SCROLL DOWN FOR SEPTEMBER 19 AND SEPTEMBER 26
Welcome to Hunger Sermon Starters!
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!
September 19, 2010 (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Complementary Series
Amos 8:4-7
Nearly 3,000 years after Amos first prophesied to Israel his message can still be a challenge to God’s people today. Throughout the book Amos challenges the religious leaders to remember those who are vulnerable. He often points out their willingness to live according to religious rules while refusing to look out for those who are poor. In the present text Amos points out the contradiction in the strict observance of Sabbath while trampling on those who are needy. In our current context, in what ways do we do the same? How might God be calling us to examine our highest values? Are there ways in which we today value our worship or traditions or buildings more than caring for those who are hungry?
Psalm 113 (7)
The refrain of this weeks psalm (v. 7) reminds us of God’s redemptive care for those who are marginalized and oppressed. Since this is what God is about, we as God’s people should be about it to!
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13
David Creech
Director of Hunger Education, ELCA World Hunger
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Welcome to Hunger Sermon Starters!
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!
September 26, 2010 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Complementary Series
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Psalm 146 (7)
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
Some thoughts on “the rich man and Lazarus” and “diseases of poverty”:
In our world today, there are 8 million Lazaruses.
8 million people like Lazarus who suffer unto death from diseases intensified by poverty like HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and water borne illness. And tens of millions more people whose struggles with these illnesses won’t lead to death, but will result in lost income, heavy debt burdens due to health care costs, interrupted education, homelessness, social stigma and other devastating setbacks.
Thanks be to God for God’s promise that Lazarus will be comforted.
But let us not rest at this!
Let us hear what this story calls us to hear: Lazarus is lying at the gate of our wealthy society. Lazarus suffers even though the resources to help him exist. Let us honor the humanity of Lazarus and make sure that Lazarus has the food and health care he deserves as a child of God.
Here are just a few ways to respond to Lazarus at the gate:
* Give generously. Browse the ELCA Good Gifts catalog (www.elca.org/goodgifts) and give a gift that will heal, nurture and nourish.
* Take action. Visit http://www.elca.org/aids to learn more about what you can do to respond to HIV and AIDS in your community and around the world.
* Pray and reflect. Study Lazarus at the Gate, a resource produced by the ELCA Church in Society Unit to promote analysis of the construct that maintains both wealth and poverty in America. It contains information, Bible studies, bibliographies, and some network referrals for doing work among people in poverty. Available from Augsburg Fortress (Item # 9786000219499)
Jennifer Barger
Associate Director for Development, ELCA World Hunger / HIV and AIDS Strategy
