Sermon (December 18) "Christmas Around the World: Vietnam"

     One year just before Christmas, I pulled up to a traffic light, and as I looked toward my left I noticed some steps leading from the sidewalk down to a very modest apartment.  I remember thinking that I had never realized that an apartment had ever existed in that section of the street.

     And there it was.  And on the door of this hidden apartment was a sign that had the words, “We Still Believe.”

     A smile came to my face as I thought about the child or the children who were living in that apartment and who wanted to make sure that Santa wouldn’t forget them.

     That sign reminds me of the unbridled and confident faith that the scriptures tell us that we can have as we go through life.  A faith in a God who knows all about us – where we live, our hopes, our dreams, our joys, and our deepest longings.

     The Christians in Vietnam have a lot to teach us about what it means to keep believing against all odds.  The Vietnamese artist, Le Van Tai painted a Nativity scene with encouragement from the Hong Kong Fellowship of Christian artists while he spent four years in a Hong Kong refugee camp.

     Why did Le flee Vietnam to endure 4 years in a refugee camp? Why was he separated from his family for 11 years? How did he get to Hong Kong? 

     During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Le, along with nearly 2 million South Vietnamese escaped their new communist rulers by risking their lives on rickety boats that departed into the South China Sea at night, evading communist gun boats.

     About one third of the escapees died at sea, by drowning, exposure, or piracy. The more fortunate ones eventually got to places like Hong Kong, where they hoped for eventual resettlement in America, Australia, or elsewhere in the West.

      Presumably Le escaped capture, had a sturdy boat, avoided pirates, and arrived in Hong Kong safely. But he still had to languish for 4 years in a camp. And he endured an 11 year separation from his family in Vietnam, whose communist tyrants were not always eager to allow wives, parents and children of capitalist-loving escaped boat people to rejoin their loved ones in the West, except for a price. What would compel a Vietnamese to risk the nightmare of unsafe travel on the South China Sea, with a 30 percent chance of death, not to mention an uncertain future in a camp and years of separation from family?

     From a little of our modern history, we remember how in 1975, what was then North Vietnam took control of South Vietnam and they set up a very vicious communist dictatorship.  The new regime imprisoned over a million people and murdered tens of thousands of suspected counter-revolutionaries.  They were now a one party state that banned all political opposition, took away any right to private property and free speech, and prohibited the Christian faith.  The Catholic Church which represented about 8 to 10% of the population thanks to the French influence in Vietnam was forced to celebrate Christmas privately during that time.

     The story of Christmas in Vietnam has some similarities with the Christmas story we find in the bible.  Both stories speak of danger, uncertainty, and fear.  Jesus was born within the Roman Empire which had control over the people of Israel.  And Rome wasn’t about to welcome any newborn King.  There was only room for one King.

     The Christmas story isn’t just a story about a baby born in a manger.  It’s a story of a young woman who discovers that she will conceive and give birth to this newborn King.  Because of the nature of this pregnancy, she will have to endure the ridicule and the hurtful rumors that will most definitely surround her at every turn.  It’s a story of a King doing everything in his power to try to kill this newborn King.  And like Le, the Vietnamese artist who was forced to flee for his life, the Christmas story is a story of a family fleeing to Egypt and becoming refugees in seek of safety.

     As I mentioned earlier, the Christians in Vietnam have a lot to teach us about what it means to keep believing against all odds. 

     Around the same time that Le, the Vietnamese artist who I was talking about a little bit ago was finally reunited with his family after spending several years away as a refugee, two Vietnamese American UM pastors, Ut To and Karen Vo To, had a dream and that dream is now a reality. The Lord laid on their hearts the vision of starting up the United Methodist Church in Vietnam.

     In 1998, the United Methodist Church began its work in Vietnam when a small team traveled to Vietnam to visit with Christians there and especially to visit and learn about the ministry of Rev. and Mrs. Ma Nguyen, who were persecuted for their faith. Having experienced United Methodism in the United States, the Reverend Ut and Karen Vo To wanted to take the church to their people. And in February 2002 the United Methodist Church in Vietnam was born when they were sent to the nation of their ancestors as General Board of Global missionaries!

     Just this past year, Vietnam has granted legal status for the United Methodist Church to exist in Vietnam.  Today there are over 200 United Methodist Churches representing over 11,000 church members and the church in Vietnam continues to grow!

     Let’s watch a video that shows how the United Methodist Church is making a difference in Vietnam.  (Show video.)

     Like the family who had that sign on the front door of their modest apartment, “We Still Believe,” the Christians in Vietnam remind us to not stop believing, especially as we draw close to the Christmas celebration.

     This belief against all odds has rubbed off on the United Methodists of our own West Ohio Conference.

     April 19, 2010 was an historic day.  It was on that day that our Bishop along with representatives from our West Ohio Conference joined the United Methodists in Vietnam to dedicate a 7,800 square foot ministry center in Ho Chi Minh City.  It was a day to remember.

     One of the miracles in our conference’s partnership with this ministry center was in the money that was raised to make this become a reality.  Shawnee Valley is one of the eight districts of our West Ohio Conference.  Located in the southern part of our state where there is very high poverty and unemployment, this impoverished district raised what they called a “miracle offering” to be used for this ministry center in Vietnam. 

      This one district of mostly small, rural churches on the edge of Appalachia has pulled together to raise nearly $295,000 for the conference’s support of Vietnam churches through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

     The district has held four “Rally in the Valley” events for Vietnam.  Key to their fundraising success has been the decision to treat the 159 churches in the district — which spans nine counties and 4,700 square miles — as one large congregation.

     Their motto during this miracle offering has been, “If we’re going to move a mountain, what would happen if we put all our shovels together on one single initiative?”

     It’s like each one of those churches had a sign on front of their church that said, “We Still Believe.”

     This past week, a pastor in our West Ohio Conference told me that she will be traveling to Vietnam with our Bishop to represent our conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry.  Through our partnership with the United Methodist Church in Vietnam, our Bishop is serving as their Bishop.  They will be making this trip to credential new Vietnamese pastors to serve the new churches.

     They already have several churches that have over 200 hundred members.  Praise God that the United Methodist Church is growing in Vietnam!

     Well, so much more could be said about the church in Vietnam and what they can teach us about believing against all odds. 

     On the Vietnamese United Methodist website, they talk about how they enjoy making lanterns to use to decorate for Christmas and that’s why we have several lanterns in our sanctuary today.  We celebrate how the light of Christ always burns brightly at Christmas and how miracles are just around the corner.

     Speaking of miracles, I want to share a Christmas miracle that has happened right here in our own church just three weeks ago.  Many of us know about our beautiful Crossroads facility located on West Fair Avenue, just three miles from here.  Opened in May of 2007, Crossroads provides space for weekly worship, creative ministries, events for youth and young families, and meeting space for numerous community groups.

     This past October, we had over 500 people from our church and community attend our Halloween Carnival Outreach where we were able to share God’s love and invite people to Sunday worship and future ministry and outreach events.  Crossroads is helping us reach people for Jesus Christ.

     This past May, we began a new aggressive five-year campaign with the goal of totally pay off the remaining 2.4 million dollars building debt, which was a huge step of faith for us.  A little over a year ago, our church membership voted to go with this five-year pay off strategy rather than continue to make minimum payments on our two loans over the next seventeen years.

    During the first few months of our new five-year campaign, it looked like we were still only going to be able to make the minimum payments required on the two loans.  We are able to make those minimum payments through your pledged gifts to Crossroads and through the rental income from groups that use our Crossroads facility during the year.  By the way, we receive approximately $60,000 in rental income on an annual basis through community groups who use Crossroads.  Crossroads is a busy place!

     So here’s the Christmas miracle.  As of November 30^th, we have totally paid off one of those two loans. 

     Thanks to over $600,000 from undesignated endowment funds, $94,000 from our Board of Trustees, and over $30,000 of pledge and rental surplus funds, God has put us in a position to pay off all of this debt by 2016.  This is now an attainable goal.

     With this Christmas miracle, and knowing that you and I will continue to be generous financial givers to Crossroads in these remaining four and a half years of our pledge commitments, we are in a much better position to cross the finish line in May of 2016.

     If you believe in Christmas miracles, can I hear an “Amen?”

     To help us celebrate this recent pay-off of one of our two loans, I have asked Randy Williams, our Church Council Chairperson and our Lay Leader, to do us the honor of burning the loan note.

(The loan note is burnt over a pan in front of the altar.)

     Christmas miracles still happen!

     I want to close by sharing from a United Methodist Vietnamese pastor who writes these words of Christmas greeting to all who have partnered with them over the years. 

     “Among the many highlights we thank God for the many who came to Jesus over the past year and for the spiritual and numerical growth in our United Methodist Churches in Vietnam; for eighteen new United Methodist Churches in Vietnam; for several professors who came from United Methodist seminaries to teach at Wesley Theological College in Vietnam; for several wonderful teams who came to support, encourage, and bless us; for the funds to purchase the United Methodist Center building; and for the aid for hundreds of orphans, widows, and children with food, medical care, clothes, eye glasses, and clean drinking water.

     Hundreds of thousands more continue to wait for somebody to love them.  Children, widows, and orphans wait for helping hands that would come to their aid.  As people wait in villages, towns, and cities for somebody to bring them the gospel.  We want to be that somebody.  We are planning and preparing ourselves to do more in the coming year.”

     “Thank you so much for your faithfulness in prayer and support.  May the Lord grant you peace and joy this Christmas and throughout the year.”

     The Christians in Vietnam remind us that miracles still happen not only in Southeast Asia, but also right here in Lancaster, Ohio!  Thanks be to God!

.