Proper 5, Pentecost 3, Ordinary Time 10
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
Seasonal Theme
We learn of the Christian faith and how we are to follow Jesus as his disciples.
Theme For The Day
We are brothers and sisters in Jesus' family, which tells us how to treat each other.
Old Testament Lesson
1 Samuel 8:4-20 (11:14-15)
Samuel Selects A King
This is the Second Reading in a series of four in a row from 1 Samuel. Last week we heard of Samuel's call by God and the message that the old prophet Eli must be replaced because of his family's behavior and Eli's unwillingness to rein them in. This week, the story continues with Samuel being now old and the people wanting him to name a king for them. Samuel warned the people that a king would make them slaves to serve him and oppress them. But they persisted. They wanted a king like other nations have (vv. 19-20). Then in the optional verses (11:14-15), Samuel went to Gilgal and made Saul king. So: hello to King Saul and farewell to faithful old Samuel. No doubt there were a couple considerations behind the people's strong desire for a king other than to be like other nations. The misconduct of Samuel's own sons as judges in Beersheba and the uniting of the people for military reasons were some. We are obviously moving toward the founding of the monarchy.
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 4:13--5:1
We Don't Lose Heart
Paul writes to the Corinthians some rich theological assurances here. He was brave as he faced his trials because he remembered the power of God who raised Jesus. If Paul died he would be raised also. And he was certain that all his suffering was leading others to God's grace. That grace will bring in them thanksgiving. We can take a lot more difficulties when we are convinced it is for Christ's sake. So, when we live by faith we endure.
William Barclay's comments on verse 16 are profoundly beautiful and meaningful to this author: "The years which take away physical beauty should add spiritual beauty. From the physical point of view life may be a slow but inevitable slipping down the slope that leads to death and ends in the grave. But from the spiritual point of view life is a climbing up the hill that leads to the peak of the presence of God."
We Lutherans use verse 5:1 in our "The order for the burial of the dead." Paul always regarded the body as something very temporary like a tent. He looked forward to being free of the body and to absorption in the divine (v. 5:1).
The Gospel
Mark 3:20-35
Jesus, Beelzebul, And The Family
This is a remarkable passage, which both Matthew and Luke omit (vv. 20-22). His family came to rescue him from his being "out of his mind." They saw their son and brother as demon-possessed. No wonder Jesus turned down their effort to take him home with them!
Verses 22-30 interrupt the family visit incident in order to show Jesus was not demon possessed but, rather, Holy Spirit possessed. Most scholars, including Matthew and Luke, interpret "Beelzebul" to be alternate names for the prince of demons. Harper's Bible Dictionary gives this definition: "... a Philistine god worshiped at Ekron, believed to be the creator and controller of flies ... and called by the Pharisees 'the prince of the devils.' "
To understand verses 28-29 is to realize Jesus was using the term Holy Spirit in the Jewish sense and not as we Christians pre-Pentecost think of it. The Jewish "Holy Spirit" had a couple of tasks: one was to reveal God's truth to humans and also to help people recognize that truth when they heard it. It would be so that if a person refused to recognize God's truth and refused to be open to that truth, the results were predictable.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is not because God refuses to forgive, but because we refuse to see the need for repentance and forgiveness. It will preach!
Preaching Possibilities
The Corinthians passage is very preachable. The theme of not losing heart from verse 16 is a message many of our hearers need to hear. Here is a faithful believer going through all sorts of suffering who tells us to take heart because there is glory for us ahead. The emphasis can also be made that we can endure our struggles because through them others will receive God's grace, which will go to more and more people increasing in them thanksgiving (v. 15). Then we can move to the ultimate argument Paul gives for not losing heart. All this stuff here is temporary -- we have a life beyond this one, eternal in the heavens.
I think I'll not deal with demon possession or casting out demons or old prince of demons Beelzebul in the Gospel. But there are two good ways to go. One would be to talk about "the sin with no forgiveness" in verse 29 or "Jesus' family," an interesting topic covered in verses 31-35.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin with a story of a good time with family and then a tough time with family.
B. Explain that today's Gospel tells of a time that was tough for Jesus and his family.
C. Retell verses 21, 31-35 in your own words.
D. Move to what this incident teaches us about your life together as Christians.
1. We are considered by Jesus part of his family as we seek God's will in our lives and our world.
2. We who believe have a bond even greater than our biological bond of family.
a. We have a life's focus, which we share.
b. We have a common sacrifice performed for our sins on the cross.
c. We have a common discipleship to live up to.
d. We have a common message to take to others.
e. We have experienced the same presence of Christ with us.
3. Our loyalty to the Christ supersedes even our loyalty to the relatives of our biological family.
E. Move to a strong story of a brother or sister in Christ from below.
F. Call on the phone a couple members and ask to quote them in the sermon on how your congregation could behave and look more like Jesus' family. Use it here.
G. Close by reading again verses 20-21, 31-35. And then say, "And let all the brothers and sisters in Christ say, 'Amen.' "
Prayer For The Day
Brother Jesus, show us the way you want your family here to live and behave. Help us to reach out to each other as disciples and your family members ought do all the time. And every time we gather at your family table, bless us with real presence so as to inspire us to love and serve you and each other. We pray in your name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
I had one of my most interesting classes (at least for me) in discipling when I handed to them my piece on The Stewardship of the Family and told them to prepare how this related to their own family. One after another they told of the pain of being the first or second generation Christian in the home and how that put them outside the family traditions and events. Tears came as they told of what a disappointment they were to their parents. Such things as getting married, having babies, holidays based in Buddhist religions, and living in tiny apartments with several generations wanting to practice their religious customs including use of josh sticks, the burning of incense, the placement of the Buddhist altar, votive light and offering of fruit. One agonized that she had no model of how to raise her children as Christians (from the author's book Dear Friends And Family, CSS Publishing Company, 2001).
A foster son we have loved and raised since childhood recently told me that his biological brother had been homeless on the streets of New Orleans for several years in the '80s. Somehow that news hit us hard because we were, even remotely, related as family.
I saw a man today pushing his four-year-old son across the street at Forest and Harding against the light. What is that child learning from his father?
After 32 years of marriage, Dick and Jane called on their wedding anniversary to thank their pastor for helping them stay together those many years ago when their marriage was coming apart. With three young children they were struggling, and a parish pastor had counseled them. They wanted to say thanks 32 years later.
How many lives are enriched by parish ministry and we really never know it? But the spirit knows.
We learn of the Christian faith and how we are to follow Jesus as his disciples.
Theme For The Day
We are brothers and sisters in Jesus' family, which tells us how to treat each other.
Old Testament Lesson
1 Samuel 8:4-20 (11:14-15)
Samuel Selects A King
This is the Second Reading in a series of four in a row from 1 Samuel. Last week we heard of Samuel's call by God and the message that the old prophet Eli must be replaced because of his family's behavior and Eli's unwillingness to rein them in. This week, the story continues with Samuel being now old and the people wanting him to name a king for them. Samuel warned the people that a king would make them slaves to serve him and oppress them. But they persisted. They wanted a king like other nations have (vv. 19-20). Then in the optional verses (11:14-15), Samuel went to Gilgal and made Saul king. So: hello to King Saul and farewell to faithful old Samuel. No doubt there were a couple considerations behind the people's strong desire for a king other than to be like other nations. The misconduct of Samuel's own sons as judges in Beersheba and the uniting of the people for military reasons were some. We are obviously moving toward the founding of the monarchy.
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 4:13--5:1
We Don't Lose Heart
Paul writes to the Corinthians some rich theological assurances here. He was brave as he faced his trials because he remembered the power of God who raised Jesus. If Paul died he would be raised also. And he was certain that all his suffering was leading others to God's grace. That grace will bring in them thanksgiving. We can take a lot more difficulties when we are convinced it is for Christ's sake. So, when we live by faith we endure.
William Barclay's comments on verse 16 are profoundly beautiful and meaningful to this author: "The years which take away physical beauty should add spiritual beauty. From the physical point of view life may be a slow but inevitable slipping down the slope that leads to death and ends in the grave. But from the spiritual point of view life is a climbing up the hill that leads to the peak of the presence of God."
We Lutherans use verse 5:1 in our "The order for the burial of the dead." Paul always regarded the body as something very temporary like a tent. He looked forward to being free of the body and to absorption in the divine (v. 5:1).
The Gospel
Mark 3:20-35
Jesus, Beelzebul, And The Family
This is a remarkable passage, which both Matthew and Luke omit (vv. 20-22). His family came to rescue him from his being "out of his mind." They saw their son and brother as demon-possessed. No wonder Jesus turned down their effort to take him home with them!
Verses 22-30 interrupt the family visit incident in order to show Jesus was not demon possessed but, rather, Holy Spirit possessed. Most scholars, including Matthew and Luke, interpret "Beelzebul" to be alternate names for the prince of demons. Harper's Bible Dictionary gives this definition: "... a Philistine god worshiped at Ekron, believed to be the creator and controller of flies ... and called by the Pharisees 'the prince of the devils.' "
To understand verses 28-29 is to realize Jesus was using the term Holy Spirit in the Jewish sense and not as we Christians pre-Pentecost think of it. The Jewish "Holy Spirit" had a couple of tasks: one was to reveal God's truth to humans and also to help people recognize that truth when they heard it. It would be so that if a person refused to recognize God's truth and refused to be open to that truth, the results were predictable.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is not because God refuses to forgive, but because we refuse to see the need for repentance and forgiveness. It will preach!
Preaching Possibilities
The Corinthians passage is very preachable. The theme of not losing heart from verse 16 is a message many of our hearers need to hear. Here is a faithful believer going through all sorts of suffering who tells us to take heart because there is glory for us ahead. The emphasis can also be made that we can endure our struggles because through them others will receive God's grace, which will go to more and more people increasing in them thanksgiving (v. 15). Then we can move to the ultimate argument Paul gives for not losing heart. All this stuff here is temporary -- we have a life beyond this one, eternal in the heavens.
I think I'll not deal with demon possession or casting out demons or old prince of demons Beelzebul in the Gospel. But there are two good ways to go. One would be to talk about "the sin with no forgiveness" in verse 29 or "Jesus' family," an interesting topic covered in verses 31-35.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin with a story of a good time with family and then a tough time with family.
B. Explain that today's Gospel tells of a time that was tough for Jesus and his family.
C. Retell verses 21, 31-35 in your own words.
D. Move to what this incident teaches us about your life together as Christians.
1. We are considered by Jesus part of his family as we seek God's will in our lives and our world.
2. We who believe have a bond even greater than our biological bond of family.
a. We have a life's focus, which we share.
b. We have a common sacrifice performed for our sins on the cross.
c. We have a common discipleship to live up to.
d. We have a common message to take to others.
e. We have experienced the same presence of Christ with us.
3. Our loyalty to the Christ supersedes even our loyalty to the relatives of our biological family.
E. Move to a strong story of a brother or sister in Christ from below.
F. Call on the phone a couple members and ask to quote them in the sermon on how your congregation could behave and look more like Jesus' family. Use it here.
G. Close by reading again verses 20-21, 31-35. And then say, "And let all the brothers and sisters in Christ say, 'Amen.' "
Prayer For The Day
Brother Jesus, show us the way you want your family here to live and behave. Help us to reach out to each other as disciples and your family members ought do all the time. And every time we gather at your family table, bless us with real presence so as to inspire us to love and serve you and each other. We pray in your name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
I had one of my most interesting classes (at least for me) in discipling when I handed to them my piece on The Stewardship of the Family and told them to prepare how this related to their own family. One after another they told of the pain of being the first or second generation Christian in the home and how that put them outside the family traditions and events. Tears came as they told of what a disappointment they were to their parents. Such things as getting married, having babies, holidays based in Buddhist religions, and living in tiny apartments with several generations wanting to practice their religious customs including use of josh sticks, the burning of incense, the placement of the Buddhist altar, votive light and offering of fruit. One agonized that she had no model of how to raise her children as Christians (from the author's book Dear Friends And Family, CSS Publishing Company, 2001).
A foster son we have loved and raised since childhood recently told me that his biological brother had been homeless on the streets of New Orleans for several years in the '80s. Somehow that news hit us hard because we were, even remotely, related as family.
I saw a man today pushing his four-year-old son across the street at Forest and Harding against the light. What is that child learning from his father?
After 32 years of marriage, Dick and Jane called on their wedding anniversary to thank their pastor for helping them stay together those many years ago when their marriage was coming apart. With three young children they were struggling, and a parish pastor had counseled them. They wanted to say thanks 32 years later.
How many lives are enriched by parish ministry and we really never know it? But the spirit knows.
