This was the largest church in Virginia when it was built in 1845 â big enough for General Convention! â but I recall that when I was here last, people were worried about whether this space would hold everyone who wanted to come for the installation of Bp Johnston as your diocesan. You have a long history in this place, and there have certainly been many worries here over the years. Itâs also evident in your attention to the needs of the least of these in developing nations throughout the world, in the Millennium Development Goals â and your very concrete work in Central Tanganyika. Paulâs in the heart of the city is just that â particularly through your attention to the need for office-workers around here to tell their stories, and your focus on reconciliation during this coming Lent. Itâs mostly a matter of focus â are we attending primarily to our own needs, or to those of others? Weâre meant to serve God in the urgency of those in need, rather than some other lesser master. He points out that God is like the mother of a nursing child, who canât ignore the urgent cries or hunger of her offspring for more than a few minutes. It they are going to be Godâs people, theyâre supposed to act like God, who canât ignore the cries of people in the wilderness. When Isaiah insists that his people are meant to be a covenant to the nations, liberating prisoners and feeding the hungry, heâs talking about tending to that kind of worry. Later on in this gospel, we hear âAnd when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ⦠Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.â (Matthew 25:38, 40). In fact, I think heâd urge us to worry about it, in the form of doing something about the least of these, his brothers and sisters. I donât think thatâs what Jesus meant by not worrying about your body or what youâre going to wear. Somebody finally pointed out that the people who use the clothes closet have neither a place nor the money to do laundry â they wear the clothes until they canât stand them anymore and then come to get some more. A parishioner didnât understand why he kept seeing the same people come back every 10 days or two weeks. I was in another diocese recently, where someone was talking about a clothes closet run by a congregation.
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