May we all look more like Jesus. May we see the cross more clearly as a place of surrender and not a status symbol we wear around out necks. And may we embody the message that Jesus came to bring, because that would be good news. Amen.
Rev Yoo is a voice I count on in these very tough times when compassionate Christians can feel on the brink of despair. Love his messages and guidance!!
Nailed it! Also, it is quite insidious and does not arrive with fanfare. We can be lulled into it, frightened into it, or incentivized into it. "Naming it" is a great assist in recognizing and resisting. Thank you for your ministry!
There’s another way to look at sacrifice. It’s not a sacrifice to give, to serve, to give up egoic activity. What the world thinks of as loss, the soul relishes as loving expansion.
This piece hit like a thurible full of truth swung straight at the idols we built and then dared to call holy.
The Seven Social Sins aren’t just old. They're the liturgy of empire wrapped in stained glass and patriotic hymnals. We baptized them in nationalism, fed them on tithes, and let them preach to us while the poor starved outside the sanctuary.
Worship without sacrifice is the altar call of comfort. Commerce without morality is the choir robe of the CEO pastor. And politics without principle? That's just Caesar in a clerical collar.
Let’s not just “resist” these sins. Let’s exorcise them. Publicly. Loudly. With incense, tears, and receipts.
Because if your church still smells more like Febreze and fog machines than broken alabaster and justice, you’re not worshiping the Lamb. You’re entertaining the golden calf.
I needed to read this. I have a lot of work to do to stop participating in these social sins.
My only disagreement is with your interpretation of "science without humanity." What you describe sounds more like a rejection of science because of a lack of humanity. I think science without humanity is more of a "the ends justify the means" approach to scientific advancement, regardless of the human cost. One horrifying historical example would be the Tuskegee Experiment. Both science without humanity and a rejection of science because of a lack of humanity are wrong, but I don't think they're the same thing.
Thanks for everything you do, rev. Your work online is one of the reasons why I haven't rejected Christianity as a whole.
I usually give myself 20-25 minutes for the sermon (which is long in Episcopal settings) so, some things don’t fit flow wise or time wise.
Sometimes, I feel that the topic is too controversial in the sense that this should be a discussion, not a sermon.
The thing about a sermon is that it’s a one way communication. Some topics deserve (need) conversations and the pulpit is a horrible place to do that. When I’m going in on a very hot topic, I want to give space for people to digest or even disagree with it. So I’d save it for a bible study, a newsletter, etc.
I see. Most days, I count my blessings that I have a very small congregation, welcome their questions even mid-sermon, and we have a fellowship after called Thomas Talks: Doubts Worth Discussing, where they can bring the questions if they're patient enough to wait.
Good stuff, but the Science Without Humanity seems off kilter. The people wetting their pants over churches being closed during the pandemic were more humanity without Science, or much humanity, for that matter. Perhaps the darker propects of AI are more in keeping with the social sin?
An indictment of empty devotion that is is increasingly sweeping across not only America but across the world that us on the verge of hopelessness. The good news is :the writer offers very practical steps that you and I ( notwitanding what one' s faith is) could take tomorrow as Day 01 to do our part to take back the faith Thank you Rev Joseph Yoo.
Your words speak to my spirit and my heart. I greive for a loving, compassionate empathetic and spiritful community,ie, the church.
Thank you so much
May we all look more like Jesus. May we see the cross more clearly as a place of surrender and not a status symbol we wear around out necks. And may we embody the message that Jesus came to bring, because that would be good news. Amen.
Amen
Just what I needed to read today. Mahalo.
Mahalo and 'a'ole pilikia
This is so on point for our America. Thank you!
Rev Yoo is a voice I count on in these very tough times when compassionate Christians can feel on the brink of despair. Love his messages and guidance!!
Nailed it! Also, it is quite insidious and does not arrive with fanfare. We can be lulled into it, frightened into it, or incentivized into it. "Naming it" is a great assist in recognizing and resisting. Thank you for your ministry!
Thank you. I needed this today.
Great wisdom in here. I appreciate it.
There’s another way to look at sacrifice. It’s not a sacrifice to give, to serve, to give up egoic activity. What the world thinks of as loss, the soul relishes as loving expansion.
Thank you.
This piece hit like a thurible full of truth swung straight at the idols we built and then dared to call holy.
The Seven Social Sins aren’t just old. They're the liturgy of empire wrapped in stained glass and patriotic hymnals. We baptized them in nationalism, fed them on tithes, and let them preach to us while the poor starved outside the sanctuary.
Worship without sacrifice is the altar call of comfort. Commerce without morality is the choir robe of the CEO pastor. And politics without principle? That's just Caesar in a clerical collar.
Let’s not just “resist” these sins. Let’s exorcise them. Publicly. Loudly. With incense, tears, and receipts.
Because if your church still smells more like Febreze and fog machines than broken alabaster and justice, you’re not worshiping the Lamb. You’re entertaining the golden calf.
I needed to read this. I have a lot of work to do to stop participating in these social sins.
My only disagreement is with your interpretation of "science without humanity." What you describe sounds more like a rejection of science because of a lack of humanity. I think science without humanity is more of a "the ends justify the means" approach to scientific advancement, regardless of the human cost. One horrifying historical example would be the Tuskegee Experiment. Both science without humanity and a rejection of science because of a lack of humanity are wrong, but I don't think they're the same thing.
Thanks for everything you do, rev. Your work online is one of the reasons why I haven't rejected Christianity as a whole.
Great point. Thank you!
Question: In your welcome letter, you mentioned things you wish you could’ve said from the pulpit. Why didn’t you say them?
Mainly fit.
I usually give myself 20-25 minutes for the sermon (which is long in Episcopal settings) so, some things don’t fit flow wise or time wise.
Sometimes, I feel that the topic is too controversial in the sense that this should be a discussion, not a sermon.
The thing about a sermon is that it’s a one way communication. Some topics deserve (need) conversations and the pulpit is a horrible place to do that. When I’m going in on a very hot topic, I want to give space for people to digest or even disagree with it. So I’d save it for a bible study, a newsletter, etc.
I see. Most days, I count my blessings that I have a very small congregation, welcome their questions even mid-sermon, and we have a fellowship after called Thomas Talks: Doubts Worth Discussing, where they can bring the questions if they're patient enough to wait.
Good stuff, but the Science Without Humanity seems off kilter. The people wetting their pants over churches being closed during the pandemic were more humanity without Science, or much humanity, for that matter. Perhaps the darker propects of AI are more in keeping with the social sin?
An indictment of empty devotion that is is increasingly sweeping across not only America but across the world that us on the verge of hopelessness. The good news is :the writer offers very practical steps that you and I ( notwitanding what one' s faith is) could take tomorrow as Day 01 to do our part to take back the faith Thank you Rev Joseph Yoo.