Ezekiel
18:1-4, 25-32
Psalm 25:1-9
Philippians
2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32
Narrative:
Exodus 14:10-14, 21-29
First Lesson: Ezekiel 18:1-4; 25-32
Challenges:
If there was a passage in scripture that
seemed to support “works-righteousness” this must be it. “When the righteous turn away from their
righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die.” Seems pretty clear cut to
me. If you come from a tradition like
mine (Lutheranism), you might be tempted to disregard this text and quickly
show how it’s not right. I encourage you to wrestle with it a bit first. Ezekiel’s words are part of Holy Scripture,
we consider them inspired by the Holy Spirit.
That means they deserve at least some consideration.
Opportunities:
This could be a great opportunity to
talk about the power of “blame” in present-day America. We are always looking
for someone to blame, for the person who is “at fault.” This is certainly true
when there is a disaster, either natural or man-made. Who is to blame? Democrats and Republicans
both have their ideas of who is to blame for the “state of our nation.” When it comes to issues of race and
inequality, there are plenty of opinions of who is to blame. I believe that
this passage from Ezekiel can help us to step away from the “blame game” (which
can be very exhausting anyway) and look at our own actions. Instead of blaming others, we can use our
energy to look at our own lives.
Good
News:
The excellent
commentators on the “Sermon Brainwave” Podcast of “Working Preacher” fame made
an excellent point a few months ago. I’m paraphrasing, but they basically said
that if you are asked a theological question where you don’t have the exact
answer, start talking about the character and nature of God. Verse 32 provides this for us. God says, “For I have no pleasure in the death of
anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live.”
It is good
news to me to know that God is not just itching to blast us and will be
somewhat disappointed when we turn away from our sins. In fact, it’s quite the
opposite, God is just itching to forgive us and have a relationship with us.
This is a theme that will resonate throughout all of scripture: in both the Old
and New Testament (“…there is more joy in heaven when one sinner repents…”) and
it shows us the character and nature of God.
Second Lesson: Philippians 2:1-13
Challenges:
Challenges? Can there be challenges in
Philippians 2, quite possibly the best chapter in the entire New Testament?
(Okay, okay…we can say tied with the best Chapter in the New Testament with
about a dozen other primes candidates).
Could there be any challenges here other than suppressing the urge to
spend half-an-hour looking at how amazing this is in your sermon?
Okay, one challenge I can think of:
Paul’s statement: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What
does that even mean? What does that look like? This is especially true because
Paul also says that it is “God at work in you, enabling you…” to do all of
those things. So is it up to us or up to
God? The answer is…yes.
Opportunities:
I strongly encourage you to check out
John Dickson’s book, Humilitas: A Lost
Key to Life, Love and Leadership that looks at the idea of humility as a
tremendously important virtue. Dickson
talks about how Jesus Christ and Paul created a “humility revolution” that
changed the world. In the ancient world
humility as not considered a virtue, it was actually considered a
weakness. No one wanted to be humble,
let alone a leader.
We are so used to a worldview where we
give value, or at least lip-service, to the idea of a humble leader, that we
can miss the true impact of what Paul is getting at here.
As Dickson says, “…just as astonishing
as the early description of Jesus as “God” is the fact that these first
Christians could in the same breath say (or sing) “God” and “cross.” The idea
that any great individual, let alone the Almighty, could be associated with a
shameful Roman crucifixion is just bizarre….What we read in the above text is
nothing less than a humility revolution. Honour and shame are turned on their
heads. The highly honoured Jesus lowered
himself to a shameful cross and, yet, in so doing became not an object of scorn
but one of praise and emulation.” (Dickson,
109)
Dickson is very clear to say that being “humble”
does not mean thinking less of yourself than you ought, or of beating yourself
up or denying your talents. Instead, it’s about using your power to help
others. He says, “Humility is more about
how I treat others than how I think about myself.” (Dickson, 25). This matches
the example of Jesus perfectly. Jesus was not one to beat himself up or to deny
who he was. Instead, he used his power for the benefit of others.
Good
News:
First of all, the fact that Christ did
all of the things listed in the “Christ Hymn” for humanity is good news in and
of itself. The thought that he did this FOR ME is altogether life-changing. I
often site the amazing words “For you,” that are said during the distribution
of communion (“The Body of Christ, given FOR YOU…The Blood of Christ shed FOR
YOU…”) and I will often say that Jesus died on the cross because he knew that
2000 years later we (and I’ll say the individual names of those around me)
would need a savior. I know that we in
the Lutheran Church try to get away from a “personal” understanding of
salvation, but I think we often go too far.
As Mark Allan Powell says in his book Loving Jesus, our relationship with
Jesus is person…just not private.
Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
Challenges:
With texts like these, it is all too
easy for many Christians to jump to conclusions and say that this is an “Anti-Jewish”
text. “You see,” the logic might go, “The Jews are like the second son who says
that he will go and then doesn’t. The Gentiles (you know…you and me) are like
the first son who says he won’t go, and then does.” This logic is flawed on
many levels. The point of this story has nothing to do with ethnicity. Instead
Jesus is comparing different groups WITHIN the Jewish context. He’s talking about
the difference between religious leaders and “sinners” (i.e. tax-collectors and
prostitutes).
We Christians should always be on the
look-out for the slightest hint of anti-semitism in our proclamation. You might not even mean to speak against the
Jews, but your words could be interpreted that way: be careful!
On the other hand, there is an equally
tempting mistake to make with passages such as this. We often look at the acceptance of
tax-collectors and prostitutes and thus assume that there is no need of any
kind of “repentance” or “change” in the lives of people who come to God. I
believe there is no need for these things to occur for God to love you, but God
wants more for you than to have you remain in a situation that is less than
what you were made for.
Opportunities:
This passage seems to have more
challenges than opportunities. From a
parent’s point of view, I would much rather have my child say “no” and then do
what I want (instead of the other way around), but of course it would be even
better if I could get a “yes” and follow through, it would save quite a bit of
hassle. But that’s the point, isn’t it? That if God is our parent, God really
much have an amazing sense of patience and love. Otherwise, we’d all be in big, big trouble.
As another opportunity: this is another
example of Jesus squaring off in a “battle of words” with his religious opponents.
It’s as if he’s having a verbal fencing-match and he totally cleans the floor
with his enemies. If you were painting a
picture with your words here, that could be a good analogy to use.
Good
News:
If you come at this lesson from the point
of view of the religious leaders, it might be hard to find some good news
indeed! But if you look at it from the point of view of the tax-collectors and
prostitutes, this story is a very happy one.
Narrative: Exodus 14:10-14, 21-29
Challenges:
There is the issue of God’s slaughter of
the Egyptian Army. Was it necessary? Could God have found a peaceful solution?
How does this story mesh with our view of Jesus Christ and his teachings? Again, don’t just discard this story or the
point it is making because it doesn’t mesh with your own theology.
Opportunities:
There's an excellent sermon by Martin Luther King
Jr. on this story that can be found by clicking HERE.
This is an action-packed, vivid
story. You can really play up the sights
and sounds that must have been present in this overwhelming experience. The roaring water, the blustering wind, the
thundering chariots. Paint a picture
with your words. Perhaps you could imagine yourself in and amongst the crowd of
Israelites…what were people saying (or screaming) what was it like to know that
Pharaoh’s army was just behind them?
Having listened to the excellent “I Love
to Tell the Story” podcast on the Working Preacher website, I became thoughtful
concerning something they said. How many
Egyptians did the Israelites kill? None.
Not one. The LORD did the action. In other words, no LORD, no dead Egyptians. Moses can wave his hand and his staff as much as he wants but it won't make any difference without the power of God. In a
world filled with “holy warriors” it’s important to remember that this is a
story about GOD AT WORK. It’s not about us getting enough weapons to fight and
doing the killing ourselves: we leave any of that up to God.
Also, it is important to note that while
God is the one at work fighting for the liberation of the people, the people
have something to do as well: they have to “go into the sea” as verse 22 says.
They are filled with fear right before this: they are ready to blame Moses when
Pharaoh’s chariots arrive…but now they need to walk between two giant walls of
water in order to find safety. How could they be sure that the water would stay
back? How could they be sure that they would be safe? They couldn’t. So, there’s
something to encourage, and disappoint, both adherents of both a “decision theology”
as well as those who favor the opposing view. Is it up to God or the people? It’s
up to God…but the people don’t just sit there.
It’s up to the people…but they can only go through the sea because of
God’s action. This story, like so many
others, provides a great tension that gets a person thinking.
Good
News:
As Rob Bell says, “God is in the
liberation business.” This story bears
this out. The People of Israel are ready
to head back into slavery…and certainly complain about their situation, but God
does not abandon them. In fact, because of what God did through Moses, the people
found it within themselves to head across the Red Sea.
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