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Third Sunday after Epiphany - January 27, 2008 - Rev. Gary Strubel

Where we choose to live says a lot about who we are and where our priorities lie: or so it would seem. When I responded to the call to minister here in Hoosick, I was still living in South Troy. At that time, I billed myself as a "civic-minded" fellow, who wanted to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I agreed that part of the reason why our inner cities were decaying was because families were moving out to the 'burbs. So, I put my money where my mouth was and we bought a house right smack in the heart of a declining neighborhood, and I patted myself on the back for my commitment.

Yet, in the five years we lived there, nothing really improved. Indeed, things actually continued to decline. And when we eventually moved out here, it was as if we never lived in the neighborhood in the first place. And that's because while we we physically lived in the neighborhood, we were not involved in the activity of the neighborhood. This is a phenomenon that can easily happen in church: though we may be physically present, we may not be mentally there.

Both our Old Testament reading from Isaiah and our Gospel reading from Matthew make a point about grace coming to "Galilee of the Gentiles." The region of Galilee had always been an ethnically diverse area. As a crossroads, they attracted many merchants from the surrounding nations. As much money was changing hands, it also attracted a population of the sick and the poor. Thus, Galilee was awash with different peoples, languages and customs. Yet, it was also an area that had a low concentration of Jewish settlers. Indeed, those who did settle there made a living as farmers and fishermen, giving them an unfortunate reputation as uneducated hicks: essentially the equivalent of Jewish Hillbillies.

Yet, it was precisely here that God revealed to the prophet Isaiah that, "the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of the oppressor, will be broken. It was Galilee that Jesus chose to make his homebase for his ministry, and he even selected his disciples from the local hillbillies population. Galilee was selected precisely because it represented the population that he was trying to reach. Jesus was here to save sinners, not to validate the self-righteous. Jesus was here to teach, not enjoy the fame of being a teacher. Jesus was here to heal the disenfranchised, not to ignore them. Our Gospel reading even provides examples of his ministry at the end of the reading. Jesus made up his mind on what he wanted to do, and picked an area the best represented that ministry.

As his church, his continued physical presence on earth, Jesus expects the same from us: to make up our minds on what he would have us do and get to work in doing it. It's not as much a physical homestead we're to found, but rather our attitudes must find a home in his ministry and we need to be personally invested in this ministry. Yet, while our spirits may be willing, the flesh is so often weak. Our epistle to the church in Corinth provides an example of how difficult this can be.

Indeed, the church in Corinth had a lot in common with Galilee. Both were crossroad towns with a richly diverse ethnic population. Phyically, this church fit Jesus' bill to a tee. Yet, the attitude of the church couldn't be further from this ideal homebase. The church was riddled with infighting as well as a refusal to give up the immoral behavior that plagued the city. Instead of embodying the example provided by Christ, they showed just how far you could get from it.

Which brings us to today, and the question of where we are located as a church -- not physically, but mentally. If we take the Corinthian church as an example, it demonstrates just how easy it is to mentally move out and live somewhere else. The questin is why? Perhaps it's because we've never mentally moved here in the first place. When I moved out to South Troy to be "part of the solution," we became physically trapped in the house. When we stayed home, we pretended that the neighborhood didn't exist. When we did leave the house, it was to hop in the van to go to some other neighborhood. We never mentally move to Troy.

On one level, I had hoped that simply residing in the area was enough to make a change. But, of course, nothing happended. With our faith, we may hope that it's enough to do the least we can do -- come to church or simply believe in God. But as someone pointed out to me, coming to church doesn't make you a Christian, like standing in a garage doesn't make you a car.

On another level, I thought that I could grow into this role by immersing myself in the environment. This was the kind of person I wanted to be. By living there, maybe that would be enough to light a fire under me to become the person I wanted to be. But that was putting the cart before the horse. Christ didn't move to Galilee in order to be inspired to minister, he was inspired first and then moved where he could to the best work.

The trick, then, is to get the honest, burning desire before the actual engaging in the action. And as Christians, we don't have to rely on our own gumption to get this fire. Christ will give us the strength carry out the ministry we are called to. The Holy Spirit will provide us the fire of desire if we honestly pray for it. As our collect this morning professes: give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation; that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.