Sermon: "Shepherd’s Pie" (April 25 2021)
Scripture: John 10:11-18
Sermon Title: Shepherd’s Pie
Date: April 25 2021
Location: United Church of Hyde Park
1. Greeting/opening
1.1 What’s PAAM in UCC
“Peace be with you. 평화를 빕니다. Peng-An.”
PAAM – Pacific Asian American Ministry was founded in 1974
in the United Church of Christ. The first gathering was in San Francisco, with 100
participants. PAAM is also one of the historically underrepresented groups
recognized by UCC. The visions of PAAM are many; three of them are as
following:[1]
(vision 4) To encourage Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans
of all ages to affirm their unique ethnic and cultural identities and to
develop their theologies.
(vision 5) To facilitate the involvement of Pacific
Islanders and Asian Americans in instrumentalities, agencies, task forces,
conferences, associations, and all other settings of the United Church of
Christ.
(vision 6) To combat institutional racism and promote
pluralism within the United Church of Christ in the struggle for justice
towards the goal of reconciliation of all peoples.
While most of the mainline Christian denominations are White
denominations, our church seems to be quite unique and queer. Among the
populations in the US, 60% are White, 18.5% are Latinx, 13.4% are African or
Black, B in the capital, Asian are 5.9%, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island are
0.2%, two or more races are 2.8%. Within UCC congregations,[2]
83.9% are White, 4.9% are Black, 3.9% are Asian and Pacific Islanders, and 6.4%
are bi-racial or multi-racial. Within PCUSA, 89.9% are White, 3.8% are Asian,
3.3% are Black (2012).[3]
Within UMC, 83.25% are white, 6.09% are Black, 2.61% are Asian, Pacific
Islander are 0.3%, and multi-racial are 0.5% (2014). [4]
Again, our church is quite unusual and queer among three denominations. I
believe it is a result of collective efforts in many ways. I will come back to
this soon.
Two days ago, The Senate just passed the “COVID-19 Hate
Crimes Act.” USAToday says, “[This Act] would expedite the Justice
Department's review of hate crimes and would designate an official at the
department to oversee the effort. It also would task the department with
coordinating with local law enforcement groups and community-based organizations
to facilitate and raise awareness about hate crime reporting, including
establishing an online hate crime reporting system in multiple languages.”[5]
It is urgent for us to know: 81% of the Asian Americans said the violence
against them is rising, especially during the pandemic. Although the COVID-19
Hate Crimes Act has passed the Senate; however, the reality is: there are
only two Asian Americans in the Senate. They are Japanese American, Mazie
Hirono, from Hawaii, and Thai American, Tammy Duckworth,
from Illinois. Recognizing their name, is also a step of increasing the
awareness for PAAM.
1.2. the finding process of the hymn we just sang
The hymn we just sang, See the birds as they fly,
was introduced in the 1983 World Council of Churches (WCC) General Assembly in
Canada.[6]
The lyrics were original from a poem written by Frederick Scheibler Miller
(1866-1937), and were translated into Korean by the composer Nah
Young-soo. I learned this hymn in Taiwan and sang in Taiwanese in a
Taiwanese Hymnal from Presbyterian Church (2009).[7]
One of my professors translated this hymn from English into Taiwanese. And
then, we found out a Korean-English version in The Korean-English United
Methodist Hymnal (2001). The English version in this hymnal was translated from
the Korean version. We could sing in three different languages this morning,
but the meaning of the lyrics is slightly different. We might also learn from
those differences via the understanding of diverse cultural and theological
perspectives.
This reminds me of the Shepherd’s Pie I made. I first
tasted Shepherd’s Pie was at a restaurant called Duke of Perth, a Scottish
restaurant. The Pie was served in a small cup covered by smashed potato. I
assumed their pie is quite authentic since those blue blood folks never comply
other’s protocol, and there should be many shepherds in Scotland. But, they
used beef for the pie, not the lamb. Then, I learned a recipe from a YouTuber
who lives in NY, a Mideastern American. Yay, there should be more shepherds in the
Mideastern region. That YouTuber loves the lamb, and he uses lamb with red
wine, cooks for two hours, and left it on the pan. And it looks delicious in
the video. While I said, I would like to cook Shepherd’s Pie, Adam, a Jewish
American, preferred beef and lamb, half-and-half. Yeah, there are many more
shepherds in Israel, and Adam grew up in the Conservative Judaism tradition. He
might be right. So, I use most of the recipe from that Mideastern American
YouTuber but also tried to make it tasted like what we had at that Scottish
restaurant. With a third-party certification, my shepherd’s pie tastes quite
authentic and delicious, of course.
After all the process, what style will you call it? For me,
I call it Hyde Park-Taiwanese Shepherd’s Pie. There is a series of complicated
connections and re-interpretations in this pie, so is the hymn we just sang. I believe
it will help us to understand Pacific Asian Americans’ experiences and contexts
more.
2. the shepherd in John
The image of the shepherd has a long history and connection
from Hebrew traditions. King David might be a good shepherd in some’s
perspective, for example, Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.”
The scripture today is among different parables about sheep.
Jesus identified himself as a “good” shepherd. In some interpretations, Jesus
is the model of shepherds. People could have a image and connection with other
shepherds they knew in the bible and real life in their mind. Jesus extended
that image and gave it new meanings here. This parable also adopts the
experience and observations of sheep and shepherds; they knew and recognized
each other. It is a mutual relationship. The second level of the parable
mirrors the mutual relationship between Jesus and God. God is the shepherd of
Jesus; Jesus is the shepherd of his sheep. Jesus will lay down his life for the
sheep. We have known and experienced this again through the Holly Week, and
Good Friday about that. The scripture today also mentions, “I have other
sheep do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen
to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16). What
is a Good Shepherd? And who are the other sheep?
3. the run-away shepherd
Let me share several stories.
The President of the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong, Rev. Lo Cheng-Tsi (羅慶才), is now in London, UK. He just resigned from that position several days ago, right after he arrived in London safely. Rev. Lo wrote a public letter to express his painful decision to leave his church and community at this very moment.[8] It is the “Hong Kong national security law” that became the last straw. There is no freedom in Hong Kong anymore, nor is a democracy or so-call human right, says Rev. Lo. Rev Lo became the president of the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong in 2018 and he led the Baptist to fight for freedom Hong Kong. However, while pro-democratic activists and lawmakers were arrested one after another, he was told you would be the next soon. In the meantime, the Baptist convention had no candidate nominated for the next president to be elected.
Rev. Lo is not alone. One of my friends arrived in Taiwan last
week. Let me call him George. George asked for Taiwan’s asylum. He got
married two days before he got abroad on the plane to Taiwan. George was a
social worker, a Christian, who was arrested by the Hong Kong police during the
anti-totalitarian movement about two years ago. His colleagues have been arrested
again, one after another. My friend, George, was told you would be the next
soon. He and his wife had to spread the fake wedding date to the public and
apply for Taiwan’s asylum secretly. He did not feel relieved until his flight
has left the airport. Some of his friends were not so fortunate and were
arrested on the plane. George and his wife had to leave their parents, friends
and relatives, and their cats in Hong Kong. They have no opportunity to meet
them again in their hometown.
Both Rev. Lo and my friend felt guilty and reluctant to
become a run-away deserter. They both led a group of faithful people and worked
so hard for a common good society in Hong Kong. They received threat letters
and lived under the shadows of death. They are still on their journey, with
God, their shepherd.
How should a good shepherd do when encountered this
situation?
Someone might mention Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was one
of the critical pastors in The Confessing Church, 1934. This Church against
Nazi and Albert Hitler in Germany. In the same year, Carl Barth organized The Barmen
Synod and announced Barmen Declaration. The church should be faithful to the
Word of God, Jesus the Christ, and Gospel only. There is no other authority,
neither to any political leader nor any form of government. “Therefore, the Barmen Declaration rejects the
subordination of the Church to the state (8.22–3) and the subordination of the
Word and Spirit to the Church.”[9]
Those run-away deserters should learn the model of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who
choose to stay and then die in the concentration camp.
Or, someone might mention Paul Tillich, who left
Germany for the US in 1933, and then stayed here. He taught in different
seminaries, Union Seminary in NY for 22 years, Harvard for 7 years, and UoC for
4 years, and died here. He could never be back in Germany, but he participated
in the anti-Nazi movement, political propaganda on radio, and theological
education. Paul Tillich died to himself, and was transformed into another way
of life by lots of pain and sorrow. What will you say about this model?
It takes time for the transformation to happen. Paul Tillich
also wrote many books, even me, I read his three volumes of Systematic
Theology (1951-63), The Shaking of the Foundations (1948), The
Protestant Era (1948) and The New Being (1955) in Taiwan. I was
influenced by his experience and thoughts. This German-American became one of
my spiritual mentors.
Including Paul Tillich, a German-American, Rev Lo, a Hong
Kong-Britain, and my friend, George, a Hong Kong-Taiwanese, although they had
to leave their sheep, won’t you still call them Good Shepherds in some way
someday? And from now on, people can start to learn more about Good Shepherds,
models of anti-totalitarianism shepherds, not only from European-American
models but also from non-White personas.
Echo Mina’s reflection, every face has a story, a struggle,
pain, and experience. People who came to the US had different reasons, and
their descendants might have quite different understandings than their parents
too. First-generation immigrants have a strong connection with the places they
are from. Think about it, talk about it. They also feel an in-between
condition, been called “Asian-American,” they are Asian and also American. Sometimes,
the “-“ represents a lower level of citizenship in some’s perspective or a kind
of outsider from the mainstream community. However, like the Shepherd’s Pie I
made, it is pretty authentic and unique to be Hyde-Park-Taiwanese’s Shepherd’s
Pie. “-“ is a symbol of crossing the boundarirs and bringing new possibilities,
and new beings.
4. UCHP and its Asian heritages
Who are the other sheep?
Around two weeks ago, there was a “history committee” at
virtual coffee hour. Because a cross from Siam, 1937, in our church drew my
attention, and I would like to find out how it was sent here. Siam is now
called Thailand. That cross was a gift from the church in Siam to express their
appreciation to the missionaries sent by our church. A note next to that
teakwood cross mentioned that cross was handmade by a young Siamese who
converted to Christianity. He was baptized by two missionaries, Dr. and Mrs.
Douglas R. Collier (MD). Dr. Collier was a medical doctor, graduated from
Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin in 1919. Dr. Douglas Horton was the pastor at
that time at our church.[10]
Davis’ family has a very strong connection with the overseas missionary in our
church as well. The “History Committee” told me.
During WW2, lots of Japanese Americans were put to detention
camps or asked and forced to leave their home in the West Coast. Chicago turned
out one of the locations they were reallocated, because of the unique history
of this city. Oakland and Kenwood had many Japanese American families lived
there, just right next to our church. Several Christian congregations, Buddhist
temples, and Shinto congregations were here. Our church was one of the churches
that opened the door for them. The Hashimoto family is still
remembered by some of our folks today.[11]
One of the historians in this History Committee also found
out old Church Directories in her basement. In Dec. 1974 Church Directory,
there were 14 last names (29 people) that could be Filipino. Among those names,
Ms. Domingo and Ramos were still on the Church Directory till 1988. In the 1980s,
there was a Korean family, The Chae Family, listed in the Church
Directory and reported by the same historian.
It seems to me that our church has a long history of caring for
“the others.” It does not surprise me that our church keeps demonstrating a
persona than most of the congregations in UCC, PCUSA, and UMC. In this sense, we might be on the path of
becoming a model of the good shepherd. Those who were with us fulfill the
vision of “belong to one-fold, and one shepherd” and give a new meaning
to this scripture, especially in Hyde Park, in three denominations.
I could imagine at those days, and people would say: Hashimoto
san, OHi-Yo-Go-Saia-maz. ขอให้เป็นวันที่ดี (K̄hx h̄ı̂ pĕn wạn thī̀ dī), and Piong-Hwa-Luh, Peng-Mi-Da. All the time.
Folks love to send greetings to each other. I believe it is also the work from
The Holy Spirit that we can learn to use multi-language and express our
hospitality, hesed from God and Jesus, the good shepherd.
5. the story continued and remembered
These stories are part of us. We could continue to collect
those fragments, and re-tell those stories, and have a reaction on that. For
me, I am pretty curious about who was that young Siamese who made the teakwood
cross. How is that congregation now? I do search on PCUSA’s history archive and
am overwhelmed. How are the Hashimoto family and those who lived in Kenwood?
How are Ms. Domingo and Ramos, and those Filipinos now? How is the Chae
Family? Those curiosities could be our motivation to keep demonstrating our
model of a good shepherd, and we can develop unique theological perspectives
based on our shared experiences, memories, and stories.
I would like to conclude with one of my favorite
theologians, philosophers, great thinkers, and explorers, Jean-Luc Picard. When
someone challenged and questioned him “Why don’t you unify and eliminate all
the differences, and make it easier to control? Speak in one language and
easier to communicate?” Jean-Lu Picard
replied, saying, “No. Our people are different; therefore, we are strong.”
Amen.
--
Benediction:
May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make their
faces to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the lord life up their
countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Now go, make all the sheep one, because you knew their
voices and they knew yours too.
“Peace be with you. 평화를 빕니다.
Peng-An.” Amen.
[1] https://paamucc.org/about/
[2] https://uccfiles.com/pdf/2020statisticalreport.vfw.pdf
[3] https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/research/pdfs/jf14_gofig.pdf
[4] https://gcsrw.org/MonitoringHistory/WomenByTheNumbers/tabid/891/post/analysis-of-race-ethnicity-of-united-methodist-clergy/Default.aspx
[5] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/22/covid-19-hate-crime-bill-protect-asian-americans-passes-senate/7290109002/
[6] https://www.stampsandcanada.com/stamps-prices-canada-stamp.php?postage=world-council-of-churches-vancouver-1983&denomination=32-cents&stamp=909&cat=1
[7] http://hymn.pct.org.tw/Hymn.aspx?PID=P2011120100017
[8] https://christiantimes.org.hk/Common/Reader/News/ShowNews.jsp?Nid=165345&Pid=104&Version=0&Cid=2053&Charset=big5_hkscs
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barmen_Declaration
[10] Beloit
College Bulletin: Alumni register. United States: The
College., 1925. https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qaf2UFwmaae6PUrIqlEztaM2U2MLdRpBLHZG5G2kKqkp6fzdLjrpBMqnFKi17LtNJUgSw0O6Qigzhc56QdHElxAGA34PIuFbEBOhB0LFCTX-8ruLJ7peHHjsHKdaqwBzp6oxSzX2la76q1vpc_pqnarzm9XUkomxwdliZt3es8Jwe3kPONEBuvncyf-Lpf6Q2PFtZ9n3i88RUwfCKpfQNOfToeOg422tFVLB57XohfoDWKaZgIkGAbgF5-J2Xplqy1FAV3EoIPwGiJU09QEwvVSY21QOtQ
[11] http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2015/12/1/oakland-kenwood-1/
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