[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 24A

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Fri, Oct 14, 2011 10:48 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 24A


Dear Friends,

Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Give WHO…WHAT?!” or “You Are What You
Think?” and deals with the Gospel (Matthew 22: 15-22). Here it is:

Do you remember the story I told you back in May, 1010?   It was about
a principal, school custodian, and some 12-year-old girls?  According
to a news report, a certain private school in Washington recently was
faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were
beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom.  That
was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their
lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night,
the custodian would remove them and the next day, the girls would put
them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be
done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with
the custodian.  She explained that all these lip prints were causing a
major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every
night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors,
she asked the custodian to show the girls how much effort was
required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the
toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.  Since then, there have been
no lip prints on the mirror (JokesWareHouse.com Joke of the Day).

Just as that principal and custodian outsmarted the girls, Jesus once
again outsmarted the Pharisees when they tried, as usual, to trap
Jesus.  It seems they didn’t have the nerve themselves, so they got
some of their students to ask him a trick question: “Should we pay
taxes to the Emperor or not?” (Matthew 22: 17b).  This was intended to
be one of those lose-lose questions for Jesus.  What they figured was-
if Jesus said to pay taxes to the Emperor, the people would be angry.
They hated the Emperor and Rome, because they were an occupied
country.  If, however, Jesus said not to pay taxes to the Emperor- he
would end up in prison or dead!  Did you notice how brilliantly Jesus
handled the situation?  First he asked, “Whose picture and name are on
it?” (Matthew 22: 20b).  When they answered “The Emperor’s”, he said:
“Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to
God” (Matthew 22: 21b).  He put it right back in their corner- their
trick didn’t work.

As you know, in those days- the Emperor represented the government, so
the questions comes right back to us.  What do we owe the government
and what do we owe God?  Let’s look at what we owe our government
first.
1.	“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there
is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a
citizen.” Romans 13:1 (The Message Translation).  In the U. S. this
means- be informed, vote, participate, and obey the law.  Be informed-
do you know what’s going on in your city, state, country, world?  Do
you only watch fun TV programs, or do you watch the news?  Are you
registered to vote?  If not, get registered.  Don’t put it off and
then miss your chance to vote.  If you don’t vote, you have nothing to
say about what our officials do!
2.	“Prayer and thanksgiving should be made for kings and all in
authority” (1 Timothy 2:1,2).  You notice, we pray for our leaders in
church.  Do you pray for them in your own private prayers?
3.	You’ll love this one- “You must also pay your taxes” (Romans 13:
6).  Yech!  Of course we know it’s true!  Who else is going to pay for
roads and schools and police officers and inspectors to be sure our
food is safe?!
That’s what you owe the government.

Now, what do you owe God?  Remember, Jesus said to look at the coin to
see whose image was on it.  If we look at this quarter, who’s image is
on it?  Sure, George Washington- the first president of our country.
Now, whose image is in you?  God’s! (Genesis 1: 27).  Do you remember
this poem from 2008 that goes:
“My face in the mirror isn't wrinkled or drawn.
My house isn't dirty.  The cobwebs are gone.
My garden looks lovely and so does my lawn.
I think I may never......put my glasses back on.”
“God created humans in his own image.  Male and female created he
them.”)  What’s it mean to you?  Remember the end of last week’s
epistle- Philippians 4: 8 (“Finally, my friends, keep your minds on
whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever
stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.”)
Since we are what we think, if we think on those things, that’s who
we’ll become.  So put your God-glasses back on and look at life as a
child of our heavenly Father.

What is this?  (a mirror).  Tomorrow morning, when you first look at
yourself in the mirror- probably with your hair a mess and your teeth
not brushed, remember that you are created in God’s image.  Don’t
worry too much about what you look like- be concerned about that
precious image inside and don’t embarrass your dad.

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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