood woke up with a chilling thought. "Everything I've done up to now," he told his friend, the historian William Shirer, "is wrong -- and, my God, I'm halfway through my life!" Wood told Shirer he'd come to the realization that he would never be able to beat the French impressionists at their own game.
Shirer offered his friend some lukewarm encouragement, along the lines of, "Don't worry, things will get better," but Wood plunged on:
"Listen, Bill. I think ... at last ... I've learned something. At least, about myself. I think you have to paint ... what you know. And despite the years in Europe -- all I really know is home. Iowa. The farm at Anamosa. Milking cows. Cedar Rapids. The typical small town, all right. Everything commonplace. Your neighbors, the quiet streets, the clapboard homes, the drab clothes, the dried-up lives, the hypocritical talk, the silly boosters, the poverty of culture. Bill, I'm going home for good. And I'm going to paint those cows and barns and barnyards and cornfields and little red schoolhouses and all those pinched faces and the women in their aprons and the men in their overalls and the storefronts and the look of a field or a street in the heat of summer or when it's ten below and the snow is piled six feet high. I'm going to do it."
And so, he did. American Gothic is very possibly the most famous American painting of the twentieth century. It's one of very few paintings that's instantly recognizable the world over, to everyone from art critics to grocery clerks. That image of the farmer in his overalls with his pitchfork, and his wife in the apron with the cameo at her neck, is a bit of scathing social commentary that's been reproduced on posters and buttons and T-shirts and book covers. It's become a beloved icon of our culture.
Grant Wood used to imagine that he was in exile, in rural Iowa. It was only when he learned to "seek the welfare" of that place that he was able to achieve his God-given potential as an artist.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
When Stan accepted a job on the Canadian prairies, necessitating a move from California, it felt like the end of the world to his wife, Alyssa. Who wanted to move to a part of the continent where the temperature dropped to -40? C, where rain was scarce, trees didn't grow, and wind blew constantly? Alyssa's mother comforted her daughter with words similar to Jeremiah's advice to the Babylonian exiles. "This will be your home. Settle in. Make friends. Get a job. Volunteer in the community and church. It will make your stay much more enjoyable." Alyssa took her mother's advice to heart. She made the new city and country her home, and before she knew it, two children were born and raised, retirement loomed, and grandchildren romped in her yard. Thirty-three years after she arrived on the prairies, Alyssa can't imagine living anywhere else.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
It has been a difficult two years for the residents of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While the people have all kinds of problems in the recovery effort, with government agencies and insurance companies, there remains a strong resolve to rebuild. Our continued prayers and financial support are still needed.
People who lost their homes and all their belongings desire to rebuild. It is a sign of tenacity and a sign of hope. While the hurricane destroyed property it could not kill their resolute spirit. Resident after resident stood up at a town meeting saying, "I was born here and desire to live no where else." A new sense of hope is emerging from the destruction.
A group of Christian students spent their spring break this year helping people repair and rebuild their homes in New Orleans. One young woman reflects, "The hard part was when a resident said it meant so much to her that we were there because she thought that everyone forgot about her and everyone else." And then she adds, "The sand that made its way into my bag isn't from the beach but from the future homes of people who lost everything they owned in the hurricane."
In the worst of times, the prophet Jeremiah bought land. The city was under siege and Jeremiah was confined. The people felt like all hope was gone. With that symbolic act of buying land, Jeremiah was telling the people that there was hope.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Israel was humiliated. The once-proud nation whom God miraculously delivered from slavery had just lost its freedom. Now they were exiled again and subservient to another ungodly nation, the Babylonians. Many of the Israelites wondered how they should try to live under the domination of people who didn't acknowledge God. Jeremiah told them what God wanted them to do.
Christians presently agonize over how to deal with governments that don't necessarily agree with them. Many believing US citizens regularly protest actions by the government. It's difficult, if not impossible, to find authorization for their criticism in Jesus' teaching.
The word of the Lord to Jeremiah doesn't give approval to a fault-finding position. In fact, the Lord gave Jeremiah the opposite advice: "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." We, too, should seek the welfare of our country and its rulers, and pray for them -- even the ones we don't agree with.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Two hundred years ago, people defined preaching as sixty minutes to raise the dead. One hundred years ago, preaching was declared 45 minutes to raise the dead. Fifty years ago, it was calculated as thirty minutes to raise the dead. In the twenty-first century, it's fifteen minutes to raise the dead. If we didn't have evidence to the contrary, we'd conclude that people are less spiritually dead now than 200 years ago.
Paul's announcing that "the word of God is not chained," probably refers to preaching. The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary states "... the expression 'word of God' in scripture does not usually refer to the written word at all, but rather to God's or his emissaries' speaking and inspiration."
Christian tradition began calling the Bible the word of God, but we dare not forget that Christians speaking (or even preaching) about Jesus is the very Word of God that is not chained.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Having watched the various figure skating championships this past winter, we often do not realize the amount of sacrifice involved in those personal stories of triumph. One story was told of an Olympian's mother who had spent years driving her daughter to skating practice (two hours each way). Helping her daughter this way meant giving up many social events and opportunities for fellowship and service with her friends.
She endured foul weather, car trouble, tricky scheduling decisions, and more than one session of family tension. But, her daughter had a dream of being in the Olympics someday. She figured all of the inconvenience and sacrifice and endurance of troubles was worth it if her daughter could realize a lifelong dream in the process.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
What the middle verses indicate is that we need to be mindful of Christ. Indeed, "Remember Jesus Christ."
A man went to his physician for a checkup. The doctor told the man there was nothing seriously wrong, but that he should be more active. The man said he did not play any sports. The doctor persuaded the man to get a hoop and stick and to roll it to work and back. The man would check the hoop and stick with the parking attendant in the morning and reclaim them after work. One night, the parking attendant couldn't find the hoop and stick. The man became very upset. The attendant, seeking to assure the man, said, "There's no need to get upset. In the morning I'll go out and buy you another hoop and stick." This did not soothe the man, who exclaimed, "That's all right for tomorrow, but how am I supposed to get home tonight?"
We are not merely to be creatures of habit. We are to remember our Creator.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
When John G. Paton, the first missionary to the cannibals of the South Pacific Islands, was working on translating the Holy Bible into their native language, he could find no word for "faith." One day an exhausted runner, in utter exhaustion, flopped down on his bamboo couch and spoke a word Paton had never heard before. He jumped to his feet, and asked the tired runner to repeat the word which he did, meaning he could cast his weary body on the couch and be supported.
Paton responded: "That's what faith is, it means you can cast your self upon Jesus Christ for reconciliation, for forgiveness, for redemption, for peace, and for eternal life. Yes, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Luke 17:11-19
A swimming teacher tells how difficult it is to teach four-year-old children to swim. The teacher realized, on his very first day of work, how terrifying it is for a four-year-old to go from standing on the side of the pool, shivering in a towel, to floating in the water (let alone swimming). The only way to do it is gradually. You have to support young children in your arms, slowly bending your knees until the kids discover the property of buoyancy: that they can indeed trust the water to hold them up, if they position their body the right way. Yet without a teacher -- without someone to take them from point A to point B, whispering to them all the while that it's going to be all right -- it's well-nigh impossible. Despite all the folklore that says you can teach children by the "sink or swim" method, it almost never happens that way.
So, too, with any journey of healing or recovery: as trite as it may sound to say it, the only way to get anywhere is one step at a time. And, the most important step of all is the first. That's the risk -- the challenge -- the leap -- of faith. Jesus says to us, as he said to the lepers, "Go." He doesn't tell us what the journey will look like, what awaits us around each turn. He just says, "It's time to get started."
Luke 17:11-19
One Thanksgiving, Debbie Lynn Matoren watched as patrons of a restaurant gobbled down their food with nary a word of thanks. So she stood up and a read a little grace that she had clipped out of the newspaper. The diners, many not too happy at having their meal interrupted, bowed their heads as she read. A few months later, in January 1988, Debbie died while at school. Her mother phoned the newspaper for the Thanksgiving prayer that Debbie had clipped out and courageously read at the restaurant. It was read at her funeral. The prayer in part, goes like this:
We gather as one today under the tent of our Creator. We stand in awe before the miracle of life and give thanks for: The bounty before us; those who toiled in field and kitchen to bring us this meal; every wonder that helped this food grow -- sun and rain, soil and seed, the hands of the farmer. The company that shares our table and the loved ones missing, but still with us. The generations who brought us to this day.
Luke 17:11-19
A recently married couple had a beautiful baby girl. The church wanted to do something special for them. It was decided to have people bring gifts to the church and then on the appointed Sunday surprise the couple with a baby shower. People were thrilled to do something nice for this couple just starting out. In the weeks before, people were telling each other about the cute outfit they bought at the children's store. Some of the people had not bought baby clothing for years. It was a lot of fun.
On Sunday, the gifts, along with balloons adorned the front of the church. The new mother was completely surprised. Several members helped load their van with all the gifts. It was a portrait of the church at its best -- helping a young family.
About two months later some of the members were upset that they had never received a thank-you note from the couple. Some said they would never again help anyone because of the lack of gratitude from this couple. The atmosphere at church took a negative turn. People became upset demanding that someone talk to the couple to explain that people had hurt feelings in the church, and demand that they should write thank-you notes to everyone.
The wise pastor was able to defuse the situation. She explained that helping other people was its own reward and that they should not always expect notes of thanks. She asked them to focus on why they had bought the gifts in the first place -- to help or to receive a thank-you note.
In our lesson, Jesus healed ten leapers with only one coming back to offer thanks. However, the other nine were still healed.
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus healed ten lepers all at once. How eager they must have been to get back with their loved ones. But Jewish law required they first follow this procedure:
• Get to the priest and have him examine them.
• Offer the necessary sacrifices.
• Go through a waiting period.
These men had been away a long time and wanted to get back into circulation. All must have been thankful to be cured of that wasting disease. But one guy -- a Samaritan -- realized that Jesus had made it happen. He returned, praised God in a loud voice, threw himself at Jesus' feet, and told him how grateful he was.
It meant that he'd be delayed in being declared clean, and it'd be longer before he'd see his family. But he wanted to tell Jesus how grateful he was. The Samaritan's thankful faith healed him. Faith is vital. But faith must be married to gratitude. Without thanksgiving, it is deficient. It turns off God and other people. Take time to stop and praise God. Then give thanks to someone who has helped you.
