A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 2 April
2017, the fifth Sunday in Lent, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture
readings that day were John11:1-45.
Opening prayer:
God of life, may your Word give us
light to know the mystery of death that leads us to eternal life. May the Holy
Spirit open the eyes of our hearts to see and understand. Amen.
Death is a harsh
reality for all of us. It is not an easy topic to talk about. In Chinese
culture, death is always a taboo. Therefore, many people do not say the word
‘death’ directly. Instead they will say ‘the person has slept, has gone, has
departed, or is not here anymore’.
Is death an issue to you at all?
To many people, death generates a
lot of fear and sorrow. Fear of emptiness. Fear of loneliness and uncertainty.
Fear of separation forever with the beloved and the despair due to the loss.
The first time I had
strong feeling on death was the passing of my younger brother. He died three
days after a motorcycle accident.
Like Mary and Martha, I was so
unprepared for my brother’s death. I asked God why did he die so soon? He was
so young - just thirty-three years old!
I
was in grief and in despair like Mary and Martha at the death of their brother.
Death that is unexpected, that we are unprepared
for is so hard to take even if you are a Christian.
But
my brother’s sudden death has given me a lesson. Since I don’t know when my
life may end, I have to live well every day.
When
we know we are mortal, life is limited. We have no clue when our lives will end.
We then had better live well in the present moment. It is foolish to spend time
to regret and mourn for the past or worry about tomorrow. It is wise to
live fully the present moment. In facing the reality of death in human life, it
is better to set priorities and to live a life that may bring eternal meaning. Henri
Nouwen has given a very good perspective on death in one of his books Daybook of wisdom and faith – Bread for the
journey. He talked about to die well. Here I quote:
“We
will die one day. That is one of the few things we can be sure of. But will we
die well? That is less certain. Dying well means dying for others, making our
lives fruitful for those we leave behind. The big question, therefore, is not
‘what I can still do in the years I have left to live?’ but ‘how can I prepare
myself for my death so that my life can continue to bear fruit in the
generations that will follow?’ Dying can become our
greatest gift if we prepare ourselves to die well.”
Dying can become our greatest gift
if we prepare ourselves to die well. One of the mysteries and wisdom that death inspires in
us, is to live well now and allow our life to continue to bring goodness to
others.
The
sermon today on death is in particular meaningful. There is a funeral service
held in our church this afternoon. This
funeral service is for Dr Ekman Tam. He is a well-known spiritual director and
trainer in Hong Kong. He wrote many articles and books on Christian spirituality.
He worked before in Tao Fung Shan Christian Spirituality Center.
Last
year I finished a three year course on Spiritual Direction and Christian
Contemplative Spirituality with the Institute of Christian Contemplative
Spirituality. Ekman was the Chair of this Institute and the key trainer for
this course. He had provided for us very solid training and spiritual guidance.
He had pointed to us the way of eternal life – that is to be union with God and
to live a life in God’s love. He always reminds
us to be spiritually awake – knowing that we are God’s beloved children. God
lives in us and we live in God always, beyond time and space.
Ekman
lived a life in full and bore fruits by nurturing life and souls for the people
of God. He wrote many books. In the last few years he had been very sick. But
he lived every day in full. He did his best to look for medical treatment to get
healed. Meanwhile he continued to work – teaching, giving talks and writing
books. In the past three years, he published four books on prayer and
spirituality. Another book is coming up. Ekman our respectful teacher, son of
God, lived well and died well. I see the living Christ lived in him. His life
has revealed God’s glory. He has set a good example for us. To die well and to
live well.
Ekman
died the next day after he was admitted to the hospital. His passing was
unexpected – too quick! But he had been so prepared. He strongly believed in
his identity - he is God’s beloved son.
He had graciously received from God the eternal love and eternal life. He is
thus able to rest in God’s everlasting peace.
Ekman’s
wife Jennifer is also so ready and prepared. From the perspective of human
flesh, of course she missed him and she cried. Jesus who is divine dwelling in
human flesh was weeping and spiritually disturbed when he faced the death
of Lazarus and the sorrow amongst his
friends.
Jennifer
is also a spiritual director. Her spirituality is very deep too. Her strong faith
in God and knowing that her husband is in God and with God has given her deep
consolation. Her presence in God and her spirit in union with God give to her
deep inner peace.
Both
Ekman and Jennifer firmly believe that our spirit is forever connected to God.
Therefore, there is life beyond the mortal human body. Jennifer once said to
me, there is no death in God. Death is only a transformation of life into
different form. Their deep spiritual insight on death and understanding on the
mystery of death have brought them life, peace and freedom.
I
then see how Jesus’ powerful Word about death and resurrection lives in them, the
people of faith.
“I
am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they
die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do
you believe this?” (John 11:25-26a)
As
for Jesus, there is no doubt that he died well and lived well. His words and
his deeds to his disciples were remarkable. He did not only nurture the life
and faith of the disciples in his time. His life gives light to his believers
like us today. Jesus in his miracle to raise Lazarus from the death, he did it
for the sake of his friends he loved and the people God cared for. As he said,
the miracle was to reveal his identity as God’s Son and so they would believe
that he was God’s sent Messiah.
There
is commentary saying Jesus raised Lazarus to life to foretell his own
resurrection. Could be. But I would like to bring up another perspective.
The
essence of the miracle is not just about Jesus’ power of resurrection in raising
the dead to life, the miracle is about the people in believing in Jesus, the
incarnated God on earth. Jesus in his human flesh carried God’s spirit and eternal
life in him. Only when we see and believe in his divinity and the spirit beyond
his human body, we then realize the mystery of death – the everlasting life in
God and with God.
In
the same way, if we believe that we, our loved ones and all children of God who
are created in God’s holy image bear God’s spirit, we are never separated in
life and in life after death. We are all One, forever connected, beyond time
and space and beyond human form.
We have entered into the 5th week in Lent. In our Lenten
theme this year - Journeying with Jesus through the wilderness, death is
definitely a major life trial we have to go through.
In this coming week, a challenge and an invitation extended to you is, to
write and or to meet with a friend who is dealing with the despair of a
personal loss, or friends who are facing the threat of death due to
illness. In your action, remember to go
with God, let the living Christ and living spirit be present in you.
To
close my sermon, I would like you to meditate on this scripture verse:
Jesus said, “I am the
resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will
live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?” (John 11:25-26a)
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, April 02, 2017
