Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 28 November 2010 by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Isaiah 2:1-5 and Matthew 24:36-44.


Opening Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for your living word. May the Holy Spirit inspire us to understand your truth. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent has marked the beginning of the Church liturgical year. Advent, means "coming" or “arrival”. This is traditionally a season of quiet and joyful expectation for the coming of Christ. Therefore it starts right before the Christmas.

The word Advent in Latin is ‘adventus’, which was derived from the Greek word parousia. “Advent” iscommonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Therefore the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebres for the birth of Jesus Christ their Messiah, as well as the waiting that Christians today endure for the second coming of Christ.

Advent is taken as a season for prophecy, calling upon us to repent, in preparation and in a constant state of watchfulness.

As Christians today in the 21st Century, how do we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ? Today and the following three Sundays, I will preach in a series of sermon on this theme.

Today, I will first of all share the message of “Waiting for God ‒ walking in God’s path with hope”.

I think all of us have experienced different kinds of waiting. Waiting for the examination results, waiting for a job, waiting for marriage, waiting for a new born baby, waiting of children returning home, waiting for retirement… We can have a long list.

Waiting can be a time of joy because it is full of expectation. But waiting can also be a time of anxiety and fear, because it is full of uncertainties.

It is equally true that during our waiting for God. In order to make our waiting meaningful and free from anxiety, we need to focus ourselves in God and walk in his path.

The time of waiting allows us to focus in God, and look up to God whole-heartedly, without any attempt of control and manipulate. Many people in our world want to be God and like to predict the end of world and when God will come. As said in the scripture that we heard this morning, “about that day and hour no one knows”. The coming of the Lord is a mystery. We cannot predict and control. What we can do is to submit totally to God’s sovereignty.

Recently a friend of mine asked me to be in touch with a young couple for they are suffering from a very difficult time. Their baby girl was born with internal organs damaged. There was caused by some complication during her delivery process.

Although I did not know the couple, because of my friend’s invitation and the desperate need of this couple, I visited them at their home. The couple was very depressed and in great pain when I saw them. They had expected the coming of the baby with joy and tried to well prepared for that. They moved to a bigger house, employed a helper, and the wife had even quit her job. Since the baby was born, she has been struggling with life and death every day in the hospital. The parents are distressed and despaired. For them, all the joyful expectation turned out to be a nightmare.

This is the darkest time in lives of the young couple. During this hard time, they (especially the mother) asked a lot of theological questions about life, death and suffering. Since the home visit, I have stayed in touch with the mother. She shares with me that the situation of the baby is still unstable and struggling with her life all along. But she prays every day for her daughter. Her current life situation is really tough, yet she feels that God is with her daughter and taking care of her. She leaves the life of her daughter in the hands of God. That makes her feel much relieved. The tough experience has brought her tears and pains, but also it also leads her to experience a deeper meaning of life and love.

The way God comes to us is apt to be quite a surprise, and perhaps totally out of our expectation. Therefore, waiting for God is a time to turn to God, no matter how is our life situation. Waiting for God is to firmly believe that God is with us no matter what.

In waiting for God, we have to be watchful and prepared for anything that happened to our life. Let us try to comprehend the meaning of what has been happening to us and seek understanding from God.

The image of the Lord’s coming and his judgment are sometimes astonishing and scary. No matter how scary the pictures of the coming of the Lord, the judgment the Lord will bring is not division and destruction, but peace and hope. We should not face the coming of the Lord with fear but love, hope and peace. The negative signs associated with the coming of Lord remind us the urgency to turn to God.

Isaiah had prophesized a beautiful sign in the days when God is coming to judge.
This is the word announced by Isaiah
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)

The judgment from the Lord and the coming of the Lord is to bring peace, not wars and violence. Therefore, the wait for the Lord to come should not to generate fear. This is never the purpose of God. Fear of human beings could easily generate destruction and manipulated by people with aggression. From the prophesy of Isaiah, we see a clear picture of God’s path. The way that God leads his people to go, is not wars, but a kingdom of peace. It is a peace that allows people to use the tools at hand for productive activities that can bear fruit for peoples’ benefits. People can engage in productive activities that enrich people’s life. The setting down of the sword indicates that there is no more aggression and domination over others. People begin to use their resource for constructive outcomes.

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The coming of Jesus into the world reminds us that he came, not to judge people to death but to love and bring life. Our Lord has offered to the world ‘a life giving love’, for Jesus ended up his life on the cross in order to bring new life and peace to the world.

The prophetic sign of Isaiah in the Old Testament, and Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection have given us much promise and hope to face our future, and in here and now.

Christmas is coming. This season has become a big celebration for many people in the world. To be sure, Christmas lightings and overwhelming promotion of Christmas sales and parties are right there in every corner of the cities. But the season of Advent is a different significance; it is a meaningful time for believers to prepare ourselves to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Instead of blindly or unconsciously carried by all kinds of highly commercialized celebration of the festival, I hope we all have an urge to open our heart to God. Try to understand the meaning of Christ Jesus coming to the world in flesh, in a form of a vulnerable baby. Think also friends how is the coming of the Lord prepares us to walk in God’s path with hope, peace, joy and love.

The way Kowloon Union Church prepares for the Advent and the new year of the church is very impressive and theologically meaningful. The cleaning of the church and all beautiful decoration is a sign to remind us God is the centre of all life: life of human beings, life of the church, life of all organisms on earth. We are reminded that we are God’s people, walking in the light path of God, bringing him glory forever and ever.

The 1st Sunday of Advent is a memorable day for me and Kowloon Union Church. It is because I was installed as the minister of this church on this day in 2008. That day opened up a new page to my life and that of this the congregation. Many people say Kowloon Union Church is a unique church. It is, the church is unique with her sanctuary, holy and beautiful. The church is unique with her people, multi-racial and multi-cultural. The church is unique with her mission, engaging in God’s world to love and care for others, to do justice and peace for the oppressed. All these uniqueness at the end of day are from God, to God and for God.

Friends, do you agree that KUC is a unique church carrying a special mission of God? Do you find yourself taking a personal role in this church for God? What is your answer? In the coming year of 2011, KUC will face another phrase of change and development. The manse building will be thoroughly renovated. Current ministries will be consolidated and new ministries will come into existence. We have to prepare for all these.

Friends, in this season of Advent, I would like to invite you to open your hearts, keep waiting for God and walk in his path and seek his will. May God keep you and guide you to the light of Christ. Amen.