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Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

A sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

The great British poet John Milton begins Paradise Lost with the question: How do we “justify the ways of God to man?”
How do we explain the terrible things that happen in life, the tragedies, accidents, devastating floods, and illnesses? If God is good, why does evil exist? That is the problem for anyone who seriously looks at life.

Habakkuk takes up this question. Habakkuk 1:4: “The law is slacked and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted.”

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Luke 16:19-31

A sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Here we go again . . . more texts about money and possessions, or at least, so it seems at first glance.

First, there is Amos 6:4-7 about the rich: “Woe to those who stretch out on their couches . . . who sing idle songs . . . who anoint themselves with the finest oils.”

Then there’s the lesson from 1 Timothy with its famous line: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (I Timothy 6:10). Note: It doesn’t say: “The love of money is the root of many evils.” Rather, it says: “The love of money is the root of all evils.” That’s big.

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1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13

A Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The treasurer of a congregation, known for his wit, looked out at the well-attended funeral, and said: “If we’d known there would be a crowd like this, we would have taken an offering.”

We don’t pass the offering plate at a funeral. Many a church treasurer no doubt regrets this.

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A Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 15:1-10

Many years ago, the national leader of a small denomination predicted that he would not die before the end of the world comes. But then he did die.

The following Sunday the people wondered what the local pastor would say. He announced: “God has changed his mind.”

He chose as his text our Old Testament text for today from Exodus 32. The people of Israel had turned to worship a golden calf and the Lord said: “I’m going to destroy them all and start over with you, Moses.”

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A sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost

Luke 14:25-33

In the Gospel text for today it says: “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).

This mandate, expressed one way or another, is found in the Gospels sixteen times. In other words, this is not a minor item in a long list but is said again and again.

Notice that it doesn’t say: “What matters is that your good intentions.” Nor does it say: “Try the best you can.” It also doesn’t allow for us to say: “I’m not perfect, but I’m sure better than so-and-so over there.”

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