Ephesians 4:1-16
Challenge to Rev. Katie Choy-Wong on her Installation at New Life Christian Fellowship
September 21, 2002
Major league pitchers like Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling or Barry Zito all stand 6 feet and taller. Their height gives them that trajectory advantage of throwing strikes over the plate. Super Bowl quarterback of the New England Patriots, Tom Brady is over 6 feet so that he can see over the rushing line to spot his receivers. Height is important and necessary to succeed in professional sports. And let us not forget Yao, the new player from China on the Houston Rockets who stands over 7 feet!
Studies of America’s corporate world have often revealed that most CEOs are usually taller than shorter. Their height had nothing to do with how low they might go to make a lot of money for themselves. Just look at Jack Welch of GE. Our world frequently awards and recognizes those who stand in fuller stature than those of us who are smaller in size. To literally “stand above the crowds” means that you get noticed before anyone else.
In Ephesians 4, Paul speaks about Christ who is above everyone and everything. Christ ascended on high and made captivity itself a captive. He stood higher than any NBA players, higher than any corporate CEOs, higher than all worldly leaders. In fact, Christ’s high stature didn’t give him permission to steal from the company’s coffers but instead he gave gifts to his people. He made sure that everyone had something of worth.
Christ ascended on high not to stay up there in his 50th floor mahogany corporate office, but he descended into the lower parts of the earth so that he might fill all things. He brought gifts to everybody.
Little Katie
I have known Katie for the past 27 years. And in these 27 years, she hasn’t grown one more inch! But God continues to give gifts to Katie so that she has the knowledge of the Son of God; maturing in the faith; and measuring to the full stature of Christ.
The world might think that Katie is too short. But Christ has given her the gift of writing so that she can analyze social issues when she wrote for a newspaper, so that she can teach people how to pray and build community across cultures in the books that she wrote.
The world might think that Katie is too short. But Christ has given her the gift of teaching so that children, youth, and adults can grow in their faith and not be like those, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine.
The world might think that Katie is too short. But Christ has given her the gift of advocacy as she serves in the Asian Caucus and denominationally so that people’s trickery, their craftiness in deceitful scheming can be exposed and justice prevails.
The world might think that Katie is too short. But Christ has given her a heart of a pastor who speaks the truth in love so that she and Nelson can help you, the New Life Christian Fellowship, grow up in every way with Jesus Christ as your head.
My Challenge
There’s truth when we say, “Great things come in little packages.” Katie, don’t let the world tell you how tall you need to be. Christ who ascended to be with his Father, first descended into the lower parts of the world to be with you and with all of us. Christ was so low that he touched your life and blessed you with many great gifts for ministry. Christ became short so that he can be like you.
My challenge to you is to work with the many gifted apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers who are here at New Life and for you to equip others to become saints for the work of ministry.
My challenge to you is to join Nelson as your brother and you as his sister in unity of faith so that during those times when one of you may come up short, the other would be able to build up.
My challenge to you and the community of disciples at New Life Christian Fellowship is that with Christ, you would be knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Full Stature
The world is relentlessly telling us that we need to measure up; that more is better; that more power is better; that taller is better. They tell us that we can’t be happy with ourselves until we acquire more. But God tells us that to come to the measure of the full stature of Christ is to recognize that “each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” (4:7)
Katie, you are in “full stature of Christ” because God has blessed you with his gifts. The world may still see you as being too short, but God has called you
“to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another
in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace.” (4:1-3)
Let us pray.
God of grace and glory, bless your servant, Katie Choy-Wong as she accepts the challenge of serving as the co-pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship with Nelson Hayashida as her colleague and with the saints of this church to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in Castro Valley and in the world. Strengthen her and enable her to be your faithful disciple. We pray in the name of our Lord. Amen.