P. Salaman Sermon, 4/13/97
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Guest Sermon for April 13, 1997

Patrick Salaman

"The Love of God Unbounding"

Text: Luke 24: 36-48

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Before I say anything else I would like to thank Pastor Anderson, Mary-Ann and each and everyone of you for making "St Peter's" a truely welcoming place for my family and myself. Last month, March 17th completed one year since I left my home in Guyana, South America. I left my eldest son Andrew and his wife in charge of my property. I remember sitting with them the night before I left and giving them detailed instructions as to the things I wanted them to do. Most of us at some time or the other had to leave our homes or even our places of work for a while, so we gave instructions to those we leave behind: feed the dog, pay the bills, take the car for service and so on.

Two thousand years ago our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was leaving his disciples as he was returning to his Father, so he gave them certain instructions - "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" so reports Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and 20. Mark 16:15 reads "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation." We again heard those same instructions being read to us in our Gospel for today, "That repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed in His name to all nations". Yes, our Lord was very clear with His instructions to His disciples.

Those disciples wasted no time in carrying out the wishes of their Master. Acts of the Apostles reports their activities as they enthusiastically carried out their Master's instructions. My brothers and sisters, because of those men the Word of God started to spread like wild fire from Jerusalem to all nations of the world.

Fifteen hundred years after, Martin Luther, a German monk was not very happy with the way things were going with the Roman Catholic church in Germany, so he started the Great Reformation. In October of 1517 he nailed "Ninety-five Theses" of reformation on the door of the Castle church in Wittingburge. Out of such acts of reformation, Lutheranism was born. Two hundred and twenty-six years after Luther posted those Theses, Lodewyk Abbensetts, a Lutheran lay person from Holland, led a group of Dutch Lutheran colonists to establish a Lutheran church in British Guyana, South America.

On October 15, 1743, the Ebenezer Lutheran Church was established on a plantation 85 miles up the Berbice River. However, this was rough terrain and most of the population migrated to the township of New Amsterdam. In an effort to keep the sanctuary accessible to its congregation, the church members physically placed the sanctuary on a raft and floated it down, 85 miles to New Amsterdam. The people could not come to the church so they literally took the church to the people. In 1964, Ebenezer church dedicated its third building replacing that original one. That church continues to bear witness to the people of Berbice to this day. I am sure that Sunday service is going on there even at this time.

The course of history of British Guyana caused it to be a land of six ethnic groups: Amerindians, who are the natives, Europeans, Africans, East Indians, Chinese and Portuguese. Each of these groups took their own cultures and religious beliefs with them. However, Christianity remains the predominant religion practiced today in Guyana, with Hinduism a close second. Muslims make up about 10% of the population. Almost all Guyanese belong to one of these religions. Among the Christian denominations are Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, Full Gospels and Jehovah Witnesses. The population of Guyana is about 750 thousand. The current membership of the Lutheran church is 12,000. It is indeed the most multi-ethnic church in the country. The membership comprises of East Indians, Africans, Chinese, Portuguese, Amerindians and mixed races. There are congregations stretching along the length of the country's Atlantic coastline, where most of the population reside. Thirteen parishes with forty-nine congregations are served by only eleven ordained ministers. These are all local ministers who were trained overseas.

The Lutheran church in Guyana is now an independent body with participation in the Lutheran World Federations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Caribbean Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. It is headed by an elected president. The role of the church as provider of spiritual care for its membership and for the community at large is being accomplished in a number of ways: The youth ministry continues to be a vibrant core of church life and fellowship. Luther Leagues, a network of Lutheran youth organizations, organizes annual youth camps, which bring together youths from congregations across the country and even from North America for the benefits of individual growth and fellowship. The individual parishes are organized into committees which provide stewardship to the church and community at large. These are the Education and Outreach committee, Stewardship and Finance committee, Property committee, Hospitality committee and the Social Mission committee.

At my home church in Guyana, the Redeemer Lutheran church, I was advisor to the Luther League which has a membership of 25 youths. In a recent phone call I was told that the number has increased since I left. We met weekly and thoroughly enjoyed our activities, such as Bible studies, liturgy sessions, singspiration, educational talks by resource persons, indoor and outdoor games. Ever so often we staged plays and concerts. Our sessions always started with devotions and ended with benedictions which were done exclusively by the youths. Sunday school has an average weekly attendance of 85 - teachers are drawn from the very Luther League.

I was also an active member of the Social Mission committee. Activities of this committee include provision of a weekly, hot meal for about 35 needy children of the community. Grace before meals are always said and Sunday school songs are sang as part of this activity. There is the monthly Elders Fellowship where council members take turns in providing a fellowship meal for about 40 elder members of the community. Devotions are also done at these sessions. At Christmas time two parties are held, one for about 80 needy children and one for about 80 older folks. Gifts are distributed at these Christmas luncheons. In the midst of poverty, God's grace ensures the success of these activities. The Liturgy is very much the same as ours at St. Peters. One of the highlights of the Lenten season is Good Friday 3 hour service, starting noon and ending at 3:00 pm, where sermons on the Seven Words from the Cross are preached mainly by lay preachers. Attendance is usually great for this service, since in Guyana, Good Friday is a National Holiday. Last year on Good Friday I attended my first Good Friday service on the "Seven Words from the Cross", at the Holy Cross Church. I was surprised to see that the church was not full, then it dawned upon me that Good Friday is not a public holiday here and people had to go to work. Last year's Easter attendance at Redeemer Lutheran church was 263. The sanctuary is about the same size as this, so you can imagine that was a very packed service. Rev. Orin Cummings, the Pastor at Redeemer is doing a wonderful job, he is a product of the Redeemer Sunday School and trained at the United Theological College of the West Indies. Another past Sunday school member is now Dr. Winston Persaud Professor of Systematic Theology at the Luther Seminary, Iowa. He is a Graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary.

My brothers and sisters, Sunday March 17th, 1996 was a very emotional day for me as I left my congregation. Tears blinded my eyes as I walked slowly back to my pew after sharing with them in the Lord's supper, for the last time, not knowing when we would meet again. Then alas! Sunday March 24th I was here at St. Peters and there were no more tears. With open arms you accepted me as a citizen among the children of God. I am no longer an alien, although my passport says so. I will never ever forget the picture of Pat Johnston standing at the door where I reside, after that service as she presented the altar flowers to me and thanked me for coming. I wrote letters to all my friends back home telling them of this touching welcome. In one reply a church member wrote "the lady at your door with the altar flowers assures us that you are among people who love you as much as we do." The love of God is truly unbounding. As Pastor Anderson so inspiringly read this morning in the second lesson from 1st John "see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are."

My brothers and sisters let each and everyone of us continue the works started by those apostles. We sometimes sing lustfully , "I love to tell the story of Jesus and His Glory." Let us do what we love to do; let us tell of the love of Jesus to our neighbors, our friends, our families; in the car pools, at lunch breaks, in school, and wherever we are, let our light shine before others so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in Heaven. The peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.

Amen."


Copyright © 1997 Patrick Salaman. All Rights Reserved.
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