Proper 28
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Judges 4:1-7 (C)
You might want to ask someone else to read this scripture passage from your pulpit, preferably a language expert. Either that or work real hard at figuring out how to pronounce many of the words here. Maybe a rabbi can help. Seriously, we have a judge named Deborah, one of the heroines of the period between Joshua and Samuel, who is believed able to pronounce the will of God. The people are reported to have done "what was evil in the sight of the Lord." (I wish they'd been a little more specific. It would be interesting to know what qualified as evil at the time.) Bad times have come upon the people and they believe it's because of this evil they have done. So we have Barak being prepared to do battle with the hated Sisera. Deborah promises that God will see to it that they win the battle.
Lesson 1: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 (RC)
Actually, this is a wonderful passage, surely dear to the heart of nearly every husband. However, it's borderline politically incorrect for our time. We must therefore remind ourselves that this was a totally different culture, and anyone thinking to preach on this should be sure to update its sentiments. The particular passages quoted in this recommended text speak of a moral, responsible, generous life, and I have to think anyone who takes offense is very thin-skinned. But we do have to recognize that the same must be said of the husband as is said of the wife.
Lesson 1: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 (E)
Another prediction of disaster for the people because of their sins. This minor prophet does what most prophets do: lump everyone together, seeming to make no allowance for the probability that some of the people are good, some are just not very good, and some are downright bad. Averaged out, however, they must have been pretty bad in those days.
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (C); 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (RC); 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 (E)
Paul declares the Christian people to be people of the light, of the day, whereas others are people of the darkness, of the night. He urges the Christians to continue in sober ways as the day of judgment could come at any time, and the people of darkness will pay heavily for their sins. It seems to me that here, too, we have a rather extreme bit of generalization. I suppose it is important to paint with broad strokes, and that a passage like this might strike fire with someone who is currently doing something bad. But what you and I know is that many a "Christian" lives part of life in darkness, and many a person who has no interest in organized religion -- several of my friends, I might add -- are great people. To preach on this I think requires that this point be made. It makes me think of one famous ninteenth century statesman who said he decided to give the Church a chance, so he attended a nearby congregation. Asked later what he thought, he replied much like this: "The preacher with a squeaky voice told several elderly ladies and a couple of loutish fellows that they were the saved, and everyone else is lost, because they weren't in church." He didn't go back. Or a better example is that of Martin Luther, who was so obsessed with his sense of sin and evil that he punished himself with a whip, spending long, depressing hours in confession, until he must have bordered on mental illness, possibly suicide. This, even though he was more than a Christian, he was a priest. Only when he read of Paul's urging that we are to be saved, not by anything we can do, but by God's free grace, did Luther find peace of mind. That sentiment needs to be included here.
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30 (C, RC); Matthew 25:14-15, 19-29 (E)
This passage has often been misunderstood, leading to some rather strange ideas about God. The statement: "For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away," must never be taken out of context. Otherwise, a wealthy person can easily use this to justify many possessions while feeling no compassion for the homeless man. Clearly, the talents (a form of currency at that time, but also a talent as we use the word) referred to the gifts and skills a person received at birth. The one-talent man was not to be blamed for having small abilities. His fault was his unwillingness to use that ability for the benefit of others, to make this world a better place. His sin was in allowing his ability to serve no useful purpose, using it only for himself and his own safety and comfort. As for the outer darkness, I don't for a moment believe that God rejects a person for living a selfish life. That person will create his or her own "outer darkness" in the form of a meaningless, joyless life.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "God And The Battles Of Life"
Text: Judges 4:1-7
Theme: This is not the passage I would choose to preach on next Sunday, mainly because I'm not comfortable with its theology. If I were to use it, however, my focus would be on the promise that God helps us fight the battles of life. A friend of mine with whom I recently spent some time has been battling cancer for two years. He had a painful surgery and must be very careful of his health from now on. He is in remission and, successful business developer that he is, also now teaches Bible classes at the church. He told me that he believes his illness has been a great blessing in his life. We agreed that God doesn't send things like that, but when they come, God can use them. My friend says he has found as a result of his cancer joy in life which was missing before. God has, indeed, helped him in his biggest battle of life.
Title: "Be Prepared"
Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Theme: This passage assumes some Old Testament familiarity, as the Day of the Lord is frequently mentioned there. It was believed to be a time of gigantic upheaval, coming suddenly, and without warning. The present world would then be dissolved and a new one born, painfully, like the birth of a child. Paul here uses highly picturesque language to emphasize his point, using visual images not to be read literally, but as sobering poetry. Many Christians associated the idea of the Second Coming of Christ with the Day of the Lord, again something to be understood symbolically, inasmuch as centuries have passed with no such sign. I leave to my more conservative colleagues to dispute that observation, for my conviction is that my Day of the Lord will be the occasion of my death, as will be yours. As Dr. Barclay points out, the time to make sure your house roof is repaired is when the day is sunny, not during the bursting storm. So Paul here urges us to prepare ourselves, for we don't know when our time will come and the time to make ready is now.
1. Repent. That's a word sometimes associated with very conservative religion, but it's a good word. It means more than being remorseful. It means changing your ways.
2. Make restitution. Some of the harm we have done in life can be repaired, some cannot. The divorced couple may not be able to undo the harm suffered by the children, but they can treat each other with kindness and respect as a way of enabling the children to believe in both parents' love. The unfaithful spouse cannot restore the total trust so important to a marriage, but he or she can be trustworthy henceforth, and maybe, just maybe, the trust can be reborn.
3. Do good works. As discussed in the previous passage, God will judge us by our individual talents and opportunities. Surely, each of us is expected to do things for others. I can't help you with your car, since I'm all thumbs and know nothing of mechanics, but I might sit and listen to you with sincere attention.
Title: "A Life Which Matters"
Text: Matthew 25:14-30
Theme: People differ in their abilities, and none of us can do it all. I had lunch today with a man who plays golf with a mutual friend. I hate golf because I used to play and never got better than the high 90s. The mutual friend plays golf all the time and I'm secretly jealous that I can't join that gang though they're all good friends of mine. My lunch partner today was telling me what a fine golfer the other man is and I had to sit there and say, "Isn't that nice." Life is like this. Every one of us must face life with a variety of skills and a variety of limitations. That's reality. But what God wants me to do is make the most of whatever abilities I may have, and returning the talents to him is to be done in the form of serving others, and of making this world a little better for everyone. God knows what I can and cannot do and will expect from me only what I can do.
1. We are not all equal. Of course we are all entitled to equal opportunities, and we are all entitled to equal treatment by the law and by the government. However, some people are simply smarter than I am, better at certain things than I. It's necessary to accept this without jealousy or animosity. Bill Gates invented something I can barely turn on. Of course, he has a huge fortune. By the same token, I suspect God expects a lot from Bill Gates which I don't have to do.
2. Life involves risk. The man in the text was afraid to risk what he had. You never get anywhere in life without risk. Bruce Larson said that after spending three years with Faith At Work, studying the question of what makes a healthy mind, he learned that the number one characteristic is that such a person is a risk-taker. Get out of your comfort zone. Do something you're a little bit afraid of. It's exhilarating.
3. God measures success in accord with our talents and our opportunities. A highly gifted surgeon, for instance, must use his talent for the healing of the sick. If he only worries about the size of his house and bankroll, I may be impressed. God will not be. My business is to ask myself what I am able to do. Preach? Okay, then do it the very best way I know how. Teach? I taught at a university for a year and decided it wasn't for me. I don't have the talent. Write? That's for the reader to decide. But God says to me, "Give it your best shot, my friend, that's all I ask."
4. We're all accountable to God in the end. No one really knows what the judgment will be like. I don't suppose some white-bearded old gentleman will ask, "Bring me Carver's file." But in one way or another, Jesus is warning us all that we will be judged, not by some arbitrary, abstract standard, but by what we could have done and should have done.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Out in Bellevue, Washington, two little boys, Francisco and Fernando Soto, were playing near a swimming pool at Carlton Place apartments. Aged four and eight, neither child could swim. Suddenly, four-year-old Francisco fell into deep water and slipped beneath the surface. Brave little Fernando jumped in to save his brother, but he too disappeared, and their mother, also not able to swim, screamed, "My babies are drowning." Nearby, 49-year-old Jorge Pagan, a maintenance man, was just returning from a morning jog and was sitting on a second-story patio. Jorge was not a successful man, having tried boxing and martial arts with modest success. But when he heard that mother's screams, he did not hesitate. Jorge Pagan leaped off the patio to the ground and raced toward the pool. It was surrounded by a high wooden fence. Pagan slammed into the fence with all his might, and broke through though suffering injuries which later required medical treatment. He jumped into the pool and dragged two gasping but very much alive little boys to safety. A one talent man? Maybe. But he used that talent manyfold and most surely brought joy to the heart of God, as well as to a grateful mother and two lucky little boys. (From The Seattle Times.)
____________
"As long as we are young we can still deceive ourselves; what we do makes up for what we do not do; what we dream and hope makes up for what is lacking in reality. We still discount from the future a revenge on the past and the present. The more we advance in years, the more these mirages vanish. We have to confess to ourselves that we deceived ourselves by affecting to believe in realizations which will never come. On the threshold of maturity, then of old age, terrible crises occur which are the sources of illnesses as much psychological as physical." (Dr. Paul Tournier in Guilt And Grace, writing about sins of omission.)
____________
"Open the Bible and you will see from beginning to end the people whom God's call has snatched from the banality of their lives, impelled into a great adventure and vested with a creative power which did not come from themselves. Then we feel clearly that our guilt at what is unfinished is a guilt of non-inspiration, of lack of contact with God, and of failure to respond to His call." -- Paul Tournier
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 123 (C) --Ê"To you I lift up my eyes."
Psalm 128:1-5 (RC) -- "Happy is everyone who fears the Lord."
Psalm 90 (E) -- "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations"
Prayer Of The Day
For forgiveness we pray, O Lord, for our coldness of heart, for our wandering attention in times of worship, and most especially for the selfishness which characterizes so many of our actions. We pray for your continued patience as we try to live out the faith which is ours through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Lesson 1: Judges 4:1-7 (C)
You might want to ask someone else to read this scripture passage from your pulpit, preferably a language expert. Either that or work real hard at figuring out how to pronounce many of the words here. Maybe a rabbi can help. Seriously, we have a judge named Deborah, one of the heroines of the period between Joshua and Samuel, who is believed able to pronounce the will of God. The people are reported to have done "what was evil in the sight of the Lord." (I wish they'd been a little more specific. It would be interesting to know what qualified as evil at the time.) Bad times have come upon the people and they believe it's because of this evil they have done. So we have Barak being prepared to do battle with the hated Sisera. Deborah promises that God will see to it that they win the battle.
Lesson 1: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 (RC)
Actually, this is a wonderful passage, surely dear to the heart of nearly every husband. However, it's borderline politically incorrect for our time. We must therefore remind ourselves that this was a totally different culture, and anyone thinking to preach on this should be sure to update its sentiments. The particular passages quoted in this recommended text speak of a moral, responsible, generous life, and I have to think anyone who takes offense is very thin-skinned. But we do have to recognize that the same must be said of the husband as is said of the wife.
Lesson 1: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 (E)
Another prediction of disaster for the people because of their sins. This minor prophet does what most prophets do: lump everyone together, seeming to make no allowance for the probability that some of the people are good, some are just not very good, and some are downright bad. Averaged out, however, they must have been pretty bad in those days.
Lesson 2: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (C); 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (RC); 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 (E)
Paul declares the Christian people to be people of the light, of the day, whereas others are people of the darkness, of the night. He urges the Christians to continue in sober ways as the day of judgment could come at any time, and the people of darkness will pay heavily for their sins. It seems to me that here, too, we have a rather extreme bit of generalization. I suppose it is important to paint with broad strokes, and that a passage like this might strike fire with someone who is currently doing something bad. But what you and I know is that many a "Christian" lives part of life in darkness, and many a person who has no interest in organized religion -- several of my friends, I might add -- are great people. To preach on this I think requires that this point be made. It makes me think of one famous ninteenth century statesman who said he decided to give the Church a chance, so he attended a nearby congregation. Asked later what he thought, he replied much like this: "The preacher with a squeaky voice told several elderly ladies and a couple of loutish fellows that they were the saved, and everyone else is lost, because they weren't in church." He didn't go back. Or a better example is that of Martin Luther, who was so obsessed with his sense of sin and evil that he punished himself with a whip, spending long, depressing hours in confession, until he must have bordered on mental illness, possibly suicide. This, even though he was more than a Christian, he was a priest. Only when he read of Paul's urging that we are to be saved, not by anything we can do, but by God's free grace, did Luther find peace of mind. That sentiment needs to be included here.
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30 (C, RC); Matthew 25:14-15, 19-29 (E)
This passage has often been misunderstood, leading to some rather strange ideas about God. The statement: "For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away," must never be taken out of context. Otherwise, a wealthy person can easily use this to justify many possessions while feeling no compassion for the homeless man. Clearly, the talents (a form of currency at that time, but also a talent as we use the word) referred to the gifts and skills a person received at birth. The one-talent man was not to be blamed for having small abilities. His fault was his unwillingness to use that ability for the benefit of others, to make this world a better place. His sin was in allowing his ability to serve no useful purpose, using it only for himself and his own safety and comfort. As for the outer darkness, I don't for a moment believe that God rejects a person for living a selfish life. That person will create his or her own "outer darkness" in the form of a meaningless, joyless life.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "God And The Battles Of Life"
Text: Judges 4:1-7
Theme: This is not the passage I would choose to preach on next Sunday, mainly because I'm not comfortable with its theology. If I were to use it, however, my focus would be on the promise that God helps us fight the battles of life. A friend of mine with whom I recently spent some time has been battling cancer for two years. He had a painful surgery and must be very careful of his health from now on. He is in remission and, successful business developer that he is, also now teaches Bible classes at the church. He told me that he believes his illness has been a great blessing in his life. We agreed that God doesn't send things like that, but when they come, God can use them. My friend says he has found as a result of his cancer joy in life which was missing before. God has, indeed, helped him in his biggest battle of life.
Title: "Be Prepared"
Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Theme: This passage assumes some Old Testament familiarity, as the Day of the Lord is frequently mentioned there. It was believed to be a time of gigantic upheaval, coming suddenly, and without warning. The present world would then be dissolved and a new one born, painfully, like the birth of a child. Paul here uses highly picturesque language to emphasize his point, using visual images not to be read literally, but as sobering poetry. Many Christians associated the idea of the Second Coming of Christ with the Day of the Lord, again something to be understood symbolically, inasmuch as centuries have passed with no such sign. I leave to my more conservative colleagues to dispute that observation, for my conviction is that my Day of the Lord will be the occasion of my death, as will be yours. As Dr. Barclay points out, the time to make sure your house roof is repaired is when the day is sunny, not during the bursting storm. So Paul here urges us to prepare ourselves, for we don't know when our time will come and the time to make ready is now.
1. Repent. That's a word sometimes associated with very conservative religion, but it's a good word. It means more than being remorseful. It means changing your ways.
2. Make restitution. Some of the harm we have done in life can be repaired, some cannot. The divorced couple may not be able to undo the harm suffered by the children, but they can treat each other with kindness and respect as a way of enabling the children to believe in both parents' love. The unfaithful spouse cannot restore the total trust so important to a marriage, but he or she can be trustworthy henceforth, and maybe, just maybe, the trust can be reborn.
3. Do good works. As discussed in the previous passage, God will judge us by our individual talents and opportunities. Surely, each of us is expected to do things for others. I can't help you with your car, since I'm all thumbs and know nothing of mechanics, but I might sit and listen to you with sincere attention.
Title: "A Life Which Matters"
Text: Matthew 25:14-30
Theme: People differ in their abilities, and none of us can do it all. I had lunch today with a man who plays golf with a mutual friend. I hate golf because I used to play and never got better than the high 90s. The mutual friend plays golf all the time and I'm secretly jealous that I can't join that gang though they're all good friends of mine. My lunch partner today was telling me what a fine golfer the other man is and I had to sit there and say, "Isn't that nice." Life is like this. Every one of us must face life with a variety of skills and a variety of limitations. That's reality. But what God wants me to do is make the most of whatever abilities I may have, and returning the talents to him is to be done in the form of serving others, and of making this world a little better for everyone. God knows what I can and cannot do and will expect from me only what I can do.
1. We are not all equal. Of course we are all entitled to equal opportunities, and we are all entitled to equal treatment by the law and by the government. However, some people are simply smarter than I am, better at certain things than I. It's necessary to accept this without jealousy or animosity. Bill Gates invented something I can barely turn on. Of course, he has a huge fortune. By the same token, I suspect God expects a lot from Bill Gates which I don't have to do.
2. Life involves risk. The man in the text was afraid to risk what he had. You never get anywhere in life without risk. Bruce Larson said that after spending three years with Faith At Work, studying the question of what makes a healthy mind, he learned that the number one characteristic is that such a person is a risk-taker. Get out of your comfort zone. Do something you're a little bit afraid of. It's exhilarating.
3. God measures success in accord with our talents and our opportunities. A highly gifted surgeon, for instance, must use his talent for the healing of the sick. If he only worries about the size of his house and bankroll, I may be impressed. God will not be. My business is to ask myself what I am able to do. Preach? Okay, then do it the very best way I know how. Teach? I taught at a university for a year and decided it wasn't for me. I don't have the talent. Write? That's for the reader to decide. But God says to me, "Give it your best shot, my friend, that's all I ask."
4. We're all accountable to God in the end. No one really knows what the judgment will be like. I don't suppose some white-bearded old gentleman will ask, "Bring me Carver's file." But in one way or another, Jesus is warning us all that we will be judged, not by some arbitrary, abstract standard, but by what we could have done and should have done.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Out in Bellevue, Washington, two little boys, Francisco and Fernando Soto, were playing near a swimming pool at Carlton Place apartments. Aged four and eight, neither child could swim. Suddenly, four-year-old Francisco fell into deep water and slipped beneath the surface. Brave little Fernando jumped in to save his brother, but he too disappeared, and their mother, also not able to swim, screamed, "My babies are drowning." Nearby, 49-year-old Jorge Pagan, a maintenance man, was just returning from a morning jog and was sitting on a second-story patio. Jorge was not a successful man, having tried boxing and martial arts with modest success. But when he heard that mother's screams, he did not hesitate. Jorge Pagan leaped off the patio to the ground and raced toward the pool. It was surrounded by a high wooden fence. Pagan slammed into the fence with all his might, and broke through though suffering injuries which later required medical treatment. He jumped into the pool and dragged two gasping but very much alive little boys to safety. A one talent man? Maybe. But he used that talent manyfold and most surely brought joy to the heart of God, as well as to a grateful mother and two lucky little boys. (From The Seattle Times.)
____________
"As long as we are young we can still deceive ourselves; what we do makes up for what we do not do; what we dream and hope makes up for what is lacking in reality. We still discount from the future a revenge on the past and the present. The more we advance in years, the more these mirages vanish. We have to confess to ourselves that we deceived ourselves by affecting to believe in realizations which will never come. On the threshold of maturity, then of old age, terrible crises occur which are the sources of illnesses as much psychological as physical." (Dr. Paul Tournier in Guilt And Grace, writing about sins of omission.)
____________
"Open the Bible and you will see from beginning to end the people whom God's call has snatched from the banality of their lives, impelled into a great adventure and vested with a creative power which did not come from themselves. Then we feel clearly that our guilt at what is unfinished is a guilt of non-inspiration, of lack of contact with God, and of failure to respond to His call." -- Paul Tournier
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 123 (C) --Ê"To you I lift up my eyes."
Psalm 128:1-5 (RC) -- "Happy is everyone who fears the Lord."
Psalm 90 (E) -- "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations"
Prayer Of The Day
For forgiveness we pray, O Lord, for our coldness of heart, for our wandering attention in times of worship, and most especially for the selfishness which characterizes so many of our actions. We pray for your continued patience as we try to live out the faith which is ours through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
