Proper 10, Pentecost 8, Ordinary Time 15
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
An Introduction To Ephesians
For the next seven weeks our Second Reading will be from the book of Ephesians. Most believe that Paul wrote this book during his two-year imprisonment in Rome. This was sent as a circular letter to be read at worship in congregations Paul had begun including Ephesus, an important city in western Asia located at the intersection of several major trade routes. These congregations were established on Paul's third missionary journey.
No particular problems are addressed; rather, Paul tries to explain God's eternal purpose and the goals that God has for the church. A major theme is unity in the congregation as one family who ought live in love toward each other.
Seasonal Theme
We learn of the Christian faith and how we are to follow Jesus as his disciples.
Theme For The Day
We are tempted in many ways and pray for the strength to resist and the wisdom to control our desires.
Old Testament Lesson
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
David Brings The Ark To Jerusalem
The ark had been separated from the places of their worship for 100 years. Now that David captured Jerusalem, he could retrieve it from Kiriath Jearim (Joshua 15:9) and bring it to the neutral place of Jerusalem, the new capital of the Kingdom. He would place it in the tabernacle he would build on Mount Zion and announce that Jerusalem is the religious center of the nation.
The ark is described in Exodus 25:10-22. Its contents were the two tablets of stone on which were the Ten Commandments, the basis of the covenant between God and the people. The ark's history reflects the history of its people, according to Harper's Bible Dictionary where we find the following information:
Carried by sons of Levi in the wilderness -- Deuteronomy 31:9
Brought over the Jordan by the priest -- Joshua 3:17
Was at the fall of Jericho -- Joshua 6:4-11
Placed at Shilo -- Joshua 18:1
Captured by the Philistines -- 1 Samuel 4
And now brought to Jerusalem by David -- 1 Chronicles 13:3-14
After being in a tent-like sanctuary, it is now placed in the Temple of Solomon beneath the cherubim (Debri). We don't know what ever happened to it. I have seen a frieze found at Capernaum, which looked like a wagon with a small columned structure, flanked by lions, which may be a likeness of it.
Today in most synagogues, an ark is located in the east wall and prayers are directed toward it, symbolic of the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple.
The use of music in Israel's worship was common. One may find nearly the same instruments in Psalm 150.
New Testament Lesson
Ephesians 1:3-14
Spiritual Blessings In Christ
These opening lines may very well be lines from some early Christian hymnody that Paul knew. It sings of God's will done through Jesus, God's wonderful forgiveness and salvation, God's desire to praise, and God's giving of the Holy Spirit as a promise of our future inheritance.
Verse 5 is significant in that Paul states we are "... destined for adoption as his children ..." The same idea occurs in a number of Paul's letters: Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5.
This rich metaphor emphasizes both God's initiative in establishing a relationship with us and the divine character of that relationship: God's love -- our responsibility. So we are created for the praise and service of our creator.
Verse 10 we read of the oneness of Christ in all things on earth and in heaven. Paul stresses the unity of God's creative and redemptive activity. We get the idea here of a plan for all of our history eventually ending in the rule of the Christ.
The passage finishes with an assurance that we are created to live for the praise of God. The "we" in verse 12 includes all the Christian community although it is tempting to consider it as Jewish Christians including Paul.
The Holy Spirit holds an important place in the theology of Ephesians. "Seal," in verse 13, refers to Christian baptism. One might also translate the term "inheritance" as future blessings.
The Gospel
Mark 6:14-29
The Death Of John The Baptist
One can still get a glimpse of John's head as Muslims have kept it in a box and have run with it several times to keep it from being captured. The last time I saw the box was in the Muslim mosque in Damascus in elaborately decorated surroundings.
King Herod had a heck of a guilty conscience. When he heard of Jesus' activity, he imagined that the prophet, who had called attention to his seduction of his brother's wife, was alive again even though he had ordered him beheaded.
By taking Herodias as his wife, he had broken the Jewish law (Leviticus 18:16, 20, 21). To John it was an outrage and offense of morality. So, outspoken John said so publicly. At Herod's birthday party Salome danced a provocative dance which aroused him to such a state that he promised her anything. She, at her mother's prompting, asked for the head of John. Verse 26 is the saddest part of the story. Herod could not back down without losing precious prideful "face." And that's what killed John.
Consider the characters in this drama:
1. Herod, now full of guilt, easily seduced, and unwilling to reverse a promise made in the height of erotic excitement;
2. Herodias, who shows us what a vengeful person can do;
3. Salome dances like a prostitute thus arousing and manipulating men of power for her own gain;
4. And John the Baptizer who spoke the truth and took the high path morally even at the risk of his death. He was a courageous man who lived the truth.
Preaching Possibilities
The Old Testament Lesson is an opportunity to deal with "that which is holy" and talk about David's covenant based on the law compared with our "deal" with God based on the cross and God's grace. We could compare the elements of covenant worship then when singing, playing musical instruments, dancing, and the ark containing the Ten Commandments with our present liturgy, music, and the sacraments of baptism and communion. It's a thin basis on which to do it, so I won't go there -- but I could using Paul's Ephesians for the basis of grace and the new covenant.
Music is an element in all three readings: the Old Testament -- as they parade with the ark to Jerusalem; Paul's letter -- with quotations from early Christian hymns; and in the Gospel -- Salome dances a very unreligious dance!
The Second Reading easily provides a text for a traditional "three points and a poem" outline:
Title: Spiritual Blessings We Can Count On
Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
A. God chose us to be holy, blameless, and loved (v. 4).
B. God destined us for adoption into God's family (v. 5).
C. God saved us through Christ's blood (v. 7).
D. God has an inheritance for us (v. 11).
E. We are given the seal of the Holy Spirit (v. 13).
F. So What? We live in the presence of his glory (v. 12).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Title: John Loses His Head Over An Erotic Dance
A. Begin by retelling in your own words the delicious story of Herod, Herodias, and Salome.
B. Imagine what a court video camera person would have gotten on tape that day!
C. Talk about these elements in the story:
1. Herod's guilty conscience that made him afraid of the ghost of decapitated John and how guilt can distort our lives even today. Shakespeare's Hamlet had similar distorted thinking from his guilt.
2. Herodias' vengeful nature because she knew she was being confronted by the truth and how the truth can anger us, also.
3. Salome's tempting dance and the use of sexual desire and her body to manipulate Herod. How often that same sexual desire is used today to tempt us mightily.
4. Herod's pride, which would not let him back down on a promise made in the heat of sexual stimulation and desire to impress his peers. And how often pride can get in the way of our loving and doing the best for others.
D. Move to some conclusions because of the above. As a congregation we must expect to hear and support preaching that confronts the ugly truth and reveals our sins. We must, as individuals, be on guard and teach our children to be on guard against the sin of Herod, guilt and pride; of Herodias, of being revengeful; and of Salome, using sex to tempt others to sin.
E. Frame the sermon by returning, in your own words, to the story of the dance and beheading. Then tell that John's head is now in a box entombed in a Muslim mosque in Damascus. We could only imagine what it would say to us today if it could speak!
Prayer For The Day
Help us in the times of temptation, God. Give us the strength and character to resist adultery and sexual abuse. Help us to recognize our motivation of pride or vengeance or the desire to use our bodies to manipulate others for our gain. And above all, teach us to confront sin and wrong with the truth you teach us. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
There is a little steak house named Toppers in Des Moines, Iowa, between Mercy and Lutheran Hospitals. When I have my collar on, they always slip an extra piece of steak under the regular order (special). It's a real bonus just for being there.
What are the bonuses of our regular lives?
According to the Minnesota Star newspaper, they train the Metro Transit Authority bus drivers by using a video of the route the driver will be driving. Oh, that the older Christians might serve as that videotape of the route the younger will transit.
I saw a rerun of the film Gandhi. A Hindu man came to him and confessed he had killed a Moslem boy. Gandhi said he knew a way out of his hell. Find a parentless boy and raise him as a Moslem. "When we follow 'an eye for an eye' we end up with a world which cannot see" (Gandhi).
Two Jews went to synagogue on Yom Kippur. They hated each other. Now all is forgiven. They came out the door and one said to the other: "I wish for you all you wish for me." The other replied, "You're starting it again!" (told by George Forell at a field seminary in Tucson, Arizona). How easy it is to harbor a grudge and nurse a hurt rather than do the hard work of radical forgiveness.
For the next seven weeks our Second Reading will be from the book of Ephesians. Most believe that Paul wrote this book during his two-year imprisonment in Rome. This was sent as a circular letter to be read at worship in congregations Paul had begun including Ephesus, an important city in western Asia located at the intersection of several major trade routes. These congregations were established on Paul's third missionary journey.
No particular problems are addressed; rather, Paul tries to explain God's eternal purpose and the goals that God has for the church. A major theme is unity in the congregation as one family who ought live in love toward each other.
Seasonal Theme
We learn of the Christian faith and how we are to follow Jesus as his disciples.
Theme For The Day
We are tempted in many ways and pray for the strength to resist and the wisdom to control our desires.
Old Testament Lesson
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
David Brings The Ark To Jerusalem
The ark had been separated from the places of their worship for 100 years. Now that David captured Jerusalem, he could retrieve it from Kiriath Jearim (Joshua 15:9) and bring it to the neutral place of Jerusalem, the new capital of the Kingdom. He would place it in the tabernacle he would build on Mount Zion and announce that Jerusalem is the religious center of the nation.
The ark is described in Exodus 25:10-22. Its contents were the two tablets of stone on which were the Ten Commandments, the basis of the covenant between God and the people. The ark's history reflects the history of its people, according to Harper's Bible Dictionary where we find the following information:
Carried by sons of Levi in the wilderness -- Deuteronomy 31:9
Brought over the Jordan by the priest -- Joshua 3:17
Was at the fall of Jericho -- Joshua 6:4-11
Placed at Shilo -- Joshua 18:1
Captured by the Philistines -- 1 Samuel 4
And now brought to Jerusalem by David -- 1 Chronicles 13:3-14
After being in a tent-like sanctuary, it is now placed in the Temple of Solomon beneath the cherubim (Debri). We don't know what ever happened to it. I have seen a frieze found at Capernaum, which looked like a wagon with a small columned structure, flanked by lions, which may be a likeness of it.
Today in most synagogues, an ark is located in the east wall and prayers are directed toward it, symbolic of the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple.
The use of music in Israel's worship was common. One may find nearly the same instruments in Psalm 150.
New Testament Lesson
Ephesians 1:3-14
Spiritual Blessings In Christ
These opening lines may very well be lines from some early Christian hymnody that Paul knew. It sings of God's will done through Jesus, God's wonderful forgiveness and salvation, God's desire to praise, and God's giving of the Holy Spirit as a promise of our future inheritance.
Verse 5 is significant in that Paul states we are "... destined for adoption as his children ..." The same idea occurs in a number of Paul's letters: Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5.
This rich metaphor emphasizes both God's initiative in establishing a relationship with us and the divine character of that relationship: God's love -- our responsibility. So we are created for the praise and service of our creator.
Verse 10 we read of the oneness of Christ in all things on earth and in heaven. Paul stresses the unity of God's creative and redemptive activity. We get the idea here of a plan for all of our history eventually ending in the rule of the Christ.
The passage finishes with an assurance that we are created to live for the praise of God. The "we" in verse 12 includes all the Christian community although it is tempting to consider it as Jewish Christians including Paul.
The Holy Spirit holds an important place in the theology of Ephesians. "Seal," in verse 13, refers to Christian baptism. One might also translate the term "inheritance" as future blessings.
The Gospel
Mark 6:14-29
The Death Of John The Baptist
One can still get a glimpse of John's head as Muslims have kept it in a box and have run with it several times to keep it from being captured. The last time I saw the box was in the Muslim mosque in Damascus in elaborately decorated surroundings.
King Herod had a heck of a guilty conscience. When he heard of Jesus' activity, he imagined that the prophet, who had called attention to his seduction of his brother's wife, was alive again even though he had ordered him beheaded.
By taking Herodias as his wife, he had broken the Jewish law (Leviticus 18:16, 20, 21). To John it was an outrage and offense of morality. So, outspoken John said so publicly. At Herod's birthday party Salome danced a provocative dance which aroused him to such a state that he promised her anything. She, at her mother's prompting, asked for the head of John. Verse 26 is the saddest part of the story. Herod could not back down without losing precious prideful "face." And that's what killed John.
Consider the characters in this drama:
1. Herod, now full of guilt, easily seduced, and unwilling to reverse a promise made in the height of erotic excitement;
2. Herodias, who shows us what a vengeful person can do;
3. Salome dances like a prostitute thus arousing and manipulating men of power for her own gain;
4. And John the Baptizer who spoke the truth and took the high path morally even at the risk of his death. He was a courageous man who lived the truth.
Preaching Possibilities
The Old Testament Lesson is an opportunity to deal with "that which is holy" and talk about David's covenant based on the law compared with our "deal" with God based on the cross and God's grace. We could compare the elements of covenant worship then when singing, playing musical instruments, dancing, and the ark containing the Ten Commandments with our present liturgy, music, and the sacraments of baptism and communion. It's a thin basis on which to do it, so I won't go there -- but I could using Paul's Ephesians for the basis of grace and the new covenant.
Music is an element in all three readings: the Old Testament -- as they parade with the ark to Jerusalem; Paul's letter -- with quotations from early Christian hymns; and in the Gospel -- Salome dances a very unreligious dance!
The Second Reading easily provides a text for a traditional "three points and a poem" outline:
Title: Spiritual Blessings We Can Count On
Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
A. God chose us to be holy, blameless, and loved (v. 4).
B. God destined us for adoption into God's family (v. 5).
C. God saved us through Christ's blood (v. 7).
D. God has an inheritance for us (v. 11).
E. We are given the seal of the Holy Spirit (v. 13).
F. So What? We live in the presence of his glory (v. 12).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Title: John Loses His Head Over An Erotic Dance
A. Begin by retelling in your own words the delicious story of Herod, Herodias, and Salome.
B. Imagine what a court video camera person would have gotten on tape that day!
C. Talk about these elements in the story:
1. Herod's guilty conscience that made him afraid of the ghost of decapitated John and how guilt can distort our lives even today. Shakespeare's Hamlet had similar distorted thinking from his guilt.
2. Herodias' vengeful nature because she knew she was being confronted by the truth and how the truth can anger us, also.
3. Salome's tempting dance and the use of sexual desire and her body to manipulate Herod. How often that same sexual desire is used today to tempt us mightily.
4. Herod's pride, which would not let him back down on a promise made in the heat of sexual stimulation and desire to impress his peers. And how often pride can get in the way of our loving and doing the best for others.
D. Move to some conclusions because of the above. As a congregation we must expect to hear and support preaching that confronts the ugly truth and reveals our sins. We must, as individuals, be on guard and teach our children to be on guard against the sin of Herod, guilt and pride; of Herodias, of being revengeful; and of Salome, using sex to tempt others to sin.
E. Frame the sermon by returning, in your own words, to the story of the dance and beheading. Then tell that John's head is now in a box entombed in a Muslim mosque in Damascus. We could only imagine what it would say to us today if it could speak!
Prayer For The Day
Help us in the times of temptation, God. Give us the strength and character to resist adultery and sexual abuse. Help us to recognize our motivation of pride or vengeance or the desire to use our bodies to manipulate others for our gain. And above all, teach us to confront sin and wrong with the truth you teach us. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
There is a little steak house named Toppers in Des Moines, Iowa, between Mercy and Lutheran Hospitals. When I have my collar on, they always slip an extra piece of steak under the regular order (special). It's a real bonus just for being there.
What are the bonuses of our regular lives?
According to the Minnesota Star newspaper, they train the Metro Transit Authority bus drivers by using a video of the route the driver will be driving. Oh, that the older Christians might serve as that videotape of the route the younger will transit.
I saw a rerun of the film Gandhi. A Hindu man came to him and confessed he had killed a Moslem boy. Gandhi said he knew a way out of his hell. Find a parentless boy and raise him as a Moslem. "When we follow 'an eye for an eye' we end up with a world which cannot see" (Gandhi).
Two Jews went to synagogue on Yom Kippur. They hated each other. Now all is forgiven. They came out the door and one said to the other: "I wish for you all you wish for me." The other replied, "You're starting it again!" (told by George Forell at a field seminary in Tucson, Arizona). How easy it is to harbor a grudge and nurse a hurt rather than do the hard work of radical forgiveness.
