Reflections...

A sermon preached on Sunday, 21st January 2007 at Kowloon Union Church by Rev. Hans Lutz on Philippians 1:1-4. The Bible readings for that day were Genesis 33:1-11, Philippians 2:1-4 and Luke 22:22-27.


I
Today is Unity Sunday. I am taking this opportunity to introduce to you Kinfe and his church. Kinfe has been accepted as a refugee by the UN High Commission for Refugees. He will be leaving Hong Kong in a week’s time for the U.S. We are most happy for Kinfe and wish him God’s blessing in his life in the States.

Kinfe is from Erithrea in East Africa and belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Erithrea. The Coptic Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox Churches, which are different from the Eastern Orthodox Churches of Eastern Europe. For over 1500 years there has been mutual rejection between the two groups of churches, but in recent years they have withdrawn their mutual condemnation.

Kinfe did not feel confident about speaking directly to you, so I have interviewed him about his church.

Erithrea is a country with a surface of 117,000 sq.km and 4,4 million inhabitants which became independent from Ethiopia in the 90s. There are two dominant religions, the Coptic Orthodox Church and Sunni Islam. Each accounts for about half of the population, but the pressure from the Muslims on Christians is increasing.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church there are two Sunday services, the first one starting from 5 a.m. and lasting until 9 a.m., and the second one from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Everybody above 7 years of age attends church.

Kinfe emphasized the practice of fasting for 40 days before Easter. During that period only grain and vegetables are consumed. All animal products, including meat, eggs and dairy products are excluded.

The Coptic Orthodox Church also has a different calendar from ours. They are now in the year 1999 and will celebrate the beginning of the year 2000 in September this year.

II
Today we celebrate Unity Sunday. All over the world Christians pray for the unity of the church. During the last century the ecumenical movement has made efforts towards church unity. These efforts have borne fruit. The relations between Protestants and Catholics have undergone major changes. As with the reconciliation between Esau and Jacob, long years of hostility between the two groups of Orthodox Churches have come to and end. And different churches in South India have come together to establish the Church of South India.

Of course there are also set-backs. Many orthodox Christians maintain deep reservations towards Protestant churches and the Catholic Church. Progress towards visible unity have been painfully slow, But we have learned to appreciate the diversity to be found among the different faith traditions.

Church unity requires three things: humility and the readiness to learn from each other. Secondly gentleness that shows in a willingness not to exclude and alienate others, and lastly patience in the face of obstacles to the progress towards unity.

III
This humility and gentleness towards others is clearly expressed in the 2nd chapter of the epistle to the Philippines. The apostle Paul is urging the Christians to remain united.

At the time of writing Paul was in prison and faced an uncertain future. The Philippians on their part were suffering under attacks. Pressure from outside the church often leads to cracks and splits among the Christian community. We have seen many examples, among them in the church in China during the last decades. So Paul urged the Christians in Philippi to keep the same spirit, to deal with each other in humility and mutual consideration. This unity is rooted in the trinity of Christ, Father and Spirit which is alluded to in verse 1.

IV
Phil. 2, 1-4 is not addressed to the church at large, but to a single congregations. What Paul writes is valid for Kowloon Union Church too. KUC is a congregation of enormous diversity in terms of national background, church origin and faith orientation. It is not always easy to live together in harmony and to keep the bond of unity. At times tensions have existed.

KUC considers itself an ecumenical church, a place where we can learn humility and respect for others. Once we approach others in humility, they will not feel threatened, This in turn will create openness. Three years ago my church has asked me to take care of their social service work on a temporary basis. I have never been an administrator and was very apprehensive regarding the demands of the new task. When I admitted my weakness my colleagues were most helpful and forthcoming so that the task could be mastered.

As Christ himself is among us as a servant, so should we serve each other and in doing so serve the church.