Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 19, 2022 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
Anointed with the
Spirit of the Lord
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
This Sunday, we are reminded of
our Christian fellowship with the rest of
humanity. Jesus initiated this process
in a Jewish Synagogue by proposing a
missionary agenda of “bringing the good
news to the poor.” Jesus proposes the
kingdom of peace, joy, and concern for Fr. Thankachan
everyone. In preparation for this Sunday, Joseph
let us examine our own personal agendas
and see if they are in consonance with what Jesus has
initiated.
When we reflected on Christ’s changing the water into
wine, we realized that He came into this world to change
us. He came to teach us how to do a better job of loving
God and loving our fellow human beings. He changed
the lives of everyone who came in contact with Him. In
changing water into wine, He invites every one of us to
be His partners in transforming the world.
The Gospel of Luke (1:1-4), tells us why Luke wrote
the Gospel: to explain to Theophilus, probably a Roman
official, what Christianity was all about. Theophilus could
represent many non-Jewish characters, real as well as fic-
titious, in Luke’s Gospel. Theophilus could also represent
each one of us, as we hear Jesus presenting His “mission-
ary agenda” at the beginning of His Nazareth ministry.
Have you ever tried to explain to someone what
Christianity is all about? Many people think that Chris-
tianity is about sin and judgment, heaven and hell, and
God as a divine sheriff who is always monitoring our
movements, writing down all our sins in His book and
waiting to throw us into hellfire as soon as He catches up
with us. St. Luke sees it all differently. For him, following
Christ has more to do with God’s care, concern, love,
empathy, and mercy than with punishment.
In Luke’s Gospel ((1:1-4, 4:14-21), Jesus makes a
solemn declaration of His charisma in the world. We
can call it the Jesus Manifesto. People who initiate a
revolution usually start off with a declaration of their
manifesto. Jesus, who has come to start a revolution of
mercy, empathy, concern, compassion and love towards
the marginalized and the downtrodden of the society,
announces the Christian manifesto: “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor” (Luke 4: 18-19). In these few words we see how
Jesus understands His mission. Now, what is the signif-
icance of the statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me”? From the Gospel we know that the whole life of
Jesus is guided by the Spirit of God.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and when
He was baptized, the Spirit descended on Him as a dove.
The Spirit led Him day after day to a ministry of healing
and the forgiveness of sin. After the resurrection, Jesus
promised the same Spirit to His disciples. At Pentecost
He bestowed them with the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2: 1-4).
Our faith in Him continues to live in the presence of the
Spirit. So, all of us are called to be Sprit-filled witnesses
of Christ.
St Paul’s Letter to the First Corinthians (12: 12-30)
tells us that it is imperative on the part of Spirit-filled be-
lievers to work together to bring about God’s Kingdom on
earth. The Church’s ministry is not of isolated individuals’
endeavors but the work of the community of believers,
the “Body of Christ,” guided by the Spirit. If we do not
work together, Paul warns us that we hurt ourselves as
well as the Church. Using the metaphor of the body, I
recall this story: Once upon a time the members of the
body were very annoyed with the stomach, resentful that
they had to procure food and bring it to the stomach while
the stomach did nothing but devour the fruit of their labor.
So, they decided they would no longer bring the stomach
food. The hand would not lift it to the mouth. The teeth
would not chew it. The throat would not swallow it. That
would force the stomach into doing something. But they
only succeeded in making the body weak to the point that
they were all threatened with death. So, it was finally they
who learned that in helping one another, they were really
working for their own welfare.
County summer internships open for
applications
Employers in Morrow
County are offering over
75 internship positions
during the summer 2022
season. All internship po-
sitions are paid and avail-
able in a wide variety of
sectors. Each internship is
listed online at www.co-
lumbiaworks.org with the
link to apply. The applica-
tion period is open through
April 1, 2022.
Columbia Works was
established to link region-
al employers with high
school and college stu-
dents who are looking to
gain experience in their
prospective career field.
“We have seen so
many wonderful outcomes
from this program,” says
Kalie Davis, Director of
Workforce Development
at the Port of Morrow.
“Our goal is to help con-
nect young professionals
with industry partners who
provide opportunities for
professional growth and
pathways to employment.”
Each year Columbia
Works offers free profes-
sional development ses-
sions to summer interns.
“We ask each cohort
of summer interns what
topics would be most ben-
eficial for them,” Davis
said. “Our hope is that they
complete their summer in-
ternship and return to Mor-
row County when they are
ready for a full time posi-
tion.”
For more information
about the Columbia Works
Summer Internship Pro-
gram email workforce@
portofmorrow.com or call
541-945-2231.The
Co-
lumbia Works Program is
a collaboration between
Morrow County business-
es, Morrow County Cham-
bers of Commerce, and the
Port of Morrow to grow
and promote summer in-
ternship opportunities, ac-
cording to a press release.
Good News Only
Her daughter, DeLoy, and
husband, Curtis Maryces,
came from Seattle with
their son, Tyler, a sopho-
more headed back to col-
lege in California. And
her son, Mark
Matthews, and
his wife, Ima,
came from He-
lix. “Didn’t last
long enough but
was delightful!”
Betty reports.
Wishing
Leon Ball a
“Happy Birth-
day!” can still
Jacqueline and Hudson enjoy reading
bring a smile to
the Heppner Gazette-Times
his face. Leon
Already smiling over celebrated turning 95 last
the Good News they see week by enjoying Chinese
in the Gazette? We hope birthday lunch in Hermis-
these youngsters continue ton with his son Randy.
to be fans. Jacqueline, one,
Gary Munkers’ three
and Hudson, four, are the sons helped him celebrate
children of Kevin and Brit- his 70th birthday last Sat-
tany Drake, Tualatin, OR. urday. Leland Rill, who re-
Grandparents are Doug cently moved back to Lib-
and Carley Drake of Hep- erty School Road, turned
pner. Great-grandmother 38 on Monday, celebrating
is Donna Bergstrom, Hep- with birthday dinner with
pner. Another set of grand- his mom, Molly. And Kar-
parents are David and Jean en Wolff is celebrating her
Farrell in Wilsonville.
birthday this week.
Betty Gray was de-
The mountain snows
lighted to have family enabled a great success re-
visitors last weekend, es- cently for the Four Corners
pecially because winter Snowmobile Club’s Annu-
weather had interfered al Playday at Kelly Prairie.
with a Christmas visit. It was 16 degrees, with
By Doris Brosnan
Few things are more
delightful than children,
in general, or words “from
the mouths of babes.”
Share yours?
bright sunlight, gorgeous
blue skies, and a large
camp fire. Mike Gorman
tended to the thick chili,
great hot dogs, and deli-
cious hot chocolate. Cliff
Dougherty
championed
the Poker Run course, over
beautiful mountain trails
that Ron Carlson had in
top shape, groomed and
smoothed. At one point,
over 70 snowmobiles and
tracked side-by-sides were
noted, with many fami-
lies and children. Visitors
came from as far away
as Roseburg, Spokane,
Tri-Cities, and Hood Riv-
er. A great family outing.
Good news for indi-
viduals looking for addi-
tional training that can be
beneficial in a job search:
The Port of Morrow and
Blue Mountain Communi-
ty College are offering free
training in a variety of in-
terests, from computer-re-
lated to fork-lift operation.
Info is available from ei-
ther the Port or BMCC.
And for job-seekers, the
extensive list of job open-
ings posted on the Cham-
ber of Commerce website
or available at the office
could be a good place to
look.
From someone from
the “dial and knobs” era
comes this helpful in-
formation for everyone
not already in the know:
During electrical outages,
an old-fashioned land-line
telephone with a receiver
connected to the base that
plugs directly into a tele-
phone outlet – not one with
a cordless receiver and
a base that plugs into an
electric outlet – does work.
Might be a good idea to
look for one of these trea-
sures from the past? And
imagine the entertainment
value in asking a youngster
to make a phone call by us-
ing a dial-type phone.
Good news for suffer-
ers of Raynaud’s syndrome
or just plain cold fingers:
several companies produce
battery-operated
heated
gloves!
If you enjoy reading
this column, maybe this
week, you can take a few
minutes to jot some notes
or make a call to share
a “good news tidbit” for
next week’s column. That
is what keeps the column
going. Be in touch? dbros-
nan123@gmail.com,
or
541-676-5382 or 541-223-
1490.
Here’s hoping that
some good news comes to
everyone reading this!
Upcoming Heppner Sports
Print
&
Mailing
Services
**Wednesday, January 19, 2022 **5:00pm
Basketball: Boys C-Team Game
*Design
vs. Ione High School @ Heppner High School
*Print
**Thursday, January 20, 2022 **4:30pm
*Mail
Basketball: Girls Middle School Game
Sykes Publishing vs. Riverside @ Windy River Elementary, Boardman Oregon
541-676-9228
Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:00pm
Basketball: Boys C-Team Game
vs. Weston-McEwen @ Heppner High School
**Friday, January 21, 2022 **TBD
Wrestling: Girls Varsity Invitational
es, with cash prize for the
vs. Grant Union @ Grant Union High School
first and second best poker
hand.
**Friday, January 21, 2022 **12:00pm
The public is invited to
Wrestling: Middle School Invitational
come and walk through the
vs. Grant Union @ Grant Union High School
cars and reminisce with the
car owners. Depending on
**Friday, January 21, 2022 ** 12:00pm
the weather, cars from all
Wrestling: High School Varsity Invitational
over are expected to at-
tend.
vs. Grant Union @ Grant Union High School
Anyone with ques-
Friday, January 21, 2022 3 pm
tions, or wanting to ob-
Basketball: Varsity Game
tain an entry form for the
St. Paddy’s Cruz-In March 12
The St. Paddy’s Cruz-
In will be held during the
St. Patrick’s Celebration
in Heppner on March 12,
2022. The car show area
will be on Willow Street
(between Heppner Market
Fresh and St. Patrick’s Se-
nior Center) from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m.
Those who have a
classic vehicle and want
to join the show, regis-
tration will start at 9 a.m.
The price is $20 per vehi-
cle. There will be awards
this year for Leprechaun’s
Choice, Mustangs’ Choice,
Best Convertible, Best
1910’s – 1920’s Car or
Pickup, Best Street Rod,
Best Paint, Best Restored
Car, Best of Show, and
many more. Also, there
is a Participant’s Choice
award to be voted on by
the car owners themselves.
Judging will begin at 9
a.m. The awards will be
given out around 3 p.m.
on Willow Street. The
event will include a partic-
ipant’s poker walk through
five downtown business-
Cruz-In, or to volunteer to
help, contact the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce
at 541-676-5536 or Doris
Jones at 541-676-5456.
Happy 95th Birthday!
January, 12
Leon Ball
Fireman First Class
US Navy 1944 - 1946
Battleship California - South Pacific