Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ~ Jews or Greeks, slaves or free ~ and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. [1 Cor 12:12-13]
This week the prophet
Nehemiah tells us that the people of Israel were gathered together to
hear a long reading of the law of Moses which God had given. The assembled were
people who had forgotten or had even become contemptuous of God’s Covenant and
for 3 generations, 70 years, they and their descendants had been exiled to
captivity in Babylonia. Now returned home at last, Ezra read the law of God,
with interpretation and the sense of it given so the people understood. The
people listened and then bowed their heads in worship with their faces to the
ground as an act of recognizing their own failings; yet the Levites tell them it
is a day holy to the Lord and they are not to mourn or weep.
God has not forgotten them and it is God who has brought them home. They then
went on their way, with the joy of the Lord as your strength,
being told to send portions of their feast to those for whom nothing is
prepared.
The Psalmist tells us the heavens
declare the glory of God and reminds us that God's law is perfect and
God's statutes are just and rejoice the heart. And there is
verse 14 from the Psalm that we hear often as some of our preachers begin their
sermons: Let the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my
strength and my redeemer. It is a verse we can all use as a beginning
to prayer and especially as we prepare to meet and greet others.
Comforted and bolstered by the knowledge of the Lord's
presence within us, we can imagine the members of the Church in Corinth
gathering to listen to Paul's letter. He begins with the reminder that we
were all baptized into one body...and made to drink of one spirit.
Continuing on from last week's reading of the gifts of
the Spirit, Paul takes us further into the anatomy of the Body of Christ as
created by God. He dissects our non-hierarchical arrangement of parts, well,
except for God giving the greater honor to the inferior member. So
very many members ~ digits, organs, and limbs ~ all created in the image of
God, and all one body ~ all ordinarily the same and each
extraordinarily different. ALL parts of the body ~ individually and
corporately, locally and planetarily ~ are created and arranged by God, the
ultimate and pre-eminent Architect, Electrical, Chemical, Plumbing, and Systems
Engineer. We are endowed from before birth with different gifts that are not
our own, but in our human lives are to be given out to and received from each
other, so as to have the same care for another...if one member suffers,
all suffer...if one member is honored, all rejoice together in it.
And then, in the Gospel, we move to the gathering
in the Synagogue as Jesus returns to his hometown, to his home congregation,
and was asked to read the words of Isaiah [61:1-2a+] that were,
interestingly and coincidentally (?!), appointed for that day. Quite an
honor? Perhaps a test? In those days, as now, the synagogues in Palestine were
not staffed by professional rabbis. Members, men of the congregation, read the
Scripture lesson and were perhaps asked to explain them or apply them to
everyday life. It was not uncommon to ask a visitor, who seemed knowledgeable,
to read as a new voice and who might have a fresh understanding of the reading
to share.
Jesus unrolled the scroll, read from it, and then rolled
up the scroll...and sat down. Everyone was watching him and so he told
them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing." Today is the key word, the principal concept.
He had read Isaiah's words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has anointed me... Jesus had just announced his ministry,
designating himself as the One about whom Isaiah was speaking, to the
congregation where he grew up. Is that an audible gasp travelling through
the millennia?
As we gather together to listen to God's Law and Word, let
us, who hear with understanding, be conscious of the Spirit
within us. Let us seek the gifts that are unique to us as individuals and honor
the gifts of others. The waters of Baptism flow in a variety of ways and
directions and the entire Body has been given the waters of the Spirit to
hydrate our souls, to cleanse our hearts even of its secret faults, and to
purify our intentions whether known or unknown to the other members. Each
time we provide hope for the dispossessed, or offer help to those in need or
trouble, we are making a day, as is our Sunday as our primary
worship day, that is to be joyful, with our heads unbowed and our faces
looking up, holy to our Lord and proclaiming the year
of the Lord’s favor. Let us gather often to drink deeply of one
Spirit, experience the Good News and strive for the greater gifts as
living members of the Body of Christ. Let every year be proclaimed
and dedicated as This Holy Year in the Favor of the Lord.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, revive our souls with the
power of Your Good News, as we carry it to all we meet and live it through our
words and actions. Enlighten and cleanse us from our secret faults and engage
the workings of our bodies, minds, and souls as mindful instruments of Your
honor and love.
O
Christ, our Teacher
RESPONSE: We
are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, now, more than ever, grant us words so effective
that they move the hearts and minds of all who govern the countries of our
world, our nation, and our community. Endow those in seats of power and
judgement with soul-filled compassion and courage to act now on
behalf of the poor, the blind, the sick, and free those who are oppressed and
held captive by misguided power, authority, debt-slavery, and so much
more. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Christ, our Teacher
We
are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, relieve the pain of those who suffer from
chronic illness, anxiety, or depression, and refresh all who provide care and
comfort. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…add
your own petitions
O Christ, our Teacher
We
are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, lift the heavy weight of mourning, as those who
have now left us in this life, rejoice and dance in Your everlasting
light. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Christ, our Teacher
We
are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, we pause in this moment to offer
You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials,
aloud or silently…add your own petitions
O Christ, our Teacher
We
are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
~ O Lord of Joy and Glory, we give You thanks and praise for all who are
anointed to guide our lives and souls by Your Church, opening the scrolls of
Your Word, and journeying with us toward the fulfillment of Your
purpose. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Christ, our Teacher
We
are Your Hands, Your Feet, and Your Voice
The Celebrant adds: O Lord our Strength and our
Redeemer, overflow us with the desire to drink deeply of the Spirit, as we
strive to find even greater gifts within us to use for Your purpose. Teach our
hearts, again, to care for and honor each other as the Body of Christ as we
proclaim and dedicate this year, and every year, to Your favor. We ask
through Jesus, Prince of Peace; and the Holy Spirit, our Source of Wisdom; who together with You are One God,
forever, and for ever. Amen.
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