From Pastor Karin
“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. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.” -Matthew 4: 23-24
Many of you will recognize the passage above as an extension of our Gospel reading for the last Sunday of January. It is a description of Jesus’ ministry and a very appropriate reading, therefore, for Epiphany, the season we are in now. We just celebrated Advent and the birth of Christ, and we are about to go into Lent, which is a preparation for the end of Christ’s ministry, his death and Resurrection. The very short span of time in between is Epiphany.
The rapid succession of these church seasons always takes my breath away. I feel as if the end and the beginning are on top of each other. Yet I know wonderful things happened in between—all Christ’s lovely, puzzling parables and his healing miracles—what he did with his life, the examples we try to follow. Here at CUMC, we call ourselves a “Christ-Centered Church.” Our mission is to “experience, understand, live, act upon and proclaim our Christian faith in our church, our homes, our community, and the world.” Our vision is to do “as Christ would do.”
The Matthew passage has a lot to say about what Christ did, so it is instructive for us. That is why, at this time of year, I like to look at the Gospel words and consider how our church is measuring up. It’s sort of a “State of the Church” evaluation. The President just gave a “State of the Nation” address, and the Governor a “State of the State.” It seems to me that we would do well to look at how we are living up to our goals as Christ demonstrated them.
First Matthew says that Christ “went” throughout the region. He did not stay in one place and wait for people to come to him. We reach out with many of our mission projects, and we join other community endeavors, like “Relay for Life” and “Crop Walk.” Our Food Pantry and Soup Suppers are an excellent way of reaching out, too, but people still do come into us, into our building, so maybe we could do more. Where should we go?
Next Matthew says that Christ went about “teaching in their synagogues.” We are engaged in teaching through our worship services and Bible studies. We also “[proclaim] the good news” as Christ did. Shortly, beginning on Ash Wednesday (February 6), we will have meaningful opportunities to increase our Bible study and proclamation during Lent with the weekly services we share with our sister congregations, Mendon, West Mendon, and Nottawa. Look for the schedule in this newsletter, and plan on deepening your Lenten experience by attending.
Finally, Matthew writes that Christ went about healing, “curing every disease and every sickness among the people.” Matthew even lists the specific diseases Christ cured: demon possession, epilepsy, and paralysis. Now there’s a challenge for us. I don’t’ think we do much of that sort of healing. But the church used to; in fact, our church used to. John Wesley was like a country doctor who went about healing. He even published a huge book on home remedies and common sense health advice because he realized that we must always deal with the whole person, body and soul.
We have a remarkable opportunity to take on this holistic approach through the Parish Nurse Program. You may remember that our church was headed in that direction a few years ago, before I arrived. The church made quite a commitment to the funding and education necessary to such a position. Now we have a new chance for a parish nurse ministry that could offer hope and healing, advocacy and support, to those in our congregation and in our community. Read Christy Hensell’s article in this newsletter and see what you think. The Church Council will be considering the idea at our February 15th meeting. Is this a way to live up to our mission and vision? Your opinions are welcome. Let’s live into the hopeful vision that is Lent.
Peace,
Reverend Dr. Karin Orr
