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<div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">-----Original Message-----</span><br>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org></span><br>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org></span><br>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Sent: Sat, Aug 17, 2019 9:49 pm</span><br>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 15C: “Fire- Use It!”</span><br>
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<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong style=""><span style="font-weight: normal;"><font size="5" style="">Dear Friends,</font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5"> </font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled<span> </span>“Fire- Use It!” and is based on all the
lessons.<span> </span>Here it is: <span> </span></font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5"> </font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5">What a strange Gospel
reading!<span> </span>Remember the old song that
goes, “I don’t want to set the world on fire.<span>
</span>I just want to start a flame in your heart.”<span> </span>Well in the Gospel we hear Jesus say that he
HAS come to set fire to the earth.<span> </span>He
then goes on to talk about divisions between people who love each other.<span> </span>He finally says we act like experts, but we
really don’t know what’s going on right now in terms of the really important
stuff.<span> </span>What in the world is he talking
about?</font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5"> </font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5">Let’s first look at his
statement about having come to set fire to the earth and wishing it were
already on fire.<span> </span>We can tease out his
meanings by looking at three functions of fire.<span>
</span>Do you know anyone who works or worked at a foundry? What’s the basic
job at a foundry?<span> </span>Molten steel is heated
to an extremely high temperature.<span> </span>Why do
they heat the metal to such a high temperature?<span>
</span>Sure, to burn out the impurities.<span>
</span><b>Fire is frequently used in scripture as a cleansing agent</b>.<span> </span>So when Jesus says he wishes the world were
already on fire, he is saying how he wishes his precious children (and we are
all his precious children) would be purified of our sins and those things that
hold us back from real life.<span> </span>So when you
come to the altar to receive your Holy Communion, and then every night this
week- examine your life.<span> </span>What sins, what
negative attitudes, what fatalistic beliefs, what bad habits, what
self-defeating behaviors are you still holding on to (or perhaps they are
holding on to you- like a burr).<span> </span>Get rid
of them (like the book of Hebrews says).<span>
</span>It’s much easier if we do it ourselves, instead of waiting for life to
torture us with them and for God to finally have compassion and burn them
away.<span> </span>In pioneer times, occasionally the
entire camp would be threatened by a prairie fire- burning grass advancing- no
place to hide, couldn’t outrun the flames, what could they do?<span> </span>After the loss of many lives, pioneers
finally discovered that if they purposely burned a fairly large area of grass,
when the fire advanced, they could stand in the middle of the burned-out
area.<span> </span>Because the fire had no fuel in
this area since the fuel was already burned up, the fire skipped those terrified
people and jumped on to another area.<span> </span>We
can be like those resourceful pioneers.<span>
</span>We can burn out our own imperfections so neither life nor God’s
consuming fire has to do it for us.</font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5"> </font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5"><b>Another use of fire and the
heat that comes from it is to melt metals so they can be molded into the
likeness chosen by the artist.</b><span> </span>Remember how
the children of Israel
got tired of waiting for Moses to come down from Mount
Sinai with the Ten Commandments, so they decided to make their own
god?<span> </span>Remember how they heated the gold
from their earrings and other jewelry to make the golden calf?<span> </span>Our Artist, our heavenly Father-Artist calls
us to get rid of all those idols of ours and throw them in the purifying fire
of his love, then be molded into the likeness of Jesus.<span> </span>You can’t be like Him if you don’t know
Him.<span> </span>Read his word.<span> </span>Sing His songs.<span> </span>Receive his Body and Blood.<span> </span>Mean it when you sing, “Lord, I want to be
like Jesus in my heart.”</font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5"> </font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5">The final use of fire in
scripture that I’d like us to meditate on this morning is easier understood if
we transpose Jesus’ words a bit so they say, “I came to set the world on
fire.”<span> </span>The best example I could think of
was when Jesus drove the money-changers off the porch of the temple.<span> </span>As you recall, they got rich two ways.<span> </span>They charged exorbitant prices for their
animals so pilgrims (many of them poor) could offer the required sacrifice when
they finally made it to the Jerusalem
temple.<span> </span>They also charged ridiculous
prices to trade the unacceptable Roman money for Jewish money so people could
present their gifts to God.<span> </span>I’m sure
Jesus could no longer stand the cheating, the misuse of travelers who had come
long distances, the injustice toward the poor, so he “lost it” (or looked like
he “lost it”) and drove them out.<span> </span>What
injustice riles you?<span> </span>Which acts of
meanness annoy you?<span> </span>What cruelty,
teasing, name-calling, misusing, abuse have you decided you will absolutely no
longer tolerate?<span> </span><b>Bob Pierce, founder
of World Vision, had a prayer that I wish every one of us could claim as our own.<span> </span>He said, “May my heart be broken by the
things that break the heart of God!”</b></font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5"> </font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><font size="5">Now, here’s a thought on how
to apply the “burning sin away” concept in real life. Remember Jesus’ only
command to us: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13: 34:35).<span> </span>And one of the biggest devil-traps: anger and
escalating it.<span> </span>St. James (probably
Jesus’ little brother) reminded us:<b> “The anger of man does not produce the
righteousness of God.”</b> (James 1:20, KJV). Do you know how disagreements
escalate in good people by both <b>trying to get the last word</b>?<span> </span>The only time we should get the last word is
in a situation in which we are the authority figure- i.e. someone’s mother,
father, etc.<span> </span>Otherwise, it is probably a
form of revenge, and you know what Jesus said about revenge.<span> </span>There are ways to not answer back, like-
“whatever,” “I’m sorry you feel that way,” “We’ll probably just have to agree
to disagree,” “We’ll talk later,” and if possible- walk away without an
attitude.<span> </span>Just how loyal are you to
Jesus in real life?<span> </span>Think about it.<span> </span>My prayer for you is that you continue
burning away the sins related to anger.<span>
</span>May God bless us all.</font></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5"> </font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5">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> .</font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5"> </font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5">Blessed preaching,</font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5">Judy Boli</font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong><span style="font-weight:normal;"><font size="5">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</font></span></strong></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;"><strong style=""><span style="font-weight: normal;"><font size="5" style="">Saginaw, Michigan</font></span></strong></div>
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