It's total obedience

I can’t remember what causes me to think in the past that Jesus was very willing to die for us. Is it because of my understanding of him as our savior and thus he is destined to die for our sin? How selfish was my thought then and how shallow my understanding of God’s salvation.

Last week, when I was reading the passage where Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, I noticed that the narrative in the synoptic gospels was contrary to what I thought.

In Mark 14:33, Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled. He told his disciples Peter, James and John that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He prayed to the Father to take “this cup” from him. Apparently, Jesus’ will was not to die in the manner as he predicted. Instead, he asked the Father to spare him. He knew the Father is able to do everything. Nonetheless, one thing Jesus never wished for was to go against his Father’s will.

Jesus is sinless. Going against the Father would be sinning against God. Jesus is obedient to the Father even though it means death.

Death on the cross is a horrible death. Its punishment is to torture and shame the political prisoners to deter those who intended to rebel against Rome. It was instituted to bring shame, pain, and fear onto the traitors who failed their mission. Crucifixion in public crushed the rebel’s spirit of being the hero. It was a powerful symbol of death brought by Rome to defeat those who rebelled against the empire.

Jesus did not defend himself for all the charges brought again him but that did not mean he volunteered to die on the cross. Crucifixion was not what Jesus wanted and he actually prayed three times to have the cup removed from him.

Mark 14:39 says, “once more he went away and prayed the same thing.” What did Jesus pray? If you don’t think Jesus said the same thing as in v. 36 “Abba Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (NIV), you can look up Matt 26:42. Although it is a bit different here, still he meant the same.

“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” In addition, Matthew stressed Jesus prayed the third time, saying the same thing in v. 44.

Have you ever prayed the same thing my friends? I did. Most of the time I pray to the Father to do my will but Jesus is just the opposite. He prayed that the Father’s will be done even though it meant death to him on the cross. It is about obedience isn’t it? Obedience comes out of submission rather than willingness. Jesus was never willing to die. If it is of willingness, I don’t think he would have prayed three times in one night. If Jesus were willing, he would have said, “Yes, Father. I will.” We know that Jesus didn’t say that. Instead, He left us a greater lesson to learn from him and that is – OBEDIENCE!

When God called me to leave everything back home, I was never willing. I know the Father’s will is always good for us. He never fails to keep his promise and neither will He ever hold back his blessings for his children, but I found it hard to let go of what I have. I struggled with God for a while until my pastor told me, “Brother, it is about obedience, about submission, about trust…”

Yes, it is not about whether I am willing to obey but whether am I obedient to Him. Amen.

Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!

Wishing you all have a wonderful time in the season.

Merry Christmas and may the peace of God be with you all and forevermore!!

Enjoy the Hawaiian Christmas song!

The coming of a King

I gave a talk at my daughter's school Christian club last Friday before the Thanksgiving holidays. Although this wasn't my first time speaking before a crowd, it was my first experience to speak before a group of American teenagers in High School.

I was pretty nervous about this engagement. The first reason was I didn't know any of the students in the Christian club except Ariel. I am the kind of person usually need to know my 'audience' well beforehand in order for me to feel comfortable what to talk about. Secondly, I don't belong to the category of gifted speaker who can talk on and on without looking at his note. The key for me to deliver a good message is hard work and lots of prayers. Someone recently told me about a fundamental truth: "If it is not a gift, then it is a discipline." This speaks a lot about me. So, even if it is just a twenty-minute of preaching, it takes me a great amount of time to prepare for it.

Initially, I'd thought of turning down the invitation to speak at Ariel's school for I am swamped with many course assignments. Currently, I am also doing my ministry internship at a local church. However, knowing that God had placed something in my heart to share with the kids, I felt a little guilty and disobedient if I just pushed it away out of convenient.

Besides, I had my biggest fear too in this case. The church that I am now doing my internship is a Chinese Baptist church, but the group of people I spoke to last week was virtually non-Asian. Ariel is one of a handful of Asian students in her present school and perhaps the only one in the club. I was pretty worried that the group of students might not accept me easily for I speak with a foreign accent. I am truly proud of Ariel that despite being one of the minorities in school, she still shines in her studies. I finally made it to the talk was mainly spurred by a Bible verse in 1 John 4:6 which reads whoever knows God listens to His people, so my concern actually was pointless. I should focus on what God can do with His message rather than what people can do with me. Amen.

I shared with the students a passage on Matthew 2:1-2, hopefully in the coming Christmas season they may choose to emulate the Magi in responding to the news about the coming of a King and not as Herod did. Often time it is easy for us to know Herod as a bad guy who ordered all babies to be killed in Judea for fear that the arrival of a new King would take away his throne. But what about us? How do we respond to the coming of a King? Aren't we also behaving like king Herod - rejecting Jesus to reign as King in our life?

Merry Christmas!!

Immaculate Heart Retreat House

Few photos I took with my cell phone during my second retreat at a Catholic convent situated mid way on a hill in one of Los Angeles’ up-scale residential neighborhoods.

 I spent a long hour at this chapel (below) in my first visit.

 

 

 

Every time when I passed by the pool to look for a quiet corner for solitude, I was tempted to dive into the water for a swim instead.

I fasted for my first retreat here. Despite the nice dinning place, the second time I brought with me only this simple lunch to last me through seven long hours up here.

 

I've left my God back home

This year I have a number of opportunities to retreat, twice in August and twice in October. The two retreats I had in August were accompanied by family. One was a church camp and the other one was seminary’s community coordinators get together camp.

The two retreats in October however were to do it alone with other seminarians of a spiritual formation class. My experience in these two latter retreats was amazing, especially the one in my first EPC (extended personal communion with God).

I went to the retreat with many questions ready for God. I wanted to take this opportunity to ask Him about many things He promised but had not been happening here in my life.

I felt my life (socially and spiritually) back home was a whole lot more challenging and fulfilling as compared to where I am living now. There is nothing much for me to do here in Southern California.

We don’t have any relative lives here, nor do we have any real close friend to talk to. My spiritual life has been like in a desert for awhile as dry as the California’s weather. Many churches here are dying. It took us about a year to finally settle down at a church in Alhambra. We don't want to consider mega church, as it's too big for us to get to know anyone, and smaller church is usually too small. We need an intergeneration church with ministries for children, youth, and adult. Often time, this turns out just like looking for a needle in a haystack. One usually finds a church either with adults and young children but with no youth, or a church mostly with youths but without the adult and children.

Church services are usually pretty short in mainline churches. Before you get anything (or before the pew get warm), the entire Sunday service is over. I have been grumbling about this ‘lukewarm kind of service” to my wife for quite some time. What is the use of seminary education - staying up late most nights reading an inexhaustible list of books and working on seemingly endless assignments and at the end none of which is preached in church. How can one go deeper into God’s word in such a mini service? How to get people interested in knowing God?

In seminary, it’s hard (for me) to feel God’s presence as readings and assignments usually preoccupied most of our being and mind and in church if I still don’t experience Him, where is my God? This question is exactly the same one when I asked Him in my first EPC during the retreat.

To my amazement, God spoke that day. He assured me again – “I did not leave you and I did not abandon you.” – I am the one who has left my God back home. This whole conversation took place in the first person pronounce “I”, whether it was the part God had spoken, or the part I responded in my mind.

To confirm I really 'heard' what it was just said, I re-paraphrased His saying to what sound like in Scripture. I asked God did you say, "I’ve never forsaken you nor abandoned you.” Immediately, I was being corrected. God’s voice resonated again in my heart “I did not leave you and I did not abandon you.” At that moment, I stopped…..and wept…..I knew God has never left me. I was the one who left God back home!

Let's pray the St Patrick's prayer

May Christ the prince of peace dwell in you and empower you:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ all around me, please consecrate me.

Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising, Christ in my walking, Christ in the ocean, Christ on the Mountain, Christ in the air please fill me.

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me, please bless me! Amen.

(adapt from St Patrick's breastplate prayer)

If we're the body why....???

I found this song--If We're the Body by Casting Crowns--speaks to me a lot about our prejudice against people whom we do not know when I was preparing the study on James 2;1-13 for this coming Sunday School lesson.

I seriously agreed we all ought to think about why......



It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

CHORUS

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way