and pulls them together with the double reference to light that arrives in the midst of darkness. In the

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January 22, 2017 Third Sunday in Epiphany Isaiah 9:1-4; Matthew 4:12-23 Darkest Before Dawn Joy Douglas Strome Prayer for Illumination: Awesome God, Awesome God, provider of light, Awesome God,

1 January 22, 2017 Third Sunday in Epiphany Isaiah 9:1-4; Matthew 4:12-23 Darkest Before Dawn Joy Douglas Strome Prayer for Illumination: Awesome God, Awesome God, provider of light, Awesome God, provider of light, author of love Awesome God, provider of light, author of love, holy presence in darkness Move among us now. let the words of this text the meditation of my mouth the ponderings of every heart and mind in this room collaborate together so that this sacred time might be powerfully felt might transform each and every one of us might find us restored, rested and ready to go. Amen. So yesterday 250,000 of my friends and I met downtown for a little gathering. And I was reminded that I was going to quote Batman on the cover of the bulletin this morning: the night is darkest just before the dawn.and I promise you.the dawn is coming. yeah, that was sort of what it was like. a little bit of dawn coming..i daresay that we haven t seen the darkest moments yet, but a little shot of dawn every once in a while goes a long way. The lectionary on this Third Sunday in Epiphany (that season of increasing light which corresponds not coincidentally with the shortest day of the year, just one month ago) is all about light.it pairs Isaiah and Matthew across hundreds of years and pulls them together with the double reference to light that arrives in the midst of darkness. In the

case of Isaiah, the invasion of Assyria on Israel has left them an occupied state, living under a military occupation that has brought upon the people great distress.

2 case of Isaiah, the invasion of Assyria on Israel has left them an occupied state, living under a military occupation that has brought upon the people great distress. A time of desolation for the people, a new king has just been installed---hezekiah. Isaiah believes a different day is coming, one recognized by justice and righteousness and blessed by a peace that will never end. The prophetic voice is essential---one that isn t afraid to say that the rod of oppression, the exploitation of the poor, and the rule of fear is not acceptable.and that God will right what is wrong if that becomes the case. Wait.let me check the copyright date on this text. Yep, 742 BCE, not 1/20/17. There doesn t seem to be a statute of limitations on light promised by this God of ours.the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this..hmm. Richard Ward writes: in the shadow of empire, God is at work in the world, bringing about salvation through the restoration of a compassionate order of justice. Isaiah is speaking about a time to come. Matthew is announcing that that very same time has come. John the Baptist came first to pave the way, and now, Matthew claims this Isaiah text for his community and quotes the text that they would have known, that brought them comfort in the midst of their own time of darkness and persecution..and sets the stage for Jesus to walk on as principle lead.i am here to save you..but he doesn t lead with that..no the first words out of Jesus fully grown adult mouth are these: Repent, the kingdom of heaven has come near.

As a reminder, this word repent is less about stop sinning and more about start doing the right thing..turn yourselves toward God and listen to God s call.

3 As a reminder, this word repent is less about stop sinning and more about start doing the right thing..turn yourselves toward God and listen to God s call. That s what follows of course, Jesus begins the process of picking his cabinet, oh I mean his disciples, his inner circle, the ones who will be with him til the end, the ones responsible for keeping the church going after he s gone, the ones who take seriously this call, who drop everything and go they go to help Jesus fish for humans. And fishing for humans, Matthew says involved proclaiming good news, curing every disease and sickness among the people. Jesus platform has nothing to do with amassing power, or wiping out enemies, or being the greatest. Just the opposite----he proclaims good news to the least of those around him, and cures people from every disease and sickness. He is, of course, Jesus, and no one could completely measure up.but repenting entails turning our best efforts towards the ministry of Jesus Christ, who made it his business to hang out with those who were in the most need. First Simon (aka Peter), then Andrew, then James and John..more will follow, but these are the first to answer the call. They leave their professions, their wealth, their family to make a priority out of Jesus platform..and this passage always leaves us scratching our head just a bit, doesn t it? If we can t leave it all for Jesus like the disciples, does that mean we are just sort of disciples, that we can t ever measure up, that we can t know the same kind of conviction they did, so why bother?

4 Or, does that question just derail the conversation, let us off the hook to never even try? The disciples who follow Jesus don t do it perfectly, but they do it.they look around them, they recognize something in Jesus that seems well---authentic and true---- they know that John the Baptist has been arrested, that the stakes are high, and they say to themselves: the time is now. If life for our people is going to change we are going to have to be a part of that. And they say yes. Which means setting down their nets, leaving their boats and making Jesus proclamation the priority for their life. I read an article this week that quoted a poem by feminist poet Marge Piercy called To Be Of Use. To be of use BY MARGE PIERCY The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight. They seem to become natives of that element, the black sleek heads of seals bouncing like half-submerged balls. I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again. I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags along, who are not parlor generals and field deserters but move in a common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put out. The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident. Greek amphoras for wine or oil, Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums but you know they were made to be used. The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real.

5 Marge Piercy, "To be of use" from Circles on the Water. Copyright 1982 by Marge Piercy. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. Source: Circles on the Water: Selected Poems of Marge Piercy (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982) P O E T R Y I am moved by this poem, especially the last lines..the pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real. Real work is before us like never before.need I say more? That might mean laying down a few nets..do I think that means everyone should quit their jobs and join Jesus? No, of course not. We need you to work to pay your pledge to commit, support and lead this ministry of Jesus right here. week in, week out..but there are different forms of laying down your net, right? It might just mean aligning your life so that real work is the priority. It might mean laying down the nets that aren t adding value to your life, so that there is time for the real work. I spent some time reflecting on that huge crowd yesterday and watching the reports literally around the world. What makes a person stop what they are doing on a Saturday morning, get themselves out of bed, and willingly get into a huge crowd like that. One sign said it best. It s so bad, even introverts are here. Real issues. Real work that means something. I know the march took some heat and critique especially from our brothers and sisters of color. And we need to own that critique. But let me tell you a bit of what happened there. I think there were more than 30 of Lake View folks there. And I m so proud to say that across the country I believe that every intern I ever mentored was marching in their local march. Back here, we didn t all find each other, not for the lack of trying, but we were there. A group of us did find one another and we moved to get to the gathering spot, a spot where we were crammed together body next to body. Soon the cell phones quit working. We never got close enough to hear any of the speakers. There was no place to go but wait and read the signs and talk to one another. Then people started coming out telling us that the march had been cancelled because there were too many people to manage. We didn t really know what that meant and we waited a while to see if something else would come. Soon, the entire group we were with turned around to leave. We thought it was a bust. We couldn t

6 hear the speakers and we didn t get to march. And then we got to the top of the bridge coming back out of the park headed to Michigan avenue and it was a literal sea of people, as far as you could see in any direction. And the sea was moving. In every street going west out of the park, people were leaving, but then they weren t. They were marching and the chanting began and soon the entire loop was filled with people and traffic was stopped in all directions. Early on I lost my sister and couldn t find her. We had checked our bags early in the day and I knew we d have to return to that spot eventually so I wasn t really worried. The crowd was massive, but remarkably peaceful. We were chanting, but with energy for change not out for blood. We were walking, not to bash in a window but with purpose for what we knew could be different. There were teenage girls on top of platforms leading chats. That was inspirational. Then the cell phones started working again and the reports from around the country started coming in and it struck me. We may not have done it completely right, but in essentially six weeks, non-professional organizers mobilized millions of people around the world, and people with resources who could make it to DC and NY and Chicago. If that shouldn t make a dent in someone s preconception, I don t know what would.. 2 million people with a will and the resources to make it happen can broker change, I believe.i believe it. And.I believe that doing something is better than doing nothing and that doing something leads to do something again, and doing it better and more sensitively and with stronger conviction. Real work is before us. As individuals. As the church of Jesus Christ. As citizens of this country. I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags along, who are not parlor generals (and I take that to mean people with all the ideas and analytic powers but who don t want to get their hands dirty) and field deserters (and I take that to mean all the people who sign up for everything, but when push comes to shove, don t really ever commit) but move in a common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

I can add to this powerful stanza, that I want to be with people who call us on our white supremacist ways, I want to be with people who will question themselves and question systems and question

I want to work with people who move in a common rhythm, not because they are all alike, but because they have all taken a look at the world and see that we are far from where we need to be and that

7 I can add to this powerful stanza, that I want to be with people who call us on our white supremacist ways, I want to be with people who will question themselves and question systems and question everything until we get it right. I want to work with people who move in a common rhythm, not because they are all alike, but because they have all taken a look at the world and see that we are far from where we need to be and that we can t sit by and just watch it all happen. I ve said this a couple of times lately and truly believe it. I believe the church of Jesus Christ is at its best when we are up against the wall. We ve been coasting a bit, living in a culture that was mostly, of course not all the way, but mostly mirroring the values we think are important. But today we need to be paying attention, we need to let this gospel news so saturate our mind and body and soul, that we are on high alert when it is in danger. Care for the poor. Justice for everyone. Love for our brother and sisters all over the world. If that s not the agenda we are off track. And no one will pull us back on track but us. And this collective community of faith who regularly return to the Book to remind ourselves who we are supposed to be. The dawn is

8 coming, I agree with Batman, but Jesus wouldn t have us just sit around and wait for it to happen. Jesus calls us to drop our nets.to be the dawn. We are the dawn that is coming. And there are plenty of us---all of us--- who know how to mobilize, who have resources, who are trained, capable and ready to bring it on. That is good news this day, my friends, good news indeed. In the face of great darkness, What a win, what light, what hope.. Amen.

Stanford University May 10, 2015/21 Iyyar Giving Birth to the Future: Reflections for Mother s Day (Exodus 1:13-22; I Samuel 1:1-20)

Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann University Public Worship Stanford University May 10, 2015/21 Iyyar 5775 Giving Birth to the Future: Reflections for Mother s Day (Exodus 1:13-22; I Samuel 1:1-20) We have