Preaching Good News to the Poor
The Rev. Robert P. Travis
Epiphany 3rd Sunday Sermon – 8:00am and 10:30am Church of the Ascension, Knoxville TN
RCL Epiphany Year C 1/27/2012
Scripture Text: Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21
Sermon Text:
Ten years ago this month,
I was in the process of exploring
what God was calling me to do.
I was engaged to be married to Jackie,
and I was on my way to Seminary in the fall.
I was also actively serving God
as a youth minister in an Episcopal church,
and that January
I took a group of young people to a conference,
outside Albany, New York.
At that conference some of the boys and I went to
a session and heard someone speak about
an organization called Compassion International.
She was very inspirational,
and that group of five boys were inspired.
They wanted to go to the table set up outside,
and consider sponsoring a child somewhere in the world.
They discussed it amongst themselves,
and decided that with the allowance they earned,
each one could easily give a portion into a pool
out of which the five of them could sponsor one child.
I was impressed with their courage and sacrifice,
and encouraged them to look together,
to pray about who they would be called to support.
They picked two boys out of the packages displayed.
An Ethiopian boy whose name I cannot remember,
and an Ecuadorian named Chucho.
One was 6 and one was 8 years old.
The boys prayed together,
and all but one of them were in agreement
they wanted to sponsor the boy from Ethiopia.
The one who was in the minority agreed
to go along with the group,
but he came to me as they were
filling out the sponsorship form.
What would happen to the other boy?
What would happen to Chucho, he wondered?
I told him I was sure Chucho would get sponsored,
but I could tell that his heart really went out,
in some mysterious way to Chucho.
So in a moment of grace,
I told him I would sponsor Chucho myself.
It wasn’t hard to do,
I can honestly say,
that it was never a hardship to dedicate
around $30 each month of my income,
to support this Ecuadorian boy.
Chucho was 8 when I became his Padrino,
that’s what he calls me in his letters.
At that time he liked soccer,
and was learning to play the piano.
Now he’s 18 and studying physics this year,
on his way to become an environmental engineer.
We exchange 6 or 7 letters each year,
and dedicate bible verses back and forth.
I pray for him nearly every day,
and I know he prays for me.
What started out as a sort of afterthought for me,
a small compassionate gesture to console
a kid on a youth group retreat,
in a very small event during a big time of change in my life,
became a consistent way to serve the Lord,
by making a real difference in one child’s life.
This relationship with someone I otherwise would not know,
has enriched my life.
While I watched Chucho grow up,
I was getting married,
moving to four different places,
going through graduate school,
working in four jobs,
having three children of my own.
I shared all of that with Chucho in my letters.
Knowing that he was praying for me,
and reading his letters made a difference to me.
I think I have made a difference in his life as well.
One time when I was making a tithe on a windfall I received,
I sent Compassion a check for $300 for his family.
A few months later Chucho sent me pictures of
his family and the new roof they put on their house,
the new bed he received and him in the new clothes,
all of which my donation bought.
I was blown away.
One of the most touching letters to me,
was when Chucho was 14 and confided in me some of the challenges he faced about changing
from a child to a young man.
I think, in the small amount of good I did,
for this one person,
I had a part to play,
in preaching good news to the poor.
Jesus, in his hometown visit that we read today,
looked into the prophecy about himself in Isaiah,
and laid out his agenda for his ministry.
It was like his inaugural address.
He said what he was called to do,
“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.”
Those things were all about
the ushering in of the Kingdom of God.
It was a renewal, the beginning of a new world.
And it was based on what God had explained
that was in the plan a long time before.
The same thing was happening when
Ezra read the book of the law
before the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem
in our reading from Nehemiah.
And they were moved to bring about the renewal
of the people of Israel in Jerusalem.
But now, in Nazareth, the book of scripture was fulfilled
in the person of Jesus Christ.
That very statement that Jesus made
to the people who knew him,
enraged them, for they couldn’t believe that someone
they had seen grow up, could be called to such greatness.
But we’re not focussing on that today.
The point on this third Sunday of Epiphany,
now that we’ve looked at who Jesus is,
is to consider what the Messiah was called to do,
and by extension, as his followers,
what we are called to do.
Notice that beautiful passage in 1st Corinthians,
where Paul likens us to members of a body,
each with an important function.
In our parish hall Sunday School class,
we’re considering how a new generation of Christians,
is discovering the excitement of serving Jesus
in many and varied ways.
Many of those ways are outside
the direct ministries of the church.
It is exciting to consider,
whether the calling is great,
or quite humble by human standards.
For all of our individual and corporate callings,
no matter how big or small
are participation in the work of God in the world.
What could be more exciting than that?
It could start with a small act of compassion,
and lead into a decade of relationship
and growth with someone half a world away.
Or it could be a path that takes years of preparation,
before one begins the endeavor of
reaching the local community with God’s love.
At the beginning of his adult ministry,
Jesus read before the people who knew him,
“the Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”
After Jesus accomplished all those things that
he was anointed and sent to do,
he poured out his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, upon everyone
who was willing to receive him.
And they became the anointed ones,
anointed with that same Spirit,
to do those same things.
How often have we thought that all it takes to be
a follower of Jesus,
is to worship Him in his Church on Sundays,
maybe study about Him,
maybe pray to Him when we need something?
But if we are anointed with the Holy Spirit,
we are called to take our place in the work of God.
To engage in the work that Jesus started.
How are we bringing good news to the poor?
How are we proclaiming release to captives?
How are we giving recovery of sight to the blind?
How are we letting the oppressed go free?
How are we proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor?
Maybe you’re bringing good news to the poor
by feeding them in our Fish Ministry,
or housing them in Family Promise here at Ascension.
Maybe in your work, you can bring truth to a world
where deception seems so much more the norm,
because we know the truth will make us free.
Maybe through your efforts in your job,
or in the community,
people gain their health,
learn how to live a fuller life,
or come to understand that there is hope,
when so many others convey hopelessness.
Maybe you could simply write some letters,
pray some prayers,
and help one child grow into a Christian adult,
who serves and strengthens their own community.
Whether you’re a hand, or a foot,
or an ear or an eye.
Or even just the toenail of the littlest toe,
You have a significant part to play,
in the body of Christ.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,
because He has anointed us,
as followers of Jesus of Nazareth,
to devote ourselves to His service.
Amen
Epiphany 3rd Sunday Sermon – 8:00am and 10:30am Church of the Ascension, Knoxville TN
RCL Epiphany Year C 1/27/2012
Scripture Text: Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21
Sermon Text:
Ten years ago this month,
I was in the process of exploring
what God was calling me to do.
I was engaged to be married to Jackie,
and I was on my way to Seminary in the fall.
I was also actively serving God
as a youth minister in an Episcopal church,
and that January
I took a group of young people to a conference,
outside Albany, New York.
At that conference some of the boys and I went to
a session and heard someone speak about
an organization called Compassion International.
She was very inspirational,
and that group of five boys were inspired.
They wanted to go to the table set up outside,
and consider sponsoring a child somewhere in the world.
They discussed it amongst themselves,
and decided that with the allowance they earned,
each one could easily give a portion into a pool
out of which the five of them could sponsor one child.
I was impressed with their courage and sacrifice,
and encouraged them to look together,
to pray about who they would be called to support.
They picked two boys out of the packages displayed.
An Ethiopian boy whose name I cannot remember,
and an Ecuadorian named Chucho.
One was 6 and one was 8 years old.
The boys prayed together,
and all but one of them were in agreement
they wanted to sponsor the boy from Ethiopia.
The one who was in the minority agreed
to go along with the group,
but he came to me as they were
filling out the sponsorship form.
What would happen to the other boy?
What would happen to Chucho, he wondered?
I told him I was sure Chucho would get sponsored,
but I could tell that his heart really went out,
in some mysterious way to Chucho.
So in a moment of grace,
I told him I would sponsor Chucho myself.
It wasn’t hard to do,
I can honestly say,
that it was never a hardship to dedicate
around $30 each month of my income,
to support this Ecuadorian boy.
Chucho was 8 when I became his Padrino,
that’s what he calls me in his letters.
At that time he liked soccer,
and was learning to play the piano.
Now he’s 18 and studying physics this year,
on his way to become an environmental engineer.
We exchange 6 or 7 letters each year,
and dedicate bible verses back and forth.
I pray for him nearly every day,
and I know he prays for me.
What started out as a sort of afterthought for me,
a small compassionate gesture to console
a kid on a youth group retreat,
in a very small event during a big time of change in my life,
became a consistent way to serve the Lord,
by making a real difference in one child’s life.
This relationship with someone I otherwise would not know,
has enriched my life.
While I watched Chucho grow up,
I was getting married,
moving to four different places,
going through graduate school,
working in four jobs,
having three children of my own.
I shared all of that with Chucho in my letters.
Knowing that he was praying for me,
and reading his letters made a difference to me.
I think I have made a difference in his life as well.
One time when I was making a tithe on a windfall I received,
I sent Compassion a check for $300 for his family.
A few months later Chucho sent me pictures of
his family and the new roof they put on their house,
the new bed he received and him in the new clothes,
all of which my donation bought.
I was blown away.
One of the most touching letters to me,
was when Chucho was 14 and confided in me some of the challenges he faced about changing
from a child to a young man.
I think, in the small amount of good I did,
for this one person,
I had a part to play,
in preaching good news to the poor.
Jesus, in his hometown visit that we read today,
looked into the prophecy about himself in Isaiah,
and laid out his agenda for his ministry.
It was like his inaugural address.
He said what he was called to do,
“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.”
Those things were all about
the ushering in of the Kingdom of God.
It was a renewal, the beginning of a new world.
And it was based on what God had explained
that was in the plan a long time before.
The same thing was happening when
Ezra read the book of the law
before the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem
in our reading from Nehemiah.
And they were moved to bring about the renewal
of the people of Israel in Jerusalem.
But now, in Nazareth, the book of scripture was fulfilled
in the person of Jesus Christ.
That very statement that Jesus made
to the people who knew him,
enraged them, for they couldn’t believe that someone
they had seen grow up, could be called to such greatness.
But we’re not focussing on that today.
The point on this third Sunday of Epiphany,
now that we’ve looked at who Jesus is,
is to consider what the Messiah was called to do,
and by extension, as his followers,
what we are called to do.
Notice that beautiful passage in 1st Corinthians,
where Paul likens us to members of a body,
each with an important function.
In our parish hall Sunday School class,
we’re considering how a new generation of Christians,
is discovering the excitement of serving Jesus
in many and varied ways.
Many of those ways are outside
the direct ministries of the church.
It is exciting to consider,
whether the calling is great,
or quite humble by human standards.
For all of our individual and corporate callings,
no matter how big or small
are participation in the work of God in the world.
What could be more exciting than that?
It could start with a small act of compassion,
and lead into a decade of relationship
and growth with someone half a world away.
Or it could be a path that takes years of preparation,
before one begins the endeavor of
reaching the local community with God’s love.
At the beginning of his adult ministry,
Jesus read before the people who knew him,
“the Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”
After Jesus accomplished all those things that
he was anointed and sent to do,
he poured out his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, upon everyone
who was willing to receive him.
And they became the anointed ones,
anointed with that same Spirit,
to do those same things.
How often have we thought that all it takes to be
a follower of Jesus,
is to worship Him in his Church on Sundays,
maybe study about Him,
maybe pray to Him when we need something?
But if we are anointed with the Holy Spirit,
we are called to take our place in the work of God.
To engage in the work that Jesus started.
How are we bringing good news to the poor?
How are we proclaiming release to captives?
How are we giving recovery of sight to the blind?
How are we letting the oppressed go free?
How are we proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor?
Maybe you’re bringing good news to the poor
by feeding them in our Fish Ministry,
or housing them in Family Promise here at Ascension.
Maybe in your work, you can bring truth to a world
where deception seems so much more the norm,
because we know the truth will make us free.
Maybe through your efforts in your job,
or in the community,
people gain their health,
learn how to live a fuller life,
or come to understand that there is hope,
when so many others convey hopelessness.
Maybe you could simply write some letters,
pray some prayers,
and help one child grow into a Christian adult,
who serves and strengthens their own community.
Whether you’re a hand, or a foot,
or an ear or an eye.
Or even just the toenail of the littlest toe,
You have a significant part to play,
in the body of Christ.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,
because He has anointed us,
as followers of Jesus of Nazareth,
to devote ourselves to His service.
Amen
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