by admin | May 3, 2015 | Message from Kahu
MAIKA’I HANA HOU!
NOT THE SIZE OF THE GIFT, BUT….
On Sunday, I shared the story of a church where a very wealthy man wrote a $1 million check to his capital campaign, and the pastor announced this gift to the congregation. The next day, a poor, divorced mother of two young children visited the pastor and told him that she was disappointed regarding their church’s capital campaign…but not for the reason the pastor expected! She shared her deep desire to participate in the campaign, but felt that she simply couldn’t give any more to the church than she already did. She told the pastor that she already tithed (gave 10% of her income) to the church, and she was afraid that this was all she could do. The pastor told her to do what he had asked everyone in the church to do: simply pray, “O Lord, what is it that you would have me do to accomplish your will for our church.” The woman agreed and began praying that very day. As she prayed, she had a “light bulb moment.” She went back to the pastor and told him that she figured out that she could give $1,500 during the 3-year giving period of the campaign. She would forgo her daily “Super Meal Deal” during her daily lunch break and make herself a sandwich for lunch every day for the next 3 years. She added up the savings of $2 per day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks of the year, and 3 years (minus holiday and vacation time): It was $1,500! The next Sunday, the woman shared her story in church. Her congregation far exceeded their goal, and I am convinced that her gift was just as inspiring to the congregation as the $1 million gift. I am also convinced that in God’s eyes, her gift was at least as big!
My request of the members and friends of the congregation is that you pray our capital campaign prayer and see what God might lead you to do during this very important time in the life of our church. And please remember, it is not the size of the gift the counts the most, but the amount of love and faith as you pray and act upon your prayer. Whatever gift you choose to give on Commitment Sunday, May 17, I invite you to make your decision based upon prayerful reflection and with lots of love and faith! If you do, I know that we will have a very successful capital campaign!
Kahu….
Our Capital Campaign Prayer
O God, we ask for your blessing on our capital campaign.
Thank you for all that Kōloa Union Church means to me and our community. (Be sure to be specific and mention some of these blessings by name.)
What do you want to do through me to accomplish your will
during this important time for Kōloa Union Church?
by admin | Apr 14, 2015 | Message from Kahu
JUST LOOKING IS BELIEVING
Nearly everyone has heard the phrase, “Seeing is believing.” I shared with the congregation on Sunday that the Apostle John used the word seeing over and over in his Gospel. In fact, the verb “to see” is found some 80 times! Seeing was important to John because Jesus is the one who taught people to see…and seeing led to believing… and believing led to living a full and abundant life (and sharing that life with others!).
I also shared with the congregation that there are times in my life when I look but don’t see clearly, and sometimes not at all. I wonder if I could see God’s love, God’s plan, God’s presence if I just had more faith. As I took a deeper look into John’s Gospel, Jesus seemed to understand that not everyone sees clearly all the time; in reality, none of us do! Yet, John makes it clear that belief and trust in God are still possible…and so is a full and abundant life! That’s why Jesus said to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen yet have come to believe.”
So what do you do when you look to Jesus and cannot see clearly? You keep looking! What do you do when you look to God and cannot see at all? You keep looking! What do you do when you think you see perfectly? You keep looking (and remember that you might be seeing an illusion or a mirage)! Jesus shared a vision with his followers about a new way of being where everyone is blessed by God and is able to live full and abundant lives. When you have a hard time seeing what Jesus saw, you simply trust (believe) that Jesus’ vision is still real and achievable for every life, every time and every place.
So when you look and cannot see, remember: Just looking is believing! Just looking leads to life when you are looking to Jesus and his grand vision for the world!
I invite you to look… and believe… and live today with the assurance that God loves you and each person you encounter! I also invite you to share the love!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Apr 8, 2015 | Message from Kahu
THE LOVE REMAINS
Lava Entering Kaimu Bay — August 1990
On Easter Sunday, I shared with the congregation about one of my favorite places on earth: Kaimu Beach. I talked about its glistening black sand; the coconut trees which lined the beach and provided shade for people; its stunning beauty. I also shared that Kaimu Beach is no longer there, for Kilauea’s lava covered the beach in August 1990. It seems like only yesterday as I watched molten lava spill out over the sand and into the ocean, creating giant plumes of steam. “How can it be,” I asked myself, “that my favorite spot on earth and the most meaningful place I knew is dying right in front of me. Is this really happening?”
I shared with the congregation that I think I knew when I first visited Kaimu as an eleven-year old that it is possible to love a place just like it is possible to love a person. I also shared that love for people and places remain long after they are gone. This past year, I mourned the death of my mother, my uncle (Mom’s younger brother and the only uncle I really knew growing up), a close friend JoAnne who was very influential in my life during my teenage years, and others. How can it be? Is this really happening? These two questions have popped up often this past year. (And I’m pretty sure Jesus’ disciples were asking these same questions after both his death and resurrection!)
There really is no easy answer to the first question. The answer to the second question is easier, at least after catching my breath: “Yes, it IS really happening.” But once I have settled into the questions and answers that confront me during times of grief, I am left with the reminder that the love once shared is still shared. The love remains long after death. In fact, I believe it remains through eternity. I think that is the whole point of Easter!
May you be filled with joy and hope during this Easter season!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Apr 1, 2015 | Message from Kahu
LIFE: QUANTITY AND QUALITY!
On Palm Sunday, I shared with the congregation some thoughts about the donkey on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem. According to the Gospel of John, it was a donkey colt–just a baby! People were used to Roman soldiers riding into town on their gigantic horses, reminding them not to mess with the powers that be. John compared Jesus (along with his message, life and “leadership style”) with the Roman Emperor and those who represented him. (Hence, the baby donkey!) The emperor was known as the one who took away life from the common people. John portrays Jesus as the one who gives life to the common people–and everyone else for that matter. Over and over again in John’s Gospel, we see Jesus giving life, talking about life, promising life, and living life. He offered not only a quantity (eternal), but a quality (abundant).
As we prepare ourselves to partake of Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday, may we open our hearts to Jesus–the Bread of Life. As we prepare ourselves to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, may we open our hearts to the life he offered: eternal and abundant…the life that not even death can take away!
I invite you to join us at Koloa Union Church as we celebrate life!!!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Mar 26, 2015 | Message from Kahu
OUR MISSION IS TO REACH OUT
As the Season of Lent comes to an end, we are wrapping up our focus on our new Mission Statement. We are talking this week about the final part of the statement: “Our mission is…to reach out into the broader community by sharing aloha with everyone.”
On Sunday, I shared a story about Father Gregory Boyle, who spent most of his ministry working among the inner-city gangs of Los Angeles. He took a couple of gang members with him to a restaurant (a first for both of them!). When they entered the restaurant, the hostess just glared at them. No welcome. No indication that they might be seated. With their shaved heads, tattoos and baggy clothes, they didn’t belong there, at least in her mind. Because of Fr. Boyle’s persistence, she finally sat them. The customers became completely quiet as they stared at the two gang members. Suddenly, like an angel from heaven, the waitress approached and treated them as if they were her favorite customers, calling the two young men “Sweetie” and “Honey.” She brought them additional menus, kept their drinks full, offered them “extra this” and “more of that.” When they asked if she had “Tapatio” hot sauce, she brought it to them as if everyone asked for it all the time.
The two men were blown away by her kindness. When they got back into the car, one of them said, “She treated us like we were somebody” (a kind of treatment they rarely got!). Fr. Boyle called her “Jesus in an apron.” Upon further reflection, it occurred to me that this is how Jesus treated everyone: like they were somebody! Women and men, children and adults, Jews and Samaritans, healthy people and lepers…he treated each and every one as if they were the most important person in the world. As we live out our mission, our job is to do this very same thing. May God grant us wisdom, courage and compassion as week seek to share aloha with everyone!
I hope to see you for our Wednesday Lenten Reflection, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday during this wonderful and holy time of the year!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Mar 18, 2015 | Message from Kahu
OUR MISSION IS TO NURTURE ALL….
The part of our Mission Statement which we are exploring this week is “to nurture all with God’s unconditional love.” On Sunday, I began my sermon talking about the importance of having a nurturing theology. When our theology is nurturing, then we have a shot at being nurturing in all that we do. In the church of my youth, the theology was based more on fear than on nurture. I remember hearing over and over again that my sins were so great that I deserved to die and go to hell. Furthermore, there were certain things one was expected to believe, say and do in order to escape the fires of hell and eternal damnation. Needless to say, I don’t feel very nurtured when I look back to the theology of my youth.
As an adult who has explored the Scriptures for most of my life, I find many examples of theology that are very nurturing. In Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, he wrote these words (15:10): “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” I believe these words may express one of Paul’s most enlightened moments, to be able to look at himself and know that he is what he is because God’s love made him exactly that way.
What would change in your life if you truly believed that about yourself? What would change in your relationships if you truly believed that about other people? What would change in the world if we all believed that about everyone else?
Why not give it a try:
- Take a look in the mirror and say: “By the grace of God, I am what I am.”
- Take a look into the eyes of another and say: “By the grace of God, you are what you are.” (You may want to say this silently or you might get a really funny response!)
Try it out…and just see how your life begins to change!
I invite you to join us on Wednesday evening and Sunday morning as we continue to explore a nurturing theology…and what God is calling us to be!
Kahu Alan Akana
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