The Day of the Lord – 19 November 2017 – 24th Sunday after Pentecost/ Lectionary 33

It is nearly the end of Year A when we turn, in Advent, to the Gospel of Mark. Typical of Matthew’s urgency about the good news, we hear today of the serious responsibilities of the faithful in stunning images of God’s ultimate power. But we hear especially that these scripture readings assess human life in honest terms, not neglecting the hardships of this world.

In truth, the heaven or hell into which the servants in this morning's parable were cast was self-chosen. As symbols of accountability, heaven and hell are of our own making, and they begin in this life. There is no reprieve from accountability. Heaven is the life that loving people of faith live. Hell is the life of suspicious, paranoid people who trust and love no one, not even God. Life for people so turned in on themselves is hell. –– James Gaughan

Matthew 25:14-30

This parable is probably a good opportunity to teach a bit about parables in general. The tendency for the casual reader is to compare the powerful figure in each parable with God. But clearly, the master cannot be equated with God. God is not a slave owner, a harsh man, or one who engages in shady dealings. The meaning of the parable must be sought elsewhere.

Pastor Richard Jeske, some years ago, taught workshops in which he challenged his hearers to interpret parables by finding the Gospel in them. He said that you would find the Gospel at the point in the story where you found yourself offended. That is, when the story began to go against the values of our society, values we have all internalized, and things are turned upside down, that is where you will find good news. . . .

Taking chances on behalf of the Gospel is the way Jesus' followers participate in the kingdom. –– Judith Simonson

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

Judah, while enjoying political independence, suffered under the influence of foreign religious practices including the worship of pagan deities. The people had really stopped believing that the God of Israel was involved any longer. (See 1:12. The people believed “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm.”) The prophet Zephaniah voices the contempt of YHWH towards the current state of affairs. The day of the Lord, a great day of wrath, is announced. –– Eric T. Myers

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Paul continues what he began in the previous six verses, that being the theme of the coming of the Lord. He assures them that the day of the Lord is coming but that no one knows when. No one knows when a thief will strike. If the victims knew, something could have been done to stop the crime. Similarly, no one knows exactly when the coming of the Lord will take place. To hammer the point home, Paul uses the image of a pregnant woman. No one knows exactly when the pains of labor will begin, but everyone knows the pains will begin suddenly and without warning. So too will the coming of the Lord occur. The people of Thessalonica can fully trust that the Lord will return and Paul now urges them to be ready: stand watch like a girded guard on watch during the night.

–– Eric T. Myers

Grace, the grace of forgiveness and the grace of love, is the gift we are to live and to share. It is the gift we are not to bury or hide. It is the gift that enables us never to be taken by surprise, when the final day of accounting comes. That is Paul's message to us this morning. –– James Gaughan

James Gaughan is a retired UMC pastor living in Minnesota. He originally was ordained as a Franciscan priest.

Eric T. Myers serves as pastor to the Frederick Presbyterian Church in Frederick, Maryland and is a former church musician and adjunct professor of worship at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Judith E. Simonson is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Homily Service 41, no. 4 (2008): 130-138.

Lean. Expect. Trust. – 13 November 2016 – 26th Sunday after Pentecost/ Lectionary 33/ Proper 28

Once again the scriptures call upon us to lean on the Word of God, expect to be given the testimony that will be needed in times of trial, and trust that we will have wisdom at the crucial moment.

Lean. Expect. Trust.

When the future appears especially unknowable, it is difficult to keep a grip on this promise. We have such a time today not only in our nation – given the elections for president, Congress, state houses, and councils of commissioners – but also internationally. Other nations watch what happens in the most powerful country because the United States has not only the most armaments but an economy that is relied-upon.

Here, Malachi’s prophetic voice gives hope to those who feel ignored, and Luke’s Jesus puts into perspective the things of this world.

Luke 21:5-19

This Sunday's reading climaxes in the persecutions Christians will endure before the Parousia. Like Paul, Luke wants us to know that, though natural and man-made catastrophes will occur, the end is not immediate. The church in the time before the end. . . has the mission to evangelize all the nations. When the LORD does come again. . . we have the prophet Malachi's assurance that the righteous will not burn like stubble but will bask in the LORD's healing rays. – Joseph McHugh

Malachi 4:1-2a

The longer reading in the BCP [Malachi 3:13–4:2a,5-6] incorporates [today’s text]. Chapter 3, verses 13 to 18, present the just as complaining to God about the wicked. There is a timeless quality to their complaint: “It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the LORD of hosts? Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape” (NRSV).

We could raise the same complaint to God in our own day. Does not the material prosperity of those who benefit through illegal or unethical practices still irritate us? “Where is justice?” we might ask. Why follow God's way?

God promises. . . that those who revere him will find justice, not today or tomorrow perhaps, but “on the day when I act” (4:3). Then the just shall be God's special possession, and the difference between the righteous and the wicked will be made clear. – Joseph McHugh

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

This admittedly difficult-sounding command from Paul is addressed to “believers.” For that reason, it is not possible for the faithful to use it to avoid giving alms or helping those in need. The church in Thessalonia is being warned that the members have to work in order to eat.

It is crucial to say this (and maybe even make it a blatant part of the sermon) because “idlers” here refers to those in the church who are undisciplined and insubordinate. Because this language is found only here and in 1 Thess. 14-15, it is reasonable to assume the church in Thessalonia had some seriously troubled members.

Let us, today, focus on verse 13: “Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.”

And finally, let us also focus on what is most uplifting in times of trial. We have this story from the commentator in 2007 to give us an image of how to hang onto hope in times of distress.

Two Brits met in later middle life. . . [and] learned that they had both been mercenary soldiers. . . involved in the same civil war in Latin America. They had been on conflicting sides.

One . . . had been lying in ambush as a sniper. Suddenly he realized that an “enemy” solder was making his cautious way along a path in front of his ambush, and would be easy to kill. He took aim. As he was taking first pressure, he heard the target singing quietly under his breath. He could no longer fire. What he heard was a song that he had himself learned years before in his long-disowned Sunday School days.

The second man . . . had a similar memory. One night, when he had been sent on a lone patrol in a notoriously difficult part of the front, and was on a distant trail, where no help could be expected, he had been seized by a sudden terror, which, as a soldier, he told himself he must resist or ignore. And he found himself humming a tune that came swimming up from his unconscious—a tune that he finally recognized as a memory of his own long-abandoned Sunday School upbringing. . . What one man heard, and the other sang, included these words:

Other refuge have I none,/ Hangs my helpless soul on thee: Still support and comfort me!/All my trust on thee is stayed, All my help from thee I bring:/ Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing…

– David Tripp

Joseph McHugh is a freelance writer from New Jersey, and a former weekly newspaper columnist writing on lectionary readings whose writing includes a revision of Rev. Melvin L Farrell’s Getting to Know the Bible (ACTA Publications, 2003).

David Tripp, a United Methodist minister who served Salem United Methodist Church in Indiana, served in the British Methodist ministry for twenty-eight years and wrote on liturgics and related subjects.

Homily Service 40, no. 12 (2007): 46-57.