An Invitation from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 19, 2015 | Message from Kahu

JOIN US THIS EVENING FOR ASH WEDNESDAY

I returned this morning from Hawai’i Island where we buried my mother’s ashes next to the ashes of my father in Hilo. (So I’ve had a lot of time to think about ashes and the meaning of Ash Wednesday this past week!) I hope you will join us this evening at church as we begin the season of Lent by eating together, and then reading the Scriptures, singing hymns and marking our foreheads with ashes, as we remember that God’s love remains with us in life, in death, and throughout eternity!

6:00 Soup Supper in Moore Hall

7:00 Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 4, 2015 | Message from Kahu

LOVE BUILDS UP

On Sunday, I shared with the congregation some of the difficult passages written by the Apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells his readers these interesting things:

• For people who are unmarried, it is best for them to remain single (because married people are anxious about pleasing their spouses rather than pleasing God), unless someone doesn’t have self-control (because it is bad for people to “burn with passion”).
• Men should never wear anything on their heads when they pray, and women should always wear something on their heads when they pray…and possibly wear a veil over their faces (because this shows that men stand in absolute authority over women, and women are in absolute authority under men).
• Women should be silent in church and ask their husbands at home if they have any questions (because it is shameful for women to speak in church).
• If an unmarried Christian has sexual relations with anyone…or if someone is greedy…or has too much to drink…we should kick him out of the church!
• If someone is hungry and is about to eat something, and then finds out that what she is about to eat is offensive to someone in the room, she should go hungry.

Paul seemed to have a lot of rules for Christians in the 1st century. I grew up thinking of Paul as rather narrow-minded, conservative and judgmental. So I was surprised a few years ago to hear about a book called The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. In their book, they describe Paul as being very progressive for his day. He imagined a time and place where everyone was equal: male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, rich and poor. In fact, Paul was so “out there” in promoting his vision of the way things would be if God were actually in charge (rather than the Roman Emperor), that he was executed in Rome for treason. Of course, Paul lived in a imperial culture where both women and slaves were legal property, where temple sacrifices to idols were common occurrences, and where sexual freedom was more acceptable than it was in his own Jewish tradition. So Paul addressed issues within the church from the cultural context in which he lived. He also addressed a very divided church where people were fighting over who was right and who was wrong.

I’ll never forget the day when my seminary professor pointed out that the key verse to understanding the entire book of First Corinthians was one we read on Sunday: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” He pointed out that Paul was making the point that all God really cares about in terms of our behavior is how much we love each other. Whether we believe we are right on an issue or know that we are on the wrong side all together, the important thing to God is that we love the other person. For it is love that builds up a church. I would add that it is love that builds up a person, a marriage, a relationship, a family, a community, and a nation. Perhaps Paul was being pretty radical after all.

Have fun building up one another with love this week!

Kahu Alan Akana

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Jan 30, 2015 | Message from Kahu

LETTING GO AND FOLLOWING JESUS

On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about a time I was sitting in a coffee shop with a great cup of coffee and a good book. I watched a man exit the bicycle shop next door with his bike and receipt in one hand and his cellphone (held up to his ear) in his other hand. He was apparently engaged in a lively conversation. He walked to his car, leaned the bike against the back and opened the trunk. For the next 10-15 minutes he tried to get the bike into the trunk while holding onto his receipt and phone. For most of the time, he held the phone between his ear and shoulder, but he needed the full range of his arm to lift the bike high enough to get it into his trunk. He was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Finally, the conversation ended, he put the phone in his pocket, and effortlessly placed the bike into his trunk.

As I watched, I wondered why he didn’t just put the phone down (for 3 seconds!) in the first place. That would have saved him a lot of time and frustration! I reflected upon how difficult it often is for people to let go of things and to put them down even for a short while. Then I wondered what things I might be holding onto in life that were keeping me from doing things with less effort and greater joy. Most of the things I came up with were not physical things (like bikes), but beliefs, daily patterns and routines, and ways of being in the world.

In our Scripture lesson (Mark 1), Jesus’ disciples became disciples when they dropped what they were holding onto and followed Jesus. They dropped their fishing nets and walked away from those nets (and their boat, their careers, their families, their sense of financial security….). Letting go of the things that keep us from fully following Jesus is the beginning of discipleship for us. I think if we are being honest, we would have to say that it’s also the middle and end of discipleship; for we all have the propensity to hold on tightly to whatever it is that happens to be in our hands at the moment (physically and metaphorically speaking)–and we tend to grab onto a lot of things along the way!

Consider this question: “What are you holding onto in your life that keeps you from wholeheartedly following Jesus?” Then try this question: “Why not let go…and experience more joy, peace and love?”

I hope to see you in church on Sunday as we celebrate Holy Communion!

Kahu Alan Akana