World Communion Sunday October 7, 2018

Transcription

1 World Communion Sunday October 7, 2018 Hebrews 1:1-4 God Has Spoken by His Son 1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God s glory and the exact imprint of God s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 2:5-12 Exaltation through Abasement 5 Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. 6 But someone has testified somewhere, What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? 7 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, 8 subjecting all things under their feet. Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, 9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying, I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A reflection from Douglas Dicks, mission co-worker serving in Israel and Palestine Every Tuesday morning, a small group of mission partners from the various church denominations present in the Jerusalem area gather in St. John's Chapel at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City to read the lectionary texts for the coming Sunday and to pray. A single candle is lit, and the small, intimate service begins with a moment of silence. Sometimes there are two or three and sometimes there are a dozen. The numbers of those in attendance ebbs and flows, according to the season, and depending on who can take time out of their busy week to attend. However, there is an intentionality behind the service, and a

2 commitment by a small, core group to be present. At least one Lutheran, one United Methodist, and one or two Presbyterians are almost always present. We take very seriously the verse, Where two or three are gathered in my name, there shall I be also. Anyone is welcome to attend. Texts are read, prayers are lifted. And then we sing! One of the liturgies that we sing every week comes from the Hebrews 1 text. Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son. Following our time of prayer, we retire to the cafe below the Crusader-constructed chapel for coffee, fellowship, and sometimes even cheesecake! Around a small table, we reflect on the texts, we talk about those verses that challenge us, and we listen to each other, in order to better understand Scripture based upon our various experiences and interpretation of those Scriptures. More importantly, perhaps, is the opportunity to connect with one another; to listen to one other, and to talk about how everyone is doing and coping with the stress and strain of life in a land that is alien to our own, and amidst daily episodes of injustice, oppression and sometimes even death. More often than not, we close with the hymn by Bernadette Farrell, Christ, Be our Light. An incredibly uplifting hymn, which speaks to us: Longing for peace, our world is troubled, Longing for hope, many despair. Your word alone has power to save us. Make us your living voice. We take heart in the words of the last verse, which remind us to be servants to one another, signs of your kingdom come. And lastly, the desire for Christ to Shine in your church, gathered today. Because of the Son of God who unites us, we leave this space, grateful for having had the time together amidst the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, yet with a passion to return again next week, to share in the communion of one another's presence in this very troubled yet special place. A reflection from Lauren Robinson, Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) alum, who served in the Philippines One blessing of my time as a YAV in the Philippines was learning more about Filipino life and culture by traveling to different areas. In our exploration, one place that has captured my heart is the province of Bohol. In Mayana, Bohol, I was embraced fully, despite my ineptitude in the

3 Bisaya language. Reflecting on Hebrews 1 and 2 helps me understand why I connected so deeply with the people of Mayana: The Spirit does the most important translation work. Last December, I visited the community of Mayana, Bohol, for a second time. Mayana is a neighborhood (barangay) of a town called Jagna, located in the mountains of Bohol. While there, I was invited to preach in May. As I was planning this sermon, I was aware of two things. First, Pastor Wella of the Mayana United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) was about to embark on a journey with a new church. Secondly, this community adored Wella because she was an outstanding pastor. In my time of preparation, I was very nervous, wondering if the congregation would be able to understand me through the language barrier. I asked Pastor Wella if she would be willing to interpret for me as I preached. She agreed. When it was time to preach, Pastor Wella said that I didn t need her to interpret from English to Bisaya! Oh no! I thought. How will things turn out? I proceeded with my sermon. My friend, Amalia, held my gaze and encouraged me as I went along. Some people appeared to follow me, while others seemed distracted (which happens when I am preaching here in the U.S. too). The conclusion of my sermon was a sacred moment that only God could facilitate. I asked members of the church to offer a word of encouragement to Pastor Wella. Some adults shared blessings and affirmations, and then the children followed. One young girl, who lost her mother at a very young age, went up to the front of the congregation. This young girl began to explain in both English and Bisaya that she felt like Pastor Wella was a mother figure to her. We all cried at that moment. The Spirit was present, and it wasn t because of me but rather the Spirit. I was grateful. It was an emotional and tender moment for each member of the church and for Pastor Wella as well. I was grateful that despite not having a translator, not having someone interpret for me, God was able to still use me. I m sure the speaker in Hebrews also relied heavily on the Spirit to communicate who Jesus was to the audience addressed in the letter. I learned that when I doubt my abilities, especially in cross-cultural situations, to humbly seek God because God will do the work of translation. A reflection from Bernie Adeney-Risakotta, mission co-worker serving in Indonesia In Indonesia, many Christians experience their ancestors as living beings who surround them, protect them and sometimes punish them if they are displeased. Many Indonesians live in a sacred cosmos, where not only living human beings are subjects. The ancestors and the powers of nature are also subjects. At a Christian wedding party in Sulawesi, all the guests got sick to their stomachs. The Western missionaries assumed that they all had food poisoning from the party. But the elders discerned a different cause. They thought the guests were ill because the bride failed to ask permission from her parents before leaving home. A tearful bride explained that she didn t think she had to ask permission, because her parents were dead. But the Church elders saw it differently. They said, it is even more important to honor your parents after they die, because they may bring disaster on the living community if they are not honored.

4 Hebrews 1:1-4 likewise recognizes the importance of our continuity with the community that came before us. But this passage also lifts up the glory of Jesus Christ, who is not only above our ancestors, but also above the angels. Jesus is the Word that created all worlds, including the worlds of Nature and the ancestors. Jesus is the exact imprint of God s very being. We can learn from Indonesian Christians and Muslims about honoring those who went before us. But Hebrews 1:1-4 reminds us that the highest honor belongs to Christ. Christ only sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high after he had made purification for sins. How did Christ make purification for our sins? By suffering and dying on the cross for our salvation. Jesus is the Word, who sustains the continuity between the ancestors, the living community, and the whole of nature. Through the inexplicable suffering of Christ, God holds a sacred cosmos safely in his hand. (See Adeney-Risakotta, B. Living in a Sacred Cosmos: Indonesia and the Future of Islam. Yale University Southeast Asian Studies, 2018). A reflection from Josh Heikkila, mission co-worker serving in West Africa There are some words in the Second Commandment, where God instructs us not to make idols or bow down before them, that I never paid much attention to until I came to West Africa. I am a jealous God, the Bible explains, punishing children for the iniquity of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6). As I meet people in Ghana who are new converts to Christianity, and who are wrestling with scripture and what it means for their lives, this passage has taken on a new relevance. For people who grow up in Christian households, the words of the Second Commandment can be of great comfort. There is reassurance that God s steadfast love is for you and for the thousand generations that will follow. But for those who are new to faith, it can generate some fear. People have asked me what I believe If their parents and grandparents practiced traditional religion, does it mean they are under God s punishment for the next four generations? Among some individuals, there is a palpable sense this punishment is real. While I appreciate how West Africans take seriously the difficult parts of scripture, I believe the message of the Bible, above all else, is that God is gracious and merciful, and not someone we have to fear. But maybe it takes time to come to this realization. Perhaps the hymn Amazing Grace reflects this transformation: T was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace by fears relieved. At first, we may approach God with fear in our hearts, but in time, we ll come to know God as love. As churches in Ghana make disciples, people are taught to see themselves as new creations in Jesus Christ, where the old has passed away and everything is made new. They become confident that they are beloved children of God, and they begin asking what being a new creation in Christ means for their families and communities, and even for the ancestors who went before them. The Hebrews text for today describes for us a God who in the past spoke through prophets, and who today is speaking to us through a Son. We are confident that God s truth was spoken through prophets like Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, who lived and taught before the time of Jesus.

5 Is it possible, in the same way, that God also once spoke through the prophetic voices of African ancestors, who like the Hebrew prophets, also lived in the time before the name of Jesus was known and professed? More and more, I think West Africans are answering yes to this question. God was present in prophetic African ancestors, and in fact, God has always been present in this place. The name of Jesus may not have been known, but people are certain, nevertheless, that Jesus has always been with them. And they are eagerly embracing this Son, through whom God is now speaking. A reflection from Sarah Henken, mission co-worker serving in Colombia The Rev. Diego Higuita currently serves as general secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC), but he started out in ministry in his small hometown in the mountains of Colombia s Antioquia region. He tells this story about a transformative moment in ministry for him, 20 years ago. The woman had lost her farm in the beautiful mountain valley in Colombia s countryside. Her husband and older children had been killed by paramilitary soldiers, falsely accused of collaborating with the guerrillas, and now her life was in danger, too. In fear, with nowhere else to turn, she found herself on the pastor s doorstep with her baby. Diego was working part time as the ambulance driver, transporting patients from his small town to the hospital in the state capital. He was well acquainted with the army and paramilitary checkpoints along the only road through the mountains, so when the woman asked him to smuggle them out, he knew that he would be putting himself and his own family at risk. If the ambulance were stopped and the back doors opened, driver and passengers would likely be killed. The thought of it terrified him, but he did not know how to refuse. He asked the woman to return after dark, when they set out in the ambulance with nothing but a small bag of clothes for the baby and a prayer for protection. Thanks be to God, they passed through safely and reached Medellín. Where shall I take you? he asked. Under that bridge will be fine, the woman replied. She knew no one in the city, simply hoped that the anonymity of the crowd far from home would offer her and her surviving child a chance. And he had nothing else to offer her. So, he did as she asked, and left them there to wait out the rain and seek their fate in the morning. As he returned home, giving thanks for safe passage, he lamented having nothing better to offer this woman. He shared his concern with others in the church, for this woman was just one among millions facing a similar devastating reality. Soon, the IPC was offering an array of services and support to families displaced by the violence of Colombia s armed conflict.

6 This ministry of diaconal service and pastoral accompaniment is born of profound faith in the triune God who calls us by example to radical solidarity. Jesus suffered violence, injustice, and betrayal at the hands of the human community he came to transform, and still he calls us his siblings. We human beings haven t done a very good job at having everything under [our collective] control (Hebrews 2:8, Common English Bible), and still God works to redeem and to sanctify us. The church in the world today lives into its calling to follow Jesus when we see in the broken places of creation a call to step in, to claim one another as family, to put our very being on the line in a world that labels others as unworthy, not my problem, or collateral damage. The commitment to promoting peace with justice remains at the heart of ministry carried out by the IPC, and I am blessed to be part of it as a PC(USA) mission co-worker promoting peace initiatives here in Colombia. May God continue to speak to us and work through us, in Colombia, in the USA, and in the church universal around the world. Amen. A reflection from Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta, mission co-worker serving in Indonesia Sukahadi, like many tea farmers, labored long hours for very little income. It was difficult to feed his family, let alone pay for their education. Sukahadi knows how to grow fine and delicious teas, but he lacked expertise in marketing or selling his products. He dreamed of living in modest prosperity rather than hand to mouth. Now his dream is coming true. Sukahadi is a Muslim tea farmer who participated in our workshop on globalization at Duta Wacana Christian University in May I met Sukahadi at a photo exhibition in November of 2016 at our university. Sukahadi and other farmers were pictured in photos designed to show the human side of the beautiful tea plantations. The villagers have been growing tea for twenty years, but they are still far from prosperous. Students from the university photography club asked me to guide them in using social analysis to help bring a humane perspective to their photo exhibition. At my suggestion, the students invited government agencies, like the tourist department, the microbusiness cooperation department and the agricultural department, to discuss how the livelihood of the tea farmers could be improved. Photography opened a door for the social transformation of the farmers lives aided by self-advocacy for their own rights. Since that exhibition, Sukahadi and other Muslim farmers have seen the benefit of working with Duta Wacana Christian University. The workshop on globalization provided another window for the farmers and villagers to understand what has changed within their own area. The Indonesian government is building the New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) near Borobudur, the largest ancient Buddhist temple in the world. Borobodur is a UNESCO World Heritage site that draws tourists from all over the world. From the tea plantation, Borobodur looks like a lotus flower. The NYIA will be connected to Borobodur with a highway that goes through the tea plantation and other mountain villages. Sukahadi requested that we accompany his village in facing the globalization that is coming to their area. This will include millions of foreign tourists passing through their community. How shall they respond?

7 I shared Sukahadi s concern with our colleagues at the Center for Study of Development and Social Transformation (CSDST) in the Business Faculty of our Christian university. The Center works closely with our Foundation, the House of Authentic Sense, to empower villagers through our co-op. We provide entrepreneurship training and advocacy. We work with government agencies who help villagers access public programs designed for village development. Sustainable development positions the villagers as the subjects (rather than the objects) of national development. The good relationship between Islam and Christianity in Indonesia is a gift. Collaborating with Sukahadi has become a blessing for the entire university, as it offers an opportunity for Christians and Muslims to work together for social justice in the face of globalization. In caring for farmers, the students and the university are following Jesus example of acting as a servant with a sincere heart, a servant who exemplifies holiness. Muslims and Christians accept the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Bible and the Koran. Muslims honor Jesus as a prophet. Christians confess Jesus as the incarnation of God within him to give salvation to humankind. The difference in understandings of Jesus is not a reason for me not to serve Sukahadi and his fellow farmers. Theological differences even strengthen my resolve to attempt to emulate Jesus' character in my relations with others. We all recognize doing so as glorifying God.