<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:8px;color:#575757">From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.</div></div><br><br>-------- Original message --------<br>From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org> <br>Date:09/05/2015 8:10 PM (GMT-06:00) <br>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> <br>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 18B <br><br><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Dear
Friends,</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Our Country- Breaking the Chains of Racism” or “The
Ground Is Always Level at the Foot of the Cross” or “Don’t Let Our Culture
Dilute the Message” and deals with all the lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here it is: </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </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"><font face="Times New Roman">Good morning!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Starting last week
and continuing for a few more weeks, we’ll be reading from the New Testament
book of James.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As many of you know, this
is one of my very favorite books, because it’s a practical book; it shows us
how to put our faith in action- to live what we believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week, we heard how important it is to do
just this- not simply listen to God’s word, but put it into action in our
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now this week, we hear James tell
how God expects us to treat everyone with respect, and not play favorites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Galatians (3:28), Paul reminds us of the
same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says: “Faith in Christ Jesus
is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a
Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since James (who was very possibly Jesus’
younger brother- so surely knew how he felt about important things- is teaching
us this same truth) it’s obvious that this is not an optional behavior, it is expected
of all Christians, and to thumb our noses at this teaching is to thumb our
noses at God himself who created us all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have no right to treat some people better than others- no matter how
our culture or friends or even our families try to teach us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></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 color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">If we examine these lessons carefully, we can see what kinds of people
our culture tries to teach us to treat unequally: </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><ol type="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><li style="line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Those who have
less money than we do, especially those who are really “down on their
luck”- the Bible calls them the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Both the Proverbs and James lessons are really clear about this.)</span></li><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><li style="line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">People who
have wronged us in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(See
James 2:13.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><li style="line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">People of a
different race, nationality, or sex;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Galatians 3:28 and the episode in Mark [7:24-29] just before
today’s gospel)</span></li><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><li style="line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Those with a
handicapping condition and those who are different from the norm, whose
difference makes them seem strange to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I still recall how hard it was to relate to the deaf people who
came to Wednesday Mass some years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet Jesus found the deaf man worthy of his time and healing energy.</span></li><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></ol><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">What’s the “therefore”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s
it to us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply- we’ve got to follow
Jesus and not our culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve got to
avoid the cultural brainwashing and live as Jesus, not as our friends, would
have us live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have absolutely no
right to treat another of God’s children (therefore our sister or brother)
unfairly or unkindly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tall or short,
dark or light, fat or thin, male or female, gay or straight or transgendered,
deaf or blind or lame or handicapped in some other way, rich or poor, foreign
or American- remember the old children’s song “Red and yellow, black and white-
all are precious in His sight.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
God’s children are precious in God’s sight, and they’d better be precious in
ours also.</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">One last reminder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>remember how
Jesus said we are to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too many of us don’t love ourselves
enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve allowed our culture or
families or friends to weaken our self-confidence, because we are not what our
culture says is the perfect person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
God expects us to treat others surely applies to ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you consider yourself too tall or short,
dark or light, fat or thin, male or female or struggling, deaf or blind or lame
or handicapped in some other way, rich or poor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I still remember that awful feeling as a kid when I was chosen last on
the playground because I couldn’t catch the ball or hit it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would anyone expect- I could barely see
it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You and I- we are most certainly
part of the “all” in “all are precious in His sight,” so live what you
believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people criticize, they are
really showing their own shortcomings; it’s not about you- it’s about
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pray for them, but don’t take them
seriously.</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"><font face="Times New Roman">In closing, I’m going to remind you of an embarrassing incident I got
myself into a number of years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do
you remember how Fr. Bill & I went on a cruise every year at a healthy
point in his life? Well, this happened on a cruise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This incident is about a cell phone and the
magnetic strip on a room key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know
that I am diabetic, and it helps keep my blood sugar even throughout the night
if I have some skim milk and cereal just before I go to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sunday evening was formal night on board
ship- yes- I actually did dress up!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anyway, after dinner, Bill+ went to the piano bar to sing and I went to
our room on the main deck (i.e. 4th floor) to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know I wasn’t going to keep my fancy
clothes on, so I changed into my flannel lounging pants and t-shirt to get
comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At about 11 PM I decided to
have my cereal and get ready for bed so I could get up early to see sunrise
over the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did I find?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our cabin steward had taken the bowl and
spoon I had carefully stashed to use for my bedtime snack, so I had nothing to
use for my cereal and milk!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Ah-ha!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought- “there’s a
solution for everything.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You know I
don’t give up easily!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a
buffet (now closed, because it was so late) on the 9th deck, and the elevator
was just around the corner from our room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I figured I could ride up to the now-closed buffet and get a bowl and
spoon, because I knew where they were kept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You KNOW I wasn’t about to change back into my dressy clothes; besides I
figured I had a good chance of getting up and back without anyone seeing me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All went well- I got my bowl and spoon
(actually got 3 of each just-in-case!) and got all the way back to our room
without anyone seeing me (I was really feeling slick!); put my magnetic key
into the lock to open our cabin room door- nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My magnetic card wouldn’t open the lock, no
matter how hard I tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was
nothing else to do but go downstairs to the pursers’ desk in the lobby and get
help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can guess, everyone in the
lobby was still dressed formally- and here I was in my t-shirt and lounging
pants- waiting in a L-O-N-G line to get my key fixed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I finally got to the front of the line,
the clerk behind the desk remagnetized my key-card and asked if I had placed it
by my cell phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course I had!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She reminded me to keep the new one away from
the electricity in the cell phone, because it would destroy the magnetic
strip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lesson learned- and that’s what
I’d like us to remember from this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Almost all of our Bible lessons were about how to treat our neighbor,
especially the neighbor who is different or less fortunate than ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s way, as clearly defined in these Bible
lessons, is very different than the way our culture teaches us to treat others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we’re not careful, our culture- like my
cell phone- will destroy God’s magnetic pull on our lives, and our consciences
won’t even bother us when we treat our neighbor in an unChristlike manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></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 color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">So- that cell phone and that magnetic strip…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May God bless us as we struggle to keep God’s
magnetic pull on our lives pure and holy so we may be worthy to be called his
children.</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes; tab-stops: .25in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: </font><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</font></u></a><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Blessed
preaching,</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Judy
Boli</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">St.
Paul's Episcopal Church</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Saginaw,
Michigan</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>
<p></p>
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to <a href="mailto:propertalk.topic+unsubscribe@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic+unsubscribe@ecunet.org</a>.<br>
</body>