Proper 11 (Ordinary 16) · United Church of Christ

The Strength of Forbearance

In Wisdom 12, God’s sovereignty is not displayed through harsh domination but through gentle forbearance. The text declares that God’s strength anchors justice, yet divine judgment offers space for repentance. This angle invites preaching on how true power is expressed in mercy, shaping a community that mirrors God’s patience. How might the church embody this countercultural strength—a strength that does not crush but restores, teaching that righteousness and kindness are intertwined?

Children of God, Heirs of Glory

Paul reminds believers they are not debtors to the flesh but have received the Spirit of adoption, enabling them to cry “Abba, Father.” This angle explores the present reality and future anticipation of being God’s children. While creation groans and we share in suffering, the Spirit intercedes with wordless sighs. Preaching might focus on how the Spirit empowers holy living now and anchors hope for resurrection, inviting the congregation to live as co-heirs with Christ, sustained by patient longing.

Patience with the Weeds

Jesus’ parable of the wheat and weeds addresses the persistent problem of evil in the world. The master’s instruction to let both grow together until harvest challenges human impulses to purge impurity prematurely. This angle could highlight the hidden and patient work of the kingdom, trusting that final sorting belongs to God alone. It calls believers to resist harsh judgment and instead nurture growth, confident that the Lord of the harvest will bring justice in his time, gathering the righteous into his barn.

The church

“Let them hear that parable from the lips of Christ, where the Church is compared to a net, in which fishes of all kinds are collected, and no separation is made till they are exposed on the shore.”

— John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 2

The church

“Darnel, cockle, and chaff may be sown, grow, and in great abundance lie in the midst of the wheat; that is, the reprobate may be joined in the society of the elect, and may externally use with them the benefits of the word and sacraments;…”

— John Knox, The Works of John Knox, Vol. 2

Watchfulness

“The devil gives many hearers a sleepy sop; they cannot keep their eyes open at a sermon; they eat so much on a Lord's day, that they are fitter for the pillow and couch than the temple.”

— Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity