<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: 09/13/2014 6:34 PM (GMT-05:00) <br>To: propertalk.topic@ecunet.org <br>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 19A <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: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled ““Terrible Times- Don’t Waste Them!”
or “God can take your mess and make it into your message.” (Joel Osteen) or
“Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.” (Romans 12:19) </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 face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">(Proper 19A: 9-14-14) and deals with all the lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><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: 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 face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">My thinking about the presence of evil in the world
and how we deal with it as God’s people got serious after watching the awful
events of 9-11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">(We relived it again on
replays last Thursday!)</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’ve shared the
teachings in this sermon with you at least every year since 9-11, and today’s
Bible lessons raise the question of evil once again.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In the Old Testament lesson (Exodus 14:19-31)
we heard how the Egyptian army (mightiest nation in the known world at that
time) was chasing down the Hebrew people- men, women, children.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In the epistle (Romans 14: 1-12), we hear
cruel Christians were being to their fellow Christians because they didn’t
approve of what they ate!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Then in the
gospel (Matthew 18:21-35), we heard how an officer was forgiven who owed the
king a huge amount of money.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We heard
how he turned right around and threw someone in prison due to a minor debt!</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;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Difficult, painful times are present today- in fact,
some of us are living through them right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></font><font color="#000000">Terror has taken an even uglier turn, with innocent people
beheaded!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">A 15 year-old step-son of a
Longstreet School friend was just shot and killed.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The probably-racist killing of another
unarmed Ferguson, Missouri man is disgraceful.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">In some ways we are doing better, but in other ways, we are going
backward!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We have members struggling
with cancer and other illnesses.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We have
three families working to cope with the death of loved ones.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We have people with money problems, moving
problems, life problems, relationship problems, etc.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In other words- join the human race.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">This kind of pain is part of the human
condition.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">St. Paul has advice for us
when we face situations like these.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In
Romans 12: 19 he says, “Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with
good.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I know how devoted you are to
your Lord, so I’m sure that this is how you intend to live your life.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Me too.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">The problem is, in frustrating, confusing times like these- how do you
know how to defeat evil with good?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We’d
be glad to do as God wants, but how do we know what that is?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">For me, one of the blessings of having lived
through pain and suffering (as well as wonderful times) is the chance to think
through and refine my own personal theology of evil based on scripture, and
especially on Gospel.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’d like to share
it with you again this morning.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">As you
may remember, I see five basic principles in our dealing with evil. </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;"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000">FIRST PRINCIPLE: We mustn’t delude ourselves about the
power of the enemy.</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Some years ago, I asked our Sunday school
youngsters to tell me what Satan looked like.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">You know what they said: a little man in a red jump suit with a tail, a
pitchfork, fire coming out of his fingernails (too many video games!), and
horns- either red or black- couldn’t decide which.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Wouldn’t that be nice- if we could always
recognize him and his greatest desire was to get us to swear or tell a lie-
don’t we all wish it were that simple.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">The devil (or Satan) is just the name we give “the evil powers of this
world that seek to corrupt and destroy the creatures of God”- i.e. US!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">(“Book of Common Prayer”- Service of Holy
Baptism, p. 302)</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Satan’s purpose is to
close our open minds; turn our loving hearts into cold, hateful hearts of
stone; make us suspicious of everyone and everything; divide us; enslave us by
fear; and diminish our spirit.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></span></font></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;"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000">SECOND PRINCIPLE: Evil is highly contagious-</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000"> look how evil spreads, worse than smallpox or
tuberculosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">At the checkout line, a
lady said, “I just can’t see why they (the terrorists) hate us so!”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I know.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Among other reasons, one of them goes back to the Jewish holocaust in
World War II.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When the war was over, our
side- the winning side- officially established a homeland for the Jews in
Palestine and empowered them to become a nation.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I have to be suspicious that one of the
reasons this happened was plain and simple anti-Semitism....they didn’t want
all those Jewish people in their land.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I
remember, as a little girl growing up in Detroit, seeing ad after ad in the
classified section of the Detroit News: “Apartment for rent- no pets, no
children, no Jews.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The problem of
giving them a homeland in Palestine was that someone else already lived there-
the Palestinians.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The Jews said God
promised the land to them through their ancestor Abraham (God did, but the
Palestinians are also Abraham’s descendants.) </font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The Palestinians said it was their land;
hatred festered; and Satan sowed the seed for the poisonous harvest that after
all these years we are now reaping.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Unfortunately, it’s not just God’s Kingdom that can start with a mustard
seed and grow into a mighty tree- if we water and inflame the hatred, Satan’s
can also.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Unless we take preventative
measures, what we sow is what we get.</font></span></font></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;"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000">THIRD PRINCIPLE: Jesus’ teachings, especially those in
the sermon on the mount, are the vaccination against being destroyed when evil
is thrown at us.</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I was talking to a Bible teacher- definitely
someone who should know better, who said he thought we should just go in and
bomb the you-know-what out of any nation that allows terrorists to live within
their borders.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">He justified his opinion
by saying that the Bible is full of war- just look at the Old Testament.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">True, but Jesus came to fulfill the old
covenant.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The Old Testament was written
for the people of God when they were just beginning their journey.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“An eye for an eye” was a necessity to limit
violence- so a whole family couldn’t be wiped out for the sin of one
member.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">You don’t give a toddler and a
fifty-five year old grandmother or grandfather the same rules.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Jesus said he had come to fulfill the
law.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In fact, he said, “You have heard
it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I tell you- love
(i.e. want what is best for) your enemy.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Remember, he’s not talking about love- a feeling, but love- an action, a
choice.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">St. Paul reminds us that God
says: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”</font></span></font></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;"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000">FOURTH PRINCIPLE: Looked at through God’s eyes, the
power for who wins this round- God or Satan, is not in the hands of the evil
person or group, even though they think and act as if they are in charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">Power is in the hands of the VICTIM.</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It is the
victim who allows God to take charge of the encounter.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew that.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Why?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Because it is the victim who determines the response to the evil.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Satan can do nothing if the victim responds
as a Christian and refuses to spread anger and hate, but instead works to solve
the initial problem that the devil used to start the whole evil mess.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Look how this principle works.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Since Satan counts on being able to spread
his evil by using one evil person (or a group of evil people) to get something
going, he must pick his person carefully.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">The more negatives emotionally and physically this person or group can
cause the better.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The first incident
only gets the ball going.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The power for
good or evil is in the hands of the victim.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Look- if an evil person throws a ball of nasty garbage at me, I have a
choice.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If I can’t dodge it, the
instinctual human choice is to catch it and start throwing it back, letting it
splatter at everyone within range.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In
fact, I might even miss and get a whole lot of innocent people.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What happens next?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Those on the other side do the same.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Before long, following our natural
tendencies, we are all a filthy stinking mess.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">However, we are not called to follow our natural tendencies- we are much
more than the highest biological entity on this planet.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We are called to be children of God, and
there is a better way.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Instead, we might
catch the nasty ball and hold it until we figure out how to dispose of it with
a minimum of damage- I might even use it to fertilize our church garden, thus
taking care of the problem, but not spreading the filth.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If we are strong enough, courageous enough,
have enough Spirit power, the contamination stops before it corrupts us or
spreads to anybody else.</font></span></font></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 face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Bringing it down to the nitty-gritty of life, how do
we do this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">Do we let evil people walk
all over us?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Of course not.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">As Christians, our motivation for an action
is what is most important.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If a crazed
gunman started shooting children at our neighborhood school, what should
law-enforcement do?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">They should stop
him- using as much force as necessary, even if it meant killing him.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Why?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">To get revenge?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">No- to stop the
violence, the killing of innocent children.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Christians have no business getting revenge- only stopping evil and
bringing the guilty to justice.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If we
try to get revenge, we will participate with Satan in destroying our own
spirit.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The Rt. Rev. Nathan Baxter, former
dean of the National Cathedral in Washington DC and now bishop of Central
Pennsylvania, expresses this idea well when he stated, “As we act, we must not
become the evil we deplore.”</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: 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;"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000">FIFTH PRINCIPLE: </font></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000">Don’t waste terrible times!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">When
someone does something terrible to you, or when encountering a ghastly life
tragedy- don’t waste it!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What do I
mean?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Think about it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Think about the huge negative energy
generated by evil experience.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">That
energy can be redirected, by your skill and obedience to our Lord, as positive
power for God and for good.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">You don’t
believe me?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The best example of this is
the cross.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What worse catastrophe could
Satan throw at us than having people execute God’s son naked on a garbage
heap?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">And yet, through Jesus’ obedience-
came the glorious resurrection, eternal life, salvation, fullness-of-living for
all who would accept it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The Chinese
character for calamity is a combination of characters- crisis and opportunity-
same idea.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">So my challenge to us today
is, since we’ve already lived through the crisis (I hope), find the
opportunity.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What opportunities can we
ferret out of the messes of our lives?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Terrible times encourage us to reexamine our priorities.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In 9-11, do you remember the three passengers
who became heroes (Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett, and Mark Bingham) on United
Airlines Flight 93 that crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">They prevented the terrorists from using the
plane as a bomb against a heavily-populated target by trying to take back the
plane.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What did they do as their crisis
became apparent?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">They used their cell
phones to call family and friends, they asked their listeners to say the Lord’s
Prayer with them, and they made the decision to make their lives count- they
knew they could make a difference.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">At
that point, talking on their cell phones- all the little disagreements, irritations
didn’t matter at all.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What are your
priorities?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When is the last time you
told your family and friends that you love them?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If you don’t do it today, how do you know
you’ll get another chance?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Are you
making your life count- making a difference?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Are you really spending your time and money on your true
priorities?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Are you using all your
energy and problem-solving talent to work for God?</font></span></font></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 face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">I’m going to close with a very familiar story- almost
a parable- that I use at just about every funeral, but it’s worth
repeating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">This story illustrates using
crises and mistakes for positives.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">Before I retired from teaching, Mr. Spencer Porter was often the art
teacher assigned to work with my fifth grade students.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">He was one of the best art teachers I have
ever seen.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If the youngsters were doing
art on paper, he would start passing out the supplies, and you could bet that
by the time the last student got a paper, some of the first students were
already waving their hands.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“Mr.
Porter,” they would say- “Mr. Porter, I messed up my paper.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I need a new one.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Mr. Porter would answer, “Turn it over and
use the back.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Within a few minutes, the
hands would start to wave again.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“Mr.
Porter, Mr. Porter, I messed up the back too!” they would lament.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Spencer Porter’s answer- “I’m not giving you
another paper.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Now is your chance to
become an artist and really do art.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Look
at your paper on the front, and look at your paper on the back, and figure out
what your can turn your mistakes into.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000">
</font></span><font color="#000000">My friends, some of the most amazing artwork came from those students,
because their “mistakes” forced them to think outside the box, be creative, and
try new solutions to what they thought were impossible problems.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I only hope they are continuing to apply that
kind of thinking to their lives today, and I hope we learn from their
example.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The crises we face in our world
today, plus those we face every day in the normal demands of living, require
fresh, Godly, Gospel solutions and the sure knowledge that with God as our
guide, mistakes are simply lessons- lessons to be learned and used for the
Kingdom.</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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