Reflections

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 13 September 2026, by Revd Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day was Psalm 103:8-13, Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon – "As God Has Done Unto You"

This morning’s Gospel reading is a parable about forgiveness. Or “lack of forgiveness”, thus the title often given is “The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.” Jesus told this story to follow up on Peter’s question: “Lord, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” To which Jesus responds, no, not 7 times but 77 times!

Peter must have been shocked. Seven is the perfect number in the Bible, but even that doesn’t seem to be enough for Jesus. What is he asking of us here? Well, he’s asking his followers to stop looking for a perfect number – in short, to stop counting altogether. Why?

Well, says Jesus, let me tell you a story about how the Kingdom of Heaven works.

It’s a parable in three acts. Act 1 is a King forgiving a servant for a phenomenal debt, somewhere in the realm of zillions of dollars. We wonder how could a servant owe such a huge amount? Some commentaries suggest that the servant was more like a civil servant in charge of tax collection. And somehow the servant messed things up and couldn’t come up with the full amount owed to the Treasury.

So the King orders the servant, his family and all his possessions to be sold to pay it back. The servant falls to his knees. He begs the King for mercy. Please give me more time, he says, and I’ll pay back everything. But to everyone’s surprise, the King takes pity on the man, releases him and forgives the whole amount. Yes, a zillion dollar debt completely cancelled.

Act 2. The forgiven servant then goes to another servant who owes him a fraction of what he had owed the King. The fellow servant also begs for mercy and more time with the promise that he will pay it back. But since the amount is small, Servant 1 is not allowed to sell Servant 2 and his family. So he throws him in jail until the debt is paid. The idea was to put pressure on the family to come up with the money to pay it back.

Act 3: The other servants told the King what had happened. He called the first servant back. He gives him a royal telling off – how could you do that after what I did for you? I showed you mega mercy and you can’t even show micro mercy to your fellow servant! So the King handed him over to be tortured until he could pay back the zillion dollar debt.

In summary, says Jesus, this is what God will do to you, if you don’t forgive your sister or brother from the heart.

This is a startling parable, isn’t it? So, what are we supposed to learn from it? According to N.T. scholar Klyne Snodgrass, the most important verses in this parable are vv 32-33: 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ In short, says Snodgrass, the message: “Do unto others as God has done unto us.”

Now that sounds right, doesn’t it? We’re called to imitate God’s great mercy in forgiving our sins by forgiving others of their sins. We understand this in theory, but in reality, it’s very hard to put into practice. Oh, some persons or offenses we can forgive more readily than others. And some people appear to have an incredible capacity to forgive even in the worst situations we can humanly imagine. Yet to require us to forgive everyone, every single time seems to set us up for failure. As one friend told me, I may be Christian but I’m not a saint!

So, I spent quite some time trying to figure out how to preach this passage to you this morning. Not only because it’s a difficult text, but because this is a sensitive matter. I may know what issues I have about forgiveness in my own life, but I don’t know yours. And I would never presume to understand all the pain, anger, loss and scars you carry from the past and experience in the present. All I can do is to pray and trust God’s promise in Isaiah 55:11 –

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

So, let’s begin.

Why do we find it so hard to forgive? Because humanly, forgiving others doesn’t feel natural. It goes against the norm in most cultures. If someone does something bad to you, you aren’t likely to have kind feelings about them. You want to do something bad right back to them. You’ve got to protect yourself, right?

If you can’t do anything about it, maybe they are more powerful than you or the situation has passed, you can just cancel them. They don’t exist anymore for you, unless they apologize.

But Jesus here is teaching something very different. He’s telling us to live by God’s Word first, not by our feelings or culture. And when we do, when we follow God’s Word rather than the way of the world, we know forgiveness is no longer optional – it becomes a part of our discipleship.

But how do we get there? Doesn’t God know how hard it is to forgive? Yes, God does. Because that’s exactly what God already did for us. Just like the King in the parable, God has already forgiven the unpayable debt we owe Him – not because we deserved it – not because we earned it – no, God’s forgiveness is purely a gift of grace from our loving and merciful Heavenly Father.

But make no mistake about it. God’s forgiveness was not without cost. Forgiveness must be freely given, but it’s never free to the one who forgives. In the parable, who paid the cost of forgiving the first servant’s debt? The King Himself. Likewise, when God forgave our sins, who paid the price? God Himself in Jesus Christ. As one theologian put it, “God’s own heart suffered on the cross.”

So, if we are to forgive as God’s Word demands, we cannot expect it will not cost us something. But not forgiving also comes with a cost. Psychologists talk a lot about the damage unforgiveness does to us emotionally and even physically. That’s true. But even more serious is the damage unforgiveness can cause to our relationship with God. As the parable warns, forgiving others is essential if we’re seeking the forgiveness of God. The two can’t be separated. Therefore, says Jesus, you’d better deal with others the way you are counting on God dealing with you!

But still we resist. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel fair. What about the victim’s rights? Does forgiveness mean we have to throw away our concern for human dignity and the pursuit of justice?

British theologian Stephen Cherry says absolutely not. In cases of significant or shattering harm, he says if the abuse is still being committed, the priority must be to stop it. When it is stopped, then the primary concerns are grief, recovery and justice. Forgiveness may need to be delayed then, unfolding on its own deep schedule rather than a forced deadline.

So forgiveness is obviously not a simple or quick fix. The process can be bumpy, unpredictable and long. In cases of extreme harm, Cherry witnessed victims suffering overwhelming agony and confusion – the wilderness of hurt as he names it. The moral struggle, the internal chaos and wrestling that people go through after hurt is heartbreaking. And it can last for years or a lifetime.

All this can be a definite challenge to our spiritual commitment to forgiveness and obedience to God’s Word. But it can also be recognition that there may be times we cannot forgive and we desperately need God’s grace and help. That’s when we have to let go of control, put it in God’s hands and ask Him to heal where we cannot.

At this point, I think the best way to flesh this out is with a real-life story. So I’d like to share the story of an American woman named Rachael Denhollander. She is a former gymnast who was sexually assaulted multiple times during treatment by USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar. She was 15 years old at the time. Sixteen years later she was the first woman to publicly accuse him. It led eventually to hundreds of others coming forward with similar stories of abuse by the doctor. Nassar was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison.

Denhollander is an evangelical Christian. But all during those years, she admits she had to wrestle with her faith —over and over and over again. Did God care? If He did, why didn’t He do something? It took a long time to get to a place where she could trust in God’s justice and call evil what it was, because she knew God is good and holy.

Denhollander recalled an important breakthrough when a family friend shared a biblical insight. No one at that time knew her secret suffering. “Sometimes,” the friend shared, “I haven’t liked the answers God’s given me. Or I haven’t gotten answers at all.” Denhollander understood what that was like. “But, you know,” the friend continued, “I keep going back to the time when Jesus asked Peter if he wanted to walk away—stop following Him. Peter asked, ‘Where else would I go, Lord?’ The friend concluded: “I gotta ask myself that, too, when things feel darkest.”

Denhollander knew that was her answer as well. Where else would I go, Lord? She’d explored every other option. Removing God from the picture, changing how Scripture defined Him, considering other faith traditions or no faith tradition—none of them fixed her problems. No matter where she looked, she was confronted with things she couldn’t explain without God. And specifically, without the gospel.

At Larry Nassar’s trial, Denhollander was the last of 156 victims to speak. She detailed the horrible abuse and shame she and others experienced, not only from the doctor, but also from authorities who protected him or refused to believe victims when they spoke up. Yet, at the end, she refused to be bitter and vindictive.

Because of her faith, she was certain that seeking justice and granting forgiveness were not contradictory in God’s eyes. As she put it, an attitude of justice longs for wrongs to be made right and for wrongdoing to be punished; an attitude of forgiveness longs for the inclusion and restoration even of our enemies—for them to cross over from death to life. These two are compatible with each other; what’s excluded is an attitude of hatred, vengeance and revenge.

So as she stood face to face with Larry Nassar in court, here’s part of what she said:

..the Bible you speak of carries a final judgment where all of God's wrath is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that's what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you. I pray you experience the soul crushing weight of guilt so you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God which you need far more than forgiveness from me though I extend that to you as well.

Rachael Denhollander today is a lawyer, wife, mother, author and advocate for sexual assault victims. In a talk she later gave at a Christian university, she said:

“One of the dynamics of walking through this process has been realizing afresh how beautiful the grace of God is. I am not Larry Nassar, but I have sinned. … That could be me in God’s courtroom with final judgment being passed. But it won’t be because of the sacrifice of Christ. Not because of my merit, not because saying the magic words ‘I’m sorry’ meant that I hadn’t done wrong things, but because I am loved by a redeemer who stood in my place.”

And so are we all. We are all loved by the Redeemer of the world, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So wherever you and I are in the hard journey of forgiveness, we may not be saints, but we can pray for a miracle. We can pray through the power of the Holy Spirit that one day we might become that miracle – a miracle of grace with a heart of mercy – forgiving as we have been forgiven, loving as we have been loved, doing unto others as God has done unto us.

Let’s pray: O Lord, we come to you for where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We pray and give thanks, O God, for the people we have forgiven, and the people who have forgiven us. We pray and ask for help for the people we find hard to forgive, and the people who find it hard to forgive us. May we humble ourselves, release control and put it in Your hands, trusting in Your ultimate justice and mercy for all of us through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Sources:

Stephen Cherry, Healing Agony: Re-imagining Forgiveness (2012)

Rachael Hollander, What Is A Girl Worth? (2019)

Liberty University, “Former gymnast who suffered abuse shares biblical view of forgiveness, justice”, 9 April 2018, https://www.liberty.edu/news/2018/04/09/former-gymnast-who-suffered-abuse-shares-biblical-view-of-forgiveness-justice/

Klyne Snodgrass, Stories with Intent, 2nd Ed. (2018)

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Tuesday, September 15, 2026

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 06 September 2026, by Michael Adesina, Sa Khaing Htoo & Anjenette Bolanos. The scripture readings that day was Proverbs 3:1-12 (O.T.), Jeremiah 29:11-14 (O.T.) & Mathew 5:13-16 (N.T.)

Sermon – "Education Sunday 2026"

Good morning, everyone, my name is Michael, and today I will be talking about my school life and my hopes for the future.

About six days ago, we commenced the new school year, where I started my studies in a new class, Primary 5, to be precise. My school's name is Hong Kong Taoist Association Wun Tsuen School, located in On Tai Estate in Kwun Tong. My school is bilingual, and I started studying there in the year 2022. The subjects I take are Mathematics, English, Humanities, Physical Education, Chinese, Science, and 'Hello Future', which is an activity that engages us in saving animals. I do this once a year.

The morning bell rings at 8:20 a.m., and we rush to the assembly. After the assembly, we all go to the classroom to have our lessons for the day. I normally have a short break called recess to eat my snacks around 9:30 a.m. I can share my snacks with my friends during recess if I want. We also have a weekly sports day where I play basketball and participate in other sporting activities.

My favourite school occasions are the annual sports day, where I participate in track and field activities, and 'Wun Tsuen Got Talent', which is a talent competition. For example, dancing, group singing, and solo singing are some of the activities we do.

always look forward to school field trips, such as our memorable visits to a museum and a botanical farm. These field trips usually enable me to learn many things about nature, art, science, and the history and local culture of Hong Kong.

Also, I have represented my school in various competitions, such as choral performance, Putonghua and Cantonese solo verse speaking, French speaking, and Mathematics competitions, and I have received some accolades.

Every time it is the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, we sing Christmas songs. After we finish singing, a fake Santa Claus greets everyone around. As for the Chinese New Year, we dress up in our traditional Chinese costumes, play games, and eat together to celebrate.

As I look back on the years I have spent in school, I know that my journey would not have been so smooth without the help of God and the wonderful people around me. Even though my studies faced some challenges, but the support of my parents and the guidance of my teachers helped me overcome every obstacle.

I am truly grateful to everyone

Who has supported me, because your kindness has motivated me to always do my best.

In the future, I want to become a data scientist so I can help people make good and smart decisions. I hope to use my knowledge to keep my community safe and help people live in peace.

In this new school year, it is important for us, as children of God, to always trust, fear, and love Him. We also need to always be obedient to our parents and teachers, read our books, and prepare well for the challenges ahead so we can have a great school experience. I pray that God will help us to live a long and great life.

Finally, it is my prayer that we are bless with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to excel in this new academic year, and the good Lord will help us all to achieve our future aspirations. Amen.

Sharing II – Khaing Htoo – Education Sunday

Good morning, KUC family.

Firstly, I thank God for His grace, and I thank you, the KUC family, for giving me this opportunity to share.

Studying in Hong Kong, especially at Lutheran Theological Seminary, feels like planting a tree in fresh soil. At first, it was hard for me to adjust to a new environment and culture. I often wonder why God put me on the hill of divine wind, To Fung Shan. But now, I clearly see the value of learning at LTS.

In Myanmar, I witnessed poverty and suffering, but I did not fully understand the reasons behind it. At LTS in Hong Kong, I am gaining knowledge through lectures, daily experiences, and reading. This knowledge helps me turn awareness into action. I am gaining understanding and therefore wisdom.

By sharing life with fellow students from different places and backgrounds, I have realized something important: we all depend on God, and we all depend on one another. For me, true wisdom is not about being smarter than others. It is about developing our vision of God and seeing His work everywhere.

The Bible verse that guides me is Jeremiah 29:11: “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.”

This verse comforts me, but it is more than encouragement. I believe God’s plans are not only for my life but also connected to my family, my church, and my community in Myanmar. It is not just a promise; it is a calling to serve with humility, faithfulness, and love, as Jesus did.

The way I understand education is this: my learning and knowledge are not a ladder to climb away from people, and not a tool to dominate others. In my opinion, education is a bridge that reconnects us with people. It is a tool to serve, a way to grow in self-awareness, and a means to bring change in society.

Albert Einstein once said: “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” That is why I see education in three important ways:

The first one is vision. Education shapes how we see ourselves. But more than that, it opens our eyes to see others. It helps us recognize our own needs, and just as importantly, the needs of those around us.

The second one is Voice – The purpose of learning is to discern good from evil, truth from falsehood, and justice from injustice. When we see clearly, we must stand for justice and speak against injustice, especially for those who are overlooked.

The final one is Action – As the saying goes, “Think global, act local.” Our speculative ideas can reach the world, but our main responsibility is to act in our own community. Therefore, education calls us to bring good purposes and ideas into practice wherever we are.

When I finish my studies in Hong Kong, I am determined to return to Myanmar and continue serving as a teacher at the Pwo Karen Theological Seminary in Yangon. This is not just a job for me; it is my calling. I believe my calling is not only to teach in a classroom but also to serve wherever there is need, using whatever abilities God has given me.

The training I have received at LTS has taught me that faith and responsibility cannot be separated. To follow Christ is to serve people faithfully. I know, it is sure, that I cannot do everything, but I can do my best in what I am called to do.

Please pray for me and for Myanmar. This is my final year of study. Pray that God will give me wisdom, strength, and perseverance as I continue my studies at LTS, and that He will prepare me for the work He has called me to do. Please also pray for my beloved country, Myanmar—for peace and healing.

Thank you for welcoming me and for listening. May God bless you all. Amen.

Sharing III – Education Sunday – Annjenette Bolanos

Introduction

The reading from Matthew 5:13-16 sounds beautiful, deeply comforting, and heroic. Jesus tells us, “You are the salt of the earth..You are the light of the world”. He says that a city on a hill cannot be hidden.

But I want to be completely honest with you today. For a long time, my life has felt completely hidden.

My world as a mother revolves around survival. My hands are tied due to systemic rules, legal status or institutional barriers.I am into a state of financial vulnerability, depending on assistance, or charity just to keep the lights on and the kids fed. Now, when we add the pursuit of education to this, - aiming for a degree to build a future for my children- it is a heavy climb. But when we add the restriction of not being allowed to work, the weight becomes paralyzing. It feels like being exiled. In moments of quiet desperation, I have asked God, “How can I be a light when our circumstances covered me with a thick blanket?” “How can I be salt when my life feels so bitter?”

Salt

Looking closely at the scripture, Jesus did not say that “You will become salt once your circumstances are perfect”. He said, “You are the salt”.

Salt has an incredible value. By refusing to give up to life challenges, by opening my books and study materials late at night when the kids are asleep, I am preserving my family’s future. My education and my perseverance prepares myself to become a source of nourishment and distinct flavor as salt. It keeps my mind alive, it keeps my hope from decaying, and it shows my children that our current situation does not define our worth, it shows them resilience. It brings flavor and hope into a situation that should taste like despair.

Light
Jesus said, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand”.

Right now, my circumstances feel like a heavy bowl covering my life. My movements are restricted. It limits my independence. It seems forcing me into the dark, telling me that I am helpless and stuck.

However, looking closely at what education does, Education is the spark. Every class I pass, every essay I write, and every concept that I learn adds fuel to that lamp. It's true, the system might have tied my hands from the workplace for now, but it cannot stop me from learning, from growing, and sharing. In Jeremiah 29:5 and 7, God commanded the people to “Build houses and settle down, seek the peace and prosperity of the city which I have carried you”. Which means not to wait for the circumstances to change before you start to build.

Conclusion:

Pursuing my education is my response to that calling to build houses while waiting for God’s plan. And I believe that if it leads to a life of humility, and gives hope to even one who is in despair, then education is a sacred calling that goes far beyond earning a certificate or degree. Everytime I open my study materials and stay late into the night, I am building. I am filling the rooms of my children’s lives not with material wealth but with rare and beautiful treasures.

Yet, with all honesty, this is never easy to do. Balancing between a zero income household with kids while managing exams and assignment deadlines is terrifying. I cannot do it alone. It requires a strength that I simply do not possess on my own. But I have my survival strategy. It's knowing and trusting that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

May God bless us all.

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Tuesday, September 15, 2026

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 30 August 2026, by Revd Dr Tobias Brandner. The scripture readings that day was Exodus 3:1-15

Sermon – "God Near and Far"

When I attend social gatherings and people discover that I am a pastor and theologian, it is not uncommon for them to approach me with questions about the Bible and the Christian faith. Usually, they hope that I will be able to provide clear answers to questions they may have carried for years. Yet I often leave such conversations with the uneasy impression that people understand less after I have spoken than before. Sometimes I wonder whether I simply lack the gift of explaining things clearly.

But over the years, I have come to suspect that theology is not primarily the art of providing answers. Perhaps theology is more the art of keeping questions alive. It is often the unanswered question that drives our spiritual growth. Faith grows not when all mysteries are solved but when we continue to seek, to wrestle, and to trust.

Fundamentalist forms of religion often seek to close questions quickly. They offer certainty and ask people simply to accept the answers provided. An ecumenical understanding of faith, as we practice it in KUC, by contrast, welcomes questions. It values diversity and recognizes that even our best answers point beyond themselves to a greater mystery.

Why are we here? Why does suffering exist? Where do we go from here? Who is God? Where is God when we most need God?

These may sound like abstract questions, but most people encounter them at some point in life. They arise during times of transition, moments of crisis, experiences of loss, and especially when we face our own mortality. Throughout history, pastors and theologians have stood before people seeking answers while knowing that the ultimate answers remain with God.

Today’s Old Testament reading is one of those passages that may leave us with more questions than answers. It is the story of Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush. It is one of the most profound moments in Scripture: a divine revelation, a calling, and a glimpse into the mystery of who God is.

To understand the significance of this encounter, we must first consider the situation of the Israelites.

Reading the Old Testament can sometimes be challenging, but one helpful approach is to read it as the story of a relationship between a parent and children. Imagine a parent who has remained silent for generations. The last direct word from God recorded before this moment had come many years earlier, when God appeared to Jacob. By the time Moses was born, several generations had passed.

The Israelites had originally come to Egypt as refugees. During a time of famine and hardship, Joseph had risen to prominence there, and his family joined him. Like so many migrants throughout history and up to today, they moved in search of security and a better future. Yet over time their hopes faded. Instead of flourishing, they found themselves oppressed, exploited, and reduced to forced labor.

Perhaps even more painful than their suffering was God's apparent silence. For generations there seemed to be no word from heaven. One can imagine their sense of abandonment. What child would not feel forgotten after such a long silence?

It was in this context that Moses was born.

His survival was itself miraculous. Pharaoh had ordered the killing of all Hebrew baby boys. Yet through the courage and ingenuity of his mother and sister, Moses was saved and eventually raised within Pharaoh's palace. He grew up as an outsider between two worlds: Hebrew by birth, Egyptian by upbringing.

Although he enjoyed the privilege and comfort of palace life, he never lost his sense of connection with his own people. One day he witnessed an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew slave. Something within him erupted. His passion for justice overcame him, and he killed the Egyptian.

It is important not to romanticize this event. Moses committed murder. He engaged in an act of violence that forced him to flee. When Pharaoh learned what had happened, Moses escaped into the wilderness. There he found refuge among the Midianites, married, and began tending the flocks of his father-in-law.

Then came the moment that changed everything.

While caring for sheep near Horeb, the mountain of God, Moses saw a bush burning with fire, yet not consumed. Curious, he approached. As he drew near, a voice called from the bush: “Moses, Moses.”

After more than a century of silence, God spoke.

This encounter reveals something essential about who God is. Yet what is striking throughout the story is the tension between God's nearness and God's distance. God appears both close and far away, intimate and mysterious. We might describe four dimensions of God revealed in this passage.

The first is God as the Holy One.

As Moses approaches, God immediately warns him: “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

The gesture of removing one's shoes is deeply significant. Across many cultures and religions, people remove their shoes before entering sacred spaces. I remember how I climbed a Buddhist mountain in Myanmar barefoot. Or I remember how Korean pastors take off their shows when accessing the stage and pulpit. It is a sign of humility and reverence. One comes as one truly is, stripped of status and protection.

God's holiness reminds us that God is not simply an extension of ourselves. God cannot be controlled, packaged, marketed, or reduced to a comfortable image. The Second Commandment warns against idols precisely because we are tempted to make God manageable. Yet God's holiness resists our attempts to capture or domesticate the divine.

Moses hides his face because he is afraid to look upon God. The encounter fills him with awe. Before the Holy One, there is no room for arrogance. We too must remove our sandals, whether those sandals are our achievements, our titles, or our illusions of self-sufficiency.

Yet the story does not end with distance.

The second dimension is God as the Faithful One.

God introduces himself as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” With these words, God builds a bridge to Moses. The God who seems distant is also the God who has accompanied previous generations.

Imagine a stranger arriving at your door and introducing himself as an old friend of your grandparents, speaking with intimate knowledge of your family history. The stranger would no longer seem entirely strange.

That is what God does with Moses. After generations of silence, God reminds Moses that he stands within a larger story. The God who was faithful to the ancestors remains faithful today.

The third dimension is God as the One who acts in history.

God tells Moses, “I have seen the misery of my people. I have heard their cries. I am concerned about their suffering.”

These are remarkable words. God is not indifferent. God sees, hears, and cares.
Even more, God acts. God declares an intention to rescue the Israelites and lead them into freedom. The history of oppression will not have the final word.

This aspect of God's nature remains central to our faith. God continually creates new possibilities. God opens doors where none seem to exist. This is the foundation of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Forgiveness does not erase the past. Imagine you have been deeply hurt – be it in your family or in some other relationship. The wounds remain real. The suffering that occurred cannot be undone. Yet forgiveness means that the past no longer determines the future. Forgiveness is very important, not just for the offender, but maybe even more for the victim, because if you cannot forgive, you will continue to carry the burden of your pain with you. Forgiving does not mean that the past has not happened. It is there, it is acknowledged, but we are not bound by it anymore. By forgiving, we are set free from being bound by anger and the sense of being victim.

In Exodus, God transforms history from a story of slavery into a story of liberation. God remains the One who creates possibilities where none seemed possible before. Yet Moses still wants to know more. He asks God's name.

And here we encounter the fourth dimension: God as Mystery.

God replies, “I AM WHO I AM.”

It is an answer that seems almost like no answer at all. God gives Moses a name that remains elusive. God reveals and conceals at the same time.

Years ago, my family lived in Thailand. Near our home was a restaurant that offered a dish called “No Name.” Curious, I once asked what it contained. The owner laughed and explained that it was made from whatever ingredients happened to be available that day. Since the contents constantly changed, the dish could not have a fixed name. So they just called it “No Name.”

In some ways God's answer resembles that dish. The living God cannot be reduced to a definition. God is always greater than our descriptions. God travels with us, encounters us anew in changing circumstances, and continually exceeds our understanding.

The closer we come to God, the more we discover the limits of our understanding.
And yet this mystery should not frustrate us. It should humble us. We often speak too confidently about God. We claim certainty where perhaps there should be wonder. But God remains the eternal mystery at the heart of all existence.

As we conclude, we remember that the God Moses encountered is the same God revealed in Jesus Christ. In Jesus we again encounter this tension between nearness and mystery. God comes close enough to walk among us, yet remains beyond complete understanding, especially in the mystery of the cross.

The God of the burning bush is still the God we worship today: the God of holiness, the God of faithfulness, the God who acts in history, and the God of mystery. As an ecumenical community, we are called to reflect these same dimensions in our lives. We approach God's holiness with humility. We mirror God's faithfulness in our commitment and faithfulness to one another. As we worship the God who intervenes in history, we become people who participate in God's work of healing, justice, reconciliation, and liberation in the world. And as we stand before God's mystery, we remain humble, recognizing that no doctrine or theology can fully contain the One who simply is.

Perhaps that is the greatest lesson of the burning bush. God is nearer than we imagine and greater than we can comprehend. God calls us by name, as God called Moses, yet remains the holy mystery beyond all understanding.

We live in a world that seeks quick answers. Faith, however, is not ultimately about possessing answers. Faith is about trusting God amid unanswered questions. It is about believing that God is present even during times of silence. It is about trusting that God's faithfulness continues when we cannot yet see the way forward.

The voice from the burning bush still speaks today. May we have the courage of Moses to draw near, the humility to remove our sandals, the openness to say, “Here I am,” and the faith to follow wherever God may lead us.

Amen.

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Tuesday, September 15, 2026

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 26 July 2026, by Katie Ho. The scripture readings that day was Romans 8:12-17

Sermon – "Church or Community Centre?"

Good Morning Church!

Over these 6 months I worked at a community centre under an NGO, to make some money of course, and also to learn and experience serving other people in a non-church setting. Today, I would like to share my reflections about church during this period of time, based on this experience. When I say church I do not only mean KUC, but church in general, or perhaps, church in my own experience specifically in the context of Hong Kong. But I hope this reflection would still give us some inspiration in thinking and rethinking what church means to us. Therefore, the sermon title today asks church or community centre? Is a reflection of my own experience, and it might also be a reflection for all of us to think about church life.

During this period of time, I often recalled my pastor who used to say, “a church without Jesus is just a community centre”. In fact there are many similarities between church and community centre. Both have their social functions of gathering people and building social networks. Many churches also organise different activities for their members, just like what a community centre would do. Community centres also care a lot about membership and the number of members because they are accountable to the social welfare department, that they would keep track of, and strategically recruit new members from time to time.

I do not mean to undermine the work of a community centre. Their significance in creating social bondings and caring for underprivileged people by providing physical space and services are indispensable. But what makes a church different from a community centre? My answer will be, a place without Jesus is a place without the Holy Spirit. And a place without the Holy Spirit will never be the church.

Two stories motivated my reflections.

In the first story, a homeless person came to our service counter, and asked our colleague if we could give him some biscuits. My colleague told him we got vending machines instead, and the person said, “But I don’t have any money. Can you just give me something to eat?” My colleague then introduced him to another floor in the building that provides short-term food assistance service. The homeless person then went away sad.

The second story is about a kai fong, a person living in the neighbourhood, who spends most of their time in the community centre. This person has a sharp mind, but once he starts talking he cannot stop and that scares people off. A few colleagues including myself would actually listen to him, and he would share with us funny things like people arguing at a cha chan teng, or gossip at our community centre. One time, he shared about their experience of seeking help from other NGOs but all in vain. And there were people asking them what he needed, but walked away after he expressed his needs. So I asked him, what is your biggest need? And he said, to eat homemade food together with people. Since he has been living by themselves for a long time, and yet he enjoys being around people. All he wants is to be in a fellowship, sharing food and friendship.

I thought of the work KUC has been doing. We share food every Sunday after worship, and we offer help in different kinds to people walking in our church from all parts of the world. These things could be unthinkable in other settings such as a community centre. So, are we doing a better ministry because we are exempted from the government’s regulation? Or are we better off because we do not need to keep up with any KPI? The passage in the book of Romans we’re reading today echoes my reflection.

Verses 12-13 says, “So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Here we see a dualistic contrast made by Paul, which occurs quite frequently in the first 8 chapters of the book of Romans. The contradiction between flesh and the spirit, life and death, flows from the previous contradiction he made between the works of the law and the law of faith. For the Jews believed that justification comes from their inherent Jewish identity, and the works of the law, which are actions performed to fulfil the Mosaic Law found in the first five books of the Old Testament, are in fact indicators of their social identity. Just like you are required to pay a membership fee at a community centre, in order to enjoy all the services provided to members. Once you stop paying the fee, you immediately lose all the rights associated with the membership, including using the facilities, or participating in activities organised for them. Now, Paul says, our justification, meaning, becoming God’s people, is not associated with such actions, and therefore irrelevant to our social identity, instead it’s through faith in Jesus Christ, that we become God’s people.

Connecting with this comparison, is the comparison between life and death. In Romans 6:1-4, Paul says, “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.“ We mortals are destined to death. However, the question is, to what do we die? And to what do we live? If we are dead to sin, we shall live in God. But if we are not dead to sin, even though we are alive, we do not walk in newness of life. That’s the paradox posed by Paul.

And whether we are alive or dead seems to depend on how we use our bodies. For verses such as 7:14, we see that Paul is laying out the consequences of a body given to sin, and a body given to the spirit. And he is often misunderstood as demonising our physical bodies, but in fact Paul is suggesting that only when we live a life according to the spirit, then our bodies may be sanctified. Given the logical flow of the book of Romans, the dualistic comparisons are to bring about the subversive power of the gospel, which concerns faith rather than the works of the law; and the gospel is liberating and life-giving, transcending over flesh and eventually leading us to the spirit.

So what does it mean to live according to the spirit? Verse 14 continues to say, 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba![l] Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness[m] with our spirit that we are children of God”

Following the dualistic theme, Paul here explains the subversive power of the spirit to alter the understanding of the very meaning to be a human being. Men used to receive a spirit of slavery, falling back into fear; but now we received a spirit of adoption, becoming the children of God. It is believed that the crying out of “Abba! Father!” imitates the cry of Jesus to God. And so Paul is suggesting that we are sharing in the sonship of Jesus, the loving relationship Jesus has with God. This again is a radical shift to the Jewish mindset. And it in fact resembles modern psychology in terms of the hierarchy of needs. Traditionally, Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs suggests that the highest needs or motivation for human is self-actualisation. It is corrected by later scholars that Maslow himself did not suggest using the shape of a pyramid, so that all these human needs are equally important and require equal attention. Secondly, Maslow proposed in his later days that the ultimate human need or motivation is something other than self-actualisation, and this human need or motivation, is called self-transcendence. The difference between self-actualisation and self-transcendence is, the first one asks oneself what kind of person I want to become; and the latter one asks oneself, how can I do something good for others or for the world?

Jesus himself is an example of the life of self-transcendence. His prayer in Gethsemane, telling God, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” is a prayer of self-negation, at the same time self-actualisation and self-transcendence. Because only by abandoning his own will can Jesus fulfil his mission as Christ, the son of God.

Self-transcendence is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Pannenberg thinks that Spirit is the name for the actual presence of divine reality in Christian experience and in the Christian community. Yet this reality is not to be identified by looking for elements that separate Christian experience and Christian community from all other human experience and community. And the way to experience the work of the Holy Spirit is through our spirits. “The experience of freedom, the capability for abstract cognition, the particular ecstasy of imaginative inspiration - all this seems closely related to the distinctive structure of the mind, to his reflective nature, to his ability to look at himself from a distance and therefore to take the position of something else in distinction from himself. This ecstatic element of the life of the mind I call “spirit”.” “The spirit is not the mind, but the human mind comes to life only when he is touched by the spirit.” That’s why verse 16 rightly says it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Only when our spirit participates in the work of the Holy Spirit, can we transcend ourselves and enter into the spiritual dimension, and so it is also right for Maslow to regard self-trascendence to be closely related to religious and mystical experiences.

But when our spirits are not participating in the work of the Holy Spirit, as one can imagine, we have the capability for abstract cognition, for imagination and reflection, yet we are confined in ourselves, Paul is right to say we live like a slave and fall back into fear, because there will be no freedom, not self-actualisation nor self-transcendence for us. And it’s not that we are not Jewish and so we do not receive a spirit of slavery. There is no choice for us in this case. But only when we participate in the work of the Holy Spirit will we break free from slavery and enjoy true freedom as children of God.

Today as we commemorate the 9th Sunday after Pentecost, we remember that the church is built by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the books of Act, the Spirit is described as sounding like the rush of a violent wind, as divided tongues as of fire that rested on each of the early disciples. The power of the Holy Spirit is spontaneous, fluid and uncontrollable. And how does that change our understanding of church? Church should not be defined by this building, not even by the liturgy we use, or the doctrines we hold onto. The church is defined by the spirit of love. The two stories that happened at the community centre show that without love, there is limited work we can do. But our work should enable the flow of the spirit of love if we are truly participating in the work of the holy spirit.

The final verse in our reading today points to the eschatological attribute of the Holy Spirit. In verse 17 it reads, “and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Believers are heirs who have not yet entered into our full inheritance, and we will enjoy the full inheritance in the future only if our identification with Christ goes all the way, not simply with his lifestyle on earth or in experience of his risen life already, but also in the sharing of his suffering and death. Here Paul is not attempting to glorify or rationalize suffering, but as the necessary corollary of the view that only Christ’s death has ended the old epoch and the rule of sin and death, so that only by participation in that death can the rule of sin and death be broken for others. The eschatological dimension in this verse reminds us that the process of sharing in Christ’s sufferings and death is a lifelong one, and it is a process of growing conformity to Christ’s death in our lives as a believer. And so the church, as an eschatological community, we are not the kingdom of God, but we are a sign pointing towards the kingdom of God, showing other people what humanity looks like in the future life. In this sense, there is nothing similar between a church and a community centre.

I believe KUC represents a marginal but important voice in the Christian community in Hong Kong. Our practice of open communion, or open table, is actually not widely accepted by the Christian community in this place, yet it might be the most representative symbol of our motto: where all are one. Our relationship with OBIC, One Body In Christ, the church we share space with in this sanctuary, represents our solidarity with sexual minorities and people with mental health issues and disabilities. Both examples are signs of hospitality to people from different social and economic classes, to sexual minorities, and to people of different religious or theological backgrounds. This church is unique because of our participation in the work of the Holy Spirit. And in this moment as we are present in this unique space, I hope everyone of us is aware of the special position we stand in the life of the Christian community in this city, and could transcend beyond to ask, what more can we do to enable the work of the holy spirit? How do we show more solidarity with humanity? May this be a message of loving encouragement to this church, and may God continue to bless each of us in this community and all that we do, Amen.

# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Tuesday, September 15, 2026

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