Proper 23, Pentecost 21, Ordinary Time 28
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
Seasonal Theme
The Pentecost season is one of Christian growth and learning about the way of discipleship.
Theme For The Day
How the Christian manages wealth. It's all about being a good steward.
Old Testament Lesson
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Job Complains
Job was trying to find God and plead his case before him like a lawyer would argue before a judge. The Hebrew word used is yakah, which means to argue, debate in court. He was sure the judge would acquit him and his troubles would be over.
Job was terrified (dismayed) not because of his sins, but because of the Lord's awesome nature. Sounds like Job is a good candidate for regular Prozac. He needs something to remove the "thick darkness."
New Testament Lesson
Hebrews 4:12-16
Our High Priest
First the word of God is presented as something living and vital. It is sharp and will cut through our pretense and lay us bare to see ourselves as we really are (vv. 12-13). Then we have Jesus portrayed as a high priest who was an ordinary human being with an extraordinary call from God (v. 14). This high priest has empathy for us (v. 15) so that we can approach him confidently that we might have mercy and grace when we need it (vv. 15-16).
The Gospel
Mark 10:17-31
The Rich Man
Some things to notice about this graphic story. It sounds as if the rich man had kept all the "you shalt nots," but had not done any "thou shalts" like giving to the poor. Being respected was not enough. Jesus was saying spend yourself and your possessions on others, then you will find the fulfilling life (v. 21).
Now comes a severe warning in verse 23. It is very difficult for a person to enter the kingdom of God and have wealth. The word for money is chremata, which Aristotle defined as, "all those things of which the value is measured by coinage." Jesus must have had in mind the following dangers for us who have wealth:
A. When we have so much invested in this world it is difficult for us to think beyond this world or of leaving it.
B. We begin to think of everything in terms of price.
C. Wealth is a test of us. For many who can stand adversity only a few can handle wealth. It is an enormous responsibility. The person who trusts in himself and his possessions can never be saved and the one who trusts in God's redeeming grace can enter into salvation.
Good old Peter saw his chance and reminded Jesus that the disciples had given up everything to follow him (v. 28). For that, Jesus promised them a person will receive back a hundred fold (v. 30). We will deal with that needle and camel in the "Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves."
Preaching Possibilities
I think we would be straining the original meaning to put these readings together in any configuration. Perhaps those who selected them did so with the idea of a series on Job or a series on Hebrews, which could have easily been done these weeks.
The Old Testament account of Job's discouragement and inability to find God can sound very contemporary with our people today. Perhaps we could describe the depths of despair Job was in and then point to Hebrews 4:15 to give an assurance to our people that God is available and is sympathetic to us. If we do use Job, it will take an introduction as to how Job got to this discouragement before we can use today's portion of scripture.
Easily, the Hebrews passage will lend itself to an old fashioned doctrinal sermon. The outline might include the following points:
A. Verse 12: The word is much more than printing on paper.
B. Verse 13: The word can reveal to us how we really are.
C. Verses 14-15: We can hold fast to our beliefs for we have a high Priest who is able to sympathize.
D. Verse 16: God has mercy and grace for us in our time of need.
To finish in a very traditional way, we can use as a poem William W. How's hymn "O Word Of God Incarnate" (Lutheran Book of Worship, #231).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin by retelling the story as told in the Gospel. "It happened right after that sweet picture of Jesus blessing the little children ..." etc.
B. Now explain the metaphor of the camel through the eye of a needle:
1. Eye of the needle could be the attempt to put a ship's hawser cable through a real sewing needle.
2. The eye of the needle could have been the name for the little door in the city gate, which was closed at night.
3. The eye of the needle could be just an exaggeration -- a hyperbole with a bit of humor mixed in. In Burma, my students tell me, camel is translated "elephant"! Jesus made his point: It is almost impossible for a rich person to get into the kingdom (read v. 25).
C. Give some examples of the same point using contemporary hyperbole -- it is tougher than kicking a 75-yard field goal. It is tougher than freezing over the Mississippi in August, etc.
D. What's so dangerous in being rich?
1. It's addictive and we always want more.
2. Our hearts are fixed on the world.
3. We look at everything in terms of price.
4. Wealth brings with it tremendous responsibilities.
E. Talk about mistakes we could think as we hear this sermon:
1. We think of ourselves as the disciples rather than the rich man in the story.
2. That we think of the kingdom as far off in heaven, rather than here on earth where we pray for it to come.
F. Now emphasize that the one who gives is always the one even more blessed than the one who receives. So if we don't share our wealth we are robbed of the great blessings of giving it away.
Then punch hard on the idea that there are two ways of being rich: One is to have lots of money and the other is to have few needs.
G. Now frame your sermon by returning to the words of Jesus about the camel through the needle and then review your moves in reverse order. It will preach.
H. A bonus for this Sunday. Challenge your hearers to use their imagination and guess what happened to that rich man. Here are some ideas:
1. He left, never to return, and died a bitter, selfish, unhappy, greedy old man with no friends but lots of wealth he could not take with him.
2. Or, perhaps, he returned a few weeks later having sold off most of his possessions and giving the money to the poor of Jericho. He and James became leaders in the church in Jerusalem.
3. Or, perhaps, he became one of the money changers in the temple courtyard whom Jesus drove out and so angered them that they engineered his crucifixion.
4. Or (I like this one), perhaps, when he left Jesus, he went back to his vineyard and paid everyone the same wage even though some had worked just a little.
5. Maybe he was so insulted that a few weeks later he joined others in shouting, "Crucify him!"
6. Or, one more possibility: he took Jesus' advice seriously and, one day, met a widow at the temple in Jerusalem who had just given her last mite in the offering. They married and became the characters mentioned in Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphira, who tried to reserve too much for themselves -- the old temptation had returned and once again it was "much harder" (Mark 10:25).
Prayer For The Day
Dear God, teach us how to share the wealth that we have. Make our hearts generous that you might bless others through our giving. And do bless us with acceptance into your kingdom here on earth and at last with you in heaven. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
In my class on stewardship in Hong Kong, the students were to define stewardship in their own language and culture. Stella Min from Myanmar (Burma) said, "In my language, to be a steward means a treasurer; (Branda Soe) ... the one who keeps valuable things for others." In Cambodia, Chim Pitch wrote, "For Cambodia, steward meant chief of royal palace and also it meant servant." This is the kind of servant who brings a blessing to others.
A sign in the Sizzler Steak House in Albany, California, said, "No sharing. Please, do not put us in an awkward position." What is awkward for that restaurant is surely basic for discipleship.
I saw on CNN News that a man had won six million dollars in the state lottery. He told all he would do with the money, including spoiling his grandchildren. His wife said he forgot to buy her a valentine this year. The first time in forty years of marriage! He had bought a recreation vehicle that weekend and was out driving it around. How easily wealth can help us change our priorities.
The Pentecost season is one of Christian growth and learning about the way of discipleship.
Theme For The Day
How the Christian manages wealth. It's all about being a good steward.
Old Testament Lesson
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Job Complains
Job was trying to find God and plead his case before him like a lawyer would argue before a judge. The Hebrew word used is yakah, which means to argue, debate in court. He was sure the judge would acquit him and his troubles would be over.
Job was terrified (dismayed) not because of his sins, but because of the Lord's awesome nature. Sounds like Job is a good candidate for regular Prozac. He needs something to remove the "thick darkness."
New Testament Lesson
Hebrews 4:12-16
Our High Priest
First the word of God is presented as something living and vital. It is sharp and will cut through our pretense and lay us bare to see ourselves as we really are (vv. 12-13). Then we have Jesus portrayed as a high priest who was an ordinary human being with an extraordinary call from God (v. 14). This high priest has empathy for us (v. 15) so that we can approach him confidently that we might have mercy and grace when we need it (vv. 15-16).
The Gospel
Mark 10:17-31
The Rich Man
Some things to notice about this graphic story. It sounds as if the rich man had kept all the "you shalt nots," but had not done any "thou shalts" like giving to the poor. Being respected was not enough. Jesus was saying spend yourself and your possessions on others, then you will find the fulfilling life (v. 21).
Now comes a severe warning in verse 23. It is very difficult for a person to enter the kingdom of God and have wealth. The word for money is chremata, which Aristotle defined as, "all those things of which the value is measured by coinage." Jesus must have had in mind the following dangers for us who have wealth:
A. When we have so much invested in this world it is difficult for us to think beyond this world or of leaving it.
B. We begin to think of everything in terms of price.
C. Wealth is a test of us. For many who can stand adversity only a few can handle wealth. It is an enormous responsibility. The person who trusts in himself and his possessions can never be saved and the one who trusts in God's redeeming grace can enter into salvation.
Good old Peter saw his chance and reminded Jesus that the disciples had given up everything to follow him (v. 28). For that, Jesus promised them a person will receive back a hundred fold (v. 30). We will deal with that needle and camel in the "Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves."
Preaching Possibilities
I think we would be straining the original meaning to put these readings together in any configuration. Perhaps those who selected them did so with the idea of a series on Job or a series on Hebrews, which could have easily been done these weeks.
The Old Testament account of Job's discouragement and inability to find God can sound very contemporary with our people today. Perhaps we could describe the depths of despair Job was in and then point to Hebrews 4:15 to give an assurance to our people that God is available and is sympathetic to us. If we do use Job, it will take an introduction as to how Job got to this discouragement before we can use today's portion of scripture.
Easily, the Hebrews passage will lend itself to an old fashioned doctrinal sermon. The outline might include the following points:
A. Verse 12: The word is much more than printing on paper.
B. Verse 13: The word can reveal to us how we really are.
C. Verses 14-15: We can hold fast to our beliefs for we have a high Priest who is able to sympathize.
D. Verse 16: God has mercy and grace for us in our time of need.
To finish in a very traditional way, we can use as a poem William W. How's hymn "O Word Of God Incarnate" (Lutheran Book of Worship, #231).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin by retelling the story as told in the Gospel. "It happened right after that sweet picture of Jesus blessing the little children ..." etc.
B. Now explain the metaphor of the camel through the eye of a needle:
1. Eye of the needle could be the attempt to put a ship's hawser cable through a real sewing needle.
2. The eye of the needle could have been the name for the little door in the city gate, which was closed at night.
3. The eye of the needle could be just an exaggeration -- a hyperbole with a bit of humor mixed in. In Burma, my students tell me, camel is translated "elephant"! Jesus made his point: It is almost impossible for a rich person to get into the kingdom (read v. 25).
C. Give some examples of the same point using contemporary hyperbole -- it is tougher than kicking a 75-yard field goal. It is tougher than freezing over the Mississippi in August, etc.
D. What's so dangerous in being rich?
1. It's addictive and we always want more.
2. Our hearts are fixed on the world.
3. We look at everything in terms of price.
4. Wealth brings with it tremendous responsibilities.
E. Talk about mistakes we could think as we hear this sermon:
1. We think of ourselves as the disciples rather than the rich man in the story.
2. That we think of the kingdom as far off in heaven, rather than here on earth where we pray for it to come.
F. Now emphasize that the one who gives is always the one even more blessed than the one who receives. So if we don't share our wealth we are robbed of the great blessings of giving it away.
Then punch hard on the idea that there are two ways of being rich: One is to have lots of money and the other is to have few needs.
G. Now frame your sermon by returning to the words of Jesus about the camel through the needle and then review your moves in reverse order. It will preach.
H. A bonus for this Sunday. Challenge your hearers to use their imagination and guess what happened to that rich man. Here are some ideas:
1. He left, never to return, and died a bitter, selfish, unhappy, greedy old man with no friends but lots of wealth he could not take with him.
2. Or, perhaps, he returned a few weeks later having sold off most of his possessions and giving the money to the poor of Jericho. He and James became leaders in the church in Jerusalem.
3. Or, perhaps, he became one of the money changers in the temple courtyard whom Jesus drove out and so angered them that they engineered his crucifixion.
4. Or (I like this one), perhaps, when he left Jesus, he went back to his vineyard and paid everyone the same wage even though some had worked just a little.
5. Maybe he was so insulted that a few weeks later he joined others in shouting, "Crucify him!"
6. Or, one more possibility: he took Jesus' advice seriously and, one day, met a widow at the temple in Jerusalem who had just given her last mite in the offering. They married and became the characters mentioned in Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphira, who tried to reserve too much for themselves -- the old temptation had returned and once again it was "much harder" (Mark 10:25).
Prayer For The Day
Dear God, teach us how to share the wealth that we have. Make our hearts generous that you might bless others through our giving. And do bless us with acceptance into your kingdom here on earth and at last with you in heaven. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
In my class on stewardship in Hong Kong, the students were to define stewardship in their own language and culture. Stella Min from Myanmar (Burma) said, "In my language, to be a steward means a treasurer; (Branda Soe) ... the one who keeps valuable things for others." In Cambodia, Chim Pitch wrote, "For Cambodia, steward meant chief of royal palace and also it meant servant." This is the kind of servant who brings a blessing to others.
A sign in the Sizzler Steak House in Albany, California, said, "No sharing. Please, do not put us in an awkward position." What is awkward for that restaurant is surely basic for discipleship.
I saw on CNN News that a man had won six million dollars in the state lottery. He told all he would do with the money, including spoiling his grandchildren. His wife said he forgot to buy her a valentine this year. The first time in forty years of marriage! He had bought a recreation vehicle that weekend and was out driving it around. How easily wealth can help us change our priorities.
