Sermon for January 26, 2025 at our Annual Meeting based upon 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a and Luke 4:14-21

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a: One Body with Many Members 

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one 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 the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. 

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.  

 Luke 4:14-21: The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
 
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
 
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘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.’ And he rolled up the scroll, 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.’ 

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     I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I am delighted to read our church’s annual report each year. Look at all this great stuff we’ve done together! An average of 38 of us gather each week, some on-line and some in-person, to pray, learn, sing, and eat together. People who live in Winthrop and people who live part of the year in Arizona and people who live in Germany and people who live in Lisbon, Monmouth, Sidney, Augusta, and Readfield (among other places) commit week in and week out to being the Body of Christ together. This body does not consist of one member, but of many.

     Those who choose to be a part of this community by worshiping and serving with us regularly allow us to follow the lead of the Spirit to serve this world. Within this body are teachers, pray-ers lawn mow-ers, garden planters, wall-patchers, window fixers, readers, singers, instrumentalists, writers, bakers, phone-call makers, and drivers. Some of you are good at counting things, so you make sure that our finances are in order and that we have clearly written reports stating how we use the money entrusted to us. This body of Christ includes creative minds who find new ways to raise funds and new curricula for the youngest ministers among us. Within this body of Christ are the diligent, who call the oil company over and over again to make sure they clean up their messes, who work to makes sure all of our board slots are as filled as they can be, and who know where are the Christmas decorations and table cloths are stored away until we need them.

     We have some glorious organizers who have found their way to our doors. You gather up our band members for practice, volunteers for our church fairs, community members for singing, and figure out fun fellowship outings to theaters and museums. You have paid close attention to our commitments to be good neighbors and found ways for us to support people who need help. And, you make sure that our denomination’s summer camp has our support, both through donations and in allowing our youth, for the second year in a row, to attend a conference-wide confirmation retreat there.

     When people in this community have a hard time paying for heating and housing, you make sure we have funds set aside to help. At the risk of stealing Lacey’s thunder later in the service, I want to make sure to lift up that we gave away $5, 450 and 16 cents to programs and people who needed it. The Deacons’ Love Fund is 3,530 of those dollars. The Winthrop Center Friends even chipped in to our deacons’ fund this last year. That’s a lot of money for a church that is made up of about 90 active parish and covenant members, and the small congregation we host. I am consistently heartened by the ways you care for each other and care for strangers. When I read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, and see him helping that community learn to appreciate each other’s gifts, I am grateful to see our part of the Body of Christ living his hopes out.

     This last year has been full of rich worship, good music, sincere prayers, and hard work.  It’s important that we set aside time to give thanks for the ways we have been church, in hard times and in good times, over the last year.  It is also wise to remember that the annual meeting is intended to be a time of forward thinking as well. A question Christians must continually ask ourselves in “What are we called to do?” Here in the United Church of Christ, where we understand that Jesus Christ as the sole head of the church, it is wise to return to his mission and ministry as we look for guidance on how to shape our own.

     Our reading from Luke starts in Galilee, and will eventually get to Nazareth. As we read about his actions in Nazareth, we should remember that the story just before this one is important. It’s Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. As Mitzi Smith notes in her commentary on this text, Jesus’ time in the wilderness confirms that he is the Son of God who had the opportunity to accept  “unbridled power, authority, wealth, and risk (4:1–12).” But, he didn’t. In the texts just before today’s reading, we see that Jesus refused, repeatedly, to take power that is offered to him in exchange for loyalty to Satan. An allegiance with evil will be worth nothing to him. We who would follow him must similarly resist access to power that comes wrapped up in a deal with the devil.

     Having clarified his commitment to God, he went home to declare his commitment to his community. Bolstered by his good reputation as a teacher, Dr. Smith notes that Jesus’ actions (reading the scroll and offering an interpretation and response) are very much in line with what is described as common practice for respected speakers in Luke and Acts. Dr. Smith also notes that all kinds of people could be present in the synagogue. Most people in attendance would be Jewish, though Gentiles could be there as well. Regular old lay people, leaders within the synagogue, including Pharisees and scribes, adults of all genders and kids might all be there. Most people were quite poor, but there might be some wealthy people. There were would be people who were healthy and people who were ill, either with diseases or those considered possessed, as well as enslavers and the currently and formerly enslaved. And, importantly, Smith notes that the synagogue might also be a place with leaders were asked to render judgement on a conflict. I am grateful for the reminder that synagogues could be full of diverse kinds of people and also sites of struggle.
Jesus picked out the scripture he wanted to read: “The Spirit of God 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 site to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He looked right at the people listening and they looked at him, and said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Had he stopped there, he might not have made them mad.

     He didn’t stop, though. He knew that when you are granted the right to speak, you better make good use of it, another lesson we who follow him should learn. The people in the synagogue said “Is this not Joseph’s son?” I’m not sure if it’s better to understand them saying this in joyful amazement at the hometown boy all grown up or with disdain, as though they thought he was getting too big for his britches. Smith indicates in her commentary that she reads in the first way. And, she reads his response to that statement as, as something like “since you know me so well, you might ask why I don’t use my power for my own good, and also do the good works here that I’ve done elsewhere.” Then, he goes on to say that a prophet is never accepted in their hometown, pointing to examples of Elijah and Elisha. God didn’t have them fix every problem in the places where they lived.

     The people in the synagogue didn’t want to hear this at all. They didn’t want to imagine that Jesus wouldn’t prioritize them or that God might have something else in mind for Jesus to do. Turns out, lots of folks get mad when you tell them they are wrong about God. This group of people who had known Jesus his whole life grew so enraged with what he said that they drove him out of town and tried to throw him off a cliff.

     Jesus’ mission came with priorities: care for the poor, release for the imprisoned, healing for the sick, and freedom for the people ground down by Empires. He is reading this in the synagogue just after his cousin has been imprisoned by the terrible king. Jesus knew clearly that there was a cost in holding powerful people accountable. He had been offered immeasurable power and declined it, knowing it came at too high a cost. God did not call him to torment of the sick and poor. God did not call him to imprison people. Jesus shows us clearly that Divine Power is for mercy and healing, not terrorizing. And, it is to be used for the people who need it, not just the people who have known us the longest or lived the closest proximity to us. Jesus doesn’t work through cronyism. He works through justice and love. And, so should we.

     Our mission is to follow Christ’s lead. And, this will prove daunting, as is already clear to those with eyes to see it and ears to hear it. I can think of at least one pastor and church currently fielding threats of violence for preaching much more gently than Jesus did in today’s scripture. Jesus never said following him was without risk. There will be much to do in the coming year. May we not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the work ahead. Our annual report shows us what amazing things the Spirit can empower us to do. I am certain that Spirit is with us right now as we discern how best to use the gifts that are inside us. May we be confident that God will show us a still more excellent way .
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Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Our church’s annual report, which can be found here, under the “How We Live Out Our Mission” section: http://www.wccucc.org/our-mission-and-what-we-do.html
Mitzi Smith: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-luke-414-21-6
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