Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5, 6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21

It is the Sabbath.  Jesus is back in his hometown of Nazareth.  He naturally heads for the synagogue.  Everyone is there for worship.  They have heard about the small town boy made good.  There have been rumours of miracles, healings and other wonderful events.  Some are a little miffed.  Why is Jesus doing these things in Galilee of all places?  Why hasn’t he come home where he belonged?  So when he does get home for the weekend, they all turn out to synagogue.  They know that he will be there.  He always comes for worship when he is home. 

The moment for the reading comes.  Jesus stands up.  They hand him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  All eyes are fixed on him.  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”  He pauses.  “This text is being fulfilled today,” he tells them and sits down. 

There is a murmur of assent.  It is an exciting message.  Everyone in that synagogue that morning knows what it is about.  Every fiftieth year the priests were to sound the horn to begin a year of jubilee.  Slaves would be freed, debts forgiven and property re-divided.  It was meant to equalize the ever-growing gap between rich and poor.  The problem was, it never happened.  Jubilee years came and went without even a word.  So when the people of Nazareth heard Jesus say that it was being fulfilled it raised hope in their hearts.  Justice and equity were going to be restored. 

Most of us when confronted with the issue of poverty and homelessness say, “They should.”  The government should.  The bishops should.  The diocese should.  The wealthy should.  What a different world we would live in if we simply said, “What can I do?” And then went and did it.  Thank God there are people in our world who do.  Mother Teresa could have looked at the poverty around her in the city of Calcutta and said, “The government should do something about this.”  Instead she rolled up her shirtsleeves and got busy.  She helped one person at a time.  She enlisted others to help one person at a time.  And what wonders she accomplished! In 1950, she founded a religious order in Calcutta called the Missionaries of Charity. The order still provides food for the needy and operates hospitals, schools, orphanages, youth centers, and shelters for lepers and the dying poor. It now has branches in 50 Indian cities and 30 other countries. 

There is poverty around us.  There is injustice and inequity.   Poverty, you know, is not always about not having enough to eat.  There are many hungry people in our wealthy society.  There is a poverty of loneliness that causes suffering to many.  There is a poverty of spirituality that causes people to search.  There is a poverty of joy that results in despair.  But so often we remain blind to the needs of others. 

So Paul reminds us that we are part of the body of Christ.  No one has to think about placing one foot in front of the other in order to walk.  Our feet simply respond to our brain.  We don’t have to consider how to pick something up.  Our fingers and our hands know what to do.  Just as we do not have to think about how to make our body move, we should not have to think about our place in the body of Christ.  Our place in that body means that we have a call to fulfill that text of Isaiah in our own lives.  We have mouths to tell the good news to others.  We have ears to listen to their joys and sorrows.  We have eyes to witness the needs of those around us.  We have feet to take us where we can do the most good.  We have hands to bear one another’s burdens.  We have all the gifts and talents that we need to be the Church of God. 

What holds us back?  So often we assume that we don’t have enough resources to help others.  We think that our church community is too small or too poor or too insignificant.

A man was walking along a beach.  The tide had washed up thousands of starfish.  Left on the sand, they were certain to die as the sun dried them up.  A little boy was picking up the starfish and flinging them back into the sea.  The man, determined to teach the little boy a lesson in life said to him, “I have been watching you.  I know you mean well.  But do you really think it is going to make a difference?  Don’t you think you could find a better way to spend your time?” 

The boy looked up at the man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet.  He picked it up and gently tossed it back into the ocean.  “It makes a difference to that one,” he said.    

Our small parish may not make a big difference in the whole scheme of things.  But if I help one person in my life, it has made a difference.  If everyone in this church helps one person, we have made a big difference.  There is an African proverb that goes like this.  “You can’t pick up a pebble with one finger.”  We are a Christian community.  We are the body of Christ.  By baptism, each one of us is called to Christian service.  What are we doing to fulfill our ministry? 

I am going to challenge everyone in church this morning to write down on the paper that has been provided, one thing that you could do to live out your call.  Is there someone who needs a phone call, someone you haven’t seen at church for a while, or someone with whom you have had a falling out?  Is there a shut in who needs a visit?  Is there a family in bereavement to whom you would like to drop off a casserole?  Is there a job in our church that you want to do?  Do you want to volunteer your time at the Food Bank or at a nursing home?  The list is endless.  When you have written something down, fold it and place it in the basket that is coming around.  It will be brought up to the altar.  No one will read it.  It is just between you and God.  But do not let it stop there.  This week, go and do something about it.  And when you have, come back and take one of the flowers that have been left at the back of the church.  Pin it up on the bulletin board in the hallway.  Let us be the body of Christ reaching out into our community.  Let us make a difference.  I know that if we do it will make a difference in our own lives as well.  For what we give to God comes back to us over and over again.  Amen.