Why are we here…in this place?

February 8, 2026

Scriptures: Isaiah 58:1-12, 1 Cor. 2:9-13, Matthew 5:14-16

Today is a special day…not only is it the annual meeting of our fellowship giving us a chance to recall the blessings of all that God has been doing in our midst…it’s also a moment to reflect on our own call to worship in this place, and as part of this fellowship. 

Our passage from Isaiah was strongly worded…written as if to a stubborn lot…to a people whose focus had shifted off of their responsibility to care for others in need. It also reminds us that our calling is to follow closely in the footsteps of Jesus, seeking to live just as he did…to live fully, but, in an echo of Isaiah’s words, to work so that others might fully live as well.  

Isaiah warns us that ‘luke warm’ or inactive faith is neither sufficient nor true to our calling. The prophet also reminds us that our duty to God cannot be fulfilled solely within the gathered fellowship in this room, but outside of these walls as well…in all of our travels, in our time at work, at home, in fact, wherever and whenever we are asked to stand up and declare publicly who we are as children of our God. Isaiah reminds us that ours is a faith walk that began as a gift of grace…but also one that grows and thrives only through the active extension of God’s love to others, which in truth, can be costly at times.

And, as is often the case with the words of a prophet, today’s passage ends with the full assurance that God is all loving and forever merciful. Isaiah says specifically that, The LORD will guide us continually, and satisfy our needs in parched places, and make our bones strong; so that we shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail’.  This is our call…this is why we come into this place…this is how we truly become, ‘repairers of the breach’!

In our second reading from Paul today he shares how it is that we are prepared and equipped to live into this calling. He writes in his first letter to the church in Corinth, ‘the Spirit searches out everything, even the hidden depths of God’s purposes.’ As well as, ‘we have received this Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us.’  The Holy Spirit…the portion or person of the Trinity that was given to us, and which takes up residence within the depth of our souls…is the same Spirit that Paul states ‘searches and knows the depths of God’s purposes’.  The Holy Spirit knows the divine hopes and dreams for each one of us, and knows what we’ll need in order to accomplish them. And importantly, the Spirit sets in motion in advance that which we will need in order to be able to accomplish God’s good will.  

Paul says that ‘God has made known his secrets to us’…plans for good which are dependent solely on our willingness to use the particular gifts we have been given. Holy and good plans dependent upon our hands, minds, hearts, and voices…all of which must be used in sharing the goodness within our hearts. The Holy Spirit prepares, and then leads us into being vessels of profound usefulness in the hands of God.

Our third reading, from the gospel of Matthew puts a framework around our, and the role of the Holy Spirit in preparing us. It’s almost as though Matthew takes our call and our ability to meet that call as a given, focusing instead on setting forth a way for us to walk, an actual pathway. 

Focused on ‘light’, the passage starts with the unspoken assumption that there is in fact darkness throughout the world around us. Darkness much in need of God’s grace and presence…darkness that can only be dispelled by the light of Christ, made visible through our willingness to reach out in love and acts of service and self-sacrifice. It is not enough to have the light of Christ within us if it is not out there for all to see. Light cannot challenge darkness unless it shines into that darkness.

This light of God’s Spirit within us is a gift of grace, and it is never to be kept in hiding, never held back, never placed under a bushel. Even if we feel that we lack the courage, the Spirit must be allowed to do its work, its own work of dispelling the darkness through the action of our belief.  In this way we fulfill our call as bearers of grace, and holders of the light of hope, offering the promise of life filled with new meaning.

So, we are called; we are equipped, and then…we are then sent out into the dark places of the world…sent out to do the work of transforming that darkness into light through our acts of love and compassion.  

This…is our sacred task…and even more than ever now…that truth and goodness might flow into the human story as a result of our willingness to walk the path that has been laid out before us…both as individuals…as well as together.

Why are we here…in this place? Because together we have received this calling from the Lord. We have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we have been given access to joy, peace, and careful instruction far exceeding our understanding…and a call to let the light within us shine into all the corners of our own lives, as well as into all the shadowy corners so pervasive in the world we walk through every day.

Let us take a moment together to affirm this call within our hearts…to reflect on the whisper which beckons, ‘Come, follow me, and love profoundly’. 

And, let us proclaim together, that this is where God has placed each and every one of us…

…this is our time…

…this is our place.

…amen

  Let us share together our common call…please repeat after me…

Declaration of Covenant

I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior,

I believe that He loves me and cares for me

I promise to follow Him in pathways of just and right thinking and living…seeking to share His love with all I meet

I declare that I feel called to serve my Lord in this place…and as a part of this fellowship

I will do my best to offer my life in service…seeking to bring about God’s plan and purpose

It is here that I belong…

…Amen