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1 열매맺자 David Kagiwada Memorial Sunday 데이빗가기와다기념주일 September 14, 2008 And NAPAD Ministry Week 아시안목회주간 September 15-20, 2008 Rev. Dr. Lian Jiang, Moderator Rev. Paulo Lealaitafea,, Newsletter Editor August 2008 Dr. Geunhee Yu, Executive Pastor 130 E. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN Kagiwada Sunday, Moderator s Invitation As the new moderator of NAPAD for the next two years, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We just had a very blessed convocation in New York. Let the wind continue to blow and the fire continue to burn as we embark on another stage of our common journey. I invite everyone of you to take a more active and creative role in the ministry of NAPAD and the general church. What a wonderful way to start by celebrating the Kagiwada Sunday and NAPAD Ministry Week from September 14 to 20! As the forerunner of NAPAD history, Rev. David Kagiwada helped us see how to live out a Christ like life of reconciliation. He did it through committed advocacy and support to Christian education. My suggestion is that during this time not only our churches engage in discernment and apply related themes into our special Sunday worship on September 14 and other communal events in the week that follows more creatively, but also each individual should think how do I live out this spirit in my life of faith with Christ? How do I support NAPAD ministry as a whole? Dear sisters and brothers, we are all one in Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is not longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; this is not just a theory to know but a practice to do. Rev. Lian Jiang NAPAD Moderator Dear NAPAD family and friends: 친애하는제자회친지여러분 I pray that your summer rolls into a fruitful autumn. The Lord has been so good to us that we have been faithful to the upward call of God. September comes to us for appreciation and celebration of our roots. The second Sunday in September (14 th ) is observed in commemoration of the life and ministry of the late Rev. David Kagiwada, and the following week (15 th - 20 th ) is in celebration and promotion of NAPAD ministry. You are cordially invited and welcomed to the celebration. The theme of our celebration is Bear Fruit (Mat.7:20) which was also the theme of our 15 th biennial Convocation of NAPAD, held on Aug. 6-9 in New York. The three renowned keynoters challenged, inspired and even provoked all the participants to bear much fruit (John 15:8). It was another success story of NAPAD. Enclosed are the resource materials of celebration for your use. It is prepared for individual and group use, as well as for congregational worship and other activities. It is encouraged of you to participate in the celebration, so that all of us together promote further fruitful life and ministry of NAPAD. May God bless you in your celebration. 결실이풍성한가을을기원합니다. 위에서부르신부름 에합당한삶을살도록우리를지켜주신주님께감사를드립니다. 9 월은우리의 뿌리 를감사하며경축하는달입니다. 9 월둘째주일은우리교단의아시안사역의창시자인데이빗가기와다목사님을기념하며연이어한주간은아시안사역의발전을위하여기도하며후원하는주간입니다. 모든교회가이특별주간을지키기를간청합니다. 주제는 열매맺자 ( 마 7:20) 로서지난 8 월 6-9 일에뉴욕에서열린아시안대회주제와같습니다. 아시안대회는명망있는특별강사들을통해도전과영감과자극을받아열매가풍성한삶을결단하는매우성공적인대회였습니다. 동봉하는자료들은개인적으로나단체로사용할수있고, 교회가주일예배로사용하도록준비되었습니다. 금년의특별주간행사에아시안제자들모두참여하여우리의사명인아시안태평양계 (NAPAD) 사역의번영과발전을위하여협력해주시기바랍니다. 맡으신사역위에주님의은총을기원합니다. Geunhee Yu 유근희목사드림 - 2 Executive - Pastor 실행목사

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3 David Kagiwada Memorial Sunday 데이빗 데이빗가기와다기념주일 (This is a guide for your worship service. Please adapt the service to the needs of your congregation. We encourage you to invite members of the congregation from all ages and genders to share in reading the scriptures, leading in singing and prayers, and sharing their own stories of witness) 이것은기념예배예문입니다. 교회실정에맞게수정 / 보충하여사용하십시오. 예배의모든순서에나이와성별을망라하여여러사람이참여할수있도록배려하시기바랍니다 ) Prelude ( 전주 전주 ) Greetings ( 인사 인사및소개 ) Order of Worship ( 예배 예배순서 ) Today, we remember the ministry and life of Rev. David Kagiwada. As a second generation Disciple of Christ, he helped to inspire people to ministry and leadership in the greater church. He was a strong advocate for unity and reconciliation among cultures and communities. We recognize his contributions and his everlasting spirit of peace, unity and justice. 오늘은가기와다목사님의생애와사역을기념하는주일입니다. 그분은일본인 2 세로서제자회목사가되어수많은사람들을주님의사역자들로길러냈습니다. 다민족, 다문화가운데서일치와화해를이루는일의선구자였습니다. 우리는그분의화평과일치와정의실현의정신을기리며본받아야할것입니다. Call to Worship ( 예배로부름 ) O God of wonder and of light, We enter into a time of sacredness and communion with you. We bring our sorrows, our brokenness, our celebrations, our lives. We come, O God, into your presence to make a joyful noise and to know peace that is everlasting. Grant us mercy, fill us with your hope and create in us a new song! Amen. Invocation ( 기도 기도 ) Disciples affirmation of faith ( 제자회신앙선언 ) (see P.2) Opening Hymn( 찬송 찬송 ) Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Chalice Hymnal #2) 기뻐하며경배하세 ( 찬송 13 장 ) COMMEMORATION OF THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF REV EV. DAVID KAGIWADA ( 가기와다목사님의생애를기념하며 ) Leader We remember, on this day, the life and spirit of Rev. Kagiwada. The witness and welcome that he brought to all those that he encountered reflected a God of peace, justice, hospitality and grace. 인도자 오늘우리는가기와다목사님의모범된삶을추모합니다. 그분이주위사람들에게보여준증거와환영은하나님의평화, 정의, 자애그리고은혜를보여주었습니다

4 People O God, we give our thanks and praise. 회중 오하나님, 주님께감사와찬양을드립니다. Leader We acknowledge the hard realities of our world today. There is hunger, war, sickness, pain and suffering. May we work to be the makers of peace and continue in the vision of Rev. Kagiwada towards of wholeness, humility and love. 인도자 우리는이세상의어려운사정을잘알고있습니다. 기근, 전쟁, 질병, 고통과재난이계속되고있습니다. 우리가가기와다목사님의유지를받들어치유와겸비와사랑을이루어가게하옵소서. People O God, we lift our hearts and minds to you. 회중하나님, 우리의마음을주님께엽니다. Leader We remember the lives and legacies of all the saints that have passed on. We are embraced and inspired by this cloud of witnesses that have gone on before us. 인도자 인도자우리는이시간앞서간선배성도들을기억합니다. 구름같이허다한증인들 이우리를감싸고있음을감사합니다. 3 People O God, we rejoice in your holy name. 회중하나님, 주님의거룩한이름으로우리는기쁨을누립니다. Leader On this special Kagiwada Sunday, we renew our commitment to loving in peace and proclaiming the Gospel Message. May we be mindful of our connections to one another and live out lives, as did Rev. Kagiwada, for the glory of God s holy kingdom. 인도자 People Amen. 회중 가기와다기념주일에우리는평화와복음전파의사명을다시확인합니다. 우리모두하나되어하나님의거룩한나라의영광을위해살았던가기와다목사님을본받도록하옵소서. 아멘 NOTE OTE: Life of David Kagiwada Surrounded by a cloud of Disciples witnesses ( 구름같이둘러싼 제자회증인들과가기와다목사 ) (A video<1.5min.> on David Kagiwada can be downloaded for your use at 분되는비데오가준비되어있으니 napad.net 에서다운로드받아여기서사용하십시요 ) Prayer for the People & Lord s Prayer ( 인류를 Passing of Christ s Peace ( 그리스도의 그리스도의화평전하기 ) 인류를위한기도와주기도문 ) As the risen Christ greeted his beloved disciples with the greeting, Peace be with you, let us now turn and greet one another in mutual love. 부활주님께서사랑하는제자들에게보여주신대로우리도앞뒤, 옆사람들에게 평안을기원합니다 로서인사하십시다. 찬송 ) Hymn( 찬송 God made all people (Chalice Hymnal #685) Scripture Reading( 성경봉독 Sermon Message ( 설교 인류는하나되게 ( 찬송 272 장 ) 성경봉독 ) Matthew ( 마태복음 ) 7:15-20, John ( 요한복음 ) 15:1-11 설교 ): Bearing Heavenly Fruit 신령한열매를맺기 * As a resource, please refer to Dr. Brock s sermon that was given at the opening service of 15 th Convocation of NAPAD. You may incorporate it in your sermon on Bear Fruit ( 오늘의설교는금년아시안대회의주강사 Brock 박사의설교문을참조하십시오 ) - 4 -

5 Call to Discipleship( 결단 찬송 ) Hymn( 찬송 결단 ) What Does the Lord Require of You? (Chalice Hymnal #660) 우리가지금은 ( 찬송 270 장 ) Special Offering for the leadership of NAPAD ( 아시안 아시안사역을위한특별헌금 ) We invite you to be in mindful reflection and prayer for the NAPAD community. There are over 95 NAPAD congregations with a large Asian/Pacific cultural community, those are part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The special offering from today will go directly to two special Scholarship Funds (Kagiwada & Choi) that help support NAPAD seminarians during their time of study and training for ministerial leadership. Please give generously. Thank you. 아시안사역을위해기도하며특별장학헌금을드리기를간청합니다. 현재 95 교회가 NAPAD 소속입니다. 미국내에 1300 만이넘는아시안그리고태평양계사람들에게복음을전해야할큰사명을감당하려면잘훈련된사역자들이많이필요합니다. 오늘드리는특별헌금은이목적을위한기금 ( 가기와다및최순국장학금 ) 으로사용될것입니다. 정성어린헌금으로적극후원해주시면대단히감사하겠습니다. Offertory Prayer( 봉헌기도 봉헌기도 ) Invitation to Communion( 성만찬으로 Invitational Hymn( 초대 초대찬송 ) Prayers at the Table( 축사 Leader ( 인도자 축사 ) 성만찬으로초대 ) Seed, Scattered and sown (Chalice Hymnal #395) 주예수해변서 ( 찬송 284 장 ) 인도자 ): The Lord be with you. 주님께서여러분과함께하십니다. People ( 회중 ): And also with you. 당신과도함께하십니다. Leader ( 인도자 ): Lift up your hearts: 마음을여십시다. People ( 회중 ): We lift them up to the Lord. 우리마음을주님께엽니다 Leader ( 인도자 ): Let us give our thanks to the Lord. 주님께감사드립시다. People ( 회중 ): It is right to give God thanks and praise. 하나님께 엽니다. Prayer over the Bread ( 떡을위한축사 ), Prayer of the Cup ( 잔을위한축사 ) Partaking of Communion ( 만찬나눔 ) Closing Prayer ( 공동기도 공동기도 ) 만찬나눔 하나님께감사와찬양을드림이마땅합니다. Refreshed and renewed, O God, we emerge with new life and hopeful spirit into the world. May we be instruments of your peace and voices of change for your glory. We are whole once again and we praise you for the transformation. Holy, holy, holy, our Lord God almighty. Amen. 우리하나님, 회복되고새로워진마음으로희망찬새날을향하여세상으로나아갑니다. 우리가주님의영광을위한평화의도구가되게하소서. 우리를다시하나되게번화시켜주심을감사드립니다. 거룩, 거룩, 거룩, 전능하신하나님이시여. 아멘 Closing Hymn ( 폐회 폐회찬송 ) Let There be Peace on Earth (Chalice Hymnal #677) 온세상위하여 ( 찬송 268 장 ) Benediction ( 축도 ) - 5 -

6 A Week of Reflection & Prayer ( 명상과 KAGIWADA SUNDAY and NAPAD MINISTRY WEEK SEPTEMBER 14 20,, 2008 ( 아시안 명상과기도의한주간 ) 아시안목회주간 ) The following activities are suggestions that can be done with your church, family members, and community. We encourage you to be creative and add on to these activities. Theme: Bear Fruit 여기에제안된행사들은교회적으로, 가족적으로, 또는공동체적으로할수있는일들입니다. 그러나형편에맞게조정하여사용하시기바랍니다. 아시안목회주간의주제 : 열매맺자 SUNDAY (9/14) 1. For Sunday school classes and small groups, the following topics may be discussed. ( 주일성경공부반이나소구룹모임에서다음의주제들을놓고토의할수있음 ) a. Race relations in North America: Christian responsibility for racial integration and conflict (racially motivated hate crime, anti-immigration hostility, etc.) 북미주의인종관계 : 인종화합과인종불화에대한성도들의책임은무엇인가? 특히인종차별, 인종증오, 반이민감정등에어떻게대처해야하나? b. Biblical understanding of diversity, inter-racial integrity, and multi-culturalism. 다양성, 인종화합, 다문화사회를위한성경적이해를생각해보자. Scripture selections ( 참조할성경 ): Genesis( 창 ) 12:1-9; Micah ( 미가 )4:3-8; 6:6-8: Isaiah ( 사 ) 11:6-9, 58:6-11. Luke ( 눅 ) 4:14-22; Matthew ( 마 )8:5-12, 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians ( 고전 ) 12:12-27; Ephesus ( 엡 ) 2:11-22 <Matthew ( 마태 ) 7:15-20, John ( 요한 ) 15:1-11> c. Talk about how to support, promote, and participate in NAPAD ministries (new church start, leadership development, scholarships, etc.) NAPAD 목회에적극참여하며, 후원하며, 장려할수있는길 ( 개척교회, 인재양성, 장학금후원등 ) 을검토하고추진하도록한다. d. Understanding of God s plan (providence) for our church that three of the four founding fathers of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are adult immigrants. (Thomas and Alexander Campbell, and Walter Scott) 교단 ( 창립 ) 을위한하나님의특별계획 ( 섭리 ) 이무엇일까? ( 특히창립의주역 4 명중 3 명이이민자들이라는사실이무엇을말해주는가?) 2. Other activities suggested (especially for non-napad congregations and groups) 아시안교회가아닌회중이나구룹을위한제안. a. Pulpit exchange with NAPAD ministers b. Invite NAPAD members to your church (Sunday school classes & worship services) and listen to them about their life experiences in America. c. Preach on topics, such as multi-cultural society, the gifts from the East, anti-racist and prereconciling church, 2020 Vision of Disciples. d. Have a moment of prayer for NAPAD ministries. e. Promote scholarship funds (D. Kagiwada and S. Choi) - 6 -

7 MONDAY (9/15) Spend time as a family talking about American-Asian and Pacific Islanders history in the United States. What do you know about this history? What are your biggest questions? What would you like to learn more about? 가족이함께모여미국에사는아시아인들의 ( 이민 ) 역사를이야기한다. 이민역사를얼마나알고있는가? 가장큰의문은무엇인가? 더알고싶은것은무엇인가? Take some time to reflect on the scripture, Romans 2:9-11: Tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. As you reflect, consider this passage in relation to the life of Asian and Pacific Islanders in America. 로마서 2:9-11 을읽고명상한후느낀바를서로나눈다 : 악을행하는각사람의영에게 환난과곤고가있으리니첫째는유대인에게요또한헬라인에게며선을행하는각사람에게는영광과 존귀와평강이있으리니첫째는유대인에게요또한헬라인에게라. 이는하나님께서외모로사람을취하지아니하심이니라. 이성경말씀에비추어미국에이민와서살고있는아시안그리고태평양계사람들이격는인종관계의어려움을생각해본다. TUESDAY (9/16) With a group of friends/or as family, set aside some time to write a letter to someone who lives in Asia or in the Pacific Islands. What do you want to know about their lives? What similarities are there between the U.S. and places in Asia or the Pacific Islands? What more would you like to learn? 친구들끼리또는가족끼리모여, 아시아나태평양군도에살고있는친지들에게편지를쓴다. 그들의생활에대해알고싶은것이무엇인가? 그들과미국에있는우리가유사한점이무엇일까? 더배우고싶은것은무엇인가? Share Asian and Pacific Islanders cultural foods with family/or friends. Begin discussions around what you are eating and the thoughts or memories that the food brings. 다른민족인들과아시안 / 태평양식음식을나누도록한다. 식사하는동안식탁을돌아가면서지금먹고있는음식이무엇이며, 그음식과연관된추억들을서로교환하도록한다. WEDNESDAY (9/17) Choose a country in Asia or the Pacific Islands and reflect on its people and current status in the world. What can you pray for? What areas do these communities need support? 아시아나태평양군도에있는나라하나를택하여거기사는사람들에관해생각해보고현재그들이처해있는 ( 정치 / 경제적 ) 상황을알아본다. 그들을위해기도해야할일들이무엇일까? 그들이필요로하는것들은무엇일까? Take some time to reflect on the scripture, Romans 12:5. So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. As you reflect, consider this passage in relation to cultural unity and reconciliation. How can we strive to be one body in Christ? 로마서 12:5 를읽고음미해보자 : " 이와같이우리많은사람이그리스도안에서한몸이되어서로지체가되었느니라." 이성경말씀을문화적단합과화해에관련하여생각해볼것. 우리가어떻게 " 그리스도안에서한몸됨 " 을이룰수있을까? THURSDAY (9/18) Form a Chain of Prayer in your church community to pray for NAPAD ministries. 교회안에 " 기도고리 " 를조직하여일주간동안쉬지않고 NAPAD 교회들과목회를위하여기도할것 Use this day to celebrate the ministries of NAPAD in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Research more about NAPAD on the website at 크리스천교회 ( 제자회 ) 내에서가지는우리 NAPAD 사역을기념축하하며 NAPAD website 를열어보고더깊은이해를갖도록하자 :

8 Find out if there is a NAPAD church in your community. Contact a leader in that church and discuss possible activities the two congregations can share in the future. Discuss possible plans to help each other in congregational vitality, community service, and evangelism. What stories are there that you can share about your church? Ask about the history and stories of the NAPAD congregation. 우리주위에는어떤 NAPAD 교회가있는지알아보자. 주위의 NAPAD 교회들이연합하여할수있는행사들을교회지도자들과상의해보자. 인근 NAPAD 교회들이합동으로교회성장, 사회봉사, 전도활동을펴나갈수있는길을함께모색해본다. 소속교회의자랑스러운점들은무엇인가? NAPAD 교회들의역사와전통들을들어보자. FRIDAY FRIDAY (9/19) With a group of friends/or family, discuss the differences in Asian/and Pacific Island cultures compared to American culture. Discuss how we can use these differences to strengthen our community, congregation, and relationships. How do these differences relate to your church? If a guest visited your church and did not fit in, how would the congregation react? Discuss what it means to Bear Fruit in this context. 친구들이나가족끼리모여아시안 / 태평양민족들의다양한문화를생각해보고그것과미국문화를비교해보자. 이런다양성을어떻게우리사회와교회와대인관계에적용할수있을까토의해보자. 우리교회에 ( 문화 / 인종적으로 ) 낯선사람이방문했을때, 우리교인들은어떻게대우하는지조사해보자. 이러한상황에서 열매맺는삶 이란무엇인지생각해보자. SATURDAY (9/20) Remembering the gifts of this week, what changes can we make in our congregation, spiritual life, and actions to become a more open, inclusive, and affirming culture? This week, we focused on Asian/Pacific Island cultures. How can we incorporate these same changes to be Bearing Fruits in out lives? 이번주간의행사들을통하여얻은지혜를가지고어떻게우리교회와신앙과봉사활동에있어좀더열린, 포용적인, 그리고차별이없는풍토를이루어나갈것인가? 우리는한주간동안아시안 / 태평양군도의문화를생각해보았다. 여기서그칠것이아니고우리의매일생활속에서어떻게하면 열매맺는삶 의정신을실현시킬것인가를기도하며결심하도록하자. Send your words of support to ( 우리의대표자들에게격려편지를보내자 ): Rev. Lian Jiang Rev. Dr. Geunhee Yu Moderator Executive Pastor lianjiang@hotmail.com gyu@dhm.disciples.org NAPAD Keynote Sermon Bearing Heavenly Fruit (a sermon at opening service at the Convocation) Rita Nakashima Brock Aug. 7, 2008 NAPAD Convocation, Stony Point, NY We ve probably all heard the saying: Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Heaven has not been all that popular these days. It is hard to find a serious feminist, liberation, Asian or Black theologian who talks about it. The decline of heaven started back in the nineteenth century. Marxist thinkers accused Christianity of using the promise of heaven to keep people trapped in oppressive systems. It is true many leaders of the church told people to be patient and wait for their heavenly reward. These clergy said God required obedience to authority. Because of this kind of advice, Marxists called Christianity the opiate of the masses

9 Science also helped the decline of heaven. The research methods of science made heaven seem supernatural and oldfashioned. No one can prove scientifically that heaven exists. Even the astronauts couldn t find it when they sailed around the earth and flew to the moon. Of course, many Marxists and scientists were atheists, so we might consider their criticism of heaven irrelevant. However, even the Baptist theologian, Walter Rauschenbusch took a swipe at heaven a hundred years ago. He contrasted the pale, individual eternal life of heaven with the rich, emotionally satisfying life of family and friends on earth. This life on earth is the one we all love. Even with all its ups and downs we appreciate being alive. What makes us feel so alive? We have moments of singing together. Depending on our talents the song may be great or bad, but singing together is a great joy. We learn to humor our aggravating uncle who tells really bad, corny jokes, but who is so generous. We enjoy eating delicious food together, especially after a day of airport sandwiches. We love the beautiful earth so much that we struggle to walk up a mountain to see the magnificent view, even though we know we will have aching bodies when we go back down. We sit with friends, laughing at stories or movies, and we sometimes even appreciate a good argument to sharpen our thinking. When we feel all alone and sad, our cat or dog crawls into our lap, or our son or daughter or wild and crazy cousin calls to say, I was just thinking of you. If we live long enough, some of us get a chance to holding our first grandchild in our arms, and then we have to change the diaper. A hundred years ago, Walter Rauschenbusch contrasted these emotional joys and sensual experiences in this life with the weak life of heaven. He thought imaginary visions of heaven were just silly. He asked: who needs individuals in white robes, each with their own harps sitting on clouds, and what kind of a place is it, where people each have a harp and have not even bothered to organize an orchestra!? Rauschenbusch was a founder of the Social Gospel movement that transformed American society during the first half of the twentieth century. Christians who followed the Social Gospel thought, instead of sitting around waiting for heaven, we should get busy creating the kingdom of God on earth. They said Jesus called us to defeat the principalities and powers of empires, of militarism, and of capitalist greed, which destroyed the lives of children, women, and the poor. In the 1930s, the work of Social Gospel Christians helped to create Franklin Roosevelt s New Deal. Those Christians helped end child labor, insisted on at least one day off for workers, fought for a minimum wage and health care benefits, and advocated for Social Security so people did not have to work until they died. The Social Gospel movement also deeply influenced the thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Liberation theology. Both the Civil Rights movement and liberation theology combined the biblical call for justice with sharp criticisms of militarism and exploitation of people who are poor. Social Gospel theology is focused on salvation in this life as the mission of Jesus Christ, and it has shaped much of contemporary Disciples theology, as well as liberal theology as a whole. We tend, I think, to accept the criticism that a focus on heaven keeps us too passive about the evil in this world. Actually, however, I think the problem of heaven in traditional Christianity is worse than the Marxists and Rauschenbusch thought. Rather than being an opiate of the masses that drugged people to sleep, heaven was the whip people used to beat themselves into submission. Heaven was promised as the reward of those who could suffer the most pain to atone for their sins. In the middle of the eleventh century, just before the time of the Crusades, a monk and Cardinal Bishop named Peter Damian traveled through northern Europe encouraging people to fast, whip themselves, and reject all creaturely comforts. Like many of his day, Peter believed humanity s sins were of such a magnitude that only extreme suffering could offer hope of heaven. Some women saints of this period tried to live only on food from the Eucharist, and some starved themselves to death. Peter thought that every affliction was a gift from God to purge us of sin. Since Christ had paid such a price for human salvation, and the body was the only true possession humanity could offer to God, discipline of the flesh should be the instrument of absolution from sin. Many believed that suffering was holy and that a spiritual person should seek to suffer. Through physical austerities and self-inflicted pain, a person could imitate Christ on the Cross. To cause oneself pain meant a person could escape torment in the afterlife, and gain heaven. Peter s monastic community bound their bodies with iron bands and beat themselves with scourges while reciting psalms. Of his self-inflicted pain Peter said: This is the Cross which we are commanded to bear after the Lord daily. He who carries it truly shares in the passion of his Redeemer. This emblem will separate the sheep from the goats in the last judgment. And the judge will recognize the mark as his own. O happy exchange, where earthly wares are bartered for heavenly ones Blessed indeed the market where one can buy eternal life where a short span of bodily affliction can buy the heavenly banquet

10 Peter asserted that such pain spared God from having to punish us: There is no need, Lord, Peter said, for you to order your officer to punish me I have laid hands upon myself I have offered myself in place of my sins. For Peter, to appear before Christ without wounds would be to be damned. Salvation required a body in pain that imitated crucifixion as a daily ritual of atonement. To be happy, to want healing from affliction, to find solace, joy, and comfort in this life were the temptations of Satan. Protestants rejected much of this kind of Mel Gibson Christianity. Unfortunately, though, we did not reject the idea of heaven as the promise of another world. The Calvinists who arrived in the New World saw their genocide of Native Americans and destruction of forests as part of the apocalyptic end of this evil world and their work to bring the arrival of a new heaven and earth. They lived by an extreme segregationist mindset and felt the need to make sure the elect remained pure and separate from all others who were agents of Satan. Even Indians who converted to Christianity were not welcome in their world. Instead, they forced them to live in separate villages, where they tried to civilize them by making them give up their culture and language. This kind of racism and segregation still marks the most conservative attitudes of white Americans and anti-immigrant movements. In addition to a mindset of racial purity and segregation, the Puritans embedded in American society what American historian Richard Slotkin called a belief in the myth of regenerative violence. Americans tend to believe that violence, especially war, is purifying and brings about renewal, that if we use it, we will get something better later, just like Peter Damian believed if he suffered pain, he would gain heaven. Wars and rumors of wars are fed by this myth to this very day, and Americans will readily believe a lie to take us to war rather than believe a truth that can lead us to peace. Our tax dollars fund military academies and a war college but not peace academies and a nonviolence college. The powerful myth of regenerative violence asserts, if we die for a noble cause, we will gain heaven. So I think we can see that critics of heaven might have good reasons to attack or ignore it. But, you know, Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is obsessed with heaven. Not only does Matthew give us parables of heaven, but Jesus refers constantly to the kingdom of heaven instead of the kingdom of God. Matthew even attaches the phrase the kingdom of heaven to the beatitudes. In chapter 16, when Peter confesses that Jesus is the messiah and the son of the living God, Jesus blesses Peter s answer because it was revealed to him by God in heaven. He gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Actually, I think the idea of heaven in the Bible has been seriously misunderstood for a very long time. Heaven was not originally just a promise to be awaited after death or something to be earned by great suffering. In the time of Jesus, heaven was very real as part of this life, here and now. In Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth. Together, they co-exist in different realms at the same time, the dome of the heavens above, covering the whole earth and the waters below. Because of this understanding of creation, people in Jesus time knew that heaven was found just above the tops of high mountains. Their peaks touched the dome of the heavens and united heaven with the paradise garden of life on earth. The surface of the dome of the heavens was the great vault of sky and clouds. Above the vault the heavenly hosts dwelled, and the vastness of the dome encompassed everything on the earth. Jewish and Christian communities identified the tallest peak they knew of as their holy mountain because it was close to heaven. There were many such holy mountains: Mt. Sinai, Zion, Carmel, Ararat, or Gerizim. These holy mountains were like Jacob s ladder; they were humanity s route to the heavens. Not everyone can reach the tops of mountains. Their peaks are dangerous places. Clouds often obscure them. Attaining them requires knowledge, skill, and care. But mountains confer the blessings of heaven. Mountain peaks capture the rain and snow in clouds and store this water of the heavens in vast glaciers. They release these life-giving waters as cascading creeks that turn into many of the world s great rivers: the Nile, the Rhine, the Danube, the Ganges, the Yangzee, the Colorado, the Jordan, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. A few years ago I was in the very tall mountains of eastern Turkey, as I mentioned this morning. Two of the rivers of Eden in Genesis 2, the Tigris and the Euphrates originate there. The ancient people who migrated from those mountains settled in the fertile delta where the two great rivers met at the Persian Gulf. Their land was called Sumer. In remembering those distant mountains, the ancient Sumerians wrote the first stories of paradise on earth. In their stories, they describe how the paradise garden is moistened by the rivers from heaven and they describe paradise as human life when it was lived at its best, life that honored justice, peace, and a responsible relationship to creation. Abraham and Sarah were from ancient Sumer and those stories of paradise from long ago influenced our Genesis story of Eden

11 Heaven in Matthew was a world constantly in touch with earth, ready to confer blessings. God, the angels, and other heavenly beings resided above and descended, often unexpectedly, to visit and bless the world with spiritual presence through visions, dreams, revelations, and insights. People, such as prophets of God, like Moses, Elijah, and Jesus could ascend mountains to commune with the residents of heaven. Returning below, they conferred heavenly blessings upon the world. They delivered messages about how to live well and resist evil, including resisting imperial wars and corruptions; they gained power to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and raise the dead; and they warned the powerful about the dangers of misused power and greed. Whenever the prophets of the Bible criticize the rulers and advocate for justice and peace, they use the images of creation and paradise found in Genesis 1 and 2. Amos says justice is like cascading rivers, righteousness is like everflowing streams. Isaiah proclaims that a people faithful to God will blossom like a garden. Jesus speaks in parables of the abundant life of earth and its waters to describe the power of heaven in the world, and he says that heaven is a power hidden from the beginning. Please note! Heaven is hidden it is NOT absent from this world. Heaven is not somewhere else with an entry ticket that requires dying. It is right here for those who can discern it. I think in Matthew heaven is actually much closer than we think. That is what the parables of the kingdom of heaven tell us. Heaven is the spirit of God breathed upon creation. Heaven is the invisible power of spirit in the smallest seed that can grow to become an entire ecosystem of life. Heaven is in the tiny cells of yeast that gives rise to nourishing life. Heaven is the pearl of great price. Heaven reveals truth to us the meaning of incarnation of the spirit in the flesh found in the Christ, the child of the living God. Even when our enemies try to thwart us by throwing the seeds of injustice into our garden, the children of justice will grow. As we grow in wisdom, we gain the power to recognize the demons in ourselves and our gardens and the powers of evil and injustice in the world. This struggle, too, is part of life in paradise, where the serpent was there before the fall and reminds us that we must become wise. Heaven is the treasure hidden in every field. Knowing its power requires critical judgment to discern what is life-giving and what destroys life. This is wisdom. Heaven is in the midst of everything; we do not have to wait for it or earn it; the gift of faith helps us discern it and to take joy in it. Heaven is the source of wisdom that affirms that spirit and flesh can be joined in a human body. Those who know that spirit bear heavenly fruit. In my senior year in college, in 1972, I spent some time in the seaside town of Pondicherry, in South India, where I was doing some research at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Sri Aurobindo was a Hindu philosopher who had studied physics at Cambridge University and was creating a new form of philosophy based in evolution and physics, much like Teilhard de Chardin, John Cobb, Nikos Kazantzakis, and Alfred North Whitehead were doing with Christian theology. On my first evening in Pondicherry, I was invited to a gathering at the home of one of the Ashram s residents, an American who had taken the name Tatsat. The simple apartment had a balcony directly over the beach. A Dutch Christian theologian named Rud Lohman and I stood on the balcony watching the sun set over the surf lapping the sand while we enjoyed a cooling breeze after the day s tropical heat. Tatsat soon arrived with tall glass tumblers filled with something that looked like red lemonade. The drink was wonderfully cold in my hand as I took a sip. I could not identify what I was drinking. It tasted like a fruit juice, but the refreshing liquid had something fragrant in it that I had never tasted before. The fragrance was elusive but it permeated every delicious, cool sip as Dr. Lohman and I stood in the twilight watching the sea grow dark. At the end of a culturally and intellectually rich evening, as I was leaving, I asked Tatsat what had been in the drink in the tumbler. It was, he said, tropical fruit with hibiscus flower syrup. Hibiscus flower. Once I knew what it was, I could detect it in some of the fruit juices I drank in India. I think Matthew s heaven is like the hibiscus flower in the fruit juice. It takes ordinary life and infuses it with a special invisible power that lifts it a little out of the mundane and gives it a fragrant life. Heaven is the elusive but wonderful presence that permeates life. It makes the ordinary things we take for granted into a revelation. Heaven is what makes paradise on the earth

12 When early theologians said that the church is paradise in this world, they asserted that Christians did not have to earn or wait for salvation. The moment catechumens stepped from the baptismal font, they had entered paradise in this world. Forever after, it was ours. It blessed us, empowered our ministries in the world, and held us accountable for being our best selves. Christians had been given the spirit of God, which opens our eyes to how we can bear heavenly fruit. Our responsibility was to use the power of our faith wisely to live in accord with this gift of grace, our salvation in paradise. To bear heavenly fruit in the garden, we must care for the vulnerable, take joy in the beauties and joys of life, and to bless this earth with their lives. We might fail and sin again, but those who live in paradise in this world hold each other accountable to its blessings in the midst of a world of terrible suffering, violence, war, and hunger. This ancient and still true gift of paradise drew slaves, women, and outcasts to Christianity, as much as it attracted the educated and privileged, not because of a promise, but because of a commitment to hold fast to paradise as real and as life-giving. To become bearers of heavenly fruit, we must come to know the kingdom of heaven touches ordinary life and God is never absent from us. We do not have to worry about earning salvation and we do not have to wait for it. We must learn the wisdom to bear heavenly fruit, to cultivate it carefully, and to resist the principalities and powers of the world that leave people hungry, broken, abandoned, homeless, and lost. Heaven gives us the power and the responsibility to protect the fruit of paradise, to savor it, and to share it with each other. So when we pick up the tumbler of life and sip from it, we can taste its heavenly fragrance in this life on earth. Everybody wants to get to heaven. Nobody has to die. But we all have to learn how to savor heaven s presence and cultivate its fruit. So my sisters and brothers of NAPAD and our friends in the church, I leave you with these few words from my favorite ancient poet, Ephrem of Syria as we gather around that very, very Disciples ritual, the feast of resurrection, the communion table: The assembly of saints bears resemblance to Paradise: In it each day is plucked the fruit of Him who gives life to all; in it. is trodden the cluster of grapes, to be the medicine of life. 1 To mark the Centennial Anniversary of the Social Gospel 1908 Social Creed for Churches, which came from the organization that became the National Council of Churches (NCC), the Presbyterians, Methodists, and NCC have created a 2008 Social Creed that now includes racial reconciliation, equality for women, and protection of the environment, all missing areas of the first Social Creed. I worked with the committees to help create this new creed. For the texts of both creeds, see C. Iosso, ed. Prayers for a New Social Awakening, Westminster Press, Many Disciples, myself, Michael Kinnamon, and Peter Hetzel, have prayers in this collection. napad ministry week SEPTEMBER 14 ~ 20,,

13 NAPAD NAPAD Scholarships David Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship Fund The David Tamotsu Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of the Rev. David Kagiwada. David was a second generation Disciple who graduated from the University of Chicago Divinity School and ordained in the Illinois Wisconsin Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). David was the first convener of the American Asian disciples (now, North American Pacific/Asian Disciples) and also faithfully served five congregations in California and Indiana. Some focal points of David s life and ministry were to help reconcile and heal antagonism among all people. He was an advocate for the issues and struggles of racial/ethnic communities and women. He was a central figure in the effort to highlight the gifts, ministerial leadership and talent of Asian/Pacific Islander Disciples. Through the Kagiwada Scholarship, North American Pacific/Asian Disciples who are ministerial students at an accredited graduate theological school or seminary can qualify to receive scholarship assistance to help complete their education. The David Kagiwada Scholarship Fund: $69, (Market Value as of 6/30/08) 가기와다기념장학기금데이빗다모추가기와다기념장학금은고가기와다목사기념장학기금입니다. 그분은일본인 2 세로서시카고대학에서신학교육을받고 Illinois-Wisconsin 지방회에서안수받고 California 와인디애나여러교회에서사역하였으며본교단아시안들의조직인 NAPAD 를창설하였습니다. 가기와다목사님은인종적갈등을없애고화목하게사는길을위해헌신하였으며여성의권익을위해서도이바지하였습니다. 교단에서아시아인들의은사, 지도력, 역량을발휘할수있는터전을마련하신분입니다. 가기와다장학금은아시아계신학생들에게지급하여복음사역자들을교육시키는데적절히사용되고있습니다. Soongook Choi Scholarship Fund The J. Soongook Choi Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of the Rev. Dr. J. Soongook Choi. Dr. Choi was born and raised in Japan, but went to Korea with the Student Volunteer Corps during the Korean War. Out of his painful experience in the conflict of inter-and intra-racial relations among Asian nations, he became a seeker for peace and justice in a world community of different peoples. Dr. Choi, who was one of three who survived from the 34 student volunteers sent to the Korean War, made a commitment to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus He joined the Campbell-Stone movement (Christian church Independent). In 1959, he came to the United States for advanced theological education and earned several academic degrees: M.A.- Lincoln Christian Seminary (1962); M.Div.- Vanderbilt Divinity School (1965); D.Min. Notre Dame University (1989). He was ordained in 1962 and served the Lord as local church pastor, hospital chaplain, professor and president of Seoul Christian University (in Korea), and member of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The J. Soongook Choi Scholarship Fund: $51, (Market Value as of 6/30/08) 최순국장학금은고최순국목사기념장학기금입니다. 최목사님은일본에서태어나그곳에서자랐지만한국 (6.25) 동란이터지자학도병에지원하여전쟁에나갔습니다. 일본에서당한인종차별, 한반도에서격은동족상잔의뼈저린경험을거울삼아그리스도안에서이룰수있는인종화합과평화를위해헌신한선구자이십니다 년에미국으로건너와링컨대학과벤더빌트신학대학원에서수학하고 1962 년에목사안수를받아 2002 년 9월작고하기까지그리스도의교회 ( 제자회 ) 의지도자로서사역하신분입니다. 그분의생애와사역을기념하고유지를받들기위해기념장학금을마련하고아시아계신학생들을돕고있습니다

14 North American Pacific/Asian Disciples Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship Fund Dr. Geunhee Yu North American Asian Ministries Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 130 E. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN Phone: (317) * Your gift is tax deductible as permitted by law. Address City State Zip Name Please accept my gift of $ for the David Tamotsu Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Return to: David Tamotsu Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship Fund Date North American Asian Ministries P.O. Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN

15 The David Tamotsu Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of the Rev. David Kagiwada ( ). David was a native of Los Angeles and a second-generation Disciple. His mother was a graduate of the Disciplessponsored Margaret K. Long School (Joshi Sei Gakuin) in Tokyo, Japan. During World War II, David s family was interned in a concentration camp in Arizona with other Americans of Japanese ancestry. The injustice he experienced made him keenly aware of the wider implications. Therefore, he sought to commit his life to fighting injustice, not only for people of Asian heritage, but for all people. David chose to be a reconciler of antagonistic people, whoever they might be. Because he wanted his Christian faith to be a central part of his life s work, he decided to enter the ministry. He graduated from the University of Chicago Divinity School and was ordained in the Illinois-Wisconsin Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). There were some focal points in his ministry: to reconcile and heal antagonism among all people; to support and be an advocate for racial/ethnic minorities and women; and to help the church recognize and appreciate the gifts of people of Asian heritage. David faithfully served five congregations in California and Indiana. With his encouragement, at least 10 women entered ordained ministry during his six years as pastor of Crestview Christian Church in Indianapolis.He also persuaded historically antagonistic Asian people to gather together in the name of Christ, the Reconciler. David was the first Convener of the American Asian Disciples (now, North American Pacific/Asian Disciples). There are about 12 million Asian Americans in the United States representing a number of nationalities and languages. Many are newcomers who tend to unite and find support in both language and religion as they establish homes, find jobs and face challenges of making a place for themselves in a new society. The church in North America has often been a place where new people affirm their own values and cultures, free from the pressures encountered in their secular lives. This is no different today among North American Pacific/Asian Disciples. The Kagiwada Scholarship is available to North American Pacific/Asian Disciples ministerial students enrolled (or accepted as an entering student) in an accredited graduate theological school or seminary. Lively, vital and sprit filled congregations depend on well-prepared, competent, pastoral leadership. Your gift to the Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship Fund makes it possible for North American Pacific/Asian Disciples (NAPAD) ministerial students to receive the best possible theological education. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Your contributions help keep the scholarship endowment fund growing

16 North American Pacific/Asian Disciples J. Soongook Choi Scholarship Fund Dr. Geunhee Yu North American Asian Ministries Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 130 E. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN Phone: (317) * Your gift is tax deductible as permitted by law. Address City State Zip Name Please accept my gift of $ for the J. Soongook Choi Scholarship Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Return to: J. Soongook Choi Scholarship Fund Date North American Asian Ministries P.O. Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN

17 The Rev. Dr. J. Soongook Choi ( ) was a Korean-American minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He was born and reared in Japan, but went to Korea with the Student Volunteer Corps during the Korean War. Out of his painful experience in the conflict of inter-and intra-racial relations among Asian nations, he became a seeker for peace and justice in a world community of different peoples. Dr. Choi s father was Confucian and his mother Buddhist, but he accepted Christ under the influence of his seventh-grade teacher. Because of his Christian faith, the teacher was persecuted which included the removal of all his finger nails. This piqued Dr. Choi s curiosity and he was deeply moved. While his parents religions did not give Soongook a clue as to the hunger and thirst in him for peace and justice, Christianity did so much for him that he became a disciple of Jesus. Five years later, Soongook, who was one of three who survived from the 34 volunteer corps sent to the Korean War, made a commitment to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus. Upon returning to Korea from Japan, Dr. Choi joined the Campbell - Stone movement (Christian Church - Independent). In 1959, he came to the United States for advanced theological education and earned several academic degrees: Master of Arts from Lincoln Christian Seminary (1962); Bachelor of Divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School (1965); Doctor of Ministry from Notre Dame University Graduate Theological Foundation (1989). He was ordained in 1962 and served the Lord as local church pastor, hospital chaplain, professor and president of Seoul Christian University (in Korea), and member of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The life mission of Dr. Choi was: To serve my neighbors and give them the impression to love, to have peace, to practice forgiveness, to produce reconciliation is my way of serving God. He had been a key figure in the life of the North American Pacific/Asian Disciples (NAPAD), especially for the growth of the Disciples church in the Korea-American community. In order to carry on Dr. Choi s legacy in ministry, his friends and relatives set up a scholarship fund on the day of celebration of his retirement (March 16, 1997). The Choi Scholarship is available to Disciples seminarians of Asian and Pacific Islander descent who are in preparation for ministry in a multi-racial/cultural community. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Your contributions help keep the scholarship endowment fund growing