Someone highlighted to me that I am the special guest speaker for today as posted in the church announcement, that certainly adds to the pressure of me speaking up here, since it was 2 years ago that I was up here rushing through my sermon like a choo choo train. Hopefully today, I will speak slowly for my sermon to come across .
           
First, let me start of by sharing with you this story called the rabbi’s gift, some of you might have heard of it before. There was a monastery that had fallen upon hard times. It was once a great order, but because of persecution, all its branch houses were lost and there were only five monks left in the decaying house: the abbot and four others, all over seventy in age. Clearly it was a dying order.

In the deep woods surrounding the monastery there was a little hut that a rabbi occasionally used for a hermitage. The old monks could always sense when the rabbi was in his hermitage. "The rabbi is in the woods, the rabbi is in the woods" they would whisper. It occurred to the abbot that a visit to the rabbi might result in some advice to save his monastery.

The rabbi welcomed the abbot to his hut. But when the abbot explained his visit, the rabbi could say, "I know how it is" . "The spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore." So the old abbot and the old rabbi wept together. Then they read parts of the Torah and spoke of deep things. When the abbot had to leave, they embraced each other. "It has been wonderful that we should meet after all these years," the abbot said, "but I have failed in my purpose for coming here. Is there nothing you can tell me that would help me save my dying order?" "No, I am sorry," the rabbi responded. "I have no advice to give. But, I can tell you that the Messiah is one of you."

When the abbot returned to the monastery his fellow monks gathered around him to ask, "Well what did the rabbi say?" “The rabbi said something very mysterious, it was something cryptic. He said that the Messiah is one of us. I don't know what he meant?" In the time that followed, the old monks wondered what is the significance to the rabbi's words. The Messiah is one of us? Could he possibly have meant one of us monks? If so, which one?

Do you suppose he meant the abbot? Yes, if he meant anyone, he probably meant Father Abbot. He has been our leader for more than a generation. On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas. Certainly Brother Thomas is a holy man. Everyone knows that Thomas is a man of light. Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred! Elred gets grumpy at times. But come to think of it, even though he is a thorn in people's sides, when you look back on it, Elred is virtually always right. Often very right. Maybe the rabbi did mean Brother Elred. But surely not Brother Phillip. Phillip is so passive, a real nobody. But then, almost mysteriously, he has a gift for always being there when you need him. He just magically appears. Maybe Phillip is the Messiah.
Of course the rabbi didn't mean me. He couldn't possibly have meant me. I'm just an ordinary person. Yet supposing he did? Suppose I am the Messiah? O God, not me. I couldn't be that much for You, could I?  As they contemplated, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the chance that one among them might be the Messiah. And they began to treat themselves with extraordinary respect. People still occasionally came to visit the monastery in its beautiful forest to picnic on its lawn, to wander along its paths, even to meditate in the chapel. As they did so, they sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that began to surround the five old monks and seemed to radiate out from them and permeate the atmosphere of the place. There was something strangely compelling, about it. Hardly knowing why, they began to come back to the monastery to picnic, to play, to pray. They brought their friends to this special place. And their friends brought their friends.

Then some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery started to talk more with the monks. After a while one asked if he could join them. Then another, and another. So within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order and, thanks to the rabbi's gift, a vibrant center of light and spirituality in the realm.
 
So what’s the moral of this story? Look around us, if we were told that the messiah is one of us, would we behave any differently?  As the song goes, what if God was one of us, who will he or she be? Don’t worry, I will not be quoting any names in my sermon.  Perhaps it may not be too difficult to imagine that, after all, we are in a church, so it’ll not be too far fetched to imagine god being one of us here. But what if god is the worker outside paving the road, or the uncle sitting in the coffeeshop sipping his kopi-o, or the auntie selling tissue paper?  Would we immediately dismiss the idea, for god cannot be any of them.. god is not suppose to be like that.

Why this story resonates with me so much is because I firmly believe that there is God in all of us. Regardless of our shapes and size, regardless of our sex and sexuality, regardless of how much money we have in our bank accounts, or how many degrees we have accumulated, or how old we are, we are all created in god’s image.  So knowing that, how do we go about seeing the god in you and me, and how do we respond to it?
 
How do we see God in a stranger, or someone who we have nothing in common with? What do the gay men in church see, when they look at a lesbian women? A person of the opposite sex, interested in women, whom the gay man has totally no interest in, and they stop there.  Many gay men have come up to me to say they do not know how to talk to a lesbian?  What do the lesbians think about, and what do they talk about. The same probably holds true for some lesbian women too, when it comes to talking to gay man. The gay men are probably too bitchy for them. What does a heterosexual see in a homosexual, if sexuality is the issue that looms so big in their face and they cannot see beyond it?

What’s the common ground that connects these seemingly diverse groups of people?  Other than the fact that we are all humans, there seems to be little else.  But it should be enough, and if we see humanity in each other, will it be so difficult for us to see divinity in this humanity? God created me short, a female, Chinese, with a grumpy demeanour, and critical of a lot of things. I don’t see that many people like me in here.  However, if you approach me, you’ll find that I have a reasonable amount of knowledge to hold a conversation, a sense of humour, and an interest in anything japanese.  So that’s a start, anyone here who shares any of those will have something in common with me.
Then what’s next? Once we find the common ground, we should open up and share something about ourselves. Something real and personal, that’s when connections are made. I am not saying go out and share with everyone what you had for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or every thought that crosses  your mind, but share a little bit of yourself that allows another person to get to know you that bit more, the real you. It can be uncomfortable, especially for people who are shy and private.  And there are many shy people in church, and we all have the fear of being rejected.  But as the saying goes, practise makes perfect.  And I hope FCC provides a safe and comfortable place for us to make the first step.

How about seeing god in people whom we don’t get along with? How are we suppose to see god, in the colleague that always backstabs you, how are we suppose to see god, in that project mate that does nothing and yet gets all the credit, how are we suppose to see god, in those inconsiderate people who refuses to move to the back of the buses during rush hour?  It is not easy, and sometimes we refuse to try.  It’s just simpler to get angry and frustrated at them, rather than spend the effort of trying to see god in them.  Anyway, why should we?

The answer is because if we are not able to see God in them, then we cannot learn to love them. And why should we love them? In Matthew 22:36-40  "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." But who is my neighbour, surely not those people that irritate and makes life difficult for me.   Then let us go to Matthew 5:43-48 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

But is there something positive that we will get out of loving our enemies.
You’ll be happier. If you have anger or resentment inside of you, there will be times when it surfaces even if you don’t think about it all the time. And that anger and resentment makes you unhappy. It’s destructive by eating you up inside and affects others around you, such as your loved ones.  Often time you lash out at people closest to you— even if the anger isn’t directed at them. Removing this anger from yourself is a positive thing, and it will make you happier overall.
It’s better for the community. One little relationship might not seem to make a difference to community as a whole — who cares if I don’t get along with another person? It creates division and fractures the community. And the opposite is true — if we can overcome that our differences, and learn to love our neighbour and our enemy, community is better off  in so many ways.
You are the living testimony for god. We were just talking about this in cell.  How do we tell others about what god has done for us in our lives. No doubt it is important to vocalise it, but it is our actions and reactions that people see. We can set an example for the people around us. Being able to overcome that anger and hate, to make up with an enemy, and to love … there is no better testimony in life.

So what happens when we view god in us?  It makes me think that there is a vast potential for good in each and everyone of us here.  And it begs us to ask the question, what is god’s purpose for us to be here?  Does god want us to be happy?  Yes, most likely god does.  But what if we are unhappy, are we then not fulfilling his purpose for us on earth?  Does god want us to be successful? Yes, probably. But then again, what does being successful in the eyes of god mean?  Does that mean that we should have a good job, loads of money, nice house, a partner by our side… but from experience, we know that success as defined as these do not necessary make us happy.  We all have tried, thinking that the next job, or the next partner, or the next 100k would be the thing that makes us satisfied with life, and yet we know that it is often not the case.  Rather, after we have achieved or gotten something, we easily cast aside what we have and set our eyes on something else.

How are we suppose to live our lives if we have yet to find god’s purpose for us?  To me, the answer lies in being responsible to life.
“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”
Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Our purpose is our own; do we meekly submit and let life, let those around us, decide where we are headed? Or do we stand tall and hold true to our innermost desires; to live a life of virtue and fulfilment – a life of responsibility? We are to be responsible for our own lives, not our parents, not the society, but ourselves, and ourselves only.

As children of God, made in the image of God, we also inherit God’s purpose.  One of which, is to reach out, to connect and to belong. This is what attracts me to the Christian faith, the image of god reaching down to me from above. Each of us was designed to belong to something larger than our own lives.  If we are designed to belong; then our connection with each other is our breath of life, and isolation is our death.  Have you heard of anyone that died of loneliness lately, perhaps not. But people die of drugs, violence, and depression, the root cause of which is the loneliness and alienation experienced by them.  People are dying of loneliness everyday. And loneliness is a matter close to the community, as studies have shown that the suicide rate among the glbt community is higher than usual. And loneliness was one of the retreat topic this year as loneliness is a topic that keeps on recurring in our lives.

If we can find our purpose of belonging, whether we are here worshipping god, or at the women’s center having lunch with the prostitutes, or burning the midnight oil preparing the sermon, we will never be alone.  Jesus gave up his life to save you, and he gave up his life to save me.  Your life is worth as much as mine, no one’s life is worth more or less in god’s eyes. We belong to god, and because of that, we belong to each other. Whether is it the prostitutes, the kopi uncles, the cleaners, the young and the old, we all belong to each other. And I pray that FCC can be the church that gives room for each individual to belong.
So today as we embrace the god in you and me, let us continue seeking as an individual and a community, the unique journey that god wants each of us to take.