Reflections: July 2019

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 28 July 2019, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, by Peter Youngblood. The scripture readings that day were Genesis 18:20–32, Psalm 85, Luke 11:1–13.

Each time there is another public mass shooting my country—and for a while that seemed like every other week—you’d hear this same old two-way political argument. The politicians on one side of it would make a sad face and offer their “thoughts and prayers”. Then, those on the other side would get angry and say something like: “No! that’s not enough! We need more than ‘thoughts and prayers’.” Now the “thoughts and prayers” side is made up of mostly those who favor what we call “gun rights” in the U.S. That means they don’t want any restrictions on gun ownership. These politicians, and their voters, want to be able to own any kind of gun they want, and as many of them as they want.

Unfortunately, gun ownership (and gun violence) has become a stereotype for Americans. The most frequent question I get asked in Hong Kong is, first: “Do you have a gun?” (I don’t, they scare me), and the second question is usually: “Why do so many Americans have guns?” And I could go into a whole lecture about the 2^nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but that would take too long. The basic fact is that it’s a part of our culture; a lot of Americans like their guns, especially those in my part of the country, the Southeast. So whenever we have a mass shooting, the “gun rights” people want to be able to show their support to the victims, but they don’t want to admit that the problem is guns. Instead the avoid the topic by simply offering their “thoughts” and their “prayers”.

Now—again—on the other side, you have the people who want gun control. They say that if we had fewer guns, fewer people would die. And their right! Countries with stronger gun laws have far fewer violent crimes than the U.S. Take Hong Kong for example: the last couple of months have been tense, but overall this is a very safe city. Supported by these facts, the gun control folks want to get rid of guns—or at least make them much less easy to buy. So when the other side offers their “thoughts and prayers”, they get angry and say: “Your thoughts and your prayers are not going to solve anything!”

Now I want to bracket this political debate for a moment because it’s not my main point. Rather, I want to talk about prayer itself. The effectiveness of prayer is an important question for us. We have many reasons to doubt that just saying a few words to God every now and then is going to fix things, especially when dealing with the shock and grief of losing a loved one unexpectedly or violently. Whenever I was called into these situations as a hospital chaplain, the family would usually be in absolute shock. And when I was first starting out, I would also struggle to find the right words to say to them. I might say something like “I will pray for you and your family.” Not a great consolation, but not a terrible one either; 9 times out of 10, such a statement would be fine. But sometimes a family member would just cut me off and say: “How is that supposed to help me? How is that going to bring them back?” They are grieving. They are incredibly sad. But they also have a point.

But in the Bible we read all the time about the power of prayer. Just today, in our Gospel reading, Jesus teaches the disciples—and us—the Lord’s Prayer. Afterwards he shares the “Parable of the Importunate Friend” (“importunate” is a fancy word for annoyingly persistent). This parable teaches us valuable lesson, and it does so in two ways. First, it seems to say that if we are honest and persistent in our requests, we will get what we need, just like the person who asks his friend for bread in the middle of the night. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I find it very difficult to ask for things, even if I am asking my family, and even if it is something that I really need. This feeling of shame gets worse as you get older and you’re supposed to be a self-sufficient adult. But through this parable Jesus is teaching us that, as his disciples, we are not only to provide great generosity and great hospitality, we will also always need to ask for it, intensively. But there is another level of meaning here. Jesus is saying that if we can rely on friends and family for what we need materially, then we can rely on God to give us so much more spiritually: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you” (11:9).

Here Jesus is saying that prayer works, and this is something that we continue to believe today. Why else would we do it every Sunday? We don’t just say the Lord’s Prayer, we have an Offertory Prayer and each week we remember the rest of the world in our Prayers of the People. We ask God to lift up those persons, families and communities that are currently suffering due to war, poverty, and oppression. So what’s so wrong with offering “thoughts and prayers”?

Well, you know how they say “the devil is in the details?” In prayer, God is “in the details”! It’s not just that prayer is important, but it’s also how we pray, and what we pray for. In the Gospel, we rarely get to hear what Jesus actually says when he prays, but Luke 11 is one of those rare moments where he is very explicit; where he basically says “repeat after me”! This is how you pray!

The Lord’s Prayer is a model for all of our prayers, so let’s use it to consider how we pray. Well, first off, if someone says something like “You’re in my/our thoughts and prayers”, we can already see we have a problem. That’s not a prayer! It’s a statement! Plenty of people say they pray about things, especially politicians (including some of the Christian leaders in Hong Kong). Well, I’ll believe that when I see it.

What is the topic or object of those thoughts and prayers? What are they—what are we—asking God for? I suppose if you are praying with or for someone who is grieving a loved one, it’s only natural to ask God that they find peace and comfort. But is that enough? Jesus tells us to say, “give us each day our daily bread” (11:3), but I think we take that statement too metaphorically. What I mean is, when we hear “bread” we think of its spiritual meaning, as in, it nourishes our souls. But we’ve got to consider material things too—actual bread! For instance, we should pray that a family that has lost a mother or father has the financial means to survive (and thrive), that they have the social and psychological support they need so they are not driven into poverty, depression and despair. And we pray this for everyone, not just those who have suffered. We ask God to give us—all of us—our daily bread.

We ask God to “save us from the time of trial” (11:4), to overcome all the evil that surrounds us. The Christians during Luke’s time faced severe challenges. They were being marginalized, persecuted and murdered by the Roman authorities. Today many of us live pretty comfortable lives. In most places like Hong Kong and U.S., it’s pretty easy to be Christian (though obviously many of us are not very good at it). A lot of Christians in my country like to complain that they are persecuted, but in reality they hold most of the political power. They are ones who like their guns: “It’s right there in the Bible, see? It says ‘blessed are the peacemakers’. We keep the peace with guns!” (There actually was a pistol called the “peacemaker” that cowboys used). Privileged Christians like that—and I have to include myself in that group— forget that real marginalization, persecution and killing still happen all around us.

If this sounds like I’m saying we should be praying for certain things and not others, that’s the truth. We can’t just ask for anything, can we? When we pray it’s not just for something we want, it’s for something God wants. This is one of those rare times where I actually prefer Matthew’s version more that Luke’s. In Matthew Chapter 6, you have the longer version of the Lord’s Prayer that goes: “Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name….” and then: “Your will be done” (6:10). When we pray for something, we can only do so seriously if we believe that God wants that something too. Praying for your favorite sport’s team never really works, right? God doesn’t care if Manchester United or Liverpool win. Jesus is telling that prayer is for what God wants and also what we should want—not necessarily what we actually want.

When we ask God to forgive our sins, this is a reminder that because we are sinners, we don’t always know what is right and what we should be praying for. So a good prayer is actually one that makes us think: Am I doing this right? Am I praying for the thing that God wants me to pray for? The act of prayer is an act of questioning not just God, but ourselves. For instance, Abraham prays to God, asking him to spare the city of Sodom if he finds any righteous people. He bargains Him down to fifty, to forty-five, and so on. All the way down to ten. Through this prayer we see that God is a just God who wants to be merciful. But Abraham is also discovering that he, too, is a good man who cannot bear to see the innocent perish because of the wicked. But part of understanding ourselves through prayer is also understanding how we may be actually responsible for the suffering of others. Sometimes those we pray for are victims of things we support, like capitalism and war—and of course, guns. If we don’t recognize that irony in our prayers, then we are not praying correctly.

When it seems like we don’t get what we want when we pray, it is because we are not asking for the right things. And when we figure that out, then we can see how God has actually already answered our prayers. Another great line in Matthew’s version is: “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (6:7). Prayer brings our attention to what we need and where in our lives God has already provided it to us. More importantly, it shows us what we can do, with our own power, to help these prayers be realized. Prayer not only needs persistence, compassion and humility—it also needs action. It’s not just saying a wish and sitting back waiting for it to come true. It is a call to action. Through prayer we see what gifts God has already given us and—more importantly—how to use these gifts to meet any challenge. As we heard from Pastor Phyllis last week, we need the power of prayer now more than ever in our city. Each week we pray that our leaders, both here in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world, will have the wisdom and the compassion to do the right thing. I admit, I don’t always have faith that that will happen. What I do have faith in is that all of us have been given the gift of prayer, from God and through Jesus Christ. And with that gift we can see, “through a glass darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12), the future that God wills for us, and what we need to do to get there.

So let us pray…

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 28, 2019

May Your Kingdom Come!

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 21 July 2019, (Radio Broadcast Service), the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15–28; Luke 10:38–42.

Opening Prayer

God of life,

Thank you for your full presence in us through Jesus Christ. May Your Word empower us and the Holy Spirit that lives within us transform us to be more like you, the Holy One.

May the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You. Amen.

Message

In the past one and a half months, like many other citizens in HK, I have been distressed by the political situation in our society. The peaceful protests that ended up with violent clashes between the police and protesters were very sad. It is heart breaking to see the increasing antagonism between the police force and the Hong Kong people in general and the protesters in particular. The divisions and mistrust in Hong Kong have created a lot of wounds in many relationships at home, in work, in church and in society.

Now the protests against the extradition bill have evolved into a wider movement calling for setting up an independent commission to investigate the recent political crisis and violent clashes, democratic reform, universal suffrage and so on. It seems that the crisis will continue for a longer period of time.

According to the recent research conducted by the School of Public Health of the Hong Kong University, the number of people suffering from depression has increased. More people indicated their intention to attempt suicide. Many people in Hong Kong have been so wounded emotionally and mentally. Medical professionals, social workers and psychologists have warned that people in HK have shown dangerous sign of emotional distress and depression after the massive protests against the extradition bill and the subsequent political crisis. The medical professional has even described HK as an epidemic city with emotional stress and depression. Many people have been feeling helpless, hopeless and uncertain. The political crisis has made our city very torn and ill.

What does our Christian faith and spirituality offer to believers and to the society in this time of difficulty?

Psalm 52 we read this morning is taken as a piece of teaching and persuasion.

The Psalmist pointed out that the wickedness of the mighty (the mighty here refer not to God but the one with authority on earth) who used their power to do evils against the righteous will be punished by God. God will destroy the evil, break the wicked down and uproot them from their land. The Psalmist pointed out one important aspect to the faithful. The God that we believe in is righteous and stands for justice. God keeps distance from those who put their trust in the riches and treasure wealth instead of Godself.

What is delightful to God is those who live a life in the House of God and trust in the steadfast love of God and to proclaim God’s faithfulness with praise.

The hope for the people and for the future of Hong Kong I would suggest, is to insist justice in God’s way is the right way to pursue.

What is justice? Psalm 52 gives us insights. Justice is to speak the truth and refuse lies. Justice is to love good and denounce evil. Justice is to choose to walk in the way of God that brings life and love. The demand made to the government from different sectors for setting up an independent commission to investigate the violent clashes and find out the truth of the recent political crisis impartially is the right direction to go.

The Psalmist reminds the faithful to walk in the way of God, that is to live a life of honesty, to love and be thankful for the goodness being given. When we are able to live with these qualities, we are more able to respect each other and be united in peace to find solutions together. It is my prayer and plea to the government and people from HK regardless of political positions to live out honesty, love, peace, respect and unity base on justice, in order to build a sound and good future for this city.

The organized and civilized massive protests have impressed the world. I joined both the rallies on the 9th and 16^th of June with one and two million people respectively. I witnessed in person the united and peaceful spirit amongst the people of HK. The civil quality of the people in HK is high.

With the increasing tensions, divisions and violence generated in the social movement, there will be tougher challenge for the protesters and police to keep their calmness and inner peace.

When protesters were being beaten up by police and police were attacked and disgraced in return, it is not easy to keep a peaceful heart with love. It is a shame to see the ineffective handling of the situations by the Chief Executive and her government has made the conflicts between protesters and front-line police intensified. In a broken world like this, how can we keep our heart with peace and save our soul from the captivity of anger, hatred and revenge?

In today’s gospel reading taken from Luke, the dialogue of Jesus and Martha reminds us that we need to stay close to Jesus and to listen to his words. Martha loved Jesus and cared for his needs. She worked very hard. Unfortunately, her busyness has made her unwell. She was so desperate to such a point that she filed a complaint to Jesus and instructed him to ask Mary her sister to help out. Jesus loved Martha. He made her aware of her situation – she was worried and distracted. He directed her to know the importance of spending time with him and listen to his words. Mary had chosen this path. We are all given a mission by God. And yet, one important thing that we have to bear in mind is to always make time with Jesus Christ and listen to him. Without listening to Jesus attentively, we will easily go away from the right track in God, then we get stuck, feeling unsatisfied, frustrated and even angry like Martha. The way Jesus communicated with Martha is to show how much he cares for her. Today Jesus reminds us gently that it is perfectly okay to rest and it is the gift given to stay with him and listen to his words. By staying close to Jesus and listening to him, we are able to return to God, the source. Mary has set a good example and Jesus praised her to choose this spiritual path. Sisters and brothers, let us learn from Martha, to be aware of our emotions and life situations. Always return to Jesus for his word and sitting silently with him like Mary.

For the epistle letter today taken from Colossians 1:15-20, it reminds us Christ is the image of the invisible God. For him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Jesus Christ is the incarnated God whose essence is life, peace and reconciliation. The identity and essence of Jesus Christ has given us light when our society is so divided and many people are so broken.

Jesus had gone through pain, suffering and death on earth. Whenever there is suffering, there is Christ. This is a profound promise and comfort to people who are suffering because they are never alone.

Jesus’ sacrifice and his blood shed on the cross has brought peace and reconciliation. Jesus is the one sent by God to transform relationship from brokenness to wholeness, from hatred to love, from helpless to hope, from despair to peace. Jesus Christ who died and rose again, has given us new life and new hope through our faith in Him.

Christ is the incarnated God on earth. Where there is hope and love, there is Christ and the presence of God.

In the past month, I have been active in Facebook and Whatsapp to read news and articles about the movement related to the extradition bill issues. I have come across a few episodes that reveal the loving presence of God that generate hope to our society. Here I share with you:

In the recent massive social moment, many young people have been actively participating and that revealed that this generation has been awakened. Their courage to stand against the authoritative government and go to the forefront in many of the protests has moved many adults and even elderly people. The ‘grey hair march’ last Wednesday was an action to show the elderly people in support of the youth to fight for justice, freedom and democracy in HK. During the protest, some elderly spoke to the young policemen who were maintaining order, saying, “Don’t beat the protestors, it hurts and is painful you know.” Another elderly said, “If you have to beat them, do it more gently!” How sweet and wise are our elderly friends! They are great ambassadors of peace!

Lennon walls have been set up in different parts of Hong Kong. Outside our church, we do something similar but we name it the Wall of Hope. From the wall outside Tsuen Wan Train Station that I passed by this week and from the wall of our church, I was impressed by so many messages posted on the wall. The majority posts are words of encouragement like: Add oil Hong Kong, never losing hope & never giving up, protect Hong Kong with goodness and kindness. On these walls, I saw many posts saying I love Hong Kong, God bless Hong Kong.

The Lennon Wall has created a sense of community and positive spirit amongst residents living in that area. A citizen left a message on the wall at Taipo, saying “I was involved in the front line of the protests. I planned to end my life because I was tired, very tired indeed. But when I passed by this Lennon Wall. I cried. Thank you all. Thank you Taipo.”

From here I can see how the community efforts and participation through the Lennon Wall has conveyed message of solidarity amongst residents in the midst of disappointment, helplessness and uncertainty. The communities through these little memo papers are able to offer hope and encouragement to those who are lost and about to give up.

Lastly, I would like to highlight Colossians 1:15-17, it says,

^“15He (the Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.¹⁷He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

The world we are living belongs to Christ and the Creator God. It is through Christ that all things hold together. The words of God in here help us to link the social moment in Hong Kong to our belief in the Kingdom of God that Christians have been called to strive for. Every week we pray the Lord’s Prayer in church, saying Heavenly Father may your Kingdom come.

When the apostle said “whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him”, we know then government and rulers on earth are established for the service of God and for Christ but not for their own interests. Government should be held accountable in their service to the people.

The above is one of the passages important for pastors and Christians to reflect on churches’ role and mission in building the Kingdom of God by getting involved in social movement striving for justice and human rights.

Besides, I would greatly encourage pastors and church leaders to take time to listen to the youth and the pastors who are ministering to the young people. By doing so, I think we are like the way Mary did, to sit next to Jesus and listen to him. By listening to the young people, we may hear the words that Jesus wants to speak to us.

Equally important, our society and the government should actively listen to our young people with respect and do our best to understand their yearning in life for they are the future masters of our society. Listening and understanding is one of the important ways for Hong Kong to move forward.

May we continue to pray for the young people, and for peace to Hong Kong.

May God bless you all!

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 21, 2019

How Samaritan are You?

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 14 July 2019 by the Rev. Ewing W. [Bud] Carroll, Jr. The scripture readings that day were Amos 7:7–12, Colossians 1:1–14, Luke 10:25–37.

My friend Jerry was born and reared in Hong Kong. He wrote two books [but never published them]; studied for a PhD but never finished his doctoral thesis; is smarter than ten computers put together; but could never get a job. For some people, Jerry was simply “out of synch” with the world. One day I was complaining to him about beggars in many of our tourist areas. Jobless Jerry looked at me with a mixture of disgust and pity, saying, “Well, I give to every beggar who asks, even if it’s only a ten cent piece.” Just as I was about to tell him “I disagree with you…” today’s Gospel Lesson from Luke hit me like last year’s powerful typhoon. A reminder that I’m one of parable’s characters but not the Samaritan!

You know this story from start to finish: a man was attacked by robbers and left to die on the roadside leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. Luke tells us three people saw him: two, prominent religious leaders, who left the man to die. Fortunately, a third person, a Samaritan stranger, enemy of the Jewish people, scorned by most “civilized” Jews, stopped and through his acts of compassionate love, saved the man from probable death. Hence, the term Good Samaritan.

Jesus told this story to a lawyer, an Old Testament scholar. He and Jesus engaged in a verbal ping-pong match, bouncing back and forth with questions about law, justice, love and faith. When all was said and done, the lawyer’s basic question was: “Who is my neighbor and how much do I have to love?” In my words Jesus’ reply? “Everyone is your neighbor; and you need to love a lot.”

We Christians are often like that lawyer. “Lord, just let us love the nice people. People we really like and feel comfortable with.” It’s easy to ask, ”Who is my neighbor?” The more difficult question is, “How can I be a good neighbor?” The lawyer knew the right answers to Jesus’ question. But he wasn’t prepared to hear what Jesus had to say about compassion in every day real life. What is the Samaritan Compassion that Jesus talks about? And even more importantly- and challenging –“How Samaritan are you and I?” What are the ingredients for becoming real Samaritans?

The first ingredient: A compassion that feels something. A bishop from my own church was visiting Shanghai in the 1930’s. He later reported to our Mission Board that the first night he was unable to sleep. Why? Because of the hack, hack, hack coughing of people with TB – sprawled on the pavement outside his hotel. The second night, was a bit better. By the third night, he slept like a baby lamb. “Wonderful,” said his mission board colleagues. “Hardly,” he replied. “God forgive me for being so comfortable I had no feeling for those people.”

The Greek word for feeling in today’s Gospel Lesson is very colorful. The Samaritan’s “moved with pity” meant he could “feel something deep down in his guts.” Not some pretty picture or a Disney fairy tale with a happy ending. More like being smashed to the ground by a fast-moving freight train. A feeling that stirs and troubles; a feeling that keeps you awake at night until you do something helpful. The Samaritan helped the wounded man, not whether he was worthy or not, but because he had strong feelings of compassion for him.

The Second ingredient: A Compassion based on need, not worth. Frankly, I think the wounded man was stupid to walk alone on the road to Jericho. Local people called it, “The Way of Blood” because so many robberies and deaths occurred there. The robbers stripped the man of his clothing, wounded him and left him half dead. Sadly, the priest and a Levite, a temple worker, both passed by “on the other side.” They weren’t “bad” people; but for whatever reason, they saw the man but ignored his needs. My friend Jerry has no problem with giving, even a small coin, to a street beggar. I don’t know about you, but I’m still struggling with my own response.

The Third ingredient: A Compassion that does something. The lawyer knew Old Testament Law, but he didn’t know New Testament Love. He was a good thinker but a bad helper. To become Samaritans, we need to move “towards” people and their problems, not “Pass by on the other side.” Jesus uses six verbs to describe the Samaritan’s compassion: he went to the wounded man; he bandaged his wounds; he poured oil and wine on the wounds; he put him on his donkey; he brought him to an inn; and he cared for him.

The Fourth ingredient: A Compassion that costs something. If you were part of this story, which person would you most like to be? I remember Rev. Hans Lutz telling years ago about a group of Hong Kong factory workers who were studying this passage in their weekly Bible study. Guess who most of them said they would like to be? Any ideas? The innkeeper. Why? Because he received money to care for the wounded man. Sadly, that’s what describes far too much of life in Hong Kong. Oh, if today’s HK Government and Business leaders could both understand and seek to resolve this problem!

Yes, God’s grace is “free”; but look what it costs God! In his book ”The Cost of Discipleship” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian imprisoned for years and then murdered by Hitler’s Nazis less than two weeks before the end of WWII in Europe, was right “There is no cheap grace.“

Samaritans know the meaning of inconvenience and difficulty. Samaritans know care and concern are expensive. There are no special sales; no reduced prices; no “buy two and get one free.”

The 5^th and final ingredient is self; me, you. Little Maria was late for supper. When her mother asked, “Where have you been?” she replied, “I stopped at the park to help Janie. The front wheel on her bicycle broke.” “But you don’t know anything about fixing bicycles,” her mother replied. Little Maria’s answer? “I know, but I just stopped to help Janie cry.”

The lawyer’s final answer to Jesus’ question about who is a neighbor was, “Someone who shows mercy.” Jesus’ reply was “Go, and do likewise….” So, my friends, ”How Samaritan are you and I? Christ calls us to live as we have sung this morning, “Neighbors are rich and poor, black and white, near and far away…Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love.” We can’t change or help the entire world. But like Marie [and my jobless friend Jerry], we can begin where we are. O Lord, help us to truly become Samaritans; to stop…and to help whoever is in need. Who knows, you might see a beggar or a broken bicycle on your way home today!

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 14, 2019

“Successful Mission”

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 7 July 2019, the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, by the Rev. Dr. Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 30, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20.

Good morning. Last November, there were stories in the international media about a 26-year old Chinese-American named John Allen Chau. In case his name is not familiar to you, let me share his story. Chau was a fervent Christian with keen interest in missionary work. He had spent time in mission in South Africa and northern Iraq. But his passion was to bring the Gospel to a place that had never heard of Jesus Christ, much like the heroes and martyrs of faith. His destination: North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal. The Sentinelese are considered one of the last uncontacted people that remain isolated from modern civilization. They wish to be left alone, and the Indian government has respected their wishes. To protect them, there are laws that make it illegal to come within 5 miles of the island. Besides, these people have no immunity to disease, so there is concern that any kind of foreign contact might wipe out the entire tribe.

John Allen Chau had trained with a U.S. mission organization, but ultimately he chose to go to the island by himself. He hired some Indian fishermen to take him by boat within a mile of North Sentinel, and used a kayak to get himself the rest of the way. It appears Chau knew it was an illegal and dangerous thing to do. But he was determined to go. He prepared picture signs to communicate and simple gifts to offer. To lessen the chance of exposing them to disease, he quarantined himself for 11 days beforehand. The first time he approached the island, the islanders began to string their bows. Chau retreated. The next day, he came ashore and shouted, “My name is John. I love you and Jesus loves you.” Someone shot an arrow that pierced his waterproof Bible. They took his kayak, so he had to swim back one mile to the fishermen. The third time he returned, he was fatally wounded by another arrow. His body was never recovered. The Indian government considered it too risky. The fishermen who took Chau near the island were arrested, but no charges were brought against the Sentinelese people.

What are we to make of the short life of John Allen Chau? Was he a courageous disciple of Christ willing to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth? Or was he an idealistic but foolish young man who sacrificed himself needlessly without bringing the Gospel to anyone?

It might be too early to say, but for the most part, secular media called him a fool and worse. Even among the Christian community, there were mixed opinions. All believed he was sincere. All were sorry for his death. But none that I read were comfortable endorsing his model of Christian mission 100%.

Which brings me to today’s Gospel lesson. In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus appoints 70 more disciples to go out in mission. To go ahead of him to the places he intends to go himself. He sends them out in pairs and tells them what to expect and how to handle themselves. Is there anything we can learn from his instructions to some of the earliest evangelists in the New Testament? And are those instructions still relevant to the church today in a post-colonial, post-modern world? Let’s see.

There’s a lot of information in the opening 11 verses of Luke Chapter 10. What we may not realize is many of those same instructions had already been given to the first 12 disciples in Luke Chapter 9. What I find most interesting then are the expanded instructions to the 70 – particularly what’s their Gospel message and how to get it across. This morning, I want to focus on three of those instructions. 1. How do you start? 2. Where do you stay? 3. What do you do?

First, how do you start? Jesus says, you start by reaching out to the people in their homes. Success in mission requires personal contacts before you start making public proclamations. Jesus says: Whatever house you enter, say: “Peace to this house!” Peace to this house . . . we are first and foremost messengers of peace. The Greek word here for peace is eirene. It literally means to join or bind together that which has been separated. So peace is not just the absence of war or conflict. It’s much more. It’s fullness of life, restored relationships, security for everyone. Eirene is closely related to the Hebrew concept of shalom. It’s both a greeting and a blessing. One scholar expresses it this way: “Peace to this house and family. May it complete its purpose and tell its tale to the end. May it fulfil itself in surrender to the Holy One.” That’s what we should take to every home we enter in Jesus’ name. A prayer for God’s wholeness and salvation to rest on another person. The precious blessing of the peace of Christ.

After a greeting of peace comes the second instruction. If the household welcomes you to stay, Jesus says, stay! Accept their hospitality and whatever food and drink they offer. If you’ve ever been a stranger somewhere, you know what it means to find a safe place to rest and something to eat. So, says Jesus, stay where I open the door for you, and eat what’s on the table because that’s a sign of respect for the family and their culture. Success in mission requires that we understand and appreciate those who are different from us. And what better way to learn than to stay in someone’s home and sit down at the same table? That’s God’s way of providing for you, Jesus says, not just shelter and sustenance, but more laborers for the field. Because in reality, a missionary is more than just a guest, and those who receive them are more than just the host. They are partners in this mission, equal in God’s eyes, each with a role to play. Don’t take each other for granted.

Third, after a wholesome welcome and a full stomach, Jesus says, you’re ready to go to town. If the people in the town welcome you, accept their hospitality and then get to work. Note that before they preach the Gospel, Jesus instructs them to “cure the sick”. That’s right, action comes before the spoken word. And the action called for here is to heal in Jesus’ name. I think there are many ways that followers of Christ can do that – from healing individuals with a particular disease, to mending broken relationships in a community, to bringing down whole systems that are evil and corrupt. Whatever the cure, success in mission requires deeds of power and love, not just words. Then and only then, can we declare that the “Kingdom of God is near”.

Peaceful entry, mutual hospitality, ministries of healing, proclamation of the Word.

Not all mission, of course, takes place on those terms and in that order. But in Luke 10, v 17 we read the 70 returned to Jesus with joy. It worked, they said! And I believe those mission instructions and God’s power still work that way in our day and age. And that’s important because symbolically you and I are part of those 70 disciples Jesus sent out. You know, 70 wasn’t just a random number. In the bible, it’s a complete number, representing all the nations of the world. So, every disciple of Jesus Christ is sent out in mission to be Good News wherever we are, wherever we go. And by God’s grace, may we safely return to Jesus with joy.

I began this sermon with a tragic story, so let me now tell you a more hopeful one. It comes from a Brazilian woman named Braulia Ribeiro (1). She was only 19 at the time, out on her first mission to a remote tribe in the Amazon called the Paumarí. She was part of a team of four to plant a mission station. Even though she was young, she was chosen because she had studied the tribal language in a summer institute. Getting to the place was an act of faith itself. It was very remote. They ended up spending every last dollar they had for transportation and the final boat needed to get there.

When they arrived, they didn’t know what to expect. But they knew the Paumarí culture was looked down on by the locals and ranked at the bottom of the pile. The Paumarí people needed help but didn’t know anyone who would bother.

The team got off the canoe in front of the first hut. They were greeted by an old woman who treated them like she already knew them. “Welcome,” she said. “You came a long way. Are you tired? Have you eaten? There is fried fish.” After a delicious meal and an hour of conversation about the trip, the old lady asked why they had come.

“We are missionaries,” Ribeiro answered. “We want to help you to know Jesus, the Son of God, and if you want, we can also help to set up a school to teach everyone to read.” The lady looked puzzled and started shouting for her grandson. “Come over. The missionaries have arrived. Take them to their home.”

Their home? She pointed to an empty hut nearby. “We built this hut two summers ago, preparing for your arrival. We heard in the radio about the Creator God, and how his Son, Jesus, wants to help us. I said, ‘If that is true, he will send us his people.’ So we built the hut for you.”

The missionary team stayed for 6 months. They set up a school for the children. They brought medicines for a basic clinic. They taught the adults simple math so they wouldn’t get cheated in trade. Ribeiro says they didn’t solve all their problems, but they did change their lives. The fact that the Paumarí people had to take care of this group of outsiders provided the entire village with a sense of dignity and value. They were not the poor receivers of aid; their relationship was equal, and the dependency was mutual.

Even more, the villagers began to see being Paumarí as a point of pride again. Their language gained prestige because foreigners studied it, taught it in schools, preserved it in books. To this day, 30 years later, the Paumarí in the village speak their mother tongue. And by God’s grace, says Ribeiro, they are a productive Christian community who escaped the toxic self-hatred that suffocates many other indigenous villages along that river.

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
    you have taken off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. (Psalm 30:11-12)

May the Kingdom of God come near indeed to you and me, through you and me, wherever we go, wherever we are. As the 21^st century church finally realized, mission is from everywhere to everywhere, whether it’s to the other side of the world, or even right here in Hong Kong. Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to us. O Lord, be our helper! Amen.

(1) Ribeiro, Braulia, “We Set Off to Reach a Remote Tribe in the Amazon. Turns Out, They Were Waiting for Us.” https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/may/brazil-amazon-remote-tribe-missionaries-paumari.html

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 07, 2019

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