Proper 26
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII Cycle C
Seasonal Theme
Jesus' acts of compassion and teaching ministry.
Theme For The Day
Jesus came to seek out the lost of every generation and place. A big change is called for when and if we take him home with us.
Old Testament Lesson
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Complaint And Reply
In this reading we have the prophet complaining to God that he has complained to God about the official corruption in the country and Yahweh has failed to answer him. Justice is no longer applied and when this happens there is strife and contention.
Yahweh's answer to Habakkuk's complaint is in verses 2:1-4, assuring him that soon God's vision will come. These assuring words are followed by the certainty that the unrighteous person's wealth and power will not be stable and that the righteous person's will be maintained.
The New Testament ringing endorsement of this idea is to be found in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38-39. Martin Luther was deeply influenced by these passages and they became the lynch pin of the Protestant Reformation.
If you wanted to deal with the theological question of how God may use evil nations' armies to bring punishment on a transgressing nation, it is included in verses 1:5-7. I won't go there!
New Testament Lesson
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Christ's Glory
As we move toward the close of the liturgical church year, we turn to this letter to the church of Thessalonica which deals with last things. In the first passage we have Paul identifying three elements of an active and live church:
1. a strong faith,
2. love for one another, and
3. steadfastness under persecutions.
In this latter we have our old friend of a Greek word: hipomone, which is a victorious endurance not a passive one.
Then Paul moves to the thought in verse 11 that God will empower us in our call and that Christ's glory might be in us, which is quite a responsibility. Still, we have God's grace, which makes it all possible. It's a nice idea that when Christ comes he will be glorified in his saints and admired by believers. Like old professors or pastors take glory in their former students, so Christ takes glory in us. Can it be so?
The Gospel
Luke 19:1-10
Shorty In The Sycamore Tree
Of this story, E. J. Tinsley in his commentary on Luke writes, "This whole incident, found only in Luke, turns out to be a reproduction in miniature of the meaning of the mission of Jesus, and it seems that Jesus himself saw it that way ... The whole incident is a pointer to the coming, in the Son of Man, of salvation to the house of Israel -- Zacchaeus is a son of Abraham."
There is a marvelous self-giving of Zacchaeus like it ought be so of all disciples and followers of Jesus. This was a man probably hated by most. Perhaps he was wealthy but lonely, so he was trying for God's love. He would not give up easily, so ran ahead and climbed this tree. When Jesus received him, he made some drastic changes in his lifestyle. He gave half of his possessions to the poor (v. 8)! We often soft-pedal the need to make major changes in our lives upon becoming one of Jesus' disciples.
The story comes to a close with verse 10, which says Jesus came to seek the lost. The lost here, according to Barclay, means not doomed to hell, but being in the wrong place. A person is lost when he/she has wandered from God and he/she is found when he/she again takes his/her place in God's household. And to seek the lost is to discover the joy again of being the found.
Preaching Possibilities
A. One could connect the three readings with a general theme of strong faith, but it's a far stretch.
1. The Old Testament Habakkuk -- a strong faith that God will eventually hear and act.
2. The New Testament Reading in 2 Thessalonians -- a strong faith that is a vital sign of a vital congregation.
3. The Gospel Reading -- a strong faith which overcame obstacles to seeing and inviting Jesus into Shorty's home.
B. The Second Reading is rich with indications of a vital congregation for which Paul commends the Thessalonians. See the comments in the Gospel section. Also see my suggestions for a series based on this reading and the two following Sundays.
C. Of course Zacchaeus up a tree is a nice story about overcoming obstacles to be a disciple, about Jesus' mission to come to sinners and the "lost," and about the radical nature of lifestyle changes indicated when we invite Jesus into our lives.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Retell the story in a modern setting like -- Jesus came to (your town) and the mayor gave a parade. An IRS man no one liked couldn't see ...
B. Move to describe how hated this tax man was and why (because of the abuse of those who collected taxes for Rome).
C. Move to telling your hearers what the story says to you.
1. We can often overcome barriers if we persist.
2. Jesus came to the lost and sinners like us.
3. When we invite Jesus into our homes, it calls for radical lifestyle changes.
4. We must love the unlovely because Jesus loves them.
D. Move to ask your hearers to identify which person they are in the story.
1. A member of the crowd who hated and grumbled.
2. A short man up a tree who was lonely and was seeking Jesus.
3. Jesus who was seeking the lost and lonely.
E. Frame your sermon by returning to the opening story and give it a different ending. "So the community, including the mayor, declared it a special holiday because another home was specially blessed with Christ's presence."
Prayer For The Day
Dear God, make us glad people whenever another one is found by Jesus and takes him home with him. Remove from us the crowd's tendency to grumble; rather, help us to celebrate God's love wherever and with whomever it is manifested in our own community. And show us the lonely of our day and places that we might serve as the instruments through which God loves them. In Jesus' name who wants to come to our house, too. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
A while back there were a number of letters to the editor of The Lutheran magazine about how to usher people in and out of church. Finally a letter came like this: "Usher them in, usher them out; I say lock the doors and see if they can live with each other!" Good point. Can we realize in the church the brotherhood and sisterhood we are always talking about?
Pastor David Rowe points out: "There is an old African proverb which says it doesn't matter whether the elephants are fighting or making love, the flowers still get trampled." While we discuss, debate, deliberate, let's look around and see the people who are being hurt.
A little boy in Northern Ireland was riding a bicycle and singing: "The Protestants got all the housing." A priest stopped and asked him to sing something different, like "Jesus was born in a stable." So the little boy rode away singing: "Jesus was born in a stable, because the Protestants got all the housing."
What songs do we sing and what is the symbolism of them for others who hear them?
Jesus' acts of compassion and teaching ministry.
Theme For The Day
Jesus came to seek out the lost of every generation and place. A big change is called for when and if we take him home with us.
Old Testament Lesson
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Complaint And Reply
In this reading we have the prophet complaining to God that he has complained to God about the official corruption in the country and Yahweh has failed to answer him. Justice is no longer applied and when this happens there is strife and contention.
Yahweh's answer to Habakkuk's complaint is in verses 2:1-4, assuring him that soon God's vision will come. These assuring words are followed by the certainty that the unrighteous person's wealth and power will not be stable and that the righteous person's will be maintained.
The New Testament ringing endorsement of this idea is to be found in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38-39. Martin Luther was deeply influenced by these passages and they became the lynch pin of the Protestant Reformation.
If you wanted to deal with the theological question of how God may use evil nations' armies to bring punishment on a transgressing nation, it is included in verses 1:5-7. I won't go there!
New Testament Lesson
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Christ's Glory
As we move toward the close of the liturgical church year, we turn to this letter to the church of Thessalonica which deals with last things. In the first passage we have Paul identifying three elements of an active and live church:
1. a strong faith,
2. love for one another, and
3. steadfastness under persecutions.
In this latter we have our old friend of a Greek word: hipomone, which is a victorious endurance not a passive one.
Then Paul moves to the thought in verse 11 that God will empower us in our call and that Christ's glory might be in us, which is quite a responsibility. Still, we have God's grace, which makes it all possible. It's a nice idea that when Christ comes he will be glorified in his saints and admired by believers. Like old professors or pastors take glory in their former students, so Christ takes glory in us. Can it be so?
The Gospel
Luke 19:1-10
Shorty In The Sycamore Tree
Of this story, E. J. Tinsley in his commentary on Luke writes, "This whole incident, found only in Luke, turns out to be a reproduction in miniature of the meaning of the mission of Jesus, and it seems that Jesus himself saw it that way ... The whole incident is a pointer to the coming, in the Son of Man, of salvation to the house of Israel -- Zacchaeus is a son of Abraham."
There is a marvelous self-giving of Zacchaeus like it ought be so of all disciples and followers of Jesus. This was a man probably hated by most. Perhaps he was wealthy but lonely, so he was trying for God's love. He would not give up easily, so ran ahead and climbed this tree. When Jesus received him, he made some drastic changes in his lifestyle. He gave half of his possessions to the poor (v. 8)! We often soft-pedal the need to make major changes in our lives upon becoming one of Jesus' disciples.
The story comes to a close with verse 10, which says Jesus came to seek the lost. The lost here, according to Barclay, means not doomed to hell, but being in the wrong place. A person is lost when he/she has wandered from God and he/she is found when he/she again takes his/her place in God's household. And to seek the lost is to discover the joy again of being the found.
Preaching Possibilities
A. One could connect the three readings with a general theme of strong faith, but it's a far stretch.
1. The Old Testament Habakkuk -- a strong faith that God will eventually hear and act.
2. The New Testament Reading in 2 Thessalonians -- a strong faith that is a vital sign of a vital congregation.
3. The Gospel Reading -- a strong faith which overcame obstacles to seeing and inviting Jesus into Shorty's home.
B. The Second Reading is rich with indications of a vital congregation for which Paul commends the Thessalonians. See the comments in the Gospel section. Also see my suggestions for a series based on this reading and the two following Sundays.
C. Of course Zacchaeus up a tree is a nice story about overcoming obstacles to be a disciple, about Jesus' mission to come to sinners and the "lost," and about the radical nature of lifestyle changes indicated when we invite Jesus into our lives.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Retell the story in a modern setting like -- Jesus came to (your town) and the mayor gave a parade. An IRS man no one liked couldn't see ...
B. Move to describe how hated this tax man was and why (because of the abuse of those who collected taxes for Rome).
C. Move to telling your hearers what the story says to you.
1. We can often overcome barriers if we persist.
2. Jesus came to the lost and sinners like us.
3. When we invite Jesus into our homes, it calls for radical lifestyle changes.
4. We must love the unlovely because Jesus loves them.
D. Move to ask your hearers to identify which person they are in the story.
1. A member of the crowd who hated and grumbled.
2. A short man up a tree who was lonely and was seeking Jesus.
3. Jesus who was seeking the lost and lonely.
E. Frame your sermon by returning to the opening story and give it a different ending. "So the community, including the mayor, declared it a special holiday because another home was specially blessed with Christ's presence."
Prayer For The Day
Dear God, make us glad people whenever another one is found by Jesus and takes him home with him. Remove from us the crowd's tendency to grumble; rather, help us to celebrate God's love wherever and with whomever it is manifested in our own community. And show us the lonely of our day and places that we might serve as the instruments through which God loves them. In Jesus' name who wants to come to our house, too. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
A while back there were a number of letters to the editor of The Lutheran magazine about how to usher people in and out of church. Finally a letter came like this: "Usher them in, usher them out; I say lock the doors and see if they can live with each other!" Good point. Can we realize in the church the brotherhood and sisterhood we are always talking about?
Pastor David Rowe points out: "There is an old African proverb which says it doesn't matter whether the elephants are fighting or making love, the flowers still get trampled." While we discuss, debate, deliberate, let's look around and see the people who are being hurt.
A little boy in Northern Ireland was riding a bicycle and singing: "The Protestants got all the housing." A priest stopped and asked him to sing something different, like "Jesus was born in a stable." So the little boy rode away singing: "Jesus was born in a stable, because the Protestants got all the housing."
What songs do we sing and what is the symbolism of them for others who hear them?
