A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | Jan 25, 2017 | Message from Kahu

FOLLOWING JESUS: A NEW KIND OF EMPIRE

On Sunday, I asked the congregation to imagine what it would be like growing up in utter poverty in Antioch, the capital city of  Syria—a Roman province—in the first century. You eat one small meal a day if you are lucky and when you are finished eating your very small meal, there is no more food left in the house. You have to wait until your father comes home from work the next day with more food. There is a little bit of money left, but that is for taxes, and no one would dare not pay their taxes. When you get sick with a cold or the flu, your parents pray that you don’t die, because most children die; they die from colds, flus and all kinds of other diseases. Your family cannot afford a doctor or medicine or any kind of healthcare; so everyone learns to pray really hard. Getting sick and dying from illness happens a lot in every family. Death is a constant topic of conversation. When the tax collector comes around on one of his regular rounds, he demands the tiny bit that your parents have saved up; and this is the reason you can only afford one small meal a day; but your family give him whatever he asks for. If they don’t, the tax collectors will have Roman soldiers sent to your house; and they will drag one or both of your parents off to prison. Speaking of Roman soldiers, there were some 20,000 in your little city. To get an idea of the huge military presence in Antioch, imagine 500-1,000 soldiers patrolling Koloa and Poipu. They would be everywhere! You would see dozens or maybe even hundreds of them every single day. Back in Antioch, if you didn’t pay your taxes, they might kick the entire family out of your home; then all of the children are likely to be orphaned and the likelihood of illness and death increases even more. 

You are told during your childhood that the reason you live in these conditions is because of your sins. You are told that your ancestor—the people of Israel—were unfaithful to God, and therefore God delivered them to the Roman Empire. And this is why your family now lives the way they do—under Roman oppression. And every day your family prays for a Messiah—the Anointed One—who will deliver your family and all of the other people of Israel from their sins…along with all of the consequences of their sins…most importantly the economic, physical and spiritual conditions under the oppression of the Roman Empire. And so, when you pray, “Forgive us our sins,” what you are really saying is, “Deliver us from the injustice of the Roman Empire.”

I shared about life in Syria for the average person because scholars believe that Antioch of Syria was the audience to which Matthew was addressing his Gospel. So, when Jesus showed up on the scene and began talking about an altogether different kind of “empire” (the same word as used in Roman “empire” and often translated “kingdom” in most Bible translations), it was in the context of people longing to be delivered from the Roman Empire. Jesus called this new empire the “Empire of the Heavens.” When Jesus spoke about “good news of the empire,” they knew that it must be a completely different way of doing things because the only empire they knew was bad for them—all bad in every way. This news was so good that people found it irresistible. In Matthew 4, while walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus approached two brothers who were fishermen, Simon Peter and Andrew, and said to them “Follow me.” They left their nets and followed Jesus.  Then Jesus said to two other brothers who were also fishermen, James and John, “Follow me.” They too left their nets, boat and father in order to follow Jesus. The next thing you know, great crowds were following Jesus. The scenario that Matthew was creating is that the good news of Jesus and his altogether new kind of empire was irresistible.

The good news is still irresistible today! Just imagine a world where there is no hunger, poverty, needless suffering or fear of violence. Imagine a world where compassion and abundance are truly experienced by everyone. May God grant us the imagination to dream of such a world and the courage to create it.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

Click HERE to see a video of Sunday’s sermon. Videos of Kahu’s sermons are available most weeks. You can find them on our  church website <www.koloaunionchurch.org> and on our weekly e-news. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. You can also subscribe on YouTube anytime you watch a sermon; that way you can easily watch any past sermon and even receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | Jan 19, 2017 | Message from Kahu

AVERAGE PEOPLE CHANGING THE WORLD

Since we were celebrating Martin Luther King Day on Monday, I decided to share the story of Rosa Parks during my sermon on Sunday. Most of us know that Rosa Parks is the Black woman who refused to stand up on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and give her seat to a White person. She had actually been sitting in the “colored” section of the bus, exactly one seat behind the “colored” sign. However, after one particularly busy stop, there were people standing in the aisle, including a few White people. So the bus driver told all of the Black riders in Rosa Parks row that they would all have to stand in order to allow the White people to sit. Three of them stood up, but Rosa Parks moved closer to the window and refused to give up her seat. So the driver called the police and Rosa Parks was arrested for disorderly conduct. Because of her simple act of civil disobedience, the American Civil Rights movement was given the energy it needed to end segregation not only on buses, but also at drinking fountains, restaurants, schools, and neighborhoods.

One of the reasons I loved the story of Rosa Parks is because she was an ordinary person who made a big difference in the world. She was not a great public speaker and she didn’t have an exceptional education or resume; she worked as a seamstress in a department store and she struggled to make ends meet financially. Nevertheless, she acted out her convictions and courageously stood her ground. Her example inspires us because most of us consider ourselves pretty average and identify with Rosa Parks and other ordinary people. I think to myself: If such an ordinary person can make such a big difference, then perhaps so can I and so can you.

There was only one Martin Luther King, Jr., and we honor him for using his exceptional gifts. However, there were also thousands of ordinary people, like Rosa Parks, whose roles were also important in the Civil Rights Movement. I hope that we will honor them all, not only by remembering them but also by following their example and living by our convictions and doing the right thing even when it takes courage and faith.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

Click HERE to see a video of Sunday’s sermon. Videos of Kahu’s sermons are available most weeks. You can find them on our  church website <www.koloaunionchurch.org> and on our weekly e-news. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. You can also subscribe on YouTube anytime you watch a sermon; that way you can easily watch any past sermon and even receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | Jan 11, 2017 | Message from Kahu

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about John the Baptist in the Gospel of Matthew, and John’s baptism of Jesus. I began by reminding everyone how Matthew, from the very beginning of his Gospel (and all the way through), focused on the marginalized people whom God visited and who showed up for God. John was about as marginalized as one could get. He lived in the wilderness—a place where no one wanted to live, completely separated from civilization. John ate bugs and honey, and wore camel hair for his clothing. Yet, as marginalized as he was, God visited him…and he showed up for God.

I talked about how the news has been awfully discouraging to watch: war, terrorism, gun violence, and other horrible things are talked about on a daily basis. It sometimes seems like the problems of the world are so big, there is nothing we can do about it. However, the story of John the Baptists gives me hope. For if John can make a difference in the world while living on the margins, then I am confident you and I can as well.

I can’t tell you what God has planned for you to make a difference in the world, but the story in Matthew’s Gospel gives us some pretty good clues in terms of how to find that out for ourselves.

• First of all, God keeps showing up in the margins of society, so maybe we can spend some time there. It may be the wilderness away from other people where you will find some guidance, but it also might be among some marginalized people in your own neighborhood or right down the street. If you want to know what God is up to and what he might want from you, then spend some time in the margins.
• Second, God showed up among people who were preparing for God to show up. Do whatever the things are that help you prepare for God to show up: prayer, Scripture reading, meditation, church.
• Third, God showed up in a pretty unexpected way, so be open to surprises, knowing that God may show up or ask you to do something that is entirely different from what you have been expecting.
• Finally, God showed up in the baptism of Jesus with a complete acceptance of Jesus in his essence—just as he was. God said, “This is my child, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Imagine that those words are for you as well. Imagine God claiming you as a son or daughter. Imagine God declaring unconditional and eternal love for you. Imagine God so pleased with who you are, that you are perfect in God’s eyes and don’t need to change a thing about yourself.

I am confident that if you do these things, then God will show up a bit more clearly, and you will have a better idea of what God might have in mind for your role in the world.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

Click HERE to see a video of Sunday’s sermon. A CORRECTION TO THE SERMON: Someone told me on Sunday that my statistics were off, and I realized I accidentally misquoted two statistics. I said that over 33,000 people were killed between 2001 and 2013 by acts or terrorism in the U.S. and Americans overseas. I meant to say 3,300 (which is still a big number). I also said that there were more than 140,000 people killed in the U.S during that same period of time due to non-terroristic gun-violence. I meant to say more than 400,000 (a much bigger number)! My point was that the problems in our country and world are big. I apologize for the mistake.

Videos of Kahu’s sermons will be available every week through January. You can find them here on our  church website <www.koloaunionchurch.org> and on our weekly e-news. (Just let us know if you want us to email you our weekly e-news!) Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. You can also subscribe on YouTube anytime you watch a sermon; that way you can easily watch any past sermon and even receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.

“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.