Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 6 November 2011 by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Joshua 24:14-25 and Matthew 25:1-13.


Opening prayer:
Dear God, may the Holy Spirit dwell upon us. May your words inspire us and transform us to become more like Christ. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you. Amen.

The parable of the ten young girls (bridesmaids) waiting for the bridegroom to bring them to a wedding feast at night is a familiar gospel account. Five clever young girls prepared enough oil for themselves while five foolish young girls did not. Eventually the unprepared were not allowed to go into the wedding feast and were left outside. The Lord even said to them, ‘I don’t know you’. The parable is shared to remind the disciples to keep guard for they don’t know at what day or at what hour the Lord may come.

Stay awake and be prepared for the coming of the Lord is the key message the author would like to share with his audience.

The key message of ‘be prepared’ for the coming of the Lord reminds me of my time with the Girl Guide Team during my secondary school days. The Motto of the Girl Guide is BE PREPARED. This means that Guides are ready to cope with anything that might come their way.

As we do not fully know what would happen in our life and when would the Lord come, it is thus wise to prepare ourselves in every moment. I knew this teaching only in concept. I had deeper understanding of ‘be prepared’ after my brother died in a car accident. He was 33 years old when he passed away. How can a young man die all of a sudden? My family and I were totally shattered by this incident. We were all unprepared for his leaving in such a traumatic way!

I learnt one important lesson from the sudden death of my brother. No one can control the length of his or her life. We all know the fact that we will die one day. But we don’t know when that day would come. When we are young, we may think that death would be far away from us. In fact, it does not necessarily work that way in reality. We may die at anytime. Just like the coming of the Lord, we don’t know the day or the hour.

While we do not have any control of the lengths of our life, we are however able to decide how to lead the life we want. It is us who can decide the depth and meaning of our own lives. It is our choice and also our responsibility to live a life that is well prepared to meet with God when the Lord is coming to us.

Very often, we procrastinate in our plans because we think we may still have time. We may fail to prepare our life for God’s sake. There are times we do not respond actively to Christ’s invitation for being a faithful disciple and a good steward. Too often we are bothered and pre-occupied by many different things. They could be pressure at work, school and family, worries arising from financial crisis and marital crisis, uncertain future and insecure life. The list can be endless.

Steve Jobs shared in his speech to the graduates of Stanford University in 2005, an important aspect on death. He shared his personal story by saying “remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”

Dear sisters and brothers, what is truly important to you in life?

If today is the last day of your life, what would you want to do?

If the Lord is coming to you today, what would you do to prepare yourself to meet with God?

As Christ’s disciples, how would you relate your life with the church community in which God has called you to be part of it?

God is love and merciful, and yet he has expectation on us. God has called his people to prepare their lives to take up his call to serve as faithful stewards for His creation. Jesus Christ the Lord has also demanded his disciples to love one another and serve the Church in unity. How much do we prepare ourselves for this?

As we gather here at KUC as a faith community to witness God, we are required to serve in the congregation in different ways so that God’s kingdom will be advanced by the participation of the church.

If Jesus Christ comes to us at KUC today, asking us what have we done for him in his church and in the community, what would we say to him?
I hear the first voice saying:
KUC is a unique church. We have a holy sanctuary to worship. We offer a quiet place for people to pray in the midst of busyness.

Jesus then asks the congregation: have you prepared yourself to attend the worship with reverence to God? Are you prepared to serve in the maintenance of the church building and the worship space to make it a nice place for the people coming to it?

After this, I hear the second voice from the congregation, saying:
KUC is unique for she is a home for people who are away from home in other countries. People from different background are all accepted and embraced by an open arm. They feel they are welcome.

Jesus then asks the congregation: are you prepared to greet people every Sunday and take up a role in the care and fellowship team to offer your friendship to people?

Then I hear the third voice from the congregation:
KUC is unique with her stand for the marginalized and the vulnerable. We have funds allocated to projects both local and overseas to serve the needy. We do give our voice and join in actions that are concerned with social justice.
Jesus then asks the congregation again: are you prepared to serve in the MOE committee and engage in the mission and outreach ministry?

A fourth voice comes up:
KUC is unique for her ecumenical tradition and spirit – that is to embrace diversity in unity, and tolerance to differences.

Jesus then challenges the congregation by saying: are you prepared to educate the children and the young people and nurture their spirit of inclusiveness and Oneness in Christ?

Joshua, a Jewish leader had challenged his people to make a choice. The Israelites, God’s chosen one were asked if they would keep their faith and serve their Lord wholeheartedly.

Today, we are asked by the same question. Do we as a church family choose to serve the Lord.

Dear members and friends of KUC, have you prepared your life to meet with God through your service in his church? The Stewardship campaign in KUC has posed a challenge to you today.

It has been a tradition and practice of KUC to designate one Sunday Worship with the theme stewardship. The purpose of this arrangement is to remind church members to reflect on God’s call to be his faithful steward and prepare them to respond to the invitation of pledging to offer their gifts for the service of God at KUC.

Stewardship in a Christian context refers to the responsibility that Christians have in maintaining and using wisely the gifts that God has given. God wishes human beings to be his collaborators in the work of creation, redemption and sanctification. Stewardship is the way our time, talents, material possessions or wealth are used or given for the service of God.

Our Church is in need of sisters and brothers to serve together to build up God’s church and the community at large.

Dear sisters and brothers, life is short and uncertain. Will you seize the day to prepare yourself to serve? Do you want to make a difference to KUC? Are you prepared to do so? Are you ready?