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<div id="AOLMsgPart_1.2_9244740c-90f0-45e7-a9ad-71ad688e6261"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Forwarded:</span><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
<div style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="arial, helvetica">-----Original Message----- </font><br>
<font face="arial, helvetica">From: Judy <</font><a href="mailto:judy_boli@ecunet.org" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; color: blue; cursor: pointer;">judy_boli@ecunet.org</a><font face="arial, helvetica">> </font><br>
<font face="arial, helvetica">To: propertalk.topic <</font><a href="mailto:propertalk.topic@ecunet.org" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; color: blue; cursor: pointer;">propertalk.topic@ecunet.org</a><font face="arial, helvetica">> </font><br>
<font face="arial, helvetica">Sent: Sat, Jul 11, 2015 2:36 pm </font><br>
<font face="arial, helvetica">Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 10B </font><br>
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<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; margin: 1em 0px;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Dear Friends,</font></div>
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<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; margin: 1em 0px;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000" size="3">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “John the Baptist” and deals with the gospel (Mark 6: 14- 29).</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Here it is:</font></font></div>
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<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000" size="3">This morning we heard about one of the strangest characters in the Bible- John the Baptist.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">He was the last of the Old Covenant prophets and had the job of preparing the way for Jesus.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Even his beginnings were unusual.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">John’s parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, were childless and way too old to have children.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Elizabeth</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> was Mary’s cousin and Zechariah was a priest in the temple.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">One day, Zechariah was doing his job in the temple when the angel Gabriel appeared and told him that he and his wife would have a baby, who was to be named John.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Zechariah doubted the angel, so he was struck dumb.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Shortly after this incident and against all odds, </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Elizabeth</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> became pregnant.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">It’s obvious that Zechariah and Elizabeth were accepting, compassionate people because after the Virgin Mary became pregnant, she spent some time with them- probably to gain courage to face everyone when she began to “show.”</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Well, in due time the child promised to Zechariah and </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Elizabeth</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> was born; and when he was circumcised and presented in the temple, everyone was about to name him “Zechariah” after his father.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">It was the custom of the day to name children after a relative.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Zechariah still could not speak, so he communicated by writing, “His name is John.”</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Immediately, Zechariah’s speech impediment vanished.</font><font color="#000000" size="3"> </font><font color="#000000" size="3">Those watching these happenings wondered what kind of a man this “John” would turn out to be.</font></font></div>
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<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">They were wise to wonder, because this “John”, actually “John the Baptist” was truly unusual- many must have wondered about his sanity.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">While others lived in comfortable houses, he lived in the desert.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">While others dressed fashionably (or at least comfortably), he wore an itchy camel skin.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">While others ate fish and bread and occasionally some meat, he ate what he could find- usually locusts and wild honey.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">He spent his time baptizing people in the </font><font color="#000000">Jordan River</font><font color="#000000">, giving them a second chance to enter the Promised Land following God’s way.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">As you recall, Jesus (John’s second cousin) was baptized by John.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">When he wasn’t baptizing, he was preaching.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">He encouraged the common people to repent and return to God, but he infuriated those in power by calling them “snakes”- not a very good way to get ahead.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">When King Herod married his sister-in-law, John condemned the whole affair.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">Needless to say, he had many enemies in high places.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">Herod was so angry with John’s meddling that he threw him in prison.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">While John was there he must have experienced a period of doubt, because he sent some of his followers to ask Jesus if he was really the Messiah, or was he going through all of this imprisonment for nothing.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">Jesus sent them back with the message that the deaf hear, the blind see, the lame walk, and the poor have the good news preached to them- in other words- the Jubilee message.</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; margin: 1em 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">One of John’s most dangerous enemies was Herodias, the sister-in-law whom King Herod married.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">One day, Herod threw a party (actually a birthday banquet).</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">After all the men at the party were drunk, Salome (daughter of Herodias) really turned them on with her dancing.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">Herod was so impressed that he promised her anything she wanted, even half of his kingdom.</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">Salome asked her mother what she should request, and the answer came back clearly: “Ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”</font><font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000">Since Herod didn’t want to look like a fool in front of his friends by going back on his word, that’s just what happened.</font></font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 1em 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font><font color="#000000">[Part 2 follows in next post.]</font></font></span></div>
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