[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 3B

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Jan 21, 2012 10:49 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 3B


Dear Friends,

Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Jonah” and deals with the Old Testament
lesson (Jonah 3: 1- 5, 10). Here it is:

This morning, we heard the end of the story of Jonah- you probably
remember it from Sunday school.  Speaking of remembering, do you
remember the story of the little girl who was riding by herself in a
bus?  To use her time wisely, she was reading a book of Bible
stories.  The man in the next seat saw what she was reading and wanted
to tease her, so he said, “I see you are reading a book of Bible
stories.  Which story are you reading?”  “The story about Jonah being
swallowed by the big fish,” replied the little girl.  “You really
don’t believe that a fish could swallow a fully-grown person, do
you?!” said the man.  “Of course I do!” exclaimed the little girl.
“How is that possible?” asked the man.  The little girl said, “When I
get to Heaven I will ask Jonah.”  The man asked, “What if Jonah went
to Hell?”  The little girl replied, “Oh, that’s easy- then you ask
him.”

Do you remember why Jonah got swallowed by the huge fish?  God wanted
him to travel to Nineveh to warn the people to repent, but he hated
them, so he got on a boat headed in the opposite direction for
Tarshish (Spain).  God caused a huge storm to attack the boat.  When
the sailors prayed for deliverance, Jonah told them he was the
problem, so just throw him overboard.  God had a huge fish ready.  The
fish swallowed Jonah whole, which saved him from drowning.  While he
was in the belly of the fish, Jonah decided to obey God, so God had
the fish vomit him up on the shore.  From there, Jonah headed for
Nineveh.  The people of Nineveh believed Jonah’s message and
repented.  Jonah was really angry- he wanted to see the city of his
enemies destroyed, so he sat under a huge bush in its shade and
pouted.  God appointed a worm to destroy the bush, so Jonah lost his
shade.  When Jonah complained to God, the Lord reminded him that he is
a God of compassion and second chances.  What’s in this ancient story
for us?

First: forgive your enemies and reach out to them.  You’ve heard
repeatedly how God says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Romans
12:19).  Jonah hated the Ninevites because they had destroyed the
country of his ancestors and killed many of them.  He was glad to give
the revenge to God as long as God destroyed them and their land.  I am
reminded of an old friend- not from St. Paul’s, who was horrified that
God would have forgiven Hitler if he had but asked; and not only
forgiven him- God would have welcomed him into heaven.  Did you notice
the thought for the week; “We expect God to be patient with us, but
get annoyed when God is equally patient with others” (The Rev. William
W. Boli).

Second: don’t drag other people down with you.  Did you notice how
Jonah told the sailors that the storm was his fault, and that they
should throw him overboard instead of allowing everyone onboard ship
to drown?  If you’ve chosen to go against God’s will, don’t look for
company.

Finally: don’t mess with God!  Did you hear the story of the little
boy and his babysitter?  Little Johnny was told that he hadn’t eaten
anything for days, so his mother called his favorite babysitter to see
if she could get him to eat.  “I’ll pay you $100 if you can get him to
eat anything,” said his mother.  “Anything?” asked the babysitter.
“Yes, anything!” said the exasperated mother.  “I’ll be right over!”
said the babysitter; because she had seen some new jeans she wanted.
When she got there, she offered Johnny all the goodies she could think
of.  That didn't work.  She tried a little scolding.  It didn't work.
A little pleading.  To no avail.  Finally she sat down, faced the boy,
looked him in the eye, and said “Look young man, if you can be
stubborn, so can I.  You're not going anywhere till you eat
something.  You can have whatever you want, but only after you have
eaten will you leave the table.”  Little Johnny just sat and glared
for some time, then said “Ok, I'll eat, but, I have some conditions.
First, I'll have exactly what I want and exactly how I want it.
Second, you'll share it with me.”  The babysitter agreed, and asked
Johnny what he wanted.  “Worms!" said Johnny.  The babysitter was
horrified, but didn't want to back out now, when she seemed close to a
break-through, so she dug up some worms from the garden.  “Not that
many, just one,” yelled Johnny when he saw the plate.  So, everything
other than one worm was removed.  Johnny then demanded that the single
worm be cut in two and that the babysitter eat half.  The babysitter
wrinkled up her face, held his nose, thought of the new jeans, and ate
half the worm.  Turning to Little Johnny, she said, “Ok, now you
eat!”  Little Johnny, sobbing refused.  “I c-c-c-can't!  You ate my
half!”  Maybe children can mess with their babysitters, but we should
not mess with God!  If there is something God wants you to do, do it!

May God bless us as we seek to answer his call, reach out to others-
even our enemies, and live holy lives.

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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