<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 Samsung Galaxy smartphone.</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: 23/03/2019 12:55 pm (GMT-06:00) </div><div>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> </div><div>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 3C: “Wishbone, Jawbone, Knucklebone, or Backbone?” or “Get Rid of that Plastic!” </div><div><br></div></div><div dir="ltr">
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes">Dear
Friends,</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes">This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Wishbone, Jawbone, Knucklebone, or Backbone?” or
“Get Rid of that Plastic!” and is based on the gospel (Luke 13:1-9).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Here it is: <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal">In our gospel reading for
today, we heard Jesus tell the following story (Luke 13: 6-9 CEV):<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“A man had a fig tree growing in his
vineyard. One day he went out to pick some figs, but he didn't find any.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>7 So he said to the gardener, ‘For three
years I have come looking for figs on this tree, and I haven't found any yet.
Chop it down! Why should it take up space?’<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>8 The gardener answered, ‘Master, leave it for another year. I'll dig
around it and put some manure on it to make it grow.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>9 Maybe it will have figs on it next year.
If it doesn't, you can have it cut down.’”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Have you ever gone to the refrigerator looking for that piece of
leftover cake or the rest of the ice-cream in the freezer and found that
someone else had beaten you to it?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You
can almost taste that cake or ice cream, but it isn’t there, so you’re left to
satisfy your craving with an apple or some leftover chicken.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That’s how the owner of the vineyard
felt!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He had repeatedly (three years!)
gone to that tree- hungry, mouth watering- almost able to taste those figs-
looking, expecting, hoping, but nothing was there.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You KNOW he was frustrated!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not only that, he was watching his money
trickling away in taxes, because in those days people were taxed for every tree
they owned.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Here he was paying taxes on
that useless tree.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You can see why he
told the gardener in no uncertain terms to cut that stupid tree down!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The gardener begged for time for the tree,
and promised to give it some TLC for the next year.</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none">That’s
the story Jesus told.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What’s in it for
us in the twenty-first century?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To find
out, we’ll have to dig a little (like that gardener).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first life-lesson is in the answer to
this question: what was the sin of the tree?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>If you are a parent, grandparent, Godparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, or
anybody connected with children, a familiar episode from your own life will
tell you right away.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You hear a loud
crash, so you hurry into the room to find all the children looking like angels.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When you ask what happened, you get the
answer, “Nothing- I/we didn’t do anything.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>That’s what the tree did- nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>It wasn’t doing anything.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was
just sitting there taking up valuable space, money, fertilizer, etc., and it
wasn’t producing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was NOT doing what
fig trees are called to do- produce fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Have you heard that every church has four kinds of bones: wishbones,
jawbones, knucklebones, and backbones?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>The wishbone is made up of those who wish somebody would do something;
the jawbone- all talk and no action; the knucklebone- knock everything; the
backbone- those who carry the load and do most of the work.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When God looks at the wishbones, jawbones,
and knuckle bones in churches, God must think about that fig tree.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thank God we’ve got lots of backbones at St.
Paul’s!</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none">The
second life-lesson is that God expects us to produce fruit- just like that fig
tree; but what fruit are we supposed to produce? Try Galatians 5: 22-23a- “The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>How are you doing in bearing fruit, and what’s getting in the way of you
bearing even more fruit for the Lord?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As
you know, Dr. Caroline Scott really works hard on our gorgeous meditation
garden on the south side of our church building.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was really getting nice by the end of the
summer the last few years.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The flowers
were blooming and the pond with the water lilies and other water plants was so
very relaxing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In a word- the entire
garden was beginning to show huge promise EXCEPT for about <st1:metricconverter w:st="on" productid="20 feet">20 feet</st1:metricconverter> toward the parking
lot.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Anything she planted there seemed
to struggle and not really do well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You
know what she discovered- there is thick, tough builders’ plastic covering that
area, so anything planted over the plastic can’t get its roots deep into the
earth for moisture and fertilizer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m
not sure exactly how she’s going to solve this latest challenge (although I
know she will), but that area of the garden is a lot like us at points in our
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We don’t bear the fruits God
desires because the cares of this world, our busyness, our unconfessed sins,
our negligence of Bible reading, worship, and prayer all form a barrier to the
spiritual power God is longing to give us.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>In other words, we don’t get our spiritual roots down deeply enough to
absorb the power God is waiting to give us.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Then we wonder why we’re so tired all the time and why our lives seem so
meaningless.</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none">In
closing, I’d like us to read the story part of the gospel again with the
following interpretation: The man is God; the fig tree is us; the vineyard is
the world (our city, neighborhood, family, church); and the gardener is
Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As we read, watch for the changes
I make, and listen with your heart.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Luke
13: 6-9 CEV):<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“GOD had US growing in his
WORLD. One day GOD went out to ENJOY OUR FRUITS- LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE,
KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL, but he didn't
find any.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>7 So GOD said to JESUS, ‘For
three years I have come looking for LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS,
GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL on THOSE PEOPLE, and I
haven't found any yet. Chop THEM down! Why should they take up space?’<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>8 JESUS answered, ‘FATHER, leave THEM ALONE
for another year. I'll dig around THEM and put some manure on THEM to make THEM
grow.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>9 Maybe THEY will have LOVE, JOY,
PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND
SELF-CONTROL on THEM next year. If THEY DON’T, THEN you can have THEM cut
down.’”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The gospel of the Lord.</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;text-autospace:none">May
God bless us as we rid our lives of all that blocks us from God’s power and
joy; and may we show forth the spiritual fruits God longs to see.</p>
<p style="line-height:normal"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;tab-stops:.25in;
mso-mirror-indents:yes">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: <a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a>
.</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes"> </p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes">Blessed
preaching,</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes">Judy
Boli</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes">St.
Paul's Episcopal Church</p>
<p style="line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes">Saginaw,
Michigan</p>
</div>
<p></p>
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