by admin | Aug 7, 2019 | Message from Kahu
The Greatest Miracle
On Sunday, we took a look at the first miracle of Jesus, according to John’s Gospel, when Jesus turned water into wine. Since I am allergic to wine, for most of my life I just figured that this was another miracle that didn’t really apply to me. After spending 3 months in and around Bordeaux this past spring, perhaps France’s most popular “wine country,” the miracle is starting to make more sense to me…and there are definitely some lessons in this parable even for me.
First of all, it occurred to me that a welcome miracle to one person might be a very unwelcome miracle to another. To someone who would spend $225,000 on a prize-winning bottle of Chateau Margaux—or even a more moderate $7,000 Petrus—this might actually be their favorite of all of Jesus’ miracles. But for people like me who get physically ill just from the vapors of a glass of wine, it takes a little extra thought and effort to embrace this as a great miracle—or even a good one.
A second lesson is that Jesus was constantly surprising people. Changing water into wine in order that the best was served at the end was a radical change from standard behavior in that culture. This miracle sets the tone for the teachings and actions of Jesus that constantly challenged his followers to expect the unexpected and to change their behavior from what was standard, normal and expected, to behavior that is completely unexpected:
- Loving your enemies
- Welcoming strangers who show up in your community—even if they are from another culture and religion and speak a different language
- Taking care of the poor and the sick—even if they don’t have the means to pay you back for your kindness
- Touching the “untouchables” in society
- Turning the other cheek
- Breaking the law in order to help people
It’s as if Jesus did this first miracle to say to his disciples and his “would-be” disciples: “Your world is going to be very, very different if you choose to follow me. So expect the unexpected, and be ready for your world to be turned upside down.”
And then Jesus went around doing miracles of compassion that helped people—people who were not being helped by anyone else and and people who gave up all hope because no one ever helped them. Yes, indeed, those who would follow Jesus found that they were living in an entirely different world than the one they were living in before they met him…and that continues to be the case today.
Of course, the greatest miracle of all is God’s deep, deep love for people. Even when people ignore, disobey and outright rebel against God, it doesn’t stop God from loving them. In fact, when people betrayed and denied Jesus, when they beat and crucified him, he returned to love and forgive them—and offered them a life of love in abundance. Indeed, the best wine is saved for the end. No wonder John’s Gospel tells us that the disciples believed in Jesus. May the miracle of God’s kind and tender love find its way into the deepest part of our hearts and lives. May we fully embrace it, and may we freely share it with others.
Aloha nui!
Kahu
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Click HERE to see a video of the message from Sunday morning. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
by admin | Jul 31, 2019 | Message from Kahu
“Hospitality Above and Beyond”
On Sunday, I told the congregation that I was just finishing a book called The Anza Trail and the Settling of California, by Vladimir Guerrero. I had the opportunity to meet Vladimir and his wife Deidre in May at their home in the beautiful town of Lectoure in southern France while I was on my sabbatical. His son is Chris Guerrero, Kei and Penny Osuga’s son-in-law. Juan Bautista de Anza was a Spanish explorer in the mid-1770’s, who traveled on horseback from Mexico through Arizona and California. On his first expedition, de Anza traveled with soldiers, scouts and interpreters through unchartered and sometimes dangerous territories in order to find a route between the Mexico-Arizona border and the coast of California. On his second route, de Anza took 32 soldiers and their families to resettle in a place called San Francisco. Some of the missions, founded by Father Junipero Serra were already established along the coast, and de Anza spent time in many of them.
One of the things that stands out most for me in the book is the hospitality that was shown to de Anza and his fellow travelers in the various mission outposts along El Camino Real in California. When they would arrive at one of the Spanish missions, the bells would toll to celebrate their arrival; there would also be a special religious service; and then the hosts would throw a feast and offer the best of what they had. By the way, many of the native people of California were also extremely hospitable to de Anza and his party, and eagerly shared food, gifts, knowledge, and some of the indigenous people even journeyed with them to show them routes that they and their ancestors had traveled for generations.
Imagine traveling nearly 2,000 miles in new places days on end back in the time before there were roads, bridges, ferries, or rest stops. The travelers crossed deserts during hot days and lay awake shivering at night when they traversed snowy mountains. They sometimes had very little water; sometimes they had barely enough food to survive. Imagine finally arriving at a mission outpost after weeks of traveling like that and being welcomed with open arms. Imagine the mission bells tolling to greet your arrival. Imagine people celebrating that you are there. And imagine a great big feast!
This “above and beyond” kind of hospitality is the same theme I see over and over again when I read the stories in the Bible. And that is certainly the theme and the context for Sunday’s Old Testament reading in Genesis 18. When you read chapters 18-20, there is no doubt that hospitality is the overriding theme, and Sodom was most likely destroyed because the people of that city intended to harm the strangers that came to their town rather than offering hospitality, as Lot and his family did. At some point in time, for some reason, many people in the Christian Church decided to ignore the clear theme of hospitality and decided that today’s passage is about homosexuality. They decided that the sin of Sodom was not the lack of hospitality but rather homosexual behavior. In fact, the word “sodomy” comes from this passage. It is all based on one word: the word “know.” The men of Sodom told Lot to bring his guests outdoors “so that we may know them.” It is clear from the passage that the men of Sodom meant to do harm to the strangers. It is clear that violence was their intent. Perhaps sexual violence was in their plans, but there is no question that the men of Sodom meant to hurt the visitors who were in Lot’s house.
This passage lines up with so many others in the Old and New Testaments that God is so very happy when we show “above and beyond” hospitality to people who show up at our doors, in our communities and on our nation’s borders. May God guide us as we figure out how to best do so.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Click HERE to see a video of the message from Sunday morning. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
by admin | Jul 24, 2019 | Message from Kahu
Blessed by Strangers
On Sunday, I talked about James and Melicent Smith, who arrived in Koloa in 1842. They had sailed from Boston to Honolulu. The journey took 142 days. For over 4 1/2 months, they lived on a small boat and slept in a tiny cabin. They had married in April of that year. After a couple of weeks in Honolulu, they boarded another boat and sailed for Koloa, where they would spend the rest of their lives. James was to be the only Western-trained medical doctor on Kauai and Niihau. He also had church duties and 12 years after his arrival was the first minister to be ordained on Kauai; his church assignment consisted of 3 regions: Koloa (the largest), Lihue and Wailua. Besides visiting these 3 places on horseback for years—almost weekly—he also frequently visited Waimea and Hanalei. Melicent taught school and took care of their 9 children—7 of whom lived to be adults. Fortunately, they were welcomed with open arms. This doesn’t mean that the relationship between their family and the Hawaiian people was always easy and without friction. Far from it! However, when the Hawaiians first showed their usual hospitality to the Smiths, little did the locals know how much they would be blessed by these strangers from a faraway place. When the infamous smallpox epidemic of 1853 spread like wildfire throughout the entire island chain, thousands of people died on the other islands. Thanks to Dr. Smith’s commitment to vaccinate everyone on Kauai and Niihau and quarantine the early victims of smallpox, there was only one death here. He made it his personal mission to keep as many Hawaiians alive here as possible—and to keep them healthy as well. There were also thousands of Hawaiians who became Christians and church members during his life of service here.
In our Old Testament reading (Genesis 18), we came across another couple who journeyed many, many miles in order to arrive at their new home. Abraham and Sarah went on at least four long journeys during their marriage. They knew what it was like to travel for days on end. They knew what it was like to be immigrants in need of a new home. They knew what it was like to be tired, hungry, thirsty and sore. Because they had personally experienced these things, they welcomed other travelers with open arms. When three strangers arrived at Abraham and Sarah’s tent at the oaks of Mamre one day, Abraham and Sarah went overboard in showing them hospitality and kindness. They knew that God had blessed them in order that they might be a blessing to others. And in return for the blessing of hospitality, the three visitors blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son in their old age. Whether people literally show up at our doors, on our island or on our nation’s borders, I trust that we will have the same attitude as Abraham and Sarah. I trust that we too will welcome strangers with open arms, especially those who travel great distances to be with us.
Aloha nui!
Kahu
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Click HERE to see a video of a message from a recent Sunday morning. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
by admin | Jul 11, 2019 | Message from Kahu
Simple Solutions
On Sunday, I shared a story told by Bryan Stevenson when two police officers pointed guns at him and threatened to “blow off your head.” They threw him up against his car and searched it without a warrant for illegal drugs and weapons. His crime: sitting in his car listening to music for ten or fifteen minutes in front of his home after a long day of work…and being Black. He had just moved into the Atlanta neighborhood and, apparently, a White neighbor saw a Black man sitting in a car and called the police. As the police officers were leaving—after all the neighbors got a chance to watch him in police custody for about fifteen minutes—they said to Bryan, “Consider yourself lucky.” His response: “They were right: I was lucky. I survived.”
This story was told by Bryan in the foreword of the book America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis. Bryan is a Harvard-trained attorney and endured the above-mentioned injustice after a long day of practicing law. In the book, Jim Wallis shares his discover that virtually all African-American parents have what they call “the talk” with their children as they are entering their adolescent years. “The talk” involves telling their kids how to survive an encounter with a police officer—how to live through it. He asked parents if they have this talk with their kids and discovered that 100% of the African-American parents whom he asked did indeed have “the talk” with their children…and 0% of White parents whom he asked have ever had the talk with their kids.
These statistics alone should tell us that there is a huge racial injustice in our nation. In Jim Wallis’ book, there are many other statistics that shed light on how large and extensive the issues really are. Wallis gives insights into how some police departments operate according to racial biases and some politicians create laws and policies that are clearly unfair to people of color. He also gives solutions—things that have proven to work. Some of these are very simple solutions that we can begin enacting right away if we only have the will to do so.
I invite you to join me over the summer on Wednesday evenings at the Smith Memorial Parsonage for a group discussion on America’s Original Sin, beginning July 17, as we discuss racism in our nation and what we might do to overcome it. Please sign up at the church for a book ($14) and to let me know what evenings you plan to attend. We will begin with dinner at 6 p.m. (I’ll cook the first night.)
Aloha nui!
Kahu
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Click HERE to see a video of the message from Sunday morning. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
by admin | Jul 2, 2019 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, we read three conversations between Jesus and his disciples (or “would be” disciples) from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9. In the first conversation, the Apostle John was very concerned about a man casting out demons in the name of Jesus. He tried to stop the man because he didn’t hang out with Jesus and the disciples. Jesus responded to John, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” There are some people who say that these were literal demons: servants of Satan who were sent by him to torment people. Other people say that these were figurative demons: causes to which we assign negative spiritual energy. Whichever way you choose to interpret this passage (literally or metaphorically), the point is that the disciples encountered some people whose lives were tortured by forces that seemed beyond their control and a man who was freeing those people from their bondage of fear and pain—and he was doing so in the name of Jesus. Apparently, Jesus celebrates any time a person shows compassion to another person—even if that person isn’t the kind of person who hangs out with him and his disciples. The way of Jesus allows people—even if they are different from us, come from different places and backgrounds, and hang out with strangers—to show compassion to others. In our Scripture reading, Jesus also pointed out the importance of making the reign (kingdom) of God our top priority in life. Those who follow in the way of Jesus put the reign of God ahead of obligations placed upon us by family and friends. Seeking first the reign of God is the way of Jesus.
I wonder what our world would be like if we all truly put the reign of Christ ahead of all else. I wonder what our politics would look like if our political and religious leaders did that. I am pretty sure our world would look very different than it does today. Jesus made it clear that loving God and others were his top priorities. He also taught that we love God by loving others. Jesus celebrated and encouraged goodness and compassion wherever they showed up, and he wants us to do the same.
Aloha nui!
Kahu
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Click HERE to see a video of the message from Sunday morning. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
by admin | Jun 19, 2019 | Message from Kahu
“Embracing Mystery”
We celebrated “Trinity Sunday” this week in church as I shared more about my sabbatical in Europe. I talked about one of my favorite pieces of art which I saw in Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Paris called “Christ in Majesty” (the photo above). It is one of the largest mosaics in the world and probably the largest mosaic of Jesus. It is in the dome above the altar and the first thing you see when you walk in the front door of the church—and it is MASSIVE! It literally took my breath away! I felt that Jesus with his outstretched arms was saying to me, “You are welcome here. Come on in. I love you exactly as you are. There is nothing that can come between us.” The art affected me so deeply that I found it difficult to leave!
What I didn’t realize at all from the front door of the church was that the image of Jesus was part of a larger mosaic of the Holy Trinity. You can see the dove, representing the Holy Spirit, directly above Jesus’ head, but you have to walk down one of the aisles toward the altar to see the image of God the Creator (or Father). It is truly an awesome work of art: in my opinion, one of the great masterpieces of all time. However, it occurred to me that the average visitor to the basilica never gets to see the entire mosaic. You can see all of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but there was no place I could stand and see all of the Trinity at once. (I wondered if the priests who stand at the altar get that full vision, but I will never know!) It reminded me that we never get to see all of God. As much as God might choose to reveal God’s self to us and as much as we might pray and read the Bible, we never see all of God, for God will always be a mystery to us in many ways—and that should humble us when we encounter people who see God differently than we do.
I also shared with the congregation that in our passage from John’s Gospel that morning (chapter 16, verses 12-15), Jesus speaks of “the Father,” “the Spirit,” and us! Jesus told his disciples that the Father shares everything with him and the Spirit takes it from Jesus and shares it with us. It is clear to me from the context (chapters 12-17) that Jesus is focussed on love, peace and joy. Just imagine: all of the love, peace and joy of God is available to us. Imagine if we asked for it…and received it…and shared it with others. Just as God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit share everything with one another, they also share everything with us, and we are able to share all that God gives us with others.
These thoughts bring me great hope, not only for my own life but for the entire world. I hope they bring great hope to you as well!
Aloha nui!
Kahu
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Click HERE to see a video of the message from Sunday morning. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
“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.
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