[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 28B

[Joe Parrish]

 Forwarded:


-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Nov 17, 2012 9:05 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 28B


Dear Friends,

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “He’s an On Time God” (Dottie
Peoples) or “Watch Those Question Marks!” or “MYOB” and deals with all
the lessons.  Here it is:

Did you hear the story of the little three-year-old girl whose mother
delivered her baby in the car on the way to the hospital?  The
ambulance arrived just in time for the birth, and the paramedic
swatted the newborn on his bottom to help get his breathing strong.
When the excitement was over, the paramedic asked the wide-eyed little
girl what she thought about what she had just witnessed.  “Mister,
don’t worry about spanking him,” she said.  “My daddy won’t mind.  He
shouldn’t have crawled in there in the first place!”  In a much
earlier time and in another place- Israel- we heard about a woman who
would have envied that lady who had just given birth; and that woman’s
name was Hannah.  As you recall, Elkanah had two wives (as was the
custom in those ancient times)- Peninnah and Hannah.  Peninnah had
many children, but Hannah was childless.  The people of Israel thought
being childless was a curse from God, so you can imagine how awful
Hannah felt.  As we heard, Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah, so
Peninnah teased Hannah about her childlessness every chance she had.
Hannah prayed and cried and waited and trusted God, but nothing.  She
even promised God that if she had a son, the boy would be dedicated to
the Lord.  Then one day in the temple, Eli (the priest) told her that
all would be well.  Nine months later, Samuel was born.  Why did God
make her wait miserably for so long?  Perhaps because she was
specially chosen to be the mother of the prophet who would be brave
enough to anoint David as king when there was already another king in
place- Saul.  Perhaps because her longing would produce enough
gratitude so the child would be dedicated to God and thus could be
God’s prophet.  When we wait for God, it’s easy to begin to question
ourselves, our goals, and sometimes even our Lord.  Never put a
question mark where God put a period, because our God is an on-time
God.

In the gospel, we heard the disciples struggling with another kind of
puzzle.  As they walked out of the Jewish temple, they were struck by
its beauty.  No surprise.  The walls of that temple were constructed
of huge marble stones that were covered with gold.  When the sun shone
on the walls, the glare would hurt your eyes.  The perimeter of the
temple was one mile, so if you wanted to do your morning jog of one
mile- once around the temple would do it.  Here was this gorgeous
structure, and yet Jesus said it was going to be destroyed.  When they
questioned him further, he warned them that not only the temple was
going to be destroyed, but that they, their families and friends would
be persecuted, there would be false teachers, famine, earthquakes,
wars, in other words desperate times.  Of course the disciples wanted
to know when these things were going to occur, but Jesus basically
told them to MYOB (mind your own business).  What was Jesus doing?  He
was warning them of the reality they were going to face soon after he
died, rose, and ascended.  You know how sometimes the hardest thing to
face is the unknown?  He was just helping his friends get ready.  You
see, Jesus knew that soon after his death, Roman persecution would
start and, in fact, Peter and Paul would be martyred in 64 AD.  Can
you imagine what it would be like if we faced torture and death simply
for being Christians?  What if this had gone on since 1776- the time
of George Washington?  This is what Jesus was getting them ready for.
Why did God allow the church to be persecuted like that, year after
year, martyr after martyr?  It’s how God got Christianity spread.
When persecution broke out in one city, Christians fled to the next-
of course taking Jesus and the church with them.  300 years later when
Christianity finally became legal, the church had spread to the
farthest reaches of the known world.  Those early Christians must have
wondered if Christianity had a future.  When we wait for God, it’s
easy to begin to question ourselves, our goals, and sometimes even our
Lord.  Never put a question mark where God put a period, because our
God is an on-time God.

At our 11 AM service, one of the communion hymns will be “He’s an On
Time God,” sung by Ebony Horrison.  In it, Ms. Horrison sings of the
Israelites at the Red Sea, wondering where God was and why he had led
them this far to let them down.  He hadn’t let them down- his timing
was perfect to complete the job of freeing his beloved people from
Egypt and destroying the Egyptian army so they wouldn’t be harassed
any more.  She also sings of the 5,000 people Jesus fed.  They must
have wondered the same thing- why does God have him talking so much
that we’ll probably faint from hunger on the way home?  Jesus wasn’t
talking too much.  God’s timing was perfect.  Those 5,000 got to see
God’s mighty power at work through his Son.  He’s an on-time God!

Now- what about us?  How do we handle living through difficult times,
wondering how (or even if) things can possibly work out.  How do we
handle the tension?  The answer is in the Psalm (16:1, 8): “Protect me
Lord God!  I run to you for safety....I will always look to you as you
stand beside me and protect me from fear.”  Our lesson from Hebrews
reminds us that Jesus is at God’s right hand.  Do you know what he’s
doing?  He’s probably leaning over whispering our names and special
needs into our father God’s ear, and God IS in control.  Remember the
story of the family whose home caught fire?  Everyone got out except
the little boy, who was screaming to his father, “Get me out!  Get me
out!”  As he shouted, the family could see the brilliant flames of
fire getting closer and closer to him.  “Jump!” shouted his father.
“I’ll catch you!”  “I can’t jump!” screamed the child.  “I don’t know
where you are!  I can’t see you!”  “That’s all right!” shouted his
father.  “You don’t have to see me for me to catch you, because I can
see you!”  That’s what father God tells us.  “You don’t have to see
me, because I can see you.”  When we wait for God, it’s easy to begin
to question ourselves, our goals, and sometimes even our Lord.  Never
put a question mark where God put a period, because our God is an on-
time God.

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American
wisdom statements either is or will be 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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