Is it possible that we saw this very thing take place at Washington National Cathedral, with the Investiture of the 26th Presiding Bishop?
For so many, this passage from Luke sums up both who this Jesus is, and "the mission of the Church." Jesus is preaching - well, attempting to, anyway - in his hometown. He's trying to tell the people who remember him jumping into mud puddles as a boy, and working in his father's wood shop as a young man, what he's really here to accomplish. He's got a very specific job, which is to bring the good news of God's love to those who haven't yet heard or believed it, and to tell those who aren't aware of it that God does indeed look upon them favorably.
Of course, they don't believe it. What, Joseph's kid, saying these things? Impossible. Impossible that God could give His blessing to the beggar on the corner, much less to anyone who isn't Jewish. And yet, there he is, doing it anyway.
Throughout the Gospel accounts Jesus makes a point of hanging out with the slimy underbelly of1st-century society. The writers also take pains to point out that the slimy underbelly often has more faith than for which it is given credit. Take, for example, the story of blind Bartimaeus that was heard in many places this past week. Nobody who tossed a coin into his cup probably thought that a blind man, who was obviously paying the price for some sin or another, would have his sight restored simplybecause he believed enough to ask for mercy. Ironic, that a blind man saw and understood what so many others could not, until after the crucifixion: this Jesus was special, because the spirit of the Lord was upon him.
Not much has changed in the world in the past 2000 years. The slimy underbelly of society is still there, it still needs help from those in more privileged positions. So what are we gonna do about it? One of the less well-publicized outcomes of last summer's General Convention was the focus both Houses directed towards the UN MilenniumDevelopment Goals. The MDG's are, if properly implemented, good news to the poor who so desperately need the physical resources they will provide. The MDG initiatives are also good news to those who are poor spiritually, who need the message we Episcopalian Christians bring: see, this thing is being fulfilled in front of you, today, in the here and now.
And what a chief messenger we have in Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. She keeps saying that what we're about in terms of mission is helping those who need it the most. Which is what "Gospel" is, really. As a friend kept trying to get across before he died, each of us is a gift that is meant to be shared, because there is always someone out there who desperately needs what each has to offer. Episcopalians have a heck of a lot of good stuff - that is, if we can stop bickering with one another long enough to see the blind Bartimaeuses of the world and offer that stuff to them.
We are the Lord's appointed in this tremendous task. So let us join with Bishop Katharine, and proclaim by both word and deed that this is indeed the year of the Lord's favor.
