2014年11月2日 星期日

The Laudable Service (可誇獎的服事)

#2014-1102

The Laudable Service
          -- by The Rev. Jason Ke (trans. J.L.)

(A Sermon for Sunday, November 2, 2014, at St. James' English Language Service)

Proper 26
Joshua 3:7-17
Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Matthew 23:1-12

PART ONE: Regarding the Collect

Good morning, my dear friends in Christ!

The Collect for Today, which we’ve just read, is very special and meaningful; it really has a profound significance.  Why do I say so?

First of all, the Collect for this Sunday – the Sunday closest to November 2 starts with the title “Almighty and merciful God.”  This is a special form of address to God.  In most other Collects, God is referred to as “Almighty and everlasting God” or something like that. – Is there anything special and significant here regarding the different way of calling upon God?

Look at well-known leaders in the world.  Whether they are leaders of a nation, a community, a company, or a particular religion, the leaders always have some type of “authority” or “power.”  But, generally speaking, a powerful leader with absolute authority is very unlikely to be friendly and “merciful” toward their subordinates.

If a leader generously shows “mercy” to their subordinates, then the leader’s “character” or “good nature” or so-called “leadership qualities” will profoundly affect their subordinates.

By the way, in the Chinese language we use xingge (性格) to mean “all the qualities that a person has.”

And, now, what I’d like to say is this: A merciful leader’s xingge, or admirable character, will affect people in a wonderful, mysterious way.  And, in that case, the subordinates will respect and love their leader very much, and they will be willing to work really hard and even to sacrifice themselves in order to achieve the goal that their leader has set for them.

Basically, “power” is very, very different from “mercy.”  The difference between them is just like that between fire and water.  We still know how to make good use of fire and water.  But it is too bad that a leader who has gotten more authority and power becomes less merciful, having little or no sympathy for other people’s ideas and feelings.

So I have to say that the Collect for today, in which we call God “Almighty and merciful God,” is very special and has a profound meaning.

In addition to this, there’s something more that I’d like to share with you.  In the Collect for this Sunday, we read, “… it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service:…”  First, laudablecan be understood to mean being worthy of praise. But secondly, the word “gift” in this phrase is “singular,” not “plural.”

But last Sunday we had the plural form of the word – “gifts” – in in The Collect for the Sunday closest to October 26.  Why? . . . For one Sunday, the word “gifts” is in the plural form; for the other Sunday, the word “gift” in the singular form.  This is confusing, isn’t it?

Even I felt confused at first.  But now, after pondering on the two Collects and carefully reading the Bible lessons for today, I think I’ve come to some understanding about the key word “gift.”

Last Sunday we said, “Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity …”  Obviously the gifts are faith, hope, and love.  But now we say to God, “It is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service.”  I would boldly presume that the “gift” in this sentence should refer to “the character or nature of God” – that is, God’s admirable xingge (上帝的性格).

Remember, God is not only almighty and everlasting, but also merciful.  God’s nature, his admirable character, including all the wonderful qualities that he has, is a great, great power that human beings cannot resist.  So, inspired by the character of God, his faithful people are willing and able to work very hard to “offer true and laudable service” to him . . . and to other people!

PART TWO: Regarding the Biblical Lessons

I.                   To Serve through Obedience to God

Taking the initiative, God appointed Joshua to lead his people to the other side of the Jordan River.  God gave Joshua clear instructions as to how to get across the river.

Then Joshua and all the people of Israel, including the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, obeyed God’s orders and got ready to cross the Jordan.

Joshua did not ask God for a visible sign so that he could be more confident about the challenging task of crossing the river; no, he didn’t ask for any sign to prove that God was with him!

In Chapter 3, Verses 15-16, The Book of Joshua vividly describes the situation, saying, “Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest.  (You can see this in the New Revised Standard Version, which we quote from to make our Bulletins for Sunday use.)

Another English version, Today’s English Version, describes the same story this way: “It was harvest time, and the river was in flood.  When the people left the camp to cross the Jordan, the priests went ahead of them, carrying the Covenant Box.  And, as soon as the priests stepped into the river, the water stopped flowing and piled up. …”

That is, “When … the feet of the priests … were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap” (NRSV)

What a vivid description it is!  The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant were moving ahead with confidence, and without fear or worries.  They were truly in obedience to God!

Meanwhile, all the other people – young and old, male and female – were just following Joshua and the priests.  They saw the river overflowing, but nobody was against what Joshua had said. They were all going to cross the Jordan.  This kind of obedience, which may be called “collective obedience,’ is rarely seen here in our society, but I still think it would be worth mentioning.

In this story we see how the people of Israel crossed the Jordan, and we also see their individual and collective obedience to God. Let’s learn to offer true and laudable service to the Lord God through obedience.

II.                To Serve through Laboring and Suffering

St. Paul and his fellow workers “worked day and night” while preaching the Good News from God.  In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 2, Verse 9, St. Paul wrote, “Surely you remember, our friends, how we worked and toiled! …”

And in the earlier verses, he mentioned that they “had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi” before they came to Thessalonica.  And “even though there was much opposition,” St. Paul clearly stated, “our God gave us courage to tell you the Good News that comes from him.”  (1 Thessalonians 2:2)

If we read more from Paul’s epistles, we’ll see that St. Paul very often encountered difficulties in missionary work.  And from time to time even his life was in danger, because he had been trying so hard to preach the Christian faith.

The believers in that period of time often suffered, too.  They were likely to be persecuted just because they believed that Jesus is God’s only Son, that Jesus is the Messiah (or Christ), and that “Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

These religious beliefs brought lots of suffering and hardship to the early Christians, who had to face such difficult situations as being brutally persecuted.  But why did they not give up their faith? – The point would be that they did truly believe what the apostles had taught about the Christian truth.

Well, in spite of suffering and hardship, those who had accepted St. Paul’s teachings must have been comforted in this Christian truth.  And when they saw how St. Paul or St. Timothy had labored to preach the Good News, wouldn’t they naturally become more convinced of what was preached about Christ?  Surely they would.

So, let’s offer true and laudable service to God through working hard and suffering – suffering physically or mentally!

III.             To Serve through the Good Example of Jesus

Jesus told his disciples and the crowds something about the scribes and the Pharisees.  He said, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses’ Law.  So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don’t practice what they preach. (Matthew 23:2-3, in Today’s English Version)

Well, the Pharisees’ faults and the scribes’ shortcomings are the kind of “imperfection” that can be found in all parts of the world – from Western cultures to Asian cultures, and that has existed at all times – from ancient times to the present.

To be totally honest, I would like to remind us that nobody but our Lord Jesus is one-hundred-percent capable of “practicing what he preaches.”  Yes, only Jesus can perfectly “practice what he preaches”; he himself has made a perfect example for all his followers to learn from.

In the Holy Gospel reading for this morning, the last two verses, verses 11-12, say: “The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”  Here in this part of the story, Jesus seems to be teaching and encouraging his disciples and the crowds; in fact, he is at the same time revealing himself as the perfect example for all of us to learn.

Let’s learn to offer laudable service to God, the almighty and merciful God, through the good example of our Lord Jesus.

CONCLUSION

As you have heard, my sermon for this morning is divided into two parts. In the first part, we compare the different ways of calling upon God in different Collects, and we find something important: God is almighty, everlasting, AND merciful.

Furthermore, just because of the admirable character of God, which is described with such adjectives as “almighty” and “merciful,” God’s faithful people are able to work hard to offer laudable service to God and to other people.

In the second part of my sermon, we have seen how we can offer true and laudable service.  Learning from the Bible readings for today, we have made a list of ways: (1) to serve through obedience to God, (2) to serve through laboring and suffering, and (3) to serve through the good example of Jesus.  Well, what’s your favorite way to offer laudable service? … Through obedience?  Through laboring and suffering?  Or through the good example?

Think about this.

Amen.




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