Commerce Presbyterian Church
February 8, 2015
A service of healing and wholeness
Former Haitian President, Catholic Priest Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide said during a homily in a Haitian church in 1986:
“People [often] read the Gospel as if it pertained [only] to another place and time;
but, the struggles described [in the gospels] are in the here and now.
The oppression of the poor, the abuse of the vulnerable,
and the redemption that comes with fighting for what is right—
what ideas could be more relevant to our dear Haiti?” (mass St. Jean Bosco, 1986 as remembered by Paul Farmer and recorded by Tracy Kidder in Mountains beyond Mountains: 105:2003).
The oppression of the poor, the abuse of the vulnerable, and the redemption that comes with fighting for what is right--What ideas could be more relevant in our dear United States of America?
Yes, I believe the work and message of Jesus is as relevant as ever, and is the work of the church, on our behalf, and carried out by us.
The fame of Jesus has quickly spread.
Now, the scripture says, the whole town gathered at the door where he was.
Who were these masses coming to Jesus?
In Jesus’ day, there was a significant gap between the haves and the have nots. Over 90% of the population were peasants in a primarily agrarian economy.
There was taxation from the religious establishment, as well as from an occupying Roman government.
It’s not hard to imagine this whole town coming to Jesus are among the most poor.
Disease and physical disability were knotted together with the cycle of poverty.
