<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><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: 6/6/17 5:21 PM (GMT-05:00) </div><div>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> </div><div>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Trinity Sunday, Year A: "Get Your Hands Off My Dirt!" </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;"><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 “Get Your Hands Off My Dirt!” and deals with the Old
Testament lesson (Genesis 1:1-2:4a).<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" face="Times New Roman">Today is Trinity Sunday, the day in the church year
when we honor God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we heard the story of creation from
Genesis (1:1- 2:4a) as our Old Testament lesson, we’re going to do that this
morning by focusing on the mind-blowing creation that our God has created and
our responsibility in caring for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So-
you know I’m a retired schoolteacher- test time: how are you doing in accepting
that responsibility and caring for God’s creation?</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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">FIRST THE FACTS: did you
notice when God created humans, he gave us authority over the whole planet,
especially the living things?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, some
people assume that authority means we can do whatever we want with God’s
beautiful creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can easily
identify these kinds of people- they throw litter out of their car windows,
drop candy or gum wrappers as they unwrap the goodies, spread pesticide over
their yards without checking the directions on the container.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they own a factory, they pollute the air
and increase the incidence of asthma, lung cancer, and God-only knows what
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not how God intends for us
to exercise authority over his Earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think
how God expects us to exercise authority over the children he has loaned
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are to exercise authority over
the Earth exactly as we exercise authority over our children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With our children- we love and nurture them,
keep them clean, watch over them, and provide for their every need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God expects us to care for his Earth, nurture
it, keep it clean, watch over it, and provide for its needs so it will be
healthy, fruitful, and beautiful for our children and grandchildren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we do this?</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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">NOW TO DERIVE THE WISDOM
FROM THE FACTS: Do you know where to start to test yourself?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at your yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it look like you care about it, or is it
full of junk, litter, overgrown grass, and bare spots where flowers or grass
should be growing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can just hear you
now- “It’s not my lawn!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not my back
yard!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rent, and I’m not doing anything
for that cheap landlord!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or- if you own
your own home, it’s easy to say- “This land is mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can do with it as I choose!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait a minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did your landlord create that front
yard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you own your own home, did you
create your back yard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your landlord doesn’t own that land; you
don’t own that land; God owns that land and we’re the managers taking care of
it for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can people look at your
front yard, your back yard, the roads you travel- and tell you love God by how
carefully you care for his art work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
not, you’re flunking one of your spiritual tests- so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When you get home, take a hard look at where you live, especially the
outside area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s ugly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fix it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Put some grass and flower seeds down, pick up the junk, teach our children
to care for God’s earth- starting with their own yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for those of us who still have a good
back and a little bit of time- look around at your neighbors’ property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are any of your neighbors too old or sickly
to keep up with the yard work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you see junk on the sidewalk or
in the parking lot?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pick it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know you didn’t throw it down, I know
people will look at you as if you’re crazy- but love God enough to take care of
his stuff, his creation.<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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Do you recall the story of
the scientists who challenged God to a person-making contest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day a group of scientists got together
and decided that human beings had come a long way and no longer needed God.
They picked one scientist to go and tell God that they were done with Him. The
scientist walked up to God and said, “God, we've decided that we no longer need
you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things,
so why don't you just go on and get lost.” God listened patiently and kindly to
the man, and after the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well! How
about this? Let's have a man-making contest.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To which the man replied, “OK, great!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But God added, “Now we're going to do this just like I did back in the
old days with Adam.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scientist
said, “Sure, no problem,” and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of
dirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God just looked at him and said, “No,
no, no! Get your hands off my dirt!” It’s not your back yard; it’s not my front
yard; this beautiful planet doesn’t belong to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s God’s world on loan to us.</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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">ONCE AGAIN, FIRST THE
FACTS: I’d like to call your attention to one more way we flunk our spiritual
test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at the first lesson again,
Genesis 1: 29-30 (p.4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did God
give us to eat when we were first created?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Take answers.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure- plants-
fruits, grain, greens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time, did
God give humans permission to eat animals?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the fall, God expected
Adam and Eve to kill animals to cover their nakedness. Humankind was expected to
sacrifice a lamb or other animal so its blood could cover their sins. However,
it was only after the flood that we were given permission to take animal life
for our own food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Relax- I’m not trying
to turn us all into vegetarians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we
want to, we can all go home after church today and have a picnic and eat our
barbecue!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all- we constantly heard
of Jesus eating fish and performing miracles with them; and many of his
disciples were fisherman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is a
message, a principle for us in this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Israelites respected all forms of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their practices were very much like those of the American Indians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any animal life they killed, especially
domesticated animals, was considered a sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blood was drained (like orthodox Jews do
today and then mark the meat as “kosher”), and what they considered the best
part- the fat- was offered to God at the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s why we read in the Bible of a “sweet-smelling sacrifice”- a smell
like the outside of McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken wafting up to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only the rich gorged themselves day after day
on huge amounts of animal meat- and the prophets scorned them in God’s name as
being wasteful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The common people ate
meat sparingly- a little meat and a lot of fruits, vegetables, and grains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What amazes me is this- doctors have
discovered that is the healthiest way to eat- it’s the way our digestive tract
must have been designed by our Master Creator.</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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">ONCE AGAIN, NOW TO DERIVE
THE WISDOM FROM THE FACTS: What about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you respect all animal life like God taught the Israelites?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you buy more meat than you can possible
use and then let it spoil, or do you give away what you cannot use?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you gorge yourself day after day on
meat?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When your meal includes meat or fish,
do you remember to thank God for the animal life that was sacrificed so you can
have health and energy yourself?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
hunt or fish, do you kill as quickly and painlessly as possible and then only
kill what you can eat?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you ever
seen someone purposely aim their car to hit a squirrel, a cat, or another of
God’s creatures?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, do you speak up-
even if it costs you a friend or makes you look stupid in someone’s eyes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you speak up against cruelty in all its
forms?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you own a pet, do you care for
it well even if doing so is inconvenient?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you let your dog run wild to run in traffic and possibly attack
children or animals?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you speak up
against dog and rooster fights?</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; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><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"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I know you’re about to say- Rev. Judy,
you’re expecting a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, I’m not- GOD
is expecting a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you notice the
thought for the week on the back page of the bulletin…</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">“People may doubt what you say, but they will believe
what you do” (Anonymous).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So don’t just
talk about loving and honoring God. Start today to grow a little more
spiritually by obeying God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check out
your yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plant some flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pick up some paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take care of all of God’s creatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless
us all as we nourish and care for God’s beautiful planet Earth.</span></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; mso-mirror-indents: yes; tab-stops: .25in;"><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>
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