Epiphany 3 - Year A - January 26, 2014
Text: Isaiah 9:1-4, Matthew 4:12-23
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In the Name of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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In the sixth century before Christ,
the prophet Isaiah spoke to the Jewish people in exile
and he said that
"there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish...
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
for the Lord has broken
the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders,
and the rod of their oppressor."
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During the Vietnam War I served in the South Vietnamese Army as an artillery officer,
and I was assigned to go with a Special Force unit in the highland.
A small contingent of soldiers from my unit was on a reconnaissance mission,
seven miles from where I was.
A helicopter dropped them there.
Our soldiers were engaged by the enemies.
One of them got killed.
The news came quickly.
His wife sat on the ground
in front of her home --
one of those little shacks,
the living quarters provided to army families,
in a village with unpaved roads.
She wept quietly,
while several soldiers and I stood by.
That image remains indelibly in my mind.
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A few years ago,
I came across an article
on the Washington Post,
with the picture of a young American woman
who sits by a mattress on the floor.
Her hands cover her face.
A backpack and a couple of books were by her side.
She was in a homeless shelter.
The economy took a downturn.
Both she and her husband had become jobless.
No money for the bills.
No money for rent.
The system did not allow them to stay together
in a shelter.
Someone else was caring for their baby.
The tunnel seems too long.
Can't see where it ends.
The burden is too heavy,
and the bar across the shoulder painful.
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Peter and Andrew were brothers.
They were not rich, but they had jobs.
They were fishermen,
poor, and yet always had food on their tables.
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That morning a stranger walked along the sea shore
and shouted to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."
They immediately left their net and followed him.
James and John did the same thing.
They left their boat and their father,
to follow Jesus.
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What is all this about?
Are they crazy?
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The author of the Gospel of Matthew
did not make up the story.
The story was passed on by word of mouth
among the early Christians.
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"Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."
Strange statement, isn't it?
Stranger still, the author says,
"Immediately they left their nets and followed him."
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This Jesus was not an ordinary person.
He made things happen by his words --
sometimes with only one word.
Everything Jesus did or said
fit exactly what the prophets of old proclaimed.
He gave sight to the blind.
He raised the dead.
He healed the sick,
proclaimed forgiveness to those condemned by society,
befriended the outcast,
and calmed the stormy sea with a few words.
He suffered death on the cross,
and yet he rose again.
Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior.
This is why when He calls
people respond readily.
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At the end of the Gospel of Matthew
we find this saying of Jesus:
"All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
And remember,
I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Those words are for us today.
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What Isaiah said is also applied to us today.
The true Light has come.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!
The light has shined in darkness,
and in that light there is a call to follow Jesus,
to be his disciples,
and to proclaim his love and salvation to the world.
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We have been together in church because God has called us to be together.
Each of us is called to a ministry;
each of us is assigned a task in our lives -- at work, at play and at home.
Our Lord gives us gifts so that we may serve.
Discovering such gifts and using them in ministry brings the joy we seek.
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The 219th annual council of the Diocese of Virginia was held in Richmond from Thursday to Saturday
of this last week.
The theme of the gathering was "Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve."
Bishop Shannon said that there is evidence of energy in our Diocese as we make efforts to witness for our LORD.
We are called to go beyond our comfort zone.
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Bishop Goff added that we are in time of massive changes.
In order to make connection,
many people of our days are using FaceBook
instead of coming to church.
So, instead of keeping calling out,
"Come join us,"
we should go out to serve,
as we are called in our baptism.
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Near the end of council,
a facilitator asked whether everyone had a smart phone.
Almost all of us had it.
A series of questions then appeared on the large screens,
and we all sent our responses by texting.
There was a question that read,
"In your congregation,
which of the diocesan priorities
generates the most excitement and/or energy?"
Most of us chose Mission and Outreach.
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I thought about Saint Patrick's while I was at the conference.
I thought about our life together.
We have taken risks.
We have gone beyond our comfort zone.
We have been doing the right things.
The greatest call of the Church is the call to care for the poor.
Jesus called his first disciples in the first century.
Jesus also calls us today.
In Jesus God has caused a new light to shine in our hearts.
What we are doing these days are signs of God's presence
and of his Light to the world.
He calls us, and He gives us the opportunity to serve.
In serving Him we experience the Light that brings joy to our hearts.
The question is whether we are willing to follow Christ and to offer our lives to Him.
For in Christ grace happens,
and we will witness His marvelous works,
which is the joy of being made anew,
restored and healed,
for the good life that God has intended for us to have.
And we remember that He can break the very yoke of our burden,
and that He is with us always,
to the end of the age.
Amen.
- We will celebrate "TET" this Sunday, after church. There will be a talent show, organized by our Mariko Hiller. Please sign up to participate in the talent show, and please bring food for the potluck! 
- There is a pocket of children at Westlawn Elementary School who receive free breakfast and lunch but have no food after they go home. The issue was brought up at the recent vestry meeting. Would you like to help them? If you wish, checks can be made payable to St. Patrick's, with Westlawn Snacks in the memo, or cash donations can be place in an envelope with Westlawn Snacks on the outside and placed in the alms basin or given to Winnie Lebo. We can also help with donations of the following types of snacks; granola bars (chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip), beef jerky(the regular flavor in small 0.28oz sticks), fruit snacks (Welch's), rice crispy treats, pudding (individual cups in chocolate and vanilla, and juice boxes (MinuteMaid or Apple & Eve). 
- The new issue of Forward Day By Day, for daily devotion, has arrived. Please pick up your copy in the narthex. "...In all that you have given us, let us see your hand and let our delight in your gift become an unending prayer of thanksgiving and ever-growing habit of generosity toward others." (From "Prayer For Gratitude, Page 94) 
- On every Sunday we need volunteers to serve for our coffee hour. Please sign up to help! The sign-up sheet is in the kitchen. Everyone is invited to stay after church for a time to visit with our friends and catch up on what has been going on in each others' lives. 
- Would you like to volunteer to help make food for the homeless? The upcoming Feed The Homeless event will be on Saturday, February 22nd, at the homeless shelter at Bailey's Crossroads Community Center (3525 Moncure Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22041). Cooking will begin at 9:30 AM; serving at 12 Noon; leaving at 1:05 PM (no clean-up needed). 
- Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Shrove Tuesday Youth and Children's Pancake Supper, March 4, from 5:30p.m. to 7:30p.m. More information will follow in future editions of "The Epistle".