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GOD'S MESSAGE THIS WEEK
Sermon for January 21, 2007 Calvary Church,
The Rev. Mary A. Canavan

Scripture Readings: The Third Sunday after the Epiphany Nehemiah 8.2-10 Psalm 113 1 Corinthians 12.12-27 Luke 4.14-21

Jesus as baptized in the Jordan and immediately set out for 40 days in the wilderness where he fasted and prayed and was tempted by Satan three times. Upon leaving the wilderness he goes to Nazareth where he had been brought up and he enters the Synagogue. He is handed the scroll of Isaiah and goes to the part about being anointed by God and that he has come to read the prophecy of God sending the anointed one to bring joy to the poor, freedom to the captives, sight to the blinds and hope for the oppressed. He says, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Now, that is bold. That is confidence in one’s calling.

Jesus grew up reading, marking and inwardly digesting Scripture. His Scripture was the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). The Scriptures were alive to him, not simply words on a page. They shaped and formed and informed him as a human being.

If we want to get to know Jesus Christ, if we want to “see Jesus Christ,” we, too, need to dive into Scripture and read and read and read it, prayerfully inviting the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Scriptures for us. When we spend time with Holy Scripture we will see words on the page “leap out at us.” They will change us forever. But we have to go into the Scriptures and do it prayerfully.

When we do go into the Scriptures, we will see Christ, and we will be able to discern a lot about God and what makes God “tick.” For in reading Scriptures we will learn who it is that God is concerned about. God is concerned about the poor, the oppressed, the blind and the captives. So, if we want to find God, we can look to Holy Scripture. Holy Scripture will then lead us to the poor, oppressed, blind and captive. From there we simply need to find those people and we will have found the face of God.

Mother Theresa, who ministered as a Roman Catholic nun in Calcutta, India, wrote a book called, “In My Own Words” (Liguori, 1996, p.41) in which she tells the following story. “The lepers, the dying, the hungry, the ones sick with AIDS: they are all Jesus. One of our novices was aware of this. She had just entered the Congregation, after finishing her studies at the university. The next day she was supposed to accompany another Sister to help at the Home for the Dying in Kalighat.

“Before they left, I reminded them, “You know where you have to go. During the Mass notice how tenderly and lovingly the priest touches the Body of Christ. Do not forget, that Christ [in the Holy Eucharist] is the same Christ you touch in the poor.”

“The two Sisters left for Kalighat, and three hours later they returned. One of them, the novice, knocked on my door. She told me full of joy, “Mother, I touched the Body of Christ for the last three hours.” Her face reflected her deep joy.

“What did you do?” I asked her. “Right after we arrived, she answered, “They brought us a man covered with wounds. He had been picked up from the rubble. I had to help take care of his wounds. It took three hours. Therefore, I touched the Body of Christ for three hours. I am sure it was him.”

“That young novice had understood that Jesus cannot deceive us when he assures us, “I was sick and you took care of me (Mt. 25.36).””

Here at Calvary, we should be proud that we too meet the poor, by providing the daily food to 66 families a month. However, we must be careful to not only give money to the ministry, but to actually serve the people and meet them face to face on Saturday morning when they come for that daily bread.

For, just as we see Christ in Holy Scripture and partake in His Body and Blood in Holy Eucharist, we meet Christ face to face in the poor. If you want to know Christ, then know the poor, the oppressed, the blind, and the captive. These people are as close to us as right here on Saturday mornings. Come meet the face of your God.

Sources and references : (note that the above is the approximate verbal text of a sermon spoken without notes and does not include quotations or footnotes (except as noted in footnote 1, below) that a formal publication, speech, or written report would include).

The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV)
Synthesis – Year C – 2007/2006
Synthesis – Year C – 2003/2004
Pulpit Resource by William Willimon
Anglicans Online website – “Sermons that Work,” Year C
The Gospel of Luke Commentary – William Barclay
The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Abingdon Press

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