A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 26 August 2012 by the Rev. Ewing W. [Bud] Carroll, Jr.
The scriptures reading that day were John 6:56-69; I Kings 8 and Ephesians
6:10-20.
King Solomon was SO………happy
with God’s reply to his request. He’d
asked God to give him an understanding mind to rule Israel and to tell good from
evil. God’s answer? “I’ll
not only make you very wise but I’ll give you what you didn’t ask for – both
riches and honor all your life.”
And then King Solomon woke
up! He had been dreaming. That was
nearly 3,000 years ago. Forty-nine
years ago this week, another King had a dream.
Not the ruler of a nation; not someone born with a silver spoon in his
mouth; not someone who wielded great power. No, It was Martin Luther King, Jr. the son of
a Baptist preacher. Standing that day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC,
the capitol of The United States, Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” Speech.
The contrast between the two
kings is wider than the Pacific Ocean. It stretches farther than from London to Shanghai. Solomon, favorite son of King David, was born
into wealth, prestige, power and position.
I Kings tells us Solomon’s wealth was ‘greater than all the people of the
east and all the people of Egypt.’ In other words, He was filthy rich. His storehouses were crammed with goods of
all kinds, including food, wine and precious gold and silver jewelry.
MLK, Jr. was born into a world
he described as ‘sadly crippled by the
handcuffs of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” Solomon dreamed about rule, power and
wealth. MLK, Jr. dreamed about “riches of freedom and the security of
justice.” Solomon was a popular
king. MLK, Jr. was seen as a
troublemaker. Many white people said, “Stick to preaching and praying; stay out of
politics and daily life. Don’t rock the
boat.”
Fortunately, Dr. King kept
dreaming and working to realize his dream that one day, he and Coretta Scott
King’s four children would live in a country where they would be judged “Not by the color of their skin, but by the
content of their character.” He
dreamed that one day, “all of God’s
children, black and white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, would
be able to join hands and sing, ‘Free at last!
Free at last! Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last.’ “
What do you dream for? When all is said and done, what would you
most like to have and or to become? To
be with family and friends; a better job; better health; more money; a bigger
house; a partner for life? Today, I
want us to consider two kinds of dreams.
We could name many more, but these two fit closely with today’s Bible
readings.
The first dream:
greater understanding. Recall
the words from St. Francis great prayer:
“Grant that I may not so much seek
to be understood as to understand…”
In today’s Gospel reading, some of Jesus’ followers couldn’t understand
what he meant about being the “Bread of Heaven.” So they left him.
In today’s Epistle lesson,
Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus
– from a prison cell. His wrists are
chained to a Roman soldier. And so he
writes about the armor of God. What it
means to be a soldier of Christ. And
that begins with understanding: not Who we are, but Whose we are. We belong to
Christ. And they way we think, speak and
act should be as followers of Christ. In
both dress and action – soldiers of Christ.
The story is told about a navy
ship that was sailing along the N.E. coast of America. It was a stormy and dangerous night.
Suddenly, the radar officer told the captain, “Sir, there’s a dangerous object directly ahead.” Three times the Captain told him to notify
the dangerous object to immediately change its course to avoid hitting the
ship. No answer. Finally, in great frustration, the Captain
sent this message: “Do you know that you are talking with an Admiral in the U.S. Navy? Change your course now.” Quickly the message came back, “Sir, do you know that you are talking to a
lighthouse sitting on top of a huge rock that hasn’t moved for a thousand
years. Change your course immediately or
your ship will sink.”
Proverbs says, “To get wisdom is to love oneself; to keep
understanding is to become rich.”
King Solomon was full of wisdom.
But he was also full of himself.
MLK, Jr. prospered – not with jewels and a large bank account; rather
rich with understanding: understanding
of the problems and possibilities of his nation, society, church and
culture. Knowing the difference between
a lighthouse sitting on a rock and a ship – that’s understanding.
The second dream is the capacity to care. A doctor friend once said, “The greatest love in all the world is the
capacity to care.” I like that. To care is to love. Is this not the meaning of John 3:16 – God so
loved; God so cared for the world that God gave us Jesus Christ. The wise person replies, “I see.” The understanding person
replies, “I care.”
The 1960’s were a stormy time
in many countries across the world.
Many former African colonies gained their independence. China
was aflame with the so-called Great Cultural Revolution; Fiji and the Philippines
were filled with political and military disruptions; harsh rule in South Korea brought death and destruction to
many; the U.S. invasion of Vietnam caused
the death of countless millions. Like
Jesus, MLK, Jr. taught and practiced a life of non-violence. “Turning the other cheek,” Like the Apostle Paul, wearing the armor of
God didn't’ mean killing people – whether with swords, guns, rockets or wagging
tongues and pointing fingers.
Why did Jesus say if anyone
strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other?
Well, no Jewish person would ever use his or her left hand to hit
someone. Like some parts of Southern Asia, the
left hand was used instead of toilet paper. You cant’ slap someone’s right cheek unless
you are left-handed. And in Jesus’ time,
there were probably very few left-handed people. If you “backhanded” someone,
that meant they were your equals. . So Jesus urged his followers to “turn the
other cheek.” A way of saying to people
of power and violence, “…It won’t work.
You can beat me down; you can even kill me.
But my spirit will live on.”
Standing that day on the steps
of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King spoke not only to America, but also to the whole
world. “Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred is useless. We must
forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and
discipline…not…physical violence.” For MLK Jr., the capacity to care
demanded meeting physical force with spiritual force. Turning the other cheek – saying to the
unjust and cruel “You can’t beat me down. I’ll
just keep turning my other cheek.”
Or as Paul wrote, wearing the armor of God.
Do dream my friends. Dream long; dream big; dream in black and
white; Technicolor; three-dimension.
dream of new days for yourself; your loved ones and friends; for this
church. Dream of a better and happier
life. But let your dreams be clothed in
the armor of God. That includes understanding; understanding of the
nature and power of God’s love; Let your dreams also be clothed in care.
Yes, care for ourselves, but also equal care for others. Then with MLK, Jr. .we too can say ”Free at last.” Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free
at last.” Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Tuesday, August 28, 2012
