Reflections...

Meditations, Reflections, Bible Studies, and Sermons from Kowloon Union Church  

Being Mindful

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 22 May 2016, by Dr. Hope S. Antone, in commemoration of Asia Sunday and Trinity Sunday. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 8, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15.


The three Lectionary readings for today are so packed with meaning but I will focus on only 3 lessons, in view of Asia Sunday and Trinity Sunday. I call them lessons on being mindful. By “being mindful” I mean that capacity to pay close attention to or being especially conscious of something, or someone. In our highly stressful and competitive world today, being mindful is needed so we can listen more closely to what truly matters.

·        The first lesson from Psalm 8 is being mindful of God’s creation. This means appreciating and understanding the diversity of creation, and also our unique role and responsibility as human beings.   
  
Being in Asia immerses us in the diversity of God’s creation. Just consider the vast expanse of land and water; the medley of people’s ethnic backgrounds, cultures, languages, and religions. (We have many natural attractions in Asia. Asia is the birthplace of the major religions of the world.) With these we can say that diversity is God’s gift and will for us. But without being mindful of that diversity, it can become the cause of conflict or even war. We have many examples of such conflicts – e.g. when the majority ethnic, religious, or political group dominates or neglects the minority groups.

What does it mean to be mindful of God’s creation? Reading Psalm 8, I can imagine the young David, perhaps lying on a hillside outside of Bethlehem, gazing up at the sky, the moon and the stars. Filled with the wonder of God’s creation, he takes out his harp, and sings: O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Do you remember a time when you said something like this? Was it when you reached the top of the Dragon’s Back hiking trail? Or when you played again like little children on the sandy beach of Mui Wo, Boracay, Penang, or elsewhere? Or was it on your first flight, when you could see the mountains and clouds up close? Taking time to be with nature is indeed a wonderful way of being mindful of God’s creation.

As with David, the reflection on the wonder and beauty of creation does not only focus on the magnificence of God’s power as creator. It must also be related to our role and responsibility as human beings who are part of that creation. “You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands...” Being mindful of God’s creation means giving credit to God as Creator, and respecting each creature which holds God’s fingerprint.

The “wai” of Thailand (greeting with a slight bow, with palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion) is similar to the Indian/Nepali Namaskar or the Cambodian sampeah. Its deep meaning is, “My soul recognizes the divine in your soul.” In Malaysia and Indonesia, a typical handshake is the light touching of palms, sometimes with both hands extended to sandwich the recipient’s right hand. This is followed by placing either the right hand or both hands over one’s heart to mean, ‘I greet you from my heart’. It is appropriate for the recipient to follow suit, signifying a receipt of thanks and acceptance. If we are truly mindful and that we mean what we say or do with our greeting, we should be in a much better place than our conflict-torn societies today – there would be no abuse, no corruption, no taking advantage of the other.

To be mindful of God as Creator and of God’s creation is to honor and respect God’s handiwork. To truly praise God means to do our part as responsible stewards of what God created.

·        The second lesson, gleaned from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (5:1-5), is that of being mindful of Christ’s gift of salvation. We affirm that Christ, though sinless, took all our sins and died on the cross for us in order to redeem or save us. This assures us, according to the Apostle Paul, that we have peace with God. 

But Paul also hints that the peace with God through Christ Jesus is not being free from suffering. Confident that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope, Paul says we can boast in our suffering and hope.

Paul, in his earlier life as Saul, had zealously persecuted the early Christians. After his life-changing personal encounter with the Christ, he became a zealous missionary, for which he also had his share of persecution. Suffering in the cause of Christ did produce in Paul a sense of endurance, character and hope.

Today, a most pervasive suffering in Asia is massive poverty. According to the Sri Lankan priest, Fr Aloysius Pieris, the Beatitudes in the Gospels speak of two types of poverty: voluntary poverty and involuntary poverty. Voluntary poverty results from one’s option to live simply so others can simply live. Involuntary poverty is something inflicted by outside forces such as the systems of injustice that make and keep the poor poorer. I think the same principle could apply to suffering. Voluntary suffering results when one knowingly participates in a cause that faces great opposition or resistance – such as the cause of freedom and democracy. Involuntary suffering is something inflicted from outside, such as by an abusive partner or an unjust boss. Which of these types of suffering is worthy to boast of? 

Being mindful of Christ’s gift of salvation means being assured that in view of his will for our salvation, our suffering, in whatever form it takes, should not get the better of us, or overcome us. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” Instead, our suffering will produce endurance, endurance will produce character, and character will produce hope. I find this very true of the internally displaced Kachin people in Myanmar whom I visited last September; or when I think about the Lumads (Indigenous people) in Southern Philippines; or of the climate change and other refugees who risk their lives to look for a better life and a brighter future.

Last March was the graduation time at many universities in the Philippines. I got teary-eyed reading a story of how a pedicab/tricyle driver had put his son through university. Indeed, success is sweetest for those who sweat the most; for those who work so hard for it. But today, the trend is more for the quick fix and the short-cut.

Just look at advertisements that promise getting rich quickly, slimming down, losing abs or gaining a 6-pack in a week. These ads play on many people’s desire to get rich and look more beautiful right away. But I am from the old school that says one must work hard and honestly in order to achieve something that one deserves to have. There is no short-cut, no quick-fix to getting there.

Christ’s resurrection means a lot to us only in view of his crucifixion. We have to be mindful that his passion was not an easy path. He agonized and he suffered as he went through it. Through his life of selfless service, he showed us the best about being human! That we can be the best of what God intends for us. It is not easy or smooth – it will include suffering, which produces endurance, character and hope. He showed us that it is possible.   

·        The third lesson, gleaned from the John 16:12-15, is being mindful of the Spirit’s continuing guidance. Christ Jesus says: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

Christ’s act of salvation/redemption has been done! But the discipleship still continues. Christ had only 3 years with his disciples on earth. Even though they were with him physically, as students learning closely with their teacher, there was no way that they already had it all. They still had so much to learn, to understand, to comprehend. And because he was no longer with them in person, he assured them that it would be the Spirit of truth that would guide them. 

Learning is truly a life-long process. No matter how many degrees we have earned, or how many books we have read or written, there is always something new to learn. Hence, we also have to be mindful of the Spirit’s continuing guidance. This calls for our openness to continue to learn and grow.

In my present work with the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, I learned from different speakers and resource persons that our universities in Asia must prepare our students now for jobs that are not yet known today. Other speakers say that to do this, our universities should not teach by giving knowledge or information, but by making students know how to learn on their own. The American writer and futurist, Alvin Toffler, has been quoted as saying: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn."

Does the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn apply to our Christian faith? Definitely! If life is nothing but dynamic, so is a living faith!   

Last year, I joined Beng Seng in Mongolia at the end of his workshop for the young YMCA there. Two local youth accompanied us on a visit to a nomad family where we experienced a bit of their life, moving around the vast land of Mongolia, looking for grass and water for their animals. In our interactions with the people, we learned that in Mongolia, the sheep and goats live harmoniously together. For the Mongolian herders, goats are very smart and helpful animals, much more than the sheep. The goats know where to look for green pasture; they also know how to get back home to their master/owner. And they would be leading the sheep who often did not have any clue about food and home. That story confirmed for me and Beng Seng that the biblical imagery of goats and sheep did not readily fit in Mongolia!

Jesus may have his reason for using the goat and sheep imagery in the judgment story. But I don’t think it was meant to be the way we should look at or relate with people – i.e. that we should think we are the good sheep and others who are not like us are the bad goats.           

This is only one illustration to show that indeed there is so much to learn. But we can only learn more if we are willing to unlearn something of the old, in order to be open to the new. 

I have shared three lessons from the Trinity: being mindful of God’s creation and our responsibility; being mindful of Christ’s gift of salvation and the possibility to tap the best of our humanity; and being mindful of the Spirit’s continuing guidance to guide us into all truth. May our Trinitarian God inspire us to draw more lessons from scriptures and from our life experiences. And may our efforts glorify God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. 

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, May 22, 2016



<< Home

Archives

May 2004|July 2004|September 2004|November 2004|December 2004|April 2005|July 2005|August 2005|September 2005|October 2006|November 2006|December 2006|January 2007|February 2007|March 2007|April 2007|May 2007|July 2007|August 2007|September 2007|October 2007|November 2007|December 2007|January 2008|February 2008|March 2008|April 2008|May 2008|June 2008|July 2008|August 2008|September 2008|October 2008|November 2008|December 2008|January 2009|February 2009|March 2009|April 2009|May 2009|June 2009|July 2009|August 2009|September 2009|October 2009|November 2009|December 2009|January 2010|February 2010|March 2010|April 2010|May 2010|June 2010|July 2010|September 2010|October 2010|November 2010|December 2010|January 2011|February 2011|April 2011|May 2011|June 2011|July 2011|October 2011|November 2011|December 2011|January 2012|February 2012|March 2012|August 2012|September 2012|November 2012|December 2012|January 2013|February 2013|March 2013|April 2013|May 2013|June 2013|September 2013|October 2013|November 2013|December 2013|February 2014|March 2014|April 2014|May 2014|June 2014|July 2014|August 2014|September 2014|October 2014|November 2014|December 2014|January 2015|February 2015|March 2015|April 2015|July 2015|August 2015|October 2015|November 2015|December 2015|January 2016|February 2016|March 2016|April 2016|May 2016|June 2016|July 2016|August 2016|September 2016|October 2016|November 2016|December 2016|January 2017|February 2017|March 2017|April 2017|May 2017|June 2017|July 2017|August 2017|September 2017|October 2017|November 2017|December 2017|January 2018|February 2018|March 2018|April 2018|June 2018|July 2018|August 2018|September 2018|October 2018|November 2018|December 2018|January 2019|February 2019|March 2019|May 2019|June 2019|July 2019|August 2019|September 2019|October 2019|November 2019|December 2019|January 2020|February 2020|March 2020|April 2020|May 2020|June 2020|July 2020|August 2020|September 2020|October 2020|November 2020|December 2020|January 2021|February 2021|March 2021|April 2021|May 2021|June 2021|July 2021|August 2021|September 2021|October 2021|November 2021|December 2021|January 2022|February 2022|March 2022|April 2022|May 2022|June 2022|July 2022|August 2022|September 2022|October 2022|November 2022|December 2022|January 2023|February 2023|March 2023|April 2023|May 2023|June 2023|July 2023|August 2023|September 2023|October 2023|November 2023|December 2023|January 2024|February 2024|March 2024|
Archived sermons by the Barksdales

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?