So, those of you who were here last Sunday, should I test you? See if you can remember the four words, Called by God, Chosen by God to be here, everyone in this building is gifted by God, given ministry by God and above all, everybody in this room, loved by God. In this moment in this place and I’m hoping we can keep that spirit, that joy from last Sunday, alive, and I’m hoping we can keep growing, in fact let people see the works of our hand, works inspired; by God’s grace, that they will give God the glory.

The challenge before us this Sunday, and actually every Sunday, as we open the scriptures and of course we are a church that uses the Revised Common Lectionary, same as many Methodist Churches and Lutheran Churches and the challenge is to take the readings that are appointed on the Sunday and bring them into our lives and bring them into our moment, and bring them into our days and into the work that God’s given us to do. To bring the Biblical text alive in our lives. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s hard.

In the first reading we had of Nehemiah, what’s described there is the people called out of exile chosen to come out from exile back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and rebuild the temple. During the exile, they had forgotten a lot of what had been given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and so they were anxious, indeed as we heard they were emotional as Ezra opened the book and reminded them of the law that was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They were actually teared up and weeping as they heard again this great gift that God had given them through Moses. These were the people who lived under the rule of the king and the priests and the Levites were set aside so that the law could be read to them and interpreted to them. And so, what has that to say to us who don’t live under a king, who are coming out of exile, who are not rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple and so on? It’s a challenge.

In Paul’s letter, actually two letters to the Corinthians, he takes them to task about many things, and in this particular part of his first letter, it’s clear that he is forcefully arguing that everyone, everyone at Corinth, everyone who hears this letter from the least to the greatest, has the same gift of the Holy Spirit and whether the gift they have is seen as the least or the greatest, all of these spirited and gifted people who are part of the church in Corinth belong to the body of Christ. Everyone has something to contribute and no one in Corinth, he’s telling them, can tell one of the spirited and gifted persons "Hey the body has no need of you or your gift, why don’t you just keep moving along?" It’s a little easier to figure out what that might mean to us.

In the Gospel story, Luke tells the story, Jesus is in the habit of attending the Synagogue service every week and apparently has no problem sitting near the front and even volunteering because he stands so that he might read to the assembled people in the Synagogue, another helper gives him the scroll, and he unrolls it and he begins to read and if you tried to look up the passage that’s quoted by Luke you’ll find out that’s it’s really not one passage but two, apparently as Jesus stood to read he started with one verse, inserted another that made a lot of sense and made his point, and then finished with what he was reading. When Jesus had done that, he hands the scroll back and sits down with his posture for teaching in First Century Palestine and his teaching; his words make it clear that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy Isaiah. And so the challenge again, what are we to make out of all of this. That maybe another prior question. Is it really true; is it really true that God wishes to use these stories, pointed in the lectionary? God really chooses to use these stories to touch our hearts. One Sunday after another, can that really be true? Well, I’m standing before as one that says yes, that is really true. God uses these stories, uses me, uses the hymns that we sing, uses all of us together standing in prayer, coming to the rail, uses all of us to touch our hearts in this day.

So, back to the reading. As we take a look at that first story, the men and women that are recorded about in that story, those men and women were each of them called by God out of exile, chosen by God to lead the exile in Babylon, chosen and called by God to rebuild the Holy City Jerusalem and God’s Temple. It wasn’t you and it wasn’t me, in fact I think we might have the easier task, maybe, living in 2007 as we do. But it was those men and women who were called and chosen by God to do that work, a work we remember today. Today, in 2007, you are called and I am called, you and I are chosen to be here at St. Margaret’s to consider, to pray for, to work for the spread of God’s Kingdom, from this place. We are the ones who are chosen, not the ones who were rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. Today you are called and chosen to consider and to prayer for and to work for the calling of a new rector, not those who heard Ezra, read from the law, and so what do we have in common? Well, with our brothers and sisters in faith, we have work to do in the day that the Lord has given us. We have work to do that is ours because we have been called by God and chosen by God to do this work. So we have that in common with them, the same God has called us, the same God has chosen us, the same God has blessed us and the same God loves us. And that is a wonderful thing to be connected through the centuries. As with the people of ancient Corinth, so also with us, the apostle can chide us and remind us that we cannot say to one person or another "Hey, we have no need of you here, your gift isn’t great enough for us so why don’t you keep moving along. You haven’t the right kind of gift or you aren’t the right kind of person to fit into the body of Christ here."

The Apostle Paul says through the centuries, better not - don’t you dare engage in that no one, in the Body of Christ can say to another in the Body of Christ, we have no need of you, move along. We have no more right to dismiss each other than those folks in ancient Corinth and indeed like them if we follow the apostle’s teaching, you know, we are to welcome each other. We’re to encourage each other so that the Body of Christ at St. Margaret’s can be strong and whole and beautiful. No person is greater than another, each of us has received the same spirit, all are called and chosen and gifted by that spirit, all of us in Love of Jesus Christ.

And so, no gift is too small nor too unworthy for the body, and it could be a small gift like holding the elevator door open so that a person is not smacked as it close to quickly. It could be small like a kind word spoken or a smile offered to another on the church steps or in the Narthex, or at the exchange of Peace. It’s the kind of gift that builds up the body of Christ and none of those gifts are too small. God delights in those gifts. To build up the body, and by the same reasoning, no gift is too large for the Body of Christ, even a league gift of a million dollars to help us pay our debts, secure our financial future as measured against a gift of love given us by God and Jesus Christ, who after sharing his love was crucified and while dying on the cross, forgave his tormentors. Jesus Christ that after that death and burial, rose on Easter morning and opened the way of eternal life for each of us. Opened the paradise of God to each of us. Well, even a million dollar gift seen from that perspective, is neither too large nor too extravagant, so compared to God’s gift in Jesus, no gift is too large and again if Jesus taught us anything, it’s that no gift is too small even a smile and a kind word.

So believing the word of the apostle that we are the body of Christ in this place, we can even come to the Gospel story now. For what was true of Jesus in the Synagogue in Nazareth must also be true of the Body of Christ today and here for you and I and for St. Margaret’s. It’s our calling from God, to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah for few are the Body of Christ in 2007. So it’s not those gathered in the Synagogue but it is our families, our friends and neighbors, our community that watch us, volunteer, stand, find the word of God and read it. It’s not those in the Synagogue long ago in Nazareth, but it’s our families, our friends, our neighbors who listen to us read the spirit of the Lord is upon us. Because He has anointed us to bring good news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim release of the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. It falls to us, not to anyone else. It is the eyes of the world; it is the eyes of our families, friends, neighbors, and our communities that watch us. And it is the ears of the world, the ears of our families, our friends our neighbors our communities who hear the people of St. Margaret’s, who hear you and me proclaim, today this scriptures has been fulfilled in your hearing and it is our responsibility . It’s our gift; it’s our calling from God.

The story from Luke certainly helps us understand who Jesus is and what Jesus is about and at the same time, the story from Luke is about us. It reveals who we are and what we are to be about. It is about the work that God has given us to do as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. And of course, actions speak far louder than word, so if the world is to take us seriously, take all of us seriously, if the world is to believe that we are the Body of Christ, if that is to happen, then we must really bring the Good News to the poor wherever we find the poor. We are the ones to release captives, and there are all kinds of captivity in the 21st century. We are the ones who help the blind recover their sight and there are all kinds of blindness in the 21st century. We are the ones who set the oppressed free, and if you look very hard you will find oppression in many forms. So let the spirit that has anointed you in baptism, anointed you in confirmation, even anointed you in ordination, let the spirit guide your heart and hand in doing the work God has given you. And let the same spirit, through Vestry, and staff and other lay leaders guide our parish family into the work that God has given us to do as a family or as the Body of Christ. In the prayers, in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, we are going to find plenty to do. And as we do it our lives, in our own lives, in the mission and ministry of this parish, you know what? Light will shine in the darkness, and our God will be glorified.

So, to remind you, we are called, and we are chosen, and gifted by the spirit , we are loved day in and day out, right here , right now, and all , all are welcome, all are needed, everyone has a gift, a ministry to give and as the Body of Christ we have work to do. So let us not grow weary of encouraging each other and even finding ways in which the spirit is calling us to do and be more, because again, that is how God will be glorified and how we will fulfill our calling to be the Body of Christ in this place. Amen.