<font color='black' size='4' face='Times New Roman, Times, serif'>
<div id="AOLMsgPart_0_9171e5a0-3e7d-4198-88ae-d66fc68fd5e8" style="margin: 0px; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
<pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Forwarded:<br>
<br>
</font></font><tt>Dear Friends,<br>
Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “What---Me WORRY?!!!” or “Worry Is Like<br>
a Quarter and a Glass of Air” and deals with the gospel (Matthew 6:<br>
24-34). Here it is:<br>
<br>
Our text for today is from the gospel (Matthew 6:34) in which Jesus<br>
tells his followers: “Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of<br>
itself. You have enough to worry about today.” Isn’t that good<br>
advice, but isn’t it hard to do! This morning, I’d like us to think<br>
about “worry” in light of Jesus’ teaching.<br>
<br>
Today’s collect is a wonderful prayer to help us do what Jesus said<br>
about “worry.” In 1964, my husband and I met and fell in love when we<br>
both worked in the civil rights movement in Mississippi. At the end<br>
of the summer, it looked like our life circumstances just wouldn’t<br>
allow our relationship to continue. Worry! Worry! Worry! He<br>
suggested this prayer to help us both through the rough spots. It’s<br>
today’s collect and it says:<br>
<br>
“Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all<br>
things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care<br>
on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly<br>
anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the<br>
light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to<br>
us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you,<br>
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”<br>
<br>
Our fears were ungrounded- we married in 1966, but the prayer was<br>
extremely helpful.<br>
<br>
Do you remember the story I told in June, 2002, about the new pastor<br>
who paid a visit on one of his shut-in members? The little old lady<br>
was talking on and on, and the pastor hadn’t eaten before visiting, so<br>
his stomach was really growling. He noticed a bowl of peanuts on the<br>
table right next to him, so every time the lady looked away- he took a<br>
handful. He read the Bible to her, gave her Holy Communion, and<br>
left. As soon as he got to the car, he realized that he had just<br>
about finished her peanuts- all without permission, and he was really<br>
concerned she would figure out what he had done. He worried about it<br>
and worried about it, so he finally decided to call her and confess<br>
it. “Oh, don’t worry,” said the lady. “At my age, I can’t chew<br>
peanuts anyway. I just suck the chocolate off and put them there, so<br>
I don’t care if you eat them.” He had new worries!<br>
<br>
One of the best ways to illustrate the problem of worry is with this<br>
quarter. Under ordinary circumstances, it just fits in the change<br>
purse of my wallet and is part of whatever money I have or do not<br>
have. However, what if I take it out and look at it? That small<br>
quarter starts to block my vision- just a little. Now, what if I move<br>
it closer and closer until it’s just in front of my eye? It blocks my<br>
vision so all I can see is that quarter! That’s how worry works. We<br>
start with a problem that causes us fear or apprehension or<br>
frustration or some other negative emotion. The more we focus on it-<br>
just like the situation with the quarter- the less of anything else we<br>
can see. We finally get to the point that the problem is ALL we can<br>
see- our vision is blocked! How are we ever going to work to solve a<br>
problem under those circumstances? Our fear, our dread, our worry<br>
become like soul cancer, eating away at the joy of life. No wonder<br>
Jesus said: “Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself.<br>
You have enough to worry about today.”<br>
<br>
All right, I’ve probably got you convinced to stop worrying about your<br>
troubles. The problem is- HOW? How are you going to stop, when those<br>
worrying thoughts keep coming into your mind. Telling ourselves to<br>
stop worrying just makes it worse- that just keeps our minds on our<br>
trouble! Here’s where the glass comes in. Do you see this glass?<br>
What’s in it? Sure- air. In this illustration, the air is like the<br>
worry in our brains. How do we get rid of the air from the glass? I<br>
could turn the glass upside-down. Will that get rid of the air<br>
(worry)? No. What if I try to blow the air out of the glass? That<br>
won’t help. It will just put different air- actually hot air- into<br>
the glass. Well then, how can I get the hot air out of the glass?<br>
How can we get our worries and anxieties about money, and kids, and<br>
cars, and health, and jobs out of our minds? Sure, by putting<br>
something else in. All I have to do is pour this water in the glass<br>
and the air is out. All you have to do to reduce the worry and<br>
anxiety flooding your brain and driving you crazy is to flood your<br>
brain with something else. Here are some steps that might help:<br>
6. Pray the serenity prayer. (“Lord, give me the serenity to accept<br>
the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can;<br>
and the wisdom to know the difference.”)<br>
7. Decide if your problem is something you probably cannot change. If<br>
this is the case, think through ways you and the Lord can handle it<br>
and minimize its negative effect on your joy of living. A trusted<br>
friend might be helpful here.<br>
8. Decide if your problem is something you probably can change. Think<br>
it through, again maybe with a trusted friend. Figure out how you<br>
might handle it as a Christian.<br>
9. Remember Jesus promise- “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew<br>
28:20). You are not alone. Don’t neglect your Christian duties of<br>
Sunday church with Holy Communion, daily Bible reading, and prayer.<br>
10. Remember the glass of air, and start filling it. Get busy<br>
thinking about and doing positive things!<br>
<br>
May God bless us all as we continue to allow his Spirit to turn our<br>
hearts of stone into the heart of his beloved Son; and may we live our<br>
lives asking, “What WOULD Jesus do this time?”<br>
<br>
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American<br>
wisdom statements are posted on our NEW PARISH WEB SITE. The address<br>
is: <a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.com/" target="_blank">http://www.stpaulsepisag.com</a> .<br>
<br>
Blessed preaching.<br>
Judy Boli<br>
St. Paul's Episcopal Church<br>
Saginaw, Michigan<br>
<br>
</tt></pre>
</div>
<style>.AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; }.AOLWebSuite a { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; }.AOLWebSuite a.hsSig { cursor: default; }</style></font>