Proper 4 -- Year C -- June 2, 2013
Text: 1Kings 18:20-21, 30-39; Psalm 96:1-9; Galatians 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10 Tinh Huynh+
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In the Name of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Many people of our time ask:
"Is church still relevant today?"
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Why not?
Church is fun!
Didn't we have fun yesterday?
Didn't you like the car show, the food,
the car trunk sales and the pet parade?
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Yet to many young people of today,
church is just a waste of time.
They may say that when they were small
they were forced to go to church,
and that they desperately waited
for the time they could decide for themselves,
to do something on Sunday other than going to church.
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I grew up in a Protestant Church in Vietnam,
and, like many other Christians,
I have the habit of going to church on Sunday.
If I do not go to church on a Sunday,
I would have the feeling of missing something.
I might not miss the sermon (!),
but I would certainly miss the people,
the hymns, the scriptures, the prayers
and the Holy Communion.
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During the Vietnam War I served in the South Vietnam Army,
and there was a time when I was stationed at the top of a hill in the mountainous area.
At the foot of the hill there was a village of highland people
with a Protestant church in it.
On a particular Sunday morning I got permission to go down to the village to attend church.
The church was built on a foundation of clay,
with benches and no walls.
It was just a thatch roof supported by stilts.
There were about 150 people at church on that day.
Their language was foreign to me, but the music of the hymns they sang was familiar,
and their praying were so powerful.
That was a heart-warming experience for me,
when I felt vulnerable and lonely.
It refreshed my spirit.
It helped me as I tried to trust in God
whom I did not see.
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Church can be irrelevant to some people.
Fine with us!
But, what about faith?
Is faith relevant, or not?
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A long time ago, when I was growing up,
I heard a story about a woman who traveled by sea.
In those days, sailing across the ocean took a couple of months.
One day she ran out of food.
She found a quiet spot on the deck of the vessel,
and knelt down and prayed.
As she prayed, she opened her hands toward heaven
A sailor happened to walk by.
He probably knew the woman was needy.
He put an orange into her hands.
She then said aloud:
"O Lord, I thank you! You have answered my prayer."
The sailor laughed, "It's obvious that God did not give you the orange!
It's me who did it."
But she said, "I thank you also, but above all, I thank God,
because He made you give me this wonderful orange."
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Luke wrote today's gospel story with the intention to
speak about faith.
The centurion, in today's gospel story,
surprises Jesus with his faith.
He wanted healing for his dying slave.
When Jesus approached his home,
to see the slave,
he sent messengers to tell Jesus that he was "not worthy"
to receive Jesus into the house.
He meant that for the healing to happen, Jesus did not have to be there in person -- Jesus' will to grant healing was all that his slave needed.
The centurion was not Jewish.
Jesus was amazed at him.
He said to the people around him,
"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
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A centurion is a professional officer in the Roman army.
He has about 80 soldiers at his command.
A centurion must be a person of good character,
faithful, well-disciplined and wise.
Like many other powerful and wealthy people of his time,
this very centurion had slaves in his household.
In that society, a slave was treated as a possession.
When the slave is old or sick, and can no longer serve,
the owner can get rid of him.
But this centurion was special.
He loved his slave.
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The request for healing was not like "giving it a try."
It was not like saying to oneself, "A prayer wouldn't hurt."
Faith matters.
Luke makes it clear to his readers:
When you speak about faith, never mind who is in and who is out.
Never mind who is worthy and who is not worthy.
God answers the prayer of any person
who calls upon his Name.
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Faith matters to God.
When you talk about faith,
you don't talk merely about doctrines.
God loves it, when people have faith in Him.
Luke 18:8 reads, " When the Son of man cometh,
shall he find faith on the earth?"
God longs to see faith in us.
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Faith matters to us.
Faith and trust go together.
Those in relationships long to trust each other.
In community we long to see fidelity in each other.
We have the need to trust.
If we can no longer have faith
in someone who is in relationship with us,
we would feel miserable.
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When we talk about faith,
we talk about covenant,
and we talk about something sacred.
Here the faith in God comes into play.
The faith we have in each other
is inseparable from the faith in the Father.
The seed of faith in the Creator
has been sowed in the human heart since the beginning.
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Oftentimes we are distracted.
We tend to forget that faith in God matters.
We may also want to avoid thinking about it.
Yet the issue is always there.
When we enter the second half of life,
the faith question comes hauntingly:
"Is there really Someone up there that I can trust?"
"Can I believe in a God who exists and cares for me?"
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Have you ever asked yourselves
why you worship at Saint Patrick's?
Why this church?
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Here in the gospel story we see faith in action
in community.
The centurion did not act alone.
He was surrounded by his friends, who approached Jesus and spoke on his behalf.
The centurion and his friends did not petition for their own needs.
Together, they offered a cry on the behalf of a slave,
and healing happened.
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Christians come together to worship on the first day of the week.
Remember the words of today's opening hymn?
"On this day, the first of days,
God the Father's Name we praise,
who, creation's Lord and spring,
did the world from darkness bring.
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On this day the eternal Son
over death his triumph won;
on this day the Spirit came
with his gifts of living flame.
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Maker, who didst fashion me
image of thyself to be,
fill me with thy love divine,
let my every thought be thine.
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Can we find those words outside of the church?
The gathering of the faithful in worship
is pleasing to God.
Where there is faith, there is joy also.
Connectedness matters in spirituality.
Faith is actually a public matter.
Kinship and encouragement is found in the community of faith.
Spiritual friends are found in the community of faith.
Christians, therefore, gather on Sunday to worship God.
When the believers gather, Christ is amidst of them.
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The Church is, indeed, relevant,
for the Foundation upon which it is built
is Jesus Christ our Lord.
In the Name of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.