<font color='black' size='4' face='Times New Roman, Times, serif'>Forwarded: <br>
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<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org><br>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Jul 1, 2017 6:27 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 8A: "In the Name of God, STOP!"<br>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Dear
Friends,</font></div>
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<div 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 “An Old-Fashioned Tough-Man Contest” or “In the
Name of God, STOP!” and deals with the Old Testament lesson (Genesis 22:1-14).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here it is:</font></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">I’m going to start this sermon with two stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is of a fourth century monk named Telemachus.
Although Telemachus was in a cloistered monastery, he felt God saying to him, “Go
to Rome”; so he
put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked why all the excitement and was told
that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting and killing each other
in the coliseum- the great Roman stadium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was the day of the games- what they called “the circus.” He thought
to himself, “Four centuries after Christ- and they are still killing each other
for enjoyment?!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Telemachus ran to the
coliseum and heard the gladiators shouting, “Hail to Caesar! we die for Caesar!”
and he thought, “This just isn't right.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He jumped over the railing and went out into
the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said
“In the name of Christ, STOP!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd
protested and began to shout, “Run him through with the sword!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Run him through with the sword!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gladiator came over and hit him in the
stomach with the back of his sword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
sent Telemachus sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, “In
the name of Christ, STOP!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd continued
to chant, “Run him through with the sword!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Run him through with the sword!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach and
Telemachus fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd got what it wanted- his body was run
through with the sword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One last time Telemachus
gasped out, “In the name of Christ, STOP!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then he died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hush came over
the 80,000 people in the coliseum. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon
a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had
emptied out of the arena. What’s the significance of this little-known
event?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the last-known
gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, God almighty had looked down from
heaven to see the disgraceful, disgusting situation in which two men would
fight to the death, cheered on by a stadium-full of 80,000 people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God was sick and tired of two men fighting
like two pit-bulls or two roosters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
looked and found one ordinary person to answer the call to speak for Him, to be
his prophet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Telemachus passed his
test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saved many lives and did much
to civilize our culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll come back
to this story later.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Here’s the second story- you’ve heard it before: There was a little boy
who was overheard saying the following bedtime prayers: “Now I lay me down to rest
and hope to pass tomorrow's test. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I
should die before I wake- that’s one less test I’ll have to take.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure Abraham felt the same way, because
the episode in Genesis (22: 1-14) was one of the worst tests any parent could
possibly be called to take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of
my least favorite stories in the entire Bible- the story of Abraham almost
sacrificing his beloved son, Isaac, in obedience to God’s command.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason I avoid this story is because it
is so easily misunderstood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s almost
impossible to enter into the culture of the event, so huge confusions
result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning, since we can’t
avoid it (the story is in the lessons to be read for today) let’s look at it to
see what in the world it probably meant then and what wisdom it has for us
today.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">We’ll start with what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
you recall, we’ve been following the story of Abraham for some time now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abraham and Sarah (his wife) were called by
God to go to an unknown land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they
obeyed, they were promised much land and as many descendants as the stars in
heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You remember the problem- when
all this started, Abraham and Sarah were both probably in their seventies and
childless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did as God asked; and
finally Isaac, the child of promise, was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today’s episode takes place when Isaac was about twelve years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God tests Abraham by ordering him to
sacrifice Isaac on an altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We heard
how God provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">To comprehend the significance of this story, it’s important to
understand what life was like at that time, especially in terms of two
entities: God and children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s look
at their understandings of God first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus
taught us that God is our heavenly Father, and that God is love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ancients had no such understanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They almost all believed that their gods
played with humans like cats play with mice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They believed that the gods had to be bought off by sacrifices; and in
crisis situations, the gods had to be persuaded to help people with ghastly
sacrifices- their oldest children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
sounds so impossible for us, but it’s how out ancestors saw the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their understandings of children were just as
primitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As late as the time of Jesus,
boy babies were much preferred to girl babies, so if a female infant was born-
often the child would be left in the wilderness to die (just as Abraham
intended for Hagar and Ishmael).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Owners
of houses of prostitution would scour the wilderness for these girl
babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The owners would take them to
their business establishments and raise them as prostitutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that if a man went to a prostitute
(common and accepted in the pagan culture), he might be having sex with his own
daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s how the ancients viewed
children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must have blown their minds
when Jesus said, “Let the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People
who are like these children belong to God's kingdom.” (Luke 18:16)</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">I can hear you now- “Rev. Judy, all these are interesting facts and
stories, but what’s the point?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In all
this- what can you tell me from the Bible to help me improve my spiritual walk
and live my life better as a Christian this coming week?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friends, what Telemachus did in the fourth
century AD, Abraham did at the dawn of civilization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, God almighty had looked down from
heaven to see beautiful children- given as gifts from Him to their parents, but
then killed- sacrificed on the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God saw people afraid of Him, desperately trying to appease Him, and
misusing their children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God looked and
found one ordinary person to answer the call to speak for Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abraham passed his test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Telemachus was God’s instrument for
stopping the disgraceful gladiator contests, Abraham was God’s instrument for
stopping child sacrifice by God’s people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Except for times of extreme apostasy, the Israelites never again offered
their children on the altar of sacrifice.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">It wasn’t
just Telemachus and Abraham who said, “In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Moses
shouted, “In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">The
prophet Amos proclaimed, “In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Jesus of
Nazareth taught, “In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Harriet
Tubman stated, “In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">The Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prophesied, “In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Throughout
the ages, many of God’s faithful people (the unknown as well as the famous) proclaimed,
“In the name of God, STOP!”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">So where does this leave you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What is God calling you to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What difference in this world is God calling you to make?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who is God calling you to feed, clothe, help,
love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What injustices in your family,
neighborhood, city, country, world is God calling you to heal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to close with the well-known
prayer of St. Francis (found on page 833 of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Book of Common Prayer</i>):</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">“Lord, make us instruments
of your peace.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is hatred, let
us sow love.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is injury,
pardon.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is discord,
union.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is doubt, faith.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is despair,
hope.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is darkness,
light.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Where there is sadness, joy.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Grant that we may not so
much seek to be consoled as to console.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">To be understood as to
understand.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">To be loved as to love.</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">For it is in giving that we
receive;</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">It is in pardoning that we
are pardoned;</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 1in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">And it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen.”</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">My prayer you, for me, for us is that we will pass God’s test when it
comes, and in the words of the Prophet Amos: “Let justice roll down like waters
and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Amen.</font></span></div>
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<div 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 target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></u></a><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org" target="_blank">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a></font></u><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
.</font></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Blessed
preaching,</font></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Judy
Boli</font></div>
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<div 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></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Saginaw,
Michigan</font></div>
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