Holy Spirit Catholic Church
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THIRD SUNDAY IN
ORDINARY TIME
January 21, 2007
One of our nation's biggest celebrations occurs not every year, but every four years. It's the inauguration of a new president. No amount of work or money is spared. For example, the five-day inaugural of the first President Bush in 1989 cost an estimated $25 million.
There were five separate banquets that cost $3,000 per couple for food and drink. "Dinner for two at the inaugural banquet," one man said, "cost as much as providing food for one poor person for an entire year." Not surprisingly, several social organizations sponsored a counter-inaugural banquet of chili, bread, and coffee for 500 homeless poor in front of Washington’s Union Station.
One man said, "That counter-banquet was one of the 'Thousand Points of Light' that President Bush talked about in his acceptance speech in New Orleans." Bush repeated the "Thousand Points of Light" image on the opening night of the five day inaugural, as 40,000 people switched on 40,000 tiny flashlights to dramatize his words.
The highlight of every presidential inaugural, of course, is the inaugural address. Who can forget the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933, when he said to the nation in the midst of a terrible depression, "This great nation will endure… The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Or who can forget the words of John F. Kennedy in 1961, when he said, "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
All the pomp and pageantry that marks our modern inaugurations stands in stark contrast to the inauguration of our first president George Washington. After his inauguration in 1789, Washington called it a night at 10:00pm, stepped out into the darkness undetected, and walked the entire distance from the inaugural hall to the presidential mansion on foot.
Today's Gospel reading describes another inaugural address of a new leader. It's the inaugural address of Jesus as he begins his mission as Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. And it, too, is filled with exciting, unforgettable phrases, as every inaugural address is.
Jesus says: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free." And what Ezra says to the people in today's first reading, Jesus might also have said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: "Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep."
The words of Jesus' inaugural address are filled with hope for the poor, the helpless, and the oppressed. In this respect they are like the words that every president has spoken in every inaugural address since 1789. They are words that cannot be carried out by one president working alone. They must be carried out by everyone.
For as Paul says in today's second reading, we all form one body. We all share the responsibility of making the dreams and visions of our leaders come true. And so it is with Jesus' inaugural address in today’s Gospel. The dream that Jesus sets forth is a dream that can be realized only if we, his followers, make it our dream as well.
If victims of poverty in today's world are to hear the Good News of Jesus, we must tell them about it. If the victims of blindness, AIDS, and other tragedies are to recover vision and hope, we must minister to them. If the victims of political oppression in prisons throughout the world are to be set free, we must raise our voices in their support. If the darkness of our world is to be lit up by "a thousand points of light," we must switch on our tiny flashlights and help make it happen.
An old man was walking along a beach after a big storm. Fifty yards ahead of him was a young woman. She was picking up starfish that the storm had stranded on the beach, and she was throwing them back into the ocean. When the old man caught up with her, he asked her what she was doing. She replied that the starfish would die unless they were returned to the ocean before the sun began beating down on them.
The old man said, "But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are thousands of stranded starfish. How can you make a difference?" Picking up a starfish and holding it lovingly in her hands, she said, "It makes a difference to this one." And with that, she returned it to the ocean.
The spirit of that young woman is the kind of spirit that every Christian should strive to imitate! When someone asks us, "How can your small effort make a difference in a world filled with millions of people crying out for help", our answer must be the same as the young woman's.
"It makes a big difference to the ones we are able to help!" And if we give generously of our own loaves and fishes, our Stewardship of Time, Talent, and Treasure, Jesus will find a way to multiply them and feed the hungry multitude.
This is the message and kind of faith that can inspire others to join us and, indeed, create "a thousand points of light" that will dispel the darkness of our world. Although many parts, we are one body, the Body of Christ, and we should all be working together lighting up the darkness!