그리스도로화목되어 David Kagiwada Memorial Sunday 데이빗가기와다기념주일 September 10, 2006 And NAPAD Ministry Week 아시안목회주간 September 11-16, 2006 Cindy Kim, Moderator Sandhya Jha, Newsletter Editor August 2006 Dr. Geunhee Yu, Executive Pastor 130 E. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204 Kagiwada Sunday Moderator Invitation Greetings members of the NAPAD family! After a busy summer of attending convocations, spending time with the family, and meeting the ever-changing needs of various aspects of our lives, may we take some needed time to reflect as we come to the close of summer. As we reflect upon our lives, let us think of how God has used us to impact the lives of others. Let us think of how and when others have impacted us; be it physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Think of God s handiwork in placing these people in our lives at the opportune moments which we needed God s presence the most. May these reflections bring us to remember the work of Reverend David Kagiwada and how much of an impact he had in the life of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and especially in the life of the NAPAD community. Rev. Kagiwada s ministry and meaningful work has changed the life of many people. The results of his faith and work speak volumes about how one person can impact the lives of others especially through our God. As we commemorate the life and ministry of Rev. David Kagiwada this Sunday, I invite you to live life as Rev. Kagiwada did ever faithful and aware of how you will impact the lives of others through your own ministry. I invite you to continue praying, specifically during the NAPAD Ministry Week, for the life of NAPAD and its churches and how your work as God s peoples will make an impact on one another. Respectfully in the name of Christ, Cindy Kim Moderator Dear NAPAD family: 친애하는제자회가족여러분 Let us all come together to celebrate a special Sunday in commemoration of the life and ministry of Rev. David Kagiwada on September 10, as well as September 11-16 to celebrate NAPAD Ministry Week. The theme of our celebration is Reconciled in Christ: to serve, to love, to give (2 Cor. 5:18). Enclosed is the resource packet for your use. Under the same theme, we also gathered at our 14 th biennial Convocation of NAPAD in Berkeley on August 10-12, 2006. It was a joyful event of 198 people who came to rejoice a reconciled life in Christ. We give our heartfelt thanks to all of you for participating in the life of NAPAD and for your untiring support of our beloved NAPAD ministry. There are two highlights of our recent Convocation that I d like to point out here: 1) the pre-convocation program for youth leadership development; 2) the establishment of a named endowment fund (by anonymous donors) for NAPAD ministry. These two should go together hand in hand for a full fledged practice of ministry in our NAPAD community. Leadership development of laity and clergy is a crucial component in ministry for which adequate funding is the backbone and lifeline. We sincerely urge you and pray that you will give your best support to these two important ministries with your fervent prayers and generous funds throughout this year s celebration of Kagiwada Day and Ministry Week, as well as in the days to come. Would you join us in our celebration of the life that is Reconciled in Christ: to serve, to love, to give? May God bless you in your good work for Christ. 우리에게매우중요한절기가돌아왔습니다 : 가기와다주일 (9 월 10 일 ) 과아시안목회주간 (9/11-16). 금번행사의주제는 그리스도안에화목되어 ( 고후 5:18) 입니다. 행사진행에필요한자료들을동봉하오니사용하시기바랍니다. 지난 10-12 일까지 Berkeley 에서열린아시안대회의주제도같은것이었습니다. 198 명의대표들이모여그리스도안에서화목된삶을경축하였습니다. 대회에참석하며물심양면협력해주신여러분들께감사드립니다. 금번대회의두가지특별성취사항을요약해드리지요 : 1) 청소년대표자수련회개최 ; 2) 아시안사역후원을위한기본재단설립. 평신도지도자와목회자양성에주력하는우리의계획을보여줍니다. 그일들을이루려면충분한물질적후원이뒷받침되어야합니다. 이런사역들을원활하게이행하도록여러분께서기도와성금으로적극후원해주시기부탁드립니다. 특히이번가기와다주일과아시안목회주간동안에는물론앞으로지속적인후원을간청하는바입니다. 금년행사들에적극참여해주시기부탁드립니다. 하시는사역에주님의큰은총을기원합니다. - 2 - Rev. Geunhee Yu 유근희목사드림 Executive Pastor
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 ) Opening Hymn( 찬송 찬송 ) Come, Christians, Join to Sing (Chalice Hymnal #90) 성도여다함께 ( 찬송 29 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. 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. - 2 -
인도자 우리는이세상의어려운사정을잘알고있습니다. 기근, 전쟁, 질병, 고통과재난이계속되고있습니다. 우리는가기와다목사님의유지를받들어치유와겸비와사랑을이루어가게하옵소서. 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. 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. 회중아멘 가기와다기념주일에우리는평화와복음전파의사명을다시확인합니다. 우리모두하나되어하나님의거룩한나라의영광을위해살았던가기와다목사님을본받도록하옵소서. 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 www.napad.net. 1.5 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) 인류는하나되게 ( 찬송 272 장 ) Scripture Reading( 성경봉독 Sermon Message ( 설교 성경봉독 ) 2 Corinthians ( 고후 ) 5:17-20, Acts ( 행 ) 10: 9-16 Matthew ( 마태 ) 5:23-24 설교 ) * As a resource, please refer to 3 Sermons (Reverends Lee & Pimentel & Yu) attached. You may incorporate all of them in your sermon on Reconciled in Christ ( 오늘의설교는금년아시안대회의주강사세분의설교문을참조하십시오 ) Call to Discipleship( 결단 찬송 ) Hymn( 찬송 결단 ) What Does the Lord Require of You? (Chalice Hymnal #660) 우리가지금은 ( 찬송 270 장 ) - 3 -
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 85 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 85 교회가 NAPAD 소속입니다. 미국내에 1300 만이넘는아시안그리고태평양계사람들에게복음을전해야할큰사명을감당하려면잘훈련된사역자들이많이필요합니다. 오늘드리는특별헌금은이목적을위한기금 ( 가기와다및최순국장학금 ) 으로사용될것입니다. 정성어린헌금으로적극후원해주시면대단히감사하겠습니다. Offertory Prayer( 봉헌기도 봉헌기도 ) 성만찬으로초대 ) Invitation to Communion( 성만찬으로 Invitational Hymn( 초대 초대찬송 ) Prayers at the Table( 축사 Leader ( 인도자 축사 ) 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. 엽니다. People ( 회중 ): It is right to give God thanks and praise. 하나님께감사와찬양을드림이마땅합니다. Prayer over the Bread ( 떡을위한축사 ), Prayer of the Cup ( 잔을위한축사 ) Partaking of Communion ( 만찬나눔 ) Closing Prayer ( 공동기도 공동기도 ) 만찬나눔 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 ) Congregational Benediction ( 공동 공동축도 ) May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease, when a wondrous peace will embrace the world. When nation will not threaten nation, when humankind will not experience war, for all who inhabit this world shall realize that we have not come into being to argue, to hate, or to be violent. For we have come into being to praise, to labor and to love. Compassionate God, bless us with the power of compassion. Fulfill the promise conveyed in Scripture: I will bring peace to the land and you shall lie down and no one shall make you afraid. I will rid the land of vicious beasts and it shall not be ravaged by war. Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream. Let peace fill the earth as the waters fill the sea. Amen. 전쟁과유혈극이없는그날을기원합니다, 세상에진정한평화가깃드는그때를원합니다. 나라가나라를위협하지않는그날을, 인류가다시는전쟁을격지않는그때를소원합니다. 이땅위에사는모든사람들이우리가세상에태어난것은찬양과근로와사랑을위함입니다. 자비로우신하나님, 자비의능력을주시옵소서. 성경에약속하셨습니다 : 내가이땅에서맹수들을없애리니이땅이전쟁으로휩쓸리지않으리라. 사랑과정의가강같이흐르게하소서. 물이바다를채움같이평화가온세상을가득채우게하소서. 아멘. - 4 -
A Week of Reflection & Prayer ( 명상과 KAGIWADA SUNDAY and NAPAD MINISTRY WEEK and SEPTEMBER 10 16, 2006 ( 아시안목회주간 ) 명상과기도의한주간 ) 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. Reconciled in Christ; to serve, to love, to give 여기에제안된행사들은교회적으로, 가족적으로, 또는공동체적으로할수있는일들입니다. 그러나형편에맞게조정하여사용하시기바랍니다. 우리 NAPAD 의아시안목회주간을, 기억하고, 경축하고, 선포하기 부탁드립니다. SUNDAY (9/10) 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; 1 Peter ( 벧전 ) 2:1-20 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) - 5 -
MONDAY (9/11) Spend time as a family talking about American-Asian 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, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3. We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Creator your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. As you reflect, consider this passage in relation to the contributions of American Asians in the history of the United States. Why do we honor and celebrate these contributions? 데살로니가전서 1:2-3 을읽고명상하고느낀바를서로나눈다 : 우리가너희무리를인하여항상하나님께감사하고기도할때에너희를말함은너희의 믿음의역사와사랑의수고와우리주예수그리스도에대한소망의인내를우리하나님아버지앞에서쉬지않고기억함이니. 이성경말씀을미국역사에끼친아시아인들의공헌과관련하여음미할것. 왜우리는이런공헌들을존중하며경축해야하는가? TUESDAY (9/12) 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 an Asian cultural dinner 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 (9/13) 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 (9/14) 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 www.napad.net, 그리스도의교회 ( 제자회 ) 내에서가지는우리 NAPAD 사역을기념축하하며 NAPAD website 를열어보고더깊은이해를갖도록하자 : www.napad.net - 6 -
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 (9/15) 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 be an open, inclusive, and affirming congregation. 친구들이나가족끼리모여아시안 / 태평양민족들의다양한문화를생각해보고그것과미국문화를비교해보자. 이런다양성을어떻게우리사회와교회와대인관계에적용할수있을까토의해보자. 우리교회에 ( 문화 / 인종적으로 ) 낯선사람이방문했을때, 우리교인들은어떻게대우하는지조사해보자. 우리교단이지양하는 " 열린교회, 포용적인교회, 무차별교회 " 란무엇을의미하는지토의하자. SATURDAY (9/16) 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 One body in Christ, open, inclusive, and affirming to other differences we face? 이번주간의행사들을통하여얻은지혜를가지고어떻게우리교회와신앙과봉사활동에있어좀더열린, 포용적인, 그리고차별이없는풍토를이루어나갈것인가? 우리는한주간동안아시안 / 태평양군도의문화를생각해보았다. 여기서그칠것이아니고우리의매일생활속에서어떻게하면 그리스도안의한몸 을이루며, 열린, 포용적인, 무차별 의정신을실현시킬것인가를기도하며결심하도록하자. Send your words of support to ( 우리의대표자들에게격려편지를보내자 ): Cindy Kim Rev. Dr. Geunhee Yu Moderator Executive Pastor kimcinthia@hotmail.com gyu@dhm.disciples.org (847) 219-0131 1-888-346-2631 NAPAD History and Anti-Immigra Immigration Laws: A Chronological Overview Prepared by Dr. Timothy S. Lee (Brite Divinity School) 1790: Federal law stipulates that only free white persons are eligible for naturalization in the United States. The racial requirement is kept on the books until 1952, although in the 1940s, some Asians, such as the Filipinos, were allowed to naturalize. 1867: There were some 50,000 Chinese in California, most of them manual laborers. - 7 -
1868: The Burlingame Treaty between the United States and China guaranteed the right of Chinese immigration without the right of naturalization. 1869: Transcontinental Railroad was completed. 1880: The U.S. press China into accepting a new treaty that allows the U.S. to regulate the number of Chinese immigration without banning it. 1891: Chinese mission started in Portland, Oregon, by Christian Women s Mission Board 1882: The Chinese Exclusionary Act suspends for ten years immigration by Chinese laborers. This is in violation of the treaty. 1892: The Chinese Exclusionary Act renewed. 1902: Chinese Exclusion Act renewed. 1904: Chinese immigration banned outright from the United States and all U.S. territories. 1907: Gentlemen s Agreement between the U.S. and Japan. The United Sates promises not to ban Japanese immigration in exchange for Japan s pledge not to issue passports to Japanese laborers for travel to the continental United States (although they remain welcome to become agricultural workers in Hawaii. By a separate executive order, President Roosevelt prohibits secondary migration by Japanese from Hawaii to the mainland.) The National Immigration Forum 1907: Chinese Christian Institute in San Francisco founded. 1908: Japanese Christian Church (DOC) organized in Los Angeles 1921: Quota Act of 1921 passed, which established a national-origins quota. According to this law, immigration was allowed for only those ethnicities already represented in the American population, and a 3-percent quota, based on 1910 census, was set for each ethnicity. This law favored Northern Europeans at the expense of all others. 1924: Immigration Act (Johnson-Reed Act) further tightened the national-origins law. Now, the quota was reduced to 2 percent and the base year were changed to 1890. This rule practically banned Asian immigration. 1924: United Christian Missionary Society closes Chinese missions in Portland and probably San Francisco. 1933: Filipino Christian Church (DOC) founded. 1941: Declaration of war on Japan 1942: Executive Order No 9066-Internment authorized. War Relocation Authority (WRA) established. About 120,000 Japanese-Americans interned. Japanese Christian Church closed/ the church become All Peoples Church Japanese churches in Berkeley, San Bernardino, and Colorado also closed. 1943: U.S. War Department called for J-A volunteers for the war. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the evacuation program. 1944: First internment camp closed by the War Relocation Authority. 1946: Last internee left the internment camp. (1988: the Reparations Act) - 8 -
1943: Due to wartime considerations, the U.S. government repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act and allows a token quota of 105 Chinese, selected by the U.S. government, to immigrate to the United States. 1948: A group from the Japanese Christian Church establishes West Adams Church. 1952: Immigration and Nationality Act (McCarran-Walter Act) totally eliminates a racial criterion for citizenship but retains the quotas. 1965: Immigration and Naturalization Act abrogates national origins quotas; now 20,000 people per countries are allowed in, with priority given to those with skills and family in the United States. NAPAD Keynote Sermon What God Has Made Clean, We Must not Call Profane: Let s Not Get Too Comfortable with the Familiar Text: Acts 10: 9-16 Rev. Timothy S. Lee Today s text is an excerpt from that famous narrative about how Apostle Peter and the Roman centurion Cornelius came to meet each other. Cornelius is not a Jew, yet he is a devout believer of God. One day, he has a vision in which an angel tells him that his devotion has so impressed God that God wants to do something for him, and tells him to send messengers to Peter to have him come over to Cornelius s house. While the messengers are on their way, Peter also experiences a vision a strange one in which he sees cows, hogs, lizards, and bunch of other animals thrown together in a huge sheet that moves up and down in the air three times, with a voice telling him he should eat all those animals, with Peter himself protesting he would never eat anything as profane as a lizard, and finally with the voice saying What God has made clean, you must not call profane. (v. 15) Even as Peter is trying to puzzle out this vision, he is led by the Spirit to meet Cornelius s messengers, who direct him to their master s house. On Peter s arrival, Scripture tells us, Cornelius... falling at his feet, worshiped him, causing an alarmed Peter to say Stand up; I am only a mortal. Peter went on to say You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. (v. 28) Thereafter, Peter preached about Jesus Christ, in the course of which the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word, (v. 44) and baptized Cornelius and his household in the name of Jesus Christ. Let s think about Peter s vision a little bit. The crucial part, I think, is where God tells Peter to eat the animals and he protests. Peter protests because he thinks of himself as a devout Jew and devout Jews didn t eat just any animal! Chickens and cows, yes; but hogs and lizards? no way! Only those animals allowed by the dietary law, would he eat. Peter was puzzled because he didn t get the symbolism of it all. What did those hogs and lizards stand for? why would God want him to break a familiar routine that he thought was so important? But by the time he arrived at Cornelius s house, he had everything figured out: The animals stood for people of different races, nations, ethnicities, and other kinds of groupings; Peter s eating of them symbolized his fellowshipping with them. In other words, eating exotic animals like lizards meant fellowshipping with exotic people like... well... Koreans!... or how about Anglo- Italian-Polish-Swedish Americans! My dictionary defines exotic as intriguingly unusual or different. Normally, we are conservative about dealing with things different or unfamiliar unfamiliar food, stocks, people. To an extent, such a disposition is reasonable because it enhances our chances of survival. But problems occur when we get too comfortable with the familiar, to the extent we lose the awareness that there are other ways of doing basically the same thing that are just as valid as ours. White bread and burrito may be natural food to folk in Ft. Worth, Texas, where I currently live, but rice and kimchee are more natural to folk in Korea Town, Los Angeles. But, in the end, they both accomplish basically the same thing, feeding the hungry stomach. When we lose the awareness that there are diverse ways of doing basically the same thing, we run the risk of falling into the us-versus-them kind of thinking where what is comfortable and familiar to us is transmuted into something natural and eternally true while what is different to us is transmuted into something - 9 -
abnormal and essentially inferior. We, in short, run the risk of calling people or things profane even when they come clean off God s hands. More specifically, when we become overly comfortable with the familiar, we tend to make two kinds of blunders. One is that we are likely to lump together everyone and everything that is different from us under one catchall category called the Other. This otherizing tendency an extreme example of which is to call people who are different from us an evil empire or axis of evil may bring some simplistic order to our own minds but hinders our ability to truly understand other people or to appreciate the fact that they themselves may be very diverse. This blunder hinders us from entertaining the notion that each of these individuals and peoples might have a unique history, a special culture, and unanticipated gifts. One of my favorite Disciples is Joe Nagano, a cheerful Japanese-American who lives in Los Angeles. He once told me this joke. It s such a good joke that I want you to hear it too. He said he had heard it from a rabbi, so it has to be kosher. Bear with me. A Korean man was riding in a New York subway train. At a station stop, he was joined by a Jewish man. As the train was in transit, the Jew, for some reason, kept eyeballing the Korean; he then he walked up to the guy and socked him in the face, shouting, That s for Pearl Harbor, you Jap! Bewildered, the Korean looked up and protested, But I am a Korean. To which the Jew replied, Ah, what s the difference: Koreans, Japanese, Chinese they re all the same! When the Jew returned to his seat, the Korean regained his composure and now he began eyeballing the Jew. Before long, he too got up, walked up to the Jew, and socked him in the face, saying, That s for Titanic! The Jew got befuddled and protested, Titanic... what does that have to do with me! The Korean retorted, Ah, what s the difference: Goldberg, Spielberg, iceberg they are all the same! You are right to laugh this is very funny joke. But once we ve finished laughing, it would pay to reflect on it a little bit. Would we be laughing if we were at the receiving end of a punch? Would we be laughing if we were one of those 120,000 Americans who during the Second World War were forced to suffer internment simply because they were of an unfamiliar ancestry in this case Japanese? One of those unfamiliar people was David Kagiwada, whom we know so well as a founder of the North American Pacific Asian Disciples (NAPAD). I could easily imagine a bewildered David protesting when he was told by soldiers to pack up his belongs and head for the camp, but we are Japanese- Americans, only to be told, Ah, what s the difference! We won t be laughing if we were Sikhs and just because we wore a turban, we got lumped up with Osa Bin Laden and found ourselves literally at the receiving end of a punch. In my flight here from Fort Worth, I read an article in USA Today about how a lot of Muslim Americans have been suffering psychological problems since September 11, 2001, because of anti-muslim prejudices. There was one particular case of an American-born Muslim man who received an e-mail from his co-worker that began Dear Terrorist. Imagine getting an e-mail like that! The second blunder we make when we become too comfortable with the familiar is really the flip side of the first blunder. In the first blunder we lump together all those people and things that are different from us and demean them. In the second blunder, we make ourselves, or that which is familiar to us, the norm of what is good and beautiful and usually end up looking quite bad and ugly. Take for example, the skin color. There is no getting around the fact that our skin color our physical appearance is familiar to us. That in itself is not a problem. The problem occurs when we get too comfortable with our skin color our own family, our own culture, our own gender, our own sexual orientation to the extent that we make it normative for all humanity. We know this problem all too well, and it comes with different labels: racism, ethnocentricism, sexism, and homophobia. But whatever we call it, we know it is wrong, because it forces us to call profane what God has made clean. We are well aware of racism s harmful effects how it poisons everything it touches. I already alluded to the harmful effects it had on Japanese-American Disciples. There is another NAPAD group that was equally hurt by racism the Chinese-American Disciples and theirs is a story that has rarely been told. A large majority of Disciples are Euro-Americans, and most of our white brothers and sisters know very little about Asians in their midst. Those who do know something about us tend to think we are some kind of Johnny-comelately, brought in by the latest 747s that landed at LAX. The truth of the matter is that Asians have been part of the Disciples for over a hundred years at least since 1897 when the Christian Women s Board of Missions helped to found a Disciples community among the Chinese in Portland, Oregon. This community grew to be a full-blown church holding weekly worship, Sunday schools, and night classes. They were led by Chinese themselves, lay and ordained. Two of the leaders were graduates of Drake College, which was a Disciples institution back then. In 1907 CWBM established another Chinese mission in San Francisco, called the Chinese Christian Institute. There Chinese Christians, with the help of the missionary society, conducted church services, Bible schools, and night classes teaching English. They also ran day school for Chinese children, held classes on music and home economic, as well as house-to-house work programs for girls and women. - 10 -
These two communities were never very large. Neither church s adult membership seems to have gone beyond one hundred, although Sunday school enrollment at the Chinese Christian Institute usually numbered around one hundred fifty. Nonetheless what is important is that these two churched served vital needs of their respective communities. Also the memberships were small not for want of evangelistic zeal on the part of the Chinese. The main problem was a racism that was rampant against Chinese that shut off Chinese immigration and harried many Chinese who were already in the country out of it. You may be aware that Chinese were encouraged to immigrate to the United States till about 1870s mainly because the country needed their cheap labor, especially to build the transcontinental railroad. In 1868 Congress even passed a treaty (Burlington Treaty) that guaranteed Chinese immigration. But after the railroad was completed (1869), Chinese were seen as competitors by white laborers and subjected to lynching and discriminatory laws. Beginning in 1880 a series of Chinese Exclusion Acts were passed, including an act passed in 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act) that made it virtually impossible for Chinese and other Asians to immigrate to the United States. Speaking in support of this act, Senator Ellison DuRant Smith of South Carolina made the following remark that illustrates what I mean by the danger of becoming too comfortable with the familiar. He said: Thanks God we have in America perhaps the largest percentage of any country in the world of the pure, unadulterated Anglo-Saxon stock; certainly the greatest of any nation in the Nordic breed. It is for the preservation of that splendid stock that has characterized us that I would make this not an asylum for the oppressed of all countries, but a country to assimilate and perfect that splendid type of manhood that has made America the foremost Nation in her progress and in her power, and yet the youngest of all the nation.... without offense, but with regard to the salvation of our own, let us shut the door and assimilate what we have, and let us breed pure American citizens and develop our own American resources. (Speech by Ellison DuRant Smith, April 9, 1924, congressional Record, 68 th With racist rhetoric like this prevailing even in halls of Congress, you may not be surprised to learn that in the same year that this act was passed 1924 the Chinese Disciples church in Portland (and most likely San Francisco s Chinese Christian Institute) was shut down. Was it a mere coincidence? I have my doubts. Be that as it may, what is certain is that after the closure of those churches in Portland and San Francisco, Disciples would not have another Chinese church for a long time not till 1990 when First Chinese Christian Church (DOC) was founded in Alhambra, California. What God has made clean, we must not call profane! Though the closure of the Chinese churches was deplorable, the picture wasn t entirely bleak even back than. Not long after the Chinese churches were closed, another Asian community Filipinos came to the attention of some Anglo Disciples. In 1933 these Anglos and Filipinos worked together to establish Filipino Christian Church (DOC) in Los Angeles. A few years ago I had the privilege to briefly serve this church as interim pulpit minister and in the process learned about some of its history. What I learned was extremely encouraging. From the outset, the Anglos did not seek to make the church in their image but helped it become a Filipino Christian Church. And what a marvelous job they and the Filipinos have done! In its seventy plus years of history, Filipino Christian Church has ministered not only to spiritual needs of Filipino Christians but also social needs of thousands of Filipino immigrants in Los Angeles. The church had become such an important part of the Filipino community that in 1998 the City of Los Angeles declared its buildings a historical-cultural monument. On top of all that, the church has produced some of the most loyal Disciples you will find anywhere, such as the late Royal Morales, the fiery civil rights leader, and Patricia (Cisa) Payuyo, who served as the First Vice Moderator of the General Assembly in the past two years. What God has made clean, we must not call profane! When I was in seminary I had to take a preaching class, and in that class my classmates and I took turns preaching to the class. One day, it was Steve s turn. Steve was a preacher s kid and must have been in his late twenties. He was a veteran, a veteran of the Gulf War the first Iraq War which, as you know, took place in 1991. He preached about an experience he had in that war. Steve was captain in some kind of special unit, and one day he and his men were sent to take an enemy territory. When he arrived there, however, he found that the battle had already been fought and won by the Air Force. Iraqi debris was everywhere bombed out tanks, some of them still smoldering, and dead bodies, broken and strewn all over. Among the debris were some Iraqi soldiers that had been spared all dazed and traumatized, waiting to be captured. As Steve and his men rounded them up, one of them approached him and asked for permission to do something. He asked that he be allowed to pray pray for his friends who had perished in the bombing. A strange request, Steve thought, but like a good preacher s kid, he granted the wish. The man then unfurled a prayer mat on the sand, and for the next thirty minutes, in the midst of the horrific ruins, he gave the most heartfelt prayer Steve had ever heard beseeching Allah, calling forth the names of his slain friends. Witnessing this prayer, Steve said he was deeply moved. He felt he was in the presence of God, and felt a profound bond between him and the man who was supposed to have been his enemy, who was supposed to have been so profane. Just as St. Peter, in the presence of God, was able to see an essential commonness between him and the Roman centurion who - 11 -
was supposed to have been profane, Steve, in the presence of God, was able to see a similarity between him and the Iraqi solider, and this similarity dwarfed whatever difference that may have existed between them. Seeking similarities between us and those who are different from us, seeing the clean hand of God in all that God has created, even if that means experiencing discomfort, is one of the things we are called to do as Christians. And only if we can do that, will it be possible for use to reconcile in Christ. What God has made clean, we must not call profane! A Ministry of Reconciliation (Text) 2 Corinthians 5:18 Rev. Huberto Pimentel Paul attributes his changed perspective of life to God, who did two things for him. First, he reconciled Paul to himself through Christ, and second, he gave him the ministry of reconciliation (v. 18). This is an amazing statement. The reconciled become reconcilers (Tolbert 1983:68). The word rendered ministry may also be translated work or service (diakonia). CEV fills out the meaning with the work of making peace between himself and others. We are called to be like Jesus. Are we peacemakers? Are our actions and deeds making the peace? This world is in a crazy turmoil of war and hatred actions between our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Israel, between the extremist Muslims and the extremist Christians with no bridge builders in the middle. Peace comes not as a new ideology or politics, but must come as the result of the identity and action of Jesus who call us to be peacemakers. Let not forget that the ministry of the new covenant includes the publishing of peace (Isa. 52:7; quoted in Rom. 10:15; Ac. 10:36; Eph. 6:15) Paul is the only New Testament writer to use the noun katallage (reconciliation) and verb katallasso (to reconcile). The basic idea is to change or make otherwise. In Greek social and political spheres the term denoted a change in relations between individuals, groups or nations, while in the religious arena it was used of relationships between gods and humans. In Paul's writings, God is always the reconciler. This is the reverse of Hellenistic religion, where it is the human being that seeks restoration of the gods' favor, and also of Judaism, where confession of sin and repentance are the means by which reconciliation with God is sought (as in 2 Macc 1:5; 7:33; 8:29, Vorlander 1978:167). The initiative now is with God who changes a relationship of enmity to one of friendship. This is accomplished through Christ, that is, through his death on the cross (Rom 5:10). It is thus with good cause that we sing: "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim / Till all the world adore his sacred name" (George Kitchin). Reconciliation occurs because "God does not count their sins against them" (v. 19; not men's sins). To "count against them" (logizomenos autois) in the world of commerce referred to calculating the amount of a debt (Heidland 1967a:284-85). Today we might think of charges on a credit card for which we are held legally responsible. Here it means not posting debts to our account that should rightfully be ours. The debts are called sins--or better, "trespasses" (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB), a term that in Hellenistic Greek has to do with a false step, slip or blunder. The REB's "misdeeds" catches the sense. To the Greek paraptomata are mistakes that result from ignorance. To the Jew they are deliberate actions knowingly committed against God (Bauder 1978:585-86). As someone once said, "sin is a clenched fist and its object is the face of God." The nature of Paul's appointment was to serve as one of Christ's ambassadors. The verb presbeuw (are ambassadors) means to be "elder" or "first in rank" (Liddell, Scott and Jones 1978). Here we might think of the role of the statesman, where age and high rank often go together. Then as now, an ambassador was someone who represented the interests of his or her nation abroad. A.T. Robertson says: The ambassador has to be persona grata with both countries (the one that he represents and the one to which he goes). In the Old Testament the range of duties included offering congratulations (1 Kings 5:1; 2 Sam 8:10), soliciting favors (Num 20:14), making alliances (Josh 9:3-7) and protesting wrongful actions (Judg 11:12). The Roman counterpart to the Greek presbeutes was the legate (legatus), who was duly appointed by the emperor to administer the imperial provinces on his behalf. Paul was similarly appointed by God to administer the gospel on Christ's behalf (hyper Christou; compare Eph 3:2). It is as though God himself were making a personal and direct appeal through Paul (v. 20). So, we are ambassadors announcing our King s amnesty (a general pardon, an official pardon, especially for those who have committed - 12 -
political crimes). I like the phrase amnesty of the kingdom of God. This means that if you have me out of the circle, God have me in. This means that if you made me invisible, God made me visible. Right now our country is debating a controversial and difficult resolution regarding the heated debated of immigration law. All our politics needs to understand that God declared an amnesty 2,000 thousands years ago granting to every human being a divine pardon. Reconciliation is both an accomplished fact (v. 18) and a continuing process (v. 19). Although it is a done deed as a result of Christ's work on the cross, it nonetheless must be personally appropriated. This is where Paul and the gospel ministry fit into the picture. He, and those like him, function as God's agents in proclaiming what has been accomplished. To use Paul's language, God has appointed them to preach the word of reconciliation (v. 19) and so they proclaim: Be reconciled to God (v. 20). An important concept fundamental to the gospel of Christ is that of "reconciliation". Reconciliation has two important aspects, the vertical one that deals with God and us, and the horizontal one that deals between others and me. God s act of embrace towards sinners enables us to have a relationship with him, which in turn provides a mandate for us to embrace others. Christ s act on the cross, God extending an act of reconciliation towards us, compels us to reconcile with others. The Gospel provides a resource and a framework through which to approach the other and the enemy. On the basis of the cross, we can all come together to live out the mandate for reconciliation. Jesus experience of suffering and his teachings concerning the sufferer compel us to attitudes of compassion, even towards our enemies. His sympathy towards the victim is not only a comfort to those who suffer, but also a demand for the same from us. In a conflict where both sides see themselves as the victims, often groups are unable to see the suffering of the other side. A victimization mentality blinds one group to the suffering of the other. While also being a source of redemption and relief, the cross presents a challenge to look beyond our own situation and to attend to the suffering and pain of others. God is calling us to be like him, to have solidarity in suffering and bring freedom to the oppressed. CAN WE ALL REPENT AND BE RECONCILED? The idea of 'social repentance' and 'social reconciliation' sounds like a secularist sop, at first. The world loves to take aspects of the faith and take God out of them. But think about it: aren't these societal needs expressed in Scripture, too? The prophets called on whole nations to stop doing evil -- and not just Judah, but Edom and Babylon and Egypt and Syria. The apostles practiced reconciliation, though fitfully, with lots of starts and stops, in whatever society they were in. And when Paul speaks of the character traits "against such things there is no law", he was speaking about the fact that even wicked regimes usually want the kind of positive, nation-building effect that people of good character have on a society. So, what kind of sins might a nation, or a party, church denomination, ethnic group, or cultural sector within a nation, have to confess? * Racism. Classism. Sexism. Or any other lie that let s us treat someone else as being less than ourselves. * Treating those who spread views other than our own as if they were demons. * Stifling the Spirit who speaks through others. * Hindering peoples' growth instead of boosting it. * Allowing our angers to fester instead of turning those energies to service. * Profiteering at other peoples' expense. * Taking action due to fear or self-interest instead of love. * Building walls instead of bridges. * A willingness to let people go hungry or without shelter, or even to cause it; * Creating a cultural climate that weakens the marital and parental bonds and encourages escape over responsibility. * Creating trick reforms and sham dialogues which serve to evade any real sharing of power and block any real influence on public policy by others. * Turning political races into sports, entertainment, and/or sales. * Keeping still as someone stomps all over the freedoms of someone else. * Seeking new ways to excuse one's own behavior, always trying to see themselves in the exceptions to the laws and moral rules that help hold a society together. * Denying our common lot, pretending that we're not all on the same ship. - 13 -
And what makes for reconciliation? * Listening to the Spirit telling you that you have wronged others. * Publicly acknowledging these sorts of sins as sins, in a clear and repeated way. * Living so as not to do them anymore. * Acting, as far as is practical, to undo the damage; * Working together daily with those we wronged to face the common problems that we all face in life. * Celebrating what's in common, and at least some of the differences (though there are other differences which may not be so wise to celebrate). * Seeing our life together as a whole, not just in parts or categories, especially not as 'God vs. Devil' or 'pro-/con-' or 'them vs. us'. * And, to learn to be just plain people with each other, beyond whatever roles we might have in this society. John Dawson outlines a useful Biblical Model for Reconciliation: Confession: Stating the truth; acknowledging the unjust or hurtful actions of myself or my people-group toward other people or categories of people. Repentance: Turning from unloving to loving actions. Reconciliation: Expressing and receiving forgiveness and pursuing intimate fellowship with previous enemies Restitution: Attempting to restore that which has been damaged or destroyed and seeking justice wherever we have power to act or to influence those in authority to act. (Dawson, J. 1998. What Christians Should Know About Reconciliation. UK: Sovereign World.) RECONCILIATION AND REPENTANCE "People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes." --- Dear Abby (Abigail VanBuren) One of the things that are hard for a nation or a society to do is to come to grips with the evils it has done. It tries to make excuses, saying 'it was the best choice we had at the time' or 'we didn't know better', or 'we did what we were told', or 'that was our ancestors, not us'. The Bible says that there's a tie-in between what we know and what we are responsible for (for instance, Heb 10:26), and this is true of whatever groups, cliques, neighborhoods, ethnicities, classes, and races we are in, no less than for each of us as a person. There is also a tie-in between what we know that we are responsible to know, and what we are responsible for; deliberate (or even benign) ignorance is no excuse. Historically, it's always been very easy for us to plead ignorance, but very hard to really get to believe it ourselves, because the truth is out there and some will see it, eventually toppling the house of cards that backs its evils. When the powers in a society willfully and unjustly harm people, the Holy Spirit is disarmed from working through those powers, since the Spirit is not one to use force to take control. The Spirit can often still be at work anyway, through believers from among the victims of the injustice. Those victims are, after all, the ones who need the binding of wounds and the caring and the feeding and the teaching, the ones who need the support of a powerful God. But it does not do for a Christian to sit back and scream ruddy murder. That does nothing to transform things or to make them better. The Spirit equips each believing Christian with gifts and skills, and opens doors of opportunity for using those gifts and skills in witness and service to other people. I believe that the New Testament holds within it the key to rebuilding the societies we live in. But it won't be found by developing full-scale social ideologies (which fail, and in any case will turn into socio-political idols). It will be found by looking at the example of Christ, the words of the Prophets, and the letters of Paul. When I look at all the conflicts in this world, open and sub-surface, I think of Christ. Christ had a way of turning the tables on the world -- and I don't just mean at the Temple. Christ stressed love, honesty, justice, diligence, active caring for others, and reconciliation. Christ made it clear that the relationship with one's neighbors was the key sign of the health of one's relationship with God (see especially Mt 5:21-24). Our societies need Christ's kind of reconciliation more - 14 -
than ever. Paul was even able to speak of Christians having a ministry of reconciliation. He set that ministry into the context of what Christ did in bringing us back together with God; thus, reaching people with the gospel message is the most important aspect of this ministry of reconciliation. Yet, the other part of a reconciliation ministry is that Christ liberates us all to live in solidarity with God and each other. I think a vision of reconciliation is the most important gift that Christian believers can give to the world and the political systems right now. Indeed, the ultimate reconciliation is already under way, that between God and God's entire fallen creation. Unlike in the responsibility chain above, God (the one who did NOT commit the sin or ruin the relationship) takes on the full role of the responsible One, and has brought it to the point of forming a new relationship. As usual, God did it, we didn't. If God waited around for us to do it, it would never happen, for we are irresponsible. That's what got us into this bind to begin with. "Every act of forgiveness involves at least three elements: 1. We rediscover the humanity of the person who has wronged us, seeing that individual as a human being, not just as the one who offended us. 2. We surrender our right and desire to get even or punish the person. 3. We revise our feelings toward the individual and are open to a new relationship built on mutual respect. Seeing the person differently allows our feelings to change." Lewis Smedes "Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." Paul Boese Final thoughts This country, The United States of America, has had a long, frustrating time dealing with the truth about its racism. The general public has admitted to racism, and has called it a sin. But America is very fitful in turning away from that sin. Many people and power bases don't really want racism to end. It feels good to make sure that someone's below you. "The worldly man treats certain people kindly because he 'likes' them: the Christian, trying to treat every one kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes on -- including people he could not even have imagined himself liking at the beginning. This same spiritual law works terribly in the opposite direction... The more cruel you are, the more you will hate; and the more you hate, the more cruel you will become -- and so on in a vicious circle forever." C.S. Lewis, *Christian Behavior* (Macmillan, 1943), p.52-53 It's here that we run across some of the most important of those big, churchy words: confession, repentance, forgiveness, restoration, and reconciliation. In confession, you admit not only to having done something, but also that it was wrong to do it. In repentance, you commit yourself to not do it again, knowing that the Holy Spirit is already working on it within you. God forgives the sinner who repents, and takes that burden of guilt off of you. When it can be done without causing further harm, you can then restore for the harm caused by the wrong that was done, repaying whatever it cost, rejecting angry words or the devious acts, and doing that which uplifts and empowers those whom you have wronged. With the effect of the wrongs softened or reversed, a new relationship can be started on a firmer and more truthful footing, and reconciliation takes place. Knowing it's a sin is one thing; discovering the many ways that this sin has affected you and the way you do things is another. We are called on to turn away from the sin of racism, not just admit that it's a sin. This takes repentance. We are called on to seek forgiveness from God. Then, we seek forgiveness from those whom we wronged, and where we as persons harmed someone because of our racism, we try to make it up in a fitting way. While we still may not like the person(s), or may find the clash of lifestyle or philosophy to be too much to say 'friend', but we at least reach out to find the common ground and see if friendship develops, or at least the ability to work and live together. We are called by God to be reconcilers to serve others, to love the others, and to give to others what God has gave us: His Unconditional Love. So, please, no more talking about reconciliation and more action toward reconciliation. No more finger pointing toward the other but embracing the others in an act of total reconciliation. - 15 -
First be Reconciled 먼저 먼저가서화해하고 Matthew 5:23-24 Rev. Geunhee Yu (At Closing Service of NAPAD Convocation 06) Sitting in an airplane for five long hours is no fun at all. It takes 5 hours to fly from Indianapolis to San Francisco. It makes me so weary and is deadly boring. The best thing I could do to kill the boredom was to chat with the person next to me - who was also bored to death, by the way. He and I shared stories about our family/kids, hobbies and professions, etc. Then, he asked me, what are you going to do in Berkeley? I said, I am going to the NAPAD convocation. This piqued his curiosity, and he asked, what kind of pad is NAPAD? I must admit that I haven t thought about NAPAD in that way. I tried to show him what NAPAD stands for, but he was too tired and weary to listen to me. However, his innocent question got me thinking for the past couple of days: exactly what kind of pad is NAPAD? I am asking you now, friends, What kind of pad is NAPAD, anyway? We ve been delving together for the last 40 hours to understand what being reconciled in Christ means in this world and in our church as well, haven t we? I heard God s still, small voice (1King19:12) in my ear that NAPAD should be a reconciliation pad a peace pad if you will. A pad is, as you know, a cushion, shield, shock absorber, or safe-guard. A pad goes in between two conflicting things/parties to protect both from hurt. A pad is for reconciliation; it is a peace-maker. NAPAD is, I am sure, called to be a peace-pad in a world torn by conflict, strife, fight, and war. What this world, this society, this church needs is nothing but a PAD, a peace-pad, a reconciliation-pad. NAPAD is called to be a peace-pad; we are called to be a reconciliation-pad. Amen? Remember, Jesus our Lord clearly says, Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons/daughters of God (Mat.5:9). The Apostle Paul proclaims that God has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Who here is commissioned for the word of reconciliation? We are: You and I are surely commissioned! (Amen?) As a matter of fact, each and every Christian is commissioned for the word of reconciliation. St. Paul also declares that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor.5:18-19). Who are the ministers of reconciliation? We are: You and I are! (Amen?) Each and every one of us in NAPAD is a minister of reconciliation. Let me remind you that a goal of our beloved church s 2020 Vision is to be an Anti-Racist and Pro-reconciling church. The Disciples are a pro-reconciling denomination; NAPAD is a reconciliation pad! Are we Disciples there yet? No way, Jose! Are we the NAPAD there yet? There s a long way to go! Not even close! If we are not there yet, it implies that we are not with God either. Listen, my fellow NAPAD-eans, to what the Lord says to us: Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Mat.5:23-24). Is it clear what is first and what goes next? With us, however, the priority order seems to be messed up! I m telling you, my friends - Let us keep first things first. The root meaning of reconciliation is derived from the Greek word, katallaso (diallaso), which means to change, specifically exchange your view or your position with another (person). In other words, if you are serious about reconciliation with someone, you put yourself in his/her shoes. That is exactly what God did for us: In order to reconcile with us humans, God emptied Godself (Phi.2:7) and became a man - something we call incarnation. Jesus became a pad for reconciliation between God and humans (Eph.2:14-18). Jesus is a pad, a peace-pad, a reconciliation-pad; so is NAPAD. What kind of pad is NAPAD, anyway? NAPAD is a peace-pad, a reconciliation-pad! God bless NA-PAD. Amen. - 16 -