Third Sunday After Pentecost
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle C
The Church Year Theological Clue
In this long cycle/season of Pentecost, the church year theological clues tend to disappear and become almost imperceptible. The title Pentecost should be a constant reminder of what the church should be about, as well as what the church is expecting from God. The church, during Pentecost, should be getting on with the business of Christ in the world; Pentecost reminds the church what its mission is, and suggests that the necessary resources are readily available to those who are repentant and obedient to the commands of Christ. This is not to say that the church should be engaged in witnessing, evangelizing, and serving God and human beings only in Pentecost, but that the vision of the people of God is clarified and sharpened into genuine perception of its role in God's scheme of things, and that they seek to prepare themselves for life and mission and the expectation of things to come.
Pentecost also reminds the church that it is engaging in a pilgrimage, not simply to an earthly Jerusalem, but to the heavenly Jerusalem, the end of life in this world and the beginning of eternal life. An alternative system of counting the Sundays during Pentecost would find the Sundays counted as before Christ the King, instead of after Pentecost. For example, in 1992, this Sunday would be the 21st Sunday before Christ the King, rather than the Third Sunday after Pentecost. Such a system would fix the attention of the church on where it is going rather than on where it has been and come from. The result would be that the church might learn to pray again, "Come, Lord Jesus! Come, quickly!"
The church year offers yet another clue, particularly in Pentecost in 1992, for example; the Third Sunday after Pentecost is sandwiched between two saints' days, the Nativity Of St. John The Baptist, June 24, and the festival/feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29. These two minor festivals reinforce the kerygmatic perspective of the church, as the lives of John, Peter, and Paul are related to Christ and the gospel. The church remembers that they "took up their crosses" and followed Jesus, literally giving up their lives for Christ and the proclamation of the good news to the world. Their most powerful witness to the world was that they became martyrs, witnesses, to Jesus and his gospel. This reminds us that all Christians are called to be witnesses, martyrs, according to the sacrifices they make in Jesus' name.
The Prayer Of The Day
Two contemporary collects from The Book Of Common Prayer for Propers 7 and 8 are appropriate for this day. The prayer for Proper 7 is a complete reworking of the syntax, rather than updating the vocabulary, of the collect for the Third Sunday after Pentecost (or the Second Sunday after Trinity): "O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
The second collect picks up the theology mentioned above and in conjunction with the festivals of John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Saint Paul. This prayer is to be used on the Sunday "closest to June 29:" "Almighty God, you have built your church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
The Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 30 (L); 30:1, 3-5, 10-12 (RC); 30:1-6, 12-13 (E) - This psalm provided the psalmody for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year/Cycle C. Comments on this psalm are located in the materials for that Sunday.
Psalm prayer (LBW) - "God our Father, glorious in giving life and more glorious in restoring it: In his last night on earth your Son knew anguish and deep sorrow. Do not turn away from us, or we shall fall back into dust; but rather turn our mourning into joy by raising us up with your Son, Christ our Lord."
The Readings
1 Kings 17:17-24 (RC, E, L, C) - In this pericope, the story is told of Elijah's miraculously multiplying the handful of meal and the measure of oil that the widow of Zarephath provided him; she and her household were able to eat from this "for many days." After that miracle, however, her son became ill and the widow rebuked Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God?" She believed that Elijah had caused the death of her son because she was a sinner. Elijah called upon God to have mercy on the woman (and her son), and then stretched himself upon the child and prayed to God, "let this child's soul come into him again" and the boy was restored to life. Gratefully, the widow declared, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and I know that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." This points to the gospel and miracle that Jesus performed in raising the son of the widow of Nain.
Galatians 1:11-19 (RC); 1:11-24 (E, L, C) - Many Christians have wished for a direct message from God, a kind of special and personal revelation which would confirm their faith and/or, as in Paul's case, their call to ministry in the gospel. Paul had to be struck down by God in order to change him from a persecutor of the Christians to a zealous apostle of the Lord. In this part of his letter to the Galatians, he relates the history of what happened to him that turned him from his pursuit of the Christians into a fiery preacher of the good news. He is adamant in his assertion that God spoke directly to him, informing him of what he was to do and what he was to preach; he had not even met Peter and the other apostles until more than three years after his conversion and his retreat in Arabia. And he told them about the reaction of the people where he first preached; they had known him as a man who wouldn't allow anything to interfere with his attempt to stamp out Christianity, and they praised God for the incredible change that had taken place in him and his life. Paul had special work to do for the Lord, and that is why God called him in the way that he did.
Luke 7:11-17 (RC, E, L, C) - Jesus, a man of perception and compassion, not only saw the funeral procession, but he saw that the chief mourner was a widow - no husband was in view - and that her only son had died. He stopped the funeral march and told the woman not to weep, approached the bier and spoke to the dead youth: "Young man, I say to you arise." And the dead man immediately came back to life. As far as the mourners were concerned, Jesus had done something that the prophets before him had done: "A great prophet has risen among us !" they exclaimed, adding, "God has visited his people" with another Elijah, some believed. The news of this miracle spread like wildfire throughout the whole area. But what they apparently had not noticed was that Jesus did not pray to God, asking God to raise up the young man; he simply commanded the man to come back to life. The prophet had to ask God for power that he did not have, but Jesus had the power to heal, even to raise the dead, in himself. They didn't perceive it, but Jesus was more than a prophet; he was the expected and "the anointed one." They were really right, but they didn't know it, in saying, "God has visited his people."
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 7:11-17 and 1 Kings 17:17-24 - "The Ultimate Miracle." - Raising a dead person and, thereby, robbing the grave, is the ultimate miracle that might be performed on human beings. The problem, of course, is brain damage and the deterioration of body tissues. That seemingly insurmountable obstacle may forever remain, despite the futuristic episode in "Star Trek," in which an officer, who had been blasted by Mr. Spock's ray/laser gun, was brought back to life. The attending physician said something like this, "This drug should repair the brain damage in a few minutes." He was right; it did, but that was pure fiction. Jesus raised several people from the dead, including Lazarus, who had been in the tomb for four days. Just how long the widow's son had been dead - a matter of hours - is unknown, but he was really dead and Jesus was able to resuscitate him to good health. That's the ultimate miracle. But others had done similar feats through the power of God, so what is so special about Jesus' miracle?
1. Elijah upstaged Jesus, even before Jesus was born; he prayed to God, stretched him-self out upon the widow's boy, and the boy was brought back to life. Some have said that the boy was not really dead, that he was in a coma-like state and that Elijah's body had changed his temperature and revived him. Others have said he was dead only a matter of minutes, so resuscitation was possible. The widow was certain that her son was dead and, God, through the prophet was able to bring him back to life. That feat surely must have added prestige to Elijah's prophetic mantle.
2. The difference between Elijah's action and that of Jesus is simply that Jesus didn't even call upon God - at least, he was not heard to pray to God and ask God to raise the young man; he did it himself. He spoke to the man on the funeral bier, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" And the man, who was on his way to his tomb, did just that. And in this case, there is no doubt that the man was really dead. And Jesus raised him with a word!
3. In both cases and the others in the Bible, the dead persons were resuscitated; they were not resurrected so they had to face death once more. Don't you wonder how they faced death the second time? They knew that God - and Jesus - have power over death, so they should have had nothing to fear; they would be raised up again and not simply to the old life, but to new life, eternal life in the kingdom of God.
4. That we learn from the real ultimate miracle, the resurrection of our Lord, who was given a new body, a glorified body, in which he could do some very unusual and strange things. Brain damage and tissue deterioration were no problem for the risen Lord and they won't be for us, either. For, and with, Jesus we will enter that everlasting kingdom, singing praises to God forever.
(As an introduction to the [Minneapolis] Star Tribune [First Sunday Magazine - September 2, 1990] article by Paul Levy, "Life in the afterlife," editor Roger Skophammer wrote, in part: "The belief in an afterlife is commonly held, and the belief is part of Christianity and other religions. So it is not a great leap in logic for some people to believe it is possible sometimes to take a peak into one's afterlife and then return to earthly living." Resuscitations like this one, or Lazarus, or even that of Elijah and the widow's son, do that for all of us, at least, by demonstrating God's power over life and death.)
1 Kings 17:17-24 (RC, E, L, C) - "Drought Brings Death." - The year that my family and I moved from Pennsylvania to Kansas, the midwestern states were in the middle of a multi-year drought; conditions were ripe for another dustbowl experience, such as the Middle West knew in the 1930s. About the time we made our move, there was a picture of a little boy in Time magazine; he lived in Eureka, Kansas, where dust was everywhere. The photograph showed small "craters," caused by a few raindrops, in the dust, so that it looked a bit like the surface of the moon. The caption said that this little boy had never seen rain during his brief lifetime. Soon after, the drought was broken and things returned to normal.
1. The son of the "Widow of Zarephath" could have died in the drought that Elijah had predicted and which became a reality. It was long and difficult, and many people died. The boy didn't, nor did the prophet. Remember? God sent him to a brook (Cherith), and there he drank from its water and ravens fed him bread and meat two times a day. But, like everything else, the brook finally dried up. God sent Elijah to Zarephath.
2. It was only after God sent Elijah to the home of the widow and her son in Zarephath that the little boy died. The woman responded to the prophet's request to give him what little food she had in her house; she did, and he multiplied it so that, for them the near-famine conditions were lifted. But the boy died, anyway. And the widow put the blame upon the prophet.
3. Elijah proceeded to show her that he had not caused the death of the boy; he prayed to God and raised him up to life again, gave him to his mother and said, "See your son lives." Now she was positive that Elijah was truly a "man of God" and that what he said to her was the truth, the very truth of God.
4. The "Widow of Zarephath" came through her experience with Elijah, renewed in her faith in God and positive that he would bring the drought to an end soon. She was certain that God would care for them. ("The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.") I suspect that she told the whole town about the goodness and power of God and perhaps they found the faith they needed to continue to live when life seemed about to end.
5. The Christian who looks at the cross and empty tomb and listens to the word of the Lord, also is able to face whatever life has to offer and know that God will see him through it victoriously.
Galatians 1:11-17 (RC, E, L, C) - "Special Revelation."
1. Whether Paul had ever seen Jesus "in the flesh," that is, before his death and resurrection, is unanswerable, but that he had a special revelation of the Lord and the gospel is undeniable. Either that or Paul went mad, because after his experience on the Damascus road his life was totally turned around; the persecutor became the preacher of the Lord.
2. Why did such a thing happen to Paul? Why don't we have similar visits from the risen Lord to convince us that the good news is really true, and that the Lord really did overcome death and the grave? It must be admitted that some people, some of whom are preachers, do have visions of God that seem to be valid. (When George Washington Truett's shotgun fell and killed his friend, the Chief of Police in Dallas, he thought he would never preach again in the largest Protestant church in the United States, First Baptist Church of Dallas, or any other church. But he had a vision in a dream, the same dream three times, in which the Lord appeared and spoke to him, telling him that he was "his man" and to go back into the pulpit. He did, and preached with more power than ever.) God had special need of Paul in those early days of Christianity and he had to recruit him to the gospel in a manner that made it impossible for him to refuse the call of God.
3. Paul's conversion experience was so powerful that he had to go on a three-year retreat to accept it and prepare to preach the gospel to his world. Only then did he meet with Peter in Jerusalem (and James, the Lord's brother), and after that he began preaching with power.
4. As far as the people who knew Paul's reputation were concerned, God had worked a miracle in him; he had changed a person who hated Christ and the Christians into a genuine servant of the Lord who, ultimately, gave his own life for the Christ he had denied. And the world remembers and reveres him for that.
In this long cycle/season of Pentecost, the church year theological clues tend to disappear and become almost imperceptible. The title Pentecost should be a constant reminder of what the church should be about, as well as what the church is expecting from God. The church, during Pentecost, should be getting on with the business of Christ in the world; Pentecost reminds the church what its mission is, and suggests that the necessary resources are readily available to those who are repentant and obedient to the commands of Christ. This is not to say that the church should be engaged in witnessing, evangelizing, and serving God and human beings only in Pentecost, but that the vision of the people of God is clarified and sharpened into genuine perception of its role in God's scheme of things, and that they seek to prepare themselves for life and mission and the expectation of things to come.
Pentecost also reminds the church that it is engaging in a pilgrimage, not simply to an earthly Jerusalem, but to the heavenly Jerusalem, the end of life in this world and the beginning of eternal life. An alternative system of counting the Sundays during Pentecost would find the Sundays counted as before Christ the King, instead of after Pentecost. For example, in 1992, this Sunday would be the 21st Sunday before Christ the King, rather than the Third Sunday after Pentecost. Such a system would fix the attention of the church on where it is going rather than on where it has been and come from. The result would be that the church might learn to pray again, "Come, Lord Jesus! Come, quickly!"
The church year offers yet another clue, particularly in Pentecost in 1992, for example; the Third Sunday after Pentecost is sandwiched between two saints' days, the Nativity Of St. John The Baptist, June 24, and the festival/feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29. These two minor festivals reinforce the kerygmatic perspective of the church, as the lives of John, Peter, and Paul are related to Christ and the gospel. The church remembers that they "took up their crosses" and followed Jesus, literally giving up their lives for Christ and the proclamation of the good news to the world. Their most powerful witness to the world was that they became martyrs, witnesses, to Jesus and his gospel. This reminds us that all Christians are called to be witnesses, martyrs, according to the sacrifices they make in Jesus' name.
The Prayer Of The Day
Two contemporary collects from The Book Of Common Prayer for Propers 7 and 8 are appropriate for this day. The prayer for Proper 7 is a complete reworking of the syntax, rather than updating the vocabulary, of the collect for the Third Sunday after Pentecost (or the Second Sunday after Trinity): "O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
The second collect picks up the theology mentioned above and in conjunction with the festivals of John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Saint Paul. This prayer is to be used on the Sunday "closest to June 29:" "Almighty God, you have built your church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
The Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 30 (L); 30:1, 3-5, 10-12 (RC); 30:1-6, 12-13 (E) - This psalm provided the psalmody for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year/Cycle C. Comments on this psalm are located in the materials for that Sunday.
Psalm prayer (LBW) - "God our Father, glorious in giving life and more glorious in restoring it: In his last night on earth your Son knew anguish and deep sorrow. Do not turn away from us, or we shall fall back into dust; but rather turn our mourning into joy by raising us up with your Son, Christ our Lord."
The Readings
1 Kings 17:17-24 (RC, E, L, C) - In this pericope, the story is told of Elijah's miraculously multiplying the handful of meal and the measure of oil that the widow of Zarephath provided him; she and her household were able to eat from this "for many days." After that miracle, however, her son became ill and the widow rebuked Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God?" She believed that Elijah had caused the death of her son because she was a sinner. Elijah called upon God to have mercy on the woman (and her son), and then stretched himself upon the child and prayed to God, "let this child's soul come into him again" and the boy was restored to life. Gratefully, the widow declared, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and I know that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." This points to the gospel and miracle that Jesus performed in raising the son of the widow of Nain.
Galatians 1:11-19 (RC); 1:11-24 (E, L, C) - Many Christians have wished for a direct message from God, a kind of special and personal revelation which would confirm their faith and/or, as in Paul's case, their call to ministry in the gospel. Paul had to be struck down by God in order to change him from a persecutor of the Christians to a zealous apostle of the Lord. In this part of his letter to the Galatians, he relates the history of what happened to him that turned him from his pursuit of the Christians into a fiery preacher of the good news. He is adamant in his assertion that God spoke directly to him, informing him of what he was to do and what he was to preach; he had not even met Peter and the other apostles until more than three years after his conversion and his retreat in Arabia. And he told them about the reaction of the people where he first preached; they had known him as a man who wouldn't allow anything to interfere with his attempt to stamp out Christianity, and they praised God for the incredible change that had taken place in him and his life. Paul had special work to do for the Lord, and that is why God called him in the way that he did.
Luke 7:11-17 (RC, E, L, C) - Jesus, a man of perception and compassion, not only saw the funeral procession, but he saw that the chief mourner was a widow - no husband was in view - and that her only son had died. He stopped the funeral march and told the woman not to weep, approached the bier and spoke to the dead youth: "Young man, I say to you arise." And the dead man immediately came back to life. As far as the mourners were concerned, Jesus had done something that the prophets before him had done: "A great prophet has risen among us !" they exclaimed, adding, "God has visited his people" with another Elijah, some believed. The news of this miracle spread like wildfire throughout the whole area. But what they apparently had not noticed was that Jesus did not pray to God, asking God to raise up the young man; he simply commanded the man to come back to life. The prophet had to ask God for power that he did not have, but Jesus had the power to heal, even to raise the dead, in himself. They didn't perceive it, but Jesus was more than a prophet; he was the expected and "the anointed one." They were really right, but they didn't know it, in saying, "God has visited his people."
Sermon Suggestions, Synopses, Sketches, Stories
Luke 7:11-17 and 1 Kings 17:17-24 - "The Ultimate Miracle." - Raising a dead person and, thereby, robbing the grave, is the ultimate miracle that might be performed on human beings. The problem, of course, is brain damage and the deterioration of body tissues. That seemingly insurmountable obstacle may forever remain, despite the futuristic episode in "Star Trek," in which an officer, who had been blasted by Mr. Spock's ray/laser gun, was brought back to life. The attending physician said something like this, "This drug should repair the brain damage in a few minutes." He was right; it did, but that was pure fiction. Jesus raised several people from the dead, including Lazarus, who had been in the tomb for four days. Just how long the widow's son had been dead - a matter of hours - is unknown, but he was really dead and Jesus was able to resuscitate him to good health. That's the ultimate miracle. But others had done similar feats through the power of God, so what is so special about Jesus' miracle?
1. Elijah upstaged Jesus, even before Jesus was born; he prayed to God, stretched him-self out upon the widow's boy, and the boy was brought back to life. Some have said that the boy was not really dead, that he was in a coma-like state and that Elijah's body had changed his temperature and revived him. Others have said he was dead only a matter of minutes, so resuscitation was possible. The widow was certain that her son was dead and, God, through the prophet was able to bring him back to life. That feat surely must have added prestige to Elijah's prophetic mantle.
2. The difference between Elijah's action and that of Jesus is simply that Jesus didn't even call upon God - at least, he was not heard to pray to God and ask God to raise the young man; he did it himself. He spoke to the man on the funeral bier, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" And the man, who was on his way to his tomb, did just that. And in this case, there is no doubt that the man was really dead. And Jesus raised him with a word!
3. In both cases and the others in the Bible, the dead persons were resuscitated; they were not resurrected so they had to face death once more. Don't you wonder how they faced death the second time? They knew that God - and Jesus - have power over death, so they should have had nothing to fear; they would be raised up again and not simply to the old life, but to new life, eternal life in the kingdom of God.
4. That we learn from the real ultimate miracle, the resurrection of our Lord, who was given a new body, a glorified body, in which he could do some very unusual and strange things. Brain damage and tissue deterioration were no problem for the risen Lord and they won't be for us, either. For, and with, Jesus we will enter that everlasting kingdom, singing praises to God forever.
(As an introduction to the [Minneapolis] Star Tribune [First Sunday Magazine - September 2, 1990] article by Paul Levy, "Life in the afterlife," editor Roger Skophammer wrote, in part: "The belief in an afterlife is commonly held, and the belief is part of Christianity and other religions. So it is not a great leap in logic for some people to believe it is possible sometimes to take a peak into one's afterlife and then return to earthly living." Resuscitations like this one, or Lazarus, or even that of Elijah and the widow's son, do that for all of us, at least, by demonstrating God's power over life and death.)
1 Kings 17:17-24 (RC, E, L, C) - "Drought Brings Death." - The year that my family and I moved from Pennsylvania to Kansas, the midwestern states were in the middle of a multi-year drought; conditions were ripe for another dustbowl experience, such as the Middle West knew in the 1930s. About the time we made our move, there was a picture of a little boy in Time magazine; he lived in Eureka, Kansas, where dust was everywhere. The photograph showed small "craters," caused by a few raindrops, in the dust, so that it looked a bit like the surface of the moon. The caption said that this little boy had never seen rain during his brief lifetime. Soon after, the drought was broken and things returned to normal.
1. The son of the "Widow of Zarephath" could have died in the drought that Elijah had predicted and which became a reality. It was long and difficult, and many people died. The boy didn't, nor did the prophet. Remember? God sent him to a brook (Cherith), and there he drank from its water and ravens fed him bread and meat two times a day. But, like everything else, the brook finally dried up. God sent Elijah to Zarephath.
2. It was only after God sent Elijah to the home of the widow and her son in Zarephath that the little boy died. The woman responded to the prophet's request to give him what little food she had in her house; she did, and he multiplied it so that, for them the near-famine conditions were lifted. But the boy died, anyway. And the widow put the blame upon the prophet.
3. Elijah proceeded to show her that he had not caused the death of the boy; he prayed to God and raised him up to life again, gave him to his mother and said, "See your son lives." Now she was positive that Elijah was truly a "man of God" and that what he said to her was the truth, the very truth of God.
4. The "Widow of Zarephath" came through her experience with Elijah, renewed in her faith in God and positive that he would bring the drought to an end soon. She was certain that God would care for them. ("The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.") I suspect that she told the whole town about the goodness and power of God and perhaps they found the faith they needed to continue to live when life seemed about to end.
5. The Christian who looks at the cross and empty tomb and listens to the word of the Lord, also is able to face whatever life has to offer and know that God will see him through it victoriously.
Galatians 1:11-17 (RC, E, L, C) - "Special Revelation."
1. Whether Paul had ever seen Jesus "in the flesh," that is, before his death and resurrection, is unanswerable, but that he had a special revelation of the Lord and the gospel is undeniable. Either that or Paul went mad, because after his experience on the Damascus road his life was totally turned around; the persecutor became the preacher of the Lord.
2. Why did such a thing happen to Paul? Why don't we have similar visits from the risen Lord to convince us that the good news is really true, and that the Lord really did overcome death and the grave? It must be admitted that some people, some of whom are preachers, do have visions of God that seem to be valid. (When George Washington Truett's shotgun fell and killed his friend, the Chief of Police in Dallas, he thought he would never preach again in the largest Protestant church in the United States, First Baptist Church of Dallas, or any other church. But he had a vision in a dream, the same dream three times, in which the Lord appeared and spoke to him, telling him that he was "his man" and to go back into the pulpit. He did, and preached with more power than ever.) God had special need of Paul in those early days of Christianity and he had to recruit him to the gospel in a manner that made it impossible for him to refuse the call of God.
3. Paul's conversion experience was so powerful that he had to go on a three-year retreat to accept it and prepare to preach the gospel to his world. Only then did he meet with Peter in Jerusalem (and James, the Lord's brother), and after that he began preaching with power.
4. As far as the people who knew Paul's reputation were concerned, God had worked a miracle in him; he had changed a person who hated Christ and the Christians into a genuine servant of the Lord who, ultimately, gave his own life for the Christ he had denied. And the world remembers and reveres him for that.
