Pastoral Reflection

Quackery and QAnon

A few days ago, a church member told me that he will be getting the covid vaccine soon. He’s not yet 65, but thankfully, being a taxi driver puts him in the essential worker category. I hear my fellow pastors in NJ and MA are also getting their vaccines, as those states decided to include [...]

2021-02-11T23:05:11-05:00February 7th, 2021|

Our Ways and the Way of Jesus

I heard a few days ago that Rev. Cho Chan-sun went to be with the Lord. He was 104 years old. The last time I saw him was two years ago in Los Angeles. While on a brief trip for a meeting, I had the privilege to invite retired pastors to a luncheon, and Rev. [...]

2021-02-03T14:54:33-05:00January 31st, 2021|

Courage to See, Faith to Be

The inauguration of the 46th US president took place last Wednesday. I was always compelled to preach or write something on such an occasion. This time, I choose to keep quiet. Perhaps it’s the repeated disappointments I had after building a sense of excitement for change. But I do find myself praying for the new [...]

2021-01-27T23:24:35-05:00January 24th, 2021|

The Blessing of Becoming ‘WeChurch’

A Service for the Reconsecration of Jubilee Mission Center was held last Friday afternoon, and we were blessed to have NYAC Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton officiate the service. The number of gathered were few, but the pandemic could not limit the grace of God and our thankful hearts that filled the center’s chapel. One meaningful [...]

2021-01-21T22:52:56-05:00January 17th, 2021|

Becoming Real

This new year, I pray we more readily drink in the living water that Jesus gives. May the living water well up and flow from within us (John 4:14, 7:38), reviving the land by the love of Jesus. In the end, this is how we are called to embody holiness of heart and life, through [...]

2021-01-15T01:37:15-05:00January 10th, 2021|

Raised in God’s Power

This new year, FUMC in Flushing’s new slogan is “Church Raised in God’s Power.” While our core value continues to be ‘Christ-centered, worship-centered church,’ the new slogan reflects our need to rebuild in 2021 – not by human zeal and efforts, but by the power of God. I was inspired from the book of 1 [...]

2021-01-09T23:16:42-05:00January 3rd, 2021|

The Things that Remain

“On a rainy day…about things long lost in my empty heart; At the harbor late at night…about places that won’t return to my empty heart,” thus cries Choi Baek-ho, in his song “About Romance.” Choi is Korea’s legendary artist who is quite popular among middle-aged men, and it’s not hard to understand why. His voice [...]

2020-12-29T20:43:57-05:00December 27th, 2020|

The Self-Emptying Love of God

Baby Jesus comes to us to save us from our sins. The light of God’s love shines into our darkness and strife, as living hope guiding through despair. The light of God’s grace encircles us, so that we no longer stand condemned but reconciled and at peace. Yet how helpless, how vulnerable is this babe, [...]

2020-12-23T03:23:42-05:00December 20th, 2020|

The Gift of Liberation and Deliverance Hidden in a Little Child

The liberation of Hebrew slaves begins with a mother’s sorrow of sending her child away in a basket, and the deliverance of humanity begins with a mother’s pain of welcoming her child in a manger. The liberator in Exodus is named Moses, meaning “to draw from the water”; while the promised deliverer is given the [...]

2020-12-16T00:18:00-05:00December 13th, 2020|

Empty, Yet Overflowing

While reading Rev. Kwak Roh-soon’s “When the New Dawn Breaks,” one cannot help but wonder if the extra empty spaces have any intentionality behind them. A waste of paper, one might think. Only after looking closer, it becomes apparent that these seemingly empty spaces are not so blank after all. Some have little lines inserted, [...]

2020-12-09T23:30:54-05:00December 6th, 2020|
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