Have you ever tried to invite your neighbor to Church? Well, I did. It was a Sunday morning after attending two services that I thought of buying something from a convenience store. Since I in my collar, I invited my friend who was attending me. "I am the priest of the Church across the road and I inviting you to Church." Anxious to convince, I continued, "We are your neighbors just across the road."
The man told me that he works 7 days a week and would not be able to make it. As an Episcopalian and Anglican, I took this time to sell my religion. "Well, we meet Sundays from 10-11:30. There after we have coffee hour. Please try and visit us one Sunday."
As I was speaking to him, the owner of the Shop showed up. A very kind woman, whose presence in that shop tells a lot about her spirituality. As she walked towards the counter, she recognized me. A spiritual woman she is, she extended her greeting to me and said, "Happy New Year." I responded back with similar words but added, "I am inviting him to Church".
"When do you worship?," she asked with great humility.
Thinking she was interested in joining us, I proudly marketed my Church, "We worship on Sundays at 10- 11:30 and we have bible study on Wednesday at 6:30. You can join us on these two days for fellowship."
To my disappointment, she responded with a great smile on her face, "That is the reason why I am not a Christian. I do not believe in worshiping God once or twice a week. My God should be worshiped every day. At least five times a day."
Trying to justify myself, I responded that our Sunday meetings do not replace our daily devotions. But the woman responded, "You are not the only Christian to tell me that! All Christians who come to this shop point to worshiping on Sundays only. When are you going to learn to worship God daily."
Knowing I was on a losing end, I gave up with the words, I told her that we have a lot to learn from her religion. As I drove back home, I reflected on the woman's wise words. It was like Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. This time, however, the woman told me everything I had done! She was a prophet only that this time she was a Muslim. Muslims worship God everyday we Christians worship God on Sundays only.
If there is something to learn from our friends of the Islamic faith, it is their devotion to Allah. If our God is real as we claim, we should learn to worship God daily. Our duty is to love and worship God for the rest of our lives. As the woman said, we need to learn to worship God every day.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Living to the Name? Jesus did
Yesterday we celebrated the naming of the Christ. He was named Jesus, the name given by the angel Gabriel even before he was conceived as an indication that he was to save the world.
I come from a culture which names a child after eight days. Between the time of birth and naming, very little is done as people await the naming ceremony. Between the time of birth and naming, the parents would consult with elders and other family members to find out which name would be given. After the name has been identified, the child is named and then celebrations start.
The name ceremony is very important in my culture. We all look forward to the day of naming with great expectations. This is because the name will identify the character of the new member of the family. In fact it is expected that the original owner of the name given to the new born would influence and protect the baby from evils attacks and somehow live to fulfill the role of that name. Should s/he fail to live to that name, it would be regarded as disgrace to the original owner of the name. It is this aspect that made naming a sacred event.
In this regard, my culture shares much with the tradition from which Jesus came from. Nobody could be named outside the established norms. To carry the name also meant to fulfill community expectations. Of course, so many people were called Jesus in his time! But this our Jesus was named after the directions of an Angel. In line with his name, he lived his mission of saving the world from all sorts of evils. This mission made him to suffer and die a shameful death but God raised him from the dead. You wonder why he did not give it up? Well, he was the Messiah, the savior, as the Angel Gabriel had said.
How about us, what is our name? We are called Christians because we are followers of the Christ. I wonder whether we are living to the expectations of our name. In the world were injustice is a norm, we should show the world that we children of the living God. In fact we were made children of God by the man named Jesus, the savior of the world. Let us not bring shame on the Lord's name but live our lives worthy of our calling. Happy New Year.
I come from a culture which names a child after eight days. Between the time of birth and naming, very little is done as people await the naming ceremony. Between the time of birth and naming, the parents would consult with elders and other family members to find out which name would be given. After the name has been identified, the child is named and then celebrations start.
The name ceremony is very important in my culture. We all look forward to the day of naming with great expectations. This is because the name will identify the character of the new member of the family. In fact it is expected that the original owner of the name given to the new born would influence and protect the baby from evils attacks and somehow live to fulfill the role of that name. Should s/he fail to live to that name, it would be regarded as disgrace to the original owner of the name. It is this aspect that made naming a sacred event.
In this regard, my culture shares much with the tradition from which Jesus came from. Nobody could be named outside the established norms. To carry the name also meant to fulfill community expectations. Of course, so many people were called Jesus in his time! But this our Jesus was named after the directions of an Angel. In line with his name, he lived his mission of saving the world from all sorts of evils. This mission made him to suffer and die a shameful death but God raised him from the dead. You wonder why he did not give it up? Well, he was the Messiah, the savior, as the Angel Gabriel had said.
How about us, what is our name? We are called Christians because we are followers of the Christ. I wonder whether we are living to the expectations of our name. In the world were injustice is a norm, we should show the world that we children of the living God. In fact we were made children of God by the man named Jesus, the savior of the world. Let us not bring shame on the Lord's name but live our lives worthy of our calling. Happy New Year.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Oops! How Old is God
In order for something new to come, there must be an old one. How old is old? Last night, I did not spend time counting down to 2009 as most of you did but chose to sleep and wake up in the New Year. I did it and it worked. I slept for one year!
Sleeping it off, however, did not solve the problems that I did not address last year. Neither did your counting down to 2009. Last year challenges are still with us and we have to pray for proper wisdom to address them. Our God never grows old and for that reason, we have come with him into this New Year. Only if we are ready to pray to him day and night.
Speaking about prayer, I overhead a discussion between a five year old boy and his father. The boy was concerned about God and why we only go to Church on Sunday. So he walked to his father and asked, "Daddy, why do we worship a dead God?" Being a great theologian, his father responded that God is not dead but alive. The boy did not allow the theological training of his father intimidate him, so he asked, "But why is it that we cannot see him. We cannot see dead people therefore God is dead." His father told him that he will meet God when he grows up and know that God is alive and real. I am sure that was the best answer to give to a child but I promise you, I would not have done better.
The question of the dead God who cannot be seen has troubled theologians for so many years. I will not spend time telling you about what theologians enjoy doing; arguing about God.
What I can say, however, is that the boy's question was based on his experience of God. He goes to Church and hears people talk about God but when they leave the Church, God has no place in their lives. The God who is only visited in the Church on Sunday and locked in the sanctuary for the following Sunday is a dead God. Maybe the boy was right. We cannot claim to worship a living God on Sundays only, and Monday through Saturday we lock God in the Church. A living God should become part of our daily lives and must be able to direct our lives. A living God should live among us as Emmanuel and be experienced through our daily communion with each other and with God. Therefore, among this year's resolutions, let us not forget to be with God daily.
Sleeping it off, however, did not solve the problems that I did not address last year. Neither did your counting down to 2009. Last year challenges are still with us and we have to pray for proper wisdom to address them. Our God never grows old and for that reason, we have come with him into this New Year. Only if we are ready to pray to him day and night.
Speaking about prayer, I overhead a discussion between a five year old boy and his father. The boy was concerned about God and why we only go to Church on Sunday. So he walked to his father and asked, "Daddy, why do we worship a dead God?" Being a great theologian, his father responded that God is not dead but alive. The boy did not allow the theological training of his father intimidate him, so he asked, "But why is it that we cannot see him. We cannot see dead people therefore God is dead." His father told him that he will meet God when he grows up and know that God is alive and real. I am sure that was the best answer to give to a child but I promise you, I would not have done better.
The question of the dead God who cannot be seen has troubled theologians for so many years. I will not spend time telling you about what theologians enjoy doing; arguing about God.
What I can say, however, is that the boy's question was based on his experience of God. He goes to Church and hears people talk about God but when they leave the Church, God has no place in their lives. The God who is only visited in the Church on Sunday and locked in the sanctuary for the following Sunday is a dead God. Maybe the boy was right. We cannot claim to worship a living God on Sundays only, and Monday through Saturday we lock God in the Church. A living God should become part of our daily lives and must be able to direct our lives. A living God should live among us as Emmanuel and be experienced through our daily communion with each other and with God. Therefore, among this year's resolutions, let us not forget to be with God daily.
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