1 John 3:16-20, NRSV

Reflections

It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity with a capital ‘H’ than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular. — C.S. Lewis

• Random kindness is helpful, but it has no impact on our lifestyle
• Newspapers used to refer us as “citizens”, nowadays we are more accurately described as “consumers”
  • As consumers, we have abundant of choices, but it carves out a part of our heart
• Lifestyle of Costly Kindness
  • Practical generosity/deeds
    • people are infinitely more valuable
    • bear one another’s burden (Gal 6:2)
    • you can be kind without feeling it; bearing burden without feeling the burden
    • “makes room for people”
  • It is important because things are not what they are supposed to be
• Part of Spiritual Life
  • praying
  • being generous
• Cultivate the lifestyle
  • remembering the gospel
  • remembering God’s kindness to us

Matthew 5:1-12, NRSV

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. — Matthew 5:1

• There has been a lot of prosperity gospel being preached
• But gospel sounds different in this Beatitudes passage, or in chapters just before when the disciples were being called
• First 4 Beatitudes (“suffering”)
  • Poor in Spirit – “end of yourself”, taking down the mask of trying to please others
  • Those who Mourn – to “bring it all out”, to share with others
    • we are such “domesticated suffers”, in the American “Strong” mentality, and not being honest with our frustration
  • Meek – not being weak, but to channel all energy of our wild ways to Christ
  • Hunger and Thirst – to be demanding
• Last 4 Beatitudes (“character shaping”)
  • Merciful – not just acts of mercy, but in character of merciful (like doing it willingly, not just for the sake of it?)
  • Pure (Undivided) Heart – not just acts of doing good
    • it might be the case that you have been heart-broken, that you have been in mourning (suffering beatitudes leading to this beatitude)
  • Peacemakers – different from Peacekeepers (who avoid conflicts)
    • stepping into situation of injustice, and to make it right
    • again, it might be the case that you have been heart-broken and in mourning, that you have been shaped into one who can “uphold justice without being brutally blunt”
  • Persecuted – only when you have grown and shaped into it; not being manipulated, tricked, or forced into doing things that lead you to be persecuted

1 Timothy 3:14-16, NRSV

if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. — 1 Timothy 3:15

• negative associations
  • history of oppression
  • division in the church
• 3 descriptions of church in the passage:
  • Household of God – assembly of God, where God’s family is
  • Church of the living God – even though God is omnipresent, church is the place to meet God (“where two or three gather in His name”), like seeing doctor in his office
  • Pillar and bulwark of the truth – place of instrument for God’s Message
• we are like early adopter, where church is like beta version of Kingdom of God

Ephesians 1: 1-2, 15-23, NRSV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. — Ephesians 1:1-2

• saints are “celebrities”
• we see a recognizable character in a saint
• we want to imitate them
• bad ideas/ways of remembering the saints
  • keeping body parts of them, i.e. relics
  • charging people money for touching the relics
• Saints in New Testament
  • it is to address to anyone who follow Christ
  • present reality vs. future reality
  • “Holy People”
    • people who are set apart
    • not referring to the character or accomplishment of the person, but referring to what God has done in that person

Song of Solomon 3:1-5, NRSV

Reflections

Desire is insatiable not because the goods of the world are too few, too uniform, or too bland. Desire burns through the goods of the world, even though these goods are not false or intrinsically unsatisfactory…. Desire shatters the economy of things; it disputes the tyranny of objects. It longs for the great emptiness, which is beauty and love without limitation. — Wendy Farley The Wounding and Healing of Desire

• patience and self-control were in previous sermons, but how are they applied on sexuality
• false self
  • manipulate body/image
  • false self of purity in church: “just stop”, “just quit” the desire/passion
• Desire in Song of Songs
  • Focus of desire
  • Frustration of desire
    • Song 3:1-3
    • kill the desire, or
    • attach the energy of desire (becomes addiction)
  • Freedom of desire
    • addiction is where we try to find God (isolation leads to addiction)
    • freedom comes from the road of failures
• Final 2 thoughts: we are created to
  • be communion with one another (i.e. community)
  • have compassion (community of compassion)

James 5:7-12, NRSV

Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge is standing at the doors! — James 5:9

• losing patience is like disappointment in God
• Hebrews 12: if we wait on Him, we will receive great things
• 3 pictures of being patient
  • Farmer (James 5:7)
    • submitting to God’s schedule
    • trusting God in the mist of pressure
    • grieving rather than grumbling
    • being patient is refusal of self-pity to our lives; once you have self-pity, you are capable to do anything (destructive)
  • Prophets (James 5:10)
    • being patient as the worldview
  • endurance of Job (James 5:11)
• your impatience with God is directly related to your impatience with people
• 2 ways to cultivate patience; focus on
  • the Gospel – story of grace and patience
  • God’s majesty

1 Cor 11:18-34, NRSV

Reflections

Charis (grace) always demands eucharistia (gratitude). Grace and gratitude belong together. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning. — Karl Barth

• Don’t mess with my food (Ice dirtier than toilet water)
• Jesus’ Meal gave us:
  • community
    • yet we can still somehow use the meal to divide us, not having it as community, as described in the scripture
  • memory or remembrance
    • it is not just to recall, it is to re-apply, to take it in
  • hope
    • that would lead to transformation

Galatians 3:23-29, NRSV

Reflections

Baptism does not primarily express our turning from the old life to the new, but rather presents to us the new life toward which we must continually turn. Baptism thus points to God’s generous cleansing and renewing grace poured out upon us, and repentance and faith reflect our grateful response to that grace in faith and allegiance… Baptism does not so much express our faith as it calls us to faith. Yet without a life of growing faith, we will experience none of the blessings that are promised to us in baptism. Faith is our opening of our hands to receive the gifts God gives to us in baptism. If our hands are not open, the gifts may still be offered, but we will not receive them. — James V. Brownson The Promise of Baptism

• Growing into Your Baptism, into Messiah’s clothes
• Baptism – common word, but different people have different definition/idea
  • ritual
  • declaration of one’s faith
  • incorporating into a family
  • receiving new identity
  • transformation
• Fully Grown Life
  • Brings you to the family where there is forgiveness
  • Brings you to the family where you matter
  • Brings you to the family where you have a future , where God’s people is

Hebrews 13:1-6, NRSV

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. — Heb 13:2

• the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding – different views of hospitality
• Hospitality in Bible
  • attitude of heart that seeks to turn strangers into guests, then hopefully into friends, then maybe even brothers/sisters
  • strangers as in people not like us
• Power of Hospitality
  • God shows up in mysterious way
  • Power of Grace flows thru you when you are making room for others
  • Things we can do personally
    • invite people into your space
    • invite people to your spiritual home, e.g. church
    • eat together
    • host a small group
    • be “promiscuous”, not with our body, but with our money
  • Corporate Hospitality in City Church
    • CityHope
    • be usher
    • contribute in deacon fund

Galatians 5:16-26, NRSV

Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. — Gal 5:26

• Live by the Spirit, or, Led by the Spirit of God
• a cosmic conflict – between flesh and spirit
  • two worldviews
  • two identities
• pursue the relational wholeness
• Apostle Paul’s challenge to us:
  • never throw in the towel
  • recognize the possibilities of having another identity (two different motivations)
    • root in the identity of flesh (either pride or despair)
    • root in the identity of spirit
  • 3 words to the strategy to this challenge (to root in identity of Spirit)
    • fight!
    • relax! (cut yourself some slack)
    • serve (one another)