Stories of Grace

In John 5:17, Jesus tells us that “My Father is always at his work, to this very day…” In Philippians 2:13, the Apostle Paul reminds us that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” In our "Stories of Grace" feature, members are invited to share a particular instance of how God has been at work in their lives.

This month, our contributor is Grace Brown.

As a person who grew up in Taiwan, I was entrenched with the belief that you have to work quite hard to win the love and respect of others. For a very long time, in the bottom of my heart, I felt that there was no such thing as unconditional love. Even after I became a Christian, trying to resist the values of the world was not, and is not, easy. This world adores the strong, the smart, the kind, the beautiful, the clever, and the powerful. Even though I have devoted myself to serving the Lord, many times I have also fallen into the trap of trying to earn or work my way to the top. Of taking, rather than giving. Of refusing to accept or admit my weakness.  

But one time, I happened to read a poem by George Herbert, a 17th century Welsh priest in the Church of England. The poem was the third in a series simply called, “Love.” I read it aloud, and it captured my heart:

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
	Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
	From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
	If I lacked anything.

“A guest," I answered, “worthy to be here”:
	Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
	I cannot look on thee.”
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
	“Who made the eyes but I?”

“Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame
	Go where it doth deserve.”
“And know you not," says Love, “who bore the blame?”
	“My dear, then I will serve.”
“You must sit down," says Love, “and taste my meat.”
	So I did sit and eat.

I was deeply touched by the line, “‘I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear, I cannot look on thee.’ Love took my hand, and smiling did reply, ‘Who made the eyes but I?’“

I can work my way to becoming a diligent, hard-working person. Maybe I can also work my way to becoming a polite person. However, I cannot work my way to becoming a kind person. Kindness flows from the heart, and I know there is no kindness in my heart.

When I encounter the Lord, I often focus on my shortcomings, my flaws, and my sins. I never have a problem admitting that I am a sinner, but I often have a problem believing that the Lord loves me and cares for my well-being. What kind of experience is this? I feel desperate that I cannot change myself to become even a slightly kind and grateful person. So I do not want to look at the Lord ever again.

Yet, Herbert’s poem says, beautifully and most gently, “Who made the eyes but I?” I realize his point that returning to the Lord never lies in my kindness and gratefulness. I will never have enough. It will never be enough. I can only throw myself at the feet of the Lord and depend upon his mercy and love. Yes, the eyes have been marred, but, by that same pair of the eyes, I can look upon the Lord. As a Christian, looking upon the Lord is the essential activity of my life.

But Herbert reminds me that there is also a passive dimension to the Christian life. “You must sit down and taste my meat.” I had never understood that the starting point of Christian spirituality is not working, standing, making something, or even serving. Rather, it is sitting down and receiving, like a newborn baby receives his mother’s tender care, or a girl receives her lover’s passionate embrace. I, too, must sit down and taste my Lord’s meat, accept His love. This is where I start my Christian journey.

Upcoming Events

Happy Easter! Open up your calendars and make sure you have these important dates and events in them...

• Commissioning of Michelle Ko – March 25th. We are commissioning Michelle Ko as our missionary to Africa. This is her second term of service. Following the worship service on the 25th, you may greet Michelle and receive her prayer card regarding her return to Africa as a missionary. You may also give her a special financial offering, and join her for lunch at the church apartment at 1:15 pm. Bring your own lunch. Drinks will be provided. If you need a receipt for your gift, please place your gift in a church giving envelope with your e-mail and phone number.

• Celebrating Judy Chang’s Return – March 25th. We will be having cake downstairs today in the fellowship hall immediately after the service to celebrate the return to health of former elder Bill Chang’s daughter Judy Chang. Come and join us.

• G2C (student ministry group) Picnic – March 25th. Bring your lunch and join us! Meet in the fellowship hall at 1:00pm.  

• Monthly Prayer Group – March 27th, 7:30-9:15pm. Come join us at “The Engine Room,” FPC’s monthly prayer group, for an evening of kingdom-centered prayer. We gather at the church apartment at 7:30pm and go into prayer from 8:00 to 9:15. All are welcome. Contact Peter Brown for the address (pb2059@gmail.com).

• Easter Announcements:

Good Friday Tenebrae Service – Friday, March 30th, 7:30-8:30pm. The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story. The tone is meant to be somber because the occasion is somber. It is a service that lets the accent fall on the darkness of the crucifixion of Christ. The music will be led by Alan Fiol and our orchestra, and includes readings from the crucifixion story, the lighting and the extinguishing of candles, and the return of the Christ candle at the end looking forward to his resurrection. It will include cross nailing and the Lord’s Supper.

Easter Sunday Service – Sunday, April 1st. The children will be presenting on this day during the worship service.

• G2C (student ministry group) Retreat, April 4th-6th. We will be holding our first-ever retreat in Wulai. Spots are limited, so sign up quickly. You can either LINE-message “uscby,” or use this QR code.

• Offering Tax Receipts. The 2017 tax offering receipts are at the office. If you would like to receive your receipt, please visit Anna. The receipts will be held through the month of April, but will no longer be available after that. Make sure you pick yours up.

• Baptism Class – April 8th, 1:30–2:30pm. There will be a Sunday School class for adults on the topic of baptism. The class will be held in room 801 of the building at 261 Roosevelt Road. All are welcome.

• Fit Kids Club Outreach – April 21st, 9:00am – 2:00pm.  Our next Fit Kids event will be at the Ban Qiao 435 Art Zone. On April 21st, Jackie Zuiderhof and her team will be leading us in lots of fun, games, and art activities! Details of how to get there and the scheduled plan of activities will be handed out during Sunday school closer to the time. Fit Kids is an outreach ministry, so take this opportunity to invite along some friends. 

• Church Membership Class – April 28th & 29th.  Get it on your calendar. Details to follow.

Pastoral Reflections

by Pastor Dennis Brown

So much has happened in these last weeks that it is hard to know where to start, but let me try.

Peter Kim's election as next Pastor.  I cannot fully express my gratitude to the search team and to Alan Fiol who led us with such professionalism, and then to Peter and Polly Kim who agreed to have Peter succeed me in September. It was a long, arduous process, but I do believe that of all the candidates we looked at, Peter was the most qualified. He fits us from both a theological and a missional perspective. I will be working with him in these months to do all I can to prep him so that he can build on what we have built together and take it to an even better place.

Embers to a Flame Conference with Dr. Harry Reeder.  What a rich experience to have Dr. Harry Reeder with us last week in the pulpit. Even better was the opportunity that the leaders had to attend the Embers to a Flame Conference at Christ's College last week. I do believe it will serve the church for years to come as it was a primer, a reminder of what things are most important for church health. Along with Peter Kim, the elders, and the deacons, we hope to debrief and apply all we can to the life and health of the church.

Good Friday and Easter.  Do join us on Good Friday, March 30th, from 7:30 to 8:30pm in the fourth floor chapel for our annual Tenebrae Good Friday Service. We attempt to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story. The tone is meant to be somber because the occasion is somber. It is a service that lets the accent fall on the darkness of the crucifixion of Christ. There will be music performed by our orchestra led by Alan Fiol, as well as readings from the crucifixion story, the lighting and extinguishing of the candles, a cross nailing, the Lord’s Supper, and the return of the Christ candle at the end looking forward to the resurrection.

Then, on Easter morning, along with the children’s choir, we hope to have a testimony and an Easter message from the end of Romans 8 that describes how Christians are actually “huper-nike”—Greek for “super conquerors”—through our resurrected Lord.

Michelle Ko Commissioning.  This Sunday, March 25th, we will commission Michelle Ko to her next assignment with Serving In Mission (SIM) in Africa. She is joining a team in Tanzania that seeks to strengthen local churches. She will also do children’s evangelism. What we know about Michelle is wherever she goes, she will be a blessing and is undaunted by anything. In her last tour, she built an AIDS orphanage for children.

After the service, you are invited to pick up her prayer card, and to give her a special gift of love. We support her out of our mission budget, but believe additional gifts are also appropriate. Pray that all of her support is reached. She is far from her goal and still needs to raise over 50% of her support. You are also invited to come to the church apartment afterward to visit with her personally. Bring your own lunch. Drinks will be provided. This starts at 1:15pm. If you don’t know your way, meet at the church main doors at 1:00 and someone will be there to walk with you.

Welcoming Back Judy Chang.  Bill Chang is one of our longest-serving members and a former elder. He always exhibits joy and good cheer whenever you meet him even though his family has often faced serious medical issues. He is also an amazing example of fatherhood, and you can see him each Sunday with his daughter, Judy, who was born with many physical challenges. Those challenges have been particularly acute in recent months. In reality, we could have lost Judy, but because of the Lord and great medical care, she is on the mend, and will be joining us this Sunday. Bill wanted to bring a cake for our post-service fellowship time so we could celebrate her return. Do greet and welcome both Bill and Judy this Sunday.