[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon for Proper 27B - Part 1

[joeparrish]

Forwarded:


From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.

-------- Original message --------
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> 
Date:11/07/2015  10:16 PM  (GMT-05:00) 
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> 
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 27B 

Dear Friends,

 

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Money” and deals with the gospel (Mark 12:38-44).  Here it is:

 

In today’s Gospel, we heard how the leaders of the Jewish people gave money for show; and we heard how a poor widow gave all she had.  Jesus pointed out that she only put in two small coins.  How did he know?  In those days, people didn’t use collection plates for collecting tithes and offerings.  Instead, there was a winding metal tube that led from an above ground-level collection spot down to the safe way below ground.  Have you ever opened a bank full of coins and emptied it on the cashier’s desk at a bank?  You know the noise it makes?  Well, when people dropped a lot of coins in the collection tube, they did the same thing- they clattered and clanged through the metal tube all the way to the safe.  Everybody standing around could hear how much people donated, because they could hear how much noise the money made as it banged against the tubing.  Jesus pointed out that the prominent, rich people give some of what they had, but the poor widow gave her all.  Those two coins were about the amount she would need for dinner, and she gave them to God.  What’s the point?

 

Money doesn’t buy happiness: These Bible lessons hit very close to home, because they run opposite to the brainwashing of our society.  From everywhere we are bombarded with messages to get all that we can get, get it first, and get the most- in other words, be greedy.  The favorite pastime of many American women is shopping.  What do we do when we shop?  We look around at malls until we find something we like, then we buy it.  How many pairs of shoes does one person need?  God has no problem with us having what we need, it is the surplus that creates the problem.  Did you hear the story of the little boy who was in the lunch line at his parochial school?  At the front of the line was a beautiful bowl of apples.  In front of the apples was a sign- “Take only one.  God is watching you!”  When he got to the end of the line, he saw a bowl of even-better-looking cookies.  He got his pencil and made a matching sign, which read- “Take as many cookies as you want.  God is watching the apples.”  The problem is, our society is selling us a lie along with the shoes and apples and cookies.  We’ll find out, new stuff makes us happy in the short term, it doesn’t make us happy or satisfied in the long term.

 

Everything we have is God’s: There’s a wise saying by Paul Azinger (87th PGA champion) that says: “I don’t know how big your house is, how much money you have, or how nice your car is.  But…we came into this world with nothing, and we are leaving with nothing.  Everything we get along the way is a blessing from God.”  Have you ever been in a hurry to get dressed and your dog decided to play tug-of-war with the sock you’re trying to put on?  You know how tightly he or she holds on to that sock?  That’s how some of us hold on to our money and possessions.  Back to the dog-sock illustration- whose sock is it?  Sure ours, but the dog acts like it’s his or hers.  We hold on to our possessions as if they’re ours, but whose stuff is it really?  Of course- God’s.  Everything we have, everything we buy, everything we store is God’s.  God has simply trusted us as the managers of his resources.  Do you remember the parable Jesus told of the servants who were entrusted with the master’s money.  Two invested it and gave a tidy sum to the master on his return.  The servant described as “unfaithful” was afraid to invest it, so he hid it in the ground.  Do you recall the disapproval he faced on the master’s return?  Not only do we face an unhappy Lord when we die, we face a difficult life now.  How many families have had relationships destroyed over money and possessions when a father or mother dies?  A thought for the week that we’ve used many times reminds us that “The most important things in your home are the people” (Anonymous).  Think about it.  Money will buy:

            A bed, but not sleep;

            Books, but not brains;

            Food, but not appetite;

            Clothes, but not beauty;

            A house, but not a home;

            Fun, but not happiness;

            A crucifix, but not a savior;

            A church pew, but not heaven.

           

You can’t take it with you!  There’s an old saying that illustrates this third life lesson: “I’ve never seen a hearse with a U-Haul behind it.”  (The Rev. Bill Gruen, Jr., Princeton, Indiana).  Did you hear about the woman who lost her purse?  She was relieved when she got a phone call from the bus company saying she had left it under the seat, and everything was safe and sound.  When she went to reclaim her purse, she found the contents spread out on the counter, since an inventory had to be made by the driver.  This wasn’t surprising, but she also found herself surrounded by three other drivers.  “I hope you don’t mind if we watch, ma’am.  Even though we all tried, none of us could fit everything back into the purse, and we’d like to see just how you do it.”  Sometimes our greedy lives get like that purse- so full of things that there’s no room for God.  A life built on material things is sad, lonely, and ultimately wasted.  “Only one life- will soon be past.  Only what’s done for God will last.”  So be rich in the sight of God.  Remember how Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  We need room in our hearts for God.

 

So check yourself out:

(Continued in Part 2)

 

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .

 

Blessed preaching,

Judy Boli

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw, Michigan

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