[Propertalk] Sermon to include the events in Paris for Proper 28B

Sun Nov 15 01:53:15 EST 2015

Hi Bob,
Thanks for your note. 

I have said a few things about the terrible loss of the people of Paris here:  http://tinyurl.com/prhp8f4
Peace, prayers, and blessings,
Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Smith <rjsjr1954 at verizon.net>
To: 'joeparrish' <joeparrish at compuserve.com>; 'Propertalk at StSams org' <Propertalk at stsams.org>
Sent: Sat, Nov 14, 2015 8:02 pm
Subject: Sermon to include the events in Paris for Proper 28B

Good evening. I was heading toward New Life from things that are destroyed as way of giving hope in life as usual. Unfortunately, Paris was attacked, which I believe begs us to look at this lection head on, what with the destruction of the Temple. Paris has not experienced violence of this level since Nazi Germany seized her. I plan to offer hope in the mundane as well as from this horrific event. Any ideas?

Bob

Rev. Robert J. Smith, Jr., Pastor
Kenbridge Baptist Church
Fifth Avenue and Grace Street (500 E 5th Ave)
PO Box 445
Kenbridge, VA 23944
Office 434-676-2455
rjsjr1954 at verizon.net
Mobile 804-307-2063

From: Propertalk [mailto:propertalk-bounces at stsams.org] On Behalf Of joeparrish
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 4:16 PM
To: Propertalk at StSams org <Propertalk at stsams.org>
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 28B

Forwarded:

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

-------- Original message --------
From: Judy 
Date:11/14/2015 3:21 PM (GMT-05:00) 
To: Propertalk 
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.”  In it, we sing 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.  We also sing of the 5,000 people (plus the uncounted women and children) 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 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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