Sermon Illustrations on gossip

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Background

Slander Makes Me Poor Indeed

William Shakespeare’s Othello is able to capture the heart of what it means to experience slander, or to have one “bear false witness’ perhaps better than any other:

Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing…

But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him.

And makes me poor indeed.

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3.

Stories

God Can Care for Us, Reputation and All

There is a story of a medieval monk who was being unjustly accused of certain offenses. One day he looked out his window and saw a dog biting and tearing on a rug that had been hung out to dry. As he watched, the Lord spoke to him saying, “That is what is happening to your reputation. But if you will trust me, I will care for you—reputation and all.” Perhaps more than anything else silence brings us to believe that God can care for us—“reputation and all.”

Richard J. Foster, Seeking the Kingdom: Devotions for the Daily Journey of Faith, HarperOne, 2010.

Haters of Humanity?

Most of us are aware of various persecutions that took place during the first few centuries of the church’s existence. One particularly brutal local persecution took place during the reign of Nero, who was emperor from 37-68 AD. It began with a fire, which many believed Nero himself began in an attempt to lay hold of a piece of land. To dispel rumors of his own guilt, Nero blamed this young, seemingly fanatical religious group known as the Christians.

Their punishment was especially cruel. Those found guilty were convicted, not of starting a fire, but of “hating humanity,” and were punished by crucifixion, being torn by dogs, or being used as lights (by being burned to death) in Nero’s garden and the local circuses. Looking back, it’s hard not to see the true hater of humanity, whose gossip and lies were considered expedient, even if that meant innocent people would be put to death.

Stuart Strachan Jr.

Jealous Juno

In the ancient world, a place where the veil between the earthly and spiritual was easily pierced, rumors and gossip about great leaders being born of the gods, especially amongst royals, was somewhat common.

Alexander the Great of Macedonia, for instance, was often claimed to be the son of Jupiter, rather than the son of King Phillip. Alexander’s mother Olympias, who was often not on the best of terms with her royal husband, preferred to leave the matter open. Eventually, Alexander’s hubris led to him embracing these rumors of his divine origins. When word came to Olympias, she was said to respond, “Please–I don’t want to get into any trouble with Juno.”

Stuart Strachan Jr.

Kissing and Telling

George Augustus Moore was an aristocratic writer, art critic, and dramatist. Influenced by the realist school in France, Moore was particularly influenced by Emile Zola. Ultimately, his writing would influence James Joyce, and many consider him the “first great modern Irish novelist.” Apparently, Moore wasn’t simply fond of writing stories, but also spreading them in the form of gossip about his various love affairs. One woman complained, “Some men kiss and do not tell; some kiss and tell; but George Moore told and did not kiss.”

Stuart Strachan Jr.

A Man of Trust?

A monk told his monastic leader, Poeman, “I am troubled in spirit, and I want to leave this place.”

The old man said, “Why?”

He said, “I have heard unedifying stories about one of the brothers.

The old man said, “Are the stories true?”

He said, “Yes, Father. The brother who told me is a man of trust.

The old man answered, “The brother who told you is not a man of trust. For if he was so, he would not have told you these stories.

Sayings of the Desert Fathers, translated by Owen Chadwick, in Western Asceticism (Westminster, 1983)

Humor

Kissing and Telling

George Augustus Moore was an aristocratic writer, art critic, and dramatist. Influenced by the realist school in France, Moore was particularly influenced by Emile Zola. Ultimately, his writing would influence James Joyce, and many consider him the “first great modern Irish novelist.” Apparently, Moore wasn’t simply fond of writing stories, but also spreading them in the form of gossip about his various love affairs. One woman complained, “Some men kiss and do not tell; some kiss and tell; but George Moore told and did not kiss.”

Stuart Strachan Jr.