Fifth Sunday In Lent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
Seasonal Theme
Jesus makes his way toward Jerusalem and the cross that we might have undeserved forgiveness for our sins.
Theme For The Day
Jesus presents paradoxes of the Christian life and makes important promises for our discipleship.
Old Testament Lesson
Jeremiah 31:31-34
A Covenant Of The Heart
The Lutherans also use this Old Testament Lesson for the observance of Reformation Sunday. Of course, the theme is the new covenant. See my comments in this workbook under Reformation Sunday, page 203. Jesus used this phrase of "new covenant" on upcoming Maundy Thursday at the last supper. This covenant is with every person, not just with Israel. Here is promised that, when the time comes, people will do the right thing from inner conviction and desire so the covenant will be renewed. Ezekiel claims it also (Ezekiel 36:24-28).
New Testament Lesson
Hebrews 5:5-10
Jesus, Our High Priest
A priest was thought of as the mediator or link between us humans and God. In Israel they offered the sacrifice for people's sins. So they worked to restore the relationship between God and humans. This was to open the way back to God for us sinners. All this Jesus does, so he becomes our high priest. Verse 9 says Jesus was "... made perfect." To the Greeks this meant that a thing was made perfect when it perfectly carried out its purpose. So the writer is claiming that Jesus was made perfect by all he did: crucifixion, resurrection, etc.
Melchizedek was a symbol of the ideal king-priest. In Genesis 14:17-20, we read of his ministry to Abraham. Verse 10 is a quotation of Psalm 110:4.
The Gospel
John 12:20-33
Paradoxes And Promises
The other three Gospels do not mention this story. It is probably a solid hint that John wrote his Gospel to appeal to the Greeks. It was Passover, so Greeks would be in Jerusalem. I have a hunch that some Greeks had seen that day when Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple courtyard and now wanted to ask him more about what he taught. Phillip is a Greek name, so they come to him first. Andrew seemed more certain that Jesus would want to talk with them. The Title, "Son of Man," which Jesus calls himself in verse 23, has its origin in Daniel 7:13. For the Jews, "Son of Man" meant the God-sent world conqueror. No doubt they all gasped when they heard Jesus apply this concept to himself.
William Barclay, in his Daily Study Bible, says Jesus was teaching three things in verses 25 and 26. 1) Only by death comes life. 2) Only by spending life do we retain life, and 3) only by service comes greatness. He goes on to close with this comment: "And the extraordinary thing is that when we come to think of it, the paradox of Christ (above 3) is nothing other than the truth of common sense."
Then comes the great promise that has been proven correct down through the generations. When Jesus is lifted up on that cross, there will be a drawing power to all people (v. 32).
Preaching Possibilities
Since this is the Sunday before "Palm Sunday" or the "Sunday of the Passion," we could use all three passages talking about what Jesus did for us.
A. Old Testament, Jeremiah -- He touches our heart.
B. New Testament, Hebrews -- He opens our way to God.
C. The Gospel, John -- He promises us new life and love.
I believe the Hebrews passage is also pregnant with preaching possibilities. One can take the metaphor of High Priest and extend it all the way through the sermon comparing the function of a priest to what Jesus does for us. (Homiletically, this is called an extended metaphor sermon.)
A. The Priest offers sacrifice for sin to God for us.
B. The Priest opens the way to God for us.
C. The Priest demonstrates God's love for all God's children.
D. The Priest shows us the way to salvation.
One more approach this week would be to take just one verse, John 12:32, and speak about how that has proven so over the 2,000 years since the crucifixion and how we lift up the cross and take down the cross in our lives. Be sure to apply that as a congregation as well as an individual. Some try to hit others over the head with the cross, others profess to lift it up but live in such a way as to kill its drawing power of love, while still others, without even trying to hold it up, live in such a manner that it is obviously there with all its drawing power.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Title: Three Great Truths/Promises To Live By
A. Use the first illustration below in "Possible Metaphors And Stories."
B. Now relate a promise made to you or one you made to someone which was (is) extremely important to you.
C. Explain that Jesus made certain promises or truths which we can always count on as his disciples.
1. John 12:25 -- To love and conserve one's life is to lose real life -- but to give it away will give us abundant life here and in eternity.
2. John 12:26 -- To serve Jesus is to follow him and his teachings. And God will not leave us by ourselves.
3. John 12:32 -- When we lift Jesus up on the cross, people will be attracted to him.
In verses 21 and 22, the Phillip and Andrew story with the Greeks will work here. (Who are the Greeks in our day and parish?)
D. Now talk about what these promises mean for us as individuals and as a congregation together.
1. The disciple life is one of risk and not always playing it safe.
2. There is an apostolic radical to follow and teach as a congregation. We are servant and not demanding being served in our congregational life.
3. There are ways of facing suffering and of sacrificing ourselves for others, which will hold Jesus' cross up in our community.
E. Frame your sermon by returning to the promise(s) mentioned in "B" above.
F. Read the 3 verses: 25, 26, and 32.
Prayer For The Day
We give thanks today, Jesus, for this Lenten season, which makes us especially mindful of your cross and its rich meaning in our own lives and the life of our congregation. We are thankful that you lead us to a real, abundant life and show us how to follow you. Now we pray we might be the instrument through which the cross of Jerusalem might be lifted up here in (your town) so that its power would once again draw all to you. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Gerald Kennedy writes in Who Speaks for God, "A member of the House of Commons who had listened to the war-time speeches of Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill made this comment: 'When Mr. Chamberlain said the fine, true thing it was like a faint air played on a pipe and lost in the wind at once. When Mr. Churchill said it, it was like an organ filling the church, and we all went out refreshed and resolute to do or die.' And this is the difference between the promises of people and the promises of God ... when God gives us a promise, it comes with the fullness of the organ in the cathedral, filling us with courage and determination. Resting on his promises, folks through the years have been made strong again."
In an old movie Beyond Rangoon, about an American doctor who becomes caught up in the violent upheavals of the '80s in the Burmese (now called Myanmar) capital of Rangoon, Laura says to the former Buddhist professor: "I was taught that if I worked hard that I would have happiness. I was a fool, wasn't I?" The old professor answers: "We are taught that suffering is one of the promises life always keeps, so that if happiness comes, we know it is a precious gift which is ours only for a brief time."
My friend Joel Teigland showed me a copy of a letter of recommendation written by a professor of medicine in South Carolina, which stated, "His value system rests soundly on his Christian beliefs which are secure, not requiring any public show." A good description of the Christian disciple.
With the neighbor's financial help, we were able to cut down two huge eucalyptus trees which had died and stood near the seminary chapel. The surprise was that now the cross could be seen from way down the hill. I wonder what other things and schemes need be cleared away to let the cross shine in our own lives.
Jesus makes his way toward Jerusalem and the cross that we might have undeserved forgiveness for our sins.
Theme For The Day
Jesus presents paradoxes of the Christian life and makes important promises for our discipleship.
Old Testament Lesson
Jeremiah 31:31-34
A Covenant Of The Heart
The Lutherans also use this Old Testament Lesson for the observance of Reformation Sunday. Of course, the theme is the new covenant. See my comments in this workbook under Reformation Sunday, page 203. Jesus used this phrase of "new covenant" on upcoming Maundy Thursday at the last supper. This covenant is with every person, not just with Israel. Here is promised that, when the time comes, people will do the right thing from inner conviction and desire so the covenant will be renewed. Ezekiel claims it also (Ezekiel 36:24-28).
New Testament Lesson
Hebrews 5:5-10
Jesus, Our High Priest
A priest was thought of as the mediator or link between us humans and God. In Israel they offered the sacrifice for people's sins. So they worked to restore the relationship between God and humans. This was to open the way back to God for us sinners. All this Jesus does, so he becomes our high priest. Verse 9 says Jesus was "... made perfect." To the Greeks this meant that a thing was made perfect when it perfectly carried out its purpose. So the writer is claiming that Jesus was made perfect by all he did: crucifixion, resurrection, etc.
Melchizedek was a symbol of the ideal king-priest. In Genesis 14:17-20, we read of his ministry to Abraham. Verse 10 is a quotation of Psalm 110:4.
The Gospel
John 12:20-33
Paradoxes And Promises
The other three Gospels do not mention this story. It is probably a solid hint that John wrote his Gospel to appeal to the Greeks. It was Passover, so Greeks would be in Jerusalem. I have a hunch that some Greeks had seen that day when Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple courtyard and now wanted to ask him more about what he taught. Phillip is a Greek name, so they come to him first. Andrew seemed more certain that Jesus would want to talk with them. The Title, "Son of Man," which Jesus calls himself in verse 23, has its origin in Daniel 7:13. For the Jews, "Son of Man" meant the God-sent world conqueror. No doubt they all gasped when they heard Jesus apply this concept to himself.
William Barclay, in his Daily Study Bible, says Jesus was teaching three things in verses 25 and 26. 1) Only by death comes life. 2) Only by spending life do we retain life, and 3) only by service comes greatness. He goes on to close with this comment: "And the extraordinary thing is that when we come to think of it, the paradox of Christ (above 3) is nothing other than the truth of common sense."
Then comes the great promise that has been proven correct down through the generations. When Jesus is lifted up on that cross, there will be a drawing power to all people (v. 32).
Preaching Possibilities
Since this is the Sunday before "Palm Sunday" or the "Sunday of the Passion," we could use all three passages talking about what Jesus did for us.
A. Old Testament, Jeremiah -- He touches our heart.
B. New Testament, Hebrews -- He opens our way to God.
C. The Gospel, John -- He promises us new life and love.
I believe the Hebrews passage is also pregnant with preaching possibilities. One can take the metaphor of High Priest and extend it all the way through the sermon comparing the function of a priest to what Jesus does for us. (Homiletically, this is called an extended metaphor sermon.)
A. The Priest offers sacrifice for sin to God for us.
B. The Priest opens the way to God for us.
C. The Priest demonstrates God's love for all God's children.
D. The Priest shows us the way to salvation.
One more approach this week would be to take just one verse, John 12:32, and speak about how that has proven so over the 2,000 years since the crucifixion and how we lift up the cross and take down the cross in our lives. Be sure to apply that as a congregation as well as an individual. Some try to hit others over the head with the cross, others profess to lift it up but live in such a way as to kill its drawing power of love, while still others, without even trying to hold it up, live in such a manner that it is obviously there with all its drawing power.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Title: Three Great Truths/Promises To Live By
A. Use the first illustration below in "Possible Metaphors And Stories."
B. Now relate a promise made to you or one you made to someone which was (is) extremely important to you.
C. Explain that Jesus made certain promises or truths which we can always count on as his disciples.
1. John 12:25 -- To love and conserve one's life is to lose real life -- but to give it away will give us abundant life here and in eternity.
2. John 12:26 -- To serve Jesus is to follow him and his teachings. And God will not leave us by ourselves.
3. John 12:32 -- When we lift Jesus up on the cross, people will be attracted to him.
In verses 21 and 22, the Phillip and Andrew story with the Greeks will work here. (Who are the Greeks in our day and parish?)
D. Now talk about what these promises mean for us as individuals and as a congregation together.
1. The disciple life is one of risk and not always playing it safe.
2. There is an apostolic radical to follow and teach as a congregation. We are servant and not demanding being served in our congregational life.
3. There are ways of facing suffering and of sacrificing ourselves for others, which will hold Jesus' cross up in our community.
E. Frame your sermon by returning to the promise(s) mentioned in "B" above.
F. Read the 3 verses: 25, 26, and 32.
Prayer For The Day
We give thanks today, Jesus, for this Lenten season, which makes us especially mindful of your cross and its rich meaning in our own lives and the life of our congregation. We are thankful that you lead us to a real, abundant life and show us how to follow you. Now we pray we might be the instrument through which the cross of Jerusalem might be lifted up here in (your town) so that its power would once again draw all to you. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Gerald Kennedy writes in Who Speaks for God, "A member of the House of Commons who had listened to the war-time speeches of Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill made this comment: 'When Mr. Chamberlain said the fine, true thing it was like a faint air played on a pipe and lost in the wind at once. When Mr. Churchill said it, it was like an organ filling the church, and we all went out refreshed and resolute to do or die.' And this is the difference between the promises of people and the promises of God ... when God gives us a promise, it comes with the fullness of the organ in the cathedral, filling us with courage and determination. Resting on his promises, folks through the years have been made strong again."
In an old movie Beyond Rangoon, about an American doctor who becomes caught up in the violent upheavals of the '80s in the Burmese (now called Myanmar) capital of Rangoon, Laura says to the former Buddhist professor: "I was taught that if I worked hard that I would have happiness. I was a fool, wasn't I?" The old professor answers: "We are taught that suffering is one of the promises life always keeps, so that if happiness comes, we know it is a precious gift which is ours only for a brief time."
My friend Joel Teigland showed me a copy of a letter of recommendation written by a professor of medicine in South Carolina, which stated, "His value system rests soundly on his Christian beliefs which are secure, not requiring any public show." A good description of the Christian disciple.
With the neighbor's financial help, we were able to cut down two huge eucalyptus trees which had died and stood near the seminary chapel. The surprise was that now the cross could be seen from way down the hill. I wonder what other things and schemes need be cleared away to let the cross shine in our own lives.
