A sermon preached at Kowloon Union
Church on Sunday 22 July 2018, the Nineth Sunday after
Pentecost, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that
day were Psalm 23; Ephesians 2:11-22; and Mark 6:30-34, 53-56.
Opening Prayer
Dear
God,
Grant
us the wisdom of knowledge and the gift of grace.
Make
us be like Christ and follow His way.
May
the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be from
you and with you. Amen!
Last
Sunday Pastor Maggie organized the KUC Quiz for the congregation. Those who had
participated in it found it great fun. Following this great game, I would like
to do my sermon today with some questions. All who can give the right answers will
be rewarded. I work that out on a trust system. You may come to me for the reward
after the worship.
Be
ready. What is KUC stand for? (waiting for the congregation to answer…)
Bingo
– Kowloon Union Church
KUC
is the short form of our congregation.
KUC
is the name of our church.
If
KUC is called as church by Christ and is regarded as the Household of God, K.U.C,
these three letters would have a broader and deeper meaning.
I
now start my second round of question.
For
K – apart from Kowloon, what would you say? What does it stand for? (KING,
KIND…)
In
making reference from Psalm 23, K stands for King.
Psalm
23 begins with ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ (another version
uses - The Lord is my shepherd, I lack
nothing).
In
the ancient Near East, the shepherd was a central image for the king.
Throughout the Old Testament this royal metaphor is used to portray God’s
protective and guiding grace.
K
stands for King. This King is not the ordinary one. Unlike the kings on earth
that are concerned more on power, control and status, the King in the Household
of God is loving and kind. Kindness, is another word begins with K. Kindness is another quality in the
household of God.
The
household of God is where Christ the King dwells. This King is full of
kindness.
The
Church which is called to be the Household of God will have Jesus Christ sit
right at the center.
Christ
the King who is our shepherd offers protection and assurance in times of crisis
and trouble. Christ the King gives to His people comfort and strength. Christ
the King leads his people to walk in the righteous path with courage. Christ the King
empowers his people to overcome fear, to encounter evil and their enemy with
strong faith and hope. The promise of the shepherd, the King who is full of power and yet very
gentle and kind has been beautifully said in Psalm 23.
The great king, the great shepherd has given us great
assurance and has invited us to stay in the house of the Lord for a whole life
long.
Sisters and brothers, if you are feeling weary
and facing crisis in life, come to dwell in the house of God. The Household of
God is in this space and in this time.
The household of God refers also to our inner
heart where Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell.
Let your wounds be healed and your soul rest in
the love of our great shepherd, Jesus Christ who is King of the world and head
of God’s household.
I will now read Psalm 23 to you, please listen
deeply and attentively. After listening, please spend some moments with God and receive His grace in
silence. I will end the silence with sound of bell.
1 The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
(Silence by 1 minutes and end by the sound of
the bell)
Bearing this peace and
silence, I now move to the second
letter – U (K.U.C.)
In
the household of God, what does U stand for?
A
tip for you is to make reference from the epistle’s reading of Ephesians that
we heard this morning.
U
for unity, Union, United….
Jesus
Christ, Christ the King is at the Centre of the household of God.
Christ
is Unity.
In
the early church, there were tensions between the Jews and the Gentiles. The
Jews have regarded themselves as God’s chosen people. Their religious rules and
cultural norms on circumcision have created division and conflicts with the Gentiles. The radical love of Christ, however, has
broken all human made barriers.
In
the epistle of Ephesians, the message of unity brought by Jesus Christ is
clear.
In
his blood, in his sacrifice, Jesus has made both the Jews and the Gentiles into
one. He himself has broken down the dividing wall and the hostility. No more human
rules and traditions can separate people from the love of God. There are no longer
strangers and aliens. No one is discriminated against. The unity in Christ brings
peace and wholeness of life. In Christ, all are equal and
treated with respect. In the household of God, everyone is included as member, and as children of God.
We
know unity is easier said than done. To
achieve the goal of unity is still a long way to go in our earthly journey. We have witnessed so many conflicts and divisions at home, in
work, in church, in society and in the world. Unity and peace is never an easy
task. But we have to keep this calling and work together towards that goal.
We have to remember too we are not alone. Christ is our unity. Christ
will continue to guide us. In Christ, we are united with God and with each
other. In this oneness, we are very much interconnected. Your happiness is my
happiness, your sorrow is my sorrow. To achieve unity, we need to communicate
with deep listening and do our best to understand each other without bias. We
need also to learn and have the courage to say sorry and take responsibility of
what we have done wrong, and to seek forgiveness. Unity requires also deep
healing and reconciliation. But we need to be careful not to ask victims of
violence (physical or sexual) to forgive the abusers too easily. It is wrong
and could be a form of religious violence to victims and doing injustice to
them. True unity is to bring liberty and set people free of bondage and oppression.
Whenever we walk humbly with Christ and live a life with love and
respect to one another, we are able to make not only our church, but our own
family and the world a dwelling place for God.
Now we come to the last letter – C. What does it
stand for in the Household of God?
Compassion,
Care, Community….. They are all good and important quality for building the
household of God.
The
gospel reading from Mark today shows to us Jesus’ compassion. I would like to pick the word - compassion. (care and community are
also good)
34When Jesus landed and
saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep
without a shepherd.So he began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34)
Jesus
demonstrated his love and compassion to those who are in need of him by
spending time with them, to teach them and to heal their illness.
Love
without action is not love. As we know, Jesus did not only give time to the
needy. He had even sacrificed his life for the sake of love.
Today,
Jesus’ love in action once again encourages us and reminds us in the household
of God, compassion is a quality that we can never miss.
Conclusion
KUC
– the household of God.
The
scripture readings today remind us to build the household of God with KUC.
K:
King - putting Christ the King, the Servant King at the centre of the House.
People who are living in the House - being kind.
U:
Unity - Christ is unity that breaks all division and brings love and liberty.
C:
Compassion, Care, Community...
In
the congregation of KUC, we have been doing our best to build the household of
God by centering our mission in Christ the servant King, to bring unity and
peace with a compassionate heart for the poor and the vulnerable. Timothy will share the peace making ministry
later in the Mission Moment later. You will then be updated on our work.
For
the household of God, it is not only external.
It
is also important to make our life and our heart a dwelling place for God to
live in. Let us live out K.U.C in our daily life.
May
God bless us and guide us to be more and more KUC - be kind, united,
compassionate and caring in Christ!
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 22, 2018
