<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>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> May 12, 2012 12:50:58 PM CDT<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 Easter 6B</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><span></span></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Dear Friends,</span><br><span></span><br><span>Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Jesus’ New Commandment- LOVE!” or “A</span><br><span>Love Shortage- Do Something About It!” or Happy Mothers’ Day!” and</span><br><span>deals all the lessons. Here it is:</span><br><span></span><br><span>Happy Mothers’ Day! Do you know how Mothers’ Day started? Listen to</span><br><span>how amazingly their long-ago situation matches ours today! The first</span><br><span>known suggestion that the USA should observe a Mothers’ Day came in</span><br><span>1872. It was proposed by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe in response to the</span><br><span>human destruction of the Civil War. Her purpose for suggesting</span><br><span>Mothers’ Day was to stop wars; as women- protect our husbands and</span><br><span>families and children from war. She and her husband wrote an anti-</span><br><span>slavery newspaper and she wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic (“Mine</span><br><span>eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling</span><br><span>out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed</span><br><span>the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is</span><br><span>marching on. (Chorus) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory,</span><br><span>hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on.”) Dr.</span><br><span>Martin Luther King often quoted from this hymn. He ended his “I’ve</span><br><span>Been to the Mountaintop” speech with part of it: “Well, I don't know</span><br><span>what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it</span><br><span>doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop…Mine</span><br><span>eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”</span><br><span></span><br><span>So you see- the real meaning of Mothers’ Day wasn’t about beautiful</span><br><span>cards (although I love them), taking Mom out to dinner at a wonderful</span><br><span>restaurant (although it sounds good to me), or buying a lovely gift to</span><br><span>show her how much you care (although I’m surely not one to turn down</span><br><span>presents). Ladies- it was about sticking together to find a way to</span><br><span>protect our husbands and families and children from war. Has it</span><br><span>occurred to you- we’re living in multiple war zones now! Families</span><br><span>fight! Neighbors squabble! Gangs kill! Our beloved country is</span><br><span>engaged in war after war after war. Today’s sermon is really not</span><br><span>about war, but about the opposite of war- peace and love.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Here are three actual letters from children to their pastor:</span><br><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister.</span><br><span>Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville.</span><br><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Dear Pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my</span><br><span>brother won't be there. Stephen. Age 8, Chicago</span><br><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Dear Pastor, Are there any devils on earth? I think there may be one</span><br><span>in my class. Carla. Age 10, Salina</span><br><span>Now here are two letters to God from David Heller book, Dear God:</span><br><span>Children’s Letters to God”:</span><br><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Dear God, My mom and my father are divorced. For 3 years. Nobody's</span><br><span>perfect. But why did you pick us? I wish we were all with each</span><br><span>other. Maybe you could have them get along on weekends. Please!</span><br><span>Stephen (age 11)</span><br><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Dear God, Do you think there's enough love today? I feel there's a</span><br><span>shortage. Love- Ken (age 9)</span><br><span></span><br><span>Have you ever lived a day when, like Ken, you felt there was a love</span><br><span>shortage? If you have, then today’s Bible lessons will speak to you.</span><br><span>Let’s start with a story that illustrates the Gospel. There was a</span><br><span>little boy in the supermarket with his mother, and he was touching</span><br><span>everything he could reach. When he finally reached out and touched a</span><br><span>carefully arranged display of canned fruit, the entire display came</span><br><span>crashing to the ground. In frustration, the child’s mother took her</span><br><span>son’s face in her hands and looked right into his eyes. “Son,” she</span><br><span>said, “I told you not to touch anything. Now look what you’ve done!”</span><br><span>The little boy knew he was in for trouble, so he said the most</span><br><span>touching words he could think of. “Mama,” he exclaimed with his lips</span><br><span>trembling and a tear coming out of one eye, “I love you.” “No you</span><br><span>don’t!” his angry mother replied. He figured he was in even worse</span><br><span>trouble than he’d thought. “Yes, I really do love you!” he cried.</span><br><span>“Son,” his mother replied in exasperated tones. “If you really love</span><br><span>me, you’d listen to me and do as I say!” Has it ever occurred to you</span><br><span>that God must be saying the same thing to us sometimes? Every last</span><br><span>one of our Bible lessons this morning is saying the same thing- “Love</span><br><span>your neighbor, and that means everybody!” Do we do it? No!</span><br><span></span><br><span>Some years ago, Donna Motton suggested a thought for the week that</span><br><span>we’ve used a number of times. It says: “God’s grace may be free, but</span><br><span>it requires a response and calls us to responsibility.” A blunter way</span><br><span>to put it is, “Don’t bother to call him ‘Savior’ if you won’t call him</span><br><span>‘Lord!’” So how serious is God about this “Love your neighbor”</span><br><span>thing? Very serious! As you know, John was probably Jesus’ favorite</span><br><span>disciple, so he probably knew what Jesus expected. In his first</span><br><span>letter (1st John 4: 20) we heard the hard comment followed by the even-</span><br><span>harder question: “But if we say we love God and don't love each other,</span><br><span>we are liars. How can we love God (whom we can’t see), if we don't</span><br><span>love our neighbors (whom we can see)?” Finally in John 13:34 we hear</span><br><span>Jesus give us a new commandment (not suggestion- command) that we love</span><br><span>one another as much as he loves us. I’m sure you remember the story</span><br><span>(because I’ve told it many times) of the woman who asked Jesus how</span><br><span>much he loves her. You remember the answer: “This much!” and he</span><br><span>stretched out his arms and died (on the cross). That’s how much we</span><br><span>are expected to love our neighbor.</span><br><span></span><br><span>We may not be able to do much about warfare between countries and</span><br><span>gangs (although we should do what we can), but we most certainly can</span><br><span>promote peace and love in our families and friendship circles. But</span><br><span>what if some of those very people are acting like enemies instead of</span><br><span>loved ones? You know what I mean- those people who are supposed to be</span><br><span>loved ones who can be so mean to us or those we love. When they are</span><br><span>in our own family and cause problems at weddings or funerals, when</span><br><span>they misuse our kindness, when they cause division in the family, when</span><br><span>they embarrass us or even steal from us- how can we possibly love</span><br><span>them? Those mean people- has it occurred to you that God may be</span><br><span>counting on you? If they are truly off the right track, if they are</span><br><span>truly mean, who else but you can God count on to love them? Does this</span><br><span>mean you have to like them? No. Does it mean you have to help them</span><br><span>in any way they ask? No. But it does mean you need to give them</span><br><span>another chance; it does mean you must drop your anger and bitterness</span><br><span>against them; it does mean you must do what is best for them. Again-</span><br><span>check yourself out:</span><br><span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Is there someone in your family, or someone who used to be a close</span><br><span>friend, whom you avoid?</span><br><span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Is there someone to whom you’re giving “the silent treatment?”</span><br><span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Is there a feud going on in your family?</span><br><span></span><br><span>Remember at the beginning of the sermon, little 9-year-old Ken prayed</span><br><span>to God that there was a love shortage? Jesus said, “A new commandment</span><br><span>give I unto you that you love one another as much as I have loved</span><br><span>you.” How about- in honor of all those nurturing women who have</span><br><span>affected our lives, and in honor of Jesus Christ himself- may we</span><br><span>refuse to practice any kind of war for just this one day. Maybe it</span><br><span>will spread or extend. May God bless us as we try to do something</span><br><span>about that love shortage. 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 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>