Readings for Annual Meeting / Epiphany 3A:
Mt. 4:12-23
January 27, 2008
The Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.” [Mt. 4:23-24]
This year, I had a wonderful Christmas. I delighted in our Christmas liturgies at St. Jude’s, ate a lot of good food, experienced the presence of Christ, and received many cards and presents. One present especially got my attention. It was from a parishioner who gave a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development in my honor. This particular donation was to educate orphans whose parents had died of AIDs.
What you may know about me is……(tell story)
But what most of you do not know about me is that I received my call to the priesthood at the height of the AIDs crises in San Francisco. This was a time when thousands of young men were dying each week. My neighbors were dying, my friends were dying, parishioners were dying. The mood of San Francisco had changed from being one of celebration to one of somberness. In fact, every person I knew who was infected with the HIV virus, ended up dying except for one.
During this epidemic, I was a member of Trinity Church in SF. I spent each Sunday afternoon visiting members of the congregation who had AIDs. I would administer the sacrament, lay hands on each person, and spend time visiting and relating parish news. Sometimes, I would be called upon to use my nursing skills to help administer medication and treatments. It was a time when few people would touch a person with AIDs and any assistance was welcome.
One day while attending a Christian education class at the church, I was filled with a profound insight and presence of the Holy Spirit. This insight brought to my attention, the healing power of a committed Christian community of faith to make a difference in the world. It inspired me to leave my profession as a chemist and to spend my primary time and energy building up Christian communities of healing. Filled with a sense of love and joy and inspiration, I sought ordination and began my ministry as a priest.
We all have different gifts to offer to those who are suffering. Some of us have gifts of medical knowledge and some have gifts of a healing touch. Some have gifts of listening, praying, visiting, or providing services to those who are homebound. Some of us have money to offer while others set up organizational structures to administer aid. There are some who have a passion for politics, using the political arena to effect change. This was certainly the case back in 1985 at Trinity Church.
During this AIDs crisis, Ruth Brinker, a grandmother and a women of great compassion, had a vision to be a healing presence by offering her time to feed eight men, each day, and deliver the food to these men who were ill, alone, unattended, and isolated. In the beginning, the food was prepared in the basement of Trinity Church. The meals consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and a drink. But as her vision caught fire, more volunteers came to the rescue and before long, a nutritious meal for over 100 people living with AIDs became a reality. This outreach project outgrew the small basement of Trinity Church and has become a separate entity. Today, “Project Open Hand” is now thriving in the Bay Area, serving over 5000 people who are critically ill and homebound. “Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed they are the only ones who ever have.” [Margaret Mead]
Today we are focusing on the Millennium Development Goal #6 to combat HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, malaria, and other plagues that destroy the creatures of God. There are over 33 million people living with AIDs today. One third of the world’s population is currently infected with tuberculosis and each second someone in the world is newly infected. There are 400 million cases of malaria each year and out of these cases, one million people will die, most of them children. This past Friday, I read an article in the Chronicle about the recent staph-resistant epidemic in San Francisco. It won’t be long before it reaches the South Bay. But epidemics are not limited to viruses and bacteria alone. Today, millions of people are suffering from depression, loneliness, spiritual malaise, and general unhappiness. What are we to do? And how can we be a healing presence in our day-to-day lives?
Whenever I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of a problem or don’t know what to do, I begin with prayer and I seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit who moves through the Scriptures. In today’s gospel, Jesus is beginning his ministry. Having been baptized in the river Jordan by John the Baptist (who has just been imprisoned by Herod) he moves from Nazareth to the northern end of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. He realizes that he can’t do his ministry alone. So he begins developing his organization by calling ordinary people to extraordinary ministry. His words were simple: “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” [Mt. 24] At this point in the story, four men turn away from their ordinary lives, climb into the hill country to the north, and begin a ministry of teaching and healing. This call of Jesus continues to beckon us today.
Many of us may be silently saying, “But I do follow him, at least I try.” And that may be true. But the second part of the call gives us the most pause: “I will make you fish for people.” What are you doing to spread the good news in Christ as a healer and teacher? The future of our faith tradition is going to depend on the willingness of Christians to be prepared to express to others what the Christian faith means to them as a resource for living in the modern world. Most of this work will be done primarily through one-on-one encounters. Reaching out your arms and touching those with whom you come in contact, using whatever gifts God has given you, is what each one of us is called to do.
Matthew tells us that Jesus went through Galilee proclaiming the good news and curing every disease and sickness among the people. Jesus envisioned a transformed world, bringing light to those who sat in darkness. He did this by uplifting the ministry of healing. In fact, that was his main ministry- healing. This should come as no surprise since healing is the most sought after commodity in the world today: healing of ourselves, each other, of society, institutions, the environment, the world, and even the church itself.
It is easy to get distracted and busy with the demands of everyday life and ignore the suffering of the world. Even as rector, I am often distracted from my true passion of creating a community of faith that is focused on healing and wholeness. After all, there is money to be raised, property to be repaired, meetings to attend, paperwork to fill out, and diocesan responsibilities to fulfill. But I am absolutely delighted that members of this congregation have asked the vestry to set a goal this year to uplift and expand the healing ministries at St. Jude’s. What might this look like? How would we expand our healing ministries? I wonder. Bishop Mary has asked us to spend 2008 wondering what God is calling us to do. I support her call to wonder, 100%. To wonder means to engage in the spiritual discipline of reflection and discernment. We need to take the time to think, focus and wonder about how we can all use our own unique gifts to increase healing.
Over the years, we have already begun good work in healing ministries. We have created a Stephen Ministry: a ministry of listening to those suffering from grief, loss, loneliness, and stress. We have created a prayer chain to support those individuals and families who are going through times of trial. We have expanded our outreach to include the Bill Wilson Center which focuses on high risk teenagers. Each Sunday during Epiphany and Lent we will bring before you one of the Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this is not only education, but to inspire you to become more involved in the healing of this planet according to your gifts. As a parish family, we continue to support the Senior Day Care Center, the homeless shelter, as well as visit the sick and homebound each Sunday. There are many of you who quietly take food to people at times when they are in need while there are others of you who offer rides to the elderly. For all of this generosity and empathy, I give thanks.
Healing comes in many forms. Sometimes it is ordinary and sometimes it is extraordinary. I would like to encourage more of our young people to seek vocations in the fields of nursing, medicine, research, and the church. These vocations can be tough and they will never bring great wealth but the world needs healers of many kinds.
As we become a blessed church (i.e. filled with the power, presence, and purpose of God) our healing ministries will expand. And as they expand, we will attract new disciples who can and will become part of the transformation of this world. May God give us the willingness and the spirit to wonder how we will take our next step in this journey towards healing and wholeness.
| Updated February 8, 2008 |
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