Passages:
Philippians 4:6-8 Amplified Bible 6 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. 7 And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours]. 8 Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. Romans 12:2 Amplified Bible Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Hi KUC family from LB CA. Let me start by giving everyone a quick update on a situation you may have heard about. About 4 weeks ago we had alerted the congregation to someone sending really bad emails - arguably evil – not the person but the emails- to a couple of members of our congregation. A week later we were able to identify the person and let everyone know we were working with him and also the victims to try to bring healing to everyone. So that's a pretty good way to sum it up. So, the offender was found and is now working on repentance, reconciliation and restitution and is meeting weekly with one of the pastors and we hope to see the broken person who did broken things healed and of course those who were injured restored as well. In fact, I will be doing a sermon with details in March- but the graphic confession of brokenness will be mine not someone else's! So, this is my dinner tonight- Kelly is gone for a few days, so I am basically eating...well, not such good stuff AND my family is pretty healthy food conscious- fanatical, militant one might say! So, this is risky for me! I just got off the phone with daughter #3 Syd and she said, " Dad, seriously don't eat that! I will send you some money if you need it to eat healthy!" Well, I told her – actually the problem is I just have these habits- Like this- I love this- its mac and cheese- not the healthy version BUT this- this milk is organic AND grass fed- that’s big now - grass fed so, I pay 3x times for this milk and this butter the same- healthy- very healthy. Basically, Kelly and the girls - mostly the girls- all 4 got really serious about what we eat and how it's processed and how fats are good and sugar- well sugar is basically evil! And not just my girls- in the US now it's a huge boom- organic, grass fed, natural, free range- I mean eggs? It’s almost overwhelming how many adjectives I need to check for before I buy eggs these days- not cage free-- no no- FREE Range in the sun. Got it- now. Ok, so if you want some advice on all this, I will be happy to connect you with any one of my four girls BUT I feel like while many of us are now really thinking about what we eat there is still a major and I mean major issue in our diet or lifestyles and this is my message: Do you consider what you feed your spirit the same way? Your mind and emotions and ultimately your spirit, I'll be honest I have always been pretty strict about what I eat spiritually, mentally and emotionally- and as the girls were growing up, we often talked about how KEY this is. For example- how impactful it was what we said to each other and how we talked to ourselves- self talk as an indicator of what you're thinking. AND that words DO Matter- they do. In fact, some of you may know of a Japanese author, Dr Emoto, who wrote a 2004 best seller in which he claimed to be able to change water crystals by talking to them. If he spoke love and kind words, the crystals were beautiful But if he used negative words and language the crystals represented those thoughts as well like this: show this if we can! https://www.naturesenergieshealth.com/images/9/dr_emoto2.jpg I'm not sure this is completely scientific, but my girls loved this- and of course the human body is like 65% water right? It clicked for them- they would remind each other- "don't talk to my water that way!" OR" don't talk to YOUR water that way! " In other words no negative talking. Maybe as we grow up, we are more at risk with our self-talk than we are mean people saying mean things to us- its basically the same though- it is said that your subconscious does not understand kidding -- that it is very literal- so when someone says "don't be stupid" or jokingly calls you a name many would say there is damage- I would say that. You might know in part of your brain- that's not true!... but another part got hurt believing it was! So here is what I see- the Bible shares such truths with us but many in the church world miss them- and often NON-Christians see stuff which we have missed! A couple of weeks ago Madoka-san was talking about how in her life coaching training she is seeing that there are many things which are being presented - how to improve yourself or be better or improve your self-image and self-esteem and .... most are truths she can see, and we might see in the Bible! Here is one of those big truths we often miss and those outside the church often see- How we think…. and what we think about matters. How we believe matters and what you think is the source of what you believe and finally what we say. Thinking believing and what we say are the food of our spirits - I will just say Spirit but you can understand I mean right? a mix of your mind and emotions and that your deepest self - your spirit absorbs through the mind and your emotions. The passages for today are two of my favorites in the Bible because I believe they are super practical and true and literally.... life transforming. Let's look at this one again- in Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs] but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. Here is a big truth- this past week we had a fun discussion about why we as Christians seem to still have struggles- issues with acting like Christians! And one key point is in this passage- that we are not suddenly changed but rather we are being transformed and progressively changed - how? BY renewing our minds. Let me offer a couple of examples- one of the ways we renew our minds is to fill it with scripture- which I feel is a supernatural experience and not just words from a book. Kelly and I have a practice of reading the One-year Bible every day- this is a great, easy, and fun way to fill your mind with God's word. We use the New Living Translation so it's also very user friendly. You can use the daily reading guide of passages for that day: https://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearbiblereadingplan.pdf OR you can get a One Year Bible: https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Bible-NLT/dp/1414302045 OR you can listen to the day's passages with commentary - for free! https://audio.oneyearbibleonline.com In fact, all this info is on our website under Events at KUC. Let me know if you want one of these Bibles and I will get and send you one on me! Here is another practical example. I'm sure I've mentioned this before In 2012 when I first got diagnosed with my cancer it was a little bit overwhelming and the doctors had a lot to say that wasn't easy to hear and it was pretty powerful and convincing! But I can remember early on feeling like God was saying to me be sure you spend AT LEAST as much time with me and my opinion as you do with the doctors’ reports and googling your condition! Philippians 4:8 says Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. I used to think it's funny how people would talk about having dreams with meaning – like from God- but in the last two years I seem to get them a lot, anyway, and gives me mixed feelings sharing but here was the dream: In my dream I had just received some kind of a bad test result. I was a kid, and I was talking to another kid and they asked about the result and I said, “yeah, it wasn’t good”, and they said: “OK but “what did your dad say?” “What did your dad say?” I remember waking up and smiling and thinking that's so funny - what did your dad say? that's who we need to really go to and ask hey dad- God- abba- dad “what do you have to say about this situation? about my condition? about this issue or challenge in life?!” What you say, God, is more important and more powerful than what anyone else says. I can tell you- this is a habit, a discipline, something we need to value, then practice- like healthy eating or working out we need to know what our Dad has to say and then remind ourselves and know- there is opposition, and it may require effort and a bit of a fight. Over the years Kelly and I have found that breakthrough for people we have been counseling has typically occurred in primarily two areas: The first has been a need for some kind of forgiveness of someone. This has weirdly been a breakthrough for healing and for so many things that were somehow tied to unforgiveness or forgiveness-- in other words their need to forgive. The second area we've seen over and over is that people have somehow believed something that I will simply say is not true. We call it a lie and in our talking with people we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what is the lie and what is the truth. There is some kind of deception that has occurred, and this has messed someone up and so we use the Bible, the word of God, but we also ask the Holy Spirit to show us what is the truth that replaces this lie. Again, it matters what we think, it matters what we believe, and it matters what we say. We like to call this Truth Therapy. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, And can I add this… IF there is an enemy (like the Bible says) one of its main strategies is to lie- even when Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness – it shows Satan using scripture and what we might call “part truths”- some part was true, but this was a wrong application or a misquote- BEWARE he does the same with us- the enemy will use pieces of truth to trick you. And in a sense hook you with some little thing that is arguably partly, maybe, a little true? And then what usually happens next is this: The rethinking and replaying- in one’s head- “I can’t believe she said Blah blah blah!” and so I injure MYSELF now by replaying the whole thing- It’s like I got stabbed and it was horrible and now I remember and replay the scene to remember and…. stab myself again to remember! This may sound silly or made up, but I guarantee you we see this over and over and with most people we work with. It’s often said bitterness is anger reheated or rethought, over and over. So, my hope for us all today is this- to recognize it matters what you eat! You are what eat! Well, that’s a saying- for us – as believers – the Bible tells us Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 Ok, lets pray.
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2/21/21 / Sermon: “God’s Good Intent” / Scriptures: Genesis 50:15-21 / Pastor Akiko Van Antwerpen2/20/2021 15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” 16 So they approached[a] Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, 17 ‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also wept,[b] fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
God, we come to you confessing that your thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. So may you reveal to us your greater purpose through the Word we receive today. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen. This month, we’re working our way through the theme “healing the broken hearts.” At the beginning of the month, Pastor Claudia spoke about how there is hope in healing; Pastor Chuck talked about in forgiveness, in turning the other cheek, we can find healing. I believe that many of us know and understand the importance of forgiveness. After all, our Lord and Savior came to be with us as fully human and full God specifically for the forgiveness of our sins. As we studied(learned) last week, Jesus commands us to forgive as we have been forgiven.(Ephesians 4:32) Jesus commands us to forgive, and then we will be forgiven. (Mark 11:25) In hearing these commands, you might wonder how this actually works. Can we forgive because God has already forgiven us, or are we forgiven after we forgive others? Which is it? Actually, this was something we talked about a bit during the Japanese Sermon Study last week. But I think that discussing how forgiveness should work, discussing what steps need to happen in the process of forgiveness and healing, misses the point of the scripture passage we read today. Looking for a step-by-step guide to forgiveness in the scripture means treating the Bible like a self-help book, checking off things to do one by one. But Scripture is more than that. Scripture is God-breathed, living Word. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s will for us is revealed. As you know, forgiveness is not an easy task, and I sometimes feel like it might be even harder for Christians, because we know the importance of practicing forgiveness. Our own Lord and Savior practiced and modeled it for us, even at the cost of his own life. But because we have these intertwined expectations of forgiving and being forgiven (and maybe what it should look like), I think that sometimes we put more pressure on ourselves and others when it comes to forgiving and being forgiven. The story of Joseph shows us the real struggle toward forgiveness. Unlike the more straightforward command to forgive we see in the New Testament , this story takes us through the process; walks us through the journey to forgiveness for Joseph, as he finds his way to forgiving his brothers. And this process is not clear cut. It does not follow a step by step process like a self help book. Rather, it’s dynamic, it’s complex, it’s messy. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the story of Joseph. What we read today was the climax of his story, which we find at the end of the book of Genesis, but the story of Joseph actually starts 13 chapters earlier, in Genesis chapter 37. The story begins in the land of Cannan. Joseph was a shepherd, 17 years old, and one of 12 siblings born to his father, Jacob. And this story begins with something that is so very typical of humans: Favoritism. This is something we see a lot in the book of Genesis: a father prefers one child over another, a husband prefers one wife over another. This favoritism breeds hate, division, and sin. Adam, Sarah, Hagar, Cain, Abel, Esau and, of course, Jacob. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children (Genesis 37:3). This favoritism led to hatred and jealousy rising up among his brothers, to the point where Joseph’s brothers “could not speak peaceably to Joseph.” (Genesis 37:4) Joseph’s own remarks and behavior do nothing to help this tense situation either. Joseph would tell on his brothers to his father, bringing Jacob bad reports (Genesis 37:2). He badmouthed his brothers. He shared with them his dreams of reigning over them, having dominion while his older brothers bowed to him (Genesis 37:5-11). In a time and place where the oldest son typically receives the special blessing and birthright, Joseph’s indication that he will be the most highly honored was not something they wanted to hear. It worsened an already tense situation, moving things along quickly. Joseph’s brothers grew in their hate for him, and that hate quickly matured into a desire to kill him (Genesis 37:18). To make a long story short, the plan to kill Joseph didn’t work out because not all the brothers were on board with the idea to kill their own younger brother. So, instead, they decided to sell Joseph off as a slave, in return for twenty pieces of silver. Joseph then was taken to Egypt. Joseph’s life went through many ups and downs even after he arrived in Egypt. He was placed as a servant in an Egyptian master’s house. He became successful, only to be falsely accused of sleeping with the master’s wife and taken to jail. But in jail he again receives favor; he’s given to oversee all the prisoners, and makes use of his gift interpreting dreams. His good deeds were never remembered though, nor was his innocence ever proved. Two years pass, and he is able to give pleasing and wise interpretations of the dreams of the Pharaoh (that is, the king of Egypt); something no magicians or wise men in the country had yet been able to do. Impressed with his interpretations, and his suggestions about how to govern the nation in preparation for the incoming famine, Pharaoh released Joseph from prison, took him in, and set him in a management position above the whole of Egypt. (Genesis 41) It almost looked as though all his misfortunes had been compensated with the blessings that had now been given to him. All those experiences in his life as an abandoned child, being sold as a slave and forgotten in prison; those were now things of the past. In fact, he had now married, and had children of his own. He even named one of his sons Mannaseh, which means, “God has made me forget all my hardship, and all my father’s house (Genesis 41:51). Altogether, 13 years have passed now, since he was taken away from home (Genesis 41:46) But God never forgot that Joseph had family back in Cannan. As Joseph had predicted when interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams, a famine hit Egypt and its surrounding regions following seven years of exceptionally fruitful harvest. Under Joseph’s leadership, Egypt had managed to store away crops in anticipation of the famine that he knew was coming. Now, people from all the countries, cities, and villages around Egypt had come to Joseph in search of help, asking for food so that they wouldn’t starve to death. Among those who had come to Joseph were Joseph’s brothers. They had no idea that it was truly Joseph, who had now risen to this position of power in a foreign land, whom they had come to see. The brothers believed that Joseph was dead, so naturally they didn’t realize that this Egyptian royal official was actually their brother. But when Joseph saw them, he knew immediately who they were. (Genesis 42:8) Joseph though didn’t reveal who he truly was to them. Not yet. Not right away. Instead, Joseph watched them. Tested them. First, Joseph accused his brothers of being spies (Genesis 42:9); he threatened their lives, and had them put in jail. He then took one of the brothers as a hostage, ordering the rest back home but demanded that they bring their new youngest brother, Benjamin, back to meet Joseph (Genesis 42:15-17) Then, after that meeting, Joseph snuck a silver cup into Benjamin’s sack, and falsely accused him of stealing it (Genesis 44:1-12). He was testing his brothers to see if they would offer their lives to save Benjamin; the thing that they never did to save Joseph all those years ago. Why did he do all these things? What was his motivation? The Scripture doesn’t take the time to explain it, but we can see how all the things he did to his brothers echo the things that his brothers had done to him: false accusations, time in jail, being made a slave. So, while we could see this as Joseph enacting a twisted sort of revenge, it could also be understood as his way of checking the degree to which his brothers experienced remorse for the things they had done; the measure of their repentance and willingness to do things differently now. Joseph wanted to see if they were sorry. The story of Joseph does not hide the human struggle of forgiveness and how messy that is. Joseph is no saint here. Joseph wasn’t able to simply forgive his brothers; he needed time. Joseph needed to see his brothers suffer, to see their lives go downhill as they struggled with fear and punishment for all that they had done to Joseph. Joseph needed to see these things happen in order for him to be able to forgive his brothers; . But is that true? Did Joseph really need time? Did Joseph really need to see his brothers suffer and remain in fear, just to be able to forgive? Did Joseph really need to rise up to this position of power, to sit far above them before he could forgive? Were the 20 years or more that he waited, in order to get to where he is in today’s scripture, a necessary part of his journey to forgiveness? Did this time really help Joseph to be able to say to his brothers, “I forgive you?” And did time also help his brothers say, “We are sorry, will you forgive us?” Today’s Scripture reading doesn’t seem to say time made the journey to forgiveness any easier. At no point Joseph's brothers ever apologized for what they did to him. Instead, they stay in a place of fear. So instead of apologizing, they make up stories in the name of their father Jacob. They tell Joseph that, before he died, their father told them to instruct Joseph to forgive his brothers for the crimes they committed, the sins they committed in their harming of Joseph. It seems as though time didn’t bring them to a place of proper repentance or apology at all. Instead, time exacerbated their unresolved fear and anger. Time did not bring enlightenment, or in any way move them towards a more proper way of seeking forgiveness. So then, what did bring them closer back together? It was not an appropriate apology or an act of forgiveness. It was the heart-to-heart interaction, and a willingness to see God that brought them back together. Joseph and his brothers never exchanged what we might call an appropriate act of forgiveness. Joseph’s brothers did not say that they were sorry. Joseph did not say that he forgave them. But when they talked to face to face, something happened. Joseph wept. Joseph’s brothers wept. Their hearts connected in their shared hurt. Joseph’s brothers saw the terrible pain in Joseph’s heart, and Joseph saw the terrible pain in Joseph’s brothers’ heart. In that tender and vulnerable space, this is what Joseph says to his brothers. “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today.” It wasn’t time, it wasn’t repentance, and it certainly wasn’t a proper apology that moved the situation toward forgiveness. It was the willingness to see others’ pain. It was the willingness in Joseph to see God’s good intent beneath all the human evil and hurt. God’s good intentions are bigger, and more powerful than the forces of human evil. God can reach out through those who suffer and those who sin, in order to do an even greater good for still more people. God’s intention here was to spare the lives of untold numbers of people. If Joseph as an adult had decided not to forgive and take care of his brothers and their children, the people of Israel would have starved to death. They would never be able to multiply, and become the great nation of people who fled Egypt during the Exodus. The line would have stopped here. And that small family birthing their first child in a manger some thousands of years later would never come to be if Joseph did not forgive and care for his brothers, because Jesus Christ comes from the line of Judah; the family of one of Joseph's brothers. God’s good intent is revealed in the fullness of time. As I mentioned earlier, in today’s passage, Joseph doesn’t verbally “forgive” anyone. He never actually says that word, “forgive” . The word we translate as “forgive” in the Hebrew language is naså. This word does of course have the meaning we know; forgiveness, absolution, and the pardoning of sins. But the word also carries a meaning similar to the English word “lift.” This same word can be found in that famous verse from Psalm 121: “I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” I think that Joseph “forgave” in the sense that Joseph lifted his eyes beyond his brothers, who had done him harm, to that greatest of helpers, the Lord. He might have tried to make his way to forgiveness in all those human ways; by taking time, trying to forget, trying to use force and manipulation to make sure that his brothers were truly repenting. God acknowledges the suffering and pain that Joseph went through, and marks it as an important part of the story. If Joseph could easily forgive his brothers, this would be a three-verse parable. But it isn’t. The thirteen chapters that make up this story are spent showing us the journey Joseph goes through as he wrestles with the consequences of what was done to him. Throughout the story, God remains by Joseph’s side; something that is repeated again and again in the text. (Genesis 39:2, 3, 21 and 23) God was with Joseph, but God also gave space to Joseph. God gave free will to Joseph. God trusted Joseph, nurtured Joseph, and waited until Joseph was able to lift his eyes above his own pain, hurt, and desire for apology and revenge. Suffering narrows our vision, whether it’s in that moment or years down the line. But when we recognize God’s grand intention waiting just beneath the surface of our experiences, when we recognize the greater power that transcends our own suffering, we become able to move beyond it in ways that are both righteous and merciful. We reach the point where the prophet Jeremiah says, “the plan God has for is not to harm us, but to prosper us.” We know that we need to take forgiveness seriously in our faith community because Christ commands us to do so, but I hope that the story of Joseph this morning can be a comfort for all those who are struggling with forgiveness, and who don’t find it that easy. God acknowledges how hard it is. God knows that the people who hurt you might not give you a proper apology, or repent the way you might like. But God trusts you. God trusts that as long as you know who God is, as long as you know that God’s will lies just beneath the surface of everything working in all things for good, you will find your way there. Because when you lift up your eyes and see, you can see the good that exists beyond the evil. You can see the goodness of God already beginning to manifest. The story of Joseph is not irrelevant to us. Hurt, pain, and real harm are no stranger to us. We both experience and bear witness to enormous acts of harm done to us, to our families and friends, and to people we care about both inside and outside of our church community. But through God’s gentleness to us, and trust in us, we can be a people who cultivate a heart that can turn to those who hurt us, and say, “You intended to do harm to me, but God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, ashe is doing today.” This doesn’t mean that we don’t acknowledge the terrible suffering that happened. We can still confront it, and say clearly that harm was done. Evil was done. But we can also say that we see God’s good intent beyond it, and that we see how that intent is being revealed even now, today. So my prayer is that we may be a community of authenticity, willing to confront the harm that has been done and deal with all the messiness that comes with it. Rather than feeling discouraged, rather than hiding or giving up, may we cultivate heart-to-heart interactions through all the messiness of trial and error, allow ourselves to be formed into a community that lifts up our eyes to see God’s good intent for us all, even in the midst of harm and hurt, as we seek God’s direction together. In the name of the Lord and Saviour, we pray, Amen. Hey KUC family This is pastor Chuck still here in Long Beach CA and before I give today's message a couple of things:
First, thanks Yasuhsi -san for sharing your heart and your real experience with us today as we look at this theme for the month of February - healing broken hearts. Then, before I give my sermon or message, I wanted to just share a confession with you all. Ok, so first of all, I should tell you that Kelly and I have a favorite phrase which represents a core belief we have and that is: "I am unoffendable" what this means is: "You cannot hurt me, but I can hurt for you when you do or say hurtful things'' Nice quotes and we do - really do- believe them! More fully- what we mean is: “If you knew who you were and what you had- it would change your life.” "IF you really knew who you were- based on God's view of you-- and who you are in Christ- IF you knew who you were and knew what you had- in Christ- it would change everything, and you would be .... unoffendable! ...because God's truth about who you are - when known and believed when known and believed - trumps all else- It's so big and deep it's like being insulted by a 3-year-old- whatever they say- I mean they're 3 years old! You don't get hurt or take it seriously. OR if you knew the school bully was going to find and insult you just to make you react- and whatever he said was a lie and silly and made up- you see what I mean? Then, “You would be unoffendable! “ So, this is a powerful truth, and we promote it but... Yes, I have a big but here... On Dec 30th- New Year’s Eve day- I got an email. The same day we filed for bankruptcy in the US- possibly one of my darkest days- the businesses I had built from scratch for 33 years - with God and all the amazing stories and testimonies were now done and I felt a bit- no not a bit- I felt a lot! like a failure. Luckily for me- my best friend in the US hired lawyers for us- several lawyers for 4 bankruptcies- personal and business in Japan and also in the US- really good and really expensive lawyers-- shockingly expensive! So, here is the yucky part- my confession- so the main lawyer in the US - on that day when we filed - sent me an email I was going to read it now -- but- it's too yucky and that's not actually the point- what he said though cut me to the quick- deep and wide. I mean he made me feel so low and like more than a loser- more like I was a crook or somehow was trying to game the system with this bankruptcy and that I said I was a pastor but... I was just devastated- how could he say these things! And although I was not the one paying the bills .... technically he worked for me! Sort of anyway! What the heck! Man, when I got that email my mind raced- how could he misunderstand and be so far off and then.... be so bold- rude- cold- I mean mean! How could anyone just say what he has said in that email- the day we filed for bankruptcy! And he knew my physical condition had suddenly gotten quite bad- amazing. Let me quote just one of my many lines to him that day when I finally got hold of him: "It’s lies and accusations and misrepresentations like this that make me want to let the cancer kill me and stop fighting and just give up- I am so angry but also so hurt." So, he apologized, and we cleared up what we were some weirdly big misunderstandings and things which were simply not true- it was amazing to me how things could have become so misrepresented! (Suspicously.) So, we hung up and I sat in my car thinking - this sucks so much- I was sort of in shock- I was not sure which it was- was I more angry or more hurt and then - I had a moment... ok- so looks like I DID get offended right? I did. And suddenly here is what I felt the Holy Spirit whispered to me: At the very beginning of our relationship the lawyer had said, “I know how hard it must be for you to be physically handicapped”- meaning my cancer and all that- he said, “I TOO am struggling and will need a very serious back surgery soon” and that he could hardly walk- after biking more than 10k each way each day to work- and we are the same age. At that moment I wondered- God, is this a set up for him to get prayer? - then that moment passed but then now here it was back again - but in bold letters and in all caps! Hello! Then I could feel this realization- why and how would this guy really have said all these things- it truly felt unnatural and sort of creepy- and I know many of you hate this idea or language, but it felt evil to me- not HIM but as though he had been used- played if you will- and... whatever that was had played me too. Man, I just sat there and knew- I knew- I needed to pray for this mean despicable person! But I mean he wasn't really- in that moment of realization- in that moment where I knew I would pray for him- I actually smiled- I thought- no no no- I win- not you- not evil- not whoever that was I win and maybe he would win with a healing and I'm not sure, but I did pray for him and it was moving for both of us- unnaturally so I feel- just like that email had been unnaturally yucky. I don't know yet what he got or if he was healed- I have not received an update- but that is my confession of "being had"- of being offended and of almost missing sight of someone who needed a touch from God as I got distracted to focus on me. Ok, so that is my confession and that story and now here is my message! So, the title of my sermon “You forgot the candlesticks” comes from one of my absolute favorite stories and musicals: Les Miserable. If you have not seen it- you will have to now! I believe it's an incredible timeless message and that it is as powerful today as when it was written in 1862. What it gives us is a powerful God truth in a story which finds our heart while passing through our heads. Six weeks ago I felt like this month would be a month of healing for all of us at KUC- a time when God would show us how to find healing for our hearts in the God way- the Bible way. Here is the Les Mis story for those who don't remember. The main character is Jean Valjean, and he has been put in prison for stealing bread to feed his family- so a crime yes but it is one we must feel conflicted over and his punishment is too long and too hard. When he gets out, after 19 years, he carries the passport of a convict so no one will have anything to do with him until he comes to a church. And there the Bishop lets him in. He feeds him and he is allowed to spend the night. Unfortunately, in his desperate state he steals a bag of silver items- the silver he sees around the church. The next day he is caught by the police who bring him to the bishop and throw him down in front of him- we have caught this man stealing from you and the church! At this moment we must pause. The Bishop had taken a chance, had taken in a known criminal, had put people at risk who lived there with him, he knew the risk and now- here is what happened- how ungrateful, how low could this man go!? BUT the Bishop who we now see is truly a man of God and not just of the church- says, "no, this man has not stolen from me- I gave him all the silver but here- and he takes two silver candlesticks- and gives them to Jean Valjean and says, “here you forgot these in your hurry." You forgot the candlesticks. This is not just being forgiven- this is more and is simply unnatural- to me it feels like God. In fact, it is the representation of the grace we receive from God when we accept the death of Jesus and a new life- not what is fair or what we deserve- it is also what the Bible tells us to do - to show mercy and grace - to forgive as we have been forgiven- period. Ephesians 4:32 says in the amplified: Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you. The Bible is clear and without doubt in this command- over and over in verse after verse forgive SO that your sins will also be forgiven- as YOU have been forgiven- Matthew 6:14 says: For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. In a powerful and sort of scary parable often called The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant Jesus makes clear- we are to forgive and show mercy just as WE have been forgiven and shown mercy and the consequences of NOT doing so are terrible not just a gentle warning! At the end of the parable-in Matthew 18- is the punchline: 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Yikes. But here is where I choose to direct us- just as I prefer to preach the compelling beauty of heaven rather than the terror of hell- what does it do to one when we do as the bishop? I can tell you from years of repenting and years of joy in giving- the act of giving the candlesticks - it’s a supernatural blessing and brings a joy one will never find from forgiveness alone- some will cite the turning of the other cheek and that is a deep and profound story and a command which I find few people truly understand but what I hope is that the story of the Bishop and the giving of the candlesticks is a reminder of what Jesus was trying to teach us all about we have received and that what we get is not fair- it is not just forgiveness- it is a gift we don't deserve- in giving the candlesticks the Bishop looks at Jean Valjean who is likely in shock- not understanding how this turn of events has occurred and he says: "Valjean your life has been spared for God, use the money from the silver candlesticks to make an honest man of yourself.” Wow, maybe you can feel it even in the retelling but watch the scene on YouTube or better watch the whole musical if you cannot read the book. Anyway, the message I want to give you has been in my heart for this day for weeks- long before we were trying to unravel what to do here at KUC if we faced a tough situation like this- I believe God wants everyone in our church to stop and feel how you are forgiven- to take to heart the commands of Jesus to forgive- to go beyond forgiving- as led by the Holy Spirit - which is part of what makes it so cool- God will guide you in how to "give the candlesticks" in each relationship and each situation. Your desire to obey and honor God- to show Your gratitude for you own forgiveness- God will guide and provide for you as you offer the candlesticks to those who deserve punishment and certainly not silver candlesticks. Ok, lets pray. Sermon: “Healing and Hope” / Scripture: John 5:6-8 / February 7, 2021 / Rev. Claudia Genung2/6/2021 Jesus asked a particularly interesting question to the disabled man by the pool of Bethesda. a A man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. “Do you want to get well?” Some translations say; Do you want to be cured?” And some translations say; “Do you want to be healed?” This man was disabled and had been waiting so long. He was waiting for someone, anyone, to take him to the pool where he believed he would be healed if he could only go into the pool. I found it interesting that the name “Bethesda” means “kindness, grace and favor.” He may have been seeking grace at this pool but it is Jesus who gives him grace, not this pool. Once a year an angel would come to this very special pool, stir the water, and the lucky person who got into it first would be healed. Jesus was passing by, saw the man, stopped, and asked him if willed to be well, one translation says “Do you wish to get well?” The original Greek does not use the word “want to be healed” but if he willed to get well, not want, there is a difference. We assume the man wanted to get well but willing it is different. He also was saying he couldn’t get to the water because others wouldn’t take him to the pool so maybe he was putting or shifting the blame on others which happens among some people who feel they are always the victim in whatever circumstance. My friend calls this type of mentality, “the spirit of victimhood.” Perhaps he was being passive about his situation. We don’t really know what was going on in his mind and heart. But the difference between “will” and “want” is that wanting is wishing, wanting is passive, whereas willing is decisive. You have to have the “will to” for the “want” to work. God’s will and desire that we are whole includes healing and health. But there is also a difference between healing and being cured. Jesus can make us whole but we may not be cured of whatever disease or disability that we have. Being cured and being made whole are not the same. My friend, Susan, who was my roommate in seminary before my husband Toshi, was both blind and had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis so she wasn’t whole psychically but very much whole spiritually. People in a coma could be made whole spiritually yet never come out of their coma. People may have their hearts healed but their illness or situation may stay the same. This man in Bethesda might have needed to have his heart healed as well psychical healing especially if he had become bitter from suffering so long. As I said, he could have been blaming people or God for his situation over the years. When Jesus cured him, Jesus perhaps healed the pain in his heart as well. That is what Jesus does – heal people in more ways than one. This month our theme for the preachers is healing of broken hearts - hearts of people who have had pain and unhappiness in their lives, hearts that may need healing. Sometime there are wounds or scars in our hearts that are from years ago and we still carry around. Sometimes even churches hold onto a collective pain from the past and need healing. Everywhere there are people who need some kind of healing. San’ya in Tokyo is a place where day laborers gather. It is actually considered to be a slum in Tokyo. San’ya perhaps can be compared to Kamagasaki in Osaka. My friend, Carol Sack in Tokyo, who plays the harp for our online services sometimes and has been to Kobe Union Church several time, goes to a place called Kibo No Ie (House of Hope). It is a hospice for the homeless. (There is also a “Kibo no Ie” in Kamagasaki as well for the homeless doing rehab that our church supports through Global Missions but no relation to this Kibo No Ie in Tokyo.) In the past, when I lived in Tokyo, I had gone there with Carol once in awhile. She plays her pastoral harp for the homeless men who are often dying and have had broken lives. So many of them carry around the pain of shame. They may have left their family due to loss of job, economic difficulties, alcoholism, etc. Carol’s pastoral music brings healing to their soul. There is nothing God cannot forgive and Carol’s harp music brings them peace. In Tohoku, after the March 11 earthquake, so many people had broken hearts due to the loss of family, friends, homes, and their way of life. I was living in Tokyo ansd it was hard for us as well with rolling black outs, shortage of water, etc. I will share more my story when I preach in March. Anyway, at the time, I went to Tohoku frequently to assist Tohoku HELP, an ecumenical organization that was ministering to the people who had suffered from the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation exposure. Tohoku HELP did what they called Kokoro no Care (Care of the Heart) since so many were hurting. One of the many projects they started an organization called Kokoro Knit which helped women by getting them together in a community to share their stories and knit together. They carried so much pain in their hearts so Kokoro no Care was truly needed. Some of the people also carried the pain of anger in their hearts as they were not happy with the Japanese government’s response. That is part of the reason why the Monku Café was also started. The Monku Café was a cute name because they had both a Christian monk (pastor) and Buddhist monk (priest) there to do counseling in a van they moved place to place and provided coffee. You can see the photo here. People could go and do “monku” (complain) all they wanted in a safe place. They could complain to the pastors, or to God and they could share their grief and frustrations. By doing this, some of the victims of the Tohoku Triple Disaster could heal their hearts at this Café but it took time. Grief is one of the most difficult pains to heal in one’s heart. In many cases, it never goes away. Perhaps we need a “Monku Café” at Kobe Union Church for our community for those who carry pain or grief. Another story is my friend Roby in Hawaii. Her mentally challenged-daughter had been murdered while waiting for a bus and Roby could not forgive the person who killed her. She carried the pain for many years in her heart but she finally forgave the killer but she had to let go of her anger. Now she didn’t forgive for his sake but for her sake. She needed to heal. For her, she had to let go of her anger. The time was right for her then to start the healing process. This can never be rushed and different people will have different timelines to let go of pain. It is not the same for everyone. Some people will need a lifetime. Roby needed 15 years. She later became a pastor in Hawaii and she specialized in helping others who had gone through tough times and pain in their lives. She became what theologian Henri Nouwen calls “a wounded healer.” My last story I want to share is about Kintsugi which is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold. It is built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of pottery. Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item like new, the 400-year-old technique actually highlights the "scars" as a part of the design.
In hearing about Kintsugi, I thought about the gold metal repairing the cracks in our lives as a symbol of the love of Jesus Christ who repairs our hearts and brings light and love into our lives. The cracks remain but the pottery can be useful and made whole again but in a different way. Jesus does this for us – makes us whole even with our cracks, scars, pain and broken hearts. “We hold these treasures in earthen vessels (clay pots) ,” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:7. These “earthen vessels” or “clay pots” are human bodies, which like earthen vessels/ clay pots are subject to decay and destruction. The “treasure” is the human heart that is being transformed by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:6) This treasure? It’s like a light. In 2 Corinthians 4: 6 we read, “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts.” That is the light of Jesus Christ. Recognizing that we are cracked pots means living with weaknesses, fallibilities, and vulnerabilities and that’s okay. It means knowing we are imperfect and that’s okay too. As “cracked pots” we have the potential to be made whole. God accepts the scars, pain and brokenness and God loves us that way. But God loves us so much to not leave us that way but to help us to grow, to change and to be made whole. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18 I cannot stress enough that God loves us. God will find ways to make us whole. We may remain with our cracks but we can live by grace and faith. A supportive loving community helps with healing. God’s light will shine in our hearts even through the cracks and scars – if we only allow let God. God’s light and love can repair us and flow within us. Let us go forth today and have a life centered in Jesus Christ. Let us pray. God, our the Healer of Our Every Ill, we pray for your Holy Spirit to move through us to make us whole. Amen. |
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