[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 1B

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Fri, Jan 6, 2012 11:26 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 1B


Dear Friends,

Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Justice and Jubilee” or “The Judy
Touch” or “The Work of ChristMass” and deals with the Acts lesson (10:
34-38). Here it is:

In today’s gospel, we heard the episode of Jesus’ baptism by his
cousin John.  This was the start of our Lord’s public ministry.  Then
in the Old Testament lesson from Isaiah (which parallels Jesus’ first
sermon- Luke 4:16-21), we heard what this ministry was: Jubilee.  You
recall how in ancient Israel, every seventh day was a Sabbath- a day
of spiritual refreshment.  Every seventh year was also a Sabbath year,
when the land was to rest.  Seven Sabbath years would be every fifty
years. (They counted from “one”, not “zero” as we do.)  This Sabbath
of Sabbaths was the Jubilee year as described in Deuteronomy.
Everyone had a fresh start- slaves were freed, land and belongings
reverted back to the original owners, in other words- the basic
concept of Jubilee was the great equalizer.  Isaiah reminds us that
the messiah would institute the Jubilee.  Finally, in the Bible
reading from the book of Acts, we heard the end of the encounter
between Peter and the Roman (Gentile) offices, Cornelius.  It’s this
story that points out exactly what Jubilee meant when Peter tried to
live it in his life in the first century and when we try to live it
today.  The modern day saint and hero who best typifies Jubilee was
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday is next a week
from this coming Monday.  Let’s look at the Acts story.

To understand the significance of Peter’s experience, you need to
recall how Jews felt about Gentiles.  Do you remember the extremely
cruel childhood game of the so-and-so touch?  It begins by a popular
child touching a tormented, picked-on child, let’s call her “Judy”- I
feel better using myself.  The popular child then runs to catch
another child and touches him or her, as in tag.  However, here’s the
difference- once you are tagged, you have the “Judy touch.”  That’s
how Jews felt about Gentiles.  If even the shadow of a Gentile fell on
a Jew, he or she was unclean and had to wash to cleanse himself or
herself from the defilement of the “Gentile touch.”  It goes without
saying that Jews never ate with Gentiles or even considered inviting
Gentiles into their homes.  That’s the cultural background of the
story.  You see how their 1st century culture brainwashed them?  We
must be very careful that we don’t allow 21st century culture to
brainwash us today.  Well, the story from the book of Acts starts with
Peter, who is visiting Simon, the tanner, asleep on the roof.  In his
dream- unless you want to call it a nightmare, Peter is famished.  All
of a sudden a huge sheet descends from heaven with many kinds of
unclean animals on it.  Peter hears a voice saying, “Arise, Peter,
kill and eat.”  Peter answers, “Lord, you know that I’ve never eaten
anything unclean in my life.”  The sheet goes back to heaven.  Peter
remains hungry.  You know what happens- down comes the sheet again
with the same words: “Arise, Peter, kill and eat.”  Once again, Peter
answers, “Lord, you know that I’ve never eaten anything unclean in my
life.”  Back goes the sheet up to heaven.  Obviously, Peter is still
very hungry, when- you know what happened- down comes the sheet again
with the same words: “Arise, Peter, kill and eat.”  Again Peter
answered, “Lord, you know that I’ve never eaten anything unclean in my
life.”  This time, God responds: “Peter, don’t you ever call something
unclean that I’ve created.”  At once, Peter awakens to find two
servants and one soldier of the Gentile, Cornelius, at his door.
Cornelius was sending for Peter.  Peter invited the Gentile guests to
spend the night, then went with them to instruct and subsequently
baptize Cornelius.  That’s what happened before the Acts lesson when
Peter proclaimed everyone equal- amazing insight for a first century
Jewish man!

So, what’s the significance of this story in our own lives, and even
more important, what’s the significance for those young people
baptized last Sunday?  We are citizens of a Kingdom in which everyone
is equal; a Kingdom in which every day is a fresh start.  Let’s be
more specific.  Who is your Cornelius?  What kind of person is it that
you just don’t like?  Remember the sheet- everybody gets a fresh
start- no one is unclean whom God has created.  Here’s another
possibility.  To whom are you a Cornelius?  Who treats you as if you
aren’t quite as good as they are?  Maybe it’s your color, maybe it’s
your sex, maybe it’s your age, maybe it’s your educational level (too
high or too low), maybe it’s how much money you have or don’t have
(too rich or too poor), maybe it’s how you speak (too proper or not
proper enough), maybe it’s your weight (too fat or too thin), etc.
Remember the sheet- in God’s eyes there aren’t any “too anythings.”
The ground is always level at the foot of the cross.  Believe in your
Creator, believe in yourself, and speak up.  Maybe you don’t have any
Cornelius’s and maybe you’ve never been a Cornelius to anyone else,
but you can’t live long in this society without seeing someone treated
like a Cornelius.  That’s when your loyalty to Jesus and his mission
comes in.  No matter the cost, speak up.  It’s not just Jesus who was
called to institute Jubilee and justice, he does it through his
followers- us.

I want to close with one of my favorite poems (one we’ve used every
Epiphany 1 recently) by Howard Thurman, an African-American educator,
poet, and mystic.  This poem reminds us of our responsibilities as
Christians to Jesus’ mission and its relationship to ChristMass:
“When the song of the angel is still,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
	To find the lost,
	To heal the broken,
	To feed the hungry,
	To release the prisoner,
	To rebuild the nations,
	To bring peace among peoples,
	To make music in the heart!”

My prayer is that we keep ChristMass, the real ChristMass, the Jubilee
ChristMass all year long and all our lives long.

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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