Our Visitors from Hawaii (Part B)

#2013-0306B

Following are photos of our second day's sight-seeing around Sun Moon Lake. For the first day of our two-day trip, please click and see: #2013-0306A.

After having breakfast at Sun Moon Lake Youth Activity Center, we left for Xuanzang Buddhist Temple (玄奘寺), from where we enjoyed one of the best views of the lake.

Bishop Fitzpatrick seemed to have studied quite a lot about Buddhism before arrival in Taiwan. [This is his first time to be in Asia!] Unlike many other Christians, he is willing to learn (understand) more about different cultures such as Buddhism and Taoism.

After seeing Xuanzang Temple, he and his wife Beatrice as well as Rev. Peter Wu and Ms. Mimi followed us to Wen-Wu Miao (文武廟), which is also located near the shore of the lake. While Xuanzang Temple is a Buddhist temple, Wen-Wu Miao is a Taoist one, with quite a number of "deities" in it for people to see -- or worship!

Those deities in Taoism can be classified into two categories: One is military characters such as Guan Yu, Yue Fei, etc., and the other is non-military characters such as Confucius, Mencius, etc. The latter group is called Wen-ren or Wen-guan (文人/文官) and the former group is Wu jiang or Wu shi (武將/武士). That is why this temple was named Wen-Wu Temple (文武廟). Amazingly, our visitors from Hawaii (especially Bishop Fitzpatrick) did not refuse to look at this temple either.

We had lunch at Fleur de Chine (雲品酒店) before we returned from Sun Moon Lake. It was obvious that all of us had a very good time on the trip. -- Aloha! Aloha! . . . Best wishes to you, our dear friends!

以下照片拍攝於 玄奘寺

以下照片拍攝於 文武廟

以下照片拍攝於 日月潭雲品酒店

Our Visitors from Hawaii (Part A)

#2013-0306A

Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick and his wife Ms. Beatrice, as well as Rev. Peter Wu and his wife Ms. Mimi -- all our visitors are from Hawaii.

During their stay at St. James' (in Taichung City), they joined us in several important activities, including an English-and-Chinese combined service on Sunday. [At the service Bishop Fitzpatrick preached in English and I tried my best to interpret in Chinese!] On Monday and Tuesday, the last two days of their stay with us, they were invited to visit the most well-known scenic spots in the central part of Taiwan: Sun Moon Lake and The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. They were accompanied all the way there and back by four of us -- Mr. Robert Chiu, Ms. Jenny Chang, Jean (my wife) and me.

We were really pleased to visit The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village [see photos below] and Sun Moon Lake [see photos on the page #2013-0306B] together with our special guests from Hawaii. Most important of all, they looked very happy about this two-day trip as well.

攝於 台中聖雅各幼稚園

夏威夷主教 Bishop Fitzpatrick 與

日月潭青年活動中心總幹事 卓進權 先生

以下照片拍攝於 九族文化村

夏威夷主教 Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick 來訪及講道

#2013-0303

Sermon Notes:

1. ALOHA. To say ALOHA means to share breath -- "HA" -- I share my HA, my life, with you. ALOHA. (分享 “氣息”／生命)
2. Bea and I are taking time on a pilgrimage through the Philippines and Taiwan. The two places are very important to the Diocese of Hawaii. Many of the parishioners of the Diocese are from or have family in the Philippines. And Taiwan and Hawaii were once linked together under one Bishop.
3. Further, your Bishop David was one of my co-consecrators when I was made a Bishop.
4. We are traveling to be with our extended Church family.
5. It is an honor to be with you this morning. MAHALO -- another Hawaiian word -- MAHALO means "thank you." MAHALO. (謝謝／感謝之意)
6. These past few weeks the Gospel lessons have been from the Gospel of Luke.  Jesus calls us to prepare for life with God.
7. In today's lesson he uses the image from gardening. Jesus has been teaching and will continue in Luke's Gospel to call people to God. To a new life. He repeatedly describes life with God.
8. Today he reminds us that following God demands real Change. It is not about what are parents did or where we live. It is not about what job we have or how much money we have. It is about personal life -- how we live and how we treat others.
9. I think Jesus describes three elements to the path of God here in the Gospel of Luke -- especially in  his teachings in the stories around today's lesson. The three elements are Compassion, Generosity and Hospitality.
10. Compassion (憐憫／同情): In Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan in Chapter 10 and the Lost Son in Chapter 15. -- Story: Edward and the Army (傅志平主教的兒子 愛德華 目前在阿富汗從軍 . . . ) -- Compassion must lead us to Generosity. (一個人有憐憫之心／能體恤他人的人，必然會成為一個慷慨大方的人。)
11. Generosity (慷慨／寬大): Luke 12:32-34 Jesus taught, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Luke 14:33 "So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."What is generosity? -- Story: Mr. Venable and the bank (維納伯樂先生 . . .  某家銀行的 “信託部門” 主管 . . .) -- Generosity leads us to Hospitality. (一個慷慨的／寬宏大量的人，必然會成為親切款待他人的人。)
12. Hospitality (好客／殷勤招待；親切款待): Luke 14:12-14 Jesus "said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'" -- Story: Virginia and the homeless lady, Mary.  (維琴妮雅小姐 和 瑪麗亞女士 的故事)
13. As we prepare for Easter, we are called to look into ourselves. Do we live with compassion, generosity and hospitality? (我們是否活出 仁慈憐憫、慷慨大方、而且殷勤款待他人 的美好人生？)
14. To love the stranger, to share what we have and welcome the outcast to walk with good. (. . . 要愛陌生人，要把自己所擁有的拿來與人分享，要歡迎那些被拋棄的／無家可歸的人，欣然與他們同行。)
15. It is to be the strong plant that will not be uprooted and cast away. (這樣，就能成為一棵健康的果樹，結實累累，不至於被人連根拔起，拿去丟掉或燒掉！)