"What does this mean?" Pentecost and PAAM Sunday (May 19 2024)
Occasion: Pentecost and Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries Sunday
Location: United Church of Hyde Park
Scriptures:
Psalm 104:25-35 and Acts 2:1-6
Sermon
title: What does this mean?
Theme: Refuge
and New Beginning - Intersection with Pentecost
0. Prayer
before sermon
“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14). Amen.
1. “Pentecost”
In some
Christian traditions, 50 days after Easter is the day of Pentecost. This is the
day that the Holy Spirit dwells upon the disciples and empowers them to speak
in various native languages to proclaim God’s great doings to various audiences
in Jerusalem. Traditionally, we call this the birthday of the Christian church.
Some churches also celebrate the new baptized members and review the church’s
ministries in honor of God.
Today is also the Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries Sunday. Our church has a long history working in this field. I remember a church newsletter mentioned that our church and the Interfaith council co-hosted the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony in the Japanese Garden near the Museum of Science and Industry, on August 6, in remembrance of the victim of atomic bomb in Japan. In the past several years, we focus on various topics, such as Christian church in South Korea (2021), incarceration camps during WW2 and social justice (2022), last year, we hosted the Taiwanese music interactive concert, by using the music as the bridge for cross-cultural conversations (2023).[1]
Today, we are fortunate to have this opportunity to learn more about Christian ministry in India, Presbyterian Church in Meghalaya, Northeast India.
I would like to invite Sillarine to share with us. Please let us welcome her.
Thank you,
Sillarine, for sharing this Moment of Pentecost with us.
The
reflection today is: “What does this mean?”
2. “Gospel
and Culture” – the battle has a long history
Theologian Stephen
Bevans listed six models of Contextual Theology in his book titled Models
of Contextual Theology (1992). I believe we can use various lenses he
suggested to read the scriptures today, the story of the Presbyterian Church in
Meghalaya, India, what is happening in the United States, and our world.
In
Sillarine’s presentation, Rev. Thomas Jones and his wife Anne were from
the Presbyterian Church of Wales. They started to listen attentively to the
pronunciation of the local language, Khasi. Seven or eight months later, Rev.
Thomas Jones can preach in Khasi and then use Roman alphabet to translate
Lord’s Prayer and Gospel of Matthew into Khasi. So, people can read the
scriptures in their own languages. Rev. Thomas Jones is even recognized as the
founder of Khasi Literature. It is amazing, isn’t it?
Back to the
models of contextual theology.
“Translation
model” which focuses on translating a universal message into different
cultural idioms without losing or altering the core message. I believe the
translated scriptures help the ministries. For missionaries from Wales to
India, the “Anthropological model” might also be used. This model
focuses on using local cultures, and theology should build on this existing
cultural expression of faith. It might help to explain why 75% of the
population practices Christianity.
3. In Psalm
104:26, “Leviathan” – an unknown and confusing word
There is an
example of the challenges in translating the Bible and making people believe
it. In the first reading today, the spirit of God is described as the sustainer of every creature and creation.
In Psalm
104:26, there is a word in our pew Bible, “Leviathan.”
Hebrew (לִוְיָתָן) on TWOT (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) indicates
“leviathan, sea monster, dragon, or large aquatic animal, or perhaps the
extinct dinosaur.”
The same
word also appears in the Book of Job, “Can you draw out Leviathan with a
fishhook or press down its tongue with a cord” (Job 41:1), which means it
is impossible to do so.
In the Jewish
Study Bible, some might claim that traditionally, “Leviathan (Lotan) was also a
‘beloved’ of the deity El, a plaything” in ancient Ugaritic literature (16th
- 12th century BCE), but it could be understood as dolphins or large
fish often found near ships to “escort them.” (JSP 1384)
In some
Mandarin or Chinese Bible (和合本 Chinese Union Version 1919 ), this
creature was named crocodile or alligator to express the fear and danger
for humans to encounter it. Well, I am not so sure that an alligator could
“escort” a ship in the ocean that much. In one of the popular Taiwanese Bible
(Taiwanese Han Character Edition 1996), this creature is named “big fish.”
Since alligators only exist in the zoo in Taiwan. Alligator is not a familiar
creature you can see on the street. Using “big fish” makes more sense to us.
However, we
can see the original pronunciation is used in most modern translations, such as
Leviathan, and this image is kept “unknown,” as it is.
The
development of “Alligator” to “big fish” to “the unknown figure” might be an
example of the “Synthetic model,” which emphasizes the dialogue between
the Gospel and Culture by combining translation and anthropological model. Using
a wrong word in another culture can bring a quite different understanding or
even harm and rejection. For cross-cultural ministries, this might be the ideal
model. Another typical challenge is “God,” how should God to be introduced to
native cultures and languages? Such as Native American’s “Gaya” or native deities?
We are also
familiar with the “Praxis model,” which focuses on liberating the marginalized and oppressed (group of people). However, theologian Stephen Bevans also mentioned that most of the time, we use more than two models together for particular situations. In our time, the “countercultural
model” is used more often than we could imagine. This model does not agree
with any norm or value that does not follow the Bible or Gospel.
4. Disciples
– where they were and how were they? Are the disciples in the first century
“refugees”?
There is
another example in our reading today that we can use these two models to
retrieve deeper meanings.
At the end of the Gospel of Luke, if we treat it as the prequel to the Book of Acts, the disciples, and Jesus’ followers were lost when Jesus was gone. Two followers met
the resurrected Jesus on their way to Emaus, but they could not recognize him.
When Jesus appeared among the disciples, they were scared to death. They
assumed they saw the ghost. The dominant religious thoughts and values stopped
them from proclaiming the message of the resurrected Jesus. They had to hide
themselves from the public and gather secretly in private. We might be able to
call them religious refugees.
Recently, a
football player spoke at a college graduation ceremony, which, unfortunately,
is a Catholic school.[2] In his speech, people feel a strong normative on women’s careers – “should be housewives,” “dangerous gender ideologies” on LGBTQ rights, and the usage of women’s bodies on abortion rights. His speech is basically misogyny, patriarchy, homophobia, and LGBTQ-phobia. I think most of us have heard of this tragedy.
Surprisingly, Fox News posted an interview from a panel discussion on
“The View” on the same day that “saying the athlete's religious outlook is
being compared to ‘cult-like and extremist religions in the Middle East’ and
recommending he go to therapy.”[3]
If that football player needs to see a therapist, how about Benjamin Netanyahu, who enforces his Zionist ideology upon Palestinians and the War in Gaza? Benjamin Netanyahu exploited the meaning of
Liberation in the season of Passover and called Hamas “playing the role of
Pharaoh” in the Book of Exodus?[4]
In this
context, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people in Gaza are also “religious
refugees.” They are tortured and silenced by a deviation from religious cult
and ideology. These two are examples of the “countercultural model” in our current
time. I am afraid that their god is not my god, although we might read the
similar (Hebrew) Bible.
However, on Pentecost,
the Holy Spirit gives the oppressed disciples, “religious refugees,” courage.
The Bible tells us that they started to speak in various tongues, not only to
themselves but to quite different groups of people. People at that time heard
they were “speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
“What
does this mean?” people were all amazed and perplexed. The audience represents
different cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, and identities. Those voices
speak to them. They were searching for the meaning of this incident.
Apparently, the core message is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who
was born of love for everyone, was translated into various languages, and the
audience can understand from their heart.
That day, three
thousand people were baptized in the name of Jesus. Also, apparently, they
could no longer gather and pray secretly with such a huge crowd after that day.
They were liberated from fear and terror.
It is the
same “Spirit” (רוּחַ) in Psalm that creates our life and sustains breath of “living
things, small and great” (Psalm 104:25). In the Book of Act, it was called “the
Holy Spirit,” (ἁγίου πνεῦμα) and it was translated and presented as “tough of fire” that spreads upon
every God’s child, no matter what their social statuses are or believe in Jesus
or not or baptized or not.
5. Pacific
Islanders and Asian American Ministries (Sunday)
Rev. Paul
Dietterich shared with us early this month that the United States is now the
field of mission. Christians from outside of the United States come here, share
their thoughts, and lead our churches to be a more diverse and fuller body of
Christ.
It’s my
privilege to stand here today. And I do not take it for granted. The early
missionaries from the Church of Scotland and the Church of Canada took the three-month
ships to Taiwan in the 1860s. One hundred and 60 years later, I am here sharing
the message that I received from my teachers in the seminaries and ministers
and Christian friends in various churches since the late 19th century. That
message is across the boundary and cultural barriers. For Sillarine’s hometown, Meghalaya, “75% of the population practices Christianity.” It’s a great
testimony of Pentecost, isn’t it! Although one third of the US Asians know
another Asian person who’s been threatened to attack since COVID-19 (2023),[5]
we shall have strong faith that we will see a transformation in our
neighborhood as well- a place with love and mutual respect as children of God.
As we
celebrate the diversity among us on Pacific Islanders and Asian American
Ministries Sunday, it’s also a good time for us to learn from the story of
Pentecost. What kind of models will we use to “proclaim” the message to various
cultures? Rev. Thomas Jones listened to Khasi and is recognized the founder of
Khasi Literature. The disciples spoke in various native tongues, and people were amazed and perplexed; three thousand people were baptized that day, Pentecost.
Yes, we
translated the Bible and sometimes greet each other in different tongues.
Do we notice the differences in various cultures that they do represent God’s
great doing and the work of the Holy Spirit? Do we hear about the oppressed and
marginalized people among us, in this country and in this world? Can we
recognize the message of God in foreign music and folk songs? Or, do we merely
force others to receive our thoughts and values and ask them to eliminate
their own culture and identity?
May the Holy
Spirit Come, give us courage, and Inspire us! Amen.
Link to Youtube video
[1] https://www.uchpchicago.org/paam.html
[2] https://www.vox.com/politics/2024/5/16/24158564/harrison-butker-benedictine-college-speech
[3] https://www.foxnews.com/media/the-view-hosts-unload-chiefs-kicker-cult-like-catholic-faith-needs-therapy
[4] https://mondoweiss.net/2024/04/netanyahu-exploits-passover-for-more-biblical-genocide-propaganda/#:~:text=As%20signs%20of%20an%20imminent,who%20stands%20at%20the%20heart
[5] https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/30/asian-americans-and-discrimination-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
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