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 apostles’ assertion that God is the ultimate authority is a bold statement of faith in the midst of such direct opposition. But as witnesses to God’s action in Christ and in light of Christ’s resurrection, they could not cede any ground. This should come as no surprise when in the previous chapter the apostles prayed that God would grant them boldness in the face of threats (4:29). This confidence in God’s action through Christ gave wings to the gospel message. It was to shape the communities of believers in behavior, leading to the sharing of possessions (4:32-37) and equitable food distribution (6:1-4). It looks as though the confidence that God gave them not only reinforced their trust in the gospel, but also empowered them to respond to social and economic situations as well. Opposition to the gospel can take different forms. Since we enjoy religious freedom in this country, we may not often think that we face opposition to the gospel. But what other oppositions can we name and notice? What about violence and poverty, unequal rights or a broken criminal justice system? How are our congregations recognizing and responding to the opposition we see in our neighborhoods?

The vision set forth in these verses of Revelation proclaims Christ’s lordship over all. If earthly power has been turned on its head in Christ’s victory over the grave, Revelation gives a glimpse of how this comes to be and what it ultimately means. The book ends with the vision of a new heaven and earth, where death will be no more (21:4), the thirsty will find their thirst quenched (21:6), and all things will be made new. This passage comes before the messages to seven churches, which are told what this new reality means for them. Similarly, we may ask what Christ’s lordship means for our mission and outreach.

It is unfortunate that Thomas has received the moniker Doubting Thomas. Unbelieving Thomas would be more accurate, but doesn’t sound much better, and both only account for part of the story. Thomas of course ends up believing and makes the bold confession “my Lord and my God!” It is interesting to see what belief does in this story. When Jesus first appears to the disciples “unbelief” is out of the picture—there is rejoicing, some peace, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and a strange saying about sins and forgiveness.

With belief, the reality of Christ’s resurrection is experienced and enjoyed. But John seems to be saying that unbelief is a barrier, always in need of something else. If we can see the effects of belief in this story, the effects of our belief as communities of faith should be making a difference in our lives and neighborhoods.