Today we are celebrating Rally Day, the day we officially kick off our new season of ministries, especially, the ministry of Christian education. As I prepared my sermon last few weeks looking forward to this Sunday, I asked myself, what kind of message should I deliver? What kind of message can be most vital for us today as we begin this new season? I tried to find an answer one day but it was hard. I ate chocolate and tried. I drank another cup of coffee and tried. I walked around and tried. Still I couldn’t get a good answer. So I stopped thinking for a while and just started to check my Facebook. 
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There, I saw many friends of mine posted pictures of their children going to their school on the first day of new school year. I found this cute picture of Dana among them too. Browsing through their posts, I wondered: how would my friends feel when they send their children to the schools? How would they feel…when they realize that they cannot be there for their children whenever they need them? Some friends of mine say, it feels so good to finally get some free time after a long summer vacation wrestling with their kids. But I’m also sure, it’s not just a happy-all-the-way kind of feeling. They must be worried somewhat and might be a little anxious as they send their children away…away from their sight, away from their 24/7 care and protection.  

Among the pictures, one picture caught my attention. It was the picture of my friend’s daughter who just entered college this year. Under the picture, my friend left a short reflection. While driving his daughter to college, he thought, he would drop her off and then come back right away. But as soon as he got to her dorm room, he couldn’t help inspecting everything top to bottom. He sat on her bed and chair, tapped on her desk, opened and closed the window, turned the faucet on and off in the restroom, turned the light on and off. After the long security sweep, he finally said good bye to his daughter and left. But his heart was heavy and unrelieved on his way back…until he got a moment of grace. While driving, with no specific reason, he found himself humming the hymn, God Will Take Care of You. “Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you; beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you. God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way; he will take care of you, God will take care of you.” That moment he got the assurance that even though he just left his daughter, God will never leave her; God will be with her and take care of her.

Today, as we begin our new season of ministry and new chapter of our life, I believe no other message can be more foundational than this. God is with you. God never leaves my friend’s freshman daughter; God never leaves our children; God never leaves you; God never leaves our church…God is with you always. Even though you cannot be there for your children, or for your family and friends all the time, even though you are all alone, God is always with you. And God will take care of you. 

This faith in our ever-present God doesn’t come out of nowhere. The whole Bible testifies, God is love, and out of this love, God seeks a reconciled relationship and a fellowship with us. The Bible tells us, God came to Abraham to make a covenant with him. God visits Moses in the burning bush to save God’s people from slavery. God spoke to the prophets to turn them back from their wrong ways. And finally, God came down to earth in Jesus. And after Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus abides in us. Hear the Psalm for today, how beautifully the Psalmist sings the love of God in God’s everlasting presence. “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast (Psalm 139:7-10). 

Out of love, God comes to us and abides in our lives. This surely is good news for us. And this surely gives us a meaning and reason to live in confidence, live without fear. Paul proclaims, “If God is for us, who is against us?.... Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?.... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:31;35;37). In this inseparable love, in the inescapable presence of God, we know and believe, we can do all things, and we can triumph over any troubles and any challenges in life. What a grace it is! This might be why, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said, “Best of it all is, God is with us.” 

One day an inspiring Christian writer, Henri Nouwen received a letter from a man who desperately wanted to know if humanity would survive the century. It’s so funny because Rev. Nouwen is a priest—not a disaster-prediction expert. Does this man know to whom he is writing? Anyway, to this broad and a little wacky question, Rev. Nouwen answers in a beautiful and meaningful way. You can find the whole letter here in this book, Love, Henri: Letters on Spiritual Life. 
 
Dear George, 
 
I really don’t know if our civilization will survive the century. Considering the growing threat of a nuclear holocaust, there certainly is a reason to wonder. But important for me is not if our civilization will survive or not, but if we can continue to live with hope, and I really think we can, because our Lord [Jesus Christ] has given us his promise that he will stay with us at all times. He is the God of the living, [Jesus] has overcome evil and death and His love is stronger than any form of death and destruction. That is why I feel that we should continually avoid the temptation of despair and deepen our awareness that God is present in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us and that that presence allows us to live joyfully and peacefully in a world so filled with sorrow and conflict. Please be sure of my prayers for you in these tempting times. 
 
Peace,
Henri Nouwen[1]
 
Our lives are uncertain. We don’t know what will happen next. We can’t see what kind of untrodden road will unfold before us, before our children, before our family and friends, and before our church. A nicely paved road? A rocky road? A treacherous cliff-side road? Facing this uncertainty, we are worried and anxious. And in the world, there are full of reasons to fear and despair. Mass shootings, bullies, hate crimes, racism, sexism, natural disasters, and accidents…there are so many things letting us down and fret. But as Rev. Nauwen tells us, for the believers of Jesus Christ, the important thing is not if we can survive uncertainty, but if we can live with hope, deepen our awareness that God is with us in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us, and reject the urge for worry and despair.

And we are able do this as the believers of Jesus Christ, because Jesus has given us his promise that he will stay with us at all times. At the very last moment of his ascension, Jesus tells his disciples and us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). Today as we begin our new season of ministry, new chapter of life, let us remember just this: nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ our Lord, and nothing can move us away from the everlasting presence of God. So go now with deep confidence in the presence of our God in your life and talk to your children, talk to your family and friends, and talk to yourself every day, “God loves you. God is with you. God will take care of you.” Amen. 


[1] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Love, Henri: Letters on Spiritual Life (New York: Convergent Books, 2016), 45.

As I live with my dog, Eco, one of the major challenges I have to deal with on a daily basis is her shedding. Eco has a silky coat with smooth hair. And she sheds a lot every day. So I have to vacuum my house regularly, and always carry a Scotch roller with me to remove her hair from my clothes. There are a couple in my car all the time. Does it bother me? To be honest, it’s annoying sometimes. And I think, to those who have a higher standard of cleanness and hygiene than me, it could be a real issue.

Among many people I know, there’s one person who has the highest standard of cleanness and hygiene. And that person happens to be my mom. One day, Jee Hei and I got the news that she would visit us for about a month. It meant, she was going to meet Eco for the first time. We were so worried. So before she came, we not just sanitized our house but almost sterilized it from top to bottom. The day came at last. My mom arrived. As soon as she entered the house, I could see she was scanning every corner. Then, Eco came to greet her. My mom immediately noticed her shedding. And we were so scared waiting for her judgement, her verdict. But to our surprise, she was alright with that! And she had such a good time with Eco during the entire stay.

How come? It’s because my mom fell in love with Eco. Yes, it was the power of love. Of course, she complained about her shedding sometimes. But above all, she enjoyed staying with Eco. Since then, every time we talk on the phone, she asks me, “How is Eco doing?” And these days, she is even considering adopting a dog. That surprises me so much. Love changes many things. Doesn’t it? Once my mom began to love Eco, the joy of companionship she found with Eco overcame the annoyance of picking up her hair all day long. True, love has a power… power that enables us to find joy over judgment.

In today’s Gospel story, Jesus is hanging out with sinners. The so-called sinners are gathered around him and listening to him. Looking at this, the Pharisees and the scribes, the religious leaders in Jesus’s days, grumble, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” They don’t understand Jesus’s behavior. But here, the question is, “Doesn’t Jesus know that the people he’s hanging out are sinners?” What do you think? I am so sure, Jesus knows it, and he knows much better than the Pharisees and the scribes about their sins. But he’s different. The Pharisees and the scribes only judge those people as sinners, and that’s it. But Jesus, even though he knows and judges their sins, he still stays with the sinners. How come? It’s because Jesus loves them. With love, Jesus finds joy over judgment, finds a way of joyful relationship beyond judgmental exclusion.

To the Pharisees and the scribes, Jesus tells two parables about this love finding joy over judgment. In the first one, a shepherd leaves his flock of ninety-nine to look for one single lamb that is lost. He searches until he finds it, and when he does, he carries that one lamb home on his shoulders, invites his friends and neighbors over, and throws a party to celebrate. The shepherd says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the second parable, a woman loses one of her ten silver coins. Immediately, she lights up a lamp and sweeps her entire house, looking carefully for the coin until she finds it. When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to celebrate. She says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.”

These parables clearly teach us today, with his amazing love, Jesus finds the lost, the sinners like us. Here in this church today, is there anyone who can confidently say, I’m blameless, I’m not a sinner at all? I think no one can say that. Jesus knows and judges our sins. But above all, he still loves us. And this love changes many things. Although we sometimes go astray like the sheep and get lost like the coin, Jesus seeks us again, turns us back to his love, and rejoices with us. And until he finds us, he desperately searches for us like the good shepherd, like the woman sweeping her entire house. His love doesn’t just give us up for our sins. Rather, his love always looks for the joy of having us back, the joy of acceptance and relationship, the joy of forgiveness and salvation, over judgmental rejection and punishment. This is the good news!

So as the followers of Jesus, who have this good news, what shall we do now? How should we live our lives? The answer is very simple and straightforward. We should love like Jesus. In detail, we should love one another with the love finding joy over judgment. I know, as humans, we can be judgmental to one another and pick up small things from one another. We often say, “That’s wrong. Why does he or she do that? That’s not right.” And I know, we come to church to be better human beings. So sometimes, as we try to be good, we apply a quite high moral and ethical standard to one another. And in this way, the church can become a judgmental place. Yes, it’s natural for us to be judgmental. I get it. But if we stop there, if we stop at judging others and don’t do more than that, we become just the same as other groups of people, just the same as the grumbling Pharisees and the scribes in today’s Gospel story.   
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Again, what shall we do as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ? We should love like Jesus. In detail, we should love one another with the love finding joy over judgment. Even though we see others’ mistakes, faults and shortcomings, even though we sometimes get hurt by others’ wrongdoings, please remember, we are called to love one another over our judgement. And we are called to rejoice with one another as we follow Jesus together. With our love, let us make our church a place of joy, the joy of acceptance and relationship, the joy of forgiveness and salvation. And let us make our church a place for sinners where all can come and listen to Jesus, a place for the lost where all are found by Jesus again. When we were yet sinners, Jesus loved us first, found us, and shared the heavenly joy with us. And in spite of all our sins, he still loves us. What a grace it is! So today, let us love like Jesus. Love one another in spite of their sins, find joy over judgment, and say, “Jesus loves you no matter what. So do I.” Amen. 

On our vacation, Jee Hei and I visited Acadia National Park in Maine. It was already our third time going there, but it was beautiful and refreshing as always. Every time we go up there, we see a special welcoming sign entering the border of Maine. It says, “Welcome to Maine, The Way Life Should Be.” Have you ever seen this before? I don’t know what kind of life they’re talking about, but it’s quite an attractive slogan. Isn’t it? The way life should be…the words always make me smile. And it takes me back to the beautiful coastlines and mountains of Maine and brings me the memories of great wild life, outdoor activities, lobsters, and so on. 

This year, I also passed that sign again. And of course, I got very excited. As we were about an hour away from Acadia, Jee Hei and I stopped by our friend’s house for lunch. He’s a United Methodist pastor who started serving a church in Maine last year and recently had twins. So it was really great to see him and his family. While catching up, he talked about many things… you know, things good and bad, happy and sad. He also shared some hardships he had gone through there. One of them was the winter season of Maine. He said it was the longest and coldest winter he had ever experienced. He even got a little depression so decided to go to a gym for some physical activities. And it wasn’t easy for him to live in a small rural town with no close friends, no other family members living near him. But he had endured them all for his ministry.
 
Listening to him, I felt like I got a reality check. Maine can be a wonderful place for people like me who visit there for a vacation, but it’s not always refreshing and beautiful for those who actually live there and make their living. Yes, we all know, life ain’t all sunshine and rainbow, not like a vacation. “Welcome to Maine, The Way Life Should Be,” the slogan proudly told me, “life in Maine is great. You will love it.” And it totally got me for a while and made me only see nice things about Maine. But leaving my friend’s house, the slogan began to sound a little different to me. How should our life be anyway?

Through his ministry, one of the main missions Jesus carried out was to show people the way life should be. Many people got fascinated by Jesus. They witnessed amazing miracles and wonders. They saw Jesus silence religious leaders and cast out demons with divine authority. No wonder, large crowds traveled along with Jesus wherever he went as today’s Gospel reading says (Luke 14:25). The crowds believe that Jesus is the true savior, the king, the Messiah. With him, their days of suffering and pain are over and they are going to walk a rosy and shiny way of glory. Yes, with Jesus, that’s the way life should be. They are quite sure about this, but indeed, they misunderstand Jesus a big time. 

So in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus looks like giving the crowd a moment of reality check and clarifying the way of life he’s been talking about. So, what kind of solution is offered for this reality check? One thing for sure, Jesus’ solution is not a pep talk, not even close. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple,” Jesus tells the large crowds. “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (14:26-27). If these two warnings are not frightful or bold enough, then here comes the third one: “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (14:33). 

Isn’t it strange? Here, Jesus looks like trying so hard to not only disillusion the crowds but also scare them away. We understand, Jesus wants not fans or spectators but disciples. And we know, Jesus wants followers who understand the cost of discipleship—its commitment and its cross. But his words are unnecessarily strong. Needless to say, those hyperboles of Jesus must have frustrated the crowds and scattered them away. No doubt, most of them must have returned home. But then, what happened in reality? 

I don’t know whether the solution of Jesus was successful or not, but one thing I can tell you is that although the large crowds disappeared, the disciples still followed Jesus. It seems nothing special. But the disciples still followed Jesus. After the shocking reality check, they must have been also confused and overwhelmed like the crowds. Nevertheless, they kept on following Jesus. We know, Jesus’ disciples were not noble people. They were a group of people including even a rebel, a tax collector, and some Galilean fishermen. Nevertheless, they simply accepted, Jesus is the way. And they followed him as disciples, because they believed, that’s the way their life should be. The disciples failed Jesus many times; they still didn’t fully understand Jesus’s mission; they often argued with one another who’s better. Nevertheless, they followed Jesus. And they took part in Jesus’ ministry and eventually, prepared the way of the Lord—the way of the cross.

Listening to Jesus’s scary warning today, we may get disappointed too. We may feel like it’s truly hard to be a disciple… almost impossible. But let us think about these disciples of Jesus one more time. To be a disciple… perhaps, it all begin with simply not leaving Jesus after the large crowds went away. Perhaps it all begin with simple decision to follow Jesus from where we are now. Who are you today coming all the way from home and joining this worship service to reflect on your life and faith? Who are you today burdened and distressed yet wanting to find God’s peace and grace? Who are you today waking up early on a Sunday morning and bringing your family to this church? Who are you today facing all the challenges in life yet trying hard not to be away from Jesus? Who are you? Are you the disciples? Yes. You. Are.
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Although our life is not all sunshine and rainbow, not always like a vacation, although our life is more like a race that requires our commitment, sacrifice, struggle, and fight, can we still follow Jesus? Faithful friends in Christ, let us keep on following Jesus and walking with him the way of cross. Keep on loving. Keep on serving. Keep on believing. Keep on forgiving. Keep on gathering. Keep on encouraging. Keep on struggling. Keep on hoping. Keep on praying. Keep on running the faithful race no matter where we are. Then, by God’s grace, I believe, our life becomes the life in the kingdom of peace and justice, the life in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the life in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord who always leads our life into hopes and wonders, forgiveness and liberation, joy and thanksgiving. Let us follow Jesus. It is the way disciples’ life should be. Amen. 

In today’s Gospel story, Jesus looks like a manager and his disciples like his interns. He groups his disciples in pair and sends them to every town and place where he himself would like to visit. For this field education with hands-on practices, Jesus gives detailed instructions to his disciples. Jesus teaches them what they should do and say, when they visit houses and share the good news. Why does he do that? I believe, he does this to train his disciples and get them ready before he leaves them. In fact, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to go through his final days. So it’s about time for him to conduct a midterm evaluation on his disciples’ performance to see how much they have grown to be the trustworthy messengers of God’s new kingdom. 

Yes, it looks like Jesus is fitting well into this picture of an internship manager. It’s quite convincing to me too…until I got to reflect on the following words of Jesus, “Go on your way. See I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves” (Luke 10:3). Honestly, I hadn’t paid much attention to these words. But here, Jesus doesn’t sound like a manager. Apparently, these words show Jesus’s sincere concern, from the bottom of his heart. And the one who can say such compassionate words to somebody must be more than just a manager, more like a parent who cares for the children.

And it’s so true. As he often describes himself, Jesus is the good shepherd who searches for the lost lambs and even lays down one’s life for them. He sees his disciples not just through the eyes of judgment and evaluation but more through the eyes of love and compassion. Then I realized, I had focused too much on what Jesus asks the disciples to do—the tasks, the things that we are in charge as disciples. But I had never focused on how Jesus would have felt when he sent the disciples away. 

So, how would Jesus feel when he had to send the disciples “like lambs into the midst of wolves?” Not just close “to” wolves but “into the midst” of wolves? I don’t have a lamb. But I have a different kind of animal in my house living with me. Yes, Eco, my dog. She is so gentle and affectionate. She never has done any harm to anybody. When she meets other dogs outside, although they are smaller than her, she gets scared, curled up between my legs and sometimes begs me to pick her up. Anyway, I imagined, if I send Eco into the midst of wolves, how would I feel? I wouldn’t be just worried but I would be terrified to death. Think about your children and family members. Imagine that you send them into the midst of such a threat. How would you feel? Even when your children leave home for college, or for even a short-term trip abroad, you must be worried. But sending them into the midst of uncertain dangers? It’s hard to imagine.
Then, how about Jesus? Jesus must be deeply concerned and so much worried as he sends his disciples to the world full of challenges and risks. Later, he says, he even watches “Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning” as soon as the disciples hit the road (Luke 10:18). He sees Satan come right away to capture them, tempt them to go astray, and turn their way against God. His heart must be so troubled.  

Then, as Jesus sees the dangers loom large, does he give the disciples something to overcome them? Something to depend on? We know, he has power to do so. He may give them some divine warrantee to protect them and provide them with some good supplies to carry out the mission at least without having to worry about what to eat and where to stay. But to our surprise, Jesus orders his disciples something totally unreasonable and absurd. “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road” (Luke 10:4). Here, Jesus basically asks the disciples to take nothing and to make no relationship with someone who may help them on their way. This sounds quite harsh. If he watches Satan let loose and prey on the disciples like wolves take down lambs, why does Jesus not give anything and do anything for them? Is he truly the good shepherd with the sympathetic heart of a parent? What’s the reason?

As today’s Gospel story concludes, we see the reason. Through the perilous field education, Jesus wants the disciples to learn one thing, only one thing. That is the way to depend on God. Depending only on God—nothing else. The disciples are like lambs. They are weak and unable. They have no worldly power to show off. And their weakness cannot be overcome by some things they bring. But in their weaknesses, paradoxically, they have all the power. As long as they depend on Jesus and the one who sends him, the power of Christ dwells in them. This is why the Apostle Paul says, “for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). We are weak but he is strong. We are unable but he is able. So if we depend on and trust in his power, our good shepherd will provide us with all the strength to overcome any hardship and the gifts to make wonderful fruits in the world. That’s the whole point. 

After the disciples return from towns, they report on their progress with joy, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” (Luke 10:17) They now get it. Although they feel powerless and helpless on their way, they finally come to realize that they actually have the true power in the name of Jesus. Likewise, it’s time for us now to get it too. On our life’s journey, we better depend on our good shepherd who loves us. If this Jesus is for us and with us, then who can be against us? Whenever we feel weak and unable in the face of challenges and difficulties, we can always gain power in the name of Jesus. And we shall overcome. 

But here’s one thing we should be mindful of. We should depend on “Jesus”—not “ourselves.” Sometime when things are going well with us, we tend to depend on our power trusting in ourselves. And as humans, we naturally crave worldly powers; we want to be stronger and richer, more influential and popular. But if we goes on this way too far, we may not remain as lambs of the good shepherd anymore. We may become like wolves in the world. One of the most important early Christian fathers, John Chrysostom said this, “As long as we are sheep, we overcome and, though surrounded by countless wolves, we emerge victorious; but if we turn into wolves, we are defeated, for we lose the help of our shepherd. He, after all, feeds the sheep not wolves, and will abandon you if you do not let him show his power in you.” This is what we should keep in mind.

Faithful friends in Christ, we are blessed to have the good shepherd in our lives. This is the one who is deeply worried about us with a compassionate heart and who always searches for us and even lays down his life for us. “Go on your way. See I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.” The good shepherd tells us today that our lives, especially as Christians, may not be easy. But he also gives us a promise, “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you” (Luke 10:19). To us, Jesus has given the authority to win this battle against any power of tribulation in the world. So let us depend not on us, not our power, but on Jesus and his faithfulness. 
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Is there anything that discourages you and distresses you? Is there an ongoing or upcoming challenge you need to deal with? Is there anything in your life that makes you feel vulnerable and helpless? Let us look up to our good shepherd who is the source of all our power and blessings. There is a power in the name of Jesus. Because of him living in us, we know, although we are unable, we shall overcome. And whenever we are week, we are strong. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Sebastião Salgado is a renowned Brazilian photographer who has won nearly every major award in photojournalism. Most of his works are documentaries featuring workers, migrants, and families in harsh conditions such as exploitation, war, genocide, famine, and ecological destruction. He traveled around the world, masterfully captured and revealed the human faces of a world in transition. But his work always led him to dangerous places, and he had to witness so many cruel scenes of human atrocities. And it became too much a burden on him. So in the mid-90s, after documenting a horrible genocide in Rwanda, Salgado lost all desire to shoot photos. He said, “I had never imagined that man could be part of a species capable of such cruelty to its own members and I couldn’t accept it.” He got physically and emotionally sick and drained. He lost his faith in humanity. 

To recover his exhausted mind and body, he returned home to his family land in Brazil. He remembered, the place was once covered in lush tropical rainforest when he was a child. But instead of his childhood paradise, there, he found a barren wilderness—trees cut down and the wildlife gone away. He was devastated once more. He said, “The land was as sick as I was—everything was destroyed.” His soul was deadened by witnessing the power of death in foreign lands and now in his own family land. Despair and resentment overwhelmed him.

So there, what did he do? Just walked away? No, believe it or not, he decided to plant trees. He followed his wife Lélia Salgado who believed that the forest will be restored. It could sound like a reckless adventure to him. But he followed her faith and amazingly, the forest came back little by little. Together, Salgado and his wife founded Instituto Terra. And so far, this small organization has planted 4 million saplings and brought the forest and wildlife back from the dead. Salgado said, “when we began to do that, then all the insects and birds and fish returned and, thanks to this increase of the trees I, too, was reborn—this was the most important moment.”

Reading this story a week ago, I felt like I was electrified. I thought, it’s more than just another heart-warming story, because I saw a strong connection between what Salgado has done and what we are supposed to do as Christians—practice our faith. 

In the world, we often face the powers that deaden our souls. And we have experiences that leave us hopeless and helpless. We sometimes feel like the world is a cruel and evil place where the power of death ruins the land of living at any given moment. And we think our society is not just or safe but it only brings challenges to our faith—our faith in human goodness and reason, our faith in the systems of justice, our faith in community, and our faith in God. Like the devastated forest, our soul, our society we live in, may be sick. But here, in this situation, what shall we do?

I think, many of us may just walk away. We may either admit or ignore the situation out there and just try to be happy for ourselves as much as we can. But we know, this way is not the way that Christians are called to live. Then, what? Yes, we are called to follow Jesus. Here, following Jesus means two things: we are called to keep our faith in himand to put that faith into action. Like Salgado who has kept a simple faith and planted trees following his wife, we are asked to do such things out of our faith and change our lives. Indeed, in face of the deserted world, the ruined God’s vineyard, we shall follow Jesus. We shall follow him by keeping our faith in him. This is the matter of life and death, the matter of salvation. And we shall follow him by putting our faith into action. This is the only way to bring change to our lives.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches us how to follow him. In the story, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem with his disciples. On the way, they were not welcomed by the Samaritans in a village. The disciples get mad. And James and John ask Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? (Luke 9:54)” Who are these violent extremists? Immediately, Jesus rebukes them. Why? There’s no time for despair or resentment. To follow Jesus, they should leave those negative feelings behind. Shake them off and follow him again.
And as they continue to go on the road, someone comes and talks to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go” (9:57). Then, Jesus tells him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (9:58). The purpose of this speech? I think, Jesus is warning him. He wants to say, “to follow me, you will have to endure inconvenience and hardship.” Fair enough.

Again on the way, Jesus meets a person and asks him to follow him. But he says, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Then, Jesus replies, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (9:60). What does he mean? Here, in his answer, Jesus is clearly saying, “to follow me, you have to do it right now because following me is a life-and-death-matter. Follow me right now and be alive. Or stay for a while and be spiritually dead.” This is an urgent choice to make.

Today, how are we following Jesus? Are we leaving things behind, enduring inconvenience and hardship, and following him urgently and immediately as Jesus teaches us? Do we believe, his love and grace are the true powers that save us and the world from the power of death? Do we firmly believe, we can make changes here by loving God and loving one another, by being kind and forgiving like Jesus? Sometimes our society and circumstances in life, and our very selves may be like the deserted forest ruined by feelings of despair and resentment, powers of death and evil. But right at that moment, let us not forget, that’s the right moment to follow Jesus again. That’s the right moment to keep our faith in him and put our faith into action right away. 
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I want all of us to try this at least once in this week. At a moment when you feel hopeless and helpless, at a moment when you feel the power of the world is too huge to handle, talk to yourself, this is the right moment to follow Jesus. This is the right moment to trust in his goodness and plant a seed of faith, a sapling of hope, and a tree of love. To make our wilderness green, we don’t need to put grand-scale efforts to turn things upside down at once. And honestly, we can’t. But look at Sebastião Salgado’s example. His humble beginning proves that grand accomplishments are made through even the smallest steps. Likewise, let us take our own small cross and follow Jesus today one step at a time. Again, this is the right moment to trust in the goodness of Jesus and plant a seed of faith, a sapling of hope, and a tree of love. Then, I am sure, the life-giving love of Jesus Christ will help us change the wilderness of our lives into a beautiful forest that revitalizes our soul and nurtures many other lives. Amen. 

The Exorcist. Have you ever watched this classic horror movie or heard about it? I think, most of you at least know what it is about. It’s about the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother’s attempt to rescue her through an exorcism. When it was released in 1973, it was so sensational that people lined up at theaters enduring cold winter weather. And you know what, people literally got sick watching the movie. Many people felt nauseous and vomited. There were reports of heart attacks and miscarriages, believe or not. And a psychiatric journal even coined the term “cinematic neurosis” to describe these symptoms. But if you would watch the movie now, I’m sure you wouldn’t be scared that much. Some of you may just scoff at it and say, “Oh…come on.” It’s because all those 70s’ visual effects using puppets and make-ups look poor and unrealistic. It’s not even close to hyper-realistic computer graphics these days. 

As such, today’s Gospel reading may sound like another unrealistic story of exorcism to us. It’s not even from the 70s. It’s an ancient story… about the demonic possession of a man in Gerasenes and the exorcism Jesus conducted. The story goes like this. It was near the Sea of Galilee, away from a town. A man lives in the place of the dead and wanders around the wilds wearing no clothes. He is a man possessed by not just one evil spirit but many demons. He probably has multiple personalities and different voices. This man is a threat to the townspeople. So they try many things to capture him and keep him bound with chains and shackles. But driven by strong demons, this man always breaks the bonds, goes back into the wilds, and haunts the town every night. But to him, Jesus approaches one day. This group of demons in his body ask Jesus not to order them to go back into the abyss. So Jesus permits them to enter the herd of swine. And the herd rushes down the steep bank into the lake and gets drowned.  

How does the story sound? Sounds like a supernatural horror movie, like The Exorcist? Yes, it might. But what should we do with this story now? Can we just dismiss this story altogether as an unrealistic story? Can we just scoff at it and say, “Oh…come on?” I guess, we can’t. Let me tell you, there is a big difference between a horror movie and this story in the Gospel, because it’s a story in “the Gospel,” in “the Bible,” my friends! We Christians don’t take the story in the Gospel as a mere ancient fiction, but as the living word of God. We believe, it has power to change our lives and save our souls. Different from watching a movie, whenever we read the Scripture, we think about its meaning to us, about what God wants us to hear from the story. But then, what on earth does this movie-like exorcism story of the demon-possessed man in Gerasenes have to do with us? How can it be the good news for the contemporary people like us? And finally, how can it be “our” story, the story of God’s people?

Let us closely look at the story. I know, we may not see such dramatic case like the man in Gerasenes around us. But what about the evil that torments him? Can you confidently say that the power of the evil and its demonic forces are unreal too? Whatever language we use to describe this power and whichever way we define it in a theological, medical, psychological, or sociological way, what we know for sure is that this force harms and destroys the man. It “strips him of agency, sanity, dignity, and community. It keeps him in isolation [in the margins of his society]. It renders him anonymous. It encourages him to mutilate his own body. It deadens his soul and divides his mind. In short, it deprives him of self-control, and propels him towards self-destruction.”[1]

Does any of these sound familiar? Still unfamiliar to you? Do you remember the horrible bombings that happened in Sri Lanka last April? Think about those suicide bombers and terrorists who planned the bombings, who attacked three churches and other locations on Easter Sunday morning and killed 258 people. What about the mass-shootings? In the US, in this year only, so far we have 148 mass shootings reported. And as a consequence, 162 people were killed and 560 injured. Aren’t these too extreme cases for the evil in the world? Then what about the power of evil that shapes our society? “Some of us are imprisoned within systems of injustice that stretch back so many centuries. Some of us experience our skin colors, accents, genders, sexualities, or status as magnets for other people’s hatred.”[2] Some of us were abused as children and victims of bullies. And what about the power of evil that affects our personal life? Some of us are caught in depression, addiction, anxiety, greed, self-loathing and so on. Some of us are slaves to money and lust. Some of us can’t shake off our violent impulses and resentments.

All these strong and week, obvious and insidious influences of demonic forces are more than real then as well as now. Certainly, the story of demon-possessed man in Gerasenes is not just an ancient oddity. It is, in a different way, an everyday story in our days and more or less, our own story. And the evil that haunts us has many faces, many names. They are indeed, “Legion,” like the demons identify themselves before Jesus, which means, a unit of 3,000 to 6,000 men in the Roman army. We are surrounded by a legion of evil forces. And every one of us is vulnerable to such forces that seek to take us over and separate us from Jesus and from one another. We are susceptible to such forces that seek to possess us and control our heart and mind, our emotion and reason, our motivation and choices. Look around and look inside. 

Then, what shall we do to be protected and eventually liberated from such evil power? From the Gospel story, what I found as a solution is very simple. “Let Jesus call you and speak to you.” In the story, the healing begins as Jesus talks to him. He asks, “What is your name?” Then after he casts out the demons, he sends the man with a mission,“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Let Jesus call you and speak to you. Then you may not only get better but also become his servant to carry out his mission. It’s not difficult. Just practice listening to him.
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Faithful friends in Christ, the power of evil and its demonic and destructive forces are real. They come to us in many faces and try to possess us always. So we should be awake in our prayer every day. Every day, we better check our heart and mind to see whether there is any influence of the evil. Also we should receive the word of God and renew our identity as God’s people as we gather on Sundays and in any other occasions. We better try to stay connected to Jesus and listen to him who calls us and speaks to us. Our Christian journey is a kind of battle. We should keep ourselves from the evil. But here is the good news: in this battle, the victory is already won by Jesus Christ our Lord. And this battle is ultimately not ours to win. Of course, we should do our best to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ on our journey. But it is ultimately Jesus who leads our way. So let him come to you; open your hearts and minds to him in your prayer, in your silent meditation, in your services, in your good works, in your fellowships. He will call you and speak to you. He will heal you and lead you into his mission of sharing the good news of liberation. In him, may we always find our healing and our freedom. Amen. 


[1]Debie Thomas, “Legion,” posted 16 June 2019 on www.journeywithjesus.net (https://www.journeywithjesus.net/lectionary-essays/current-essay?id=2259).
[2]Ibid.

Two weeks ago, I had such a grateful opportunity to travel Greece with my wife looking around the cities where Paul had visited. We started our journey in Athens. And the closest city, Corinth, was our next stop. Then, from there, we drove up to the far north to visit Thessaloniki and Philippi. On the way, we stayed one night in Delphi which is famous for the great ancient temple. This temple is located deep in the mountains. Arrived at a hotel there, I was so tired after a long drive that I fell asleep early. But because of jet lag, I woke up in the middle of night around 3am. Drinking a cup of water, I thought, I might see some stars. So I walked out to a small balcony. Breathing in fresh and crisp night air, I looked up the sky. And I was just amazed. I could see countless stars. It was the most beautiful night sky I have ever met. Not only that, I also noticed a faint band of shimmering light across the sky. I thought, it could be Milky Way. So I brought out my camera and took some long-exposure photos. And fortunately, I could capture this view.

On the day of Pentecost, the people gathered in the upper room experienced the most incredible event in their lives. It’s a wild experience. It’s beyond their imagination. There was a stormy sound, like “the rush of a violent wind,” like a tornado. It came down suddenly from heaven and filled the entire house. There was a strange vision. Flames of fire, like tongues, touched the heads of the people. There was an unfathomable wonder. The believers were gifted with the ability to speak fluently in a new language. In the presence of this Spirit of God, there was communication over any human barriers and unity within people’s diversity and differences. This event truly surpassed any human understanding. So the onlookers “were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’” And they sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’” 

For sure, this first day of Pentecost was full of wonder and divine mystery. And today, we are celebrating another day of Pentecost with all Christians in the world. We praise together the coming of the Holy Spirit who gave birth to the church. But we know, today we may not have the same dramatic event. We don’t expect the Spirit to descend on us like the strong wind of fire and embolden us to preach the gospel to anyone we meet. We don’t expect that, do we? Yes, we better admit, we wouldn’t have such drama today. 

Nonetheless, I believe, there’s at least one thing we can surely do even today. What is it? I think, that is, to be open-minded to the new possibilities of God. We may open ourselves to the unexpected visit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And we may open our hearts to fresh changes and new experiences. We’ll never know what is going to happen in our lives in the presence of the Spirit. God may do something totally new, something radically unimaginable here and now with us. Yes,why not?

But I know, it’s very hard to be open-minded. It’s truly easier said than done. Think about our human nature and our ego. We are naturally inclined to avoid any sudden surprises. We don’t like any unexpected events and changes in life. It’s because we want control over our life. We always feel like our life is in the way it should be when we can plan on it and manage it. 

And in this light, we can understand the onlookers of the Pentecost event. They were just the same as us, just usual humans. They were so surprised when they witnessed the unforeseen work of the Spirit. In such strange situation, they tried not to lose themselves and not to lose control. So they came up with some words to grasp and delimit this event. And they finally figured the closest possible description. That was, drunkenness. They define the experience of the believers as mere drunkenness, saying “Look at them. They are acting like being filled with new wine. Yes, they are.” 

This was how those onlookers close off themselves from the astonishing work of the Spirit. And how about us? Don’t we sometimes do the same? How much and how often are we open to the new possibilities of God? On this new day of Pentecost, I believe the Holy Spirit inspires us to honestly look into our hearts. Are we like those earliest believers on the upper room? Do we joyfully open our hearts to the Spirit and yield our control for the amazing presence of the Spirit within us? Or, are we more like those onlookers? Do we just follow our will and delimit the work of the Spirit on our own terms, saying, “been there and done that”? And are we willing for the Spirit to grasp us and use us in a way out of our expectation? Or, are we willing for our ego to hold initiative of our life and lead us in our own preferred ways? 

The temptation to close off ourselves from the unexpected work of the Spirit is strong, very strong. But today’s Acts reading testifies to a certain truth and promise for us. If we truly open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and give way to her, the Spirit will get ahold of us and have her way with us. If we surrender our will to control and give room to the Spirit, she will dwell in us and mold us to be more like Jesus. And this is what we call “the way of sanctification,” “the way of holy living.” We know this work of the Spirit can happen in our lives if we truly believe. 

Faithful friends in Christ, the great ancestors of faith, spirituals, and theologians in the whole history of Christianity basically teach us this truth, this promise of our salvation, our new life. Our journey of new life is the journey of opening ourselves more and more to God by emptying ourselves. And the more we are open to God, the more the Spirit abides in us, and the more we become sanctified and Christ-like. In the presence of the Holy Spirit, this journey may not go as we expected. The direction of this journey may be suddenly changed. Our planned itinerary may be turned upside down. But isn’t our goal of Christian life to follow Jesus and be more like him anyway? Then, why not? Why not give way, give room to the Holy Spirit? Why not let go of our way, our plan, our control, our will?
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Today, let us truly open ourselves to the new and unexpected possibilities of the Holy Spirit. Then, only then, we may experience true Pentecost among us. As the believers of Jesus Christ our Lord, we all have received the Holy Spirit and we are living our lives in the presence of this Spirit of Jesus. This is what Jesus promises in today’s Gospel reading. Thus, for our journey of sanctification, all we need to do is to open our hearts to this ever-present Spirit. In your time of prayer and reflection, ask this Spirit to awaken you and lead your way. Why not? Ask this Spirit to dwell in you and inspire you to keep up the good work of faith. Ask this Spirit to surprise you sometimes and turn you upside down to remain truthful and faithful to Jesus only. And ask this Spirit to come and set you on fire of love that you can love others as yourselves. Open your heart. Give way and give room to the Holy Spirit today. Why not?

During my vacation, I spent a good time with my family and friends in South Korea. I also had a lot of good Korean food. Among them, there were some authentic folk dishes. And I guess, they may be quite strange to you. How does pufferfish soup sound? How about soy sauce marinated raw crab? They may sound strange because they are unfamiliar to you. Other dishes, however, wouldn’t just sound strange, but they would also look and smell repulsive to you. Even many Koreans including Jee Hei don’t eat them at all. One of them is silkworm pupae soup. I know, they are insects basically. But what I can tell you is that it tastes alright and has high protein. And the last one I am going to tell you today is fermented raw skate, which is always ranked in top ten smelliest foods in the world. The New York Times even named it, “A Delicate Mix of Outhouse and Ammonia.” And that’s so true. Whenever I eat it, I get to squeeze my eyes shut because of the stench of ammonia fume coming out of my nose. Yes, I’ve eaten them all. But believe me, it was not me who ordered those dishes.

As you saw those images of strange Korean foods this morning, in todays’ Acts reading, Peter also sees a vision of strange foods from heaven. They are “four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.” Peter has never had them before. And they are something strange and even repulsive to him. As a Jew, Peter knows it clearly that the Jewish dietary law, which we know as the Kosher law, defines such food items “unclean.” But in his vision, he sees a large blanket coming down from heaven, delivering them directly to him. And as he looks closely at them, he even hears God’s voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” Out of surprise, he replies right away, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” Then, the voice answers back from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (Acts 11:5-9). The scripture says, this happens to Peter three times.

From our own perspective, we may feel like Peter is overreacting to God’s voice. These days, we are quite used to trying different cuisines and exotic foods. And we sometimes try them for a new experience. Let’s say, I bring some of those strange Korean foods to the church. Although they seem unappealing to you, I know some of you may give it a try just for fun. Right? You may take a little bite of silkworm pupa. No, never? Anyway, for us, trying some folk dishes from different cultures can be just a matter of fun, a matter of new adventure. But for Peter, for a Jew in Jesus’ days, eating unclean food is a crucial matter of life. It’s a matter of keeping his religious and ethnic identity, a matter of keeping the boundary of God’s chosen people in the world. In short, food is not simply food for Peter.

Through centuries of captivity in a foreign land, centuries of persecution by the powerful empires, centuries of dispersion from the homeland…Jewish people like Peter tried so hard to survive as a scattered and marginalized group of people. And they knew, this survival could be accomplished only through the faithful honoring of the boundaries between Jews and others called “gentiles.” To remain as sacred people of God, they made a careful distinction between those who were part of God’s covenant to Israel and those who were not. They did as such by the law including detailed dietary restrictions. 

Then, why on earth does Peter see that vision from heaven and is now being asked to break that law? In today’s Acts reading, Peter is actually standing in front of the Jewish Christians who thought that the good news of Jesus was primarily for the Jews. They are in the middle of accusing Peter of baptizing gentile people. “We heard that you are with them in Caesarea and ate their food with them! You had the nerve to even baptize them? How dare you violate the boundary established by the scripture?” Peter’s defense? He recounts the vision of the large blanket with the unclean food items. Peter tells them that the vision was not about unclean food, but it was actually about unclean people, the gentiles they have discriminated. Peter continues, he heard the Holy Spirit ask him to go to them. And he witnessed the Holy Spirit fall upon them when they were baptized. The meaning of all these? It’s simple; it is no one else but God who breaks down the boundary. The grace of God is now going beyond human barriers. And now everyone can be part of the promise of God, can be part of God’s beloved children! 

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Peter and other Jewish Christians experienced the power of the Holy Spirit being unleased in the world. This power transforms everything. And one of the powerful works of the Holy Spirit is to leap over any humanly imposed boundaries and widen the scope of God’s love and grace. This Holy Spirit now awakens Peter who still holds the old boundary as a norm and a mandate. The Spirit opens his eyes to serve God’s continued boundary-breaking mission on earth. Hear what Spirit-filled Peter says today, “If then God gave [the gentiles] the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” (Acts 11:17) 

Today, I am sure that the same Spirit, who gave that vision to Peter, is at work within us. I am sure that the same Spirit who broke the boundary between Jews and gentiles, is within us. This Spirit is the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave us a new commandment. Jesus taught the disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). Do you believe this Spirit of breaking boundaries, the Spirit of boundless love, is at work in us and in our church today? Yes, we should be awakened to this work of the Spirit calling us and empowering us to continue God’s mission of love and grace in this world. The Holy Spirit wants us to turn our justified discrimination into loving acceptance, replace our barriers of separation into doorways of relation, and change our self-righteous exclusion into self-emptying inclusion.
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Faithful friends in Jesus Christ, is there anyone you discriminate wittingly or unwittingly? Are you somehow biased towards a certain individual or group of people based on their differences? Do you regard some people as they are out of God’s grace and forgiveness? Do you regard some people are not gifted enough to do God’s holy work in the church? Here, I want all of us to do this. Whoever they are, from now on, let us try hard to accept them and love them as the children of God. I know it must be difficult for us to love those who are different from us, who are strange to us. But whenever it’s hard, let us remember the blanket of God coming down to Peter. And let us remember the voice of God from heaven: “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (Acts 11:5-9). By the Spirit of love, by the Spirit that breaks down barriers among us, let us show the world how we love one another, how we love beyond any humanly imposed boundaries with the radical love of Jesus Christ. Then, people will know that we are disciples of God and we are the church of Christ. Let the love and grace flourish among us, and let them flow from us to all the people over any threshold of the world, over any barriers of our differences. Amen.

A long time ago, I saw this woodcut print in one of my college text books. I guess, the book was about modern art. The book said, this German artist Käthe Kollwitz made the woodcut and titled it The Mothers(Die Mütter). The image was so impressive and has been engraved on my mind ever since. Two years ago, I had a chance to visit Berlin. And I found there is the Käthe Kollwitz Museum. I was so excited to visit the museum. And guess what, there I could see The Mother sin person, and I could even purchase a copy of it. Here I brought it today. At the museum, I also got to know the story behind this work. This is a part of Kollwitz’s woodcut series called War (Krieg). She began carving it in 1919 in the aftermath of World War I. During the war, she lost her younger son Peter who joined the army and lost his life in a battle. Out of grief, she created this series as her artistic response to the pain and suffering she had to endure. 

Indeed, The Mothers conveys quite heavy emotions and messages. If you look at this image, you can see the mothers basically huddling together. Their arms are bound around themselves and their bodies linked. They’re doing it to keep their children safe in their embrace. But these mothers look neither strong nor heroic. Look at their watchful eyes full of fear. You can feel their anxiety and tension. And they look quite different from the ideal image of the mother in classic paintings like the Madonna and Child. But their tough hands and protective bodily gestures do represent something special. 

During the war, nations with power send people to battlefields to kill their enemies and conquer their lands. But mothers, out of their compassionate love, make safe space within themselves to keep one another. And they patiently nurture life and endure the turbulent days. After the war, people came to realize that these seemingly helpless mothers are the ones who actually grow hopes for the future from the ruins of war and give life back into the war-torn world. It is the compassionate love that paves the way of life, the true way of changing the world.This image of The Motherstells me this simple truth whenever I look at it.  
           
Today’s Psalm and Gospel readings give us one of the most distinctive images of God—yes, God as the good shepherd. And let me tell you this today: this image reveals us God’s maternal side. Like the mothers who endure hardships for their children,  shepherds face dangers and challenges with sheep at the closest distance. In Jesus’ days, “Shepherds spent most of their time outside watching over the herd, no matter what the weather. They often slept near their flock to protect it from robbers or wild animals.”[1] And they had to trudge through the rocky hills and wilderness with the sheep in search of a patch of grass. The real life of a shepherd was never like the ideal images of the good shepherd portrayed in some church paintings and stained glasses. And the Bible tells us, like a good shepherd, our God of love cares for us, sacrifices for us, gives life to us, and nurture us. In short, as the good shepherd, God is mothering us. 

I think we can clearly see this motherhood of God in Jesus Christ. While Jesus was in the world, people didn’t understand who Jesus truly was. Their main concern was about whether he was the Messiah who can defeat their enemies and restore their glorious days with his mighty divine power. In today’s Gospel story, the Jews gather around him and ask, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (John 10:24). But Jesus answers them, “You may want me to change the world upside down into an ideal place once and for all. But that’s not my job. I’m the good shepherd. I’m here to mother my sheep, give them eternal life and keep them safe so that no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). After Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross and resurrected, people came to realize that the humble Jesus is the one who actually overcomes the world with love and grows life with grace even out of death. It is his compassionate love that paves the way of life, the true way of changing the world. Jesus’ cross and empty tomb tell us this simple truth whenever we reflect on them.

Today we are celebrating Mother’s Day, and also, the Good Shepherd Sunday. In the Mothers and in Jesus Christ, our good shepherd, we see God at work our midst. The mothering God always keeps us safe in God’s embrace and huddles together with us against any harms in the world. And God as the good shepherd always walks besides us and guides us even through the darkest valley of life. This motherhood of God is very special. It tells us, God’s way of giving new life and renewing this broken world is not a way of power and control. But it is a way of compassionate love. This way of motherhood seems weak and humble, but we know, it is the only way, the true way to flourish life in this world and build the kingdom of heaven on earth. 
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Faithful friends in Christ, as disciples of Jesus Christ, today I hope we commit ourselves to expanding God’s motherhood in this world. How? I think we all can be the channels of God’s compassionate love and find our ways to grow and nurture life. Out of God’s compassionate love within us, we may take care of the brokenhearted and the wounded. We may huddle together with the least and embrace the lost. We may help one another to grow hope even in the valley of despair. We may accept one another unconditionally to make this church a place of healing and renewal. We may encourage one another to cultivate our kind spirit in us. We may serve one another to ground a kingdom of heaven among us. And above all, we may hold one another to be faithful in Jesus, the good shepherd. In doing so, I surely believe, we will know once again, it is only God’s compassionate love working in our hearts that paves the way of life, the true way of changing the broken world. Amen. 


[1]American Bible Society, “How People Made a Living in the Time of Jesus,” (http://bibleresources.americanbible.org).