The Lords Prayer
Miss Tina
Mark 5:1-20
1They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain, 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, 12 and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Liturgist: This is the Word of God for the People of God People:
Thanks Be to God
Sermon: Value the Vulnerable
Rev. Rosa Lee
If we follow the steps of Jesus Christ, we can actually find those who were underprivileged in their time. As much as we pray for God's blessing into our life (with abundance provision or enough provision), what we are learning about Jesus' life journey is about how Jesus engaged, talked, and lived with those who were underprivileged (who were usually denied from their custom, culture, and community) as well as very vulnerable. As much as I am so happy to share who Jesus was with you, I also feel so sorry to keep encouraging what Jesus taught us because I know What Jesus taught us to do was not an easy life, not a smooth process, and not a comfortable thing to do.
Today's scriptures show one of the worst situations we might think of if we can apply this situation to our lives. Jesus met the most vulnerable guy whose spirit was occupied by an unclean one, who was given up by family, friends, community, and even his religious leader. There was no place to stay, but he had to stay in the cemetery area. He lived like an animal even though he was a human being, and even he had often been restrained by chain due to his unclean spirit's humongous mystery power. No, it was not the right situation for him, but no one wanted to try to be with him, or no one was able to be with him because he was dangerous. And still, Jesus did not give him up, but Jesus saved him from the most vulnerable and horrible situation.
And then, even though what Jesus did was the right thing to do, he was not accepted and embraced by the community but was told to leave the community. Jesus did not insist that what Jesus did was right, so what the community asked him to do (leaving them) was not fair, but Jesus left. I believe Jesus knew before Jesus saved this most vulnerable man helping this guy would not be supported by the community who refused to have this guy in their community. Still, Jesus did what he had to do. Jesus boldly sacrificed his reputation for loving the most vulnerable people, as Jesus believed the circle of God's love was humongous. So Jesus was reckless in loving people as Jesus healed, forgave, and recovered.
This Jesus's reckless love encourages us to have the courage to value even the most vulnerable. Jesus revealed what others ignore: women, gentiles, sinners, and children. All those are the vulnerable people in society who are not valued by their society and are simply ignored. However, Jesus's teaching opened the door to value their lives even though they were women, gentiles, sinners, and children. Jesus proclaimed that they were in God's love equally in society, which challenged and bothered the leaders of the society who did not value them equally. Until 1900, there was a caste system in Korea. This social class was largely hereditary and based on certain professions considered "unclean" by the upper classes. Because of this caste system, Korea's last kingdom, Joseon, did not allow Christianity, and they killed all the baptized people and their families, including the missionaries, in the early 1900. Even 300 earlier than that time, there was a crown prince in early 1600, but he was killed quietly because he believed in Christ and tried to apply his teaching to his kingdom. Because Christianity teaches Children in value, Women in value, and all people, regardless of their job or family situation, in value, which was against their system. When things got better with the Christianity situation, there was the first election of elders in a presbyterian church in Korea; There were several candidates, and a servant and his owner were also candidates in the same church. A servant of a house was elected as an Elder of the church, not the owner of a house, which was very shocking to society but okay for the church. Like this, Jesus's love is reckless, and it can change society.
Secondly, this teaching encourages or sometimes pushes you to people and places you would never choose or meet on your own because Jesus disrupts what holds people down with his full of love. When Jesus healed all the bad stuff out of this man and put all the bad spirits into the swine herds as people from the community came to see what Jesus did, the man was already healed, recovered, and forgiven. One step of kindness in helping changed this man's life. This is the way that we teach our children to sit with those who sit alone. We all know that it is hard to do it, but we teach our kids to sit with those who eat lunch alone because we know that is what Christ taught us to do, and it is the love and kindness that we shared through Christ in our lives. Even for adults, whenever there is a person that we feel is impossible, we never give up but try to embrace and seal with the love of God. No, we may not be miracle workers like Jesus Christ, but as we practice the love of Christ, we work a little bit to disrupt what holds people down without love. When you eat a tossed salad, there are people who cannot even eat a bite without salad dressing. Your practice of love can be the salad dressing that helps people to eat a tossed salad.
As we want to follow Jesus Christ in our lives by practicing his reckless love, which is really hard in nowadays' society, there are things that we can practice. Put compassion in love first as you meet people. And then you feel less comfortable, and you can easily engage. You might also have curiosity for those who are vulnerable instead of judging or avoiding them with the worst assumption. Secondly, recognize and accept that we(it is not they, which means it, including yourself) are not perfect. So we can fall out. We can hurt each other; we can make mistakes. If we recognize and accept that we are not perfect, we won't easily give up but will keep trying to have a love for one another. Lastly, Try in your best to be kind. Our Lenten study book guides us that the best way to start being kind is to avoid Being mean. If you do not know how to begin to be kin, begin to avoid being mean to others as you practice reckless love. It is like grandparents' love for their grandchildren. I am sure you have experienced it with your grandparents or your grandchildren. There is spoiling love that you were able to receive from only grandparents. You might be the grandfather or grandmother who spoils your grandchildren with something that you will never allow to your children but somehow you are generously allowed to your grandchildren. If people could be kind as much as grandparents are kind to their grandchildren, I am sure this world would be much nicer than now.
Yes, yes, yes, it is hard to live this way with everyone. However, God keeps encouraging you to live with those kinds of reckless love, especially for the vulnerable people who are not respected and who are not valued in our society. Not because of what they were doing but because of how God loved us first, and they also carry the image of God in there. Also, if you feel it is too much for you to value or love certain vulnerable people personally, but you know you need to do something, it is time that we, as a church, share that reckless love with those who are in the most vulnerable. And you can ask, encourage or even push your pastor to do something for those who are outside of the church's loving circle to DO SOMETHING to SHARE LOVE OF GOD.
Let us try... Let us try reckless love this week as we try to love the most vulnerable people in our life. May God's humongous love fills and seals you with full of courage and strength to love those in vulnerable.
