[Propertalk] FW: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 8A

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded:

-----Original Message-----
From: Judy [mailto:judy_boli at ecunet.org] 
Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2011 10:26 PM
To: Propertalk
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 8A

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow's sermon is entitled "An Old-Fashioned Tough-Man Contest" or
"In the Name of God, STOP!" and deals with the Old Testament lesson
(Genesis 22:1-14). Here it is:

I'm going to start this sermon with two stories.  The first is of a
fourth century monk named Telemachus. Although Telemachus was in a
cloistered monastery, he felt God saying to him, "Go to Rome"; so he
put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome.  When he arrived
in the city, people were thronging in the streets.  He asked why all
the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators
would be fighting and killing each other in the coliseum- the great
Roman stadium.  This was the day of the games- what they called "the
circus." He thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ- and they
are still killing each other for enjoyment?!"  Telemachus ran to the
coliseum and heard the gladiators shouting, "Hail to Caesar! we die
for Caesar!" and he thought, "This just isn't right."  He jumped over
the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two
gladiators, held up his hands and said "In the name of Christ, STOP!"
The crowd protested and began to shout, "Run him through with the
sword!  Run him through with the sword!"  A gladiator came over and
hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword.  It sent Telemachus
sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, "In the
name of Christ, STOP!"  The crowd continued to chant, "Run him through
with the sword!  Run him through with the sword!"  One gladiator came
over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach and
Telemachus fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his
blood.  The crowd got what it wanted- his body was run through with
the sword.  One last time Telemachus gasped out, "In the name of
Christ, STOP!"  Then he died.  A hush came over the 80,000 people in
the coliseum.  Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and
within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. What's the
significance of this little-known event?  This was the last-known
gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.  You see, God almighty
had looked down from heaven to see the disgraceful, disgusting
situation in which two men would fight to the death, cheered on by a
stadium-full of 80,000 people.  God was sick and tired of two men
fighting like two pit-bulls or two roosters.  God looked and found one
ordinary person to answer the call to speak for Him, to be his
prophet.  Telemachus passed his test.  He saved many lives and did
much to civilize our culture.  We'll come back to this story later.

Here's the second story- you've heard it before: There was a little
boy who was overheard saying the following bedtime prayers: "Now I lay
me down to rest and hope to pass tomorrow's test.  If I should die
before I wake- that's one less test I'll have to take."  I'm sure
Abraham felt the same way, because the episode in Genesis (22: 1-14)
was one of the worst tests any parent could possibly be called to
take.  This is one of my least favorite stories in the entire Bible-
the story of Abraham almost sacrificing his beloved son, Isaac, in
obedience to God's command.  The reason I avoid this story is because
it is so easily misunderstood.  It's almost impossible to enter into
the culture of the event, so huge confusions result.  This morning,
since we can't avoid it (the story is in the lessons to be read for
today) let's look at it to see what in the world it probably meant
then and what wisdom it has for us today.

We'll start with what happened.  As you recall, we've been following
the story of Abraham for some time now.  Abraham and Sarah (his wife)
were called by God to go to an unknown land.  If they obeyed, they
were promised much land and as many descendants as the stars in
heaven.  You remember the problem- when all this started, Abraham and
Sarah were both probably in their seventies and childless.  They did
as God asked; and finally Isaac, the child of promise, was born.
Today's episode takes place when Isaac was about twelve years old.
God tests Abraham by ordering him to sacrifice Isaac on an altar.  We
heard how God provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac.

To comprehend the significance of this story, it's important to
understand what life was like at that time, especially in terms of two
entities: God and children.  Let's look at their understandings of God
first.  Jesus taught us that God is our heavenly Father, and that God
is love.  The ancients had no such understanding.  They almost all
believed that their gods played with humans like cats play with mice.
They believed that the gods had to be bought off by sacrifices; and in
crisis situations, the gods had to be persuaded to help people with
ghastly sacrifices- their oldest children.  This sounds so impossible
for us, but it's how out ancestors saw the universe.  Their
understandings of children were just as primitive.  As late as the
time of Jesus, boy babies were much preferred to girl babies, so if a
female infant was born- often the child would be left in the
wilderness to die (just as Abraham intended for Hagar and Ishmael).
Owners of houses of prostitution would scour the wilderness for these
girl babies.  The owners would take them to their business
establishments and raise them as prostitutes.  This means that if a
man went to a prostitute (common and accepted in the pagan culture),
he might be having sex with his own daughter.  That's how the ancients
viewed children.  It must have blown their minds when Jesus said, "Let
the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like
these children belong to God's kingdom." (Luke 18:16)

I can hear you now- "Rev. Judy, all these are interesting facts and
stories, but what's the point?  In all this- what can you tell me from
the Bible to help me improve my spiritual walk and live my life better
as a Christian this coming week?  Friends, what Telemachus did in the
fourth century AD, Abraham did at the dawn of civilization.  You see,
God almighty had looked down from heaven to see beautiful children-
given as gifts from Him to their parents, but then killed- sacrificed
on the altar.  God saw people afraid of Him, desperately trying to
appease Him, and misusing their children.  God looked and found one
ordinary person to answer the call to speak for Him.  Abraham passed
his test.  As Telemachus was God's instrument for stopping the
disgraceful gladiator contests, Abraham was God's instrument for
stopping child sacrifice by God's people.  Except for times of extreme
apostasy, the Israelites never again offered their children on the
altar of sacrifice.

It wasn't just Telemachus and Abraham who said, "In the name of God,
STOP!"
Moses shouted, "In the name of God, STOP!"
The prophet Amos proclaimed, "In the name of God, STOP!"
Jesus of Nazareth taught, "In the name of God, STOP!"
Harriet Tubman stated, "In the name of God, STOP!"
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prophesied, "In the name of God,
STOP!"
Throughout the ages, many of God's faithful people (the unknown as
well as the famous) proclaimed, "In the name of God, STOP!"

So where does this leave you?  What is God calling you to do?  What
difference in this world is God calling you to make?  Who is God
calling you to feed, clothe, help, love?  What injustices in your
family, neighborhood, city, country, world is God calling you to
heal?  We're going to close with the well-known prayer of St. Francis
(found on page 833 of the Book of Common Prayer):
"Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is discord, union.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console.
To be understood as to understand.
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  Amen."

My prayer you, for me, for us is that we will pass God's test when it
comes, and in the words of the Prophet Amos: "Let justice roll down
like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."  Amen.

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American
wisdom statements are posted on our parish web site. The address is:
http://www.stpaulsepisag.com .

Blessed preaching.
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan