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Grace,
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mercy and peace to you in the
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name of our Lord and Savior,
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Jesus Christ. Amen.
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The Bible verse for our
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reflection today is from Psalms
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hundred, verse five.
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For the Lord is good and his
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love endures forever.
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His faithfulness continues
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through all generations.
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In the mid 1980s was I remember
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traveling from my city of
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Mumbai where I lived,
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where I was born and brought up
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to the southern part of India,
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Trivandrum,
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where my parents came from.
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In many ways,
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I myself was a 1.5 2nd
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generation person myself because
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I lived in a culture,
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in a place which was completely
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different from the south Indian
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person and family that I was a
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part of. And as it turned out,
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my journey to this native
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village was completely a
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contrast in itself to the big
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city of Mumbai where I lived.
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By the time I reached this
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native place of mine where my
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mother tongue was spoken,
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I found that there was
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no running water,
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there was no electricity.
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I had walked through the village
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to go to the nearest marketplace
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or for that matter,
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even go to our church.
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And the experience for a ten
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year old boy was not
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a great one.
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And as morning dawned,
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I was woken up by the sounds of
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women singing and praying.
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It was still pitch dark black in
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the room in which I
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had been sleeping.
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And it was soon clear to me that
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it was not my own house in this
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village that was singing
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and praising God,
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but it was how the
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village woke up.
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There were women singing and
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praising and praying to God.
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And in my father's house,
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it was my grandmother and my
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father's sisters who
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were doing this.
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How could they disturb a
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young boy in his sleep?
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But here it was a new experience
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completely to me. As an
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inquisitive youngster
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a little inquiry into why this
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extended singing and long
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prayers fetched me an answer.
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This is what we learned from our
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Lutheran missionaries
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and catechist
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my grandmother said. When
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I was a child,
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my mother did this in her house.
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And now I do this as a part
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of our family routine.
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It is Jesus who brought us light
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and life in the midst of
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darkness in which we had lived
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for so many centuries.
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And so we are His,
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and we have to start
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our day with Him.
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We can never forget Him,
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and we have to sing and praise
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Him and pray to Him because he
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is the one who listens to our
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Christ.
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The great practice of my
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grandmother and the theological
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lesson that I learned from her
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did have its influence on this
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ten year old grandson of hers
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because I learned an important
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lesson then and right there.
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Our identity in Christ and
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living a life of faith in Him
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were important and were
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part of who we were.
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But you see,
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as a young boy of the 1.5
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generation kind myself,
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living in a place that was
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totally different from where my
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grandmother and my parents
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were so used to,
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was challenging in itself.
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And holding on to this important
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lesson was not easy.
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The western city of Mumbai had
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different people speaking
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different languages,
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a different culture,
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different sets of Hindu gods and
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goddesses and festivals.
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And mostly people from the
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northern part of India that
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lived in Mumbai made a
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South Indian like me,
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who is dark in complexion,
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feel like an outsider.
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Mumbai was completely different
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from the southern city of
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Trivandrum where my parents and
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grandparents were totally at
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home. And in my small mind
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the good thing was that at least
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it was not my problem alone.
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All my Mumbai friends coming
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from Trivandrum and belonging to
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my Lutheran church had
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the same problem.
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Our parents were worried about
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losing us to the influence of
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our new culture and
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our new world,
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as we,
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the Malayalam speaking
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1.5 2nd generation,
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struggled to navigate the
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majority Hindi language and
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Hindu culture and fit in.
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In many ways
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this is what the Psalmist also
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finds himself speaking to
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in his day and age.
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Psalm Hundred is all about a
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posture that the people of God
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should have while they
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are invited,
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the people of Israel as they
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are invited to take,
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as they approach God's holy
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presence with hearts of
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thanksgiving and songs
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of praise.
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But the people of Israel are
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exposed to different worldly
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influences in their culture and
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time. Foreign gods like Baal,
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Asherah and more.
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The daily desire to be
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influenced by the culture of
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their neighbors the Moabites,
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the Ammonites,
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the Canaanites and more.
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The daily desire to be,
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to gel in, to fit in,
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to mingle with the wordly
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pleasures and also accept the
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ideas and values that are
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opposite to what Yahweh expected
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of his people.
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The feeling that Yahweh was not
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listening to their prayers,
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that their expectations were
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not being fulfilled,
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that probably it was better to
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find their own solutions
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to their problems.
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The psalmist song is then
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reminder to God's people
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that they are to thank,
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praise and fully
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trust God in the midst of
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all these temptations.
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In fact,
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these temptations are relevant
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to you and me today.
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It's no different in 21st
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century America,
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where less than 20 a quarter of
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our population goes to church or
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identifies itself as Christian.
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Whether it's the first
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generation,
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whether it's the 1.5 generation,
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whether it's the second
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generation or more generations,
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we are exposed to a world today
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that has so many gods competing
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for our attention.
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They too claim to be good,
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to be faithful,
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and to be loving.
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Our godly idols could
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be our knowledge.
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It could be our careers.
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It could be our financial
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resources.
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It could be our powerful
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friendships.
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It could be our political and
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ideological views
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and many others.
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All these entices as good that
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we can pursue and follow.
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Our worldly idol of love
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promotes love as transactional
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desiring,
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instant personal gratification
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and satisfaction and
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fulfillment.
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While our worldly idol of
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faithfulness prioritizes a
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faithfulness that is yielding
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results in the here and now for
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the person or for the
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community at large.
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And yes,
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in the midst of all
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these temptations,
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our generations are also caught
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up in the struggle to truly live
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out a life of thanksgiving and
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praise to the true God.
00:07:38.030 --> 00:07:39.957
And you and I also cry out
00:07:40.063 --> 00:07:41.614
for our children and our
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grandchildren. We wonder,
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would they keep their faith
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or would they fall away?
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To the influences and
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idols of the world.
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It can seem like an uphill
00:07:53.837 --> 00:07:56.206
struggle. But not all is lost.
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There is hope.
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For as the psalmist reminds us
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in verse three of Psalm hundred,
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know that the Lord is good.
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It is he who made us,
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and we are his people,
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the sheep of his pasture.
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Our hope,
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just like the psalmist,
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is anchored not on us,
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but is anchored on our God.
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In our God,
00:08:19.776 --> 00:08:21.610
there is hope for today
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and for the future.
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Because our God is good,
00:08:24.752 --> 00:08:26.460
his character never changes.
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That holy triune
00:08:29.158 --> 00:08:30.798
God is essentially good,
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just as he said when he created
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all things to be,
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especially you and me,
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created in his image and
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in his likeness.
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Our Lord was so good
00:08:42.963 --> 00:08:43.982
that he wanted bad,
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sinful people like you and me
00:08:45.972 --> 00:08:48.080
to be returned back to Him.
00:08:48.930 --> 00:08:50.094
And this He only did
00:08:50.132 --> 00:08:51.920
because He is good.
00:08:52.370 --> 00:08:55.046
And this good Lord now loves us
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with His grace and His mercy,
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a love that endures forever.
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This He showed through His Son.
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For as scriptures say
00:09:03.540 --> 00:09:04.926
and teach us,
00:09:05.108 --> 00:09:06.574
for God so loved the world that
00:09:06.612 --> 00:09:08.590
He gave his only begotten Son,
00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:10.334
that whoever believes in Him
00:09:10.372 --> 00:09:11.582
shall not perish but
00:09:11.636 --> 00:09:13.040
have eternal life.
00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:15.466
And this love was so enduring
00:09:15.578 --> 00:09:16.794
that He would suffer
00:09:16.842 --> 00:09:17.806
for you and me,
00:09:17.908 --> 00:09:19.854
that He would die on a cross for
00:09:19.892 --> 00:09:21.566
you and me so that we could be
00:09:21.588 --> 00:09:23.550
brought back to the Father.
00:09:24.610 --> 00:09:26.374
And this good and loving God
00:09:26.412 --> 00:09:28.226
is faithful over generations.
00:09:28.418 --> 00:09:30.258
He is the same God yesterday,
00:09:30.354 --> 00:09:32.114
today and forever.
00:09:32.242 --> 00:09:34.326
God is faithful to his word.
00:09:34.428 --> 00:09:35.766
God is faithful to
00:09:35.788 --> 00:09:36.642
his character.
00:09:36.706 --> 00:09:38.034
And God is faithful
00:09:38.082 --> 00:09:38.846
to his promise.
00:09:38.898 --> 00:09:40.874
Just as He promised that He will
00:09:40.912 --> 00:09:42.634
build the church and even
00:09:42.672 --> 00:09:44.022
the gates of Haddis
00:09:44.165 --> 00:09:45.894
Hadith would not prevail
00:09:45.942 --> 00:09:46.860
over it.
00:09:47.790 --> 00:09:50.474
That is why you and I are here,
00:09:50.672 --> 00:09:52.330
because God is faithful.
00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:55.022
He has called you and me to be
00:09:55.076 --> 00:09:56.558
part of his holy community.
00:09:56.644 --> 00:09:57.886
And that is why you and
00:09:57.908 --> 00:09:59.440
I are here today.
00:10:00.130 --> 00:10:02.014
We are testament to
00:10:02.052 --> 00:10:03.230
his faithfulness.
00:10:04.069 --> 00:10:07.842
And this is what we seek to pass
00:10:07.896 --> 00:10:10.850
on to our next generation that
00:10:10.920 --> 00:10:12.980
we know of a God who is good,
00:10:13.430 --> 00:10:14.062
enduring,
00:10:14.126 --> 00:10:16.050
in love and faithful
00:10:16.130 --> 00:10:17.270
over generations.
00:10:18.490 --> 00:10:19.574
About five years ago,
00:10:19.612 --> 00:10:22.498
my grandmother passed away till
00:10:22.514 --> 00:10:24.870
the end, just like you and me.
00:10:25.020 --> 00:10:26.374
She sought to live her life
00:10:26.412 --> 00:10:27.906
as a faithful believer.
00:10:28.098 --> 00:10:29.242
Just like you and me
00:10:29.296 --> 00:10:30.586
she also would agree that
00:10:30.608 --> 00:10:32.426
she was not always good,
00:10:32.608 --> 00:10:34.470
she was not always loving.
00:10:34.630 --> 00:10:36.730
She was not always faithful.
00:10:37.230 --> 00:10:39.020
But it was not about her.
00:10:39.390 --> 00:10:41.418
She had come to know and witness
00:10:41.594 --> 00:10:45.117
to a God who was true to her,
00:10:45.284 --> 00:10:47.246
who was good to her,
00:10:47.428 --> 00:10:49.630
who was loving and faithful.
00:10:50.290 --> 00:10:52.714
And this is what many in of her
00:10:52.772 --> 00:10:55.506
generation of outcast Hindus in
00:10:55.528 --> 00:10:56.846
the villages of Travandrum
00:10:56.878 --> 00:10:58.082
had come to experience,
00:10:58.216 --> 00:11:00.654
hear and learn from the gospel
00:11:00.702 --> 00:11:02.222
message that came through LCMS
00:11:02.286 --> 00:11:03.922
missionaries in the early nine,
00:11:03.976 --> 00:11:06.470
hundreds in South India.
00:11:07.930 --> 00:11:09.526
And this gospel message they
00:11:09.548 --> 00:11:12.214
embraced they embraced a God who
00:11:12.252 --> 00:11:14.021
had embraced them in their
00:11:14.076 --> 00:11:15.750
own outcastness.
00:11:16.490 --> 00:11:17.442
A good,
00:11:17.596 --> 00:11:19.980
loving and faithful God
00:11:21.069 --> 00:11:22.822
who embraced all nations,
00:11:22.966 --> 00:11:25.514
all tribes and all people.
00:11:25.712 --> 00:11:27.542
This God revealed in scripture
00:11:27.606 --> 00:11:29.590
became a part of their identity
00:11:29.670 --> 00:11:31.246
through their though through the
00:11:31.268 --> 00:11:33.069
faithful witness of their
00:11:33.140 --> 00:11:34.510
previous generations.
00:11:34.930 --> 00:11:36.334
And so now it was this
00:11:36.372 --> 00:11:38.186
generation's job and mission
00:11:38.298 --> 00:11:40.026
to pass on that faith
00:11:40.138 --> 00:11:42.110
to my generation.
00:11:43.490 --> 00:11:45.422
And my generation found this
00:11:45.476 --> 00:11:47.550
gospel message and the community
00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:49.306
formed around this gospel
00:11:49.338 --> 00:11:52.074
message to be an encouraging
00:11:52.122 --> 00:11:54.634
place to be a stabilizing,
00:11:54.682 --> 00:11:56.146
foundation in the midst
00:11:56.178 --> 00:11:58.182
of our own challenging life
00:11:58.236 --> 00:11:59.860
realities. As a one point
00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:01.790
five and second generation.
00:12:02.690 --> 00:12:05.006
It is likewise our mission today
00:12:05.188 --> 00:12:06.926
to pass on this faith that we
00:12:06.948 --> 00:12:08.794
have so graciously received
00:12:08.922 --> 00:12:10.800
to our next.
00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:13.486
And as we gather together today
00:12:13.668 --> 00:12:14.958
and also tomorrow for the
00:12:14.964 --> 00:12:16.702
Multiethnic symposium and
00:12:16.756 --> 00:12:18.110
reflect on how our future
00:12:18.180 --> 00:12:19.946
generations are to be invited
00:12:20.058 --> 00:12:21.534
to carry forward this
00:12:21.572 --> 00:12:22.650
faith journey,
00:12:22.810 --> 00:12:24.334
let us draw strength from our
00:12:24.372 --> 00:12:26.998
God, who is unlike any other.
00:12:27.164 --> 00:12:28.418
Let our conversations,
00:12:28.514 --> 00:12:30.230
discussions, reflections,
00:12:30.570 --> 00:12:32.326
sharings and networkings and
00:12:32.348 --> 00:12:34.454
everything be anchored in
00:12:34.492 --> 00:12:36.214
our God, who is good,
00:12:36.412 --> 00:12:39.094
loving and faithful to
00:12:39.132 --> 00:12:40.230
all generations.
00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:42.086
And let us partake in this
00:12:42.108 --> 00:12:44.342
journey to bring thanks
00:12:44.476 --> 00:12:46.360
and praise to our God.
00:12:46.970 --> 00:12:47.910
Amen.
00:12:48.730 --> 00:12:49.962
Now may the peace that passes
00:12:49.986 --> 00:12:51.114
with all human understanding
00:12:51.162 --> 00:12:52.846
keep your hearts and minds in
00:12:52.868 --> 00:12:55.290
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.