[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 5A

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 4/1/17  6:05 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 5A 


Dear Friends,

 

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Unbinf Him and Let
Him GO!” and deals with all the lessons. 
Here it is: 

 

I absolutely love the story we just read- it sometimes
brings tears to my eyes, because there’s so very much wisdom in it and it lets
us see, just a little bit, into the amazing mind of God.  The first half of the episode points out what
we believe- that our God is in charge and that he is an on-time God.  Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were good friends
of Jesus, so when Lazarus got deathly ill, they simply assumed they could send
for their good friend Jesus to heal their brother.  After all, Jesus was known for his healing
powers, and if he could heal complete strangers, he could certainly extend
himself to heal a good friend.  Problem- they
sent for Jesus, but he didn’t come for four days.  It probably took one day for the messenger
from Mary and Martha to arrive.  Then
Jesus waited two days.  He had to decide
if he would risk his ministry on this dangerous trip, because the last time he
was in Jerusalem he was almost stoned to death. 
Then it probably took a day’s travel to get there- long walk!  What’s so special about four days?  There was a Jewish tradition that that the
soul hovered around the body for three days after death and then left.  So, by the fourth day- this was a hopeless
cause.  Other cultures had the same
understanding- for good reason.  We have
wakes.  You know how the custom of a wake
started?  In England, lead cups were often
used when people drank alcoholic beverages. 
The lead combined with lots of alcohol could really knock the drinker
out.  To keep from burying a live person,
the “body” was laid out on the kitchen table and the family and friends would
sit around eating, drinking, and waiting for a couple of days to see if the
person would “wake” up.  But after four
days- no way!  Dead is dead, and in fact-
in that heat- dead is very smelly.  You
noticed, when the sisters saw Jesus- the first thing they said was an
accusation: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died!”  But Jesus wasn’t late- he was right on time,
because God’s amazing power was about to be proclaimed; and when Jesus said, “I
am the way, the truth, and the life”- all anyone had to do was open their eyes
and see it.

 

The last half of the story is where the rubber hits
the road- it’s about living what we believe. 
It’s about this- do we really believe God is in charge?  Well then, prove it by our lives.  Take risks for God.  Don’t panic when things aren’t going the way
you want.  Stay faithful and trust
God.  All of these elements are in the
rest of the story- watch.  What had to
happen if God was going to work a miracle and restore Lazarus to life?  Mary and Martha had to take the risk of their
lives.  They had to obey Jesus when he
told them to roll the stone away.  Under
ordinary circumstances, what would have met them as soon as that stone produced
even a small gap into the tomb? 
Smell!  The ghastly smell of
rotting human flesh!  Have you ever
smelled a pack of ground beef when it’s been in the refrigerator too long?  Now look- ground beef is bad enough; but if
the smell is coming from your beloved brother’s decomposing body- that’s too
much to bear!  What’s that song- “Trust
and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey”-
easier said than done.

 

There’s one more significant part of this
episode.  After Jesus shouted, “Lazarus,
come out,” what is the next thing Jesus said to do?  “Untie him and let him go.”  Some translations say, “Unbind him and let
him go free.”  Just as Lazarus had to be
released from those restrictive burial wrappings, so must we.  One of the most important jobs of Lent is to
identify those left-over trappings of death to which we still cling.  We work at it.  We stop smoking or drinking too much,
overeating, swearing, having destructive attitudes, overly trying to control
others and have our own way.  We start praying
five times a day, spending time with God, reading the Bible and other helpful
literature.  We work at all sorts of
habits- cutting out the bad and starting the good.  But- we’ve got to stay unbound.  The Old Testament lesson from the prophet
Ezekiel speaks of dry bones.  Did you
know that there are three kinds of bones that will help us stay unbound and
free: the wishbone, the jawbone, and the backbone.  The wishbone lets us have a wish- a vision of
where we’re going, what we want to accomplish or who we ultimately want to
be.  What’s your vision?  What kind of person do you want to be in two
years?  You’ve got to have vision.  The jawbone gets us data, knowledge,
wisdom.  How?  Our jawbone asks.  It’s arrogant to try to figure out life on
our own.  That’s why St. Paul reminds us
that we are each only a small part of the body of Christ.  You’ve got to have knowledge and wisdom.  Finally- the backbone- you know what that
is.  You’ve got to have the backbone to
stand up for what you know is right, no matter what.  Everybody else is doing it- so what!  You do what’s right.  You made a promise without thinking?  Either keep that promise or call the person
and tell them.  You want to do something
that you know is wrong, but no one will see? 
Two someones will see- you and God. 
Something that is not good for you is just calling your name?  Tell Satan to move out of the way, and then
focus on something positive.  

 

May God bless us with wishbones- a vision of God’s
desires for us, jawbones- the wisdom to ask and listen for the answers, and
backbone- the power to live what we believe. 
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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