"The Lord is with you,” the angel said to Gideon. “The Lord is with you.”  What? came Gideon’s incredulous reply.  If God is with us, then why have terrible things happened to us?  If God is with us, then how come we’re not seeing the kind of wonderful deeds our ancestors told about – like when God brought them out of slavery in Egypt?  God is not with us: God has abandoned us. 

             It’s not surprising Gideon thought that.  Midianite people, nomads from the east, were wreaking havoc on the land – raiding villages, destroying crops, stealing away peace and security.  In fact, when we first met Gideon at the beginning of the reading, he was beating out the wheat in a winepress.  Normally, people beat the wheat on a hillside, so that the good grain would fall to the ground and the lighter grain casings would blow away.  Beating out wheat in a small, indoor winepress would be like playing football on a racquetball court or painting an expansive landscape on a postage stamp.  Gideon was doing the ridiculous to keep the wheat from the clutches of the Midianites.  No wonder Gideon found it hard to believe that God was with him. 

            But the angel of the Lord turned things around, as God does again and again. Gideon had complained that God wasn’t doing anything to solve the problem his people faced.  So the angel said, OK, Gideon. You want to be free of the Midianites. You do something about it.  I hereby commission you to deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. 

            A similar thing happened in the Gospel reading.  Peter and James and John had fished all night and caught nothing.  Jesus came along and said, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  By that time, the fishermen were tired from their labor and were just about finished cleaning up.  But Jesus was set to do a miracle.  He could have just plopped that miraculous catch of fish right there on the shore, right in the nets that the fishers were cleaning.  But instead, Jesus sent the men out into the boats.  In order for the miracle to happen, the fishermen had to act.  They had to go out and let down their nets. 

            If we want a miracle, if we want God to do something about the trials and fears and needs in our world, then we have to get up and act.  We have to step out of the claustrophobic wine press and go out on the hillside, where we risk being seen.  We have to go out onto the lake one more time and let down the nets, even if nothing at all happened the last time.  We have to put ourselves in a place where God can use us and work in us and act through us. 

             That’s crazy, some might say.  If God is almighty, then God can do anything.  God doesn’t need us because God can do all sorts of wonders without us.  But in the biblical story, God rarely does.  God called Moses to set the people free from slavery in Egypt.  God called a very reluctant Jonah to lead the Ninevites back to God.  God sent Esther to reverse the discrimination against her people, and Judith to defeat Nebuchadnezzar’s general.  God called a little boy to offer his lunch for the benefit of thousands. In the biblical story, God works in and among and through people.  God works through men and women and children who listen and respond, even if hesitantly, even if reluctantly.  God does wonders through people.

            During the past year at St. Christopher’s we have seen just how true that is.  The first week of the year and again the last week of the year, we housed homeless brothers and sisters in our buildings.  Over 1000 on site volunteer hours were logged, with untold more hours unrecorded.  More members of St. Christopher’s participated in this ministry, whether on site or behind the scenes, than in any other ministry we’ve shared outside of worship in the 12½ years I’ve been here.   We saw the needs of our homeless neighbors.  We stepped out in faith.  And God used us – twice in one year – to change the lives of God’s own beloved children.  Already, those who participated in the program are talking about how we will do it next year.  We have energy about this ministry.  Strong outreach ministry has become part of our identity, a part we claimed as a strength on the US Congregational Life survey in which we participated last spring.  We are proud of the ministry we shared in the hypothermia prevention program.   And, while it is not the answer to the problem of homeless-ness in our county, it is a bandaid that we can lovingly apply while it is needed. 

               God worked in us this past year in strengthening financial giving to St. Christopher’s.  Offerings, pledge and plate combined, exceeded what the Vestry budgeted by over $21,000.  50% of those who participated in the Congregational Life survey said they regularly give 5% or more of their net income to St. Christopher’s, a number slightly above the average for other Episcopal churches, though below the average for churches of other denominations.  While there is plenty of room for growth in giving, I am grateful for the growth we have experienced and look forward to how God continues to bless and strengthen us as individuals share their money with the church community. 

            As we step out to do the work God has called us to do, there are some areas that need our focused attention in the coming year.  There are two areas in particular that I hold up as priority areas for the work of the Vestry, of committees and of the entire congregation. 

            The first is ministry to and with children and youth.  This has been an area of great joy and pride for us over the years.  On the conger-gational survey, people named caring for young people as one of our greatest strengths.  Our scores in this area are higher than the averages of churches of any denomination.  We have work to do in this area, however.  Our youth groups, which have been strong in the past, are suffering now because of a lack of leaders.  The same two adults are leading the junior high and the senior high groups – and one of those leaders serving temporarily until we can raise up new leadership.  Attendance of youth and children in Sunday School is the lowest its been in 10 years.  And, while we remain strongly committed to the full inclusion of children and youth in our Sunday worship, questions about how to best serve and involve kids and their families beg conversation. 

            The second area I hold up as a priority for our attention and conversation is parish membership.   Our 2006 average Sunday attendance of 193 is the lowest in 10 years – even though Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday.   Beloved friends have died or moved away.  Others who continue as members are coming to church less frequently as the number of other Sunday morning choices increases.  We have much to share in this place.  We are a strong, vibrant, loving community.  We have a great opportunity to invite, welcome and incorporate people of all ages into our parish mission and ministry.  At the retreat next weekend, I will ask the Vestry to name a membership commissioner and reconstitute a membership committee that can offer leadership and energy in this important part of our life together.

            As we address the opportunities that lie before us in the coming year, I trust fully that we will continue to share the strength of community in Christ that binds us together.  This has been a year of dissention and schism in the Episcopal Church – nationally, in our diocese and right here in our region.  Through it all, the people of St. Christopher’s have been a model for remaining community despite differences.  The congregational life survey showed in numbers what many of us have experienced in relationships; that the people of St. Christopher’s represent every theological outlook from very conservative to very liberal or progressive.  Yet in the face of disagreements that have divided the church in some places, we have remained community for one another.  We have come together on many Sunday evenings to learn and talk about what is happening in the wider church, to share our thoughts and to disagree with one another, always with respect, love and a good measure of laughter.  God has made us the community we are.  And I believe that we, with our many quirks, on our own small scale, in our own corner of northern Virginia, are an imperfect yet real sign of what God desires the Church to be.

            The biblical story tells us again and again that God works in and through people to do the wonders and signs Gods desires to do.  I pray that we will step out in faith together this year, in the areas where we are strong and in the areas where we most need to grow, so that God can continue to do God’s powerful work in and through us.

            Amen.