A
sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 19 May 2019, the fifth Sunday
of Easter,
by the Rev.
Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 148; Acts 11:1–18; John 13:31–35.
Opening Prayer
Loving God,
Open our
heart to listen to your Word.
Holy Spirit,
come to inspire us and transform us to live a life like Christ. Amen!
Good morning
sisters and brothers.
Sermon
This year KUC
is celebrating her 95th birthday.
The theme for
this 95th anniversary is “Witnessing for Christ, building community”.
Today is 19th
May. The first half year is almost gone. I thought it is about time to share
the theme with the congregation so that we may reflect together of our identity
and our purpose as God’s church.
This morning,
I take “Witnessing for Christ, building community” as my sermon title.
Sisters and
brothers, what is “witnessing for Christ, building community” for you?
I would like
to invite you to start thinking and reflecting on this as part of your
devotional for the rest of the year.
Witness in Greek meaning martus or martur (in English, it means ‘martyr’).
To
witness for Christ may require sacrifice for Christ. Are you ready for that?
Are you willing to do that?
In witnessing
for Christ and building community, what are the inspirations we may get from today’s
lectionary we heard
-
the Book of Acts and the Gospel according to John?
From the Book
of Acts, Apostle Peter shared with his Jewish fellows (the circumcised people) of
his vision. God asked
him to eat
the animals
that
were forbidden
and considered as unclean according to the Jewish traditions and
religious laws. The unclean food symbolized the Gentiles. Jewish people
separated themselves from other races. They regarded themselves as God’s chosen
people. Peter shared that God revealed to him the Gentiles were included in
Christ’s salvation plan.
What do we
learn from Apostle Peter?
Be Open and Listen:
From Acts 11:12 I quote: He said, “The Spirit
told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.” Them refers to the Gentiles.
Peter has
opened his heart to listen to God and follow His will.
With the
inspiration received through the Holy Spirit, Peter broke his boundary as a Jew.
He allowed himself to be in touch with the Gentiles and proclaimed the good
news of salvation to the non-Jewish people.
In witnessing
for Christ and building community, we need to be inclusive. In the early
church, it’s never been easy. The Jews had a very strong identity as God’s
chosen people and they separated themselves from other non-Jewish people with their unique culture and religious law
practice. Indeed it requires radical openness to God as Christ’s followers to
be an inclusive person and inclusive community to accept other people who are
very different from us, to be part of us and to admit that they are equally graced
by God’s love and salvation. For us here in KUC, we have been preaching about
the importance of inclusiveness again and again. Our Motto – ‘Where All Are One’
has made it clear that our church life is guided by this faith and value.
Today I would
like to highlight in building an inclusive community, we are required to be
open and always listen. Apostle Peter listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
He followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit and accepted the invitation to go
to the Gentiles. By taking time with them and listening to their stories and
experiences. He was transformed.
When Peter
was challenged and criticized by his own people, the circumcised believers, saying, “Why
did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Peter was courageous to
share his vision and his encounters with the Gentiles. Peter set to us a good
example. To witness Christ’s inclusive love requires courage to speak and act
especially in a time when our buddies and our friends from the inner circle do
not fully understand or do not fully support us.
What I
appreciate about Peter’s community is they listened to Peter in return. They listened
with respect and patience. They allowed themselves to be changed too. The text from Acts described in
this way: “When they
heard this, they were silenced. And then they praised God and affirm God has
given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life. ”
How wonderful
it is that Peter’s community did not just criticize. But they listened. They
were silenced. Only when we are silent we are able to listen. When we are
silent and focused, we can hear much better of God, other people and our own
inner voice.
Active listening
is important and powerful in building an inclusive community that make
transformation of life possible. Active listening also makes reconciliation possible. The followers
of Christ in the Jewish community
have gone through a profound change in the early church. A community that listens
to God with an open heart to the Holy Spirit is able to understand better of
God’s will and God’s love. God’s love is radical. He loves the world and,
everyone is loved and accepted. Jesus demonstrated his love and compassion to
everyone, even to his enemies and those who nailed him on the cross. This is
exactly why Jesus came to the world to live and to die for the sake of love for
all.
Apostle Peter’s
genuine listening to the Holy Spirit and the Gentiles who are very different
from him as a Jew allows him to break the cultural boundaries and religious
barriers.
“Witnessing
for Christ and build community”
Sisters and
brothers, we are all invited and reminded to examine if our tradition, our fixed
belief and mind-set have hindered us to truly live a life Christ wants us to have.
John 13
Now let me
move to another scripture reading: the gospel reading according to John 13:31-35. What do we learn from this gospel account?
Jesus gave to
his disciples the second commandment.
34I give you a
new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.”
What do we learn from Jesus?
He did not
only use words but he took actions to teach us what’s love all about.
Before Jesus
made the new commandment of loving one another for his disciples, he washed
their feet to demonstrate his deep love to them. The way he showed his love was
his humble service. As we have already known washing feet is the duty of slaves
in Jesus’ time. Jesus has set a good example for his disciples to follow his footstep.
Jesus asked
his disciples in his time, and today, (you and me) to follow this new
commandment – to love one another. The way to show this love is to serve each
other with humility. Without a humble heart, loving one another is difficult if not impossible. Jesus has
demonstrated to us how to let go of our self-centreness and our ego.
“Witnessing for Christ,
building community”. To build a
community of Christ, what we need is a loving heart and humble spirit to serve
each other.
Jesus who is
the master, the Son of God, is willing to humble himself to do the job of a
slave. To Christians who are committed to follow and to witness Christ should
form a community that is welcoming to strangers and is humble to serve the
little ones, the vulnerable and the poor in society.
I am glad
that KUC is in one way or another has been walking along this line.
I would like
to share a message I received from a sister who joined our community recently
but just returned to her home country for good two weeks ago.
Here I read:
“I would like to thank
our almighty God and KUC pastors and all the church members. We came from a
country far away to this beautiful land to work for our survival. Indeed we are
strangers but your kind hospitality made us forget that we are strangers. On
behalf of my friends, I want to say thank you and we are grateful for your warm
welcome in this church and we feel safe here. You are truly our real brothers
and sisters in Christ. The love and affection you had shown us would never be
forgotten until our last breath.”
This sister’s message is very touching and encouraging.
Her message is not to make us feel good. Her message reminded and encouraged us to continue to make
our church a welcoming and loving community where people realize we are
Christ’s disciples and where people may experience God’s deep love through us.
While the
sisters appreciated what the church has done and shared with them, I wanted to
say these sisters have contributed to the congregation abundantly.
Their
presence and participation in the choir to sing on Sunday
and on Special worship such as on Christmas Eve and Easter have uplifted the
worship and made KUC a truly diverse community that enriches everyone.
In fact, to
build a loving and serving community requires everyone’s effort. Sisters and
brothers, in what way you can contribute/participate and make KUC a place where
people find God and experience love and unity? One of the ways I am sure is
prayer. Bring home the bulletin and pray for the individuals, the congregation
and different communities that required our care and God’s love.
Let us
remember Mother Theresa’s remarkable words: do small things with big love. With
Christ living in us, I am sure everyone has something to give for God through
the KUC community.
“Witnessing for Christ,
building community”
Dear sisters
and brothers, united in the same Spirit, let us grow to be open minded
Christians willing to listen and make changes for God’s sake. May we support
each other in practicing how to love one another and serve as a community that
may reveal God’s glory.
Closing prayer
Heavenly God,
you have welcomed us into your kingdom
and your heart’s desire is to draw
every human being to yourself.
Grant us clear eyes to see people as
you see them,
sensitive feet to stand in their shoes,
and warm smiles to welcome them into
your name.
Give us generous hearts
that our church becomes a foretaste of
heaven
where every soul you send us
finds their loving home in the
community of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, May 19, 2019
A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 5 May 2019, the third Sunday of Easter and the Labour
Sunday, by the Rev. Hans Lutz. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 90, Romans 8:18-23 and Matthew 13:54-85.
1.
May 1st is Labour Day in most countries.
The origins of Labour Day go back to 1882. In that year the Central Labour
Union organized the first celebration of Labour Day in New York. The demand at
that time was for workers to enjoy the “three eights”, namely eight hours work,
eight hours for education and eight hours for rest. We note that housewives,
domestic workers and many employees do not yet enjoy what was demanded in 1882.
Hong Kong churches have designated a Sunday around 1st May as
Labour Sunday. The topic for this year is “Suffering and hope of victims of
industrial accidents and occupational diseases.”
2.
In Hong Kong we still count 35,000 occupational
injuries and more than 200 deaths every year. On the mainland deaths from
workplace accidents amounted to a staggering 35,000 in 2017 and new cases of
occupational diseases amounted to around 30,000. Behind each victim is a family
which suffers and grieves.
3.
From the 1980s onward the Christian Industrial Committee
(CIC) has been working with industrial accident victims and their families.
This work led to the establishment of the Association for Industrial Accident
Victims. Beginning from 1993 the CIC has been active among workers suffering
from occupational diseases in the Pearl River Delta. There are two common
illnesses:
Silicosis is found in the mining, construction and gemstone industries.
When the dust of stone or cement is inhaled it settles in the lungs. The
victims suffer increasingly breathing difficulties and eventually die. There is
no cure.
The second very common disease is benzene poisoning. Benzene is a toxic
chemical widely used as a cleaning agent in the electronics, shoe production
and printing industry. When workers inhale the fumes over longer periods, their
heart, lungs and nervous system are affected. Many victims eventually suffer
from leukaemia.
4.
Today we have read Psalm 90. Psalm 90 is often read at
funerals, but it also says something about human labour. “The years of our life
are but toil and trouble“ (Verse 10). God created man as worker, but sin, i.e.
greed, indifference and exploitation have turned healthy work into suffering
and death.
The second part of the psalm is a prayer. The prayer implores God to
turn around the fate of humankind. It prays for joy and a better life. It ends
with the hope that God may bless human work and bring it to fruition.
5.
Hope is the force producing change. Where there is no
confidence that a situation can be changed, nothing will happen. Today’s
reading from the gospel of Matthew makes this very clear. When Jesus returned
to Nazareth, his fellow citizens were puzzled. They knew Jesus as an ordinary
person, the son of a carpenter and a worker who lived among them. Here he was
claiming authority from God. Because of their lack of faith, Jesus did not do many
deeds in their midst.
6.
I have come to admire the determination with which
victims of industrial accidents and occupational diseases face their situation-
I want to share three stories of hope with you. The first is the story of Su
Mingguo. He started working as a cutting worker in a gemstone factory in
Dongguan in 2002. In July 2005 he was certified to have silicosis. He stayed in
a clinic for chronic diseases for half a year. After that he spent three years
in litigation, including arbitration, first hearing, second hearing and
rehearing. In 2007 the staff of Labour Action China, a Hong Kong labour group
which grew out of the CIC, recruited him to the Shenzhen team. Now he travels
to the occupational disease hospitals in Guangdong and helps other victims.
In 2005, when Su Mingguo was certified with silicosis, his elder
daughter was 11 years old, his second daughter 8 and the son only 5. His mother
passed away in 2006 and his father had to take care of the children besides his
farm work. In 2018 his elder daughter graduated from university and works as a
teacher. His second daughter is a kindergarten teacher and his son is studying
in senior high school. His wife continues to work in an electronics factory.
Despite his incurable disease, Su Mingguo managed to overcome hardship
and create a future for his children. At the same time he is serving his fellow
workers.
7.
The second story of hope is from Hong Kong. Many years
ago the CIC established the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident
Victims- Part of the Association‘s work is the “Mama Group”. All of its more
than 100 members are widows who have lost their husbands in an industrial
accident. It is a self-help group whose members care for each other and support
each other. The staff of the Group, Leung Kam Oi, is the soul of the Group. In
her work she sees much sadness, but also happiness. These mothers face much
hardship in bringing up their children alone.
Many of these children find a career. Some of them become social workers
or teachers. Leung Kam Oi is a committed Christian and has guided many of these
women to the Christian faith. The support from their faith gives them
confidence for the future.
8.
The third story is that of Chan Yuk Ying. In the early
1990s she worked in Shenzhen in a factory producing furry toys. In November
1993 a fire broke out in the factory. The workers were trapped as the doors on
the ground floor were locked. Many workers jumped from the second or third floor. The official casualty figure was 84 dead and 42 injured.
Among them was Chan Yuk Ying. She suffered 70% burns on her body and lost a leg
and one hand. She had to undergo many operations. However, her will to live and
be active was not broken. After returning to Chungking, she founded a self-help
group for handicapped and victims of industrial accidents and a study group for
children whose parents had left them behind when they went to work elsewhere.
At present she faces a double challenge. She needs funds to renew her
artificial limb and to keep the study group going. She needs $50,000. Some
friends have come together to raise the money. I am grateful to the KUC for
asking for an offering at the end of the service.
9.
These people can teach us about hope. However, as
Christians we live in the hope which has its source in the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. In the passage from Romans 8 Paul speaks of Christian hope He
speaks of the glorious liberty of God’s children. We have the promise of the
kingdom, of a new haven and a new earth where God will wipe away our tears.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, May 05, 2019
