Proper 23
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 (C)
This is a call to peaceful co-existence with the Babylonians. Jeremiah's letter to the Jewish leaders among the exiled people sets a tone which has since prevailed among the Jews. They settle into their communities, are law abiding and highly productive. To generalize on this, the tenor of the message seems to recommend as we would say today, when life comes up lemons, make lemonade. Of course the people would yearn for home. Of course the later generations of the exiled people, though they would not have actually experienced their homeland, yet the stories told by elders were sure to awaken in their hearts a fiery loyalty to all that their homeland symbolized. But they were to settle, not in anger, not in a spirit of hatred, but with a sense of loyalty to their own. No doubt many people at that time adjusted to their current home in Babylon. But no doubt also, many dreamed of their return. Today we still see this loyalty and sense of ethnic solidarity among our Jewish friends.
One sermon possibility with this text would be to generalize on the fact that sometimes our lives are not where we wish them to be. It may be a geographical problem. Or, it may be a matter of the heart: a difficult relationship to which one is committed, a vocation which is disappointing, a physical infirmity which sorely limits one's life. Whatever the unhappy, less than desirable situation, the healthy-minded person does his or her best to make peace with that situation and lo, sometimes God can turn the minus into a plus.
Lesson 1: 2 Kings 5:14-17 (RC)
It would seem that King Solomon had quite an array of free talent at his disposal for the building of his temple. How many building committees today would envy that.
Lesson 1: Ruth 1:(1-7) 8-19a (E)
It is obvious that Naomi and her daughters-in-law had close and loving relationships. Reading the passage, we see that Naomi and her husband Elimelech had migrated from Judah to Moab where living was apparently easier. There their two sons married Orpah and Ruth, both Moabites. But all the men died and Naomi, feeling old, wanted to return to her native home. The two young women planned to return with her as well, but Naomi realized that to do so would almost surely doom them to single state the rest of their lives. In Judah, outsiders rarely succeeded in marrying. Orpah realized the wisdom of this advice and sadly returned to her childhood home. Ruth, however, loved Naomi and refused to leave her. Hence the oft quoted passage in verses 16 and 17.
Most commentaries see this as a folk tale, a splendid dissertation on obedience and disobedience, and on friendship. The first line, "In the days when the judges ruled," is approximately to say, "Once upon a time." There is little of religious significance in Ruth, but it does bring before us the qualities of friendship. It suggests to me that a sermon discussing Christian qualities of friendship might be very relevant.
Lesson 2: 2 Timothy 2:8-15 (C); 2 Timothy 2:8-13 (RC); 2 Timothy 2:(3-7) 8-15 (E)
When I started seminary, a fellow student asked our theology professor what to say when a church member (remember, we were all beginners) asked if we believed in the virgin birth. He said the easy way was to reply that we held the same belief as that of Saint Paul. Of course he meant by that that there is no evidence that Paul was familiar with the idea of virgin birth. In this passage we see Paul's contention that Jesus was a descendant of David. Now if Jesus was born via the divine presumption, then he wasn't a descendant of anyone. Of course many biblical scholars argue that this was written by a student of Paul's, not by Paul himself. Still, that writer could be expected to mirror Paul's theology. However, having taken note of this, better to leave it alone in a sermon. What is important here is that Paul teaches that if we affirm Jesus as our Lord, we will live with him in the afterlife, and that even in this life, if we are loyal to Jesus, we will have dominion over our own lives. Or, as Eugene Peterson's translation reads: "If we stick it out with him, we will rule with him." If, on the other hand, we deny Jesus, Jesus will have no option other than to deny us.
Witnessing to Jesus, however, is not primarily a verbal affair. He instructs the reader "not to fight over words." Instead, "Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker ..." In other words, deeds, not words, are the best witness of one's Christian faith.
Gospel: Luke 17:11-19 (C, RC, E)
This story commends the attitude of gratitude. Ten terribly sick men. One of the ten is a Samaritan, an outcast as the Jews viewed such people. The lowest of the low. But all of them appealed to Jesus for healing, whereupon Jesus sent them to the priests for the ritual associated with healing. But of course Jesus effected the healing. Nine of them, no doubt overwhelmed with their new found good health, took off to their various new plans. But one, and only one, went back to thank Jesus. And of all people, he was the one who was anathema to the Jews.
I think, though, the point of the story is the simple one. Jesus did something nice for ten people and only one gave thanks. We shouldn't do our acts of kindness for the reward of thanks, but when we do something for people, it means a lot if they express appreciation. I see here a sermon on gratitude to God for all He does for us, but also on gratitude to people in our lives who do us kindnesses.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Take Charge"
Text: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Theme: This lesson contains the advice sent by the prophet Jeremiah to his people living in exile. They are to settle down and become law abiding citizens. They are to allow themselves to be integrated into the common life of Babylon. Likewise, we all sometimes find ourselves in settings not to our liking. I would incorporate verses 11-14, though these are not in the lectionary assignment. However, this lesson, seeming to encourage passive adjustment, must be seen in light of the overall promise which Jeremiah voices, that God will, for those who are faithful, put an end to their lostness and see them safely restored to their true destiny.
1. Healthy people accept reality. I still remember the woman who came to me for counseling one day, just after she had learned from her doctor that she was diabetic. With fire in her eyes, she slammed her fist on my desk and shouted to the heavens, "I will not be a diabetic." Now I sympathized with that poor gal. But the clear fact was, she was to be a diabetic. We have to make a distinction between those situations we can proactively change, and those we must learn to accept. Remember the prayer written, I think, by Reinhold Niebuhr, and familiar to members of AA: "Lord, help me to change the things which need to be changed, to accept the things which can't be changed, and give me the wisdom to know the difference." The sooner we accept those unchangeable realities in our lives, quit feeling sorry for ourselves, begin to design life around them, the sooner we become happy, successful people.
2. Healthy people are proactive. That word "proactive" has become something of a buzz word these days, but the meaning is important. Sometimes it's necessary to take charge of our lives. If there's something about your life which you don't like, who's going to change it if you don't? It's your responsibility. If your job is unfulfilling, get out and find one that is. If you're handicapped by lack of education, go to school. The world is full of people who say, "It can't be done." But the world is also full of people who do it. One eighty-year-old woman received her college degree in our city this past season. By golly, she'd always wanted one, it took her a long time, but she got it. If your marriage is in trouble, go to a good counselor. Earlier generations thought that a sign of weakness. We know better. Whatever it is, some angel's not going to step forth from the darkness and change things for you. Get to it.
3. Healthy people know God always helps. That's why I included verse 14 which reads, in part: "... I will restore your fortunes ... and I will bring you back...." We have discussed this several time this past year, how suffering and privation are the very best means of growth. No fun at the time, of course, but that's how the world works. When we quit complaining and start taking charge of life, we become better people. That's God's will. But it's also God's will to step in, after due process, and help us. Surely, if the Christian faith has become a force in our lives, we have learned that God never disappoints us. Maybe the part about restored fortunes is symbolic, but we can trust God to help us at all times, never allowing us to get beyond what we should be able to handle.
Title: "Not What We Say, What We Do"
Text: 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Theme: Deeds, far better than words, reveal the validity of our claims to a Christian faith. Not that words are unimportant. But merely talking a great faith isn't nearly as powerful a witness as are our actions on behalf of others.
1. This applies to the ordinary days of our lives. Henry Drummond wrote this long ago: "The final test of religion is not religionness, but love -- not what I have done, not what I have believed, not what I have achieved, but how I have discharged the common charities of life."
2. This applies in times of great temptation. We all face temptations. We preachers know all about this. After twenty years of marriage, a very pretty, younger lady shows an attraction to us -- I can't speak for my female colleagues, not being female, but we all have to block those feelings in order to be faithful. Or the temptation to lie, to be deceptive in our speech with people so we can avoid conflict and, sometimes, avoid responsibility, or to curry favor by exaggerated comments. Or the great temptation of the hard-pressed clergy person: to copy someone else's sermon giving no credit. A friend of mine once preached in a younger man's church at his invitation. The cold response to this fine preacher's sermon that day mystified him until, not long after, he had occasion to meet a layman from that other church. He asked what had gone wrong. The layman admitted that the sermon had been preached, nearly verbatim, a few weeks earlier by the young pastor. It turned out that the young man had visited the older man's church, been impressed, and had also picked up some printed sermons, then had gone home and copied my friend's work. So, again, we find that old truth. Our misdeeds are always revealed eventually. In every vocation, comparable temptations arise. People see.
3. This applies in times of crisis. Serious illness or injury can cause one to be overwhelmed with self-pity, with anger, with demands for attention from others. The death of a loved one always reveals our faith or lack thereof. I'll qualify all of this a little bit. Initial reactions of anger and self-pity are natural and forgivable. But after a season of such reactions, true faith should enable us to step forth and reveal that faith by the way we cope.
Title: "The Attitude Of Gratitude"
Text: Luke 17:11-19
Theme: The essence of the Christian faith is love. John wrote that "God is love." Paul wrote that as important as faith and hope are, and they are critically important to a Christian life, yet of the three qualities, "the greatest of these is love." Jesus was the very embodiment of love. And one thing true love teaches us is the art of gratitude. Not just to feel it but to express it. At its lowest level we incorporate this into our culture with "thank you" and "you're welcome." (Or that odious substitute employed by well-meaning but poorly-instructed waiters and waitresses: "No problem.")
More importantly, there is gratitude to parents for all their sacrifices, and all the encouragement they gave. I confess I never realized how dedicated my parents were to my brother and me until I went out into the cold, cruel world and had to make my own way. I suddenly realized what it must have taken to put two boys through school, cover all the other family expenses, while my dad was recovering from severe injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
There is gratitude for teachers, for role models, for caring pastors, for mentors of various kinds. My wife came home the other day with tears in her eyes. She teaches fourth grade. She received a letter from a sixth grader telling my wife how her year in fourth grade had changed her life and taught her work habits which had opened up a whole new view of education.
Then the main point: gratitude to God for all He does for us. I grant you, God's very nature being love, He can do no other. But just as my wife's heart was warmed by that letter from a little girl, God's heart is surely warmed when we say a sincere word of gratitude.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
A century or so ago, two British soldiers were captured by the Mohammedans during a desert campaign. Apologetically, an officer went to the home of the mother of one officer, Sir David Baird. He informed that doughty lady that her son was a prisoner and was securely chained to one of his guards, to which his mother replied, "Well, God have mercy on the poor fellow chained to my Davy." (There was a man who stood for something, a man of known courage. You didn't have to worry about him.)
____________
Thomas Jefferson, who died on July 4, 1826, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, wrote the epitaph which he wanted on his tombstone upon his death. It read:
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson,
author of the Declaration of Independence,
of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom,
and father of the University of Virginia.
No mention that he was President of the United States? Isn't it interesting what we privately value about our lives?
____________
In Hartford, Connecticut, back in the early days of our country, one day it suddenly grew so dark that the chickens went to roost, the sun was blotted out, and though it was mid-day, darkness had settled over the countryside. The state legislature was in session at the time. The lower house broke up as members ran from the building, heading home to be with their families, fearing that some terrible calamity was about to happen. However, the members of the senate were a little more orderly and first debated the prudence of emulating the members of the lower house. One member suggested that they should adjourn so the members could prepare their souls for whatever was about to happen. But then, senator Abraham Davenport, a faithful Christian, stood up and spoke some good old common sense: "If this is not the end of the world, we do not need to adjourn. If this is the end of the world, I would rather be here doing my duty when God finds me. I move that candles be brought and that we go on with the business of the Commonwealth." The men, calmer now, agreed and proceeded with the business of the day while the eclipse slowly passed.
____________
Christian people are supposed to be people who tell the truth, and who accept responsibility when they are wrong. One wonders, though, when insurance companies issue reports of driver comments following accidents like the following, taken from actual insurance files and police records:
Woman driver: "Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have."
Woman driver: "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way."
Woman driver: "A pedestrian hit me and went under my car."
Man driver: "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him."
Woman driver: "The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in the bush with just his rear end showing."
Man driver: "I was on the way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident."
Man driver: "I told the officer that I was not injured, but on removing my hat I found that I had fractured my skull."
Man driver: "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle and vanished."
Woman driver: "I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the roadway when I struck him."
Man driver: "The pedestrian had no idea which way to go so I ran over him."
____________
Life magazine once reported a conversation between Winston Churchill and Lady Moran, wife of Lord Moran, Churchill's physician. They were finished with dinner, and Lady Moran asked Churchill what year of his life he would like to relive. Without hesitation, Churchill replied, "1940, every time, every time." Younger parishioners may need to know that 1940 was the darkest year in the history of modern England, with bomber raids nightly over her cities, whole neighborhoods in flames, worldwide fears that Hitler would soon invade and occupy England, and old men with ancient rifles lined up in drill formations prepared to fight against Hitler's finest troops.
____________
Lucy had her psychiatric booth set up, just like a lemonade stand. Charlie Brown walked up and asked: "What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?"
Lucy takes Charlie up to the top of a nearby hill. "See the horizon over there?" she asks? "See how big the world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?"
"No," Charlie admits.
Lucy then continues: "As far as you know, this is the only world there is, right?"
"Right," Charlie agrees.
"There are no other worlds for you to live in, right?"
"Right."
"Well," shouts Lucy knocking Charlie Brown over backwards, "live in it, then. Five cents please."
____________
I know not what the future hath of marvel or surprise,
Assured, alone, that life and death, God's mercy underlies.
I know not where his islands lift their fronded palms in air.
I only know I cannot drift beyond his love and care.
-- Whittier
____________
I have in front of me the words of a young minister, preached the morning after the death of his only child. She had been diagnosed with acute leukemia a year earlier. But then she had gone into remission. That summer, father and daughter had spent a wonderful time together, playing in the summer sunshine, mother and father devoting themselves to their daughter, even allowing themselves to think she had been misdiagnosed. Then, a few days before this sermon, she had become much worse, and then to everyone's devastating shock, she died. Overwhelmed with grief, yet sustained by faith, the young pastor stepped to his pulpit. His text was the Isaiah passage, "They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Here is what he said:
"This is exactly what I did during those days of darkness at the hospital. I remembered the God who had made himself known to me in the light, and I interpreted this present situation in relation to him. This means I believed he was present with us, involved in every moment of suffering and pain. I believed that he was there as mystery, that his ways were too big for me get my mind around in understanding. I believed that he was there as inexhaustible energy, not weary and weak as we were. Best of all, because we were without strength, I believed that he would meet us in helplessness. And I was not disappointed. There, at the bottom of the darkness, this promise came true, for as I waited at the point of helplessness, God came and did his thing for me. He 'gave power to the faint, and to the one who had no might, he increased my strength.'
"That is how it was, and here I am this morning -- sad, brokenhearted, still bearing in my spirit the wounds of the darkness. You can tell by looking at me that I have no wings to fly, nor legs to run -- but, listen, by the grace of God, I am still on my feet. I have not fainted. I have not exploded in the anger of presumption or keeled over in the paralysis of despair. All I am doing is walking and not fainting, hanging in there, enduring with patience what I cannot change and have to bear. This may not sound like much to you, but to me it is the most appropriate gift of all. My religion had been the difference in the last two weeks. It has given me the gift of patience, the gift of endurance, the strength to walk and not faint."
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 66:1-12 -- "Make a joyful noise to God."
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God: in gratitude we come to you this day, sorry for the failures which mark our lives and grateful for our victories. We know that behind the scenes of life, you have played the central role. We dimly perceive that our failures have taught essential lessons, and our victories have resulted from both our efforts, using the powers you have given us, and from your kindly presence, enhancing those powers as needed. Thank you so much. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 (C)
This is a call to peaceful co-existence with the Babylonians. Jeremiah's letter to the Jewish leaders among the exiled people sets a tone which has since prevailed among the Jews. They settle into their communities, are law abiding and highly productive. To generalize on this, the tenor of the message seems to recommend as we would say today, when life comes up lemons, make lemonade. Of course the people would yearn for home. Of course the later generations of the exiled people, though they would not have actually experienced their homeland, yet the stories told by elders were sure to awaken in their hearts a fiery loyalty to all that their homeland symbolized. But they were to settle, not in anger, not in a spirit of hatred, but with a sense of loyalty to their own. No doubt many people at that time adjusted to their current home in Babylon. But no doubt also, many dreamed of their return. Today we still see this loyalty and sense of ethnic solidarity among our Jewish friends.
One sermon possibility with this text would be to generalize on the fact that sometimes our lives are not where we wish them to be. It may be a geographical problem. Or, it may be a matter of the heart: a difficult relationship to which one is committed, a vocation which is disappointing, a physical infirmity which sorely limits one's life. Whatever the unhappy, less than desirable situation, the healthy-minded person does his or her best to make peace with that situation and lo, sometimes God can turn the minus into a plus.
Lesson 1: 2 Kings 5:14-17 (RC)
It would seem that King Solomon had quite an array of free talent at his disposal for the building of his temple. How many building committees today would envy that.
Lesson 1: Ruth 1:(1-7) 8-19a (E)
It is obvious that Naomi and her daughters-in-law had close and loving relationships. Reading the passage, we see that Naomi and her husband Elimelech had migrated from Judah to Moab where living was apparently easier. There their two sons married Orpah and Ruth, both Moabites. But all the men died and Naomi, feeling old, wanted to return to her native home. The two young women planned to return with her as well, but Naomi realized that to do so would almost surely doom them to single state the rest of their lives. In Judah, outsiders rarely succeeded in marrying. Orpah realized the wisdom of this advice and sadly returned to her childhood home. Ruth, however, loved Naomi and refused to leave her. Hence the oft quoted passage in verses 16 and 17.
Most commentaries see this as a folk tale, a splendid dissertation on obedience and disobedience, and on friendship. The first line, "In the days when the judges ruled," is approximately to say, "Once upon a time." There is little of religious significance in Ruth, but it does bring before us the qualities of friendship. It suggests to me that a sermon discussing Christian qualities of friendship might be very relevant.
Lesson 2: 2 Timothy 2:8-15 (C); 2 Timothy 2:8-13 (RC); 2 Timothy 2:(3-7) 8-15 (E)
When I started seminary, a fellow student asked our theology professor what to say when a church member (remember, we were all beginners) asked if we believed in the virgin birth. He said the easy way was to reply that we held the same belief as that of Saint Paul. Of course he meant by that that there is no evidence that Paul was familiar with the idea of virgin birth. In this passage we see Paul's contention that Jesus was a descendant of David. Now if Jesus was born via the divine presumption, then he wasn't a descendant of anyone. Of course many biblical scholars argue that this was written by a student of Paul's, not by Paul himself. Still, that writer could be expected to mirror Paul's theology. However, having taken note of this, better to leave it alone in a sermon. What is important here is that Paul teaches that if we affirm Jesus as our Lord, we will live with him in the afterlife, and that even in this life, if we are loyal to Jesus, we will have dominion over our own lives. Or, as Eugene Peterson's translation reads: "If we stick it out with him, we will rule with him." If, on the other hand, we deny Jesus, Jesus will have no option other than to deny us.
Witnessing to Jesus, however, is not primarily a verbal affair. He instructs the reader "not to fight over words." Instead, "Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker ..." In other words, deeds, not words, are the best witness of one's Christian faith.
Gospel: Luke 17:11-19 (C, RC, E)
This story commends the attitude of gratitude. Ten terribly sick men. One of the ten is a Samaritan, an outcast as the Jews viewed such people. The lowest of the low. But all of them appealed to Jesus for healing, whereupon Jesus sent them to the priests for the ritual associated with healing. But of course Jesus effected the healing. Nine of them, no doubt overwhelmed with their new found good health, took off to their various new plans. But one, and only one, went back to thank Jesus. And of all people, he was the one who was anathema to the Jews.
I think, though, the point of the story is the simple one. Jesus did something nice for ten people and only one gave thanks. We shouldn't do our acts of kindness for the reward of thanks, but when we do something for people, it means a lot if they express appreciation. I see here a sermon on gratitude to God for all He does for us, but also on gratitude to people in our lives who do us kindnesses.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Take Charge"
Text: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Theme: This lesson contains the advice sent by the prophet Jeremiah to his people living in exile. They are to settle down and become law abiding citizens. They are to allow themselves to be integrated into the common life of Babylon. Likewise, we all sometimes find ourselves in settings not to our liking. I would incorporate verses 11-14, though these are not in the lectionary assignment. However, this lesson, seeming to encourage passive adjustment, must be seen in light of the overall promise which Jeremiah voices, that God will, for those who are faithful, put an end to their lostness and see them safely restored to their true destiny.
1. Healthy people accept reality. I still remember the woman who came to me for counseling one day, just after she had learned from her doctor that she was diabetic. With fire in her eyes, she slammed her fist on my desk and shouted to the heavens, "I will not be a diabetic." Now I sympathized with that poor gal. But the clear fact was, she was to be a diabetic. We have to make a distinction between those situations we can proactively change, and those we must learn to accept. Remember the prayer written, I think, by Reinhold Niebuhr, and familiar to members of AA: "Lord, help me to change the things which need to be changed, to accept the things which can't be changed, and give me the wisdom to know the difference." The sooner we accept those unchangeable realities in our lives, quit feeling sorry for ourselves, begin to design life around them, the sooner we become happy, successful people.
2. Healthy people are proactive. That word "proactive" has become something of a buzz word these days, but the meaning is important. Sometimes it's necessary to take charge of our lives. If there's something about your life which you don't like, who's going to change it if you don't? It's your responsibility. If your job is unfulfilling, get out and find one that is. If you're handicapped by lack of education, go to school. The world is full of people who say, "It can't be done." But the world is also full of people who do it. One eighty-year-old woman received her college degree in our city this past season. By golly, she'd always wanted one, it took her a long time, but she got it. If your marriage is in trouble, go to a good counselor. Earlier generations thought that a sign of weakness. We know better. Whatever it is, some angel's not going to step forth from the darkness and change things for you. Get to it.
3. Healthy people know God always helps. That's why I included verse 14 which reads, in part: "... I will restore your fortunes ... and I will bring you back...." We have discussed this several time this past year, how suffering and privation are the very best means of growth. No fun at the time, of course, but that's how the world works. When we quit complaining and start taking charge of life, we become better people. That's God's will. But it's also God's will to step in, after due process, and help us. Surely, if the Christian faith has become a force in our lives, we have learned that God never disappoints us. Maybe the part about restored fortunes is symbolic, but we can trust God to help us at all times, never allowing us to get beyond what we should be able to handle.
Title: "Not What We Say, What We Do"
Text: 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Theme: Deeds, far better than words, reveal the validity of our claims to a Christian faith. Not that words are unimportant. But merely talking a great faith isn't nearly as powerful a witness as are our actions on behalf of others.
1. This applies to the ordinary days of our lives. Henry Drummond wrote this long ago: "The final test of religion is not religionness, but love -- not what I have done, not what I have believed, not what I have achieved, but how I have discharged the common charities of life."
2. This applies in times of great temptation. We all face temptations. We preachers know all about this. After twenty years of marriage, a very pretty, younger lady shows an attraction to us -- I can't speak for my female colleagues, not being female, but we all have to block those feelings in order to be faithful. Or the temptation to lie, to be deceptive in our speech with people so we can avoid conflict and, sometimes, avoid responsibility, or to curry favor by exaggerated comments. Or the great temptation of the hard-pressed clergy person: to copy someone else's sermon giving no credit. A friend of mine once preached in a younger man's church at his invitation. The cold response to this fine preacher's sermon that day mystified him until, not long after, he had occasion to meet a layman from that other church. He asked what had gone wrong. The layman admitted that the sermon had been preached, nearly verbatim, a few weeks earlier by the young pastor. It turned out that the young man had visited the older man's church, been impressed, and had also picked up some printed sermons, then had gone home and copied my friend's work. So, again, we find that old truth. Our misdeeds are always revealed eventually. In every vocation, comparable temptations arise. People see.
3. This applies in times of crisis. Serious illness or injury can cause one to be overwhelmed with self-pity, with anger, with demands for attention from others. The death of a loved one always reveals our faith or lack thereof. I'll qualify all of this a little bit. Initial reactions of anger and self-pity are natural and forgivable. But after a season of such reactions, true faith should enable us to step forth and reveal that faith by the way we cope.
Title: "The Attitude Of Gratitude"
Text: Luke 17:11-19
Theme: The essence of the Christian faith is love. John wrote that "God is love." Paul wrote that as important as faith and hope are, and they are critically important to a Christian life, yet of the three qualities, "the greatest of these is love." Jesus was the very embodiment of love. And one thing true love teaches us is the art of gratitude. Not just to feel it but to express it. At its lowest level we incorporate this into our culture with "thank you" and "you're welcome." (Or that odious substitute employed by well-meaning but poorly-instructed waiters and waitresses: "No problem.")
More importantly, there is gratitude to parents for all their sacrifices, and all the encouragement they gave. I confess I never realized how dedicated my parents were to my brother and me until I went out into the cold, cruel world and had to make my own way. I suddenly realized what it must have taken to put two boys through school, cover all the other family expenses, while my dad was recovering from severe injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
There is gratitude for teachers, for role models, for caring pastors, for mentors of various kinds. My wife came home the other day with tears in her eyes. She teaches fourth grade. She received a letter from a sixth grader telling my wife how her year in fourth grade had changed her life and taught her work habits which had opened up a whole new view of education.
Then the main point: gratitude to God for all He does for us. I grant you, God's very nature being love, He can do no other. But just as my wife's heart was warmed by that letter from a little girl, God's heart is surely warmed when we say a sincere word of gratitude.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
A century or so ago, two British soldiers were captured by the Mohammedans during a desert campaign. Apologetically, an officer went to the home of the mother of one officer, Sir David Baird. He informed that doughty lady that her son was a prisoner and was securely chained to one of his guards, to which his mother replied, "Well, God have mercy on the poor fellow chained to my Davy." (There was a man who stood for something, a man of known courage. You didn't have to worry about him.)
____________
Thomas Jefferson, who died on July 4, 1826, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, wrote the epitaph which he wanted on his tombstone upon his death. It read:
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson,
author of the Declaration of Independence,
of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom,
and father of the University of Virginia.
No mention that he was President of the United States? Isn't it interesting what we privately value about our lives?
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In Hartford, Connecticut, back in the early days of our country, one day it suddenly grew so dark that the chickens went to roost, the sun was blotted out, and though it was mid-day, darkness had settled over the countryside. The state legislature was in session at the time. The lower house broke up as members ran from the building, heading home to be with their families, fearing that some terrible calamity was about to happen. However, the members of the senate were a little more orderly and first debated the prudence of emulating the members of the lower house. One member suggested that they should adjourn so the members could prepare their souls for whatever was about to happen. But then, senator Abraham Davenport, a faithful Christian, stood up and spoke some good old common sense: "If this is not the end of the world, we do not need to adjourn. If this is the end of the world, I would rather be here doing my duty when God finds me. I move that candles be brought and that we go on with the business of the Commonwealth." The men, calmer now, agreed and proceeded with the business of the day while the eclipse slowly passed.
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Christian people are supposed to be people who tell the truth, and who accept responsibility when they are wrong. One wonders, though, when insurance companies issue reports of driver comments following accidents like the following, taken from actual insurance files and police records:
Woman driver: "Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have."
Woman driver: "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way."
Woman driver: "A pedestrian hit me and went under my car."
Man driver: "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him."
Woman driver: "The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in the bush with just his rear end showing."
Man driver: "I was on the way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident."
Man driver: "I told the officer that I was not injured, but on removing my hat I found that I had fractured my skull."
Man driver: "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle and vanished."
Woman driver: "I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the roadway when I struck him."
Man driver: "The pedestrian had no idea which way to go so I ran over him."
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Life magazine once reported a conversation between Winston Churchill and Lady Moran, wife of Lord Moran, Churchill's physician. They were finished with dinner, and Lady Moran asked Churchill what year of his life he would like to relive. Without hesitation, Churchill replied, "1940, every time, every time." Younger parishioners may need to know that 1940 was the darkest year in the history of modern England, with bomber raids nightly over her cities, whole neighborhoods in flames, worldwide fears that Hitler would soon invade and occupy England, and old men with ancient rifles lined up in drill formations prepared to fight against Hitler's finest troops.
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Lucy had her psychiatric booth set up, just like a lemonade stand. Charlie Brown walked up and asked: "What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?"
Lucy takes Charlie up to the top of a nearby hill. "See the horizon over there?" she asks? "See how big the world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?"
"No," Charlie admits.
Lucy then continues: "As far as you know, this is the only world there is, right?"
"Right," Charlie agrees.
"There are no other worlds for you to live in, right?"
"Right."
"Well," shouts Lucy knocking Charlie Brown over backwards, "live in it, then. Five cents please."
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I know not what the future hath of marvel or surprise,
Assured, alone, that life and death, God's mercy underlies.
I know not where his islands lift their fronded palms in air.
I only know I cannot drift beyond his love and care.
-- Whittier
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I have in front of me the words of a young minister, preached the morning after the death of his only child. She had been diagnosed with acute leukemia a year earlier. But then she had gone into remission. That summer, father and daughter had spent a wonderful time together, playing in the summer sunshine, mother and father devoting themselves to their daughter, even allowing themselves to think she had been misdiagnosed. Then, a few days before this sermon, she had become much worse, and then to everyone's devastating shock, she died. Overwhelmed with grief, yet sustained by faith, the young pastor stepped to his pulpit. His text was the Isaiah passage, "They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Here is what he said:
"This is exactly what I did during those days of darkness at the hospital. I remembered the God who had made himself known to me in the light, and I interpreted this present situation in relation to him. This means I believed he was present with us, involved in every moment of suffering and pain. I believed that he was there as mystery, that his ways were too big for me get my mind around in understanding. I believed that he was there as inexhaustible energy, not weary and weak as we were. Best of all, because we were without strength, I believed that he would meet us in helplessness. And I was not disappointed. There, at the bottom of the darkness, this promise came true, for as I waited at the point of helplessness, God came and did his thing for me. He 'gave power to the faint, and to the one who had no might, he increased my strength.'
"That is how it was, and here I am this morning -- sad, brokenhearted, still bearing in my spirit the wounds of the darkness. You can tell by looking at me that I have no wings to fly, nor legs to run -- but, listen, by the grace of God, I am still on my feet. I have not fainted. I have not exploded in the anger of presumption or keeled over in the paralysis of despair. All I am doing is walking and not fainting, hanging in there, enduring with patience what I cannot change and have to bear. This may not sound like much to you, but to me it is the most appropriate gift of all. My religion had been the difference in the last two weeks. It has given me the gift of patience, the gift of endurance, the strength to walk and not faint."
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Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 66:1-12 -- "Make a joyful noise to God."
Prayer Of The Day
Dear God: in gratitude we come to you this day, sorry for the failures which mark our lives and grateful for our victories. We know that behind the scenes of life, you have played the central role. We dimly perceive that our failures have taught essential lessons, and our victories have resulted from both our efforts, using the powers you have given us, and from your kindly presence, enhancing those powers as needed. Thank you so much. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
