[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany- Last, Year C

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Feb 9, 2013 8:37 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany- Last, Year C


Dear Friends,

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Don’t Wait ’Till You’re Perfect” or
“Capture the Glow!” and deals with the gospel (Luke 9:28-36).  Here it
is:

Our gospel today (Luke 9:28-36) tells about the episode we call the
“Transfiguration,”- how Jesus’ glory was revealed to his disciples.
This is what happened.  Jesus and his three closest friends (Peter,
James, and John) went on the top of a mountain to pray.  The disciples
fell asleep, but were jerked awake when, all of a sudden, Jesus
started to glow and his clothing became dazzling white.  They saw
Jesus, with Moses (the great lawgiver) on one side of him and Elijah
(the great prophet) on the other side.  On top of that, the disciples
overheard the three talking about Jesus’ rapidly approaching death in
Jerusalem and what it would mean.  A cloud enveloped them and the
disciples heard God say that this was his beloved Son, so listen to
him.  After the incident, his friends said nothing about it – you can
guess why.  If you had been there and told people this had happened to
you, what would they say?  Sure- that you were crazy!

The next three episodes in the life of Jesus and his disciples were
extremely telling.  When Jesus, Peter, James, and John came down from
the mountain, there was a desperate father who had asked the disciples
to heal his epileptic son, but they couldn’t do it (Luke 9:37-43a).
Next we hear how Jesus tried to teach his disciples about his coming
death, but they didn’t get it (Luke 9:43b-45).  Finally the Bible
tells how Jesus overheard his disciples arguing about who among them
was the greatest (Luke 9:46-48).

Have you heard the saying we’ve used many times as our thought for the
week?  It goes, “Please be patient.  God isn’t finished with me yet.”
That surely was true of the disciples.  Just in this short section of
the Gospel of Luke, we find them lazy and neglecting their prayers
(went to sleep when they should have been praying); lacking faith
(couldn’t heal the epileptic boy); slow to learn and understand
(didn’t understand Jesus’ teaching about his death and resurrection);
and self-centered and greedy (arguing about who was the greatest).  It
wasn’t just the disciples- Paul (one of the greatest missionary
bishops the world has ever seen) persecuted and killed Christians
before his conversion on the Damascus road.  What’s my point?  It’s
not just the disciples whom God wasn’t finished with- God isn’t
finished with you either!  You don’t have to be perfect to serve God;
you just have to be available.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve
heard people say things like:
	“I’m too great a sinner to come to church or receive Holy Communion
or sing in a choir or work at the altar or whatever.” or
	“I’m addicted to alcohol or another drug or sex or gambling or
shoplifting.  I’ll start coming to church (or helping the church with
Jesus’ ministry) after I’m in recovery.”
Tell me- if you don’t come to church and hear the Word and get
strengthened by Holy Communion and be encouraged by God’s people, how
are you ever going to get the power to be all that you can be?  The
church is not a hotel for saints; it’s a hospital for sinners.  Don’t
wait to serve God until you’ve overcome; overcome by serving God.

In today’s gospel, Jesus glowed like the sun.  The disciples just had
to reflect Jesus’ glory to do his work.  The same is true of us.  We
aren’t intended to be the sun and produce the glow, the power.
Instead, we are like the moon.  We reflect the glory and power and
light of the sun- the Son of God, and that’s enough to keep us
steadily becoming the person we truly want to be.  There’s one more
analogy between the moon and us.  Even though the moon looks beautiful
and evenly shaped when we look at it from a distance, I’m sure you
know that the moon really has craters and uneven places in its
surface.  These imperfections don’t stop the moon from reflecting the
brilliance of the sun.  In the same way, our sins, imperfections, and
handicapping conditions don’t stop us from reflecting the glory of
Christ.

So stop waiting and start serving.  Does this mean that you should
just continue sinning and not care?  No!  But it does mean that you
should come to Jesus now- as the old hymn says “Just as I Am,” and
trust him to help you fill in those rough spots and encourage you to
get and stay motivated in God’s good time.  Do you consider yourself
or someone you love simply impossible?  Did you notice the thought for
the week?  “When God is about to do something great, he starts with a
difficulty.  When He is about to do something magnificent, he starts
with an impossibility” (Armin Gesswein).  Paul reminds us in today’s
epistle that we hold this glorious treasure, the presence and power of
God, in clay pots.  We human beings may be like clay pots, but-
fragile and full of imperfections or not, just like clay pots- we’re
very usable.

So (from an anonymous source), the next time you feel like GOD can't
use you, that YOU are the impossibility, just remember:
	Noah was a drunk;
	Abraham was too old;
	Isaac was a daydreamer;
	Jacob was a liar;
	Leah was ugly;
	Rachel was sneaky;
	Joseph was abused;
	Moses had a speech problem;
	Gideon was afraid;
	Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer;
	Rahab was a prostitute;
	Jeremiah and Timothy were too young;
	David had an affair and was a murderer;
	Elijah was suicidal;
	Jonah ran from God;
	Naomi was a widow;
	Ruth was a flirt;
	Job went bankrupt;
	John the Baptist ate bugs;
	Peter denied Christ;
	The disciples fell asleep while praying;
	Martha was a worry-wart;
	The Samaritan woman was divorced- more than once;
	Zaccheus was too small;
	Paul didn’t always practice what he preached and was forgetful;
	Timothy had an ulcer...AND
	Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now.  God can use you to your full potential.  Besides
you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.  Just stay around
Jesus and his people so you can capture the glow.

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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