[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 19B

Sat Sep 12 20:07:41 EDT 2015

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Sep 12, 2015 5:43 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 19B

Dear Friends,

Do you remember the story of the Sunday school teacher who wanted to be sure her little kindergarten students really understood that Jesus was inside them, especially after they had received Holy Communion?  She asked the children, “Where is Jesus?  One replied, “In heaven.”  Wonderful, said the teacher, but that wasn’t exactly the answer she wanted so she asked again, “Where is Jesus?”  “In my heart,” answered a sweet little girl.  All this time, little Johnny was frantically waving his hand.  Knowing better, the teacher called on him.  “Where is Jesus, Johnny?” she asked.  “In our bathroom!” answered Johnny.  “In your bathroom?!” asked the teacher.  “Johnny, why in the world would you say that Jesus is in your bathroom?”  “That’s easy,” Johnny replied.  “Every morning when my big sister gets in the bathroom to do her hair and locks the door, my father yells- “Good Lord!  Are you still in there?”  Well, Jesus didn’t ask where he was in our gospel lesson this morning.  He asked who he was.  As you recall, Jesus started by “testing the waters” so to speak.  He asked his disciples who everyone was saying he was.  After the expected answers of “Elijah” and “John the Baptist” and maybe one of the other prophets, Jesus turned the question on them.  He got right down and personal by asking the hard question- “Whom do YOU think I am?”  Good question- not just for them, but for us.  Peter answered with amazing insight that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Jesus must have been encouraged, because he began to pour out his heart and tell his beloved disciples how his calling was to suffer, be executed on a cross, die, and then rise again on the third day.  Peter must have thought Jesus had lost it, because he pulled him aside and basically told him to “get himself together and not talk that way.”  That’s when Jesus told Peter to “Get thee behind me, Satan!”  Jesus went on to say that he was not the only one who would suffer, but that all of his disciples were expected to “deny themselves and take up their cross” and follow him.  

Just a reminder- I’m sure you remember the difference between a cross and an affliction.  An affliction is something (like my diabetes) that is annoying, frustrating- but something over which I have no control.  A cross, on the other hand, is chosen.  So, if for you, like Peter, Jesus is truly your Lord as well as your Savior, how are you doing?  Are you obeying him by denying yourself and taking up your cross, or do you tend to usually take the easy way?  Do you “put yourself out” for the church and other people?  Do you make sacrificial choices, or do you tend to choose only what you want to do, looking out for number one?  Do you help whoever needs it, or do you help only your family?  If you find your choices are mostly for yourself and your family, Jesus says you are missing out on real life.  That’s what he means when he says, “If you want to save your life, you will destroy it.  But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it” (Mark 8:35).

The Bible lessons for today focus on one kind of cross Jesus expects us to bear, and you can guess what it is by checking out the James lesson.  James (possibly Jesus’ little brother) reminds us how dangerous an out-of-control tongue is.  Stop and think how many lives have been damaged, and sometimes destroyed, by someone who “lets it all hang out” and tells another person exactly what they think.  Often we do this trying to “help” the other person (in other words to “teach” them a lesson), but what does James say about teachers in today’s epistle (James 3:1)?  “My friends, we should not all try to become teachers. In fact, teachers will be judged more strictly than others.”  And Jesus himself reminds us that we’d better take care of our own problems before we presume to tell others what they should do.  He tells us not to bother trying to take the little speck out our neighbor’s eye when we have a huge log in our own eye (Matthew 7:1-5).  Did you notice the wisdom in the thought for the week?  “The fastest horse cannot catch a word spoken in anger (Chinese proverb).  You know that’s true!  I’ve got a question for you: what’s the same about this tube of toothpaste and a bunch of words?  (Squirt some toothpaste on a piece of paper and show it.)  Do you see this toothpaste?  Now, do you see this dollar bill?  This dollar bill goes to anyone who can put the toothpaste back into the tube.  My dollar is safe, isn’t it!?  If you think it’s hard to get toothpaste back into the tube, try forcing words back into your mouth after you’ve said something stupid or mean!  Who here hasn’t at some time said something when you were mad, then wished with all your heart you could take it back, but (just like the toothpaste) those words were out for all to hear?  Relationships have been destroyed, family feuds started, jobs lost, fights, even murders and suicides- all due to what comes out of our mouths in anger.  So maybe the cross our Lord is asking you to carry is to learn to control your mouth and use it for God’s glory instead of using it to spread the devil’s kingdom.

No one ever said being a Christian is easy.  It IS fulfilling, exciting, a wonderful way to live, full of hope because we know where we’re spending eternity; but not easy.  I’m going to close with a story of a man who’d gotten a ticket for speeding, even though he was sure he had been going the legal limit.  Because this man knew he was innocent, he decided to contest his ticket even though all his friends said contesting it was useless.  As he walked into the courtroom and sat down, he saw a woman already before the judge trying to talk her way out of a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign.  “But your honor,” said the lady.  Before she could even finish her sentence, the judge boomed- “Guilty!  I’m fining you $50 and costs!”  “Jerk!” exclaimed the woman under her breath.  “I heard that!” said the judge.  “That’ll be an extra $50.”  The next person before the judge was a man who had gone through a yellow light.  Without even giving him a chance to speak, the judge proclaimed- “Guilty!  I’m fining you $100 and costs!”  “Bozo!” exclaimed the man softly- hoping the judge would not hear.  “I heard that!” said the judge.  “That’ll be an extra $100.”  At that point, our friend who had just come in started leafing through his wallet.  “What are you doing?” the judge asked.  “Just checking, your honor.  I want to see if I have enough money to tell you what I think of you.”  

My friends, telling that judge off was going to be expensive, and that’s where the tie-in is.  Living for Jesus is too.  May God bless all of us as we daily do our best to deny ourselves, sacrifice for others, and take up our cross and follow our blessed Lord.

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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