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

[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 19, 2012 11:02 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 24B


Dear Friends,

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Why Do You Talk So Much and Know So
Little?” or “Words Have Power” and deals with the Old Testament lesson
(Job 38:1-7) and the Gospel (Mark 10:35-45).  Here it is:

Did you hear the words that God asked Job: “Why do you talk so much
and know so little?”  That’s the title of today’s sermon; and that’s
what I’d like us to focus on this morning- because we’ve all been
guilty of running our mouths when we didn’t have all the facts.  Just
to refresh your memory- Job was a righteous man whom God had blessed
with family, riches, and health.  One day as God and Satan were
talking, God pointed out how wonderful Job was- obedient, loving, and
positive.  Right away, Satan challenged God.  “Of course Job does what
you want!” exclaimed Satan.  “You’ve blessed him mightily.  But take
away his blessings and watch how quickly he curses you!”  God replied
that Job would be faithful- no matter what; but Satan disagreed.  “All
right,” said God.  “I’ll prove to you that Job doesn’t simply worship
me because of what I do for him.  I give you my permission to take
away all of his blessings; but you may not take his life.”  “It’s a
deal!” said Satan.  Now obviously, Job didn’t know any of the
agreement between God and Satan.  What he did know was that one
misfortune after another fell upon him and he lost his health as well-
painful sores broke out all over his body.  Friends came to visit, but
they basically told him that he must have committed some terrible sin
for God to punish him so severely.  Job never did curse God, but he
did challenge God to give him some answers- to explain why he was so
terribly afflicted.  God’s answer- what does Job know?  He had no
business questioning God.  This is when we heard God say to Job, “Why
do you talk so much and know so little?”  That’s not only a good
question for Job- but it’s a good question for us as well.

A problem with running at the mouth is that our words carry such a
significant weight for good or evil, and once out- we can’t get them
back.  One of my internet friends shared this story to show the power
of words.  “A man bought a donkey from a preacher.  The preacher told
the man that this donkey had been trained in a very unique way (being
the donkey of a preacher).  The only way to make the donkey go is to
say ‘Hallelujah!’  The only way to make the donkey stop is to say,
‘Amen!’  The man was pleased with his purchase and immediately got on
the animal to try out the preacher's instructions.  ‘Hallelujah!’
shouted the man.  The donkey began to trot.  ‘Amen!’ shouted the man.
The donkey stopped immediately.  ‘This is great!’ said the man.  With
a ‘Hallelujah’ he rode off, very proud of his new purchase.  The man
traveled for a long time through the mountains.  As he headed towards
a cliff, he tried to remember the word to make the donkey stop.
‘Stop!’ said the man.  ‘Halt!’ he cried.  The donkey just kept going.
‘Oh, no...!’ he exclaimed.  ‘Bible...Church!...Please! Stop!!,’
shouted the man.  The donkey just began to trot faster.  He was
getting closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.  Finally, in
desperation, the man said a prayer...’Please, dear Lord.  Please make
this donkey stop before I go off the end of this cliff, in Jesus name,
AMEN.’  The donkey came to an abrupt stop just one step from the edge
of the cliff.  ‘HALLELUJAH!’ shouted the man.”  My friends, words have
power!

We all realize that we are as guilty as Job when it comes to
committing the sin of talking too much and knowing too little (and
therefore hurting other people).  Our Bible lessons suggest four times
(three from Job and one from the gospel) when we are especially
tempted to commit this sin and cause evil, havoc, and pain in the
lives of others.  One factor that made Job especially vulnerable to
running his mouth was his sickness and pain.  How many times have you
said something like, “I don’t feel good- I’ve got a migraine or my
blood sugar is too low or too high, so watch out!”  Sickness, pain,
misery- they make it harder to allow Jesus to have control of our
mouths, but they weren’t an excuse for Jesus as he hung on his cross
and they aren’t for us either.  The sicker we are or the more
miserable we feel; the more closely we must watch our tongues.  Have
you ever felt so miserable that you wished everyone would just go
away?  Be careful!  Watch your mouth!  My friends, words have power!

Job’s friends were even worse than he was in terms of talking too much
and being absolutely wrong because of a faulty knowledge base.  We
call it “jumping to conclusions,” and that’s exactly what Job’s
friends did.  They were sure God was punishing Job for some terrible
sin he had committed, but (as we know) this wasn’t the case at all.
The more they told Job to repent of this supposed sin, the worse Job
felt, because he knew he was innocent.  Yet they kept up at it.  James
(Jesus’ brother) really knew what he was talking about when he said
that not everyone should be a teacher (James 3:1-2).  We must be
especially careful when we take it upon ourselves to tell other people
what they should do, because we run the risk of misunderstanding them,
their situation, or God’s will for their lives- and therefore being
really wrong.  Have you ever been tempted to give advice to your
friends?  Be careful!  Be sure you have all your facts.  My friends,
words have power!

Job was vulnerable to letting Satan have control of his tongue for
another reason: his life was spinning out of control.  Not only was he
in terrible pain from the sores all over his body, not only were his
friends judging him wrongly and giving him hurtful advice, but one
confusing, frustrating, awful thing after another was happening to him
and those he loved.  On top of all of this, he was powerless to change
a thing.  Have you ever felt your life was getting more and more out
of control?  Be careful!  Watch your mouth!  My friends, words have
power!

The final Bible example from scripture comes from today’s gospel (Mark
10:35-45) where we hear how James and John tried to upstage the other
disciples and get special positions of power in Jesus’ kingdom.  They
would certainly have qualified as unpleasant and difficult people at
this point- you can imagine how the disciples felt?  Since Jesus had
just poured out his heart in terms of his impending torture and
execution, their behavior was insensitive toward him as well- to put
it mildly.  How did Jesus respond?  Did he fall apart, lose his
temper, call them names, send them away?  No.  I’m sure he sighed a
huge sigh and tried again to reach them.  Dealing with difficult
people really makes us vulnerable to judging our neighbor.  I want to
be perfectly clear.  I’m not talking about risking yourself.  I am
perfectly aware that some people are dangerous or have immoral habits
or are huge gossips or have unchristian values.  We should not hang
around such people, but Jesus surely expects us to treat them with
compassion.  Another story illustrates this.  It’s not from the Bible,
but is from ancient Hebrew tradition.  I heard it from an internet
friend, the Rev. Bass Mitchell.  “Abraham was sitting outside his tent
one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming
toward him.  Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him
into his tent.  There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food
and drink.  The old man immediately began eating without saying any
prayer or blessing, so Abraham asked him, ‘Don't you worship God?’
The old traveler replied, ‘I worship fire only and curse all gods.’
When Abraham heard this, he became incensed, grabbed the old man by
the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and
asked where the stranger was.  Abraham replied, ‘I threw him out of my
tent and sent him away because he curses all gods, even you.”  God
answered, ‘I have suffered him these eighty years although he
dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?’”  Think about it.
Is there someone who rubs you the wrong way?  Be careful!  Watch your
mouth!  My friends, words have power!

In closing, I leave you with our thought for the week: “I’m always
careful of the words I speak; I keep them soft and sweet; I never know
from day to day which ones I'll have to eat!” (Anonymous)  May God
give each one of us the grace and power to get our facts straight
before we speak, to watch our mouths, and to always remember: words
have power.

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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