Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 02 October 2022, by Paul Cooper. The scripture readings that day were Lamentations3:19-26, Timothy 1:1-14,  and Luke 17:5-10. 

Theme  Faith

One thing about the Bible is that it speaks to us wherever we may be on life’s journey. It doesn’t just address times when we feel good and everything is going well; the writers of the Bible share moments of deep gloom, times when they felt forsaken and times when nothing seemed to be going right. Our reading from Lamentations is one such. We read of deep despair in the Psalms – for me Psalm 22 always sends shivers down my spine, though it’s far from the only Psalm that speaks of utter despair. Psalm 22 is especially so because it so clearly foreshadows the Crucifixion; it even starts with the words “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” – Jesus’ cry from the Cross. If you’ve never read it, I recommend that you do!

All of us go through bad times. Many of you will recall a period in the 70s and 80s when the slogan “Smile, Jesus loves you!”, was popular, usually illustrated by a cartoon smiley face. It always struck me as false – not because I don’t think Jesus loves me, but because there are times when smiling isn’t appropriate. Many of you were shocked and saddened by my wife, Calli’s death last year; I’m sure you can imagine what it was like for me. I’m grateful for the prayers that got me through that awful period, but if someone had said “Smile, Jesus loves you!” I might have reacted forcefully!

But throughout the ordeal, I was aware that Jesus loves me; that He was by my side, giving me the strength to make urgent decisions while still grieving. Calli had wished to donate her organs so that others might live, and of course the decisions associated with that can’t be delayed. But through faith, I knew and still know that Calli and my first wife, Carol, have gone before me to join the host of saints who worship before the throne of God. Through faith, I know that death is not the end; that we will be reunited in the Kingdom of God. 

But what is faith? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” But we can turn it on its head and say that faith ISN’T about believing things that might not be true. Faith is trusting the signs that God has given – as Jesus said “Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” During his time on earth, Jesus did many things that demonstrated that He was sent from God and of course the resurrection is the final proof that Jesus was indeed the Messiah who came to redeem the world.

In our gospel reading, Jesus compared faith to a tiny seed, the seed of the mustard plant. The Black Mustard plant had a seed that was tiny – like grains of sand – and it grew to a plant maybe 3 metres tall! But Faith can be like that, too. 

Back in 2015, I got an email from a lady from Hong Kong University of Science and technology asking me to do some work editing scientific documents for them. I’d never met the lady; she was just an email address! And I had to do the work – which took many hours – before I got paid. But I had some faith that I would get paid, so I did the work, despite never having seen the lady who employed my services. And my faith was justified – I was paid at the rate agreed for my work, though I will admit to a few worries – University finance departments don’t do “quick”! But I was paid and that increased my faith in the system, so I went on to take on more and more work both for the lady who first approached me and for other clients who she introduced me to. It has since grown to provide a very useful supplement to my pension, allowing me to travel to Hong Kong! And since then I have met the lady who first approached me; indeed, we had dinner with another of my clients last Wednesday.

So, you see, I started out with a tiny step of faith, that the lady would indeed make sure I was paid for the time I spent working on the documents.  And my faith in the system has grown, such that I now have dozens of clients in several universities, and the number grows as they make recommendations to their colleagues. So, my initial, tiny step of faith has grown into something much greater.

And my faith in God has grown in just the same way. At first, I trusted Him for small things, but as I saw that my life was changed, often in ways that I could never have anticipated, I came to trust more and more that He really does care for me; that I can trust Him to watch over me and direct me in the way best for me.

And when, like the author of Lamentations, I encounter bad times, I have leant to have faith that God IS in charge, and that events are happening for the best. Even terrible things can have good results. My first wife, Carol, died after a long illness, and was terribly weak and rarely conscious towards the end. She was a woman of strong faith, and faced her terminal illness with great strength and faith. On her last day with us, I was sitting quietly with her in the hospice. She had not spoken clearly for several days, but suddenly she spoke loud and clear the word “Amen” – but not in response to anything in the room, and I am convinced that she was answering God’s call. She passed from this world to the next later that morning.

Before that happened, I was intellectually convinced that death is not the end, but in my deepest heart, I had doubts. But that episode took away my doubts. Beyond that, I saw how God is in charge. Carol and I had, as all couples do, made plans for our old age and retirement. Suddenly, those plans were gone! And my life took a different direction; one that I could never have imagined. Marriage to Calli, of course – but if you’d told me back then that I would have both family and friends in Hong Kong, and that I would seriously consider spending long periods here, I’d probably have laughed at you! I am, of course, still working through the changes brought about by Calli’s death – but I am sure that God has plans for me, and that those plans will be better than anything I could have imagined for myself. 

Paul was writing to Timothy in turbulent times. Paul himself faced imprisonment and death; Timothy was leader of a small band of Christians in an indifferent or even hostile society. But they have faith that God is in charge! And Hong Kong is in that same position – it faces enormous changes, brought about by political change and the impact of Covid-19. I see many changes since I was last here – the best bit is that I can walk down Nathan Road without being stopped several times and asked if I want to buy a suit! But I see that many small businesses that depended on tourists have closed, and I see a greater emphasis on Chinese rather than English. It’s much harder than it was for me to eat alone, though Hong Kong commercial instincts usually get past any language barrier when I want to buy something!

But the take-home lesson from today is that God IS in charge, and no matter how bad things look, eventually God will turn them to good. Like the author of Lamentations, we must remember that God’s compassion NEVER fails! From the depths of the destruction of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah wrote “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And Paul wrote “If God be with us, who shall be against us?”

So let us look to the future not merely with hope for better things, but in the certainty that God is in charge, and that all things will turn to good for those who love Him.

AMEN