Monday, August 26, 2013

Pentecost 15: September 1, 2013 (Labor Day Weekend)

Proverbs 25:6-7
Psalm 112
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14
FIRST LESSON: Proverbs 25:6-7

Challenges:
  • If “the King” in these verses is meant to be God, this seems to run contrary to Jesus’ teaching of approaching God as a child approaches a loving parent (Luke 11:11-13)
  • If “the King” is just a human king here, this is just practical advice, not much to do with God at all.
  • It’s hard to see the Gospel or “Good News” here.  Where is God acting graciously in our lives?  You might have to wait for another text to give it to you.
Opportunities:

  •  While this “practical advice” might not have much to do with God if “the King” is just a human king, this “everyday, practical advice” and be a good way to show that the Bible is not just some ethereal, abstract book: it can be practical too.
  •  You could make a connection with the Hymn, “Soon and Very Soon” (“…we are going to see the King.”)
  • This is a great chance to talk about the character of the king to whom we owe our allegiance and loyalty.  What’s your King (God) like?

The Good News:
  •  If you are looking at the “character of the King” as mentioned above, these verses suggest that there is the possibility that you could get “called up:” this king doesn’t ignore people.
  • Overt self-promotion can be exhausting: these verses invite us to live differently.
  • Anyone could be called into the presence of the great: it’s not JUST for nobles.


                                                        PSALM: Psalm 112
Challenges:
  • This psalm makes some pretty big promises: is this too much like a religious sales-pitch?
  • Does this psalm make the divide between the righteous and the wicked a little too clear-cut?  Are people either/or or both/and?
  •  “The Righteous” seem perfect-since I don’t even FEEL this way, should I even try?


Opportunities:
  • The stories that we tell ourselves and the heroes that we hold up tell us about ourselves: the heroes of this story are just, fair, and care about the poor. That’s worth emulating.
  • There are lots of words here that describe stability: endures, forever (v.3), never be moved (v.6), firm hearts (v.7), steady hearts (v.8), enduring righteousness( v.9).
  • Righteous/righteousness: is talking about being “right-related.”  This psalm tells what that looks like.

 The Good News:
  • If you are being hurt, oppressed, or cheated: hold on!  There are righteous-people from God who are going to help you. Pray that you will find them.
  • The righteous are righteous because they care about what God cares about.
  • “In the end they will look in triumph…” (v.8) If the righteous have not yet triumphed, it’s not yet the end.

                                            SECOND LESSON: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Challenges:

  • In v.4 words like “fornicators” and “adulterers” bring a lot of emotional baggage with them.  Can they be addressed fully without taking up the entire sermon?
  •  In v.5 the command to “be content with what you have” is very good advice, BUT it could also be used as an excuse for rich people to not help poor people because “they should be content shouldn’t they?”
  • There are plenty of good things to talk about here: picking and choosing which ones you’d like to address can be a challenge.

Opportunities:

  • SACRIFICE is a strong image to put into people’s minds.  Making the jump from dead animals to a sacrifice of praise: words and deeds could be very helpful.
  • The hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth” connects, especially the line “Christ Our God to thee we raise, this our sacrifice of praise.”
  • Verse 8 is just AWESOME.  Do something with it, have people memorize it, repeat it, whatever: it’s just awesome.

 The Good News:

  • You can look at all of these commands as “I have to do them” OR you could look at them like opportunities to live a full and abundant life.
  • Maybe YOU are a prisoner, a stranger, or generally oppressed.  This shows that God cares and is sending help.
  • We learn that WE ARE NOT ALONE and because of this we can have confidence (v.5 & 6).

GOSPEL: Luke 14:1, 7-14
Challenges:

  • With verse 14, do we have some works-righteousness going on here? 
  • This story seems to be about “us vs. them” and how to get ahead and look better than the people around you.
  • If the motivation in giving yourself the humble place is selfish (i.e. a chance for potential advancement) has that made anything better?

Opportunities:
  • The context of Jesus’ statements (watching people pick places of honor) helps a huge amount in understanding the meaning (as compared to no context in the first lesson).
  • This is a great chance to show the exhaustion that comes from a life of trying to get ahead.
  • Look for examples of the ‘craziness’ found in high society and the struggle to get ahead. These can show how fake and undesirable a life like this can truly be.

The Gospel:
  • Imagine a party or a community where everyone is doing their best to hold everyone else in honor: how great would that be?
  • Jesus is putting a wrench in the works of the exhausting cycle of favors, reciprocity and getting ahead.  He’s saying, “You don’t have to live this way.”
  • This story shows us quite a bit of the personality and character of Jesus: he’s not caught up in the chase for worldly success. 

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