“The Flowers Cover the Earth: The Time of Singing Has Come!”
(Song of Solomon 2:12)
On Sunday, August 29, our theme was “flowers” and what we learn from them. Flowers appear throughout the Bible, which refers to roses, lilies, buds, blossoms, and more! They are often signs of hope. In many parts of the world, flowers appear in the spring and disappear before a long, cold winter sets in—leaving people for months without their color, sweet fragrances and beauty. In the long love poem, Song of Solomon, the king and the woman he loves long for each other as people waiting for flowers in springtime. When the two lovers finally come together, they describe it as a long-awaited and joyful spring:
The flowers cover the earth:
the time of singing has come!
We have all experienced times of longing and darkness in our lives. The flowers remind us that beauty, joy, and pleasure will return—perhaps differently than before. It occurred to me last week that the flowers are not only signs that bring us hope, but they are actually our teachers as well. In The Book of Awakening, the poet, Mark Nepo, writes these helpful words:
Despite all our limitations,
the most crucial challenge of
being human is to show up
like a rose.
How might we bloom wherever we are planted? How might we simply open up in our own time? How might we bring beauty, pleasure, wonder and hope to the people around us?
A couple of weeks ago, I walked around the church property and took pictures of all the different flowers that are blooming there. I invite you to wander around and notice all that is in bloom. Give thanks for every flower, and ask yourself how you too might bloom wherever you may be and open up in your own time—and thereby be a blessing to others!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
On Sunday, we heard a thought-provoking message by seminarian Alan Potter. He challenged the congregation to consider the difference between how we often think of justice in our society today and how God thinks of justice. A familiar image is that of Lady Justice holding the scales of justice in one hand and a sword in another. The idea is that justice is primarily punitive—that a person who causes suffering should endure the same suffering as he/she caused. On the other hand, God’s idea of justice is that all that is life-giving should be offered to everyone.
The image of Lady Justice and Scripture verse from Amos above ought to bring some discomfort, as the idea of justice in the Bible is primarily about life and not death. It is about grace and not punishment. This idea is not limited to the Christian faith. Gandhi is thought to have said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” The Bible is not primarily about making sure that everyone is properly punished for their sins. It is primarily a book about grace and forgiveness for imperfect people, reconciliation and community among broken relationships, and abundant resources to sustain life for everyone and for all life on our planet.
May our hearts be open to the justice of God as we allow justice to roll like water and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
“So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!”
John 12:13
On Sunday, we celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey as the crowd laid palm fronds on the street before him. The palms were a sign of honor. After we heard the Palm Sunday story from the Gospel of John, I shared with the congregation some thoughts about the importance of honor, especially in times of stress, grief, and even death. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was well aware that he would be arrested and crucified on that trip. And what does he do to prepare himself and those he loves? He throws two dinner parties and participates in a parade in which he is the Grand Marshall!
Jesus knew the importance of mutual honor: of letting himself and his purpose be honored and also to honor those around him. At the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, Jesus attended a dinner in his honor. Mary poured expensive perfume on his feet and lovingly wiped it with her hair. Then Jesus entered Jerusalem as people brought palm fronds and shouted “Hosanna” in his honor. Next Jesus shared a meal with his disciples in which he honored them by acknowledging their experiences and emotions, assuring them of his love and presence (even after his death), and praying with them and for them (that they would be one in community just as Jesus was one with God).
Jesus’ commitment to mutual honor reminds me that we need more of this in our world: honoring those who are different by acknowledging their experiences and emotions, assuring them of our love and being fully present, and praying with and for them. I invite you to consider those in your circle, community and world who are hungry for that kind of honor; then allow yourself to be vulnerable enough to participate in mutual honor as Jesus did in the last days of his life.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
On Sunday, we took a look at Jesus’ promise to the crowd in Matthew 11: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I said that these words must have sounded outrageous at the time, based upon what Jesus had just instructed his disciples to do: proclaim news that could get them crucified, cure those who are sick physically, mentally and spiritually (without medical, psychological or divinity degrees), and raise the dead—and do all of this without any money, supplies or belongings! Jesus told the disciples that many would despise them, beat them, throw them in prison and even try to kill them, saying to them, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.”
In order to understand what Jesus meant when he said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light,” we looked at the context of life in the Roman Empire where the imperial yokes and burdens weighed so heavily on the backs of most people that they squeezed the very life from them. Jesus was offering an alternative way of being, and he called it (according to Matthew) “the Empire of the Heavens.” Imagining such a vision was one thing, but to talk about it publicly (proclaim the good news) and act to bring it about was dangerous and risky!
Some 700 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah also lived during a time of heavy yokes and burdens, and he too imagined a way of being in the world where yokes and burdens were lifted. Like Jesus, Isaiah was also aware of the danger and risks involved, as well as the energy it would take for those who were committed to such a vision. For Isaiah, like Jesus, it was God’s gracious presence and clear calling that kept him going. Therefore, he knew that…
Those who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength!
They shall mount up with
wings like eagles!
They shall run
and not be weary!
They shall walk
and not faint!
May you find such strength, energy and hope as you go about serving God today!
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
On Sunday, I told the congregation about a moment of epiphany that I had over thirty years ago when I was in seminary. I was taking a class on biblical interpretation, and the professor asked us to turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 8. He told us that if we could understand the opening verses of the chapter, we would grasp Paul’s entire letter to the Corinthians. I was puzzled as I read verses about meat being sacrificed to idols and whether or not it should be allowed when followers of Jesus gathered to worship and eat together. As the professor taught us in the class, the chapter was really all about love and Paul’s priority to build a community based on love. We also looked at the role of knowledge in the church and the importance that it be used with love as well.
By the end of the class, it occurred to me that a passage that I had skipped over many times actually had a tremendous message in it—a message that was initially hidden for me but very obvious to the first readers and hearers of Paul’s letter. This lesson caused me to read all of Scripture looking for a message, to read it with historical and linguistic context in mind, and to ask myself what it might have to do with today’s church, community and world. This epiphany also taught me to share with others in the church the messages that are often hidden and always, always, to share them with deepest love, which is the material needed for the building of any community.
May you grow in knowledge this week, and may you grow even more in love—by deeply feeling the love of God and others for you…and you for them.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. —Mark 1:35
Lessons from Kalaupapa
Congregations in Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ are invited to commemorate “Kalaupapa Sunday” each year on the fourth Sunday in January. On Sunday, we remembered and honored all the patients of Kalaupapa. Kalaupapa is the isolated settlement on the stunning north shore of the island of Moloka`i, where patients with Hansen’s Disease (formerly known as leprosy) were sent by the government to live out the remainder of their days without the support of family and friends.
On Sunday, I shared some of the lessons I have learned from the place during my visits there and also from a special book from Kalaupapa that I read in 2020. I also shared an important lesson I have learned from Jesus from the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Jesus was in great demand even at the very beginning of his ministry. People wanted to be healed from spiritual and physical ailments, including leprosy, and were constantly seeking him out. Jesus also knew the importance of his teaching ministry so that the crowds would understand his healing ministry in the wider context of his purpose and mission. These two things kept his schedule more full than I can even imagine. However, Jesus seemed to understand the importance of self-care, spending time alone in prayer, recharging his batteries, and making sure he had the energy to accomplish what God sent him to do.
During these past ten months of the coronavirus pandemic, I too have been learning the importance of self-care and making health a priority—even in those times when there is more demand on my time than I am able to give. I encourage you to take care of yourself so that you can be of greater service to others. Attend to your physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing, so that life will continue to be joyful and full of energy so that you can faithfully serve in what ever way God is calling you to serve.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
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