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 picture of hope in this chapter is a stark contrast from the one that precedes it. The imagery evokes a sense of new beginning and renewal for both the land and its inhabitants. The prophet envisions a physical transformation that is complete in scope. The setting for the return of God’s people is a highway that is free from obstruction, detour and danger. It is not to be confused for an easy life, but instead expresses the efficacy of the restoration by God’s initiative in the relationship between God and God’s people.

In our experience, the road to restored relationships is not often a smooth one. The effects of sin are visible in our relationships—those we have with one another and with the land. In an era of food insecurity and shortages, many long to see streams of water in the desert and the barren land turn fertile. How might the promise of God’s restored relationship with humanity bring hope to those who lack basic needs?

In verses 3 and 4 of this psalm we are reminded that trust in earthly authorities (“princes”) is not a reliable replacement for trust in God. The psalmist appeals to God’s action on behalf of the poor, oppressed and marginalized to illustrate God’s trustworthiness. Confident that God continues to act in the world in such a way, and perhaps as a jab against temporal rulers, the psalmist ends with an affirmation of God’s eternal reign. If our hope is in the God of Jacob who does these things, how is that hope evident to our neighbors?

The coming of the Lord is a much anticipated event for those who suffer, an audience that James seems to be addressing here. The nearness of God fits thematically with the season of Advent. James encourages them to wait. The symbol James uses should not be overlooked. It is of a farmer whose livelihood and security (“precious crop”) is buried in the soil, dependent on the seasonal rains and a good harvest.

There is something unfeeling about telling those in need to wait for their needs to be filled. The rest of James’ epistle indicates this is not his message. Instead, James encourages his audience to be like the prophets in their patience and suffering. The prophets do not represent an idle or lazy waiting, but in waiting they proclaim God’s work and call others to live in faithfulness. Similarly, the farmer does not leave the crops unattended or unprotected. Waiting involves caring for the vulnerable, seeking justice, and trusting in God’s redemption and restoration.

At this point in the gospel Matthew breaks from the teachings and signs to take stock of what this is all pointing towards. John the Baptist is the only one so far in Matthew’s gospel who has prophetic authority and he is able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. So Matthew uses an inquiry by John’s disciples as a way for Jesus to describe what being a messiah means. The messianic activities John imagines in chapter 3 (baptism of fire, clearing the threshing floor, burning the chaff) are quite different in tone from the ones Jesus offers: blind seeing, lame walking, dead raised and good news to the poor.

These activities are central to Jesus’ ministry and central to his identity as messiah. They primarily have healing and restorative functions. This offers a helpful lens through which to view the work of the Spirit in our contexts. It is not merely charity or kindness that we are to model, but we are to seek God’s healing among us and in our communities.