Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By Deacon Amy Schmuck
Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church
In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus is invited to teach in his home synagogue gathering in Nazareth.
He opened the scroll, and read from the book of the prophet, Isaiah:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1-2)
He then told the people of Nazareth gathered there, that in their hearing, this scripture “has been fulfilled”, and sat down. The rest of the story is that they then decided to try to drive him off a cliff to kill him because “how dare this hometown boy claim to be the messiah Isaiah promised?” You know what they say, ‘you can never go home.’
Today, when we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ read and preached to us, we too are called into “fulfilling” this Good News of Jesus Christ. Good news for the poor, proclamation of freedom to those in captivity, blindness restored, and freedom for the oppressed, and proclaiming this is the year of the favor of the Lord for these people. The marginalized, the oppressed, the captives, the poor. We are to live out this Good News in our lives now.
We as Christians are to respond to injustice and oppression with mercy, love, and compassion for our neighbors. We are called to speak up for the dignity of all humans and uphold God’s righteousness for all people. When your preachers and teachers speak truth to power to uphold the poor and hungry over the rich and haughty, they are living out the Gospel they have heard and have been called and ordained to proclaim.
When we feed our neighbors in need through LA Cares food distribution for example, we are living out the Gospel good news. When we stick up for and defend the dignity of people who are being targeted by those in power, i.e.: for those whose gender, sexuality, race and religion make them more vulnerable in our society, for migrants, for the “stranger” or the “other” among us in our midst, we are living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bringing real resurrection hope that is tangible and powerful. When we live out the Gospel in these ways, it brings joy and courage where there is fear and despair. It saves lives. Our faith is a gift and we are called to freely share it.
The ELCA’s Presiding Bishop, Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, shared a pastoral letter in the wake of this past week’s presidential executive orders. You can find it here, it is worth a read. She brings forth a message of Good News for us all. One quote to share here that I pray we can use to guide us in these coming days.
“As a church, we are called to speak up when the government distorts or denies the image of God in each person by endangering access to protection, peace and daily bread. Where harm or inequity occur, we are called by God to respond with love and advocacy,” (Rev. E. Eaton, ELCA Presiding Bishop, Jan. 24,2025).
May we continue to remember daily in our faith walk that as Catherine Mendenhall-Baugh wrote, “You will never look at the eyes of someone God doesn’t love.” Amen.
Editor’s note: ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a column written by local women clergy including The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Rector, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church (momaryannhill@gmail.com); The Rev. Lynn Finnegan, Associate Rector, The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe (rev.lynn@holyfaithchurchsf.org); Deacon Amy Schmuck, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church (deaconamy@bethluth.com); and ELCA Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, M.Div., retired (czoebidd@gmail.com).