[Propertalk] Sermon for Proper 25B (Part 2 of 2)

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Oct 24, 2015 8:18 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 25B 


(Part 2 of 2)




KNOWING ALL OF THIS, WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR LIVES RIGHT NOW?  After a person dies, the body is only a useless cast-off.  The person isn’t in it any more.  It’s like the chrysalis left behind after a butterfly that has struggled out of that chrysalis and has flown free.  We treat it with respect because it used to house our beloved, but they’re not there anymore.  Therefore:
1.  Especially children- don’t be afraid of a dead body.  There’s no magic, no power in it.  It’s just the set of leftovers.
2.  Since the body represents the leftovers, think- what do you usually do with leftovers?  If you get a new winter coat and the old one is still sort of good, what would Jesus want you to do with it- throw it away?  Absolutely not, Jesus would expect you to give it to someone who needs a coat.  In one month and one day, we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving.  If we have more Thanksgiving leftovers than we can use, what would Jesus want us to do with them- put them down the disposal?  Of course not- Jesus would want us to share with those who don’t have enough to eat.  Well then, if our loved ones die and no longer need their kidneys or their liver or their corneas, because they are getting new bodies from Jesus, what would Jesus want us to do with those kidneys or livers or corneas?  It’s obvious- give them to someone who needs a kidney to get off dialysis or a liver so they can live or corneas so they can see.  And yet when nurses ask about organ donation, I can’t tell you how many families I’ve heard scream: “No!  Don’t cut my baby!”  Tell me, is their baby in that leftover body.  No one ever said following Jesus would be easy, but what would Jesus want us to do? Therefore, sign to be an organ donor on your drivers’ license.
3.  Don’t waste money on funerals.  A beautiful casket won’t make up for a life badly lived and an inexpensive casket won’t take away from a life lived for the Lord.  Don’t bury your money; use it to help those still alive and struggling in this life.
4.  Don’t preserve life here at all costs.  What woman who is giving birth wants labor prolonged?  If your loved one is suffering, put yourself in that bed and do for them what you would want done for you.  Release your loved ones.  Let them go when their time comes.
5.  Before we die, what would Jesus want us to do?  He would want us to get ready; and to make life as easy as possible for those loved ones left behind.  Therefore, make out a medical power of attorney so someone can make decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself.  Get life insurance if you possibly can, so your loved ones aren’t weighed down with debt from burying or cremating you.
 
Someone once asked me if I would preach his funeral.  The truth is- I’d be glad to, but what I say isn’t nearly as important as what we do.  We all preach our own funeral sermons by the lives we live.  Our lives’ summation statement is what we leave in people’s memories as well as what’s written on our tombstones (and I’m not talking about that Tombstone Pizza in the supermarket freezer case)!  Have you ever thought about what will be written on your tombstone when you die?  Have you ever wondered how you will be remembered?  Here are some actual epitaphs found on tombstones:
U  “Here lies my wife, here let her lie.  She now has peace and so do I!”
U  “Margaret Daniels: She always said her feet where killing her – now maybe someone will believe her.”
U  “Here lies the body of our dear Anna; done to death by a banana.  It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low, but the skin of the thing that made her go!”
U  Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Arabella Young; who on the twenty-fourth of May, began to hold her tongue.”
U  “Pause, stranger when you pass me by; for as you are- so once was I; as I am now- so you will be; live for your Lord, for you WILL follow me.”
 
You know the lights from the Jack-o-lanterns that shine through all those holes in the Halloween pumpkins?  They’re fun, but they won’t guide us through anything!  Jesus will guide us through life’s big “IFS” and everything else!  May God bless us as we allow the light of Jesus, the Son of God, to shine through our lives so we may be counted among the saints when he comes for us.  Amen.
 
 
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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