The Collect for The Fifth Sunday after Easter,
commonly called Rogation Sunday.
The Collect.
O |
LORD, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
V |
ERILY, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the
Father for you: for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:23-33)
Mother’s Day – a special mother
Her father was married to a Japanese lady (Han-Oko) of the area. Koreans were discriminated against in Japan. Saved money. Always saved out of need. Managed to get enough gold to transport family back to Korea if circumstances became too dangerous.
One day, while working in Fukuoko, he saw a blinding flash from the east toward Hiroshima. He had heard rumors of the great devastation a new kind of bomb had made on Hiroshima – killing thousands, and causing great pain and misery to countless others – men, women and little children.
He decided to flee Japan. He acquired passage on a boat for his wife and young daughter to Pusan, Korea.
While in mid-sea on the Sea of Japan, an American fighter plane saw the boat and identified the Japanese flag flying from the mast. The plane shot the vessel in two. All passengers and crew were stranded in the sea. After perhaps thirty minutes, a nearby fishing vessel came by and picked up Saiyoko, her father, and her mother – and proceeded on to Pusan.
Once in Pusan, she was re-united with her father’s family. They were harsh and cruel to her Japanese mother. Her father labored in every conceivable way to provide for his family under pitiable conditions. They had no home, and no rice paddy.
The father would go into the mountains around Taegu and pick up fallen branches from trees and sell them as firewood in the city. Though the family was hungry, he always saved a bit of his earnings to purchase a rice paddy.
He found seashells on the mountain tops around Taegu, and later was impressed to learn from the Bible that there had been a great flood which covered all the mountain tops.
The father was determined that he would grow enough rice so that his family would never grow hungry again.
When the family would visit Saiyoko’s uncle, who had a lot of money compared to others, they would hide the food if they were eating, so that they would not have to share with Saiyoko’s family
By and by, her father saved enough for the purchase of a rice paddy, and built a small adobe dwelling on the land. The floors were made of dirt, but that was ok – at least a roof covered their heads. He continued saving and working. He purchased more and more rice paddies. At harvest, he would share 10% of all his harvest with the poor. Finally, he had acquired a large portion of land.
The US Army purchased the land at a good price and built an Army base and airfield on it – Camp Henry. Saiyoko’s father took that money and purchased twenty two shops in Taegu.
He became very wealthy, by and by. He always helped less fortunate of the family – even the uncle who would not share food with his small family.
After Korea had been liberated from the Japanese occupation, Saiyoko’s father had her name changed to a Korean name. Now you know a lot of history. Saiyoko’s history will cause you to understand her better.
When I was a lad, we were at war with Germany and Japan. Since my father was in the German theater of the war, he came to know the German people well. He told me that the German soldiers were just like us. They were fighting for their homeland. They were not responsible for the evils of their rulers.
But my father did not know the Japanese. He hated them for many years for their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Through my dad’s eyes, I also despised the Japanese people. My dad hated the Japanese because he did not understand them. That hatred spilled over into my young mind as well.
Now, I have come to know the Asian people – Korean, Chinese, Philippine, and Japanese. From the first contact with them, perhaps because I had harbored the wrong notions of them from my child hood, I loved them. I love Asians very much today, as you know.
When the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I thought this was justice. But when I think of it today, I realize this could have killed Saiyoko, the parents of Kajong and Hong Gook, (members of St. Andrews) and many others. And I know now that many precious little children, who had no roll at all with the war, were either killed, or made to suffer radiation poisoning for the rest of their short lives. It is my prayer that no one ever uses such a blindingly destructive force on innocent women and children again.
Knowing people helps us to understand them, and to love them. That is why Christ came to live among us. So that we could know and love Him. That is why I have told you about a little girl named Saiyoko who, today, is my wife.
She has seven children, three naturally and four adopted.
I am grateful to the fisherman who pulled Saiyoko and her parents out of the Sea of Japan 75 years ago. Had they not done so, there would be no Ruth, no Tina, no Michael, no Helene, no Nicolas, no Milan, no Tia, no Owen. And I would not be your minister today.
Happy Mother’s Day, Samonim!
The Sermon Notes –
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Christ must go to be with His Father. We can not ask Him anything during this separation except of the Father in the name of Christ.
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Now, we are entitled to ask for all things in Christ’s name. Why? Because He has paid the price. He has completed the redemption. He has given us a Power of Attorney to execute His work and will by His authority. But the responsibility attending the Power of Attorney is always to act, not in our own interest, but in the interst of Him who grants that Power of Attorney.
That is why we always ask for the things that it is the Lord’s will to grant to us. “Thy will be done…”
These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
With the coming of the Holy Spirit, we are made to understand the parables and proverbs of Jesus through a mysterious working in our hearts.
At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
A very loving comment here by Jesus telling us it is not even necessary for Him to intercede on our behalf always, because the Father has received us as His own Sons and Daughters – a heritage we share with His only Begotten Son. The Father loves us so much, that Christ need not remind Him of that love.
28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. 31 Jesus answered them,
They believe they now understand, but are totally devoid of the great drama about to unfold. They believe that Christ will be lifted up to the Father perhaps as Elijah, in a grand chariot. They cannot conceive that He will be tortured and abused, and murdered, for them. They do not understand the NEED for this. Now we do, indeed, understand that a worthy sacrifice was required to redeem us of our sins.
Do ye now believe? (You believe that you know, but you know nothing as of yet. Look at what follows) 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: (Even the courageous Peter, along with all the other disciples, shall hide and flee from the company of Jesus) and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.(When evil threatens our faith, we, too, are not alone. The Father is always with His own.) 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. (To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Jesus is telling us these things that we may understand when men revile us and despise us for our faith) In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Here is the patience of the saints. Though the cannons roar to right and left of our lines, the Color Bearer (not behind, or hesitant) is out front leading us against the Archenemy of the souls of men.) A good leader will never ask his subordinates to perform a role which He, Himself, has not done, and is not willing to do.
The King Omnipotent has won the Battle aforetime. He has overcome. We must rest in that certainty and proceed from victory to victory under the Ensign of Christ. We have already won despite the world’s perception.
Live thusly!
