Sermon – May 18, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Observance of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Today we observe Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. A number of recent events have reminded me of how the Episcopal Church reflects the Kingdom of God, which Jesus tells us today has many, many rooms. This week, my Facebook feed was filled with photos of seminary graduation, including the graduation of Jae Chung. Jae was one year behind me in seminary and arrived at General with his wife and children. They had immigrated to the United States from Korea. Jae is already ordained as a transitional Deacon.
And Saturday was the consecration of Allen Shin as Suffragen Bishop of the Diocese of New York. He was born in South Korea and grew up in Washington DC. He had served some Korean Episcopalian churches, as well as headed the Asian-American ministry for The Episcopal Church.
In preparing this sermon, I found a number of Korean Episcopal churches in the United States. Yes, we truly can see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God and the joy and delight of the diversity of the human race, just like the joy and delight of a beautiful garden.
Today I’d like to talk to you about a special Anglican, Florence Li Tim-Oi, who was Chinese. She was the first woman ordained in the Anglican Communion in 1944! Yes, 1944. Florence was born in Hong Kong in 1907. Her name, Florence, was taken when as a student she was baptized. She chose it after Florence Nightingale. Li Tim-Oi means beloved daughter. Florence studied at theological College in Canton. She served as a lay person on the islands of Kowloon and Macao. In 1941, she was ordained a deaconess.
Soon after her ordination, Japan occupied Hong Kong and priests could not travel to the nearby island of Macao to celebrate the Eucharist. She came to the attention of the Bishop of Hong Kong, who decided “God’s work would reap better results if she had the proper title” of priest.
On January 25, 1944, the Feast of the conversion of St. Paul, Florence was ordained a priest. As World War II ended, her ordination created great controversy in the Anglican Communion. She personally decided not to exercise her priesthood until it could be acknowledged by the wider Anglican Communion. She continued to work and was even a Rector of a parish and the Bishop ordered that she still be called a priest.
In 1949, as the Communists came to power in China, Florence studied to learn more about the various cultural changes happening in China. She worked at the Cathedral in Beijing. However, from 1958 until 1974, all of the churches were closed. During this time known as the Cultural Revolution, Florence was suspect and faced great difficulty. She was forced to work on a farm and in a factory at very difficult labor. She was accused of counter-revolutionary activity and underwent political re-education. She was allowed to retire from the factory in 1974, at the age of 67 and two years later, the churches were reopened and she was able to continue her public ministry. In 1981, she visited family in Canada. Finally she was able to be licensed as a priest, first in the Diocese of Montreal and eventually in Toronto. She settled in Toronto for the remainder of her life, dying in 1992. Her feast day is January 24, each year, the eve of her ordination.
In I Peter read today, we hear:
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5
The life of Florence Li Tim-Oi certainly embodies these verses. She came to Christ, a living stone. She was rejected by mortals, not only because of her gender, but also because she was a Christian during a time when Christianity was not allowed in China. Yet, she continued in her faith. She was not deterred from her work or from God’s calling. She let herself be built into a spiritual house…into a holy priesthood
And so are we called as St. John’s Church in Corbin, KY. We are called to be the living stones for God’s work here. Yes, we may be rejected by others. Maybe being a liturgical church isn’t popular in this place.
Our understanding of the scriptures isn’t popular. According to our Catechism found on page 853 in the Book of Common Prayer, We understand the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible. We understand the meaning of the Bible by the “help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Scriptures.” We have consecrated a number of openly gay and lesbian priests to be Bishops. We have consecrated a woman to be our Presiding Bishop. We have a liturgy for the blessing of same gender relationships.
Yet, despite the rejection we face, we, the parish of St. John’s Episcopal Church, are chosen and truly precious in God’s sight. God is building us…building St. John’s into a spiritual house. We are being molded by God into a Holy Priesthood.
May we, like Florence Li Tim-Oi, remain steadfast, even in the face of rejection, so that the Will of God may be done… right here and right now.
Amen