3 Epiphany/Year C Sermon/ Annual Meeting Day/Jan 26 2025
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a; Luke 4:14-21
Opening Prayer: Gift-giver, you call us together, with our different gifts, our different ideas, our different tastes. You call us together, to share what makes us special, to build each other up, to serve each other in love. You call us together, knowing that we need all parts of the body of your faithful people, if we are to be whole. You call us together, to sing, to pray, to listen, to speak, to be refreshed so that we can go out and serve. You call us together in the name of the One who has taught us, what it means to walk in love, with God, one another, and all of creation. Amen ~ (posted by Rev Gord)
Today is annual meeting day. A day set aside each year to recall and highlight the ways we, as a faith community, have lived out the mission of Jesus Christ in the past year, and to be reminded of his mission, and to re-affirm our commitment for the coming year to stay true to the mission of Jesus, as we grow in our faith, and as we seek and strive to align our lives and all that we do, with the love of God proclaimed to us, in the life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Today’s reading from the 1st letter of Paul to the Corinthians, is surely a great text to hear on the day we will gather for our annual meeting... to reflect and review the ways we have functioned as the body of Christ, as the light and love of Christ, here in this place, in our community, and in the world. It’s a text that reaffirms, that we are all a part of the body of Christ. And each one of us, has an important role, in building up the body of Christ, by being beacons of Christ’s light and love…through serving God, and one another, by being the eyes and the ears, the hearts and the minds, and the hands and the feet of Christ in this world today and in the years to come ….
Through our baptisms, and through all of us who gather together in this place to learn more about Jesus and walking the way of love that he has taught us and shown us, we are reminded that we are all called members of one body, Christ’s body…and that we were created to live in community with one another…
There is one Body and one Spirit;
There is one hope in God's call to us;
It is the Holy Spirit that unites us to one another: she helps us learn and seek and strive to understand Jesus’ teachings, they inspire us, enlighten us, comfort us, empower us, and reveal our gifts to be shared with one another, for the well-being and wholeness of the community gathered…here in this place…in our communities, and throughout the world.
Every one of us, is called and invited to engage in the mission of Jesus in this time, and in this place… to proclaim the good news of God’s dream of a beloved community for all people, when ALL KNOW without a doubt they ARE WELCOME in the household of God:
Jesus read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah today that spoke to what His mission was:
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, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
This is the mission of Jesus, this is the mission of all the baptized, this is the mission of all of us as a faith community:
To proclaim the good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of God’s favor…
Every one of us:
We are young, we are old; we are quiet, we are outgoing; we are teachers, we are students; we are fishermen and fisherwomen, we are counselors, and advocates; we are prayer warriors, and healing practitioners; we are musicians and singers; we are ushers and greeters; we are lectors, and chalicists; we are bell-ringers and acolytes; we are vestry members and convention delegates; we are community board members and city committee members; we are nurses and medical personnel; we are mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, we are sisters and brothers, we are aunts and uncles; we are quilters, we are beaders, we are knitters; we are bakers, we are gardeners; we are artists and writers; we are builders, we are craftsmen; we are business owners, and entrepreneurs; we are priests and deacons; we are dancers and gymnasts; we are walkers and runners; we are creation care enthusiasts and domestic violence advocates; we are archivists, and sacred story-keepers; we are federal workers, and government employees; we are people who serve our country in the armed forces, we are coast guard families. The list has no ending in sight…the possibilities are endless with the ways in which we are called to proclaim the good news of God’s love for everyone…through our words, and through our actions…
We are a diverse body of God’s beloved children, who share the same Spirit, which unites us to one another, through the Love of God, made known to us, in Jesus Christ.
All of us together are Christ’s body, and each of us is a part of it.
In a few moments, we will renew our baptismal covenant again…words for all of us to go back to time and time again, especially in times throughout our lives when we find ourselves unsure or wondering: “what is OUR MISSION as a faith community?”
St Peter’s mission statement is worded simply… On a journey together: Seeking and Striving to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
But, the possibilities are not simple….they are endless and varied with the ways in which we can all share our gifts in the coming year to be the body of Christ, the light and love of Christ, here in this place, in our community, and in the world.
May God Give us grace, every one of us, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works. Amen (Collect of the day/3 Epiphany)
Closing prayer/Hymn: WLP 782 - Gracious Spirit, give your servants
1 Gracious Spirit, give your servants joy to set sin’s captives free,
hope to heal the brokenhearted, peace to share love’s liberty.
Through us bring your balm of gladness to the wounded and oppressed;
help us claim and show God’s favor as a people called and blessed.
2 Word made flesh, who gave up glory to become our great high priest,
taking on our human nature to redeem the last and least:
let your courage and compassion shape and guide our ministries;
as our Savior and our Shepherd, lead us to the truth that frees.
3 Loving God, who birthed creation from the nothingness of space,
kindling life where all was empty, turning chaos into grace:
when we feel confused and fruitless, dawn upon our restless night;
give us faith’s imagination, hope’s renewing, love’s delight.
4 Triune God, eternal Being, never ending, unbegun,
boundless grace and perfect justice, righteous and forgiving One:
so enfold us in your mercy that our wills and yours unite;
through us may the world behold you, find your love, your truth, your light.
(Rev Julie Platson, St Peter’s by the Sea)