A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 27 November 2016, the First Sunday
in Advent, by the Rev. Phyllis
Wong. The scripture readings that day were Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44.
Opening prayer:
Gracious God, thank you for
your incarnated Word in Jesus who shared his divine life with us. May the
spirit inspire us to know you and be transformed by you. Amen.
The church is beautifully
decorated. Thanks to sisters and brothers who came over on Friday and Saturday
to do the cleaning and decorating. Thanks also to friends from UCCP (the Uniting
Church of Christ in the Philippines) and OBIC - One Body In Christ Church too
for their contribution yesterday. Thanks to pastor Maggie for coordinating the clean
up days.
Candles on the wreath,
Christmas tree and banners set in the sanctuary are visible signs for the
Season of Advent. A new church year has begun today!
I would like to share with you the worship space
decorations and their symbolic meaning
Symbol 1 - The light
The light of the candles – it is an important symbol of the season. The
light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the
darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It also reminds us that
we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God's grace
to others (Isaiah 42:6). The
progression in the lighting of the candles symbolizes the various aspects of
our waiting experience – namely peace, hope, joy and love. As the candles are
lit over the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and
hopelessness receding and the shadows of sin falling away as more and more
light is shed into the world. The flame of each new candle reminds the
worshippers that something is happening, and that more is yet to come. Finally,
the light that has come into the world is plainly visible as the Christ candle
is lit at Christmas, and worshippers rejoice over the fact that the hope and
promise of long ago have been realized.
Symbol 2 - the tree (Christmas tree)
Our
tree is a real one. You may smell its freshness. The tree is a symbol of life.
God is the source of life. We give thanks to God for giving us eternal life and
Jesus Christ who came to restore our life and save the world.
3)
The photos of KUC’s members and friends, past and the present have been hung up
on the tree. Photos of the people remind us - 1) We are all God’s beloved
children, beautifully and wonderfully created; we are fully human being and
spiritual being. 2) And yet we are all sinners and suffering from human
brokenness. God breaks into the world to share our humanity, reconcile
relationship and to make life whole through Christ. 3) God calls his people in
different generations to become Christ’s disciples, to walk in his way and to
witness God’s kingdom. 4) To love one another as Jesus Christ has commanded his
disciples.
Friends
who are new to our church and who have not yet given us a photo, please give a
copy to us so that we can hang it up and you can be part of our community here
in KUC.
In the past
few years, I used to share with the congregation on the first Advent Sunday
through the bulletin or sermon about the meaning of Advent. This year I will share
it again.
The word “advent” derives from the Latin
word adventus meaning “coming” or “arrival”. As the
Latin translation of the Greek word parousia,
it is 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 of the Hebrews for the
birth of their Messiah
(Jesus Christ), as well as the waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ by Christians today.
Advent signifies a
time of waiting for the coming of the Lord to save his creation from sins and
to restore life to all creatures.
So, what does it mean to
wait for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? What is the significance
of Advent to Christians in the contemporary world that we are living in?
Waiting in this time does not mean passively waiting
until we die without action and do nothing. We heard this morning the Epistles’
reading taken from Romans – the Apostle Paul gave to the early church
Christians a message of waking up from sleep –that is, waking up to a
spiritually awoken life. He asked the disciples to live a life that revealed the
Lord Jesus Christ who is the light of the world. In the light of Christ,
disciples are no longer living selfishly for their own desires. In them, there should be no quarreling and
jealousy, no reveling and drunkenness, no debauchery and licentiousness.
Paul gives us an important Advent message today –
we need to change and live a Godly life in Christ by carrying his light. We
live no more in the darkness but choose to live in the light and peace with God
and with one another.
The gospel reading taken from Matthew today gives us
the sense of urgency. Like the thief, the Lord is coming at an unexpected hour,
and therefore we must be ready. The
Advent message from Matthew is to stay awake, to take immediate and appropriate
actions before it is too late.
Immediately after Donald Trump won the presidential
election, there have been demonstrations in
different parts of the United States showing dissatisfaction with the results. There
are banners saying ‘Donald Trump does not represent me.’ A student from the
States I recently met in Hong Kong told me that when she is back to the States,
she will be active in the civil rights movements exerting pressure on Trump so
as to protect the rights of the minorities and immigrants.
I also heard from the news that there are Americans who have started to prepare plans to help the needy if
Donald Trump reverses policies in a way that may adversely affect them.
These actions reflect that there are Americans
not just waiting passively for a new president to assume leadership. They are
alert and taking actions to prevent a president going too far with his bad
records in discriminating against new immigrants, women and Muslims.
‘Make America great again’ is Donald Trump’s
election campaign slogan. But our world does not need any great nation. Our
world is in need of peace.
The passage from the Book of
Isaiah today has given us a vision of God’s peace. Peace in Hebrew is shalom, and in Arabic is salam, which share the same three root
letters S-L-M connoting wholeness, completeness, well-being and welfare.
Therefore, peace is more
than an absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of conditions that provide
life.
Martin Luther King Jr. also echoes
loudly: “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.
Peace is more than just a word heard in songs; it is a deep longing for life,
for justice, for wholeness.
As we hear Isaiah’s bold
vision today, we are reminded of the importance of peace for the world. But we
at the same time need to realise that peace begins within us. The path to peace
is a journey, one that takes us inward into ourselves and outward towards
community.
Prophets
like Isaiah announce unexpected reversals.
I quote, “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 anymore.” (Isaiah 2:5)
Just as war is learned, so
is peace. Isaiah proclaims that in God’s new world, not only must the weapons
be destroyed; they are to be transformed and repurposed.
All national and international
leaders should learn about peace and be transformed. All people in the world
should live a life of peace and transformation. All systems should be transformed
to bring peace and well beings to the community.
To echo the prophet Isaiah’s
vision in the season of Advent, a message that reminds us to prepare and wait
for the coming of the Lord and his salvation for all, I will pray and voice
loudly ‘Make the World peaceful again!’
I believe Jesus Christ, the
Prince of Peace who is incarnated amongst us will be delighted to see his
disciples and his church walking in the light for peace.
May this Christmas tree and
these photos of people - symbols of life and the solidarity of God’s people, and
the light of advent candle, lead us and guide us to walk in the path of peace.
Together let us make the world peaceful. Be still, let us make our inner world
peaceful. Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 27, 2016
