<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body ><div>Continued: Part 2 of 2</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:03/05/2016 9:04 PM (GMT-05:00) <br>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> <br>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 4C <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;"><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; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><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; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “The TWO Sons” or “My
Father’s Heart” and deals with the Gospel (Luke 15: 11- 32).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font color="#000000">Here it is: </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; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">(Part 2 of 2)</span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; ">Here are four
thoughts about forgiveness that will reduce our tendency to become like the
lost older son:</span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><ol style="list-style-type: decimal; direction: ltr;"><li style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><p style="line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Forgiveness- what is it?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the best definitions of “forgiveness”
that I’ve ever heard is as follows: “Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate
you for hurting me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Anonymous)</span></p></li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Forgiveness- how often?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Peter asked Jesus how many times he had
to forgive, the answer was seventy times seven, in other words the whole thing
(seven) times ten (the whole thing) times seven (the whole thing).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p></li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Forgiveness- why bother?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p></li></ol><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><ul style="list-style-type: disc; direction: ltr;"><li style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><p style="line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Our Lord’s Prayer says,
“Forgive us our sins AS (i.e. the same way) we forgive those who sin against
us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be forgiven, we must forgive.</span></p></li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We don’t forgive others for
their benefit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They probably don’t care
if we forgive them or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus tells
us to forgive for our own benefit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bitterness is a heavy load to bear and ruins lives.</span></p></li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .75in; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We don’t know what’s ahead
in our own lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may do something
worse (or meaner) than the person we’re mad at.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The father is the other
character in the parable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know how
often people comment about how a baby has her father’s eyes, her mother’s
smile, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are called to have our
father’s heart, and you know who our father is!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We may have our Father’s heart, but only God can judge our
neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one is unredeemable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter how evil they are, we can pray for
them, love them (i.e. wish what is best for them), and reach out to them when
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is, sometimes when
someone has caused special pain, it’s so easy to say- “I can’t, I simply can’t
forgive them.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me close with a
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A holy man was engaged in his
morning meditation under a tree whose roots stretched out over the riverbank.
During his meditation he noticed that the river was rising, and a scorpion
caught in the roots was about to drown. He crawled out on the roots and reached
down to free the scorpion, but every time he did so, the scorpion struck back
at him. The man finally flipped the scorpion safely on the grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An observer who had been watching this whole
process said to the holy man, ‘Don't you know that's a scorpion, and it's in
the nature of a scorpion to want to sting?’ To which the holy man replied,
‘That may well be, but I’ve got my Father’s heart, and it is our nature to love
and to save.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Must I change my nature
because the scorpion does not change its nature?’” (adapted from Joseph B.
Modica)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brothers and sisters- we have
our Father’s heart, and it is in our nature to love.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">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: <a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><u><font color="#0000ff">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</font></u></a> .</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Blessed preaching,</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Judy Boli</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Saginaw, Michigan</span></p></li></ul><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
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