<div style="color:black;font: 14pt 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 20, 2019 9:47 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 11C: “Who Does She Think She Is!?” or “Be All that You Can Be”<br>
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<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">Dear Friends,</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled<span> </span>“Who Does She Think She Is!?” or “Be All that
You Can Be” and is based on the the gospel (Luke 10:38-42).<span> </span>Here it is: </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">This
morning, we heard the extremely familiar episode of the words between Mary and
Martha when Jesus spent time in their home as a dinner guest.<span> </span>I’m sure you’ve heard sermons about service
(emphasis on Martha) and contemplation- spending time with Jesus (emphasis on
Mary).<span> </span>I thought about focusing on
priorities- God first (Mary), then service (Martha).<span> </span>Let’s examine the Biblical account to see
what other wisdom we can draw from this situation.</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">Martha’s
name meant “mistress of the house,” and in this story she really lived up to
her name.<span> </span>The episode actually probably
began in Martha’s head.<span> </span>She was most
certainly delighted when Jesus accepted their dinner invitation, and she really
wanted this meal to be perfect!<span> </span>I’m sure
she planned dish after dish to impress and delight the Master.<span> </span>I’m also sure that Mary helped in the kitchen
with the preparations- until- that is UNTIL Jesus actually came to the door and
started teaching the men.<span> </span>Mary’s name
means “rebellion,” and she really lived up to her name in this story.<span> </span>Mary probably heard a little bit of the men’s
conversation and then did something no woman of that day would ever have dared
to do- sit at his feet like a disciple, listen to him, and ask him
questions.<span> </span>Do you remember the bumper
sticker from many years back: “A woman’s place is in the house---of
bishops.”<span> </span>People in that culture really
believed the first six words.<span> </span>Women, as
well as children, were to barely be seen, but certainly not heard, and women
really belonged in the kitchen and the bedroom- period.<span> </span>In fact, two common quotations from rabbis of
that period point this out: “It is better to burn the Torah (first five books
of the Bible) than to teach it to a woman,” and “it is better to teach a
daughter to be a prostitute than to teach her the Torah!”<span> </span>You’ve heard the statement: “Knowledge is
power.”<span> </span>Here’s just one more example of
the truth of that statement- just as in slavery times, it was illegal to teach
a slave to read, so here in Jesus’ time educating a woman was simply not
done.<span> </span>Young people- get your education-
“Knowledge IS power!”<span> </span></span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">Now, back
to the story.....Martha watched her sister’s behavior with horror- this simply
was not done.<span> </span>Besides, her family would
be the talk of the town.<span> </span>She’d probably
never live down this latest behavior of her little sister.<span> </span>She went to Jesus and complained- she was
doing all the work and Mary was shirking her responsibility.<span> </span>Notice Jesus’ answer: Martha, Martha (her
name called two times- pay attention!), you worry too much.<span> </span>Only one thing (i.e.- one dish) is
enough.<span> </span>Put first things first- ME.<span> </span>Listen to ME, no matter what your culture
says.<span> </span>Mary has chosen the best part- ME,
and I’m not sending her away.<span> </span>To
Martha’s credit, we don’t hear about her saying, “O.K.- I won’t worry about
feeding anyone,” and then waiting until the guests’ stomachs start to growl!</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">That’s
what happened.<span> </span>That’s all we know.<span> </span>We really don’t know what Martha did
next.<span> </span>We do know, however, that on the
death of her brother Lazarus (John 11: 27) she made the same confession of
faith that Peter did- “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”<span> </span>True to their culture (and ours) Peter gets
all the credit and her statement is usually overlooked.</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">I see two
life-lessons for us in this episode.<span>
</span>First- watch your attitude!<span> </span>Look
at Martha’s attitude.<span> </span>Did you hear the
story of the man who was in the express lane at the store quietly fuming?<span> </span>Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead
of him had slipped into the check-out line pushing a cart piled high with
groceries.<span> </span>Imagine his delight when the
cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked
sweetly, “So, which six items would you like to buy?”<span> </span>Our resentment doesn’t usually get taken care
of as easily as that, and neither did Martha’s.<span>
</span>She resents Mary’s supposed laziness.<span>
</span>She resents her sitting at Jesus’ feet.<span>
</span>She resents her making a laughing-stock of their family by her
behavior.<span> </span>My friends, resentment doesn’t
work- it will poison our souls and make us bitter people.<span> </span>Watch for these thoughts: “She owes me!<span> </span>He could at least apologize!”<span> </span>The person who is treating us this way either
doesn’t know or doesn’t care.<span> </span>Tell them
politely (don’t let them pull you down to their level) and then give it to
God.<span> </span>St. Paul had advice on how to deal
with such situations in Ephesians (4: 26-27, 29-30a, 31-32): “Don't get so
angry that you sin.<span> </span>Don't go to bed
angry and don't give the devil a chance.....Do not use harmful words, but only
helpful words.<span> </span>Say the right thing at
the right time and help others by what you say.<span>
</span>Don't make God's Spirit sad.<span> </span>Stop
being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse
each other or ever be rude.<span> </span>Instead, be
kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of
Christ.”<span> </span>In other words- drop it; don’t
involve others; work it out; pray it out; don’t give the Devil his due.<span> </span>Fr. Bill shared a trick with me that he has
personally used for years- write down what (or more likely who) you’re mad at,
scrunch it up, and throw it into the waste basket.<span> </span>There- it’s done.</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">The
second life-lesson: don’t let our culture force you in its mold.<span> </span>Break the mold.<span> </span>Be all that you can be.<span> </span>Like Mary, claim your right as a daughter or
son of the King, so don’t believe the messages that say you can’t or it won’t
work.<span> </span>You are not too dark or too
light, too tall or too short, too male or too female, too old or too young, too
fat or too thin.<span> </span>You are not too anything.<span> </span>You were created JUST RIGHT for who God
intended you to be.<span> </span>God made you JUST
THE WAY HE WANTED YOU, so don’t disrespect your creator.<span> </span>God’s got a “Kingdom puzzle” and He knows
just where He wants you in it.<span> </span>With God,
all things are possible.<span> </span>If God wants it
and you will work for it, you can do it.<span>
</span>Here’s an example of a real sadness in my life that happens all too
often.<span> </span>Years ago, Fr. Bill and I would
go out to lunch frequently, and one of our favorite waitresses was a woman in
her mid-forties.<span> </span>When we first started
going to that restaurant, she recognized me as her former sixth grade
teacher.<span> </span>We talked a bit, and I asked
her about her life.<span> </span>I remember her as a
brilliant sixth grade student- one of the smartest young people in her
class.<span> </span>Now here she is barely making it,
waiting tables, working two jobs.<span>
</span>Another very smart student, safety-patrol captain, about the same age-
was bussing tables in the same restaurant- glad to get a job after a prison term
for selling dope.<span> </span>Don’t get me wrong-
there’s nothing the matter with waiting or bussing tables- all good, honest
work, but maybe God intended (or intends- they’re not too old) for one of them
to be the first woman president or the second Black president or to discover
the cure for HIV/AIDS or some of the forms of cancer, but they believed the
messages of our society and limited themselves.<span>
</span>They are not being all that they can be, and our society and their own
children are the poorer for it.</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">So- from
Martha- watch your attitude.<span> </span>From Mary- don’t
let our culture force you into its mold.<span>
</span>May God bless us with the power and grace to continually, day by day, be
all that we can be for His sake.<span> </span>Amen.</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">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 rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</span></a> .</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">Blessed preaching,</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">Judy Boli</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;">Saginaw, Michigan</span></strong></div>
</div>
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