<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body ><div>Forwarded:</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-size:75%;color:#575757">From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.</div></div> <br><br><br>-------- Original message --------<br>From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org> <br>Date: 07/05/2014 4:23 PM (GMT-06:00) <br>To: propertalk.topic@ecunet.org <br>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 9A <br> <br><br><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Dear Friends,</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Take My Yoke and Apprentice from Me”
or “Give All Your Problems to God- He’ll Be Up All Night Anyway!” and deals
with the gospel (Matthew 11: 28-30).</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Here
it is:</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Are you tired?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Are you on overload?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you sometimes feel like one more thing
will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back- and you’re the camel?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If you are, you know you’re not alone.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">From the advertisements on television and the
spam I get in my email on my computer, half the population must be tired and
the rest must have heartburn or bad breath or need Viagra (but maybe that’s
just a symptom of being tired!).</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If
you’re tired, or maybe sick and tired, the Serta counting sheep won’t cut it,
but this Gospel lesson will- it’s for you!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Did you hear Jesus proclaim,
“If you’re tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I’ll give you
rest.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Take the yoke I give you.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Put it on your shoulders and learn from me.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’m gentle and humble, and you will find
rest.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">This yoke is easy to bear and this
burden is light” (Matthew </font><st1:time w:st="on" minute="28" hour="11"><font color="#000000">11: 28</font></st1:time><font color="#000000">-30).</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What burdens are simply too much right
now?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’d bet something on this list will
touch you.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">How about money- not enough
of it, or too much work, or endless responsibilities?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">How about a job you hate or no job at
all?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Maybe it’s sin- a habit you simply
haven’t been able to break or friends who lead you down the wrong path.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Maybe friends or family have been disloyal-
walked out on you or chosen someone else.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Maybe people you love are ensnared in some of the things I’ve mentioned,
and it’s breaking your heart.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Maybe some
mistake you made years ago is still haunting you, making your life
miserable.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Perhaps it’s illness- yours
or the illness of someone you love.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Maybe you’ve lost someone very dear to you. Those burdens can really get
to you!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">They can get to me!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If this is your situation this morning, Jesus
has relief!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It’s called his yoke.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">His what?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">You heard me right- his yoke!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Let
me tell you about it.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">A yoke is that solid harness,
usually made of wood.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It fastens over
the shoulders of two oxen or other working animals, so together they can pull a
heavy load better than either could separately.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Joseph probably taught Jesus how to make yokes in their carpenter shop
at </font><font color="#000000">Nazareth</font><font color="#000000">.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Making them takes a lot of skill- not just
anyone can do it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The animal must be
measured, and the yoke must fit exactly correctly.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Just like a shoe that fits wrong will wear a
blister on your foot and even sometimes cause an infection, the same is true of
a yoke.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It can’t rub or have a sharp
piece jutting out even just a bit.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Why did farmers in Jesus time
hook up animals using a yoke?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The
benefit of yoking is that it shares the load.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Two animals yoked together pull evenly, so they can manage a much
heavier load than both could just in a harness.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Another benefit- you can yoke a strong animal with a weaker animal to
help out the weaker animal and still allow the load to be pulled.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Sometimes farmers would yoke a wise old
animal with a young, untrained animal so the inexperienced one could learn from
his or her elder.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Now that you know a
little more about yokes and how they were used, especially in Jesus’ day, you
can see what Jesus is offering.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">When Jesus said to take his
yoke, what he is offering is to be your yoke-mate; to shoulder the load with
you.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">And now that you know how yokes
were used, you can see the wonderful blessings this yoking offers.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When we have a heavy load, yoked with Jesus-
he’ll carry the heaviest part.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When we
are in a confusing situation, yoked with Jesus, he’ll be the wiser one to teach
us.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When Paul said, “I can do all things
through Christ, who strengthens me” (Philippians </font><st1:time w:st="on" minute="13" hour="16"><font color="#000000">4:13</font></st1:time><font color="#000000">), this is what he meant.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">The nice thing about yoking
is: we are not only yoked with Jesus; we are also yoked with each other.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Remember how Paul says (1</font><sup><font color="#000000">st</font></sup><font color="#000000"> Corinthians
12) “You are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Yoking is a technique used, not only by
farmers in Jesus’ day, but used by God today.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Look how God teaches us to support each other.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Look how often God arranges a stronger
person’s life to interact with a weaker person- just at the perfect time- the
time when that weaker person most needs a friend.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Have you noticed how often the weaker person
gets stronger, and before you know it- God has that person befriending someone
else?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">That’s what Jesus meant when he
said, “Learn from me.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The Aramaic word
“learn” really means “be apprenticed” to me.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">The purpose of being an apprentice is so the inexperienced person can
eventually do the same job as the master.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">An apprentice plumber doesn’t just learn about plumbing; he or she
learns to be a plumber.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When we are
yoked to Jesus, often through a stronger, more experienced Christian friend, we
don’t just learn about Christianity; we learn how to be a Christian.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Finally, this stole.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you know what it represents?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It stands for the yoke of Christ.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">As your priest when I put on my stole- I am
representing you; and we are all putting on the yoke of Christ.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">My friends- we’re all in this Christian walk
together, but yoked to Christ and each other- we shall overcome!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Amen.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s NEW WEB SITE
under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: </font><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</font></u></a><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> .</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Blessed preaching,</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Judy Boli</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Saginaw, Michigan</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>
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