Receive the Kingdom of God Like a Child (October 6, 2024)
Sermon Title: Job1:1,2:1-10; Mark 10:2-16
Scripture: Receive the Kingdom of God Like a
Child
Date: October 6, 2024
Occasion: World Communion Sunday / LGBTQ+
History Month
Location: United Church of Hyde Park
1- Presbyterian Outlook
I subscribed to some weekly meditation
materials from various sources. The Presbyterian Outlook I received this week
has an interesting beginning. Here is the first paragraph:
“Dear readers,
A lot is going on in the world right now. The
Southeast is still assessing the tragic damage of Hurricane Helene, the Near
East is shrouded in violence, Sudan is on the brink of famine, the U.S. stands
in front of a decision that will impact our democracy ... Watching or listening
to the news can feel overwhelming. Where am I to spend my time and energy? How
will I have enough capacity?”[1]
Bad news keeps coming. The suffering of people,
all around the world. We might ask: what have they done? What cause those? When
looking at them. We might ask ourselves: What have I done wrong? I do not
deserve this, do I? when looking at ourselves.
2. Job – the story and example of how Jewish
people interpret “when good people encounter bad things.”
Good news: You are not alone!
The first reading today is the Book of Job. The
first two chapters are seen as the prologue of the whole 42 chapters’
materials. Scholars through the history of interpretation have a controversial
understanding of this ancient Near East writing. For some Christians, the
figure of this righteous man, Job, resonates with our savior, Jesus the Christ,
who was an innocent, beloved son of God, who sacrificed himself to redeem our
sin. Rabbis also have complicated and mixed views of this book and Job. For
some Rabbis, Job was the most righteous of Gentiles, who is not part of the
Hebrew people. For some, Job is definitely a Jew; some take Job as a hero of
faithfulness on the level of Abraham; but for some, he is a flawed believer,
who revered God for others.[2]
The source of this book is also complicated, from a non-Israelite figure of
Noah to a pious Canaanite judge, from Mesopotamia, Old Babylonian poems,
northern Syrian Ugarit literature, to Egyptian texts.
The date of this book could be from every stage
in Israelite history, from Abraham, the 18th century BCE, to Persian
King Ahasuerus, the 5th century BCE, the time the Hebrew Bible was
collected and composed.
We can say Book of Job is material that
collects all the Jewish people’s wisdom when they encountered unfortunate
through their history. This book can resonate with many experiences that the
readers could have.
The reading today, we can see there are several
characters:
(1) Accuser – the actual doer who brings terrible
things to people; some bible uses “Satan” for this character.
(2) Heavenly belongs – they might be “good
angels,” but apparently, they are useless regarding Job’s experience, these
heavenly belongs merely just do nothing.
(3) God – who permits all these tests to be done
to Job, but as long as the Accuser keeps his life, “all you can do onto him.”
(4) Job, God’s servant, a blameless and
righteous one, but who is suffering
(5) Job’s wife – who challenges Job’s loyalty
to God- survived the disaster.
In the following chapters, Job’s three friends
show up, stay with him for seven days, and start challenging and accusing him
of wrongdoing.
This book is about personal misfortune, the
understanding of the nature of divine justice, and the problem of evil done to
regular people.
But, the end of the Prologue concludes in this
strange way:
Then his wife said to him, “Do you
still persist in your integrity? Curse[j] God and die.” But he said to her,
“You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive good from God and
not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
It indicates that Job believes both good and
evil they received are from God. And he will not complain. We know he lost all
his belongings and properties, children, and became very sick in the following
chapters. What a poor character!
3 - World Communion Sunday
Today is World Communion Sunday.
The tradition began in 1933 at Shadyside
Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by the Rev. Hugh Thomson Kerr.[3] The
purpose is to show the interconnectedness of Christian churches, regardless of
denomination. “World Wide Communion symbolized the effort to hold things
together, in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we, the Christians, are one
in the Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” In response to the Second World
War. It was not until the National
Council of Churches in 1950 that this idea was spread out throughout the U.S.
and then the whole world.
On this World Communion Sunday, churches are invited to join the Communion Table in their own ways. Rev. Paul will conduct the Communion today, and we will know how our church does this. This is the day that Christians from various backgrounds learn from each other, how they proceed with Communion, what kind of pains and concerns in their communities, and how the Church, as a whole, unite together to face the challenges, sufferings, and pain from every corner on earth.
I would like to share some of what I have
learned.
Sharing from Sillarine (India).
In her church, the Christians there observe
communion once every three months. Only baptized members of the Presbyterian
Church can participate.
“Before the communion, Pastor would share the
word of God. Then the communion started with the pastor lifting a tray of
breads, pouring the wine in a cup, and having the bread and wine while at the
same time conveying the message and meaning of the bread and wine as the body
and blood of Christ that was shed for our sins and that we take part in
communion to remember that Christ loves us and died for us so that we can have
eternal life. Then, the Pastor served the bread and the cup of wine to the
ordained members of the church.The ordained members then go and served the
bread and wine to the congregation in their respective sitting places as
instructed by the Pastor. “
Sharing from Maskym (Ukraine)
The church he grew up in Ukraine was a Pentecost church. The pastor would pass around grave juice and crackers, which people would eat and drink. As to the in Orthodox churches, it's a lot more complicated - you first have to go through a one-on-one confession with the priest, and then the communion isn't passed around but rather people wait for their turn to come up to the priest and take it.
The church in Taiwan. My experience: Sweet
potatoes and Oolong Tea.
Question and Challenges: (1) Who can receive the Communion, (2) who can pass the communion, (3) the material of the “body” and “blood”, (4) the meaning of the elements, (5) how we should deal with the leftovers.
After a long debate, PCUSA adopted the
idea that children are welcome to join the Table, with an appropriate
explanation of the meaning and elements that they are receiving.
UCC adopts the Open Communion, which states that anyone, no matter where in their journey, is welcome to the tale.
Today will also be the first time since the
General Conference this year that we will join the Communion Table together with each
other. 25% of the UMC decided to leave the denomination because they do not
want the table open for LGBTQ+ people.
It’s an essential moment for our denomination. At today's gathering, with the other 75% of the denomination, we
keep the Table Open and Welcome every child of God.
And then, we should review the second reading
today, the Gospel of Mark.
4 – the divorce and “Because of your hardness
of heart he wrote this commandment for you” and adultery
In the ancient world, reflected here, the man
is the head of the household, and the woman, his wife, if the property of the
man. The definition of adultery is a man has sex with another man’s wife, the
property. This behavior was seen as a violation of another man’s property and
honor. Only a man can divorce a woman. For some feminist theologians, the
teaching is to make men and women equal from the hierarchal society, to balance
the power in a relationship. The same perspective could be used to read the power
dynamic between an adult and a child. Jesus asked the disciple to bring the
children to him, and he claimed that “whoever does not receive the kingdom of
God as a little child will never enter it”. The kingdom of God is a place for
the powerless, like the child.
Torah or power should not be a barrier to anyone's equal treatment in any relationship or in society. However, we can still see many behaviors out of “hardness of heart” today around us. The second reading today is also used by some Christians to oppose same-sex marriage. But we know that in our church, equality
and love of each other are the keys to marriage, not gender.
The nature of naive powerless children might be
a key for us to review the Book of Job we read today. But I know naiveness
might be quite tricky for an adult, a child no more, like you and me,
especially in our current context.
5- the face
I wonder, if I can see Job, after he has lost
everything, what can I see on his face? I wonder, what can I see on those who
suffered but persisted with their integrity? What can I see on their face?
This week, President Jimmy Karter has his
birthday. He is the first president to live up to 100 years. He makes history.
But he also receives hospice care for more than a year. The photo released to
the press, I see President Karter wearing a smile in a wheelchair. He is still
enthusiastic about the future of this country, and he says he will vote this
year in the presidential election.
Our friend, Kathy from the PFLAG Tinley Park,
came to the Coming-out Story event yesterday. She shared her concerns about her
transgender son, if he leaves for another job in another state, he might be
fired by being a transgender person. Kathy also concerned about so many trans
kids and women need to travel to another state to receive their medical
treatment or start the process of abortion. “Doesn’t the decision need to be
made between the trans kids, the parents, and the doctors? Doesn’t the decision
need to be made by the woman who carries the child? Their lives and bodies
should not be used for the political tool of the politicians. The Civil Right
movement is now for trans teens and women.” Kathy said. And, I looked
carefully, and she also smiled.
You might not have seen President Kater’s photo
or Kathy from the PFLAG. But, you must know Louis Armstrong (1901 – 1971) and
his famous photo: he holds the trumpet with a big smile, you can see all his
teeth, and his eyes are looking above. Louis Armstrong was invited to perform
everywhere in the US. Racial segregation was still in place. He witnessed this
country also suffer from joining the Vietnam War and the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The US in that period was not in good shape.
Some people questioned why Louis
Armstrong always wears a smile on his face. Was he stupid and funny?
He spent most of his time in the library in his house in Queens, New York City. He recorded himself. He reflected on what was
going on in society and how he can react to those topics. He uses music to
respond to this tragic world. The smile on his face is not a sign of funny or stupidity
but a sign of survival. He wanted to survive under various forms of discrimination
and miserable circumstances. He also wanted his audience to survive.
Book of Job is a collection of wisdom from
different people who seek survival from various circumstances; they question
the divine justice by persisting in their integrity. Torah was misused to form the patriarchal
society. The power of the privileged became the barrier for the unprivileged.
But Jesus demonstrates a new vision of the future.
We, the followers of Jesus and people of faith, shall also have a vision, reflecting on the challenges in our world, our country, our community, and church. That vision is a kingdom of God that holds us together.
I would like to conclude the message today with
one of Louis Armstrong’s songs, written by George David Weiss / Robert Thiele,
in 1968, What A Wonderful World. This is a prayer and vision for a world that
was broken. May we find peace and hope in it.
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Amen.
Youtube link
https://youtu.be/ju6SKbthgao?si=yOlgkYvCxONkzHFT
[1] https://mailchi.mp/pres-outlook/this-weeks-resources-for-worship-study-and-news-6740222?e=09911d40fc
[2]
The Jewish Study Bible, Page1489
[3] https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/worship/churchcalendar/world-communion-sunday/
[4] https://presbyterian.typepad.com/peacemaking/2010/09/an-opening-prayer-for-world-communion-sunday.html
[5] https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/after-pentecost-20b-world-communion-sunday-october-6/
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