Feeling God’s Pleasure and Rebuilding the Ruins
Readings for the Third Sunday after Epiphany
This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 23, 2022.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O LORD. May we bring you joy and may your joy be our strength and our freedom. Amen.
This morning’s readings are about God’s pleasure and joyful delight in his people when they use their spiritual gifts to serve the Body of Christ and fulfill the mission articulated by the Prophet Isaiah and Jesus: to bring good news to the poor and to liberate the oppressed. The readings include the prayer that I’ve been using at the beginning of my sermons for more than a decade now: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my strength and redeemer.” May the words of all who preach God’s Word bring God pleasure. The Hebrew Scriptures describe the joy of the Lord as our strength while Christ proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor and the letter to the Corinthians describes the entire Body of Christ rejoicing when one member shares their gifts with the beloved community and fulfills their vocation. The readings remind me of those powerful words of Scottish missionary and Olympic Gold medalist Eric Liddell in the film “Chariots of Fire” when he tells his sister, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” What is it that makes you feel God’s pleasure? Where does your deep gladness meet the world’s deep need? According to Frederick Buechner, that is where you will find your vocation: where your deep gladness meets the world’s need. If that is too challenging for you, then hear the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr.’s mentor Howard Thurman who said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” So, what makes you come alive? What makes you feel God’s pleasure? What makes you feel strengthened by God’s joy? How is God calling you to serve the Body of Christ here at Christ Church Eureka?
Where there are indeed several opportunities to serve: as a vestry member, as a delegate to Diocesan Convention, as an usher, as a member of the stream team and more. However, I’m sadly aware of the fact that serving in the church right now is especially difficult as we are in the midst of yet another wave of the pandemic, as we now uphold stricter guidelines that place restrictions on the way we normally do church, guidelines meant to protect each member of this congregation (especially the most vulnerable among us) and meant to limit the spread of the virus in the wider community. I love these readings on spiritual gifts and vocation and the joy of the Lord and I imagine God is guiding us through this pandemic and rejoicing in our courageous decisions to be extra conservative in following COVID protocols; and I hope we all find strength in this divine joy. And yet today I find myself seeking something more from our Scriptures.
I feel tempted to make this homily brief and to bring it to an end now, thus emulating Jesus in today’s Gospel who offered a brilliant one-line homily. However, I also feel invited to emulate Jesus in today’s Gospel by reading the same hope-filled words from Isaiah chapter 61 as a commission to us, the Body of Christ here at Christ Church:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, because he has anointed us to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”
And now let’s unroll the scroll of Isaiah a little bit more and read the verses that follow, verses that I feel speak directly to us now by giving us hope for the future and that empower us to remain faithful to the work God has called us to do in the midst of COVID and that empower us to do the good work that is waiting for us on the other side of COVID:
“The Lord has anointed us to comfort all who mourn; to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. We will be called oaks of righteousness, to display God’s glory. We shall build up the ancient ruins, we shall raise up the former devastations, we shall repair the ruined cities, [all that has been ruined and devastated by this pandemic]. We shall be called priests of the LORD, we shall be named ministers of our God.
“We will greatly rejoice in the LORD, our whole being will exult in our God; for he has clothed us with the garments of salvation, he has covered us with the robes of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” Amen.
May God’s joy in us give us the strength to comfort those who mourn, to bind the brokenhearted, and to repair all that has been ruined and devastated within the world, within this community, and within our very selves. Amen.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 