Mission statement

Posted on January 23, 2010
Filed under Getting ready for Sunday, Worship | by Don Leave a Comment

To members and friends . . . tomorrow at St. James United Church of Christ

It’s impossible to forget where we were last Sunday. We’re still reeling from the events in Haiti… still remembering those words from Isaiah… The earth is mourning… the foundations of the earth will rock… the earth will shiver and shake. Isaiah used metaphors like this long, long ago to describe a variety of disasters… and he often linked the metaphors of earthquake with that of darkness, one that portrayed hopelessness and despair… a reality that still lingers for many in Haiti… but not only there because there are other places in the world shaken by natural and human disasters… too many to name… and perhaps even felt in our own land, our own state, our own community… or even in our own lives.

But if Isaiah could talk about the shaking of the earth’s foundations and of a time when the metaphor of darkness was all too real… he was also one who saw beyond the darkness of death and despair to see the Spirit of God at work bringing light and life. You might recall words that we often hear in Christmas liturgies from Isaiah 9 . . .

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.

At another time Isaiah was proclaiming . . . Arise, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of God is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. And he went on to say:

The spirit of Yahweh God has been given to me,
for Yahweh God has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison;
to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh . . . [Is 61:1,2]

On a Sabbath Day when Jesus showed up at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, he was extended the courtesy of reading from their scriptural lectionary… and the scroll just happened to be unrolled to that reading from Isaiah. So he read those words… and then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. Then with everyone’s eyes now glued on him he began to speak: These words of scripture are being fulfilled at this very moment as you are listening to them. [cf the whole context in Luke 4:16-21]

It was Jesus’ way of making a mission statement… and it is one around which we are called, indeed anointed – christened – as we aim for cultivating our own mission statement as a community of faith united around the essence of his mission and ministry… as we aim for being a united church of Christ.

And if we can play around with the metaphors of darkness and light… then you might want to take a look at 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31 and the metaphor of the human body that Paul utilized to talk about what it means to be the body of Christ… to be an extension of the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ in all the contexts of darkness that surround us today… and, especially, to be united as an enlightened and empowered community of faith in living out the light of good news to the poor and liberation of the oppressed.

For a change, it seems this weekend’s weather is smiling on us . . . so hope to see you tomorrow when we will do some reflecting around Pursuing Unity Around The Mission Statement of Jesus . . .

don

Bookmark and Share

Comments

Leave a Reply