November 23, 2000
Sermon preached by the Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church, San Francisco for the Chinese Christian Union Thanksgiving Day Worship.
Since November 7, over two weeks ago, our country has been mesmerized by the indecision of this year’s Presidential Decision. Campaign 2000 has turned into the Post Campaign 2000 with supporters on both sides of the political spectrum still campaigning for their favorite candidate. When will all of this end, we say?
Now the decision is up to the hand counting and most likely heading back to the courts to decide. It’s been said that whoever eventually ends up in the White House will have a difficult time to govern because of the lack of an overwhelming mandate from the people as well as the controversy that led to making the final choice for the 43rd president of the United States. I don’t understand why either one of the candidates want this job knowing what has happened.
But whatever happens between now and inauguration day, we will eventually have a new president and vice president for the next four years. They and the rest of the Congress will need our prayers. Statistical analysts have said that they have not seen a race this close in American history since 1876. We the American people are divided 50/50. Maybe we all need more prayers than ever before.
Conflict in the Land
Paul writing to Timothy found himself instructing a church that was experiencing internal conflict. They were divided. The church has deviated from the apostolic teachings. There was heresy on theology and arguments over behavior standards among the people. Some of these false teachings were causing disorder and disharmony in the church. So Paul instructed them on how to bring some stability and order into their lives.
Instead of heroic activism, Paul in this pastoral epistle exhorts a quiet atmosphere where duties and order are well defined and maintained. Christian virtue according to Paul is to be found in ordinary responsibilities that place people in certain roles and in certain places.
We sense that need today. Governor Bush is not sure whether he should start bringing his transition team together to lead the nation. Vice President Gore is uncertain whether he will be moving into the White House or returning to Tennessee. There’s a bit of disorder and uneasiness in our country. We can’t seem to place people in their proper places in order for us to move on.
In the Christian tradition when the church or the world languishes because we have lost sight of that which is of prime importance, we pray. Some of us believe that the Democrats will do more to help Americans through federal interventions.
Others believe that the Republicans with their faith in state rights will grant more say to people. When there is this much conflict, the church says it is time to pray.
Paul puts it this way,
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.”
Before we do anything, we are called to engage in the priestly ministry of prayer. Paul asserts that we must pray for all people regardless of what political persuasions they have. And we are to pray especially for those in leadership positions, kings and presidents in high positions. Unless we are filled with God’s spirit and with the knowledge of his will that can be discerned from prayer, we will not realize either our mission for the church or the direction for our country.
One God for All People
When the new president takes office, the prognosis is that he will have a hard time passing legislation. There are 50 Republican senators and 50 Democratic senators. He will only have 8 months to get things done. There would be so much partisan and dividing interest groups that the next four years may end up in a stalemate. “He’s the No-Hand Count president or he’s the Steal the Vote president.” Only half the American people will pledge their support to whoever occupies the White House. Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for him!
While we might be divided in who should be president, have no doubts in your hearts who God is. This God is the God of all people.
Paul writes that our prayers are made to a God “who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This means that we should pray without anger or argument, not against our enemies or for our own victories. Our God is not to be called upon to intercede in our petty disagreements. This is the God for all people.
Not only does God want everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth in Christ, God is the one God for all. There are no competing gods out there. We can’t say that the god of Jesus Christ is on our side, to whom we might appeal to be biased on our behalf, who might even damage our enemies. There is not a god of Bush and another god of Gore. There is only one God, whose basic character is to be savior. Thus, God wants to save every single human being. You and your enemies are no different in that regard. Jesus died for everyone.
To have God who supersedes all political rivalries and desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, we are thankful!
Desire for the Quiet Life
You might be saying to yourself, “Oh Pastor, what a wonderful message you are delivering today on Thanksgiving Day that God doesn’t discriminate between Democrats and Republicans. And that Paul wants us to pray for our politicians.” Well, I’m saying that but I also have a problem with this passage in 1Timothy 2.
Listen to verse 2 again,
We are to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.”
I have no problem praying for kings and presidents and leaders in high positions because they certainly need it. But I do have a problem that we pray for the kings so that our life may be quiet and peaceable filled with godliness and dignity. The vision of the Christian life in this pastoral epistle is a gentle and moderate one.
This church found itself in a time when political powers persecuted Christians. We see this quiet, submissive, and moderate character of the church in the other pastoral epistles namely Colossians and Ephesians as well. To be quiet, submissive, and moderate in Christian character is a strategy to survive religious persecution. To have kings and leaders in high positions that were more inclined to permit Christianity to exist was on the foremost thinking of Paul and the early church.
But today, we are not living in a society that prevents us to practice our faith in Jesus Christ. Rather, we live in a world where the president of the United States sponsors Prayer Breakfasts in the White House. Instead of praying for kings and leaders in high positions not to persecute Christians, we find ourselves praying with kings and leaders to aid in our mutual causes.
We all desire a quiet and peaceable life. No one wants chaos and turmoil in their lives. But if our quiet lives only lead to isolationism and protectionism then we deny God’s desire to include everyone into his family.
If our quiet lives only lead to complacency then we deny God’s desire for peace and righteousness in all the world.
If our quiet lives only lead to knowing Jesus Christ as our own personal savior then we deny God’s desire for everyone to be saved.
If our quiet lives only lead to our own feelings of gratefulness on how God has blessed us with abundance then we have deny God’s expectation for us to actively give to others.
We pray for our kings and leaders in high positions not so that they won’t persecute us but that we actively hold them accountable for their decisions and actions to allow God’s kingdom to happen.
Thanks-Feeling
We call our national day of gratitude, “Thanksgiving.” Unfortunately, we have transformed thanksgiving into thanks-feeling. We think that if we feel grateful in our hearts, we have done all that is necessary. This is not so.
We need to transform our “quiet and peaceable lifestyles” that provides us with warm and fuzzy feelings of gratefulness into the true meaning of thanks-giving. Returning thanks must be expressed through giving.
When we have received loving care because we have gone through great difficulties of life, our feelings of thankfulness overwhelms us and we must give of ourselves so that others may be thankful too.
When we realized how truly blessed we are living in the United States, our feelings of thankfulness challenges us to actively help new immigrants in Chinatown to learn English so that they too can experience this gratitude of citizenship.
When we see how some have taken a stand for human rights for others, for adequate health care and services for simple living, our feelings of appreciation and respect grow and we want to give thanks for God’s providence.
When we pray for our president and every legislator in Congress to pass laws that will better distribute our nation’s resources so that no child will ever go to bed hungry, our Christian lifestyle won’t be quiet and peaceable.
And when we believe that “Christ Jesus, himself human, gave himself a ransom for all,” so that everyone believes in Christ as their Lord and Savior, our Thanks-Feelings may be transformed to a Thanks-Giving.
Because Jesus gave, we must actively give of ourselves to the work of the kingdom.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, we pray for the leadership, the integrity, and the honesty in our elected officials. May they serve the people of this land with the commitment to justice and peace. Lord, we pray also for your leading in our lives–to move us from feelings of thankfulness to actively giving to others because we are overwhelmed by your love for us. For your Son, Jesus Christ, we are grateful. Amen.