Jennifer's two-year old baby was in constant pain, often excruciating pain. Little Scott's teeth were so decayed that he couldn't eat. Although his father had a good job, there was very little dental insurance coverage and they could find no dentist who was willing to do the extensive work of completely capping a two-year old's teeth. Jennifer drove her child from their home in Hot Springs to the Community Clinic at St. Francis House because our Clinic was the only place that would help her. Scott is out of pain, healthy and growing. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

It's not unusual at the Clinic for us to discover people who are having to choose literally between necessary medications and food. An elderly couple, Ethel and Lawrence were alternating their medications. One month they could pay for Ethel's pills, the next month for Lawrence's. When our nurse practitioner learned of their situation on a visit to our Clinic, she connected them with our Indigent Pharmacy Program and worked out a way for them to get their necessary medications without having to use all of their food money. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jose' is twelve years old. He loves school. But he began to lose weight, fifty pounds, and he was tired and lethargic. His teacher was concerned and suggested that his parents take Jose' to the Community Clinic. They had no access to a doctor. Our Clinic arranged for him to go to Children's Hospital in Little Rock where he was treated for lymphoma. Jose' is in remission and back in school. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Melody is a beautiful, intelligent 21-year old woman with a handsome two-year old son. Three years ago she was paralyzed in an auto accident. After her child's birth her husband left her so she moved in with her family. When her mother began using alcohol and drugs to the point that she felt her child was endangered, Melody took her son and began living in her car. They were getting by, until her vehicle was totaled by someone running a stop sign. She came to Seven Hills, our homeless ministry. Our case managers worked out temporary shelter and connected her with agencies that will help her get into a permanent wheel-chair accessible apartment. She plans to enroll in college soon. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Stephen and Tony are two of our favorites at Seven Hill. Great guys in their 30's. Intelligent, kind, helpful earnest, and deeply addicted to alcohol. They've been through all of the short term programs and lapsed. They love Seven Hills like their second home, but after our staff had to send them away for the day several times because of their drinking, they came to our social worker to ask for help finding a long-term program. He helped them get into a long-term program that includes transitional support after graduation, and our social worker drove them to the program in Memphis. That was more than six weeks ago, and they are sober and moving forward. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

This fall one of our consultants at Seven Hills began a new Life Skills class with an introduction to setting life goals. It was a powerful experience for our residents. Many had never given focused though to what they wanted their lives to be like or what their particular gifts might be. Some had never considered that they could accomplish anything positive in their lives. In this safe, supportive environment, they talked, wrote their dreams and goals in their journals, and discovered personal vision for the first time in their adult lives. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

There is a woman I will call Grace, who found herself faced with a life-threatening illness. While doing everything she could to respond medically to her disease, she also sensed that this was a call to examine her whole life. Her intuition told her that part of what had made her ill was connected to the way she worked and related and believed. She talked about that with one of our pastoral staff here at St. Paul's.

Grace had internalized religious messages and images from her childhood. The god of the church she was raised in was a stern, judging god. She heard a lot about sin. There was much to be ashamed of. And, it seemed to her, that god was especially displeased with women, for there were many things women were not allowed to do.

But she was a good girl, and very gifted. So she set herself to gain the approval of this stern divine father figure. She accomplished remarkable things. At the same time, something inside her rebelled at the choking, impossible demands of this perfectionistic deity, so from time to time she acted out her rebellion, sometimes as a desperate way of asserting some form her self-autonomy, at other times in acts that were destructive. Either way she felt the same result -- a profound sense of shame before god the judge.

At this church she heard a very different description of God. She heard of a God who loved her without qualification, who yearned for her happiness and wholeness. She began to internalize a new relationship with the whole of reality -- a relationship which invited all of creation into a divine union grounded in freedom, joy, peace and love. That changed everything for her -- her health, her relationships, her work, and most especially, her sense of self. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

In Sunday School a few weeks ago, a retired minister from another denomination who had served in ordained pastoral ministry for years, told of how disillusioned he had become with the church. He saw so much injustice in the world and had felt depressed by the anemic response that he had experienced from the church. Sometimes Christians were more of the problem than the solution. He said it was when he began to come to St. Paul's that his hope returned. And he thanked this parish for its vitality, energy and courage in being faithful to the gospel of Jesus. And Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

I am so proud of what this church does -- how it tries to live out the Spirit of Jesus. So many of our members make life-changing differences in the lives of our neighbors. Some do that through their leadership in non-profits like Judy Singleton with the Family Resource Center, Jim Allen and the Ozark Literacy Council, and Jean Kebis who leads the Single Family Scholarship program. Many of you work in service professions, others in businesses that enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of our community. So many of you volunteer in important organizations that serve others, and every person in this room gives a portion of your love and attention to other people who need you.

Every bit of that is the fulfilling of the scripture that Jesus read in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. For, as Paul describes in our reading from first Corinthians, "the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body." And that body is Christ. When you touch another life and are the catalyst for freedom, joy, peace and love, you are Christ, touching and healing the world. And it is Christ whom you touch, Christ whom you serve. For we are told to receive all persons as Christ. "The body is one."

Therefore, the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, because he has anointed us to bring good news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing