[Propertalk] FW: Sermon Resources for January 27, Epiphany 3 - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons for Epiphany 3 

Luke 4:14-21 - "Good News" 
 
 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a - "Kintsugi Vessels" by Leonard Sweet
 
Luke 4 ,  the sermon title "Good News"   
  
The story is told of a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be the guide
and "gofer" to Mother Teresa when she visited New South Wales. Thrilled and
excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he dreamed of
how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But during
her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, the
friar never had the opportunity to say one word to Mother Teresa. There were
always other people for her to meet.

Finally, her tour was over, and she was due to fly to New Guinea. In
desperation, the Franciscan friar spoke to Mother Teresa: If I pay my own
fare to New Guinea, can I sit next to you on the plane so I can talk to you
and learn from you? Mother Teresa looked at him. "You have enough money to
pay airfare to New Guinea?" she asked.

Yes, he replied eagerly. "Then give that money to the poor," she said.
"You'll learn more from that than anything I can tell you." Mother Teresa
understood that Jesus' ministry was to the poor and she made it hers as
well. She knew that they more than anyone else needed good news.

On a Saturday morning, in Nazareth, the town gathered in the synagogue to
listen to Jesus read and teach. It was no big surprise. He was well known in
the area; it was his hometown. He was raised there. They wanted to learn
from him. So when he read from the Isaiah scroll, "The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor"
everyone understood these words to be the words of Isaiah. It is how that
prophet from long ago defined his ministry.

When Jesus finished that reading he handed the scroll to the attendant and
sat down. In that day you sat in the Moses Seat to teach to the people.
Today preachers stand in a pulpit. So all eyes were on Jesus, waiting for
him to begin his teaching.
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining
<http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8ABAkECQZSCkkNAw5KDAtXUVw%3D>
http://www.sermons.com/signup 
 
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 1 Corinthians 12:12-32a  -  the sermon titled "Kintsugi Vessels" by Leonard
Sweet  
  
Anyone here love "antiques?" How about "Antiques Road Show?" Did you know
it's been around for 36 years, since 1977? 
[This would be a good time to facilitate a short time of interaction with
the congregation over their favorite "antiques," their favorite shows
dealing with "antiques," what the difference is between "antiques" and
"collectives," etc.]
"Antiques" and "collectibles" have value because they have survived intact
for a long period of time. With the exception of those few things that are
made of gold or silver or precious gemstones, the value in most "old stuff"
is mostly found in the simple fact that they are still around. Except for
the ravages of the plagues like the Black Death pandemic, which killed
between 75 million and 200 million people, the biggest and most frequent
destructive force in civilization has always been fire.  
 
Alexandria burned. 
Rome burned. 
Paris burned. 
London burned. 
Washington D.C. burned. 
Chicago burned. 
San Francisco burned.  
 
For "stuff" to survive these infernos was no small feat. And it makes them
valuable.
Then there is the human factor.  
 
Is there anyone who doesn't have this shuddering memory: you're drying a
dish, moving a knickknack, or blundering into a piece of furniture -- and
suddenly it happens: you watch almost in slow motion as some precious bit of
china, some heirloom brick-a-brac, some priceless treasure goes sliding into
the abyss. As it slipped from your hands or went sliding off the table, you
knew what was about to happen, but were helpless to stop it. Gravity doesn't
negotiate. Crash! In an instant a treasured family heirloom is reduced to
pathetic pieces. 
 
In today's throwaway culture of planned obsolescence, with instantly
outdated plastic and cardboard, "broken stuff" gets routed to the "round
file" (the trash can) as quickly as last year's electronics. Artisans of
restorations and repair craftsmen are increasingly hard to find. Unless
whatever has been damaged was extremely valuable, it is usually not worth
the investment to fix it.  
 
Thankfully that has not always been the case. 
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining
<http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8ABAkECQZSCkkNAw5KDAtXUVw%3D>
http://www.sermons.com/signup  
  _____________________________ 
 
He Came to Help Us See 
 
Besides freeing us from fear and guilt, Jesus came to help us see. He wasn't
talking about physical blindness, but rather, spiritual blindness. We can't
see because we are trapped by habits, addictions and illusions of happiness.
Therefore we are trapped, oppressed by our own choices and situations. Some
of us are in denial. Others of us are reinforced through the enabling of
other people. Consequently, we are not free.

One night a tiger trainer was performing at a circus. He went into the cage
with the tigers and a huge hush came over the crowd as the doors were locked
behind him. Skillfully, the trainer put the tigers though their routine,
entertaining the crowd. But, suddenly there was a "pop" and the all the
lights went out under the big top.

The trainer was locked inside the cage with the tigers in complete darkness.
They could see him with their night vision, but he could not see them. All
he had was a chair and a whip for protection. Finally the lights came back
on and the trainer finished his performance.

Later in a TV interview, the trainer admitted how scared he was. Then he
realized that the tigers did not know that he could not see them. "I just
cracked my whip and talked to them," he said, "until the lights came on."
(from "Tigers in the Dark," God's Little Lessons on Life for Dad, Honor
Books)

Keith Wagner, Liberated and Free 
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Fulfilling Others? 
 
And the marvel is this: Jesus somehow fits the void in all the far flung
instances of human longing. When medieval European artists painted the Holy
Family, they usually painted them with typical German, Italian, or Flemish
features. It was not imagination or prejudice which made them do so, but the
instinctive feeling that Jesus belonged to them; he was one of their people.
In our time, Christian artists in Africa and Asia paint the Holy Family with
features and coloring appropriate to their world. Again, it is because they
feel that Jesus belongs to them. 

The mountain church, where a duet twangs out country-western music on a
guitar, may seem to have little in common with a Bach rendition from a
four-manual organ; but each is seeking to show its adoration of Jesus in its
own best way. Here is the common bond between a ghetto storefront church and
the massive Gothic structure some miles away: they both bear the name of
Jesus Christ; and they each seek, in their own way and setting, to fulfill
the human longing. What about you and me? What is the longing in our lives
which Christ has filled? "Today," Jesus said, "this scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing." For you, for me? To what degree are we in the
business of fulfilling the scripture in the lives of others?  
 
J. Ellsworth Kalas, Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Cycle C, CSS Publishing
Company 
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