sermons & Illuminations

First Reading (Track One): Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
“Do not be afraid.” These reassuring words that Jesus utters to his little flock in Sunday’s Gospel occur scores of times throughout Scripture, always foretelling good news. Listen for this message in Sunday’s readings, even as a final note of hope in the otherwise alarming tones in our First Reading and Psalm. In alarming, threatening words, Isaiah warns the people that God is angry because they have failed to keep the covenant that they made at Mount Sinai and abandoned God’s ways. But even now there is hope: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow,” and God will forgive their sins; if they are willing and obedient, they shall eat the good of the land.

First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 15:1-6
In recent weeks our Track Two first readings have looked into the life and work of Abraham, the patriarch of the chosen people: God promising that Abraham and Sarah would have a son; Abraham bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate. Now we turn back to an earlier chapter. Abram – God has not yet changed his name to Abraham – is frustrated because he and his wife, Sarai, are still waiting fruitlessly for the heir that God has repeatedly promised them. Abram has followed God’s call and done battle for the people, but his only heir is a slave’s child. He asks for God’s reassurance, and God responds with the repeated promise that Abram’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars.

Psalm (Track One): Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Sunday’s Psalm continues and expands upon the theme of Isaiah’s prophecy to Judah: God is pleased to have our offerings of thanksgiving, but God expects us to keep our covenant to be faithful, to be thankful and to practice righteousness and justice to others in our lives. Insincere thanksgiving won’t do, the Psalmist warns. Those who forget God risk being consumed by flame and raging storm. But those who keep God’s way and remember the covenant with Moses need not be afraid; they will know salvation.

Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 33:12-22
Imagine how Abram must have felt after receiving God’s reassurance. Relief, joy and gratitude for God’s love and care: These are the themes, too, of psalms like this one, psalms of thanksgiving and praise. As the prophets consistently proclaim, the nations and people whom God chooses will be happy; God’s eye remains on those who wait for the Lord. Those who trust in the Lord’s namewill know God’s loving-kindness.

Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
As we begin a four-week lectionary visit with the letter to the Hebrews, take care to keep it in historical context. It is not a pastoral letter of Paul but a later document aimed at a broad audience. This message appears to have been intended for Jewish Christians who were abandoning Christianity to avoid Roman persecution. Unfortunately, throughout its text, sometimes using terms that can sound anti-Jewish to modern ears, the author of Hebrews argues that Christianity is the better way. In these verses, though, the author speaks well of the Abrahamic tradition expressed by the prophets, declaring that Jews and Christians alike will inherit the city of God through faith, beautifully described as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Gospel: Luke 12:32-40
Do not be afraid, Jesus assures his little flock. This gentle reassurance comes just after he has reminded them to live like the lilies of the field, striving only for God’s kingdom and knowing that all the rest will be given as well. Still the verses that follow might have made the disciples a little nervous: Sell your possessions. Give alms. Make durable purses: Be ready to go as soon as Jesus calls, dressed for action and with your lamps lighted. Be on guard, for you don’t know when a thief might come into the house at night. Be ready, Jesus warns, for God’s kingdom may come when we least expect it, bringing us “unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”