Proper 10 / Ordinary Time 15
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VIII, Cycle A
Object:
Theme For The Day
For the gospel to be effectively proclaimed, good listeners are needed, as well as persuasive speakers.
Old Testament Lesson
Genesis 25:19-34
Jacob Trades For Esau's Birthright
Abraham has died, the future of his line secure (25:7-11). After some initial difficulty conceiving, Rebekah senses the presence of two children in her womb, and they are fighting with each other (verses 22-23). They are, of course, the rivals: Jacob and Esau. Jacob is born hanging onto his older brother's heel: symbolic of the way he would grasp and clutch for Esau's inheritance (v. 26). The characters of Jacob and Esau symbolize the two sides of a deep fault line running through Israel's national life. Esau is a herder of animals, a man of the hills. Jacob is a man of settled communities, of agriculture and trade. It is the sly, commercial ways of Jacob that will ultimately gain the ascendancy; but, always there will be the parallel heritage of the strong and self-reliant shepherd, living a virtuous life out under the stars. The final portion of this selection is the prototypical Jacob-Esau exchange: Jacob's swindling his brother out of the birthright (verses 29-34). The action he began in the womb is now complete: having hung onto his older brother's heel all his life, Jacob now surpasses him. The character of Jacob is a deeply ambiguous one; at times, we don't know whether we are supposed to love him or hate him. Yet, he is strong, resourceful, and self-reliant -- characteristics necessary to cement the Abrahamic covenant and establish it for the future.
New Testament Lesson
Romans 8:1-11
The Life Of The Spirit
(A portion of this passage, verses 6-11, has already occurred in the lectionary, on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Cycle A. See the Fifth Sunday in Lent for comments on this passage.)
The Gospel
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The Parable Of The Sower
Speaking from a boat because of the large crowds who have flocked to the seashore to hear him, Jesus presents the Parable of the Sower. A farmer sows seeds rather carelessly in all sorts of places. Those that fall on the rocks, on the path, or among thorns all fail to grow. Only those seeds that fall on good soil germinate, and they yield abundantly. What a harvest this is! Bruce Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh, in their Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Fortress, 2003, p. 74), estimate that a yield of four or fivefold would have been normal. The seeds in the parable yield as many as a hundredfold. Jesus closes with an admonition, "Let anyone with ears listen" -- possibly an allusion to Isaiah 6:9-10. Omitting a section explaining the general purpose of parables, Matthew goes on, in verses 18-23 (as do Mark and Luke, in their versions) to provide an allegorical interpretation. The seed on the path, carried off by the birds, symbolizes those people whom Satan keeps from receiving God's word (v. 19). The seed that lands on rocky soil symbolizes those people who receive God's word, but do not allow it to truly grow in their lives (verses 20-21). The seed among thorns represents those people who are too enmeshed in the rewards and pleasures of the world, and neglect God's word (v. 22). Only the seed that falls on good soil flourishes (v. 23), and this abundantly so. The interpretation in verses 18-23 almost certainly represents the viewpoint of the early church, which was wrestling with the question of why some people gladly receive the good news, while others do not. When this happens, is it the fault of the speaker, or the hearer? The allegorical interpretation suggests it is the fault of the hearer or, specifically, the hearer's environment. Jesus' original point is simpler, but not antithetical to the later interpretation: just broadcast the good news and God will cause the fruits of your efforts to mature in due course, in the ways God has planned.
Preaching Possibilities
Gardening is a popular pastime, but it means different things to different people. There are lots of different types of gardens out there. Some gardeners focus on flowers. Other gardeners focus on vegetables. Some lay their gardens out along formal lines, miniature versions of what eighteenth-century landscapers designed for the great palaces of Europe; others prefer wildflower gardens that may appear -- to the untrained eye, anyway -- as having no design at all. Still others take pride in gardening organically, while others take advantage of all the chemical fertilizers modern science has to offer. Then, there is the Zen garden -- a rocks-and-sand type of landscape design, dedicated not to growing anything other than heightened human consciousness.
Controversial new types of gardening are springing up in the American Southwest. In places like Arizona, where vast new housing developments have been constructed in recent decades, but where water is at a premium, some gardeners are leading a new movement that emphasizes local desert vegetation. These gardens are controversial because they include little or no grass (so as to avoid the need for watering). There have been feuds between neighbors in such developments with proponents of traditional lawns squaring off against those who are learning to discover beauty in other types of vegetation. Is it good stewardship to lay down sod and keep it alive with scarce municipal water, when there are native plants that thrive on the desert climate, but which may not fit the traditional suburban aesthetic?
Jesus tells a parable about a gardener that we can read in Matthew 13:1-9. It's called the Parable of the Sower. "A sower went forth to sow," he says, and scattered seed abroad, in various places. Some falls on the path and is eaten by birds. Other seed falls on rocky ground; it begins well, but soon dies, due to lack of roots. Still other seed falls among thorns; it is choked out by the weeds. Only the seed that falls on good soil thrives.
Jesus presents this parable, initially, without explanation. "Let anyone with ears listen!" he concludes -- in other words, figure it out for yourself!
Matthew's not content with that abrupt ending. He goes on, a few verses later, to provide an interpretation, which he ascribes to Jesus. Now, whether or not this interpretation originated with Jesus is the subject of some scholarly dispute, but either way, it represents a viewpoint common in the early church. It's come down to us as attached to the parable and is worthy of our attention.
Either way, the interpretation provides an excellent sermon outline, of several points:
1) Seed that falls on the path -- when the word is heard, but not really understood.
2) Seed that falls on rocky ground -- when the word is received with initial enthusiasm,
but without the putting-down of roots through regular devotional practice.
3) Seed that falls among weeds -- when temptations choke out faith.
4) Seed that falls on good soil and thrives.
One of the great mysteries of faith is why some people who hear the Christian proclamation "get it," and others do not. The message of salvation in Jesus Christ has been proclaimed so widely in our culture that it's hard to believe there's anyone who hasn't heard at least something of the good news. Some of those who do hear respond immediately. Others may come to faith only later in life -- although, even then, not as someone hearing the message afresh, but as one who has heard it, didn't "get it" then, but now does. Still others, sadly, have multiple opportunities to hear the good news but never seem to respond at all.
This is a parable about receptivity -- what does it take to be receptive to the work of the Holy Spirit, to be "good soil"? It may never be possible to answer that question to everyone's satisfaction. Some things are mysteries, locked in the inscrutable will of God. Yet, for those of us who seek to do the work of proclamation, it also means that we never know who is sitting out there, in the pews, ready and willing to receive the message of salvation. We just never know. So the only thing to do is to keep scattering the seed.
Prayer For The Day
Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept your word.
Fertilize the soil with your Spirit.
Cultivate it with your presence.
Water it with your love.
But, more than that, help us accept responsibility
to be active listeners,
opening our hearts before you. Amen.
To Illustrate
A Reuters news story from June 29, 2001, tells of a British vicar who set a new record for the length of a sermon: two days. Chris Sterry, Anglican vicar of Whalley in Lancashire, northern England, spoke on the Old Testament beginning on a Friday and continuing until late Saturday.
Sterry set a new world record, not only for preaching, but also for unscripted speech in general. The old record stood at 27 hours. His talk followed strict regulations restricting the use of nonsense, repetition, and pauses lasting longer than ten seconds (although regulations did permit him to take a fifteen-minute break every eight hours).
"This will be a proper sermon and I hope that those who come to listen to it will get something out of it," Sterry said on his parish's website. He also said he hoped to raise $3,000 for a local charity, the Whalley Parish Church Ministry Fund.
After that marathon, he planned not to preach on the following day, which was Sunday.
***
In April of 2007, one of the world's great classical musicians, the violinist Joshua Bell, agreed to participate in a little experiment. At the invitation of the Washington Post, he entered a station of Washington DC's subway system, the Metro, wearing jeans, T-shirt, and a baseball cap. He took out a Stradivarius violin and began playing.
After 43 minutes of playing during morning rush hour, Bell -- who commands ticket prices of $100 and up at his concerts -- had earned $32.17 in tips. Almost no one stopped to listen to him. Of the 1,097 people who walked by, only one recognized him.
Bell said the experience taught him that music is "a participatory thing," in which both the performer and the listeners must be involved.
***
Robert Fulghum, Unitarian minister and author of the bestseller, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, has come up with something he calls "The Storyteller's Creed." It may have something to say, not so much to the soil on which the seed lands, but to the viability of the seed itself:
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death."
***
Perry Biddle Jr. is an Episcopal priest who tells of a time when he was invited to speak in a church in England. The point of Biddle's message was "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth," those words from scripture immortalized in the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. Biddle repeated that phrase several times in his sermon. Each time he used it, he spoke a little louder. By the time he reached the end, he was practically shouting it.
As the people were filing out after the service, two elderly women approached. An officer of the church whispered to the preacher, "Now these two ladies are mostly deaf; they probably didn't catch much of your sermon."
Sure enough, one of the women said, "I didn't hear much of what you said today, sir. The only thing I heard was 'the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.'" She continued out the door, then turned and said, "But I guess that's all that really matters, isn't it?"
-- Perry H. Biddle, "The Important Point," Christian Ministry (September 1982), p. 19
***
The great advantage about telling the truth is that nobody ever believes it.
-- Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night
***
An elderly woman walked into a country church. The usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. "Where would you like to sit?" he asked.
"The front row, please."
"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."
"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired. "I'm the pastor's mother."
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"No." she said.
"Good."
-- Ralph Milton
***
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
***
Next Sunday we all went to church, about three miles, everybody a-horseback. The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching -- all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeordestination, and I don't know what all, that it did seem to me to be one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet.
-- Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, chapter 18
***
[Jesus'] biggest and most innovative decision was the manner in which he chose to preach. He chose the way and the lifestyle of the storyteller, the parable-maker who fashions a new creation out of the holy materials of the only creation we all share in common: the birds, the lilies of the field, the fishes caught, the fig tree in bloom, the sheep versus the goats, the leaven in the bread, the mustard seeds of the world, and the rains that fall on unjust and just alike.
-- Matthew Fox, Original Blessing (Santa Fe: Bear & Co., 1983), p. 124
***
For lack of attention a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day.
-- Evelyn Underhill
For the gospel to be effectively proclaimed, good listeners are needed, as well as persuasive speakers.
Old Testament Lesson
Genesis 25:19-34
Jacob Trades For Esau's Birthright
Abraham has died, the future of his line secure (25:7-11). After some initial difficulty conceiving, Rebekah senses the presence of two children in her womb, and they are fighting with each other (verses 22-23). They are, of course, the rivals: Jacob and Esau. Jacob is born hanging onto his older brother's heel: symbolic of the way he would grasp and clutch for Esau's inheritance (v. 26). The characters of Jacob and Esau symbolize the two sides of a deep fault line running through Israel's national life. Esau is a herder of animals, a man of the hills. Jacob is a man of settled communities, of agriculture and trade. It is the sly, commercial ways of Jacob that will ultimately gain the ascendancy; but, always there will be the parallel heritage of the strong and self-reliant shepherd, living a virtuous life out under the stars. The final portion of this selection is the prototypical Jacob-Esau exchange: Jacob's swindling his brother out of the birthright (verses 29-34). The action he began in the womb is now complete: having hung onto his older brother's heel all his life, Jacob now surpasses him. The character of Jacob is a deeply ambiguous one; at times, we don't know whether we are supposed to love him or hate him. Yet, he is strong, resourceful, and self-reliant -- characteristics necessary to cement the Abrahamic covenant and establish it for the future.
New Testament Lesson
Romans 8:1-11
The Life Of The Spirit
(A portion of this passage, verses 6-11, has already occurred in the lectionary, on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Cycle A. See the Fifth Sunday in Lent for comments on this passage.)
The Gospel
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The Parable Of The Sower
Speaking from a boat because of the large crowds who have flocked to the seashore to hear him, Jesus presents the Parable of the Sower. A farmer sows seeds rather carelessly in all sorts of places. Those that fall on the rocks, on the path, or among thorns all fail to grow. Only those seeds that fall on good soil germinate, and they yield abundantly. What a harvest this is! Bruce Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh, in their Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Fortress, 2003, p. 74), estimate that a yield of four or fivefold would have been normal. The seeds in the parable yield as many as a hundredfold. Jesus closes with an admonition, "Let anyone with ears listen" -- possibly an allusion to Isaiah 6:9-10. Omitting a section explaining the general purpose of parables, Matthew goes on, in verses 18-23 (as do Mark and Luke, in their versions) to provide an allegorical interpretation. The seed on the path, carried off by the birds, symbolizes those people whom Satan keeps from receiving God's word (v. 19). The seed that lands on rocky soil symbolizes those people who receive God's word, but do not allow it to truly grow in their lives (verses 20-21). The seed among thorns represents those people who are too enmeshed in the rewards and pleasures of the world, and neglect God's word (v. 22). Only the seed that falls on good soil flourishes (v. 23), and this abundantly so. The interpretation in verses 18-23 almost certainly represents the viewpoint of the early church, which was wrestling with the question of why some people gladly receive the good news, while others do not. When this happens, is it the fault of the speaker, or the hearer? The allegorical interpretation suggests it is the fault of the hearer or, specifically, the hearer's environment. Jesus' original point is simpler, but not antithetical to the later interpretation: just broadcast the good news and God will cause the fruits of your efforts to mature in due course, in the ways God has planned.
Preaching Possibilities
Gardening is a popular pastime, but it means different things to different people. There are lots of different types of gardens out there. Some gardeners focus on flowers. Other gardeners focus on vegetables. Some lay their gardens out along formal lines, miniature versions of what eighteenth-century landscapers designed for the great palaces of Europe; others prefer wildflower gardens that may appear -- to the untrained eye, anyway -- as having no design at all. Still others take pride in gardening organically, while others take advantage of all the chemical fertilizers modern science has to offer. Then, there is the Zen garden -- a rocks-and-sand type of landscape design, dedicated not to growing anything other than heightened human consciousness.
Controversial new types of gardening are springing up in the American Southwest. In places like Arizona, where vast new housing developments have been constructed in recent decades, but where water is at a premium, some gardeners are leading a new movement that emphasizes local desert vegetation. These gardens are controversial because they include little or no grass (so as to avoid the need for watering). There have been feuds between neighbors in such developments with proponents of traditional lawns squaring off against those who are learning to discover beauty in other types of vegetation. Is it good stewardship to lay down sod and keep it alive with scarce municipal water, when there are native plants that thrive on the desert climate, but which may not fit the traditional suburban aesthetic?
Jesus tells a parable about a gardener that we can read in Matthew 13:1-9. It's called the Parable of the Sower. "A sower went forth to sow," he says, and scattered seed abroad, in various places. Some falls on the path and is eaten by birds. Other seed falls on rocky ground; it begins well, but soon dies, due to lack of roots. Still other seed falls among thorns; it is choked out by the weeds. Only the seed that falls on good soil thrives.
Jesus presents this parable, initially, without explanation. "Let anyone with ears listen!" he concludes -- in other words, figure it out for yourself!
Matthew's not content with that abrupt ending. He goes on, a few verses later, to provide an interpretation, which he ascribes to Jesus. Now, whether or not this interpretation originated with Jesus is the subject of some scholarly dispute, but either way, it represents a viewpoint common in the early church. It's come down to us as attached to the parable and is worthy of our attention.
Either way, the interpretation provides an excellent sermon outline, of several points:
1) Seed that falls on the path -- when the word is heard, but not really understood.
2) Seed that falls on rocky ground -- when the word is received with initial enthusiasm,
but without the putting-down of roots through regular devotional practice.
3) Seed that falls among weeds -- when temptations choke out faith.
4) Seed that falls on good soil and thrives.
One of the great mysteries of faith is why some people who hear the Christian proclamation "get it," and others do not. The message of salvation in Jesus Christ has been proclaimed so widely in our culture that it's hard to believe there's anyone who hasn't heard at least something of the good news. Some of those who do hear respond immediately. Others may come to faith only later in life -- although, even then, not as someone hearing the message afresh, but as one who has heard it, didn't "get it" then, but now does. Still others, sadly, have multiple opportunities to hear the good news but never seem to respond at all.
This is a parable about receptivity -- what does it take to be receptive to the work of the Holy Spirit, to be "good soil"? It may never be possible to answer that question to everyone's satisfaction. Some things are mysteries, locked in the inscrutable will of God. Yet, for those of us who seek to do the work of proclamation, it also means that we never know who is sitting out there, in the pews, ready and willing to receive the message of salvation. We just never know. So the only thing to do is to keep scattering the seed.
Prayer For The Day
Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept your word.
Fertilize the soil with your Spirit.
Cultivate it with your presence.
Water it with your love.
But, more than that, help us accept responsibility
to be active listeners,
opening our hearts before you. Amen.
To Illustrate
A Reuters news story from June 29, 2001, tells of a British vicar who set a new record for the length of a sermon: two days. Chris Sterry, Anglican vicar of Whalley in Lancashire, northern England, spoke on the Old Testament beginning on a Friday and continuing until late Saturday.
Sterry set a new world record, not only for preaching, but also for unscripted speech in general. The old record stood at 27 hours. His talk followed strict regulations restricting the use of nonsense, repetition, and pauses lasting longer than ten seconds (although regulations did permit him to take a fifteen-minute break every eight hours).
"This will be a proper sermon and I hope that those who come to listen to it will get something out of it," Sterry said on his parish's website. He also said he hoped to raise $3,000 for a local charity, the Whalley Parish Church Ministry Fund.
After that marathon, he planned not to preach on the following day, which was Sunday.
***
In April of 2007, one of the world's great classical musicians, the violinist Joshua Bell, agreed to participate in a little experiment. At the invitation of the Washington Post, he entered a station of Washington DC's subway system, the Metro, wearing jeans, T-shirt, and a baseball cap. He took out a Stradivarius violin and began playing.
After 43 minutes of playing during morning rush hour, Bell -- who commands ticket prices of $100 and up at his concerts -- had earned $32.17 in tips. Almost no one stopped to listen to him. Of the 1,097 people who walked by, only one recognized him.
Bell said the experience taught him that music is "a participatory thing," in which both the performer and the listeners must be involved.
***
Robert Fulghum, Unitarian minister and author of the bestseller, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, has come up with something he calls "The Storyteller's Creed." It may have something to say, not so much to the soil on which the seed lands, but to the viability of the seed itself:
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death."
***
Perry Biddle Jr. is an Episcopal priest who tells of a time when he was invited to speak in a church in England. The point of Biddle's message was "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth," those words from scripture immortalized in the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. Biddle repeated that phrase several times in his sermon. Each time he used it, he spoke a little louder. By the time he reached the end, he was practically shouting it.
As the people were filing out after the service, two elderly women approached. An officer of the church whispered to the preacher, "Now these two ladies are mostly deaf; they probably didn't catch much of your sermon."
Sure enough, one of the women said, "I didn't hear much of what you said today, sir. The only thing I heard was 'the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.'" She continued out the door, then turned and said, "But I guess that's all that really matters, isn't it?"
-- Perry H. Biddle, "The Important Point," Christian Ministry (September 1982), p. 19
***
The great advantage about telling the truth is that nobody ever believes it.
-- Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night
***
An elderly woman walked into a country church. The usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. "Where would you like to sit?" he asked.
"The front row, please."
"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."
"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired. "I'm the pastor's mother."
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"No." she said.
"Good."
-- Ralph Milton
***
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
***
Next Sunday we all went to church, about three miles, everybody a-horseback. The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching -- all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeordestination, and I don't know what all, that it did seem to me to be one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet.
-- Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, chapter 18
***
[Jesus'] biggest and most innovative decision was the manner in which he chose to preach. He chose the way and the lifestyle of the storyteller, the parable-maker who fashions a new creation out of the holy materials of the only creation we all share in common: the birds, the lilies of the field, the fishes caught, the fig tree in bloom, the sheep versus the goats, the leaven in the bread, the mustard seeds of the world, and the rains that fall on unjust and just alike.
-- Matthew Fox, Original Blessing (Santa Fe: Bear & Co., 1983), p. 124
***
For lack of attention a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day.
-- Evelyn Underhill
