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!

The psalm and Gospel reading for this week devote special attention to shepherd imagery. Though an agrarian lifestyle may be far from our experience, the imagery draws us to a God who is active in creation and our lives. The readings for this week present an opportunity to connect discipleship with mission.

The question asked by the council, “By what power…by what name?” is reminiscent of the question asked of Jesus’ healings and teachings (notably Luke 20:1-2). The conflict between who Jesus is and the unbelief of the leaders is solidified with the rejected stone imagery (Luke 20:17-19; Mark 12:10-11). It comes as no surprise that by the Holy Spirit his followers teach the resurrection of this rejected stone and continue witnessing to the resurrection power through healings. The salvation claimed through only Jesus’ name (v.12) has a very physical and present effect in this narrative.

This narrative invites us to develop a more robust view of discipleship and life in the spirit. We reflectively ask what we do in Jesus’ name, and we are challenged to look for ways in which we can bear witness to the healing power of our savior. This passage helps us articulate our theology and connect it with our ministry and outreach to the vulnerable and hungry of the world.

The prepared table (v.5) captures an important theme of the feast to come. It is one of provision, but because it is set in the presence of enemies, it is also a powerful reminder of God’s vision and the scope of our redemption. It is this vision that our shepherd leads us into (John 10 offers an explanation of what this will cost the shepherd) and here again where we will be satisfied enough to say “I shall not want.”

But we live in a world where many experience wants: for things both trivial and essential for survival. People who lack proper nutrition or access to quality food may feel far from the green pastures of this world, but the psalmist envisions the comfort of God in a very present way. As ones who follow the same shepherd, how can we walk with the poor and hungry? How might we share our table in anticipation of the coming feast?

This passage offers a firm challenge to any who conceive of abiding as “relaxing” or merely “being.” Here the laying down of one’s life is a necessary behavior of those who abide in God’s love. The question posed in verse 17 should not be overlooked. Many who live in this country are considered to have “the world’s goods” (NRSV), but we often aren’t sure how to lay down our lives. The Greek root bios is found elsewhere in 1 John (2:16) where the warning is clear that “pride in riches” (NRSV) is a product of the world and not compatible with the love of God. Here a refusal to help (“shut up compassion”) also constitutes an action that is incompatible with the love of God.

The writer imagines this community is capable of abiding in God’s love, and thus laying down their lives. The exhortation to love in “truth and action” need not be confused with works, but more accurately is a mark of life in the spirit (v.24). When those who are blessed with the world’s goods share with brothers and sisters in need, they are abiding in the love of God, which is always a love made known in truth and action. This is the love of God that is to infuse the believing community.

The texts today point to Jesus as the love of God come into the world— the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Connections can be made between the love of God shown here in the person of Christ, and how the Spirit guides the community of believers who are abiding in God’s love. An important point here is that the Spirit is not limited to guiding the community of believers in their own personal lives, but guides us into God’s ongoing mission in the world, leading us to action on behalf and with the vulnerable, poor and hungry of the world.

This narrative is framed in such a way that the eunuch is moved by Philip sharing the scriptures and telling the story of Jesus. Yet the author of Acts finds it important (if not polemical) to share with the audience what the eunuch was reading. If the eunuch was somehow moved by this scandal of injustice we will never know. We can imagine there are people in our congregations who, if not moved by the injustice shown to Christ, are moved by the injustice they see or experience in our world. The preacher’s task then involves framing our response in the story of God’s action in the world.

The eunuch was inspired to baptism, and this may well inspire today’s hearers also. For the baptized, affirming our baptismal promise includes “care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace.” (ELW 228) When moved by the injustices of hunger, poverty, etc., we need only seek to live into our baptismal life and seek it with such eagerness as did the eunuch.

As noted in an earlier sermon starter, the opening verse of Psalm 22 is uttered by Jesus on the cross in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). In verse 24 of today’s Psalm, we are assured that God hears the cry of the afflicted and does not abandon them. In verse 26 we are told that the poor will eat and be satisfied. God’s work is to feed those who are hungry (see also Matt 6:25-33). By God’s grace we participate in that work with our hands.

Like the reading from last week, the author continues the exhortation for the community to love one another. Here vv. 20-21 offer an insight into how this love is to be lived. The author sets up a clear example for the audience, demonstrating that if God’s love is to abide among them it cannot be private. With 1 in 7 people in the United States living in poverty and 1 in 5 children, (http://www.bread.org/hunger/us/facts.html), it is likely that in our weekly lives we will encounter brothers and sisters in need. Drawing on the passage from 1 John last week (especially 3:17-28) and the exhortation to love God here, how can we not act?

Abide is the reoccurring word. The reading from 1 John connects well with what it means to abide in the love of God. What does it mean for those who abide in the vine to bear fruit? Considering the teachings of Jesus and commandment right before this passage (John 13:34-35), it is conceivable that our ability to love others is one of the fruits of abiding in the vine. The remainder of this passage (the gospel for next week) connects well with being in Christ and loving one another.