SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2025 | EPIPHANY THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY (C)

Good morning,

First of all, I just want to say that the lectionary can be a little weird with the texts sometime - I think that if you need to do more than one text omission, you should probably choose a different text for the theme! I am looking at you Nehemiah text.

I think in today’s social climate, the texts such as the one in 1 Corinthians is important - diversity and inclusion are baked firmly into our religion! It is the natural state of being in God’s creation - just look at how many types of trees, birds, insects, or fish there are in the world, even after so many of them has gone extinct due to our careless interference into their ecosystems. There is not just one tree or species to rule them all - in fact, we now know for some time that forests made up of just one tree type burn up or get infected faster and one dominant animal will destabilize everything, just ask the Australians. Just like our bodies are not made up of just eyes or just mouths. Can you imagine that? We need a variety of parts to make the body to work.

And that is why the imagery of "body of Christ" is so important - we are all different from one another and yet united in one body of Christ and the more we learn to keep being different and yet sync up to work together, well, the better we can fulfill the missional mandate given to us by God.

Everytime there is a push against immigrants (and it's never just the so called undocumented), I end up wondering - are they really expecting there are hordes of citizens that will flock to work grueling and underpaid hours in kitchens and factories, on farms...? It is the least of these that often do important and underappreciated work - I mourn that by coercion and desperation, they are forced to do so and that is why we should lift them up and not seek to bury them deeper in their misery. Just like in our bodies there are parts that we prefer not to think about too much such as our bladder or spleen, unlike the cleaner and seemingly more important function of our eyes and fingers. It is when something is wrong with them that we actually notice them.

And let me tell you, we would notice if suddenly there were not immigrants willing to cook, clean, build, and do landscaping in an economy that is being propped up by people being willing to be paid less than their labor is worth . They are irreplaceable, just like the lung cannot do the work of the liver and vice versa.

In my home country, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, there were many Vietnamese immigrants that came back after their studies there during an school exchange between the socialist republics of Czechoslovakia and Vietnam. They were a differing element in a largely homogenous country and so they started working at stalls in street markets and gradually began their own small "evening stores,” akin to bodegas, open as late as 11pm in times when most grocery stores would close anywhere between 6pm to 8pm. Nobody else wanted to do such a thing at the time, there weren't even that many international fast food restaurants open that late. They filled an important need and eventually many people came to accept them as a part of Czech's society with their children becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers, and more. The xenophobia has not gone away completely, unfortunately, but with each generation, it lessens a bit. We need ALL parts of our bodies and societies and we should pay more attention to those that need it, not those that seem more glamorous, just like Paul writes.

Pay attention to what is written in Isaiah that Jesus read in the temple:

“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.”

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 4:18–19.

Jesus began his ministry with concern for the least of these, not with the affluent and wealthy. He spent the rest of his earthly ministry living it out - he spent most of his time out there in the countryside with underprivileged people and tended to their needs. Mercy and service to the poor and marginalized and challenge and uncomfortable truth to the rich and powerful. The poor do not need to learn more about suffering and the rich sure do not need to learn more about abundance!

So when an episcopal bishop calls on the most powerful man in the country “to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now (...) gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families”, it is not some radical leftist agenda, that is simply following the example of Jesus who called out injustice of those in power on many occassions. Most Christian children learn about the all encompassing and unconditional love of God and then sometimes this truth is adultered later in their lives with overemphasis on Hell, retribution, damnation, obedience, and law and suddenly...there are two classes of God's children - the true God's children that deserve grace and love of God and then the “also" God's children that need to experience the Law and its punishment first.That is the version the powerful like - they can donate a few percents of their wealth, show up in the cathedral once a year, and proclaim themselves Christian and then go back to busting unions, obscuring workplace injury rates, and profiting off people's misery.

In our theology, we reject such a dualistic view - we believe that we are at the same time sinners and saints, no matter what we do, good or bad. So exhortation to remember the poor and to have mercy on the powerless should not surprise us.It might not be comfortable, but we are taught that we still need repentance, confession, and absolution, no matter how well we think we are doing.

In these texts, I believe we are called to humility in our communities and with regards to ourselves. We cannot stand alone as the sole part of the body of Christ and we have to understand we are the holy priesthood of all believers to serve and not to be served. We need to rise above the petty worldly pursuits of wealth, influence, and power that we see so prominently everytime we look at the news, especially lately, I think. We are called to be the light and the salt of this world - to shed a light in this dim world and to give it a good flavor. I think there is something deeply anti-Christian trying to use power and influence to shape the world according to us rather than caring and loving stewardship I believe we are ACTUALLY called to.

I know that some of you are sad or perhaps even upset that I am resigning from my position and I am sorry for causing any grief or hardship. But even though I will depart in person, we, you and I, will continue to be parts of the same body of Christ through one spirit, one baptism, and God. We will still be engaged in God's mission together - that is what unites us, even as we are scattered and unique. Let us lean into that and serve the Lord with gladness, for the Lord is good and sustains us all. Amen.