Community of JOY
January 23, 2011: Third Sunday after the Epiphany
10:00 AM, Siloam Hall
WE COME BEFORE GOD
PRAISE “Hear our praises, ” “King of Majesty,” “With All I Am”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
*CALL TO WORSHIP* (Please stand.)
P: Come, all who have walked without light;
come to the light that lives among us in Jesus Christ.
C: God is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear?
God is the stronghold of my life; I shall not be afraid.
P: Come, all who have quarreled or slandered another;
come to be united in one mind, one mission.
C: God invites us to find life’s holy places;
we are welcomed to the joy and shelter of God’s care.
P: Come, all who would heed the invitation of Jesus;
come together, to follow Jesus into the world.
C: God empowers us at the cross of Christ;
we are eager to receive good news to share.
*HYMN (Please remain standing.)#301,“The Joy of the Lord”vss.1, 3
KIDSWORD (After Kidsword, children leave for Sunday School.)
PRAYER Charmaine Gunther
WE HEAR GOD’S WORD
SCRIPTURE LESSON Matthew 4:18-23 Ken Gunther
Response to the reading: “Thanks be to God.”
SERMON “Called As Unpolished Stones” Pastor Yani
" Do you make decisions quickly? Or, do you take much time to make a decision? I remember a woman who always wanted to volunteer for the elderly. I met this woman in the USA when I worked at a Korean-American church as an education director. She had been living in the States for about 20 years by then. I do not remember in detail what our conversation was about. But I do remember what she said about her wish and my thought about it at that time. She said she had always been hoping to volunteer, going to a nursing home, washing the elderly residents, talking with them, taking care of them, etc. She gave me reasons for not being able to do it. She was a busy woman. She was a mother of two teen boys. She was running a dry cleaning business with her husband, which requires long hours of working. She was a diligent church goer. She was in her late 40s having pain in her knees. But still, I was thinking, ‘Why not? She has not even tried after all these years. How long she will take more to make a decision and act?’ I know that I was not a good listener. I was responding to her in thought and passing a kind of judgment on her. My thought at that time has been one of the guidelines in my life. If I want to do something nice for others, I am to do it right away. This guideline does not work always, but it helps me to put my thoughts into actions a little more.
A collegian, Ellen Davis from Texas, was the one who taught me the spirit and value of volunteering. She was my first volunteer English teacher in my first year in USA. She was a student at Barnard College and I was a student at Union Theological Seminary. There was Riverside Church around our schools. The Church had free English programs for those who newly arrived in New York. Both volunteer teachers and students signed up there. Then the church made a match. So that way we met each other. It was one-on-one class. One day she was late for our class by about 15 minutes. She came running and blushed. She said she was terribly sorry for being late. She explained that she baby-sits right before our class. That day the babysitter after her came late. I realized that she was working for money right before coming to teach me for free. I was surprised. She could have used the same hour spent for me to make more money. But she was using her time and talent to volunteer for free. I was deeply touched by Ellen.
That volunteer thing was quite noble to me. There was no such thing in my culture until that time. Now in Korea the government and schools try to teach students to volunteer for others and good causes. If students have volunteer experiences, then it is beneficial for them in entering colleges and getting jobs. In the traditional Korean society there was something similar with volunteering. But until the 1980s I do not think volunteering in its modern form existed. Non-profit organizations mushroomed in the 1990s in Korea. In the States I had learned English for free through many volunteers, starting from Ellen. So I decided to be a volunteer teacher of English.
One of the first things I did when I came back to Korea was to go to a nearby Dong-office and offered them an English class for children from . Since then I have been leading a class once a week although I am not with the Dong-office anymore. Sometimes I feel that I am not a native speaker and in that sense an unqualified teacher. Every now and then I give wrong information to my students and find out only after the event. But the fact that I teach broken English does not stop my desire to share with others.
Ellen was a young woman who did not have a teaching license and was eight years younger than I was. I teach English and my pronunciation is awful. We are so unqualified to be good volunteers. Interestingly, that is the way Jesus finds his first disciples. They do not look so qualified to be fishers of people.
As he begins his public ministry, Jesus calls his first four disciples. The first two are brothers, Simon and Andrew. The second set is also brothers, James and John. Jesus says to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” In their own ways they understand the metaphor of making them fishers of people. From then on, they would deal with people, not fish.
Jesus is not trying to start a fishing company when he calls his first disciples. They are fishermen. Not a good match. Jesus could have found experts in areas of humanities such as psychology, philosophy, history, sociology, theology, etc. What is he going to do with them? How can he make these fishermen fishers of people?
There are common things in the responses of these disciples. The first is that they are fishermen and are in the middle of their usual work. Simon and Andrew are casting their net into the lake. James and John are mending their nets. The second common thing for these disciples is that they make a snap decision to follow Jesus. As soon as they get Jesus’ invitation, they just put down their work and follow Jesus right away.
In responding to God’s call, we do not have to be so drastic that we literally leave our family and job behind. God has a way to use us as God finds us where we are. Leaving the work and family is one thing and thinking ourselves unqualified is another.
Once upon a time in Korea, there was a man called Mr. Park. His village was called the village of cranes because many cranes lived there. In Asian tradition cranes were considered mythical and sacred. One day, Mr. Park as usual was reading a book, but his study was bothered by a group of children playing loud outside. He found out that the children were playing with a baby crane that they took from a nest. The little crane was just hatched form an egg. Mr. Park scolded the children, “Cranes are precious creatures, not toys. Return the crane to its place right away!” The children were almost crying and said, “It is no use. It is already dead.” Mr. Park suggested, “Although it is dead, just return it to the nest. That way we will bring less punishment.” So the children returned the little dead crane to the nest.
Next day, the children were surprised to learn that the little crane revived. They ran to report to Mr. Park. He ran to see if that was true. He saw the baby crane, moving its head outside the nest. Mr. Park was curious. So he climbed the pine tree and looked in the nest. There was nothing other than the little crane. And he saw a common rock about the size of a potato. He took the rock, thinking that it must have had some miraculous power.
When Mr. Park had a chance to go to China as the king’s messenger, he took the rock with him. Mr. Park spread a rumor about the mysterious stone. Soon two Chinese merchants came to see Mr. Park. When the merchants saw the rock they recognized its power. They said, “This is a valueless stone which revives the dead. We will give you (let’s say) one billion dollars. But we will have to come back in three days after we gather cash.” Mr. Park decided to sell it.
Mr. Park thought that before the stone is gone, he would not have the miraculous stone anymore. So he wanted to take a good look at it. Then he realized that the stone looked too common for a treasure. It did not look fancy. It did not shine. So he started to clean and polish it with a silk towel. He did that for two days. After two days of polishing hard finally the stone had some shine. On the third day, the Chinese merchants came back with money. When they saw the stone again, they were so much disappointed. “Oh, my God! What happened to the stone? Who polished the stone? This is not a reviving stone anymore. All the power has gone.” The merchants left. It was too late for Mr. Park to blame his polishing which removed the sacredness from the stone.
God’s holiness is beyond our understanding. God’s power is beyond our comprehension. God does not need our polishing. We try to polish ourselves – with social status, higher income, certificates and licenses, prizes and awards, honor and fame. We admit that our efforts are often imbued by human greed and ambition. God sees our heart.
I was told that there was a volunteer group at COJ. Several people led by some non-Korean members used to visit an orphanage. I was surprised that non-Koreans were doing it. Some may think that those who are living in this country temporarily do not have room in their hearts to volunteer. But I am moved by the fact that there are many foreigners in Korea who are giving their time, talents, and money to their volunteer service. I wonder what we can do as a community of people called by God.
We are common stones. God finds us unpolished stones. God calls us as we are. In God’s hands we become miraculous and reviving stones. We just make snap decisions to follow Jesus. Life happens only in the now. Now, or never. I pray that all of you respond Jesus’ calling right now. Amen.
Let us pray: O God, you call us as we are despite of all our excuses, feelings of being small and unpreparedness. Prompt us to respond to your call, discerning that this is the moment we have been waiting for. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ who called his disciples out of the ordinary. Amen."
*HYMN (Please stand.) #90,“Lord, You Have Come to…”vss.1 & 3
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
*SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST (Please greet one another
with a sign of the peace of God.)
TITHES & OFFERING “And That My Soul Knows Very well”
PRAYER OF DEDICATION**
Inviting God, we are astounded at your grace that calls people like us to participate in your work of making Jesus' disciples here on earth. We have been caught in the net of your love and grace, and so released to turn our lives around to trust fully in you; released into a whole new life to let you fish for others through us. As we bring our offerings to you today, we offer the way that we will live and all the relationships and events of our lives for you to use to share your good news. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
“Lord in your mercy…,” “Hear our prayer.”
PASTORAL PRAYER Pastor Yan
"Almighty and everlasting God, we exalt your holy name and offer you our most heartfelt praise and thanksgiving for the love and care you show us each and every day.
This morning we lift our hearts in prayers for people in Brazil, Australia, and the Philippines who suffer from floods. Many lives have been lost and the survivors do not know what to do. We pray that you reach out to give them strengths and deliver them from their troubles.
There are also so many people in this country who are in hunger and the cold. We ask that you fill us with your power each day so that we may reach out in faith to share with others the love and grace you give to us. We ask all this through Jesus Christ, our savior. Amen."
THE LORD’S PRAYER (Ecumenical Version)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
*CLOSING SONG “Refiner’s Fire”
*DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING
Let us go now in friendship with one another to sense the Spirit and to worship God in all we do. May we be inspired to live the way of Christ – to be healers, lovers, teachers, and friends to a world that is God’s good creation. Amen.
*CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE #83, “On Eagle’s Wings”
And God will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of God’s Hand.
(*Lavon Bayler, Fresh Winds of the Spirit, p. 34; **from www.gbod.org)
Announcements
1. Welcome to the Community of JOY! If you’re here for the first time, please join us for a time to get to know each other after the service. Please fill in the welcome card and put it in the offering basket.
2. We welcome new people to be leaders of COJ serving at different committees and council.
* Name Tag. Please wear your name tag when you come to worship. To request a new name tag, send a text to Ken Gunther (010-9101-4233).
* Please write your prayer concerns on the prayer request card and put it in the offering basket.
* Hymnals are on sale at 14,000 Won.
Worship Leaders
Today’s Greeter and Usher: Yongsik Park & Duk Jae Bae
Today’s Fellowship: John Lee
