[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon- “You Can’t Have Easter Power with a Good Friday Attitude!”

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 4/15/17  6:51 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon- “You Can’t Have Easter Power with a Good Friday Attitude!” 


Dear
Friends,

 

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “You Can’t Have Easter Power with a Good Friday
Attitude!” and deals with all the lessons. 
Here it is: 

 

Happy
Easter on this glorious day of our Lord’s resurrection!  Lent is done and Easter is here!  It seems like just yesterday we were getting
our Lenten ashes.  Did you hear about the
little boy who asked his pastor what “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” meant?  “Ah!” said the pastor.  It means we all come from dust and we all go
to dust.”  “Well,” said the child, “you’d
better get over to my house right away and look under my bed, because there’s
someone there who’s either coming or going!” 


We are all aware of how atrociously painful Jesus’
last days were, but- if you think about it, his friends had also lived in
crisis.  Did you notice how the Gospel of
John tells us about the awful reality Mary Magdalene experienced as she
struggled to move from Good Friday tragedy to Easter Sunday delight?  The entire week had been unbelievably bad for
all of Jesus’ friends- actually going from terrible to worse.  They’d watched everyone turn against him;
with even his disciples leaving him to face his worst times alone. They saw the
trial, the beatings, the mocking, the torture, his execution, and his
burial.  Worse yet, because the Sabbath
was approaching, they couldn’t even give Jesus a proper burial- he had to be
just quickly placed in the grave and locked in with a huge stone.  Early Sunday morning, Mary went to see the
body of Jesus.  The scripture didn’t say
why, maybe she went to anoint the body as the other women did.  Maybe she just couldn’t sleep.  Whatever- when she got there, the stone was
rolled away and the body was gone- only the grave clothes were there- carefully
folded and placed on the floor.  Mary
assumed that the body had been moved, so she started to cry. Everything seemed
hopeless, but then Jesus called her name and Easter was the new reality.

That’s what happened- Jesus is alive, but what’s it to
you?   Let’s be honest with each
other.  Really- what difference does it
make in your life as you struggle to pay your bills, help the people you love
get along, avoid trouble, and get a little joy out of life.  The answer to this question presented itself
again the day before yesterday at the very end of our Good Friday service.  Twenty-three of us (at one time or another
throughout the three hours) sat around the cross and kept vigil, as you would
in a hospital room while you waited for the death of a loved one.  As we did the Stations of the Cross and the
Good Friday prayer book liturgy, we counted down the minutes.  At ten seconds to three o’clock, we started counting: 10, 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0- and shouted “It is accomplished!” because that’s what
Jesus said.  He didn’t say, “It’s
over.”  He said, “ACCOMPLISHED!”  So I ask you, what’s accomplished?  The war with evil was won.  The entire universe was reclaimed from the
forces of chaos, destruction, and evil; heaven had been claimed, and the forces
of God and good and life had won.  God is
in charge.  

How do you claim this regime change?  Well, first of all- have you accepted Jesus
as your Lord and Savior?  If not- don’t
wait!  Do it now!  Tell me when you come up to the altar at Communion
time, and we can take care of that today.

But say you accepted Jesus years ago.  My question to you today then is- are you
living as if God and good and life are in charge; or are you living as if evil
and death are in charge?  Is your
attitude Good Friday negative or an Easter life positive?  Are you on the winning side, or are you on
the losing side, and how can you tell?


 Good Friday
     attitude- the perspective is defense; Easter attitude- the perspective is
     offense!
 Good Friday
     attitude - I don’t get mad; I get even! 
     Easter attitude- drop it; don’t let hatred poison your spirit; give
     the problem to God and leave it there (i.e. God says, “Vengeance is mine;
     I will repay- and God does a much better job than we ever could and can
     even get spiritual growth in the lives of our enemies.).
 Good Friday
     attitude– you only go around once in life so get all you can get (and
     forget about everyone else)!  Easter
     attitude- everything I have is a gift from God and there’s more than
     enough to go around, so share.
 Good Friday
     attitude- I can’t take it!  I’ve got
     to have something (alcohol, TV, drugs, nicotine, food, etc.) to make it
     through another day!  Easter attitude-
     God can get you through anything!
 Good Friday
     attitude- when you’re dead, you’re dead! 
     Easter attitude- Jesus is the firstfruit; so death is new birth
     into heaven.


So, are you on the winning
side?  If not, why not get there!  Wishing won’t do it.  Living in the past won’t do it.  Making a decision to live as Jesus’ Easter
people will.  In his book Teaching the
Elephant to Dance, James Belasco describes how trainers shackle young
elephants with heavy chains to deeply embedded stakes. In that way the elephant
learns to stay in its place. Older, powerful elephants never try to leave—even
though they have the strength to pull the stake and walk away. Their
conditioning has limited their movements. With only a small metal bracelet
around their foot attached to nothing, they stand in place. The stakes are
actually gone!

Don’t let your past determine your future!  Get rid of everything that works to hold you
back.  The future belongs to God and
you.  Think BIG!  If you can conceive it, and God wants you to
do it, the sky’s the limit; and the Risen Christ can give you the power to
overcome! 

 

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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