[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon for Lent 4A

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded:





-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: SERMONSHOP SERMONS <sermonshop-sermons.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Apr 2, 2011 3:33 pm
Subject: Sermon for Lent 4A


Dear Friends,
Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “The Egg, the Carrot, and the Coffee”
and deals with all the lessons.  Here it is:

When the prophet Isaiah quoted God as saying, “My ways are not your
ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts,” his words really
describe today’s Bible lessons.  In each one, we find God choosing
someone to do His work- someone we probably wouldn’t dream of
choosing.  In the Old Testament lesson (1st Samuel 16: 1-13), we
listen as Jesse shows off all of his sons to the prophet Samuel-
actually ALMOST all of his sons.  One by one, they paraded before the
prophet, and one by one- Samuel said- “No, this isn’t the person God
has chosen to be king.”  Remember, it was only when pressed that Jesse
“remembered” one more son- just a kid.  That kid grew to be the mighty
King David, the greatest king Israel had ever seen; the root from whom
the messiah, Jesus, developed.

Did you hear the true story of the lady and the blind man (sent in to
Ann Landers and published in the Washington Post October 13, 1998)?
Mrs. Smith was stark-naked and just about to step into the shower when
the doorbell rang. She hollered, “Who is it?” He shouted back, “It's
the blind man.” She figured it was safe, so she opened the door. He
looked at her in shock and asked, “Where do you want me to hang these
blinds, lady?”

Then there was the blind man in today’s gospel (John 9: 1-38)- not a
man hired to hang window shades, but a person with the handicapping
condition of blindness.  Everyone knew a blind man was useless, yet he
was the person who taught the learned Pharisees a thing or two.  When
he said in verse 25: “Once I was blind, but now I see,” his wisdom in
recognizing who Jesus was put the ignorance of the Pharisees to shame.

Finally there was Paul, who wrote the wise advice to the Ephesian
Church (Ephesians 5:15-16) reminding them to “act like people with
good sense and not like fools.  These are evil times, so make every
minute count.”  Who was Paul to tell anyone what to do?  As you
recall, he was a murderer.  He had as many Christians as possible
executed.  In fact, he was the one who held the coats while Stephen,
the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death.  He reminds me of
another person who wrote something- actually one of our favorite
hymns- John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace.”  As Paul was a
murderer, so was John Newton.  He captained slave ships, throwing sick
and dying Africans overboard so they wouldn’t inconvenience his
sailors.  He later was converted and became a priest in England in our
own Anglican Communion.  His friendship was one of the influences that
converted William Wilberforce and then convinced him as a Christian
man to work in the English government to abolish the slave trade.
Wilberforce was the prime person to get the slave trade stopped.

Why am I telling you about these people?  Because each one speaks to
us about how God can use everyone.  Perhaps you are (or you know) a
discouraged David- someone whose family disrespects them over and
over, someone whose self-concept is down around their knees.  Tell
them (or yourself) that out of little acorns, mighty oak trees grow,
so forget about what other people say and be all that you can be.

Or perhaps you have a handicapping condition.  Maybe you (or someone
you love) are too fat, thin, crippled, slow in school, old, young,
etc.  Recall how the blind man taught the Pharisees a thing or two and
remember that God doesn’t make junk.  Don’t worry about what you can’t
do.  Focus on what you can do for the Lord.

Or perhaps you (or someone you love) are a Paul or a John Newton.
You’ve done some heavy sinning and think God can’t use a sinner like
you.  You may even have heard people say they’re too sinful to set
foot in church.  Remember that John Newton didn’t stop captaining
slave ships as soon as he was converted.  His awareness of sin grew on
him until he gave his whole life to Jesus, was ordained, wrote
“Amazing Grace,” and discipled William Wilberforce to overcome slavery
in the British Isles.

In closing, I’m going to remind you of a story I’ve told a number of
times. A daughter complained to her father about her life and how
things were so hard for her. Maybe she was like David and not
respected by her family.  Maybe she was like the blind man and had a
handicapping condition of some sort.  Perhaps she had made some bad
choices and was now living through the consequences of her behavior.
Whatever- she told him that she did not know how she was going to make
it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It
seemed as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.  She had
decided that her fate was to lead a disappointing life and that her
lot in life was to never succeed at anything.  Her father, a chef,
took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed
each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed a
carrot, in the second he placed an egg, and in the last he placed
ground coffee beans. He let them boil for about twenty minutes, then
fished everything out of the boiling water.  Turning to her he asked.
"Darling, what do you see?"  "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and
noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break
it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted it
and smelled its rich aroma. She humbly asked. "What does it mean
Father?"  He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity,
boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in
strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile.
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after
sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The
ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.

Like the carrot, do adverse circumstances weaken you, make you lose
your commitment to God, and give up?  Or like the egg, do adverse
circumstances harden you and make you unloving and evil?  I hope not.
I hope you are like the coffee beans.  I hope your faith and love and
commitment enrich those adverse circumstances by the power of the
Spirit until they are transformed into a sweet-smelling gift to our
Lord.

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American
wisdom statements are posted on our parish web site. The address is:
http://www.stpaulsepisag.com .

Blessed preaching.
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan


 
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