<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body><div>Forwarded - Part 1: </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div id="composer_signature"><div style="font-size:85%;color:#575757" dir="auto">Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device</div></div><div><br></div><div style="font-size:100%;color:#000000"><!-- originalMessage --><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org> </div><div>Date: 2/18/17 7:55 PM (GMT-05:00) </div><div>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> </div><div>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 7A </div><div><br></div></div><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 color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Jesus and Divorce”
or “WWJD?” and deals with last Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 5:21-37).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last Sunday we read the Bp. Todd Ousley’s
pastoral letter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here it is: </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;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Today, we are going to
think through a subject from last Sunday’s Bible lessons, because it is so
important and causes so much stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’re going to think through the implications of divorce.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><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;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Did you hear the story
of the little boy who was fascinated by the old family Bible that sat on the
living room coffee table?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day as he
was fingering through it, something fell out of the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He picked it up and looked at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed
in between the pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Mama, look what I
found!” the boy called out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What do you
have there, dear?” his mother asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered: “It’s really
old- I think it’s Adam’s underwear!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember
that extremely ancient story from the Old Testament book of Genesis- Adam and
the creation of Eve?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In it are some
basic teachings about marriage?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An
ancient Jewish tradition points out this truth about Eve and her relationship
to Adam: “Not from his head to lord it over him; not from his feet to be lorded
over; but from his rib (next to his heart) to walk side by side as a partner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bible describes them as “one flesh?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This tells us that marriage is not the
ceremony (because there was none), but the coupling- mind to mind, heart to
heart, body to body that constituted the marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The logical extension of this is that if you
are in a sexual, loving relationship with someone (especially if you have a
child by that person), you are also married to that person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These days most people who think they’re
single have actually been married a number of times in God’s eyes.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><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;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Another story: did you
hear about the conversation between God and Adam?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God asked Adam, “What’s wrong with you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I see you do these days is mope
around.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam said he didn’t have anyone
to talk to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God said he would make a
companion for Adam, and the companion would be a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God said, “This person will gather food for
you; and when you discover clothing, she’ll wash it for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will always agree with every decision you
make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will bear your children and
never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will not nag you and will always be the
first to admit she was wrong when you’ve had a disagreement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will never have a headache and will
freely give you love and passion whenever you want it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam asked God, “What will a woman like this
cost?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God replied, “An arm and a
leg!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam commented, “That’s way too
expensive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What could I get for a
rib?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest is history!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got Eve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He got trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got woman,
actually woe-man!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what I’d like
us to look at for the rest of our sermon- the potential trouble men and women
can get into with their relationships, and – since Jesus specifically addressed
it in last Sunday’s gospel- divorce.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><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;"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Did you notice what
Jesus said?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NO DIVORCE, and REMARRIAGE
AFTER DIVORCE PRODUCES ADULTERY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those
are really harsh words, and they seem to have absolutely no “wiggle-room.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is it then that the Episcopal Church
allows divorce plus remarriage after divorce (with the permission of the
bishop)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it because we’re not a
Bible-believing church?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not true!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We read more Bible lessons than most
denominations (usually four).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ARE a
Bible-believing church and try to live that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are also an honest church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most churches work hard to find loop-holes to
allow for divorce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some don’t allow
divorce but do declare annulments to marriages, including many with children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some look the other way when members get a
divorce and then go before the justice of the peace to get married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many don’t manage to notice when members
“play around”- and you know as well as I do that many a pastor is considered a
“lady’s man.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We Episcopalians work and
struggle to have a livable Bible faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While others seem to ask the question: “What DID Jesus do?” we ask what
WOULD Jesus do if he lived now, here, in the 21</font><sup><font size="2">st</font></sup><font size="3"> century?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To do that, we need to start with what it was
like living when Jesus lived, because this will give us a clue why he said what
he said about divorce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From that- with
the Spirit’s wisdom to guide us, we can think through what he would probably
say and do today, because it’s clear that marriage and divorce in the first
century are not the same as marriage and divorce in the twenty-first century.</font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><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;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Here are the facts
about life, marriage, and divorce in Jesus’ time:</font></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: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;">Marriages were not instituted by the couple falling in
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marriages were arranged by the
parents involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that for a
man to divorce his wife was to dishonor his parents, who had chosen the wife
and contracted for her purchase (bride money- remember, we women were owned by
our men).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It broke the 5<sup>th</sup>
commandment (“Honor your father and your mother.”)</p></li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; 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: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;">Marriages were between two extended families, not two
individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a male from one family
and a female from another family were offered in marriage, it was frequently
for social, political, or economic reasons; and the two families became one
united family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a man divorced his
wife, it separated the family into two usually-feuding groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bloodshed often followed.</p></li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; 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: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; punctuation-wrap: simple; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;">While Roman law allowed a woman to divorce her husband
as well as a husband to divorce his wife, Jewish law did not allow women to
divorce their husbands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only husbands
could divorce wives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Remember- Jesus
was a Jew speaking to Jewish men.)</p></li></ol><div><font face="Times New Roman">>Continued in Part 2</font></div><div><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">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: </span><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><u><font color="#0000ff">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</font></u></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> .</span></div><ol style="list-style-type: decimal; direction: ltr;"><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; 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-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></ol><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>
<p></p>
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