From the Pastor |
Today is another beautiful spring day. The birds are singing… the sun is shining… life flows on… yet it is hard to find joy today. Yesterday, it seemed the world… once again… came to a screeching stop with the horrific news of another senseless tragedy… this time in Texas.
A young man, Salvador Ramos, entered the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and opened fire with an AR-15 Semi-automatic rifle (he had apparently legally purchased 2 of them just after his 18th birthday). As of this morning, 19 children, 2 teachers, and Ramos himself have been reported as killed. At least 15 others were injured as well. Think about this for a minute… 19 elementary school age children. My heart is breaking. This is the 27th school shooting this year alone… and it is only May. Not to mention the terrible shooting in Buffalo 10 days prior. I am sorry to say, but I truly believe this supposedly “Christian” nation has wandered so very far from the path of Christ that all we are left with is this violence, turmoil and pain. A terrible toll has been paid for our failure to live and to love as Christ did… evil has been able to gain some more ground in this nation as a result. Not the evil of the Democrats… Not the evil of the Republicans, but the evil that has arisen BECAUSE of our divisions… our pride… our prejudice and judgements against the other… our fear…. Our anger and our hatred… all those things that have seemed to fill the hearts of so many in this nation… Christians included… When tragedies such as this happen it causes many people to question why? Why would a just and loving God allow… or worse yet, cause–such suffering? Can’t God prevent such tragedies? And if God can, why doesn’t he? Why bother praying if God can’t protect even those poor, innocent children? Why should we bother to believe at all? Well… All I can tell you is what I believe; that a God who would cause such indiscriminate suffering is not the same God we see revealed in Christ Jesus. I believe… no let me change that, I know in my heart that God did not cause this. It was not God’s “plan”! God did not wake up Tuesday morning and say “I think today is the day to have a young man go to that school in Texas and brutally shoot down so many young children. Yeah, that will serve my purpose. That will teach them a lesson.” That is not our God. Our God is an awesome and loving God. God, our Creator, did not cause this event to happen. This happened because of the misguided actions of a very disturbed young man. A man who was open to the influence of evil. He was a man who had not given his heart to God. If he had God would have filled it and then the evil that was influencing this man’s actions would not have been able to take hold. This is the curse that could be viewed as the flip side of the blessing we have been given of “Free Will.” It is our choice to allow God into our hearts, into our lives. Just as every one of us has the choice to accept God into our hearts, we also have the right to say no. But that still leaves us with the question of why. Where was God in the midst of this horrible tragedy? Well... I can tell you that... God was there… think of it this way… If you had been there and saw those people… those children… lying there what would you have done? Would you hold them and whisper words of comfort? Would you push the hair from their eyes and tell them not to worry… everything will be all right? Well, I have no doubt that is exactly what God was doing Tuesday morning in Texas. I can see it clearly in my heart and my mind. God, the Father, was there... gathering all those who were shot in His loving arms… cradling them gently and with tears streaming down His face as He whispered to them: “Don’t worry; it will be all right… I’m here with you…I’ll never leave you! I am here!” God wasn’t allowed into the heart of the young man who wielded the gun… God is not One who forcibly imposes His will on us… but God was there bringing comfort and peace to those who needed Him most at that moment. God was there in that school with those who were in hiding. God was with the teachers helping to keep their students calm and quiet. Now God is present to help bring support and comfort to those who are left behind. As we wonder why? As we get angry and shake our fists at God wondering how God could allow this to happen… I think we need to look inward. How have WE allowed this to happen? After Columbine… we should have worked together to ensure it never happened again… As Disciples of Christ, it is time we look beyond ALL that divides us and focus our eyes on what is important… the love of the Lord. God is with us through it all, and if we but open our hearts and minds to God… if we put our trust in the Lord… then the fear and anger and hatred would find no home within us. The change needs to start within US! We need to let the Lord in… we need to stop trying to change Jesus to fit our own narrative and politics, and allow the Spirit of Christ to take up residence and CHANGE US! Take the time to open your heart and mind today and let Jesus… the Love of God revealed to fill you and change you… eliminating all that keeps you from sharing God’s great love with all the world. Hold onto the Hope of Christ even as the world seems to crumble around us. Focus your eyes on Jesus. Pray for the families of those lost to this world. Let us help God to shine light in the darkness, to bring hope, peace, joy and love to those around us.
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Acts 9: 1-19
The Acts of the Apostles is a fascinating book. Written by the same author, it is the sequel to Gospel of Luke. Acts is a narrative written for mixed communities made up mostly of Gentile believers, and the intent was not to be a history lesson as much as a revelation of the nature of God and a study of faith and the experience of others that would uplift and inspire those young churches who were now facing persecution. The book begins with Christ’s Ascension to Heaven and the Day of Pentecost… the day when the Christian Community… the church in Jerusalem began. From there Luke shows the progression of the mission Jesus placed before his Disciples… to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” [Acts1:8] That is the exact path we see for the spread of the Christian faith in the Book of Acts. Chap. 2-7 show us how the faith rapidly spread throughout Jerusalem and Judea… Chapter 8 tells us of the persecution that arose and how the church was scattered and the message spreads to Samaria… Today, we are at Chapter 9… the beginning of the final phase… to witness to the ends of the earth… to the Gentiles. If fact… today we meet the unlikely one chosen to be instrumental in spreading the Gospel message from the Middle East… through modern day Turkey and Greece… all the way to Rome. Paul became one of the most well-known Apostles of Christ Jesus. However, it is not until he begins his travels out into the Gentile world that he is referred to by his Greek name… Paul. Here, in Israel, he is known as by his Hebrew name Saul of Tarsus… a faithful Jew… a young, zealous Pharisee… and ironically… a total enemy of the Christian community. Today we heard about his sudden and miraculous transformation from enemy to disciple. But I want to take a look at someone equally important to this story. The second, lesser known character: Ananias. Ananias is virtually unknown. This chapter is the only time we encounter this disciple. In fact, we know almost nothing about him. We know he was a disciple who had been in Damascus long enough to be well respected “by all the Jews living there” as Paul later reveals. [Acts 22:12b] So there he is… living in Damascus when suddenly he has a vision of the Lord… and Jesus calls him by name… WOW! And as a faithful disciple he answers right away “Yes, Lord!” Ananias is given a clear message… there is no doubt or question of what Jesus wants him to do… no ambiguity. Jesus tells him straight out “Get up and go where I tell you… there you will find…” “a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying... place [your] hands on him to restore his sight.” Now… by identifying Saul as from Tarsus… Jesus left no doubt in Ananias’ mind as to whom he was speaking of. As we see from his reaction to this mission… Saul’s reputation has proceeded him to Damascus. Saul was a member of the Pharisees and was there when Stephen, the first martyr was stoned. Acts 7:58 tells us that they laid their coats at Saul’s feet so they could stone Stephen which implies he was in a leadership position that day. Chapter 8 begins saying “And Saul approved of their killing him… On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and … Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” [Acts 8:1-3] And in case you need a reminder of WHY Saul was on the road to Damascus in the first place, remember our 1st verses today. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.” This was the man Jesus was asking Ananias to go seek out! Ananias KNEW WHY Saul was coming there. Talk about unnerving! I can picture Ananias sitting there… eyes bugging out… in shock… as the name Jesus tells him registers. It is clear that Ananias is not so sure about this plan. He says “Hey Lord…I have heard of this guy… I know ALL about the terrible things he has been doing to ‘your holy people in Jerusalem’ [vs.13b] and I know he was coming here to do those same things to us.” But Jesus IS sure. “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles... I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” [Vs. 15-16] So Ananias gets up and goes where the Lord told him to go. There he finds Saul… blind… just sitting there fasting and praying… and he greets him “Brother Saul, the Lord… has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [vs. 17b] “Brother Saul!” He greets him… no trace of fear or animosity or anger for what Saul had done or had been planning on doing. Can you imagine? Not only being sent to help someone who was coming to arrest you and your friends and possible lead you to unwarranted imprisonment or execution… but when you get there you recognize that person as your Brother in faith? Jesus had not revealed much of his plan for Saul to Ananias but those words were enough: “This man is my chosen instrument” Talk about faith. How many of us could say with honesty that we could do that? Could we answer Christ’s call to GO and minister to our enemy… to someone bent on our destruction? And even if we do answer that call… how easy would it be to let go of the grudge we might hold in our heart against that person and welcome them with the warm greeting “Brother or Sister?” But as a result of Ananias’ faithfulness… Saul’s blindness was healed… he was baptized and became one of those people he had been coming to persecute. Saul was completely transformed and Jesus indeed used him as a great “instrument to proclaim [his] name to the Gentiles…” Paul also later suffered greatly for Jesus’ name. We never do learn anything else about Ananias… he has faded into obscurity. His role in the drama of Acts is very small, and yet very significant. He heard Christ’s call, and despite his initial hesitation he was faithful and obedient. While I have no doubt that he was afraid to do what Jesus asked of him, he did it with kindness and compassion. The Lord used Ananias to further God’s plan to launch the ministry of inclusion and mission of one of the most influential apostles. Ananias’ small act of obedience led to a great things for the kingdom. The Lord did not give him an assignment to change the world… The Lord gave Ananias one task… a task that would help to change the world for one person…and later, that one person would change the world for countless others. This is the lesson of Ananias that we need remember today. Small acts of obedience that are based on the Word of God… even when they seem contrary to reason, and even when they seem to challenge our own self-preservation… even when they scare the heck out of us… These small acts can have great significance. The scriptures invite us all to hear the call which comes to us in Christ’s name: the call to worship… the call to be transformed into true followers of Jesus… and the call to minister to others in Christ’s name even to death. We don’t just live the resurrection life, we also pass it on by embracing others with the love, grace, healing and compassion of Christ. When we recognize and answer the call of Christ in our lives, the result… no matter how small it may seem, is a powerful contribution to the kingdom of God. We do not know if Ananias ever knew ALL that Saul… AKA Paul accomplished because of HIS own faithful actions… I mean… We may never see the true effects of our service to God. Our perspective is so small, so limited, but we need to remember that God’s perspective is wide. God alone sees the bigger picture. So, we need to rely fully on God… listening for God’s Word, God’s voice, and most of all trusting that through it all, God will never lead us astray. So when God calls… Answer “Yes, Lord!” and when God says “Go!”… Go! For God has a plan and no part is too small… your individual part is significant… even when we cannot see the BIG picture! |
Yeon Shin
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