A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 30
November 2014, First
Sunday in Advent, by the Rev. Phyllis
Wong. The scripture readings that day were Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthian 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37.
Opening prayer:
Dear God, we thank
you for the full presence in our life and the hope given through Jesus Christ.
May your word inspire us and transform us to become more like Christ. May the
Holy Spirit guide us to walk in Your way of truth.
May the word of my
mouth, the meditation of my heart be pleasing and acceptable to you, my God,
our personal savior and liberator of all. Amen.
Introduction
Today we have started
the season of Advent according to the church liturgical year. It marks the beginning of the Church liturgical
year.
The word “advent” derives from the word adventus meaning “coming” or “arrival”. The Latin
translation of the Greek word parousia, a reference to the Second Coming
of Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Therefore, the season of
Advent serves as a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews
for the birth of their Messiah, as well as the waiting for the second coming of Jesus
Christ by Christians today.
In about a month from
now, 2014 will come to an end.
Looking back on this
year, there were many events big and small, that happened in Hong Kong and in the
world.
In March, Malaysian airline flight MH
370 carrying 239 passengers and crew went missing on their routine flight to
Beijing and eight months later we still have no idea what happened to the plane
and the passengers. Disaster struck again to another Malaysian airline flight
MH 17, shot down over eastern Ukraine in July killing
all 298 passengers and crew onboard.
In May this year, over 200 girls were abducted
from their Christian school by Islamic extremists and being forced into
marriage or slavery, and despite a lot of media coverage and outcry, they are
still missing.
In
late September, 43 teacher college students went on a protest against drug crimes
in Guerrero in Mexico and then disappeared. Recently they have been declared
legally dead. Their disappearance has provoked outrage and has led to the Mexico
President declaring a national anti-crime campaign.
On 9 August,
Michael Brown, a black young man, was shot dead by a white policeman. The case
has aroused a lot of racial tension and even amidst the recent riots over this
shooting, another 12-year old black boy has been shot dead by another policeman
in Nov.
In September, the Umbrella
Movement in HK begins to strive for genuine universal suffrage. The Movement
has impressed the world because of its peaceful and self-refrained manner
demonstrated by the protestors seeking for democracy. But it is sad though that
the government does not response constructively to the widely expressed
concerns. The police have used excessive violence against the peaceful
protesters. The
movement has taken place for two months. There is no sign of resolution and is
a bit stuck at the moment. Dialogue between the government and the student
representatives has gone to a deadlock. The Umbrella movement has created a lot
of divisions and conflicts within family, work place, church and society at large.
Broken relationships are yet to be healed and reconciled. The fight for genuine
universal suffrage that affirms equal rights of everyone and to avoid misuse of
power remains a rough and tough battle in Hong Kong.
Advent, which starts
four weeks before Christmas, is traditionally a season of quiet and joyful
expectation of the coming of Christ.
Where is joy and hope
in the midst of all these human tragedies and injustice?
Are these tragedies
and human sufferings signs of the coming of the Lord who will come to judge and
save the world?
The gospel reading
taken from Mark today, enlightens us to learn about the coming of the Lord (the
Son of Man), the sign of the fig tree that reveals his coming and Jesus’ warning
-- to be watchful and to keep awake upon his coming.
Jesus warned his disciples to ‘keep
awake’ in waiting for the coming of the Lord.
Keep awake is a shift from control to ‘letting go’
The end comes without any warning. No one know when the Son of the Lord
be coming. The angel does not know even the son does not know either. Only God
the Father knows. Coming of the Lord is
a mystery and it is totally in God’s hands. We have to recognize that God is
the one who take the initiative and make things happen. God is God of sovereignty.
In the tragedies I mentioned, we still don’t know what happened to
MH370, we still don’t know when the abducted school girls can be returned to
their families, we don’t know when justice will come. But we know they are all
in God’s hands. We have to learn to let go of our desire to be in control. We
need to learn to accept that many things will remain mysteries to us.
From passive waiting
to hopeful waiting
The second paradigm shift I would like to say about ‘Keep awake’ is from
passive waiting to hopeful waiting with active participation.
Jesus used a parable about a master
who leaves home and assigns to his slaves works to do. He then asks the
doorkeeper to be on the watch. As there is no idea when the master will come
back, all the servants have to keep awake.
Waiting without a time frame could be
a torture. Waiting would be terribly unbearable if we do nothing in the process
of waiting. You may have experienced these – waiting for an exam result, baby
to be born, a beloved is dying…
Advent, is a time of waiting for the coming of the
Lord. Waiting, however, is not
passive inaction. On the contrary, waiting is taken as active participation of
here and now which induce implication for future.
Like the slaves and door keeper in the parable, we
are all God’s servants and called to do God’s work. Each one of us has assigned
a role and we have to take our responsibility to work according to the will of God.
We all have a part to play in God’s world.
‘To keep awake’ is a shift from passive waiting to hopeful
waiting by actively engaging in God’s Kingdom of justice and peace. We wait
actively, with action, patience and humility.
Advent is
a season for prophecy, calling on us to repent, prepare, and be ever watchful.
Isaiah is an
important prophet in ancient Israel to proclaim the coming of the Messiah who
saved the Israelites and brought to them a new heaven and new earth. (Isaiah
65)
From the Book of Isaiah
64:1-9, Isaiah prophesized that God took the initiative to meet with his people
and to meet with the righteous. Although there are times the people turn away
from God, Isaiah affirmed that God’s relationship is forever there. Whenever
the people repent and turn to God, the steadfast love God will heal and
forgive. One emphasis of Isaiah’s prophetic message is to affirm the covenant
relationship between God and his people the Israelites. In Isaiah’s prayer to
God, he said:
“Yet , O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay,
and you are our potter; we are the work of your hands. Do not be exceedingly
angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.”
(64:9-9b)
The prophetic words
have given us light today. We are people of God as we are created in his holy
image. We are forever God’s people only if we acknowledge this relationship. If
we don’t turn to God, we have nothing to do with God and God’s kingdom. The
coming of the Lord has no meaning to us.
God is a righteous
God. As Isaiah pointed out in his prayer and dialogue with God: “You meet those gladly do right, those who
remember you in your ways.” (64:5)
The prophetic message
of Isaiah inspires us today: a deep knowledge and understanding about the
coming of the Lord. When we are doing righteous and walk in God’s way, God will
meet with us and we will be with God.
Coming of the Lord is
thus not about prediction. It is never a scare tactic to control believers and
to make sure that they behave themselves without doing wrong.
Coming of the Lord is
about doing righteous and remember God and his ways. God reveals himself in
Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. Whenever we
follow Christ’ way by leading a life of love, forgiveness and sacrifice, God is
with us. And we are in God.
Coming of the Lord is
a mystery. It involves many complicated theological discourse such as “eschatological
hope, already but not yet”. This sounds a bit difficult to people who don’t
have formal theological training.
Yes, the Coming of
the Lord is a mystery on the one hand. On the other hand, the mystery of the
coming of the Lord is this: at the very moment when we engage in a Godly life with
Jesus Christ, to live a life of faith, hope, justice, peace, joy and love, the
Lord has come in us.
Although
there are a lot of problems yet to be solved and the occupy movement has
created a lot of tensions in the society. The beauty and success of the
Umbrella Movement that I find is this: the people of Hong Kong – young and old,
men and women, professors and van drivers (people of different socio-economic
status), have demonstrated their courage and determination to strive for
democracy and demand for an equal and just society which allow people to share
power and resources that may improve the lives of many. Another aspect of the occupy movement that touches
my heart deeply is the goodness of the people that manifests. I found peace, love,
generous sharing, mutual support and care amongst the people in the occupy
areas. Many people who have experienced it regarded Occupy Admiralty a heaven
on earth. In my point of view, this is the sign and image of the coming of the
Lord.
In the
season of Advent, we are called to ‘Keep awake’. Keep awake is a paradigm shift
– a challenge to our existing belief. Sisters and brothers, in the season of
Advent, ‘keep awake’.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 30, 2014
A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 9
November 2014, Wai Ji Sunday, by the Rev. Phyllis
Wong. The scripture readings that day were 1 Cor 12:12-27.
Today I would like to share with you a message about the
Body.
In 1 Cor 12:12-27
- Apostle Paul in the early church era has used the body as a parable to talk
about church unity. It can be applied to describe family, organization and
different kinds of community.
Embrace Diversity
As human beings, we all have our own body.
In our
body, there are different members: head, eyes, ears, mouth, hands and legs.
They are all visible. Invisible members include the heart, liver, stomach,
brain.
These members
in a body serve different purposes and help us to keep our life going strong and
happy.
It is God’s
will to create different members in a body. As described by Apostle Paul:
“Indeed, the body does not consist of
one member but of many. If the foot would say, ‘because I
am not a hand, I do not belong to the body.’ And if the ears would say,
‘because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body.’ That would not make it
less a part of the body.”
From the
parable of ONE body but different members, we may then appreciate the gift of
diversity given by God. As said in 1 Cor 12:17 : “if the whole body were eyes, where hearing be? If the whole body were
hearing, where would the sense of smell be?”
The diverse
creation of God enables us to enjoy richness in life. Eyes let us see beautiful
things and watch good movies, our ears help us to listen to uplifting music,
our mouth enables us to taste delicious food.
Members in one
body are different and yet they are equally important in God’s creation.
Equally, we are different and yet we are all valuable. There is no need to
compare and compete with each other.
There are
many members, yet one body. (v20) In our difference, we learn how to appreciate
and support each other. We learn how to humble ourselves to know we are unique
and yet we have our own limitations. We need to help and support each other to
contribute the best of ourselves. We need each other to build a better life and
create a world which is more loving, equal and harmonious.
We are all connected
United in
One Body in Christ and to embrace differences with acceptance is an ideal. There
are times we don’t accept weak members in our community. Apostle Paul challenged
the church community by saying - 1 Cor 12: 22-26:
“the members that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members
of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honor, and our
less respectable members are treated with greater respect where our more
respectable members do not need this. God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior
member, that there may be no dissension within the
body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If
one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all
rejoice together with it.”
Apostle
Paul teaches Christians in his time and today about caring for each other. With the parable of One Body, Paul
makes a strong notion of each member is connected as one in God through Christ.
We share the same spirit in God and same body in Christ. As One Body, we are
connected: one member suffers, all suffer together with it, if one member
honoured, all rejoice together with it. Your pain is my pain, your joy is my
joy.
Mentally
and physically challenged friends have been regarded as weak by the society and
even by their beloved families. These friends have not been well received and
respected if not totally rejected. The parable of ‘We are One Body’ in the love
of Christ has reminded us our mission to serve the weak and take them as part
of us.
As Wai Ji Christian
Service is celebrating her 35th birthday this year and KUC is
celebrating her 90th anniversary with a theme of “Where ALL are
ONE”, the body image of oneness is an important pointer for us.
At the end,
I would like to show you a bamboo cross with a hanged Jesus. I bought it from
the Philippines.
The broken
and suffering body of Jesus is heart-breaking. But it is a powerful image and
inspiration for us to remember We are ONE BODY in Christ.
Jesus’ forgiving love and gracious
sacrifice on the cross is our source of strength and guide in our quest to the
body of Christ and individual members of it. (v27)
Wai Ji’s
motto: “I came not to be served but to serve”. This is the word and deeds of
Jesus when he was on earth to fulfil his mission from God. I hope we all look
up to Jesus Christ. In our union with Jesus as One Body, we are strengthened
and committed to serve the Lord, to share the gospel and to honour God’s glory.
Amen.
「我們同屬一個身體」 經文：林前12：12-27 王美鳳牧師 9/11/2014
今日我同大家分享一個有關身體的訊息。
林前12:12-27—使徒保羅以身體比喻為教會群體，從而講及教會合一。身體的比喻也可應用到家庭，機構和其他社群
我們作為人，都有一個身體。
我們的身體都有不同的肢體，有可看見的眼耳口鼻手腳，有看不見的內藏－心、肝、胃、腦袋…不同的肢體保存我們的生命，令我們活得快樂。
是上主按其旨意創造身體，以及所有不同的肢體。正如使徒保羅指出：林前12:14-16
身子原不是一個肢體，乃是許多肢體。 設若腳說：「我不是手，所以不屬乎身子」，它不能因此就不屬乎身子。 設若耳說：「我不是眼，所以不屬乎身子」，它也不能因此就不屬乎身子。
合一的身體和眾多肢體的比喻，啟發我們去思考身子上不同的肢體，功能有別，正好反映上帝創造的奇妙和恩典。正如林前12：17所講，「若全身是眼，從那裡聽呢？若全身是耳，從那裡聞味呢？」身體裡不同的肢體和器官，展現不同功用，正是上帝容讓我們經歷生命和生活的豐富：視覺上，我們有眼可以看好的電影，欣賞美麗的大自然。聽覺上，耳朵讓我們可以聽優美的音樂。味覺上，口讓我們品嘗美食。
肢體不同，但屬於一個身體，讓我們肯定在上帝的創造裡，每個肢體都是獨特的，有價值的，也是平等的。我們毋須比較和互相競爭。
肢體不同，但屬於一個身體，在我們肯定和確認自己的同時，我們要承認自己的限制；我們需要學習尊重差異、和而不同，抱着謙卑和包容的態度，彼此欣賞，互相確認彼此的重要，互助配搭和支持，共同努力合作，活出更美好的生活和創造平等和諧互助的世界。
在基督合一的身體，擁抱多元和彼此接納是很理想的美事，現實上面對不少困難。特別當面對軟弱肢體又或問題肢體時，怎辦？保羅在林前12章 22-26節，提出挑戰：「人以為軟弱的，更是不可少的。 身上肢體我們看為不體面的，越發給它加上體面；不俊美的，越發得著俊美； 我們俊美的肢體，自然用不著裝飾。但神配搭這身子，把加倍的體面給那有缺欠的肢體， 免得身上分門別類，總要肢體彼此相顧。 若一個肢體受苦，所有的肢體就一同受苦；若一個肢體得榮耀，所有的肢體就一同快樂。」
使徒保羅提醒我們要彼此担當，肢體一同受苦，又一同得榮耀。這就是肢體聯系於基督同一個身體的奧秘，當我們連於一體時我們就不能分割。 你的受苦，就是我的受苦；你得光榮，就是我的光榮；你的快樂，也就是我的快樂。
智障人士常被家人和社會視為俊美，他們單未能獲得尊重和接納，更會被排斥。我們都是在 基督內的同一個身體，提醒我們關顧弱小和看來不俊美的肢體，因為他們都是上主所創造，並且是我們的一份子。
今年「基督教懷智服務處」(懷智) 慶祝三十五周年，九龍佑寧堂慶祝九十周年。佑寧堂慶祝主題是「合一」，「我們同屬一個身體」的教導，帶給我們實踐彼此聯系和合一相愛的重要亮光
最後，我想大家看看這個用竹造的十字架，耶穌被釘其中。
耶穌被釘十字架，身體被折磨受盡痛苦，情境悲傷。但是耶穌被釘十字架的形象，提醒我們聯系於基督。耶穌破碎的身體，祂寬恕的愛和犧牲，成為我們力量的來源，引領我們追隨基督和落實作 -- 「你們就是基督的身子，並且各自做肢體。」(v27)
「懷智」的機構格言 --- 取自聖經耶穌的話，「非以役人，乃役於人」(我來不是被人服侍，乃是要服侍別人) ，這是主耶穌在地的生命實踐。姊妹弟兄，盼望我們一同仰望耶穌，在與祂聯成同一的身體，竭力事主，見證福音，榮耀主名。誠心所願。
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 09, 2014
A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on
Sunday 2 November 2014 by the Rev. Dr. John LeMond. The scripture readings that day were Micah
3:5-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:1-12.
How should we live
our lives?
How should we go
about living our daily lives
In this world?
This is the question
that is addressed
By the three
Scripture passages that we have just read.
They do not ask:
“What kind of Christian should I be?”
Or “What should I do
to please God?”
They are asking:
“What does it mean to be a human being?”
What does it mean to
live an honest, true life…
As a human being?
It applies to people
who are religious
And to people who
are not religious.
We are asked to
think about living in relation to other
people.
These passages speak
to every one of us today
Regardless of our
denominational background
Or our theological
orientation.
These passages speak
to us…
Regardless of our
commitment to Jesus Christ
Or our commitment to
any religion.
What does it really mean to
live as a human being?
It’s a universal
question.
And Jesus enters
into this human discussion
By talking about
Moses.
Moses was the
greatest leader of the Hebrew people.
A person who had
lived a full life
One who had both submitted
himself to the will of God
And who had
disappointed God.
But most of all he
had delivered to the people of Israel
The commandments of
God.
And what were those
commandments concerned with?
As the Hebrew people
left a life of slavery
And prepared to
enter into a new era of freedom
It was important for
them to know
What it meant to be
free,
What it meant truly
to be a human being.
The commandments did
not really concern themselves
With belonging to a
particular religion.
They did not concern
themselves
With following a
particular theology.
They were for all
people
As a guide to living
life in all its fullness.
And the commandments
said:
Love God and love
your neighbor.
Very simple.
And when Jesus
entered into the discussion with the people about Moses
This is what he
pointed to.
“Listen to the words
that God sent through Moses
“And follow them.”
And to emphasize the
nature of the gift that Moses had delivered to them,
Jesus pointed out
exactly what they should not do:
Do not be like those
who say one thing and do the other.
Do not be like those
who put heavy burdens on others.
Do not do things
just so others can see what you do and praise you.
Do not seek honor
and glory for yourself.
Love God…and love your neighbor.
According to Jesus
All the law and the
prophets depend on doing these two things only.
Being truly human
does not depend
Upon fulfilling a
large number of rules and regulations
Only two: love God
and love your neighbor…with all the strength you have.
Today, as we sit
here together,
We know why this was an important question
for Jesus…
And for the people
of his time.
Because it is an
important question for our everyday lives as well.
How do I live life
truly, completely and fully?
In chapter 10 of the
Gospel of Luke,
We have a similar
story of Jesus and a lawyer
The lawyer asks
Jesus the same question in a slightly different way.
“Jesus,” he asked,
“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus asked him a
question: “What is written in the law of
Moses.”
The lawyer says:
“Love God…and love
your neighbor.”
Jesus makes a direct
connection between being truly human
And having eternal
life.
Jesus says, the
answer is the same.
Love God…and love your neighbor.
There is no
difference between the two.
And this is
something that our world needs to hear.
We watch the
international news
And we see that the
world is constantly at war.
Constantly
embattled.
We watch daily as
people suffer in Syria
In West Africa, in
America,
In the Philippines,
in Southeast Asia, in Hong Kong.
These people are not
far away from us
They are people we
know and love
The suffering of
this world is not far from us…it is near.
We need not look
outside our congregation
To find examples of
suffering in our world.
Our own brothers and
sisters suffer…
Emotionally,
physically and spiritually.
And so we too come
to Jesus and ask the question:
How can I live my
life truly, fully and completely
In the midst of all
this suffering?
“Love God…and love
your neighbor.”
But, we cry: this is
not possible.
Jesus himself tried
it and it didn’t work.
If Jesus suffered
and died,
Is there any hope
for us?
The hope, sisters
and brothers,
Lies not in our
successfully fulfilling this law of love
But in knowing that
our Lord Jesus Christ
Is the fulfillment.
And that it is
through Christ
That that we realize
our true humanity.
Even though we seek
to follow the exhortations of Paul to the Thessalonians:
To be holy and
righteous and blameless
And to relate to others
in an encouraging and comforting way,
We too often find
ourselves more like those mentioned in the book of Micah
Waging war against
those who do not favor us with gifts
Taking bribes,
despising justice
And distorting all
that is right.
Filling our lives
with wickedness and bloodshed.
Sounds a bit harsh,
doesn’t it?
We may say, “That
doesn’t sound like me!”
“That must be someone else.”
I may not be holy,
but I am at least good.
But the Lord says to
us,
The good people
It is you
who deserve to be plowed under like a field,
To become rubble,
overgrown with weeds.
In the finally
analysis
It is we, as part of
the human race,
Who are responsible.
It is we who kidnap
hundreds of girls…
And force them to
convert to another religion.
It is we who invade
the Ukraine and attempt to overthrow the government
It is we who use the
diamond industry to support terror in Africa
It is we who shoot
peaceful civilians in Syria
It is we who
manipulate the financial markets out of greed.
It is we who argue
with our neighbors and gossip about our friends
It is we who turn
our backs on the most vulnerable in our society.
It is we human
beings who do this.
We know this
And yet, we are
frankly amazed to find ourselves among the accused. (Pause)
But even more
amazing is this:
It is we to whom
Jesus comes, calling us friend
It is we whom Jesus
embraces with love.
It is even as we fail
To live truly as the
human beings that we were created to be
That God continues
to call our names,
And to welcome us
into an embrace of love.
We begin to realize
our true humanity
When, even as we fail,
We yet open
ourselves to the one
Who is both truly human and truly divine,
The one who shows us
the way of truth and life.
How should we live
our lives?
Love God; love your
neighbor
And cling to hope in
the unconditional love and grace of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 02, 2014
