As you know, over this weekend, the General Conference of United Methodist Church is meeting in Tampa, Florida.  This is the world-wide gathering of United Methodists, every four years, to celebrate our ministry and to set the direction of our ministry for next four years.  Thanks to internet technology, I was able to see what was going on at the General Conference through live streaming video.  It was simply awesome to see how diverse and how widely we are involved with so many forms of ministries.  White, Black, Yellow, and Brown… Americans, Africans, Asians, and Europeans… In the United States, in Germany, in the Philippines, and in Kenya… in the city, in the country, in war zones, and in refuges… Countless people serve one Lord and His/Her people in countless places with one common name, Methodist.  While I was watching the General Conference, God knows, I am so proud of being a part of this wonderful web of ministries for His/Her Kingdom.

            This experience of the General Conference somehow reminds me that I should give you a chance to be exposed to this wonderful tradition of ours.  Many of you have already asked me how Methodists are different from the other denominations in terms of doctrine and practice, etc.  As a Methodist, such a question is a legitimate as well as much-asked question.  Thus, in the month of June, we will have a chance to explore the doctrines, practices, and history of United Methodists.  There will be three Sunday sermons combined with four discussion sessions in June.

            To organize these preaching/discussion sessions, I would like to suggest something a little different.  After some thought, I decided to take questions from you.  If you have any questions about Methodism, in its practice, doctrine, and difference from other denominations, why don’t you write them down and put them in the offering basket?  You can also email your question, pastorhan17@gmail.com or talk to me in person.  There is no question which is too bold or too small.  Every question that you raise will be a foundation for preaching and discussion sessions.  I will design my sermon as an answer to the question that you will raise.  That’s why I titled this preaching series as “Questions shaping a Sermon—Methodist”

            By all means, I believe in the brotherhood/sisterhood of all Christians.  We, Christians, are one no matter what denomination we belong to.  However, in the middle of such a wide ecumenical context, I noticed, if we don’t know who we are, there is not much contribution that we can make.  It may sound ironic, but the more we push the oneness among us, the more we are required to see clearly who we are in such a great oneness.  In organizing a preaching/discussion series on Methodism, I do not have any intention to present our denomination as the best and the only authentic Christianity.  Rather, I would like to celebrate who we are and to see what contribution we, as Methodists, can make in such a great bonding of Christian brotherhood/sisterhood.

            So, please, bring your questions about Methodism!  Please, help me to shape my sermon!  You will see that you are not the audience or observer of the sermon, but, rather, a part of the sermon on Sunday morning.  Then… What is your question?

(The C. S. Lewis study that I was originally planning for June is now postponed to the fall due to the schedule conflict of the lecturer that we would like to invite.  I will let you know as we resume planning on this series in the fall.  Thank you for your understanding.)

             “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  No one wants to offend anybody by what he or she is saying.  That’s why we are so cautious when we speak.  In almost every conversation that we have, we are careful to pick the right words and right expressions.  But, what if you are in a situation that you need to tell the truth, but the truth has a potential to make someone hurt, upset, and offended?

             At the gate of the temple, Peter and John healed a man who was crippled from birth.  This miracle made a commotion at the temple.  Immediately, the healed man ran into the court of temple and jumped up and down.  People gathered to see what was happening.  Everyone was stunned by the miracle and ran up to Peter and John who began to teach about Jesus. 

            This commotion angered the priest and Sadducees who had control over the temple.  Knowing that Peter and John taught about Jesus, the priests put them into jail.  The next day, several religious and political leaders gathered to decide what to do with Peter and John.  Look at verse 6 and check who were there.  It reads, “Annas, the high priest, was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander…”  Annas and Caiaphas!  They were the very ones who interrogated, tortured and handed Jesus over for crucifixion. (John 18:24)  They were responsible for the death of Jesus.  When Annas and Caiaphas asked the disciples, “By what power or what name did you do this?”(v.7), Peter boldly answered, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the death.”(v.10)  Am I the only one who hears “In your face!” in the answer of Peter?  His answer literally says, “This miracle is done by Jesus who you tortured and who you killed.  But, Jesus was raised from the dead and has done this amazing miracle in your face!  You tried to kill him, but you didn’t succeed.  You better repent what you did!  You better repent!”

            Peter told the truth and the truth went against the ears of those religious leaders.  Peter needed to tell the truth even though it went against their ears of the powerful.  Why?  Because the High Priest, Pharisees, Sadducees: they needed to know the truth and it is only before the truth that they could see what went wrong with them.  Facing the truth may upset, displease, and offend them, but knowing the truth cannot be forsaken only because it could be offensive.

             People often misunderstand Christianity as a religion that speaks of something which always goes for their ears.  Without endeavoring to examine themselves with the words of Christ, people only expect to hear the words of comfort from the pulpit.  In some extreme cases, modern Christianity has fallen into the form of a good therapy session or anti-depressant drugs.  For sure, Christ Jesus our Lord taught us about comfort and peace.  But, the comfort and peace that our Lord taught us was not pretending to be peaceful without confronting the brokenness deep inside of us.  For this reason, Our Lord says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”(Matthew 10:34)  Genuine peace taught by our Lord is that which is given to us when we repent our sins and make reconciliation with God our Father in our daily life.

            In Seoul, Korea, there is a huge island—called NanJiDo—in the middle of the Han River.  For over 50 years, NanJiDo was the place where the city of Seoul dumped all the garbage that its residents produced.  In 2000, NanJiDo reached its limit and it could not take any more garbage.  So, that same year, the city of Seoul decided to convert NanJiDo into a park.  Treatment for stored garbage is a complicated process.  But, for quick results, the city of Seoul completed the construction of the park within one year.  It was a BEAUTIFUL and GORGEOUS park — at least on the surface.  One year after completion, the garbage beneath produced unmanageable amounts of methane gas.  Methane gas made countless cracks in the park and shook the foundation of the park.  The truth of NanJiDo is ugly garbage, not a beautiful park.  The park is only a cover that hides a mess underneath.  No matter how beautiful the cover is, the uncomfortable truth makes a crack in the cover and reveals itself.

            Friends, don’t be afraid to confront the truth.  It may hurt, upset, and offend you.  However, if we avoid the truth just because it could offend us, we will not get a chance to clean what lies beneath our cover.  Examine yourself with the words of the Lord.  Stand before the word of truth every day.  Remember, it is not pretending, but only the truth that will set us free.

New Deals for Old Wheels!!

Pedals for Progress, in its continuing effort to recycle bicycles properly, is having a used bike collection sponsored by the Bernardsville United Methodist Church.  Anyone with an adult or child’s bicycle in repairable condition is urged to donate his or her bike to this worthy cause.  We do not accept “bikes for parts” or disassembled bikes.  Bikes can be dropped off 9 AM to 12 noon, Saturday April 21, 2012 rain or shine @ Bernardsville Methodist Church, 22 Church Street, Bernardsville, NJ 07924.

P4P collects 5,000 to 7,000 bicycles annually and transfers this material wealth to those more needy.  To date, more than 133,500 have been shipped to developing countries in Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.  In these countries the bikes are reconditioned by partner agencies and distributed at low cost to poor working adults.  These bikes provide them with reliable transportation for commuting to work, transporting produce to market, or accessing health care and other services.  Steady employment for these adults is vital to the development and success for these economies.

It costs $40 to collect, process, ship, rebuild and distribute each bicycle.  A donation toward shipping costs is necessary (suggested minimum $10 per bike).  All cash and material donations are fully tax deductible and a receipt will be available at the collection site.  We also accept working portable sewing machines.

Pedals for Progress is a 501 (c) (3) corporation and a registered charity in the states of NJ, PA, KS, CT, IA & VT.  Brochures explaining this innovative program will be available at the collection site.  P4P seeks donations of wrenches for our overseas shops.  For detailed information about our overseas projects and a current schedule of bicycle collection, visit our website at www.p4p.org

For more info call (908) 766-0669 or email bernardsvillemethodist@gmail.com

Click for poster: Pedals for Progress poster

            In ancient Israel, whenever the king entered into his city, he rode on a horse—the best one—being surrounded by his own royal guards.  That was the royal protocol for ancient Israel.   Through this royal protocol, the king was recognized as the king by the people.  However, look at Jesus who was entering into the city of Jerusalem.  He was riding on a donkey.  It was not even a grown-up donkey, but a colt, a baby donkey.  There was no guard or no road prepared for him.  Only his twelve poor disciples followed him.  And people took off their clothes to put them on the ground and that became a King’s road.  By all means, Jesus totally violated the royal protocol of ancient Israel.  He intentionally violated the expected way of behavior as the king.  Why?  Why did Jesus break the code of behavior?

            Breaking the royal protocol, Jesus is telling us that authentic kingship does not depend on what we have outside, but on what we have inside.  In the Kingdom about which our Lord Jesus preached, it is not what you have—gold, silver, or a  good horse—that makes you a king, but, rather, it is what you have inside—humility—that makes you the king.  Jesus’s riding on the donkey echoes one of his core teachings, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”(Mark 10:43b)

            Today is Palm Sunday.  Today, we celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem.  In our celebration, let us remember that Christ our Lord became the victor not through power or violence, but through humility and obedience.  There were countless kings who built up their kingdom with sword and violence, but none of them lasted forever.  But, our king, Jesus the Christ, built his kingdom on love and grace.  For the last 2,000 years of human history, this kingdom is making a tremendous transformation on people’s lives.  Today, which king are we worshipping and which kingdom are we pursuing?  My family and I will worship the King, our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.  Will you join in this worship with us, today?

             The Gospels in the New Testament record the seven last words of Jesus on the cross.  The seven sayings of Jesus are spread out over the four gospels.  For example, the Gospel of Mark has only one of them, but John has three.  These seven words on the cross are worthy to be looked into simply because they are the last words of Jesus.  But, there is another factor that makes these seven words on the cross even more special.  One of many immediate causes for death of the crucified is known as asphyxiation.  While hanging on the cross, it is very difficult to exhale or inhale without raising the whole body.  Every time when the victim raised up his body to breathe, it made a tremendous pain on the entire body.  As the body of victim was drooping downward because of exhaustion, it becomes more difficult to breathe.  As breathing becomes shallower to the point that it cannot provide enough oxygen to the body, the victim suffocates.  Thus, on the cross, in order speak those seven words, Jesus had to lift up his body for a deep inhale and, as he was speaking, his whole body was drooping down again, which made for a tremendous amount of pain.  Thus, those seven words on the cross are the precious words that Jesus decided to speak to us in spite of such pain.  What, then, are those precious words?

              The Gospel of Luke records three of them.  Those are “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”(v.34), “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”(v.43), and “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”(v.46)  Those are the words of forgiveness, salvation, and commendation.  Those last three words clearly show what kind of life that Jesus had lived.  By all means, throughout his thirty- three years of life on earth, Jesus lived for forgiveness and salvation of the sinner.  Until the last moment of his life, Jesus kept his way of life of forgiveness and salvation.  His last words clearly tell who he was.

              The most beautiful epitaph I have ever seen was that of Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham.  It says, “End of construction.  Thank you for your patience.”  Even though she was not as visible as her husband Billy, Ruth Graham was such a significant supporter of the ministry of evangelism.  Born in China as the second daughter of a missionary couple, she devoted her life to helping people know Christ the Lord better.  The inscription on her gravestone clearly shows her life-long journey of faith toward her goal to be more like Christ Jesus.  Throughout her whole life, she endeavored to be more like Jesus.  And, at the last moment of her life, Ruth Graham could say that “The end of construction!  Thank you for your patience.”

              Friends, what would you write on your gravestone?  What would be your last words?  Please, make sure that you can leave the words of love, forgiveness, and grace behind you.  Live today and every day of your life full of love, full of forgiveness, and full of grace, so that when you reach the moment when you leave the last words behind, make not only your words speak, but also your whole life speak of message of love and grace that you have lived for.  Amen.

 General Conference

             Once every four years, delegates from the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church gather together for a General Conference.  The General Conference is the top legislative body of the United Methodist Church.  It sets the policy and direction of the church as well as handles other business.  From April 24^th to May 4^th, there will be a General Conference in Tampa, Florida.  Nine hundred and eighty- eight delegates of all the  Annual Conferences, not only in the United States, but also all around the world, will gather together to make several important decisions for the life of the church for the next four years.  For your understanding, let me briefly explain how the United Methodist Church is structured.

            The United Methodist Church is a global church.  We have congregations not only in the United States, but also in Europe, Africa, and Asia.  The United Methodist churches in the United states are divided into five Jurisdiction Conferences: North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern, and Western.   The main function of the Jurisdiction Conference is electing bishops.  Each Jurisdiction Conference has several Annual Conferences.  For example, the Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference has nine Annual Conferences.  One of those nine Annual Conferences is our Greater New Jersey Annual Conference (GNJAC).  Each Annual Conference is led by a Bishop.  Our Bishop is Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar.   Currently, the GNJAC has nine districts and each district is led by a District Superintendent.  Our district is Raritan Valley District and our District Superintendent is Rev. Barbara Rambach who has an office in Berkeley Heights.

            Every four years, each Annual Conference selects delegates for the General Conference.   Delegates should be comprised of equal numbers of clergy and of laity.  Just like a presidential election, the number of delegates for General Conference varies according to the number of clergy and laity who serve each Annual Conference.  Last June at our Annual Conference gathering, we elected five clergy and five laity to be our delegates for the General Conference.

            For this upcoming General Conference, we have several important agendas.  First of all, the United Methodist Church and its people are deeply concerned about the nation-wide decline of the church.  Data tells us that the United Methodist Church in the United States is losing a thousand members per week.  It has been said there will be no such thing as a United Methodist Church after forty or fifty years, if we keep this losing pattern.  However, the United Methodist Church outside of the United States is constantly growing.  For this General Conference, we have only 30% non-U.S. delegates among the entire delegates, but in the next General Conference of 2016, 70% of the entire delegation is expected to be from outside of the country.  Delegates of the General Conference will spend much of their time and energy figuring out a way to revitalize the church in the United States.  Another important agenda item is downsizing the number of agencies of the church.  There are several agencies which are working for the church or working for the relationship between the church and society.  It is one of the great ministries of the United Methodist Church, but it costs a tremendous amount of money to maintain nation-wide agencies.  In an attempt to be more effective financially, the General Conference is considering downsizing the agencies.

            The Council of Bishops, the General Conference staff and the delegates ask for all United Methodist congregations in the world to pray for the General Conference.  Especially, we need to pray that God may pour out His/Her wisdom upon each of the delegates so that they may discern what is the best decision for the Church and for God.  You may check out http://www.gc2012.umc.org/ or google General Conference of the United Methodist Church.  On this website, there is an instruction for the 50 Days of Prayer rally for the General Conference.  Also, on this website, you may find some important resolutions and its background explanations.

            One of the distinctions of the United Methodist Church is the connectional nature of the church.  As a Methodist, we believe all Methodist churches are connected in our Doctrine, Constitution, and ministries to the world.  In this sense, the General Conference is a critically important event where we can find ourselves again working for the Kingdom of God as one body of Christ.  Please, keep the General Conference in your prayers so that every decision and discussion that the General Conference makes can be a pleasing sacrifice to our God who is the Lord for all people. Amen.

            When the movie, The Passion of the Christ, was released in 2004, people were sharply split into two groups.  One group of people, who were mostly Christians, enthusiastically accepted the film as a realistic description of the suffering of Christ.  However, the other group harshly criticized the cruelty and violence of the film.  I still remember the night when Grace and I went to see this film.  For many scenes, we had to put our head down and take a deep breath.  It was simply a hard movie to watch.  Leaving the cinema, I asked myself, “Why?  Why is there so much suffering and violence?”  If Mel Gibson’s version of the Passion story is indeed a realistic description of what had really happened, why did Christ have to suffer such cruel violence?

            The Passion accounts in the New Testament reveal a subtle brokenness.  The crowd who welcomed Jesus with “Hosanna!” turned into the angry one who shouted “Crucify him!” after only few days.  In the garden, the disciples wanted to stay awake, but they fell into sleep.  The first disciple, Peter, betrayed Jesus and rest of them just ran away.  Even the pious people in the Jewish community were the very ones who crucified Jesus.  All of those people and incidents around the suffering and death of Jesus tell us that we, humans, have a broken nature.  This broken nature has many different names.  Some call it original sin, some weakness, some anxiety, and some void.  St. Paul, in his letter to Romans, calls it “law of sin.”

 …The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.  I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me join in that delight.  Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge…I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (Romans 7:21-23, Message Bible)

            Such brokenness in human beings reached its peak moment when they tortured and killed Jesus who was the Light sent by God.  Just like John 3:19 plainly laid out, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because they indeed were evil.”

            The suffering and pain that Jesus had been through was the revelation of the devastation that we did to ourselves with our broken nature.  According to the inspirational novel, The Shack, being broken from the relationship with the Creator, human beings started walking on their own journey of deserted independence.  We came to think we can save ourselves from this subtle brokenness inside of us.  The devastated human condition is not a punishment of God, but, rather, it is the consequence of what we did to ourselves.  We closed our door from inside rejecting the love from above.  C. S. Lewis once wrote that the door of hell is locked from inside, not from outside.  Jesus’ suffering, wounds, and torture shows us what we did to ourselves when we refuse the love of God and began to worship ourselves.

            However, Jesus never gave us up.  What Jesus has shown to us on the cross was the promise of eternal love which is given to us in spite of such an ugly brokenness in us. All that Jesus said to us from the cross was “I still love you.”  Believing in Jesus refers to believing in this promise of perpetual love and the grace of God.  We are broken in essence, but if we confess Jesus as Christ and believe in this promise of love, God will save us from the devastated destiny that our brokenness will lead us into.  That’s salvation!

            Friends, I want you to be saved.  I want you to be saved from the deserted destiny that our own brokenness will lead us into.  It all starts in humble seeing and acknowledging the subtle brokenness in us that we cannot help with our own strength.  Only God sent his Son, Christ Jesus to save us and heal us from this brokenness.  Come to Christ Jesus who promised the eternal life of love and grace.  Believe in him and believe in his promise, and, then, your soul will be saved.  Amen.

The Madison String Quartet and award winning poet Kate Light will present a unique concert, Einstein’s Mozart; Two Geniuses, on Sunday, March 25 at 4pm in the sanctuary of the Bernardsville United Methodist Church as part of the Vesper Musicale Concert Series.

Einstein’s Mozart integrates movements of Mozart’s great string quartets with original poetry and prose by poet Kate Light.  “Einstein’s Mozart is as much about invention and innovation as the two men it celebrates. So musical is Light’s delivery that it almost belies the depth of the subject matter.” (Toledo Blade, Sally Vallongo)  Part 1 of the program explores Einstein’s childhood and his creative life and times.  Part 2 introduces Mozart as a prodigy and then as a maturing artist.

Kate Light is an award winning poet, recipient of the Nicholas Roerich Prize and the Donald Justice Award.  Her poetry is characterized by its sly wit, range of subject matter and metrical grace.

The Madison String Quartet: Evelyn Estava, violin, Gabriela Rengel, violin, Michael Avagliano, viola, and Gerall Hieser, violoncello, is praised for their energetic performances and inventive programming. Drawing from their international experiences of their members, the Quartet has carved a niche out for themselves by exploring Hispanic literature from both sides of the Atlantic”. (Classical New Jersey, Paul Somers)

Since 2008 the Quartet has been quartet-in-residence at the Kenai Peninsula Summer Festival in Alaska.  In 2010 they were presented at the Museum of the City of New York by Musical de Cámara, highlighting the quartet by 19^th century Venezuelan composer Teresa Carreño. Another highlight of recent seasons included a performance at Carnegie Hall of “Imitación Serial para Cuerdas by Modesto Bor.

Come and enjoy a poetry and music collaboration. Instead of experiencing a program where poetry is set to music, in this program it is poetry juxtaposed with movements of Mozart’s string quartets. A freewill offering will be received.

The last Vesper Musicale Concert at Bernardsville United Methodist Church will feature two young vocalists, Audrey Kline and William Vallandigham, both second year graduate students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Sunday, April 22 at 4pm.

            Pontius Pilate was the fifth Roman Prefect of the Province of Judea.(Jerusalem Area)  After the Herod the Great, who was the client King when Jesus was born, died, his three sons ruled over the land of Israel.  The Province of Judea was assigned to Herod Archelaus.  Herod Archealus was notorious for his recklessness and cruelty.  For example, in the first period of his ruling, Herod Archealus has slain nearly three thousand Pharisees just because they opposed to him.  Such a dictatorship of Herod Archealus caused a number of riots in Jerusalem and Province of Judea.  Cold-blooded tyranny and on-going riots: they has deserted the life of people in Judea.  Thus, in 6 A.D., Roman Emperor dethroned the Herod Archealus and appointed the Prefect who ruled and resided in Jerusalem.  Pontius Pilate was the fifth one appointed by Roman Emperor.

            The presence of Prefect illustrated how important the Jerusalem and the Province of Judea were to the Roman Empire.  Jerusalem was not only the capital of Israel, but also was a symbolic city which has a spiritual importance as the city of King David.  If there was a riot in Jerusalem, it meant, there was riot all over the Israel.  Thus, every Prefect, including Pilate, was extremely careful in balancing between the satisfaction of the Jewish people and of the Roman Empire.  Such a thorny issue of Pilate is well expressed in the verse 15, “…wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.”  …wanting to satisfy the crowd… Bible tells that Pilate did not find any guilt in Jesus.  Pilate asked the crowd, “Why?  What crime has he committed?”(ver. 14)   But, the crowd kept yelling, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”   As a Prefect, Pilate must have followed the law, justice, and conscience in making any judgment.  But, at the final moment of judgment, it was not the law, justice, or conscience, but the satisfaction of the crowd that Pilate followed.

            Pilate’s behavior in trial of Jesus makes a good contrast to the prayer of Jesus at the garden of Gethsemane.  A night before he was arrested, Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Your will be done.”  Being different from Pilate, Jesus pursued the satisfaction of the heavenly Father till the last moment of his life.  Two thousand year later, people remember Jesus as the one who satisfies not only the will of God, but the need of all human soul.  His life and teaching became a treasure for the human community.  However, Pilate endeavored to satisfy people, but there is hardly anyone who remembers him as a satisfying one.  Rather, in 2,000 years of Christian history, wherever and whenever the one line in the Apostle Creed—Suffered under Pontius Pilate—is enunciated, Pilate is remembered as the one who we are dissatisfied with.

            Friends, satisfaction of God and satisfaction of people: which one are you pursuing today?  In everything you do, who do you try to satisfy?  The word, Peer Pressure, became such a common word for all of us.  No one asks us to satisfy our peer, but we always feel we need to satisfy our peer in almost everything we do.  How many times do we make a decision out of peer pressure?  How many times do we follow so-called popular choice?  In his book, Confessions, Augustine wrote his experience of stealing the pear in his youth.  Young Augustine already had a number of better tasty pears in his hand.  But, when his fiends stole the pear, he joined in them just because he wanted to find himself among them.  Peer Pressure.  How often do we find ourselves in place of young Augustine?  When we chose the school, a birthday party place for our children, cars, houses, jobs, how often do we make a choice out of the satisfaction of our peers who are visible as well as invisible?

            Last week, I attended the retreat of full member of our annual conference.  Even though it was not designed so, but the whole retreat was very intimidating.  For two days, 50 something Board Members interviews, evaluates, and makes a report on twelve candidates for the ordained ministry.  In each interview, board members asked me a question about my Theology, understanding of policies of UMC, and etc.  Going through the interviews, I was anxious how I could advocate myself as the one who are ready to be a full member.  It was one of two last steps to complete transfer of my clergy membership to UMC.  I was so anxious how I could present and prove myself as a good pastor.  But, in one meeting with my prayer group, one of my prayer partners spoke to me unforgettable words.  She said, “You don’t have to prove anything or earn anything from us.  You are already beloved of God.  You are already proven by His/Her grace.  Trust in God and put yourself not before human, but God, Himself/Herself.”  Throughout the whole process of interview, that’s the word that I was echoing in my head: Put yourself before God, not anyone else.

            Friends, before whom do you put yourself?  Do you know that the one that you put before yourself is the one that you try to satisfy?  Make sure that you find yourself before the Lord, not before anyone else.  Satisfy Him/Her first and people will be satisfied with you.  That’s how we, Christians, live.  Amen.

            Whether we like it or not, we lost one hour this morning.  Whenever we need to set our clock one hour ahead, don’t we realize how important it is to have one more hour of sleep on Sunday morning?  We lost only one hour of sleep, but it affects the whole day.  In the opposite way, every fall when we set one hour back, aren’t we glad to get that lost hour back?  It is almost like receiving a surprise present.  What is interesting is the fact that, whether we set our clock one hour ahead or back, the duration of the day has not changed.  Whatever time you may put on your clock, the real time will not be changed because time does not depend on the clock, but on the movement of the universe.  So, whether we were grumpy about one hour we lost or happy about one hour extra in the fall, nothing really has been changed.  Let me tell you one story.

            In one of the ancient Chinese dynasties, the Song dynasty, there was a man who had a number of monkeys.  One day, he was running out of the food for the monkeys.  So, he told the monkeys that he will give them three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening.  The monkeys were very angry.  They said they would be starving. Hearing the complaints from the monkeys, the owner made another suggestion, “Then, I will give four chestnuts in the morning and three in the evening.”  Then, the monkeys were happy.  This anecdote is well-known in China and Northeastern Asia called as the story of 朝三暮四 (Three in the morning and four in the evening)

            This story ridicules the folly of monkeys.   Whether they have three in the morning, four in the evening or four in the evening and three in the morning, the total amount of chestnuts they end up having will be seven chestnuts.  There is no reason for anger, complaint, and argument.  The total will be the same.

            I am still grumpy that my one hour of sleep was taken away from me.  I would be fresher if I had that one more hour of sleep!  However, no matter what time my clock tells me, there will be no change on my own time.   My life time does not depend on the clock that tells us what time it is, but, rather, it solely depends on my sense of what time it is in my life.  One of my favorite quotes from early Christian writing is that of St. Augustine: “What is time?  Past is memory, future is expectation, and the present is intuition.”  It means, no matter what time the clock says it is, the real time is what time we sense it is.

            So, friends, what time is it now for you?  What time do you think it is for your life time?  There is a person whose clock tells him or her it is 70, but lives like he or she is 30.  There is a person whose clock tells him or her it is 30, but lives like a person over 100.  So, what time it is now for you?  After all, don’t we all agree that age is just a number?  Then, what time does your heart tell you?  What time it is now?