With Fondest Aloha

SERMON “With Fondest Aloha”
I Corinthians 13
May 17, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza

One day I was driving my ‘68 Mustang on Nimitiz
Highway and I came to a red light so I
stopped. I noticed in my rear view mirror
a guy who comes out of his car, runs toward
me and says, “Indiana?” I said, “Yes!” He
said, “What part?” I said, “Richmond.” He
said, “All right1” He shakes my hand and
runs back to his car. He saw the license plate
on my car which I got in Indiana and he was
happy to see someone from Indiana.

A stranger welcomes a stranger, two people sharing
a good feeling, when you say my space is your
space – that’s the aloha spirit.

There is a saying in Hawaii that goes, Lucky come Hawaii.
There is no place in the world like Hawaii.
When I think of Hawaii, I think of the sound of
breaking waves, the cooling trade winds, and
the rainbows especially on the west side of Maui.
When I think of Hawaii, I think of going barefoot,
I did for 14 years, and swimming in the irrigation ditches.
When I think of Hawaii, I think of kalua pork and poi,
malasadas, sushi, papayas, mangoes, and pineapple.
When I think of Hawaii, I think of plumerias, orchids,
anthuriums, birds of paradise, and hula dancers.

They say Hawaii is the land of aloha, but do you know what
it means” Puna Dawson explains the meaning of aloha.
Aloha, A – L – O – H – A. A comes from the word
akahi which means to be kind. L comes from lokahi which
means to be inclusive. O comes olu’olu which means
to be agreeable. H comes from Ha’aha’a which means
to be humble. And last, A comes from ahonui which
means to be patient.

(Song: This is Aloha)

The book of Ecclesiastes says,
There is a time to be born and
a time to die. It also says, everything that
God made, God made for its suitable time.
2

So today, I want to say to you Thank You.
Thank you for your generosity,
Thank you for your friendship,
Thank you for all your support.
Thank you for all the potlucks, all the visits,
And all pastor appreciation Sundays—the
Surprise lunch at Marlin & Yvonne Clarks,
The Padre tickets and the night at the Omni Hotel,
The Luau at the Live Oak Park, the Pageant of the
Masters, the trip to Catalina Island, the Lawrence
Welk theater. All the other churches threw a party
when we were leaving.

When I first came here—the church had a deficit of $27,000,
we almost closed the Preschool. The Preschool
became one of the finest in town. Ten years ago, we
didn’t support one missionary, today we support three
and last year we raised $17,000 for missions. That’s
a Miracle. When I first came here, someone thought
I was a Korean, and today some of you aren’t sure what
I am. Just call me Pastor! I can say some words in
Hawaiian like humunukunukuapua and lauwilinukunukuoeoe.
I can also say—bendice, Senor, esta iglesia, God bless
this Church.

So I want to say, Thank You and Aloha…..
but I’m not leaving yet. I’m not done.

I hope that you will all continue with the Aloha spirit—
be kind, welcome people with love and hospitality,
be humble, and when someone asks you to help or
take a responsibility, just say “yes.”
Can you say “Yes?”

Noah said Yes! Joseph said Yes! Jonah tried to runaway, but
he got swalled up so he didn’t have a chance. Jonah said, Yes!
Paul said Yes! Jesus said Yes! He knew he was going to
suffer, he knew he was going to die, but he said Yes!
When we say Yes! To God – everything is going to work out okay.

Jesus teaches us today to be good stewards of our families and
our children. I have learned in Hawaii the importance
of family. When you call on family, they can’t say no.

3

Family is bound by love, duty, and blood. Family is
and will always be the cornerstone of every civilization
on this earth. Lose the family and civilization will begin
to crumble.

As a father, I have learned that love means sacrifice,
long-suffering, and the investment of time. Money is
never, never, the substitute of time. When I was the youth
director at the Quaker church in Richmond, Indiana, Susie
said to me, my parents don’t know how to love us. They
give us money for getting good grades, but that is not love.

This morning let me share with you some things about our two boys.
One night when I was putting our boys to bed, Aaron said to me,
“Dad, I don’t like you being a minister.” I said, “Aaron,
why do you say that?” He said, “Because you go to too
many meetings.” In that time, for two years, I was involved
with a building project of a new sanctuary. I decided I needed
to spend more time with our boys.

When Aaron was a sophomore, he took an electricity class. He
was good at it and he got his ham radio license. When
Aaron was a senior he was a top physics student. When he got the
top scholarship at Whittier College, as we were driving
home, I said, “Aaron, I know where you’re going to college.”
He said, “You don’t understand. I want to go to Pomona
College. It’s a better school.” Guess where he went?
Pomona College. I want to wish Aaron well as he was just
accepted at John Hopkins University for a master’s degree
in Communications. Aaron is also good at martial arts, so
don’t mess with him and he is a good dancer.

Jesus taught us, what have you gained if you gain the whole world
but lose your soul. When God entrust to us a family, our
children, and a Church, let us heed the call. As Frederick
Buechner writes, this is a Sacred Journey. Paul says we are
in a process of being adopted as sons and daughters of God.

Today, after our fellowship hour, we are going to have cake to
celebrate our Jeremy’s graduation from Western University
of Health Sciences. He is now, Dr. Jeremy Akeo Ginoza,
a doctor of osteopathic medicine. Congratulations Jeremy!



4
One day, Aaron told us, “Do you know that Jeremy is really good
In Calculus?” Aaron said, “He is really smart.” No, we
didn’t know. Jeremy doesn’t tell us everything. When Jeremy
was in the first grade, he was doing his spelling words on the
computer. When he was in the eighth grade he won the best
essay award in Los Angeles on Martin Luther King. He was
honored at the awards program at USC.

When our boys were young, every Sunday, Sylvia
and the boys sat in the pew listening to Dad. Our boys sang in the
choir, they played baseball. They were both good runners.
(Here in the slide Jeremy takes third in a the relay)
Aaron became our karate kid,
Jeremy became our cyclist.

When Jeremy was receiving his degree last Friday, I thought about
his eighth grade year. He almost dropped out of school. He
lost 30 days of school. He refused to take the bus so every
day, I drove him to school. The teachers told me, if he is
late, just write a note: Please excuse Jeremy, he is late today.

Today, I want to say, Jeremy, good going.
Be the best doctor you can ever be. We wish
you and Melanie our best as you complete your
residence in Yakima, Washington.

Isaiah 40:31 They who wait Slides: The Nettleton Family
upon the Lord, they shall renew Jeremy & Aaron
their strength. They shall mount up Jeremy & Melanie
with wings like eagles. They shall run
and not be weary. They shall walk and
not faint.

I am convinced, without a doubt,
a course has been set for all of us. Written
in every soul, stamped on every personality,
is a path and a task to do. Every night, a voice whispers,
listen to the still small voice of God.
Jesus holds a light and calls, “Come, follow me.” Jesus says
to the followers: Stay the course! Stay the course!
Faith, hope, love abide, but the greatest of these is love.