22 April 2025 – Chapel – Drew Theo Chapel

Gathering Music

When There’s Trust in the Room

When there’s trust in the room
we can breathe;
when we don’t undercut or deceive;

when there’s grace in the air
and respect everywhere,
when there’s trust in the room
we can breathe.

When there’s trust in the room,
we can dream;
when our motives are just what they seem;
when our thoughts freely flow,
and we’re challenged to grow,
when there’s trust in the room,
we can dream.

Call to Worship

Inspired by Doo-seok Choi: “When Flowers Bloom Between People” Poem

Shinbeom Ahn

Leader: When flowers bloom between people, it doesn’t matter what kind they are—only that something has gently opened.
All:We have come, hearts unfolding, drawn by a love that neither hurries nor demands—but lingers, quietly.
Leader: Here, in the hush between words, the Spirit dances like a butterfly light enough to heal, soft enough to stay.
All: We come not only to worship, but to remember that we belong to one another— through glances held, through burdens shared, through jeong, the tender thread between souls.

(Pause, take a deep breath)

So, let us worship with warmth and wonder. Let love bloom between us,
and let the fragrance of mercy fill this holy place.

Opening Song

How Can We Name a Love (UMH #111)

Opening Prayer

Daesun Jang

Holy and tender God, You come to us not in power alone, but in the gentle warmth of hands that stay, eyes that see, and hearts that break with ours.

You are not a stranger to our suffering. You walk the road between Jerusalem and Jericho still—kneeling beside the wounded,
refusing to pass by.

Today, we gather with questions on our lips, like the lawyer in the gospel: “What must we do to inherit life?” And we sense You answering not with doctrine, but with a story.
A story of mercy that crosses borders, a story of Jeong that moves beyond obligation into the mystery of love lived out.

God of Jeong, the deep, enduring affection that binds us. Unfold our hearts today. Make us neighbors, not by proximity, but by compassion. Teach us to carry one another not as burdens, but as blessings. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Peonghwa Lim

Luke 10: 25–37
25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”