Month: January 2022

January 23, 2022
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Year C

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6-8-10
Psalm 19
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a
Gospel: Luke 4:14-21

We are in the third Sunday of Epiphany, a time to hear stories Old and New about the miracles of God.

Ezra opened the book and Jesus unrolled a scroll.

Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10

In our Old Testament reading today, imagine all the people gathering in the square before the Water Gate.

The location of the Water Gate in the City of David is still debated, but it’s believed it likely lays near the Gihon Spring, perhaps as a distribution point for water. 

It provides an interesting and powerful metaphor, he faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand.

All the people listened closely to the Book of Law. (Neh. 8:3) 

Ezra is a scribe and priest he returns to Jerusalem in 458 B.C., 14 years before Nehemiah returned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, “Ezra returned to rebuild the people” 

He did it, by calling them to return to the “Word of God”. Ezra’s teaching of the “Word of God” combined with a life that “modeled the Scriptures” assisted the people to reignite their devotion to the Lord.

Ezra opened the book, the law of Moses…. in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 

Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen.”  Lifting up their hands. 

Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 

They were instructed to “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not grieve, for the joy of the lord is your strength.”

1 Corinthians 12-12-31a

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, through many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

For in the Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 

“If one member (of the body) suffers, all suffer together with it.”

Paul is writing to the people in Corinth, his local church and the congregation was divided and relationships were hurt and they struggled for power and competing factions. 

Just like our body, some parts don’t work without the other and we have to work together in our Christian beliefs, because, we the people are the body of God’s church.

And all of this was in a richly gifted community that proclaimed Jesus as their Lord.

“For in the Spirit we were all baptized into one body” We are in this together 

and we all need each other, not just here in church but in our community and 

world.

Gospel of Luke 4:14-21

JESUS, FILLED WITH THE POWER of the Spirit.

Like Ezra who returned to Jerusalem to read to the people from the book of Moses 

(a scroll most likely).

In Luke’s account, we have Jesus who returned to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day and like he normally did, he stood up to read, the scroll he was reading from was of the prophet Isaiah, which was given to him.

He….unrolls the scroll and found the place he wanted to read.

Isaiah 61: 1

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives; and release to the prisoners.

Isaiah 42: 6-7

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

When he is done, he rolls up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 

Then he began to say to them. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’

Jesus is saying to them that these things are now done and accomplished in himself.

Conclusion:

In the New Testament. The term Holy Spirit appears at least 90 times. The sacredness of the Holy Spirit to Christians is affirmed in all three Synoptic Gospels. 

I… personally felt the power of the Holy Spirit when the bishop laid his hands on me and spoke these words. “Therefore, Father, through Jesus Christ your Son, give your “Holy Spirit” to Lola Annette Culbreath; Fill her with grace and power, and make her a priest in your Church.”

This was very powerful and I felt it throughout my body, a feeling of love, joy and peace but most of all, I felt responsibility.

“Ezra returned to rebuild the people” He did it, by calling them to return to the “Word of God”.

The Gospel of Luke: 

In Luke’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus, was to empower him to bring good news to the poor recover sight to the blind; to let the oppressed go free. 

St. Paul’s powerful injunction in Philippians 2:5 “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”

The word calls us up, as to what we are actually supposed to be doing on this path: 

not just admiring Jesus, but acquiring his consciousness.

How do we put on the mind of Christ? How do we learn to respond to the world with the same wholeness and healing love? 

That’s what Christianity really is all about. It’s not about right belief; it’s about right practice.

When we say we are faithful or spiritual? we have to practice this in our daily lives, not just… saying we are faithful; we live with the mind of Christ.

When you feel the power of the Holy Spirit in your daily lives, let people see that you are filled with the Holy Spirt, by your actions.

Good-News

I started today’s sermon with the third Sunday of Epiphany, a time to hear stories Old and New about the miracles of God.

All things we know eventually get old, cars, furniture, clothes, almost everything. The one thing that does not get old, is the Word of God. His Word continues to be renewed in us, to read, to dwell, to teach, and to share.

We are on a mission and Jesus left us with a mission statement. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, we are filled with the Holy Spirit through our baptism. 

But we are not to let ourselves be filled and then emptied of the Holy Spirit, like a leaky bucket, only to be refilled later on. Rather, the Holy Spirit should flow within us constantly.

Jesus left us with a mission statement and St. Paul gave us a road map, the body of Christ, the church, we the people, are the church, just like a body part, one can’t do without the other and because of our baptism, we carry out Jesus’ mission, to care for the poor and the oppressed. 

We follow our hearts; we have the responsibility to fulfill God’s plan.

Feel the Holy Spirit in you, open your hearts and let the “Holy Spirit” whisper to you. 

Amen
The Rev. Lola Culbreath

Second Sunday after Christmas Day (Epiphany Sunday)
Year C
January 9, 2022

First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7,10-14 
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

The Collect:

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the people of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 

Epiphany Sunday, The Feast Day is January 6^th, on which the Christian church celebrates the Feast of Epiphany.

It recognizes the revelation of Jesus Christ to the entire world as represented by the coming of the Magi to worship the Christ child.   

Personal Story:

I was raised by wonderful parents that worked hard. My dad was working for the US government in the fish and wildlife and my mother was a cook at a boarding school and she was the one who took us to church.  

We didn’t have much, but we had all we needed.

Dad being a “trapper” would be gone for sometimes weeks, alone in the wilderness. He was a baptized Christian, but didn’t attend church that much. He told us he found God in nature.

We children, would go with dad camping and hunting. Being with him, we would leave the truck and all follow him, in a line, what seem to me miles and miles, I am sure it was only a quarter of a mile, I always wondered how he knew where he was going? He never got lost and we always found his way back.

He would sleep out many times in just his bedroll and he watched the stars and studied them. 

My father, who only had a second-grade education, knew the bigger picture about God way before I did. 

Which brings us to the story of the Gospel of Matthew.

God’s Greatest Gift to Us and The Gifts of The Magi 

A year or more after Jesus’ birth, three kings arrived to worship Him. Their lavish gifts symbolized Christ’s identity and mission; gold for a king, incense for God, and myrrh to anoint the dead.

The mysterious Magi, or three Kings, are mention only in the Gospel of Matthew. Few details are given, and our ideas about them mostly come from tradition and speculation.

Scripture doesn’t say how many wise men there were; it is generally assumed three, since they brought three gifts.  

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

King Herod was not happy, as a matter of fact he is worried and so are the people of Jerusalem. 

He calls all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he questions them!!! where was this child, the one they call the Messiah? Where was he born? 

“They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea; because it had been written by prophets. 

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” 

Herod has worked hard in gaining his kingdoms and he is not about to let someone take it from him.

The king secretly summons the wise men and learned from them, the exact time when the star had appeared.  

The Christmas message was first given to the shepherds, considered to be lower class people of Israel. And now it was given to the wise men from the East, they were not Jewish, but Gentiles.

Remember the message from the angels to the shepherds! 

There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2: 8-11

Maybe the glory of the Lord that shone around the shepherds was the same star…the same light of Jesus. 

The light was the light of Jesus Christ in the world. John 1:5-8 “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not absorb the light. It was too bright; it was the light that would lead the shepherds to Jesus and later it was the same light that would lead the wise men to him.

Jesus was going to be the true light for everyone, Jews and Gentiles.

“The king sends them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay homage.”

It’s reported that they could have traveled anywhere from 500 to 1500 miles to find the child and some historians and scholars say, it took a year or two before they found him.

They set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. 

Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Magi had to be very prominent in their regions to bring such lavish gifts. And they were certainly men of great learning.

Today, we would call them astronomers and would have followed the patterns of the stars religiously. Most likely, they would have been rich and held high in their own society by people who were from their region.

Conclusion:

• The three gifts had spiritual meaning; 
• Gold as a symbol of kingship on earth. 
• Frankincense (Incense) as a symbol of deity. 
• Myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. 
• Why did God choose first the shepherd’s and then the Magi? They were from different back grounds! 
• The shepherds were the poor lower class of Israel and perhaps! the poor shall be first.
• The Magi were wealthy, but from other regions. They were Gentiles!

The Good news:

Jesus came into the world for all people, for All Jews, Gentiles, Muslims “all people”.  

It sounds pretty fitting to me. God manifest himself through his son Jesus Christ, he comes here not as a King, but as one of us. And, His Kingdom is not of this world, but of the spiritual world. 

On this Epiphany Sunday, where Christians celebrate the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ, we have been given the greatest gift of all, the gift of Jesus Christ. 

We are reminded that he brings us Hope, Joy, Love and the promise of our Salvation.

Just imagine the Magi, when they first laid their “tired” eyes on the incarnate Son, and how overwhelmed with Joy they were! 

As I leave you today, a reminder that we are called to follow the bright light of Christ Jesus, rejoicing in the same way of the Magi, with overwhelming joy! 

Let’s kneel down and pay homage to Him always.

Amen
The Rev. Lola Culbreath