Message: Seeds for Our Future / John 12:20-28

Today is Union Sunday, when we celebrate the birth of the United Church of Canada. We're especially excited because it's the 99th anniversary of the United Church, and we're getting ready to mark its 100th. 

The United Church was founded on June 10, 1925, when the Methodist Church, the Congregational Union, and 70 percent of The Presbyterian Church joined together. The small General Council of Union Churches, mainly in Western Canada, also became part of the union. Each of these founding churches had a long history in Canada before 1925. It was the first time in the world that churches from different historical backgrounds came together. 

Of course, the process of uniting was not easy. Nearly twenty years after the idea of a union of denominations was proposed, many discussions and negotiations took place. After facing many challenges, doctrinal and policy agreements were finally reached through The Basis of Union, which resulted in the establishment of the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. Congregations in Indigenous communities from each of the original denominations were also an important factor in the effort toward church union. Now, the United Church has about a million people in about 2,500 congregations.

As we commemorate the birth of the United Church today, we read from John 12:20-28. This text was preached by the Rev. Samuel Rose of Wesleyan Methodist College in Montreal on June 10, 1925, for the inaugural worship service of The United Church. Here are some parts of his sermon that I've revised into plain language:

“Jesus didn't come up with the idea of self-sacrifice, and he wasn't the first to do it. But no one else has done it as perfectly as he did, with such amazing results. Just like a seed needs to die to grow, a life focused only on staying safe is a wasted life. If someone seeks salvation just for themselves, they've already lost their way. To truly find ourselves, we should aim not for our benefit but for the good of others. This principle applies not only to individual believers but also to the Christian community as a whole. 

The United Church of Canada can only prove its right to exist and thrive by following this law. The best prayer for this moment is to ask for forgiveness for any selfishness, pride, or self-centeredness that might have mixed with our higher intentions in coming together. The most fitting commitment is to promise, with divine help, both as individuals and as a church, to follow Christ completely. Trust me, this is the only way we find true fulfillment and purpose in life. 

However, you don’t need to think that such a choice necessarily leads to a life of gloom and anguish. Jesus made this choice for Himself, and though He became the Man of Sorrows, that title doesn't capture the whole truth. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says "Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (1:9). This gladness did not arise in spite of the cross; it grew out of it. [...] 

Loss for Christ’s sake is immeasurable gain. The path of sorrow chosen for Christ is brightened and glorified by the light of the fellowship of Christ — the fellowship of the Man of Sorrows who was anointed above His companions with the oil of gladness. Death for Christ is true life. This may seem like a strange paradox — "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" — but it reflects the Christian experience. Few people in our time have sincerely followed Christ more than Schweitzer, a theologian, philosopher, physician, and musician. A few years ago, he left a comfortable career to become a medical missionary in Africa. He chose a path of great discomfort and many hardships. Buthe wrote about his choice over the easier way: “Yet what do all these disagreeable count for compared with the joy of being here, working and helping."[...]

We should admit that institutions often become selfish and start thinking they are the most important. This selfishness can be harmful and stop us from achieving the best we can. Let's ask God to protect us from this harmful tendency! It would be great for the United Church of Canada to aim for this ideal: being willing to sacrifice, like a grain of wheat dying to grow into something bigger; being open to being noticed, not for its own sake, but to bring people closer to Christ, who sacrificed himself for our salvation. This choice was made freely by Jesus, and if we want to be true Christians, we must follow his example, both as individuals and as a church.”

At the service for the inauguration of the United Church, Rev. Rose emphasized that we are not here to live for our benefit or just to keep ourselves going. Instead, we are called to be the church to use our resources—our time, talents, money, and property—to spread God's love, hope, peace, and joy in the world. This embodies the spirit of the United Church's foundation.

Of course, the United Church hasn't been perfect. Sometimes, it makes mistakes. One example is that it ran 15 schools in the Indian Residential Schools system from 1925 to 1969 as part of the government's plan. 

However, it's also true that in the United Church, there have been people willing to take risks and become seeds for God's hope instead of just focusing on our institutions' success. Because of their faith and sacrifices, our church had moments of transformation that made us better. In 1936, the United Church allowed women to become ministers for the first time. In 1986, the United Church became the first denomination in Canada to apologize to Indigenous Peoples for its role in colonization. In 1988, the United Church accepted everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, as members of the faith community for the first time. In 2012, the United Church declared for the first time that it would be an intercultural church.

Today, as we celebrate the 99th anniversary of the United Church, it gives us a chance to remember our past, confront our present, and envision a better future. God doesn’t call us to die just for the sake of dying. Instead, God calls us to share our resources for the sake of nurturing hope and life all around us. In doing so, Rev. Rose's voice from 99 years ago still resonates with us today: “It would be great for the United Church of Canada to aim for this ideal: being willing to sacrifice, like a grain of wheat dying to grow into something bigger; being open to being noticed, not for its own sake, but to bring people closer to Christ, who sacrificed himself for our salvation.”

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Min Hwang