LISTSERV 16.0 - HUNGERSERMONSTARTERS Archives

The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger-related threads – sermon starters – among the themes of this day’s texts. (We're presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true!

X Baptism as an identity marker—when we are baptized we join the people of God and as such take on a new identity. What will that identity be? The earliest Christians were notorious for their care of widows and orphans (Rodney Stark, in his book, The Rise of Christianity, has an excellent chapter detailing this), it was one of the ways in which Christians were identified. As the baptized people of God, can we reclaim this historic identity?

X Luther saw baptism as a daily practice of dying to the old ways of being and rising up “to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” The term “righteousness” carries for many of us a pietistic connotation—to be “righteous” is a personal state or condition of purity. In both Hebrew (tsadekah) and Greek (dikaiosunê), however, the term also carries a relational sense—to be in right relationship. In fact, the words and their cognates in both languages can be just as comfortably translated as “justice” (and they often are in our Bibles, depending on the context). If we reclaim this biblical sense “righteousness,” in the context of baptism, we die to unjust, wrong relationships and are raised “to live before God in justice and right relationships.” What might this look like in our day to day interactions with neighbors near and far?

X In the Baptismal covenant and the Affirmation of Baptism outlined in ELW we make commitments to “care for others and the world that God made” and to “work for justice and peace” (pp. 228; 236). The profession of faith (p. 235) includes a renunciation of the “forces that defy God” and the “powers of the world that rebel against God.” We can reasonably include greed, strife, and self-interest in those forces and powers that defy God and leave God’s people impoverished, hungry, and ill. In our baptism we commit ourselves to work with God in the bringing of God’s kingdom.

Celebrant          Will you strive for justice and peace among all
                        people, and respect the dignity of every human
                        being?
People              I will, with God’s help.

I am especially inspired by the idea of proclaiming the good news of God in Christ by both word and deed. Not only do I speak out for justice, but I also strive to make lifestyle choices that make justice on earth more feasible. I also appreciate the call to seek and serve the Christ who is in all persons (see e.g., Matt 25:31-46). Finally, note how the people’s response (“I will, with God’s help”) draws attention to the synergy involved in God’s work. We commit to living justly trusting in God’s empowering grace.

This passage from Isaiah insists that God will protect and ultimately restore God’s people. The primordial waters of chaos will not overtake them, nor will destructive fires harm them. This is because God has redeemed God’s people and called them by name. While the promises certainly engender hope, sometimes our experience and the experiences of our brothers and sisters around the world raise a serious challenge to the truth of the claims. Too many of the people of God are displaced by war and disease, and suffer from the waves of poverty and hunger.

This passage invites us to lift our voices in prayer that God would be faithful to God’s promises. We may just find that as we plead our case God will respond with a challenge to us. As the people of God, we are charged with doing God’s work. How might God be calling us to walk with people through water and fire?

Psalm 29 (3)
Psalm 29corresponds nicely to Isaiah 43. The psalmist emphasizes the power of God, reminding us that God is king over the chaos of life (see esp. vv. 3 & 4, 10). The final petition in v. 11 is a prayer we can pray—that God would be faithful to the promise to give strength to God’s people (strength to endure the struggles of life, strength and courage to work tirelessly against injustice) and that God would give God’s people peace. How will we participate with God in this activity?

Acts 8:14-17
This passage recalls the thesis statement to the book of Acts (1:8) that God would send the Holy Spirit so that Jesus’ disciples could be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The next chapter then narrates the call of Saul (soon to be Paul) who will be Luke’s champion to the ends of the earth.

Since this passage refers backwards to 1:8, and serves as a fulfillment of it, I think it is fair to think about witness and testimony. What are we witnesses of? How effective is our witness? As noted above, a key element of the early church’s identity (and a key element of Jesus’ earthly ministry, especially in this year’s Gospel) was caring for those who were poor and vulnerable. How is our witness in this area? How might we improve it? Where do we need an extra measure of God’s grace in living into that identity?

It is generally accepted that Third Isaiah is working off of the promises of redemption that are spelled out by his predecessor in Second Isaiah. The prophet, now writing some time later, still holds fast to the promises of God. This hope is in spite of evidence to the contrary (what Paul would later call “hope against hope” in his letter to the Romans). Looking at our current context sometimes it can feel like our hope is against all reason—tough economy, increased hunger, wars, disease, climate change… the list goes on.

In spite of difficulties such as these, the prophet still hopes. Not only does he hope, he also continues to make his case before God, reminding God of the promises made to Israel. Not only will the prophet continue to cry out until Jerusalem’s “vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch,” he sets up sentinels to remind God of the promises (vv.6-7). The sentinels will remind God and give God no rest until God makes good on the promises.

Today’s Psalm speaks of God’s steadfast love (Heb. hesed) and faithfulness. We just read in Advent the promise of the Magnificat, that God will fill the hungry bring justice to those who have been trampled. Many other texts speak of promises such as these. We can remind God of the promises, giving God no rest until they are fulfilled. Of course, this will also have an impact on us. God will likely remind us of our role in addressing hunger and poverty. We do God’s work with our hands. How can we be sentinels to God? To our nation? To our community? What might God be calling us to be and do?

In this passage Paul offers correction to the church in Corinth as regards spiritual gifts. Paul is concerned about divisions, and urges unity on the basis of the unity of God. This is a timely message for the ELCA. At the Assembly last summer, the church decided to make a very bold commitment to address diseases that are particularly acute in poorer communities—HIV and AIDS and malaria. While much attention has been given to the other decision (which also has some implications on our understanding of justice), we can be unified in our stance against hunger and poverty and the systems that perpetuate them. How will we use our gifts as a church? Can we be unified to use our gifts for the good of the world? To do God’s work with our hands?

In this first sign that “revealed his glory” Jesus changes water to wine. This is the first of many signs that will lead to the belief in who Jesus is and what he is about. The sign, while at first glance appears excessive or even superfluous (more wine—that is also exceptional—for a bunch of drunk wedding guests?), also directs our attention to God’s abundance. This abundance is graciously given as a foretaste of the kingdom to come (see, e.g., Amos 9:13-14, Hosea 14:7, Jeremiah 31:12). Again, we can think about our gifts, what God has graciously given to us (even in excess). How might we use them to God’s glory? What might God be calling us to do with the time, money, and privilege we have been given?