A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 18 November 2018, the twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture
readings that day were Psalm 16; 1 Samuel 2:1–10; Mark 13:1–8.
In the early 1990s, I was a social worker and worked with abused
wives who suffered from domestic violence in a women’s shelter.
In the late 1990s, together with other friends, we set up an
organization concerned with sexual violence against women, and we gave birth to
the first rape crisis centre in Hong Kong in 2003. We named the centre RainLily.
Moreover, in my childhood, I had encountered different forms of
sexual assault.
With all of these past experiences, the issue of violence against
women has been a concern to me and very close to my heart for more than 20
years. My personal experiences led me to bring this concern to the church as a
minister.
Violence against women is not only a women’s issue; it is not only
a social issue. It is an issue important to both men and women. It is an issue
close to the Christian faith and to the church community.
We human beings are created in the holy image of God. We are God’s
beloved children, and God is embodied in us. Violence against women is a
violation of one’s body and dignity. It is also a violation of God’s holiness. If a woman is physically assaulted and
raped, God is assaulted and raped too. Thus, violence against women is a
great sin that the church cannot ignore.
In today’s Gospel reading taken from Mark, it is a text talking about
the destruction of the temple foretold by Jesus to his disciples. For the
Jewish people, the temple is the foundation of their religion and tradition. The
temple is an important sign of their dignity, identity, power and a source of
security. Therefore, the destruction of the temple was a great shame and a great
loss to the Jewish people, including the Christian Jews.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19, the scripture says, “Do you not know that your
bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God?”
The human body is the temple where the Holy Spirit lives within. A human
being is a temple of God. We need to protect and respect everyone’s body and
its dignity.
When Jesus foretold about the destruction of the temple to his disciples,
he warned them to be alert and to let no one deceive them. He said many will
come in his name and say I am he!
I have found that Jesus’ warning about people, including religious
people, who try to confuse others by using his name has, indeed, occurred when
we try to address the problems of violence against women, for there are
Christians and pastors who have justified violence and who prolong women’s
suffering from abuse.
Many years ago I spoke to a pastor’s wife. She had been beaten up by her
husband, but she said something I found really horrible. She quoted from the
Book of Genesis, saying that because women sinned at the beginning of Creation so
they have to submit to their husbands and bear all the consequences, including
the violent behaviour of their husbands. It is terrible to hear such
internalized oppression with such a misinterpretation of God’s word. I have also
heard some Christians advise women suffering from abuse to stay in the marriage
because no one should separate according to the vows they had made before God.
Just be patient and forgiving and give time to their husbands to change.
The Gender Justice Group of the Hong Kong Christian Council did an
online survey on sexual harassment within church settings. The results showed
that victims had difficulty to bring forth their complaint because of the
teaching of love and forgiveness. When victims tried to bring up their case,
they were advised to reconcile for Christ’s sake and to preserve the name of
the church.
Love, forgiveness, reconciliation and unity are good qualities and good
teachings of Jesus Christ; but if they are used out of context and if such
values are applied at the wrong time, in the wrong place and in the wrong
relationship, an abusive relationship, it could be a disaster. I would call it
religious violence. It would be a great humiliation to the abused. Love without
justice is not love. God is justice. When
justice is not found in the church, there is no God.
There are also cases in which church leaders do not believe the
complainants because the accused are in a position of power and/or are very
well known. The recent sexual harassment incident in the Willow Creek Community
Church in the United States is a classic case in which the elders did not believe
that their strong and popular senior pastor sexually harassed other colleagues,
but the allegation was confirmed after a thorough investigation years later.
The nature of sexual harassment is always related to the misuse of power
in an imbalanced power relationship.
In the drama dance Frieda performed earlier, she demonstrated to us the
suffering and pain of victims. The pain is not just physical, but also
psychological and spiritual. The self-blaming and self-doubt of the victims
brought to themselves a lot of stress. Blaming the victims created a second
traumatization.
In sexual violence, women are easily judged by their behaviour and how they
dressed.
Protesters
across Ireland took to the streets this week, chanting, “It is not consent,” and
carrying thongs after a 27-year-old man was found not guilty of rape in a trial.
He won the case because his lawyer cited the lacy underwear worn by his
17-year-old accuser. The defence lawyer said, “You have to look at the way she
was dressed. She was wearing underwear with a lace front.”
The verdict
incited outrage. It reflected also how gender stereotypes and bias against
women work so unfairly.
Ireland’s
prime minister, Leo Varadkar, responded to the case by saying, “Nobody asks to
be raped. And it’s never the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter what you wear. It
doesn’t matter where you went, who you went with or what you took, whether it
was drugs or alcohol.”
Because of society’s
patriarchal culture and gender stereotypes, the way to fight against violence
against women is still rough and tough.
But the
scriptures we heard this morning give us courage.
The good
news from Jesus is that, although there are wars and famine, human and natural
disasters, he said don’t be alarmed. He encouraged all those who are facing
challenges to be patient and know that it is the beginning of the birth pangs.
Jesus did admit that human reality is full of suffering, pain and challenges.
Difficulties and trials could be even bigger in the future as the present war is
not an end. But he said it is the beginning of birth pangs. The profound message and the Good News are new
life and new possibilities will follow after the pain.
As a mother
of two children, I experienced deep pain during my labouring process. However,
I will forever remember the joy of the new born!
Therefore,
sisters and brothers, let us keep up our spirits in the midst of difficulty.
In Psalm
16, it is affirmed once again that the God of life protects her people. God
shows to her chosen people the path of life. In God’s presence, there is
fullness of joy. No one has the right to
take away the life and joy of the victims of violence.
From 1
Samuel, Hannah’s prayer shows us that God’s love and mercy dwelt in her, a
woman who once was very hopeless because she bore no children and was being
discriminated against. Her plight revealed again how women have been oppressed in
a male-dominated world, but God listened to her prayer and gave her life and
hope. God the Creator reveals herself in
the weak, the vulnerable and the oppressed.
God reveals
her compassion and power in her people, in her church and in various
organizations which are demonstrating solidarity with survivors and which are
committed to take action to end violence against women in the family, in the workplace,
in the church and in the world.
At the end
of my sermon, I would like to show an umbrella made by RainLily as part of
their fund-raising activities.
The rape
crisis centre was named RainLily because rain lilies are a kind of flower that blossoms
beautifully after a heavy rain. It reveals a fact and a belief that victims of
sexual violence can grow stronger and continue to live a beautiful life after
their traumatic experience. Their life can be restored fully.
When I put
water on the umbrella, you will see flowers appear.
From
violation to restoration, it is a call from God to every Christian and church
which are faithfully walking with Jesus Christ, the saviour and redeemer of the
world. Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 18, 2018
A sermon preached at Kowloon Union
Church on Sunday 11 November 2018, the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, by the
Rev. Dr. Judy Chan. The scripture
readings that day were I Kings 17: 8-16, Hebrews 9:
24-28, Mark 12:38-44.
Today’s Gospel story is one often
preached on Stewardship Sunday, near the end of the year. The idea is to get
the congregation thinking about what they will pledge to the church for the
coming year, whether that means money, time or talent. Let me make clear that
Pastor Phyllis and Pastor Maggie have not asked me to preach a Stewardship
sermon this morning. All they asked for was a sermon. But sermons are based on
a Biblical text, so I will need to talk about money. But rest assured, the message today is about
more than money, even if that’s where it starts. So let’s start.
Jesus is with his disciples in
Jerusalem. They are at the part of the Temple where people gave their
offerings. Scholars say it may be the area called the Court of Women, not
because it was a special place for women, but an area where women were allowed
to go. At the Temple there were a dozen or so metal chests for offerings. Each
chest had a particular use – one for new shekel dues, another for old shekel
dues, another for bird-offerings (I think that means money to buy the birds,
not the actual birds themselves!), others to buy wood or frankincense or gold
for the Temple, and lastly six freewill offering boxes. Obviously a busy place.
I don’t know if this was also a popular
place to go people-watching, but there Jesus was with his disciples. And many
devout Jews too. The rich were dropping in lots of silver and gold coins. Even
if you couldn’t see exactly how many, you’d know it was a lot by the sound. The
offering boxes weren’t like ours today, square-shaped with a slot on the top.
The opening was more like a cone, like the bell of a trumpet, so when you put
your money in, people could hear the coins hitting the metal. It was pretty
clear then the rich people were giving big bucks.
For the Jews, even the disciples, there
was nothing bad about this. People giving generously to the House of God.
What’s wrong with that? Otherwise, how could the Temple operate?
In one big cathedral church I’ve been
in, there was a small note next to the offering box. The note said, “Just so
you know, it costs x amount of
dollars a day to run this church. Your donation welcome so that we may keep
this place of worship open to all.”
For the disciples, then, nothing
unusual was going on that day at the Temple treasury. But then Jesus points out
someone else, someone they probably would have missed altogether. It’s a poor
widow. She goes over to the freewill offering box, puts in her two small coins,
and leaves. If Jesus had asked his disciples at that moment, what just
happened, they might have said: “A poor woman put in a bit of money.” On the
surface, there was nothing remarkable about her or her offering.
Yet, Jesus says a surprising thing in
this story sometimes called the story of the Widow’s Mite. Not ‘might’ like
strong, but mite, m-i-t-e, meaning very small, tiny, miniscule. What the widow gave to the Temple was just a
few copper pennies in stark contrast to the gold and silver that the rich
lavishly poured into the Temple coffers. But which person did Jesus praise?
The widow, right? Why? Because she gave
everything she had out of love and devotion to God. She had only two cents left
to her name. She could have given one, but, no, she gave both. By Jesus’
calculation, she gave more than all those rich people put together, because the
wealthy still had plenty left over in the bank, but she had nothing.
So, what’s the lesson here for us
today? I thought it was obvious when I first read the passage. Then I found out
there are similar stories like this in rabbinic literature as well as other
cultures. So, I asked myself just what is Jesus trying to teach here? Is the
lesson:
-
To give away
everything we have to God or charity to demonstrate our faith? That doesn’t
sound right, does it? Then we become the
objects of charity. Jesus never asked the poor to become destitute for his
sake.
-
Is the lesson
then that the amount of offering we give isn’t as important as the amount we
still have left in our pocket? That sounds very legalistic, as if we can measure
spirituality by percentages. If anything, Jesus was never a slave to religious
laws, especially those we use to puff ourselves up.
No, I think what Jesus is saying here
needs to be understood in the context of Mark. This is part of the last public
teaching of Jesus in this Gospel. So, in
effect, I believe what he’s saying is: Look at this poor widow and remember
her. Because this is exactly what will happen to me in few days’ time. I
am that poor widow – forgotten, abandoned, powerless, living day to day.
God is the only one I can depend on, so l will I offer up everything I have,
even if it costs me my very life. And as we know, that’s exactly what it cost
him.
So, let’s be clear: the story of the
Widow’s Mite is first and foremost about Jesus – His sacrifice for God and our
salvation. Any sacrifice we make as humans pales in comparison to Calvary, but
the closest example Jesus can find that day is a poor widow at the Temple
offering box. The poor widow who put to shame all the mighty and powerful around
her because their sacrifices cost them nothing. That’s why Jesus said when you
remember her, you remember me. And truly wherever the story of Jesus is told,
you also hear about the poor widow who foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of
our Lord and Savior.
What does it mean then for you and me to remember this poor widow today? Is there anything that’s relevant to us in
the context of 21st century Hong Kong? I think so, if we are
willing, if we dare to consider we might be that poor widow too. How? Let me
count the ways.
Number One: Standing before God, we’re all in the same
boat as the poor widow, whether we believe it or not. We don’t like to see ourselves as helpless
and poverty-stricken. But, really, what do any of us have to commend ourselves
before Almighty God? What do we possess that didn’t come first from the hand of
God? Everything - family, friends, education, jobs, status, health, material
goods – these are gifts from our Creator, essentials that we depend on that
could also disappear in an instant. Haven’t we heard too many stories like that
recently? Accidents that wipe out a whole family, disasters that destroy every
trace of a village or town, diseases that leave its victims a shell of their
former self. Instead of being grateful that these things didn’t happen to us,
remember nothing in this life is truly secure, except the grace of God. In
reality, we all live and move and have our being day to day only through God’s
mercy and goodness. The poor widow knew that keenly and so should we.
The second way we remember this poor
widow is to accept her low status in the world as our own. Now, don’t get me
wrong. I’m not saying being penniless and powerless brings you closer to God.
Poverty wasn’t a blessing in Jesus’ time nor our own time. Someone astutely
said, “Poverty is like being punished for a crime you didn’t commit.” That was
true for the poor widow, but despite all the obstacles, she still embodied many
of the traits of a true follower of Jesus Christ. And we need to have them too.
A follower who doesn’t seek the honor and glory of this world, a follower for
whom ‘humility’ is second nature, a follower who comes to the House of God not
to be seen by others, but to see and be seen by God.
A third way we can remember the poor
widow is when we give our own offerings. You know there are many humorous
sayings about giving to the church, not exactly from the Bible. For example:
-
God loves a
cheerful giver, but God will also accept money from a grouch.
-
If it’s more
blessed to give than to receive, most people are content to let the other
fellow have the greater blessing.
-
If money is the
root of all evil, why does the church keep asking for it?
Well, OK, it’s the love of money that’s
the root of all evil, but you get the idea. We joke about money because it’s
uncomfortable to talk about what many consider a private matter between the
giver and God. After all, doesn’t it say in the Bible to keep your giving a
secret if you want a heavenly reward? Yes, the Bible does say that, but I would
be the first to confess my secret isn’t that I give too much to the church,
maybe I have the opposite problem. So, what encouragement can I offer you and
me that doesn’t leave us feeling worse than when we came in this morning?
This took some time to figure out. But
when I look at the poor widow giving her last two cents to God, what I see is a
prayer. Her offering is a prayer without words showing God just how much He
means to her. Her offering is a prayer not from her mouth but from her heart
that says “I love you this much.”
That’s what our offering is too – it’s
a form of prayer – wherever and however we give it. Our offering is a way of
telling God just how much Jesus Christ means to us, a prayer that whispers to
our Heavenly Father “This is how much I love you.” I hope then that your
offering and my offering will always truly reflect how thankful we are for
every blessing we’ve received from God, including our salvation in Jesus
Christ, His church, and Kowloon Union.
Let me close by playing a song that expresses
everything I’ve tried to say this morning, only better. It’s called “Take,
Lord” by the English composer Margaret Rizza. The words are based on the famous
Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. I give him the last word in hopes
that one day this too is my honest prayer to God: “You have given all to me, To
you, Lord, I return it. All is yours, all is yours, Lord, Do with it what you
will.”
-------------------------------------------
“Take, Lord” , music by Margaret Rizza
Take, Lord, receive all my liberty,
Take Lord, receive my memory,
My understanding and my entire will,
All that I have and possess. (2x)
You have given all to me,
To you, Lord, I return it.
All is yours, all is yours, Lord,
Do with it what you will.
Take, Lord, receive all my liberty,
Take Lord, receive my memory,
My understanding and my entire will,
All that I have and possess.
You have given all to me,
To you, Lord, I return it.
Give me only your love and your grace,
That is enough for me.
All is yours: do with it what you will.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 11, 2018
A sermon preached at
Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 4
November 2018, Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, by Dr. Hope S. Antone. The scripture
readings that day were Ruth 1:1-18 and Mark 12:28-34.
Good morning, sisters and
brothers in Christ! Have
you heard at least a story/joke about mothers-in-law (MIL)? Was the story/joke
good or positive? Was it bad or negative?
There are many bad or sad stories about
MIL. Sometimes, the storyteller even uses “monster-in-law” instead of
mother-in-law. One website of ‘mother-in-law stories’ includes a Korean proverb
that says, “Toilets are like mothers-in-law: the farther away the better.”
Through Google, I tried to find why mother and DIL tend to have such unpleasant
relationships, as the stories or jokes portray. The common response I found is
that there is often some jealousy and competition between the two women for
attention and control (by the mother of her son and by the DIL of her
husband).
But there are also positive stories
about mother-daughter in-law relationships. The story of Naomi and Ruth is one
great example. As the story goes, Naomi and her husband Elimelech are from
Bethlehem in Judah. Due to the drought/famine in their country, they migrated
to Moab with their sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Moab was a hilly country,
generally fertile with a mild summer season and ample rain in spring. Many
Moabites were polytheists (i.e. worshipping many gods) and practiced human
sacrifices. It is said that the Moabite King Mesha sacrificed his own son and
successor to their main god Chemosh.
As migrants/foreigners in such a land,
Elimelech and Naomi must have struggled to raise their sons in their own
monotheistic faith and cultural ways. Then Elimelech died (the story has no
details of why or how). The two sons took Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah, as
their wives. After living in Moab for around 10 years, the two sons also died,
leaving Naomi, Orpah and Ruth as widows, with no children. Without a father,
husband or son, these three women lost their usual access to economic security.
Then Naomi heard the news that the
famine was over in her homeland. She decided to return to Judah. Ruth and Orpah
decided to follow her. But shortly after starting on their journey, Naomi told
them to go back as they would be better off in their homeland. Why did Naomi
change her mind? Perhaps Naomi worried about the reception from her people,
especially that she would be taking her two Moabite daughters-in-law. She knew
fully well that Moab was among the most despised foreign nations. After much
crying, Orpah agreed and returned to Moab. But Ruth clung to Naomi and
said:
"Do not press me to leave you or to turn back
from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die
– there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!" (vss. 16-17)
Today, such beautiful words are often
quoted in wedding ceremonies. But as we can see, the context of these words is
not a wedding; not the exchange of vows between the bride and groom. The
context is the painful moment when a MIL tells her DIL, “You shouldn’t come
with me.” The words are Ruth’s oath/pledge of loyalty to Naomi, declaring her
willingness to go with her wherever she would go. The words are a gentle yet
firm assurance to Naomi of companionship, support and love. Even though Naomi
had lost her husband and her sons, and one daughter-in-law has decided to
return to Moab, she still has Ruth, who refuses to abandon her, but instead
commits herself to her welfare, come what may. What a way of love, indeed!
The beauty of this story is that here
is Ruth, a Moabite, whose people and religion were different and despised by
the Jews of ancient time. Although an outsider, especially to the ancient Jews
who were so particular about ethnic and religious purity, Ruth showed her
readiness to embrace Naomi’s land, home, people, and God. This reminds me of a
quote from a poem by Edwin Markham, an American poet (I will change the pronoun
from male singular to plural):
“They drew a circle that shut me out –
Heretic, rebel, a
thing to flout.
But Love and I had
the wit to win:
We drew a circle and
took them in!
Indeed, Ruth’s offer of faithful
presence, loving companionship and continuous support to Naomi did eventually
become an offering for the whole of Israel, and even for the whole world. As
the rest of the book of Ruth attests, she would become part of the genealogy of
David, through whom the Messiah, Christ Jesus, would come.
Today’s gospel reading is a concise
summary of the commandments or the law. Asked by a scribe which commandment is
the first of all, Jesus responded: “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength. (And) You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This means that
while loving God is foremost, one can only express one’s love for God through
the love of one’s neighbor. By neighbor is meant someone around or near us. In
the story of the Good Samaritan, it is someone in need. In another sense, it is
a brother or sister with whom we share our common humanity. In the story of
Ruth, it is a DIL or MIL, someone who is not related by blood, who may be from
another country/race/ ethnicity, another culture or religion.
Loving the neighbor demonstrates loving
God. As I John 4:20 says, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers
or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they
have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” Interestingly, Jesus has
clearly said that loving the neighbor is to be in the same way as loving oneself. This shows that he expects us to
love oneself first. Self-love is therefore not bad or wrong as long as it is
not the end-goal of one’s life. Otherwise, if it is the end-goal, then it would
result in selfishness and greed. Rather, self-love is to be the measure of
one’s love of the neighbor, the sister or brother in need; it would be the
basis or model for loving the neighbor. So this is the way of love!
If the flourishing of one’s potential
is the end-goal of one’s life, then we would love the neighbor by helping them
to realize their potential – e.g., through learning new skills, developing
their talents, or harnessing their capacity for a bigger task or
responsibility. If abundant life is the end-goal of one’s life, then we would
love the neighbor by helping them experience or attain that abundant life for
themselves – a life that has freedom, security, health and wholeness, peace
with justice. This is the way of love!
Through the story of Ruth and the
gospel passage, we have seen that the biblical commandment to love God, the
neighbor, and oneself are the most important of the commandments. Jesus showed
that one’s love of God can be demonstrated by loving one’s neighbor; and that
loving one’s neighbor is to be in the
same way as one’s self-love. This is the way of love!
Let us hope that when we are able to
keep the love of self, neighbor and God in balance, we would hear Christ Jesus
say to us as he did to the scribe, “You are not far from the reign of God.” May
it be so.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, November 04, 2018
