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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, Jun 30, 2018 4:39 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 8B: “Share What You Have” or “Reach Out and Touch”<br>
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<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Dear
Friends,</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Share What You Have” or “Reach Out and Touch” and
deals with all the lessons.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here it is: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Good morning.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Once again we have really thought-provoking
Bible lessons, but this time they meddle, because each of them is talking about
a subject we’d really like to say is our personal business- i.e. nobody’s
business but our own.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Paul sums up what
these lessons are about in the epistle when he says: “It is only fair for you
to share with others when you have so much and they have so little” (2</font><sup>nd</sup><font size="3">
Corinthians 8:13b-14).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s the
Christianity-rubber-hits-the-road topic: sharing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our Bible lessons teach about five important
aspects of sharing for us to use as we walk with our Lord through life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Then a thought for the week we have
frequently used tells one important reason why we share: “We make a living by
what we get, but we make a life by what we give” (Norman MacFinan).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">Let’s look at the Old
Testament lesson from Exodus (15:7-11).<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>As you can see, the topic is loans, but its basic teaching is about
lending a helping hand.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Moses, speaking
for God, tells his people that they are to help those in need whenever they
can, even if it is at their own disadvantage.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Their society had a wonderful custom given to them by God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s where Jubilee comes from.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Every Sabbath year of Sabbath years (7X7
years plus 1- due to how they counted), all property reverted to its original
owner, all slaves were freed, every family had a second chance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What we heard Moses warning the Israelites
about was to forget about which year it was if someone was in need.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Just help them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If it is year one of fifty years, you have 49
years to get your stuff back; if it is year 49 of fifty years- you only have
one year to get it back.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Don’t think
about yourself- think about the person in need and help them, even if you
yourself end up getting shortchanged.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How
many friendships have been wrecked, how many relationships have been destroyed,
how much violence has been done because someone couldn’t (not wouldn’t-
couldn’t) pay back a debt.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s hard
teaching, because the message to us is “Forget about yourself and concentrate
on the needy person and help him or her.”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">If you get your stuff back-
fine.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If not- forgive.</b></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The Psalm reminds us that what goes around comes around- good as well
as bad.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you want blessings?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Well then- be a blessing to others.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Did you hear the story of the little girl who
went to the doctor’s office with her mother?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>She was usually absolutely awful in the waiting room, but this time she
was wonderful- even when she had to be left alone while her mother went in to
see the doctor.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The receptionist was so
impressed that she offered the child some candy from her candy jar, but the
little girl dropped her eyes and looked shy, so the receptionist just took a
handful and gave it to her.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As soon as
they were outside, her mother couldn’t stand it any longer- since she knew her
daughter was NOT shy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Why didn’t you
get your own candy?” she asked.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Oh,
that’s easy,” said her daughter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“The
receptionist has bigger hands!” <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That
receptionist’s hands may be big and therefore able to hold more goodies, but
God’s hands are infinitely bigger and they can hold an amazing amount of
blessings.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We don’t give to be blessed,
but when we give- blessings just seem to find us.</font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">In today’s epistle, we
hear Paul trying to get his church in Corinth to share.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What you need to know is that the Jerusalem
church was in serious difficulty because there was a famine in that part of the
world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>People were starving.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Paul did his best to get the other churches
to send money to the Jerusalem church to relieve their desperate food
needs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The problem was- most of the
Christians in the Jerusalem church were Jews, and many of the Christians in Paul’s
churches were gentiles.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You already know
that Jews discriminated against gentiles, so you can only imagine what people
said when Paul told them to send some of their hard-earned cash to help those
Jews, but Paul didn’t back down.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The lesson for us: don’t worry about if you
like the person in need; don’t even worry about if they are your enemy- in
Jesus’ name, help them.</b></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Today’s gospel shows
Jesus in the act of sharing- reaching out to those in need, not with money- but
with himself.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>First he starts to Jairus’
house to heal his daughter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Part way
there, he feels a woman touch him- and you know the rest of the story.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He stops and has a rather lengthy discussion
with her to be sure she is healed and whole, then goes on to Jairus’
house.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The lesson for us- those
distractions; don’t we hate them!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
just start one task when the phone rings or someone calls our name.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We stop to help them and while we are still
doing it- someone rings the doorbell.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What did Jesus do?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He went with the flow.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He handled the interruptions as they came,
without anger- but with compassion.</b><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Easy?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>NO, but who ever said
following Jesus would be easy?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It seems
I remember something about a cross.</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000"><font size="3">Listening to these
lessons, it sounds like we should help everyone who comes to us, but that’s not
what the Bible teaches.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Paul faced a
problem in his Thessalonian church that speaks to this. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Members in this church were sure that Jesus
was coming back soon, like maybe today or tomorrow, so some of them didn’t see
any need to work.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They quit their jobs
and just sponged food from their hard-working Christian sisters and brothers
who had maintained their jobs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Paul
found out about it, he wrote that under circumstances like these when someone
was just being lazy and not using the gifts God had given them, he gave them
this rule: “If you don't work, you don't eat” (2</font><sup>nd</sup></font><font color="#000000" size="3"> Thessalonians
3:10).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The lesson for us- don’t let people misuse your goodness, or you will
just enable and weaken them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Help those
who need it, but use good judgment.</b><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>(Some people would call it “Tough Love.”) and don’t let people con you.</font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">In closing, I’m going
to tell you a personal story, something that really happened to me, so you can
learn from my mistake.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It’s a warning
about how important it is to reach out, share of yourself, even if we’re
talking about a huge interruption.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Shortly after I was ordained, I was doing a hospital call at St.
Mary’s.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Along with the person I was
seeing from St. Paul’s, there was also an out-of-town woman who had asked to
see an Episcopal priest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I was still
teaching full time then, and I was really tired when I finished seeing the St.
Paul’s person, so I went to the nursing station to see how the out-of-town
woman was doing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(These were the old
days when I could find out.)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The nurse
said she was doing fine and would probably be going home in a day or two, so I
decided I would just drag my tired self home to my recliner and family- I could
go back the next day.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Well, the next day
I went up to the floor, but couldn’t find the lady.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When I asked at the desk, the nurse said,
“Oh, she died last night.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lesson for
me?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You bet- it changed my
priesthood.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Never again!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’ve learned to listen to those Holy Spirit
whispers.</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">May God bless you as
you share from your abundance with those in need.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3"><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><font color="#000000" size="3">
.</font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Blessed
preaching,</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Judy
Boli</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">St.
Paul's Episcopal Church</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Saginaw,
Michigan</font></div>
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