Think globally, act locally. That’s a phrase that has been used in a variety of settings and organizations since the late 60s. There is no consensus on just who coined it and where it started, but the general premise is the same. “Think globally, act locally” urges people to consider the well being of the entire planet and to take action in their own communities and cities. It also reflects the fact that local actions have impact on global affairs.
I don’t know about you, but I often feel overwhelmed by such enormous global problems that I can be paralyzed into inaction. One of the ways I overcome this is by giving regularly to the Mission and Service Fund.
Most of you know that I’m headed to Kenya in about a month. In preparation for my trip, we’ve been given some homework about Canadian Foodgrains Bank, their mission, which is to end world hunger. The scale of world hunger is almost impossible to imagine… 720 million people in the world don’t have enough to eat. The reasons for this are complex and multifaceted. Climate change, conflict and war, lack of access to land to grow food and no employment opportunities, or not being able to work due to age or disability.
Canadian Foodgrains bank is a Christian response to hunger… on a global scale. We have a Christian response to hunger on a local scale, well we have a couple. The Foodbank of course, offers clients food every two weeks to anyone who needs it. Folks have to register, but other than that, there are few questions asked and people are treated with dignity and patience.
But I wanted to highlight Donna and George Kuhn who for so many years have made Margaret House a part of our ministry. How many people have been fed because of their faithful dedication? I don’t know how many years they have been doing it, but they are who I thought about when I was deciding which Leonard Cohen song to focus on and then what readings.
Listen to some words of If It Be Your Will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
And to draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
That phrase, ‘rags of light’ cause my attention and imagination in this season of Epiphany.
We are so imperfect. But like Donna and George, we can still be rags of light to a hurting and hungry world. Leonard Cohen, a devout Jewish man, who was also shaped by attending mass with the Roman Catholic nanny, says he wrote If It Be Your Will as a prayer. The psalms are prayers, and I chose this one because like Cohen’s prayerful song, there is trust without certainty and light imagery to give us hope.
Let’s listen to part of Psalm 36:
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
In your light, we see light! What powerful and profound words! There are sources of light all around when we look for them.
Does everyone know who Arlene Dickinson is? For those of you who don’t, she’s Canadian businesswoman, investor, author, and television personality. You may have seen her on Dragon’s Den. She came to Canada as a child from South Africa and is a proud Canadian and I have no idea if she is religious or not! I follow her on Facebook and she is wise, and profound and has a gift for seeing the big picture, as well as keeping it real. As I thought about the state of the world, and the scriptures and song I had chosen, her latest post came across my Facebook feed. This is just a short piece of it:
I keep thinking about my life in Canada. It’s been on my mind a lot lately. About how much of this country I’ve been so lucky to experience and see. And what moments have stuck with me. How unique we are from one region to the next. And yet, somehow, we are also the same. The accents change slightly. The language changes. The landscapes change. The pace changes. But the character doesn’t. And I’ve realized something simple. Canada didn’t just give me and my family a home as immigrants. It’s my experiences here that have shaped me as a person who is deeply Canadian.
Her writing offers light to a world that seems so dark… she offers a Canadian perspective from Alberta that lifts all of our best characteristics from across the country. She too is a ‘rag of light.’
The passage from Isaiah continues with the theme of light, coupled with a challenge, let’s listen to the words from chapter 58: 6-10:
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[b] shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
Isaiah is addressing the religious community in Jerusalem after the return from exile, likely around the 5th century BCE. More precisely:
- He is speaking to people who are actively practicing religion. They are fasting, praying, and seeking God.
- Many of them believe they are being faithful and are frustrated that God does not seem to be responding.
- Isaiah speaks on God’s behalf to say that their worship has become disconnected from their daily lives.
- They are observing religious practices like fasting, but they are allowing exploitation, inequality, and harm to continue. Isaiah challenges the idea that piety can substitute for justice.
In short, Isaiah is addressing a community that is:
- Religiously engaged
- Socially divided
- Trying to rebuild its identity after trauma
- Tempted to focus on ritual instead of responsibility
That tension makes Isaiah 58 especially powerful for communities today who are sincere in faith but struggling to live out justice in public and private life. Hear Isaiah’s words written a bit differently.
This is what God asks: stop hurting people.
Stop supporting systems that trap and exploit.
Feed the hungry.
Welcome those without a home.
Clothe those who have nothing.
Care for your own community.
If you do this, hope will return.
Healing will begin.
God will answer when you call.
Light will push back the darkness,
and what feels heavy and hopeless will become clear again.
The world feels heavy and dark right now. I don’t have to name all the atrocities that are being carried out in our closest geographic neighbour. I don’t have to list all ways that we should be concerned. And I don’t have to itemize all the ways we might be called upon to act. But we are also people of faith… who worship a God that when called upon says, “HERE I AM!”
We are NOT alone!
Leonard Cohen’s prayer and the ancient prayer of the psalmist belong together because both trust God without certainty. Both dare to sing from broken ground, and both believe that light can still be seen even when the world feels fragile. Isaiah reminds us that this light is not meant to be admired from a distance but lived into through justice, compassion, and care for our neighbours. We are not asked to be perfect or powerful, only faithful, offering what we have where we are. When we feed, welcome, clothe, and refuse to turn away, we become what Cohen names so beautifully: rags of light. Not polished, not complete, but shining enough to help the world see, in God’s light, light.
Thanks be to God for the challenge and the opportunity of being a rag of light. Amen.
Psalm 36: 5-9
Isaiah 58: 6-10
January 18, 2026 – Rev. Catherine MacDonald
St. James United Church Dartmouth 