Sermon Illustrations for Proper 14 | OT 19 (2018)
Illustration
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 and Psalm 130
Warren Wiersbe shares a story that, I think, reflects this passage. He tells of a miserable looking woman who recognized Frederick Meyer, friend and contemporary of Dwight Moody, on the train and ventured to share her burden with him. She told of how for years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life. She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home. But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable. Home was not "home" anymore. Meyer gave her wise counsel. "When you get home and put the key in the door," he said, "say aloud, 'Jesus, I know You are here' and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door. And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter. At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, 'Jesus, I know You are here!'"
Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her. Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery. "I did as you told me," she said, "and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him."
David does a similar thing in the text we read today. He grieves over the loss of Absalom. It was a tragic end to a hard life and relationship. The grief is real and raw. Psalm 130 notes where David takes those emotions. “My soul waits for the Lord.” May we find comfort in the Lord during our times of grief.
Bill T.
* * *
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
The rebellion of Absalom had its roots in his father, King David, neglecting the sexual assault of one half-brother against his half-sister Tamar, Absalom’s sister. Absalom wanted justice. David just wanted it all to go away, and as often happens in our society David wants his daughter to keep quiet.
This passage, this whole section, is based in trauma. We are all too ready to dismiss the trauma of the Hebrew scriptures. We’re Christians, we say. That’s the Old Testament, we say. What does this have to do with me? Why are you reading this awful stuff? But this is the place where people live, our suffering people who have experienced rape that was never redressed, abuse that has never acknowledged, powerlessness that is wished away as if it never happened.
Frank R.
* * *
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 and Psalm 130
In 1840, Edward John Eyre lead an expedition from Adelaide, South Australia, to King George Sound at Albany, Western Australia. Eyre’s expedition was the first to have crossed Australia along its east-west axis. The trip took four and a half months and covered more than sixteen hundred miles. At the outset of the trip two Aborigine assistants killed two of the European explores who were to accompany Eyre, and stole the party’s guns and supplies. Yet, despite this setback, Eyre continued forward with one Aborigine friend. The land was hostile with excessive heat and few places to get water. On Tuesday, March 30, 1841, Eyre made a lengthy entry into his journal. The entry comes after travelling one hundred sixty miles in seven days without water. As the journal entry tells the story, they found some sand that appeared to be covering water. At five feet the sand appeared to be moist. They found the water to be free of any saline qualities. At six feet there was an abundance of fresh water. Eyre wrote, “Words would be inadequate to express the joy and thankfulness of my little party once more finding ourselves in safety, and with abundance of water near us. A few hours before hope itself seemed almost extinguished, and those only who have been subject to a similar extremity can have any just idea of the relief we experienced…That gracious God, without whose all hope and safety had been in vain, had heard our earnest prayers for his aid…”
Application: In 2 Samuel we read of David’s grief at the death of his son Absalom. In the Psalm we again read about grief and “how my soul waits.” The psalmist even asks for “hope.” In our daily living we often travel the desert in search of water. In our daily grief we travel in search of hope.
Ron L.
* * *
Ephesians 4:25--5:2
Preaching on this text regarding the new life given in Christ Martin Luther proclaimed:
Medieval Mystic Catherine of Siena explained how God’s love leads us to follow his way:
Research by Social Anthropologists and Neurochemists has revealed that religious activities result in both the pleasant stimulation of feelings through the flow of good-feeling brain chemicals which in turn stimulate behavior that is good for social cohesion (Nicholas Wade, The Faith Instinct, pp.79-81).
Mark E.
* * *
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Paul writes, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you” (4:31-32, NRSV). It seems like a message for our culture. We seem to be more bitter, more angry, more filled with malice than anything else in our western culture. The examples that we see in the public eye don’t help much. Threats and yelling seem to have become the ways to communicate with each other. Stress levels are at an all time high and that affects our ability to be loving inside the church community, as well as in the world. But Paul’s church was facing many challenges as well -- occupation by a conquering power, slavery, oppression, threats for expressing faith and belief in God. The world may have seemed simpler, but it was no less dangerous or painful.
What did Paul call the church to do? He called the church to be imitators of God, to be the beloved of God who share and spread love in and with the world. That is the call on our lives as well. So, when the rhetoric is particularly vitriolic and the anger is seeping into your spirit, remember the God who loves you and loves each one created in God’s image. Act as an imitator of God. Be the beloved. Love is the only thing that conquers hate, the only thing that brings peace.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 4:25--5:2
Sounds like a nice passage for each of us, but try and make it specific: Do the families who lost a child in a school shooting forgive the one who did that heinous act? Some did and it took effort. Does anyone forgive ISIS or other terrorists? No American should do that. Right? Our anger should never die if we are faithful Americans.
This passage does not mean that we should just shut up. No. We should speak out truthfully but with no anger in our voice.
When we have an argument with our spouse, we should always try to settle it before we roll over and go to sleep. My wife and I always say the Lord’s prayer the last thing in bed before we go to sleep and I always emphasize that part about God forgiving us as we forgive our mate.
We come to church and turn to our Bible to learn what “truth” is. It is not always what our inner urges tell us!
I love the story I heard from old pastor Tir in Nepal. He was sent to jail for being a Christian, but instead of doing all he could to get even when they tortured and beat him, he forgave them and even blessed them. As a result he was let out of jail sooner than they sentenced him, because he was converting his jailers.
It is hard to believe this passage unless we experiment with it. It is not easy and may go against everything in our heart. Many of God’s commands conflict with our inner feelings.
This a good topic to discuss in church especially if there are some angry differences among some members.
I was in a meeting of writers yesterday where some were shouting at each other. One felt so badly that she walked out of the meeting. When the remaining ones went for coffee after, they felt sorry for their angry worlds and discussed whether they should find her and apologize. However, some were happy she was gone. The main reason they decided not to apologize was because they said they were right and the one who left was wrong -- and now the future meetings would be more peaceful. Was that God’s answer?
There are so many things in life that are truly not right. We read about them every day in the newspapers and hear them on TV: problems in our schools, our government, even in our favorite sports. Some write angry letters to the paper.
Sometimes we show anger when two parties or even two people can’t get along with each other.
We have to be careful of our feelings that they be in accord with God’s purpose for us.
Bob O.
* * *
John 6:35, 41-51
When Jesus described himself as the Bread of Life who came down from heaven the people turn away from the cosmic Christ and focus on the earthly Jesus. They name his parents, and assert that Jesus the son of Joseph couldn’t possibly be the life-giving presence he claims to be.
But Jesus is not either/or. He is both/and. He is not either Christ or Jesus. He is both divine and human. This is why, at the very beginning of his good news John tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God -- that this Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that his own knew him not, but many more were anxious and willing to receive. That opening section isn’t just beautiful poetry. It’s the theme of the book.
Frank R.
* * *
John 6:35, 41-51
Bread has ancient roots and is a staple of many diets throughout the world, from thriving metropolises to developing nations. A look at history shows the earliest breads were more like porridges and flat cakes. Grains were mashed with water or milk and eaten either raw or cooked. This was a main source of nutrition and sustenance. As time went on, the porridge became thicker and more paste-like, and eventually this paste was cooked either on a hot rock or in an early subterranean oven, creating a more mobile product.
Bread comes in all shapes, flavors and forms, and is typically made from accessible and affordable ingredients. These ingredients are important because they help fill nutritional gaps in the diet. Needed carbohydrates, fiber, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals are found in this standard food. The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommends a person eat six servings of grain foods each day, with half being from whole grain sources. To get the most nutrients and benefits, a healthy diet should include both whole grains and enriched grains.
The value and significance of bread is documented throughout the history of civilization. It’s not surprising, then, that Jesus uses it as a powerful object lesson. Just as bread was a needed and everyday part of a person’s physical diet, knowing Jesus as the “living bread” was a necessary part of a person’s spiritual diet. Jesus’ listeners would know the value of “bread” from their ancestors and manna. Jesus takes it a step further. Eating physical bread and even manna from heaven will not prevent death. Only “living bread” can do that. Knowing Jesus, his sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent resurrection can allow one to live forever.
Bill T.
* * *
John 6:35-51
Stephen Hawking was one of the best-known physicists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Hawking was also an outspoken atheist. According to Hawking, since God could not be scientifically proven or studied, there could be no God. Hawking wrote, “I believe the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe, and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife, either.” Stephen hawking died on March 14, 2018, at the age of 76. Expressing his thoughts on death, Hawking said, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.” Hawking believed that when he died he would go the same place as an iPhone dropped into a bathtub: nowhere; nothing. It would just be over.
Application: Jesus taught that believers have a concept of eternal life. It becomes a question of do you view yourself as a computer or a living being with an eternal soul?
Ron L.
Warren Wiersbe shares a story that, I think, reflects this passage. He tells of a miserable looking woman who recognized Frederick Meyer, friend and contemporary of Dwight Moody, on the train and ventured to share her burden with him. She told of how for years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life. She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home. But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable. Home was not "home" anymore. Meyer gave her wise counsel. "When you get home and put the key in the door," he said, "say aloud, 'Jesus, I know You are here' and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door. And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter. At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, 'Jesus, I know You are here!'"
Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her. Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery. "I did as you told me," she said, "and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him."
David does a similar thing in the text we read today. He grieves over the loss of Absalom. It was a tragic end to a hard life and relationship. The grief is real and raw. Psalm 130 notes where David takes those emotions. “My soul waits for the Lord.” May we find comfort in the Lord during our times of grief.
Bill T.
* * *
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
The rebellion of Absalom had its roots in his father, King David, neglecting the sexual assault of one half-brother against his half-sister Tamar, Absalom’s sister. Absalom wanted justice. David just wanted it all to go away, and as often happens in our society David wants his daughter to keep quiet.
This passage, this whole section, is based in trauma. We are all too ready to dismiss the trauma of the Hebrew scriptures. We’re Christians, we say. That’s the Old Testament, we say. What does this have to do with me? Why are you reading this awful stuff? But this is the place where people live, our suffering people who have experienced rape that was never redressed, abuse that has never acknowledged, powerlessness that is wished away as if it never happened.
Frank R.
* * *
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 and Psalm 130
In 1840, Edward John Eyre lead an expedition from Adelaide, South Australia, to King George Sound at Albany, Western Australia. Eyre’s expedition was the first to have crossed Australia along its east-west axis. The trip took four and a half months and covered more than sixteen hundred miles. At the outset of the trip two Aborigine assistants killed two of the European explores who were to accompany Eyre, and stole the party’s guns and supplies. Yet, despite this setback, Eyre continued forward with one Aborigine friend. The land was hostile with excessive heat and few places to get water. On Tuesday, March 30, 1841, Eyre made a lengthy entry into his journal. The entry comes after travelling one hundred sixty miles in seven days without water. As the journal entry tells the story, they found some sand that appeared to be covering water. At five feet the sand appeared to be moist. They found the water to be free of any saline qualities. At six feet there was an abundance of fresh water. Eyre wrote, “Words would be inadequate to express the joy and thankfulness of my little party once more finding ourselves in safety, and with abundance of water near us. A few hours before hope itself seemed almost extinguished, and those only who have been subject to a similar extremity can have any just idea of the relief we experienced…That gracious God, without whose all hope and safety had been in vain, had heard our earnest prayers for his aid…”
Application: In 2 Samuel we read of David’s grief at the death of his son Absalom. In the Psalm we again read about grief and “how my soul waits.” The psalmist even asks for “hope.” In our daily living we often travel the desert in search of water. In our daily grief we travel in search of hope.
Ron L.
* * *
Ephesians 4:25--5:2
Preaching on this text regarding the new life given in Christ Martin Luther proclaimed:
They [Christians] thus enter again into their former relation and into the true paradise or perfect harmony with God and of justification; they are comforted by His grace. Accordingly they are disposed to lead a godly life in harmony with God’s Commandments and to resist ungodly lusts and ways. (Complete Sermons, Vol.4/2, p.310)
Medieval Mystic Catherine of Siena explained how God’s love leads us to follow his way:
O eternal God... You consume whatever sin and selfishness You find in the soul. Yet Your consuming does not distress the soul that fattens her with insatiable love, for though You satisfy her she is never sated but longs for You constantly. The more she possesses you the more she seeks You, and the more she seeks and desires you the more she finds and enjoys You, high eternal fire, abyss of charity! (In Her Words, p.209)
Research by Social Anthropologists and Neurochemists has revealed that religious activities result in both the pleasant stimulation of feelings through the flow of good-feeling brain chemicals which in turn stimulate behavior that is good for social cohesion (Nicholas Wade, The Faith Instinct, pp.79-81).
Mark E.
* * *
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Paul writes, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you” (4:31-32, NRSV). It seems like a message for our culture. We seem to be more bitter, more angry, more filled with malice than anything else in our western culture. The examples that we see in the public eye don’t help much. Threats and yelling seem to have become the ways to communicate with each other. Stress levels are at an all time high and that affects our ability to be loving inside the church community, as well as in the world. But Paul’s church was facing many challenges as well -- occupation by a conquering power, slavery, oppression, threats for expressing faith and belief in God. The world may have seemed simpler, but it was no less dangerous or painful.
What did Paul call the church to do? He called the church to be imitators of God, to be the beloved of God who share and spread love in and with the world. That is the call on our lives as well. So, when the rhetoric is particularly vitriolic and the anger is seeping into your spirit, remember the God who loves you and loves each one created in God’s image. Act as an imitator of God. Be the beloved. Love is the only thing that conquers hate, the only thing that brings peace.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Ephesians 4:25--5:2
Sounds like a nice passage for each of us, but try and make it specific: Do the families who lost a child in a school shooting forgive the one who did that heinous act? Some did and it took effort. Does anyone forgive ISIS or other terrorists? No American should do that. Right? Our anger should never die if we are faithful Americans.
This passage does not mean that we should just shut up. No. We should speak out truthfully but with no anger in our voice.
When we have an argument with our spouse, we should always try to settle it before we roll over and go to sleep. My wife and I always say the Lord’s prayer the last thing in bed before we go to sleep and I always emphasize that part about God forgiving us as we forgive our mate.
We come to church and turn to our Bible to learn what “truth” is. It is not always what our inner urges tell us!
I love the story I heard from old pastor Tir in Nepal. He was sent to jail for being a Christian, but instead of doing all he could to get even when they tortured and beat him, he forgave them and even blessed them. As a result he was let out of jail sooner than they sentenced him, because he was converting his jailers.
It is hard to believe this passage unless we experiment with it. It is not easy and may go against everything in our heart. Many of God’s commands conflict with our inner feelings.
This a good topic to discuss in church especially if there are some angry differences among some members.
I was in a meeting of writers yesterday where some were shouting at each other. One felt so badly that she walked out of the meeting. When the remaining ones went for coffee after, they felt sorry for their angry worlds and discussed whether they should find her and apologize. However, some were happy she was gone. The main reason they decided not to apologize was because they said they were right and the one who left was wrong -- and now the future meetings would be more peaceful. Was that God’s answer?
There are so many things in life that are truly not right. We read about them every day in the newspapers and hear them on TV: problems in our schools, our government, even in our favorite sports. Some write angry letters to the paper.
Sometimes we show anger when two parties or even two people can’t get along with each other.
We have to be careful of our feelings that they be in accord with God’s purpose for us.
Bob O.
* * *
John 6:35, 41-51
When Jesus described himself as the Bread of Life who came down from heaven the people turn away from the cosmic Christ and focus on the earthly Jesus. They name his parents, and assert that Jesus the son of Joseph couldn’t possibly be the life-giving presence he claims to be.
But Jesus is not either/or. He is both/and. He is not either Christ or Jesus. He is both divine and human. This is why, at the very beginning of his good news John tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God -- that this Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that his own knew him not, but many more were anxious and willing to receive. That opening section isn’t just beautiful poetry. It’s the theme of the book.
Frank R.
* * *
John 6:35, 41-51
Bread has ancient roots and is a staple of many diets throughout the world, from thriving metropolises to developing nations. A look at history shows the earliest breads were more like porridges and flat cakes. Grains were mashed with water or milk and eaten either raw or cooked. This was a main source of nutrition and sustenance. As time went on, the porridge became thicker and more paste-like, and eventually this paste was cooked either on a hot rock or in an early subterranean oven, creating a more mobile product.
Bread comes in all shapes, flavors and forms, and is typically made from accessible and affordable ingredients. These ingredients are important because they help fill nutritional gaps in the diet. Needed carbohydrates, fiber, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals are found in this standard food. The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommends a person eat six servings of grain foods each day, with half being from whole grain sources. To get the most nutrients and benefits, a healthy diet should include both whole grains and enriched grains.
The value and significance of bread is documented throughout the history of civilization. It’s not surprising, then, that Jesus uses it as a powerful object lesson. Just as bread was a needed and everyday part of a person’s physical diet, knowing Jesus as the “living bread” was a necessary part of a person’s spiritual diet. Jesus’ listeners would know the value of “bread” from their ancestors and manna. Jesus takes it a step further. Eating physical bread and even manna from heaven will not prevent death. Only “living bread” can do that. Knowing Jesus, his sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent resurrection can allow one to live forever.
Bill T.
* * *
John 6:35-51
Stephen Hawking was one of the best-known physicists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Hawking was also an outspoken atheist. According to Hawking, since God could not be scientifically proven or studied, there could be no God. Hawking wrote, “I believe the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe, and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife, either.” Stephen hawking died on March 14, 2018, at the age of 76. Expressing his thoughts on death, Hawking said, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.” Hawking believed that when he died he would go the same place as an iPhone dropped into a bathtub: nowhere; nothing. It would just be over.
Application: Jesus taught that believers have a concept of eternal life. It becomes a question of do you view yourself as a computer or a living being with an eternal soul?
Ron L.
