<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Forwarded:<br><br></div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> Judy <<a href="mailto:judy_boli@ecunet.org">judy_boli@ecunet.org</a>><br><b>Date:</b> November 27, 2010 8:07:20 PM EST<br><b>To:</b> Propertalk <<a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic@ecunet.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[propertalk.topic] Sunday's sermon</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> <a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org"><a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic@ecunet.org</a></a><br><br></div></blockquote><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Dear Friends,</span><br><span></span><br><span>Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” or</span><br><span>“Blessed Are the Peacemakers” and deals with the gospel (Matthew 26:</span><br><span>36-44). Here it is:</span><br><span></span><br><span>I know you’re wondering if I’ve lost my mind, wishing you a happy new</span><br><span>year when it’s only November 28th. Today IS New Year’s Day- for the</span><br><span>church. Four Sundays before ChristMass begins the new church year</span><br><span>(Eucharistic Lectionary Cycle A). The brand new season is Advent,</span><br><span>with its color of purple or blue (we use purple). Advent means</span><br><span>coming, and this is the time when we prepare for Jesus’ coming- his</span><br><span>first and his second. Advent lasts four weeks, and each Sunday has a</span><br><span>theme: the first Sunday- peace; the second Sunday- hope; the third</span><br><span>Sunday- joy; and the fourth Sunday- love. We’ve got four weeks to get</span><br><span>ready for Jesus’ coming- as a baby in Bethlehem and his second coming</span><br><span>to judge the world, i.e. us. It’s so easy just think about “Silent</span><br><span>Night” and not to be concerned about the second coming- after all,</span><br><span>he’s waited 2,000 years- it’s easy to figure he’ll wait a few thousand</span><br><span>more, and who knows? The problem is- there are two aspects of the</span><br><span>second coming. One is as the angel prophesied- Jesus returning from</span><br><span>the clouds in like manner as he ascended (that’s the “someday”</span><br><span>aspect). The other, however, is our own personal death when we meet</span><br><span>Jesus as our savior and judge. So, you see, it really doesn’t make</span><br><span>any difference if we are alive when Jesus returns or not, we will</span><br><span>still experience our own personal second coming, and, you know what?</span><br><span>We’d better be ready. You know the song, “You’d better watch out!</span><br><span>You’d better not cry. You’d better not pout- I’m telling you why-</span><br><span>Santa Claus is coming to town.” My friends, forget about Santa Claus,</span><br><span>because Jesus is coming- we don’t know when, but he IS coming. Did</span><br><span>you hear the story about Satan teaching three apprentice devils how to</span><br><span>be successful at tempting humans? He asked each one his plan. The</span><br><span>first devil said he would try to convince people that God didn’t</span><br><span>exist. “That won’t work!” responded Satan, “because everyone really</span><br><span>knows he does exist.” “Well,” said the second devil, “I’ll tell them</span><br><span>that hell isn’t real.” “That won’t work either,” said Satan, since</span><br><span>most humans have already experienced it. What will you do?” he asked</span><br><span>the third devil. “Well,” said the third devil, “my plan is to tell</span><br><span>them that there’s no hurry.” “Go,” said Satan, “and you will ruin</span><br><span>them by the thousands!” So, when are you going to die? Well then,</span><br><span>listen to the gospel and be ready.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Our focus this Sunday is “Peace.” Jesus said, “Blessed are the</span><br><span>peacemakers, for they shall be called God’s children.” Are you</span><br><span>ready? Are you a peacemaker or a peacebreaker? You heard today’s Old</span><br><span>Testament lesson (Isaiah 2: 4): “He will settle arguments between</span><br><span>nations. They will pound their swords and their spears into rakes and</span><br><span>shovels; they will never make war or attack one another.” We don’t</span><br><span>use swords and spears much these days, but we surely do use our</span><br><span>mouths.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Be a peacemaker. Are you quick-tempered? Use the power of God to</span><br><span>tame that evil temper. When you feel your temperature rising, walk</span><br><span>away, shut your mouth, put your fists into your pockets, and wait. Go</span><br><span>for a walk, dance, listen to music, exercise, talk to someone- do</span><br><span>anything to calm your spirit until the adrenaline in your blood stream</span><br><span>drains. Then solve the problem.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Be a peacemaker. Are you sharp-tongued? Give that critical spirit to</span><br><span>God. Use your tongue to bless, not curse. A good rule of thumb that</span><br><span>I learned (actually re-learned) from a friend is “Criticize and</span><br><span>discipline in private. Praise in public.”</span><br><span></span><br><span>Be a peacemaker. Do you have an unforgiving spirit? Do you always</span><br><span>have to have the last word? Do you give people the silent treatment?</span><br><span>Are you an “I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget” person? Drop it.</span><br><span>Give that person to God.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Be a peacemaker- don’t buy war toys or violent games for your children</span><br><span>or grandchildren, especially on the birthday of the prince of peace.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Be a peacemaker. Stand up for justice. I’ve heard many of us</span><br><span>concerned about school violence. Often (not always, but frequently)</span><br><span>the cause of a tragic school episode is because of bullying that has</span><br><span>gone on for years. What happens? The victim has had enough and</span><br><span>finally “snaps,” becoming the victimizer. Every time I hear about</span><br><span>this, I wonder where all the Christians are. How in the world could</span><br><span>Christians, whether they’re students, teachers, the janitor, the</span><br><span>principal, whoever…, how could they allow such injustice around them</span><br><span>and be silent, yet they say they the Prince of Peace is their Lord!</span><br><span>Whenever you encounter injustice, speak up. Stand up to injustice.</span><br><span>Peace without justice is simply repression. It’s deceptive. It’s</span><br><span>like a pressure cooker- seems quiet until the lid blows off.</span><br><span></span><br><span>How do you go about being a peacemaker? By doing what Jesus said and</span><br><span>loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself- and this even</span><br><span>includes your enemy- he or she is your neighbor too. Paul’s</span><br><span>definition of love from 1st Corinthians 13: 4-8 is the best I’ve ever</span><br><span>seen. You know it. It goes: “Love is kind and patient, never</span><br><span>jealous, boastful, proud, or rude (that even counts when we’re</span><br><span>driving). Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a</span><br><span>record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not</span><br><span>in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.</span><br><span>Love never fails!” If we do these things, we will be peacemakers.</span><br><span></span><br><span>I’m going to close with a true story I’ve told every Advent for a</span><br><span>number of years. I got it from one of my Internet friends who is a</span><br><span>Roman Catholic priest. He heard it on the radio and shared it with</span><br><span>his friends. There was a woman who was out Christmas shopping with</span><br><span>her two children. After enduring rude, aggressive drivers; after many</span><br><span>hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else</span><br><span>imaginable and hearing both her children asking for everything they</span><br><span>saw on those many shelves; after watching people elbow others out of</span><br><span>the way, she and the kids finally made it to the elevator. She was</span><br><span>feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season-</span><br><span>overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste</span><br><span>all the holiday food and treats, buy that perfect gift for every</span><br><span>single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone</span><br><span>on our card list, etc. Finally the elevator doors opened and there</span><br><span>was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way in and dragged her</span><br><span>two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed</span><br><span>she couldn't take it anymore and stated, “Whoever started this whole</span><br><span>Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot.” From the back</span><br><span>of the car, everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, “Don't worry,</span><br><span>we already crucified him.” For the rest of the trip down the</span><br><span>elevator, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.</span><br><span></span><br><span>My prayer for us is that we not crucify Jesus again with our choices</span><br><span>this ChristMass. May we not argue or complain. May we not fight or</span><br><span>say cruel things to someone acting as if they’re our enemy. May we be</span><br><span>peacemakers, not peacebreakers. May we not spend more than we can</span><br><span>afford or encourage our children to be greedy. May we not get so</span><br><span>frantically worried or rushed that we don’t take time for Jesus. My</span><br><span>prayer for us is that we remember ChristMass is Jesus’ birthday and</span><br><span>Jesus is the reason for the season. Amen.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American</span><br><span>wisdom statements are posted on our NEW PARISH WEB SITE. The address</span><br><span>is: <a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.com">http://www.stpaulsepisag.com</a> .</span><br><span></span><br><span>Blessed preaching.</span><br><span>Judy Boli</span><br><span>St. Paul's Episcopal Church</span><br><span>Saginaw, Michigan</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>