<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Forwarded:<br><br><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> December 29, 2011 10:36:25 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] Sermon for ChristMass 1</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> <a href="mailto:propertalk.topic+owners@ecunet.org"><a href="mailto:propertalk.topic+owners@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic+owners@ecunet.org</a></a><br><br></div></blockquote><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Dear Friends,</span><br><span></span><br><span>Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Happy New Year!- Are You Ready?” and</span><br><span>deals with the Gospel (John 1: 1-18). Here it is:</span><br><span></span><br><span>I can’t believe today starts our New Year- 2012! Today, New Year’s</span><br><span>Day, is the time when the church thinks through naming, and</span><br><span>specifically the naming of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ. I</span><br><span>thank you that you all joined me in ushering in the year 2012 in at</span><br><span>God’s holy altar. ChristMass Eve, we heard how Mary and Joseph named</span><br><span>their baby “Jesus,” (God saves) just as the angel had instructed</span><br><span>them.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Naming is important. After our last cat- Cat/astrophe died, I</span><br><span>remember how Bill+ and I struggled to come up with a name for our new</span><br><span>kitten. I remember how we thought about calling him “Astrophe-2,” but</span><br><span>we were somehow uncomfortable with that. It was like he needed his</span><br><span>own name. After we saw him with his gorgeous soft, brown coat and</span><br><span>became impressed with his sweet, loving disposition- the perfect name</span><br><span>came to mind- “Magnificat,” because that’s what he is- a truly</span><br><span>magnificent cat! We can’t go around the house calling “Magnificat,</span><br><span>“Magnificat, “Magnificat”- so it was clear we needed a nickname. I</span><br><span>remember how Carla Wilson helped with that. She suggested “McCat,”</span><br><span>and it usually works. Now that he’s all of six years old and knows</span><br><span>his way around, one of his most frequent names is “Bad Cat- No! No!”</span><br><span>Names are important, because they symbolize us. When someone writes</span><br><span>my name and spells it “Judi” instead of “Judy” or “Judith”- as</span><br><span>understandable as this is, it’s like they really aren’t referring to</span><br><span>me.</span><br><span></span><br><span>So what’s the connection with the naming of Jesus and New Year’s Day?</span><br><span>As you know, time is a human-made invention. We use the movement of</span><br><span>this planet to measure how long something lasts. A day is how long it</span><br><span>takes for the earth to rotate on its axis. A year is how long it</span><br><span>takes for our planet to make the journey of one complete revolution</span><br><span>around the sun. So today, our earth will have made 2012 complete</span><br><span>revolutions around the sun since Jesus was born, because our calendar</span><br><span>is based on his birth (i.e. 2012 A.D.- anno domini”- “the Lord’s</span><br><span>year.” Actually, it’s really probably about 2016 A.D., since Jesus</span><br><span>was born more-or-less in 4 B.C. All of this can get really confusing,</span><br><span>so I want to move into what it means to us.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The most important thing to remember about time, whether it’s our</span><br><span>coming new year 2012 or whenever, is that God is in charge. What’s</span><br><span>going to happen to me in 2012? Will I live or die? Will wonderful or</span><br><span>terrible things happen to me this year? Will I win the lottery? (I</span><br><span>doubt it since I don’t buy tickets.) The truth is, we really don’t</span><br><span>know what life will throw at us this coming year. Does anyone</span><br><span>remember “David, the Bubble Boy?” (September 21, 1971 – February 22,</span><br><span>1984, so you see he died when he was 12 years old). David was born</span><br><span>with a terrible birth defect- no immune system. The least significant</span><br><span>germ could kill him. To allow him to survive, David lived his life in</span><br><span>a plastic bubble- with no human touch. I think the bubble had built-</span><br><span>in gloves so someone could reach into his bubble for the basic</span><br><span>necessities. I have no idea how all this worked- how he got food or a</span><br><span>bath or whatever. What I do know is that many Christians think that’s</span><br><span>how God does with Christians- keeps evil away from us as if we are in</span><br><span>a bubble. That’s not how life is. God doesn’t spare his children,</span><br><span>but he strengthens and supports us. You’ve heard the saying, “People</span><br><span>are like tea bags-you have to put them in hot water before you know</span><br><span>how strong they are.” With God, we can take anything the coming new</span><br><span>year dishes out!</span><br><span></span><br><span>Unfortunately, sometimes it’s not by chance that the new year dishes</span><br><span>out troubles. We do it to ourselves. You know I’m an animal lover,</span><br><span>so when our children were little, we frequently went to the Detroit</span><br><span>Zoo. It always amazed me how those mighty elephants could be chained</span><br><span>by just a peg in the ground. I knew those huge elephants could easily</span><br><span>pull out that peg. What happened? I’ll tell you what…when they were</span><br><span>little, those baby elephants were tied to a huge stake that they could</span><br><span>not pull out. I’m sure those little elephants pulled and tugged, but</span><br><span>to no avail. They were conditioned to think breaking free was</span><br><span>impossible, so now they don’t even try. With the Lord’s help, you’re</span><br><span>mighty like those huge elephants. Don’t let the Devil convince you</span><br><span>you’re helpless against those habits you’d like to break. Claim God’s</span><br><span>power in 2012 to break free.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The trick to overcoming, whether we’re talking about what life throws</span><br><span>at us or what we’ve done to ourselves is putting God first in 2012.</span><br><span>You know the usual advice- don’t miss church, receive Holy Communion</span><br><span>weekly, start and close every day with God, bless every single bite of</span><br><span>food you put in your mouth, do spiritual reading consistently. I can</span><br><span>hear you now---Rev. Judy, I don’t have time. We get so busy, busy,</span><br><span>busy- that we end up squeezing God out of our lives. How is it</span><br><span>possible to get it all done? I’ll tell you how- give God his time</span><br><span>first. Do you remember the story of the father who was discussing the</span><br><span>time problem with his teen-age son? The teen’s problem was not God</span><br><span>time, but homework time. The father got a gallon jar and filled it</span><br><span>with large rocks, then asked his son if it was full. “Sure is!” said</span><br><span>the son- that’s how my life is before I have my homework done. So the</span><br><span>father took some medium sized rocks and added them. “Full now?” asked</span><br><span>the father? “Now it’s full,” answered his son. You know what</span><br><span>happened next, the father added small rocks, then gravel, and finally</span><br><span>water. “That’s how you organize your life, son,” said the father.</span><br><span>You put the big important things in first.” Good advice! Take care</span><br><span>of your responsibilities to God first: church, Bible reading, prayer,</span><br><span>and let the other things fit as they may. Your life will have power</span><br><span>like you wouldn’t believe possible. It was Martin Luther who said</span><br><span>that the busier his day, the more important it was that he start it</span><br><span>with prayer- true.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Did you hear about the man, I’ll call him “George,” who decided to</span><br><span>make some changes in his life? He was bragging to a friend: “There's</span><br><span>nothing like getting up at six in the morning, going for a run around</span><br><span>the park, and taking a brisk shower before breakfast.” His friend</span><br><span>replied, “How long have you been doing this?” George answered: “I</span><br><span>start tomorrow.” Tomorrow won’t work. Start today, now, at God’s</span><br><span>altar. By God’s grace, you will overcome.</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 parish web site. The address is:</span><br><span><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>