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The Savior of the World
We are beginning that period of the Church’s year between the end of the
Christmas season and the beginning of Lent. And this year it is very brief!
Ash Wednesday is February 6.
The readings for Sunday are anything but
ordinary. The reading from Isaiah is one of the Servant Songs, written
during the 6th century B.C., but made applicable to Christ by the
Church. Like the visit of the wise men from the far reaches of the known
world, the closing lines of this passage speak of a universal reign: “I will
make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of
the earth.” The passage from John’s gospel also hints at this inclusivity:
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The image of
the lamb relates to the Jewish custom of placing the sins of the people on
the Passover lamb which was then sacrificed, symbolizing the removal of
guilt from the sins committed during the previous year. (Our sense of the
scapegoat comes from this same ritual.) Jesus by his life, death and
resurrection will set free from their sins not just the Jewish people but
“the world.”
Thank you to all those who proclaimed
intercessions in their various languages on the feast of Epiphany. We had
prayers in Spanish, Tagalog, Celtic, Italian, Palestinian, Chinese, Swiss,
Basque, Burmese, and French. You helped remind us that we are blest to have
a good bit of “the world” within our own parish.
There are three important pieces of legislation
which give us opportunity to be “a light to the nations.” You can read the
text of these bills on line. Senate Bill 1651, the Refugee Crisis in Iraq
Act, deals will offering refugee status to those who have risked their lives
to help our troops in Iraq. Over 65,000 Iraqis have assisted our troops
there. 2.2 million are refugees in surrounding countries and 2 million are
displaced persons within Iraq. They are in imminent danger of being killed
if they are not allowed to emigrate to safety.
The Jubilee Act, Senate Bill 2166 urges our
Congress to forgive the debt of the most heavily indebted countries. The
debts were often incurred by dictators without any consent of their people
and can never be repaid by countries like Haiti and Liberia. Their
governments are paying the interest on these debts rather than investing in
education, healthcare and roads.
The third bill is closer to home: the Gulf Coast Housing
Recovery Act of 2007, Senate Bill 1668 has already been passed by the House
of Representatives, but is stalled in the Senate. 60,000 households remain
in FEMA trailers almost two and a half years after Katrina. Almost no rental
housing has been replaced which leaves those renting with no place to go. It
would provide that rental assistance be shifted from FEMA to HUD which has
the expertise and infrastructure to do the work; would dedicate federal
funding to those with an income below 30% of the area median; and would
require replacement of each unit of public or assisted housing that is
demolished. Senator Feinstein has not signed on as a co-sponsor to the
Jubilee Act nor the Gulf Coast Recovery Act. Please contact her at
202-224-3841 or through her website, www.Feinstein.senate.gov. Perhaps,
through our efforts, we can help 2008 be a better year for people in need in
our country, in Iraq and throughout the world. Thank you.
Peace, S. Sheral |
