A sermon preached at
Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 28
January 2018, Fourth
Sunday after the Epiphany, by Dr. Hope S.
Antone. The scripture readings that day were Mark 1:21-28; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.
Today Kowloon Union Church observes the
culmination of the 'Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity.' This prayer movement was started by two American
Episcopalians as the Church Unity Octave in 1908, with a commitment to the
reunion of the Anglican Communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Later, these
two American Episcopalians did become Catholics. Through the 110 year-history
of this prayer movement, however, the understandings of unity have evolved –
i.e. from a wish for a return to the “one fold” of Christianity, to accepting each
other as brother/sister despite the different congregations or denominations
that Christians may belong to. Perhaps we can borrow a popular slogan to
describe it: "unity without uniformity and diversity without
fragmentation.”
I titled this sermon, “The Challenge of
Unity” because the prayer of Christ Jesus, “that they may be one” (John 17:21)
is still a challenging responsibility for those who follow him. Two of the
lectionary readings today provide some lessons on unity.
The first lesson, from Mark’s account
of Jesus’ encounter with a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:21-28), is that
unity is very much related to wholeness and integrity, or inner unity. The man with an unclean spirit is an image of
a person in need of wholeness. In our time, it is difficult to imagine what being
possessed by an “unclean spirit” is like. Our knowledge of spirit possession
probably comes from movies on exorcism. But this man with an “unclean spirit” could
symbolize anyone of us – when we are very disturbed, full of negative or
unhappy thoughts about oneself and others around us, when we do not see any
more hope or meaning in life or the world, etc.
Last week, a 19-year old Chinese
Medicine student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong committed suicide. He had
told his family on Monday that he got unsatisfactory exam results. Then on
Tuesday, he fell to his death from a dormitory on campus. I wonder where the
pressure to pass exams comes from. Or, is it an inability to deal with failure,
to see failure so negatively?
We can easily have an “unclean spirit”
within us in this very stressful and highly competitive society. In order for
the man with an “unclean spirit” to be whole, he had to recognize that there
was someone bigger than himself who could help. Christ Jesus, the Holy One of
God, then rebuked, silenced and exorcised the unclean spirit. Jesus also
demonstrated what wholeness and integrity mean – he taught with authority, he
also acted with authority. Words and actions going together mean wholeness and
integrity.
Whenever we think of Christian unity,
or plain unity for that matter, we immediately think of how we can be in
harmony with other Christians, other denominations or congregations, other
communities. But this story talks about the inner unity within a person. The
man with an unclean spirit can be anyone of us who may be feeling alienated not
only from others, but even from ourselves.
In his book, The Courage to Teach, the renowned educator and author, Parker
Palmer, describes two of his friends. Alan taught from a united (undivided)
self, while Eric taught from a divided self. Alan, the teacher with a united
self, honored his humble beginnings and wove his experiences (good and bad;
happy and sad) into his teaching. By teaching who he was as he taught his subjects/courses,
he became more human (more “real”) to his students and colleagues. Eric, the
teacher with a divided self, was engaged in a civil war with his past and with
his experiences (especially those he considered bad). Eric projected that inner
warfare in his teaching and relationship with his students and colleagues.
Palmer says: “The divided self will always distance itself from others, and may
even try to destroy them, to defend its fragile identity.”
There are many signs of the divided
self: inability to cope with rejection or defeat; anger and bitterness because
of one’s poor background or lack of opportunity; you can add to the list. Perhaps,
the great movie, “The Greatest Showman,” especially the song, “Never Enough,”
captures what it is like to long for more than what one really needs. Many of
you must have heard of Jack Ma, one of the world’s famous and richest
entrepreneurs. In several interviews, he spoke about failing a college entrance
exam three times. He said he was rejected by Harvard University 10 times.
Giving up college, he said he tried applying for jobs. He was rejected in 30
different job applications, including with the police force and the KFC! I
think Jack Ma kept his wholeness and integrity as a person by embracing
rejection as an invitation to work harder, to find other ways, and to be
creative.
Here at Kowloon Union Church, we have
people who come from all walks of life. Each of us has our own stories of
brokenness; each of us longs for wholeness and integrity. Perhaps, the exorcism/help
we need would be safe spaces for self-reflection and for unburdening to each
other in order to recover and reclaim our wholeness and integrity. Only when we
are whole individually can we work better for the wholeness of the wider
community.
The second lesson (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)
is that unity within the community is related to tempering our freedom with
love. The Corinthian Christians were asking Paul to respond to a practical
issue: whether it was okay to eat food that had been offered to the pagan
idols. This question may sound odd to us in our time and context today. But it
was a real issue for the Corinthian Christians. Paul’s reply was very
straightforward: for those who believe in the one God, no idol really exists.
Moreover, it is not food that brings people close to God. However, it would be
better not to become a stumbling block to the new/young Christians who might be
offended by one’s freedom of eating food offered to pagan idols.
Instead of dwelling on the eating of
food offered to idols, I have heard some preachers apply the text to alcohol
drinking or playing poker. In Asia, it could be playing majong or other forms of gambling. For people whose conversion to
Christianity means a clean cut from these so-called vices, to see someone who
has been a Christian freely exercise their freedom to do these things even in
moderation, could be offensive, a stumbling block in their growth in
faith.
I remember one interfaith program of
the Christian Conference of Asia. We had Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, including monks,
and Christians as participants. In the spirit of interfaith cooperation, we
took turns in leading the worship/prayer each day. On the day that the
Buddhists led, they had a ritual where the monk blessed pieces of string which
we were to tie around each other’s wrist. Two of our Christian participants
from a predominantly Buddhist country refused to take part in that ritual for they
believed that doing so would be compromising their faith, and they could be
reprimanded by their elders. We respected their decision but we also assured
them that sharing with one another was part of our effort at interfaith
relation.
During one gathering of the Congress of
Asian Theologians which I organized, I had one guest speaker from Indonesia, a
Muslim theologian. I thought I was being helpful to him during meal time, when
I warned him of dishes that had pork. After the third warning, he gently said
to me: “Sister Hope, we are excused if we did not know what was in it.”
I think it is not simply taking the food,
alcohol, or engaging in gambling that may cause division in the community.
Rather it is the theological understanding behind those actions. In our church
community, it could be our varied theological views, different ideological
orientations, or our long-held traditions. Some of us have had some
opportunities for further training that we may become impatient with those
whose beliefs or ideas are so different from ours. Some of us may be privileged
to have new experiences, new realizations about life and relationships and we
may feel rejected if those are not honored or accepted.
Paul’s advice remains relevant:
knowledge/freedom puffs up, but love builds up. The exercise of our freedom in
Christ must be tempered with love. Freedom (or knowledge) puffs up. It puffs up
the ego of the one who claims to have more knowledge and understanding about
God or anything. It puffs up the ego so that one would think they know better
than others. But love builds up (vs. 1) – it builds up the community in a way
that it understands where each one is coming from, and it would not insist on
its own way.
Kowloon Union Church is known to have
progressive ecumenical ideas, and to have commitments for the marginalized in
society. It is also welcoming and affirming of all kinds of people. For this we
have to continue to reflect on how we can let love build us up, rather than
letting our ideas and commitments puff us up. We would hope that the exercise
of our knowledge and commitment will be tempered with love. We would also hope
that our words and actions will show the wholeness and integrity that Christ
Jesus demonstrated in his life and ministry. May it be so.
Dear
God, help each one of us, as we deal with the challenge of our inner,
individual unity, and our quest for wholeness and integrity. As we try to work
on our wider unity as a community, inspire us to let love build us up. Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, January 28, 2018
