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From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org><br>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Feb 24, 2018 3:50 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 2B: “What (or Who) Is Your Cross?” or “Lent- the Chance of a Lifetime”<br>
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<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Dear Friends,</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “What (or Who) Is
Your Cross?” or “Lent- the Chance of a Lifetime” and deals with the gospel (Mark
8: 31-38).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here it is: </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">Last Sunday, we thought through the whole problem of temptation- how
our human nature predisposes us to yield to temptation, because we want
anything we’re told we can’t have (as did Adam and Eve with that fruit); how
the problem was not lack of education, but choice; and how not yielding to
temptation is really a mind game- because where our mind goes, our mouths and
actions are almost sure to follow.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This
morning, I’d like us to look at a very unpopular subject- crosses- our cross,
Abraham’s cross, and Jesus’ cross.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
heard Jesus tell his disciples to take up their cross and follow him, and we
know- as much as we’d like to not think about it, Jesus is talking to us
also.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></font></font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">It is really important to understand about taking up our cross, because
not understanding can lead us into trouble.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>First of all- just to clear up a common misconception- your cross is not
something that just happens to you, like arthritis or cancer or heart disease
or some kind of handicapping condition, however difficult it is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s an affliction.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Your cross is something you choose to carry,
a chosen sacrifice that is chosen specifically because you love Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Second- carrying our cross is not something
we can do or not do if we accept Jesus as our Lord as well as our Savior. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus doesn’t say, “Take up your cross and
follow me if you feel like it, or if it’s not too inconvenient, or if it
doesn’t expose you to unpleasantness.”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>He says, “Take up your cross and follow me”- period- no choice, an
order.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So where are you about crosses,
and what (or who) is your cross?</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Abraham is a good example of someone who willingly took up his cross,
accepted the possibility of a huge sacrifice, and did what God needed
done.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We heard about it today in the
story of his willing offering of his only son, Isaac.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we don’t understand the culture of his
time, we miss something very important in this episode.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What Abraham thought God was asking him to do
was not unusual.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The people of almost
all the cultures of that historical period practiced child sacrifice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Anytime something really catastrophic was
threatening (drought, war, disease), the common assumption was that the chief
god was angry and needed to be appeased- and the blood of the oldest male child
would do it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Did you notice back in verse
5 when Abraham told his servants: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">WE</b>
will come back?”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even though he was a
product of his culture, Abraham somehow knew that God would not really allow
the sacrifice of his beloved child- that God would somehow provide, yet Abraham
followed through as he understood until the angel intervened.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why in the world did God suggest such a
terrible thing?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Probably because God was
sick, sick, sick of innocent children being offered on the altar of sacrifice
to appease him, because that’s not at all what he wanted.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It was probably to make exactly that point,
because- except for times of huge apostasy, this was the very last child offered
as a sacrifice by the Israelites in the name of God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In other words- Abraham’s willingness to
sacrifice finally allowed God to make the point: children are to be loved,
nurtured, cared for, yes- sacrificed for.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>That’s a good message for us today.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We talk a lot about how much we love our children, but do we sacrifice
for them as did earlier generations?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If
it’s a choice between our clothes or their teeth, our habit (alcohol, tobacco,
etc.) or their clothes, our fun or their sleep, our entertainment and the media
we allow in our house or their moral development- which do we choose?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Or perhaps we make huge sacrifices for them,
but the focus is not on the individual child- it’s on ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It’s so easy to see our children as
extensions of ourselves, so we expect them to succeed specifically in areas in
which we did not.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can’t tell you in
the course of forty years of teaching and almost forty years of priesting how
many times I have heard parents talk about high expectations for their children
when they needed right at that time to get some education themselves so their
children would have a better life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Take
up your cross and follow me,” says Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Are you listening?</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">What if your children are not your cross?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What is your cross?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you inconvenience yourself for anyone
besides someone in your own family?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do
you inconvenience yourself for God?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Let’s look at what a cross really is?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>A cross was a means of torture and execution.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If Jesus were sacrificed for our sins today,
he probably would have died in an electric chair or by lethal injection.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This would mean that we who wanted to remind
ourselves of our commitment to our Lord would be wearing an electric chair or a
gurney with restraining straps and an IV bag on a chain around our necks!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A cross was a means of insuring ridicule and
humiliation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You know how people even
today in our reality-type TV programs seem to love to watch people under embarrassing,
frightening situations?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Have you noticed
how that TV camera is pushed right up to the face of the grieving widow after a
tornado or the microphone in the face of the mother after her child has been
murdered?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I hate to think of the
possibilities if TV cameras were allowed in execution chambers!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Times haven’t changed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As the person carrying the cross struggled
under its weight to the place of execution, people seemed to love being
entertained by their torture; and they jeered, laughed, poked, prodded, and
otherwise embarrassed the victim.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So you
see- a cross (as Jesus intended) is a pain- often exceedingly difficult, embarrassing,
unfashionable, time and energy consuming, and we’re frequently not appreciated
for making the sacrifice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A fellow
pastor told of a man in his congregation who stopped every day after work to
help a disabled neighbor- washed him, shaved him, shopped for him, ran errands
for him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When asked, he said that- yes,
it was extremely inconvenient- but God had laid on his heart that this was to
be his cross.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“The amazing thing,” he
said, “is that- as much as I give, I receive much more.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s probably what Jesus meant when he said
that the person who sacrifices for God and others will gain his life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Rev. Richard Donovan is entitling his
sermon for today, “Jesus Calls Us to a Life of Giving that We Might Have a Life
Worth Living.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not bad!</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">So, I ask you again- what’s your cross?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Have you ever donated money to someone who was not a family member or
friend when you needed it yourself?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What
do you do to help the stranger, the person not as privileged as you are?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you only thinking of you and yours, or do
you reach out in Jesus name?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>More to the
point, if you take Jesus seriously- this Lent is the perfect time to make some
changes if the Holy Spirit is convicting you right now.</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">One more thought about crosses before we give our thoughts about this
to Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you aware that one of the
latest fashion accessories these days is a cross- a huge, gaudy piece of junk
jewelry.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s one more thing a cross
is NOT intended to be- in fact it’s as close to a put-down of Jesus’ sacrifice
as we might find, but look around- you know what I mean.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Does this mean that you should not wear a cross
around your neck?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Of course not, but
it’s important, if you choose to wear one, to do so for the right reason.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I wear a cross almost every day.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do I wear a cross?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I wear one to remind myself I am a child of
the King, that I’m never alone- because God is with me (as in the Romans lesson
today).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sometimes, especially if I’m
frightened or anxious or under pressure, I’ll quietly slip my cross inside my
blouse so I can feel it right next to my skin.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It reminds me that the Jesus of my last Holy Communion is even nearer to
me than that cross.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Is there a time you
should never wear a cross?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Absolutely!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you about to cuss
someone out?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you about to boss
someone or treat someone unfairly?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Never, I hope, with a cross showing!<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>You know the verse that says, “I don’t want to be like Judas in my
heart; I just want to be like Jesus.”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Wearing a cross while being a person of injustice or of violence in word
or deed makes us a traitor to almighty God.</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">In closing, check yourself out with this Lenten thought: “Too many
people are waiting for God to do things for them rather than with them.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Don’t be like that.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Be a loyal disciple.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Take up your cross and follow Jesus!</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">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"></font></u></a><u><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org" target="_blank">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a></font></u><font color="#000000"> .</font></font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Blessed preaching,</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Judy Boli</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</font></span></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Saginaw, Michigan</font></span></div>
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