God who is near

God who is near

Psalm 50:4~9a, Sixth Sunday of Lent, April 2, 2023

A Psalm of Asaph

Today's sermon text, Psalm 50:4~9a, takes place against the backdrop of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews in the 6th century BC. The hardships and sufferings experienced by the Jewish people who had lost their homeland and were taken captive in Babylon are vividly described. Psalm 50:6 reads:

I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

This expression is closer to a factual description than a literary device. It was a common experience for the people of defeated nations. After two years of continued attacks, the city of Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian Empire in 587 BC. Everything inside the city was destroyed. The temple was demolished, valuable items were looted, houses were burned, many were taken as slaves or fled somewhere, and not a few were forcibly deported. Those taken to Babylon had to live according to a completely different tradition from their Jewish heritage. Their suffering was beyond words. The Babylonians ignored the newly immigrated Jews, even taking advantage of them. When there were problems between Babylonians and Jewish people, the Jews were always the ones to suffer. Especially those who had strong faith in God and a strong sense of national identity were blacklisted and punished for even small issues. Naturally, it was difficult for them to receive legal protection from Babylon.

This poet is said to have entrusted his back to those who struck him with the sentiment of self-sacrifice. The punishment system of flogging on the back seems to have existed in Babylon. It is said that such flogging is still carried out in some Islamic regions where public security does not reach. Pulling out the beard is also a public punishment like flogging. At that time, in the Middle Eastern region, having one's beard pulled out was the biggest disgrace. The poet heard insulting words from the Babylonians and also received spitting as a common practice. He could not leave that place, had to accept the slap on his cheek and couldn't even hide his face. The Babylonians would have been satisfied with such a vicious act. It is like people in Europe and North America, where Christianity tradition was alive 500 years ago, who thought burning witches or stoning them to death was justice.

People are often more cruel than animals. When caught up in a certain atmosphere, they act even more cruelly than usual. The following is an account that I personally witnessed. It was a day in May 1980. I was receiving officer training with other pastors, Catholic nuns, and Buddhist monks at the Gwangju Infantry School in Jeolla Province. It was right at the site where the Gwangju Democratic Uprising erupted. Soldiers who came down from the front line came out to suppress the demonstration. The young people from Gwangju, who were arrested and called thugs, walked through the soldiers while being hit with hands and feet. Their hands were tied, so they couldn't defend themselves. They were punished for hours in a ward in a prone position. Humans are animals that commit such atrocities and evil acts. At that time, a commander who had participated in the Vietnam War poured out his war experience like a meaningless story during class. The content was nauseating.

Early Christians thought Isaiah 50:6 was an implication of Jesus' suffering. Jesus went through two trials in the process of being crucified. One was a case of blasphemy that was prosecuted by the Sanhedrin, the highest court in Judaism. According to Matthew 26:67-68, during the Sanhedrin's public trial, people spat on Jesus' face and hit him with fists and palms, saying, "Christ, prophesy to us! Who hit you?" The other was the Roman governor's trial. Governor Pilate thought that Jesus was innocent of the charges and tried to release him, but the crowd insisted on his crucifixion. Jesus was beaten and flogged, and then he was crucified.

The Tongue and Ears of a Scholar

Generally, when one is insulted, they want to repay the insult in kind. If they receive 5, they may not be able to repay 10, but they will try to repay 5. The spirit of today's age teaches us to never tolerate such behavior. The path to mental health and social justice is to repay what we have received. This argument stimulates the human nature and emotions that want revenge. There are few people who escape this tendency. The person mentioned in today's text may have lost sleep because of anger. They may have complained to God about why He allowed the world to become so chaotic, where their sense of justice has gone.

But then, at some point, the person realizes something fundamental. They mentioned in verses 4 and 5 that they received insults to their ears and tongue as a scholar. They discovered some light in the dark world. You may have experienced such a moment yourself. At such moments, a completely new perspective is opened. It is a point of view that it is okay not to seek revenge to ease one's conscience. They realized this because they understood that the Lord God was there to help, protect, and stay close to them. Even if they were beaten, their beard was pulled, saliva was spit on them, or they were slapped, they were no longer ashamed of it. You may think it is impossible, but ultimately, we will all reach that stage. It is desirable to enter into such a state of faith even while we are alive. Let us read verse 8 again.

"Who will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!"

To this poet, the God who is "near" to him has declared him righteous. It's a very paradoxical expression. This person, who was ignored within the Babylonian system, cannot become a righteous person. Metaphorically, he can be viewed as a defector. In South Korean society, defectors are considered criminals. If they criticize the North Korean regime, they may receive some recognition. The fact that a high-ranking defector has become a member of the National Assembly in our country is also a unique phenomenon. Some people who have been deceived by brokers and unknowingly crossed over to South Korea, but want to return to their homeland in North Korea, exist. The South Korean government does not send them back. Our mass media does not pay attention to their plight. In South Korea, they are criminals, just like the person mentioned in the text.

In a capitalist system, poverty is a sin. Sin is a force that destroys our lives. Poor people are not treated like human beings. I don't need to explain how strongly this operates. Paradoxically, if we look at how strong the desire to become rich is, the answer is clear. In a capitalist system, it is difficult to live without money, but it is even more difficult to maintain our mental health. Our hearts shrink. We don't even have time to look back at others. We are trapped in the principle of survival of the fittest. The rich live like the rich, and the poor cannot enjoy life as richly as they do. This is the power of sin. However, surprisingly, the person singing in the text claims to have escaped from the power of sin. It's a cry for a life that is poor but full of vitality. Is this cry a kind of psychological triumph that appears in the minds of people worn down by harsh reality, or is it a spiritual insight of a prophet who sees through the essence of our lives beyond the illusion?

God is near

Before directly answering this question, it is good to first consider the statement that God is near. These two statements, namely that God makes us righteous and that God is near, mean the same thing. If God is near, we will not be shaken by any insult or mockery. The statement in verses 7 and 9 that the Lord helps us also means the same thing. Do you actually feel and experience the fact that God is near you? Do you have the conviction that your life is right and not swayed by the opinions of the world? Can you boldly say, like the Psalmist, "Who can challenge me?"

The statement that God is "near" means that we experience what God has done in a "real" way, even if we cannot see it with our own eyes or grasp it with our own hands. What God has done can be broadly divided into creation (the Father), salvation (the Son), and love (the Spirit). These three are all connected. In our lives, the light and life of creation are near us. We can feel this especially in early spring. Even if other things in our lives are difficult, if our soul is filled with the weight of the changing season, we can still stand tall. Poverty cannot completely defeat us. Even a poor person can enjoy the sight of spring flowers, sprouts, and new leaves. I believe the same was true for the ancient Jewish people in Babylon, which is the background of today's passage. Although they were far from their homeland, God's creative touch was still present. The sunrise every morning was magnificent, and the sunset, starry nights were mysterious. Even in exile, they were able to experience their lives as a gift from God by praying and eating with their family at the dinner table.

Of course, just because this person enjoys watching the evening sunset doesn't mean that their physical pain is completely resolved. It is still difficult for them to endure having their beard pulled out and getting hit on the cheek. They may also suffer from anxiety about being deported at any moment, as is the case with illegal residents in our country, and may encounter unscrupulous entrepreneurs who exploit them and steal their wages. Immediate issues of sustenance and supporting their family remain a heavy burden. They may have had to live with several people in a small room due to not being able to afford a proper home. Enjoying spring flowers does not mean that these difficulties will automatically disappear. We need to work hard to overcome these situations as soon as possible. However, it is certain that even in the most difficult situations, the fact that there is a kind and omnipotent God nearby is undeniable. Look for it like the woman who lost her precious drachma and searched for it all night with a lamp.

Shall we look a little more? Even if we are lonely, there is always someone who can understand us. Or there may be trees that always listen to our language, clouds, drinking water, a mouth that can speak, and even our own language, not a foreign language. There is at least enough food for our daily needs. There are so many pieces of evidence that God is nearby that we cannot count them all. God is with us in ways that we cannot even imagine, and we will never be able to find them all until the end of our lives. Yes, God's touch is already encompassing our entire existence. The problem depends on whether we can see it and feel it.

Immersion in everyday life

The biggest reason why we don't realize it is because we are too immersed in our daily lives. When we are in a state of rushing like a racehorse, our thoughts about why we live, what the end of life is, and whether we are truly happy in the present become dull. Instead of deepening, renewing, and opening up, our daily lives become rigid and consumed. The things that happen in our daily lives become a kind of transaction. Even education has already jumped on that trend a long time ago. Nowadays, even young people's relationships and marriages seem to have fallen to the level of commercial transactions. In the midst of this zeitgeist, it is difficult to realize that God is near.

In my opinion, a more fundamental reason than immersion in everyday life is that our lives have not yet hit rock bottom. In the Bible, there are often stories of people who have experienced how God is with them when they have hit the bottom, where there is no more bottom to fall. The ancient Jewish people in the Old Testament and the early Christians in the New Testament were like that. We know well the history of suffering that the ancient Jewish people went through. In the 20th century, we experienced the Auschwitz incident. The historical background of today's passage is also the Babylonian captivity. We experience God's light when we feel that there is no hope anywhere. Even the most shameless and thoughtless person changes in the face of death. Even if there is someone who does not change until the moment of death, his soul will surely change after death. If God is the creator and is still alive, he will change things like that. The God I believe in is just that kind of person.

Let's look at the poet mentioned in today's text again. If he had been an ordinary person, he might have died of frustration. He would have been too busy complaining about why the world was like this. Maybe he would have come up with a plan or conspiracy to turn his situation around, or he might have lived as a recluse, building walls between himself and the world. Or maybe he would have denied God and obeyed the Babylonian regime, only looking ahead and trying to find a way out. But this person, in a place like hell, instead shouted, "Who dares to argue with me?" and "Who will condemn me? Come and face me." As mentioned earlier, his situation has not changed. He still cannot escape his Babylonian captive status. He longs for his homeland, the land of Judah and Jerusalem, and sheds tears. Sometimes, he must have shuddered in front of the emptiness of life. His existence remains the same, but his soul has been set free. Don't you envy him?

Today is the sixth week of Lent, also known as Palm Sunday. When Jesus made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he was welcomed by residents holding palm branches, but he was crucified within a week. He was rejected by all human beings. He was cursed by the Jewish religious community, completely denied by the Roman political power, and even rejected by his own disciples. The early Christian tradition gave him the name "Emmanuel" (God with us). It's a truly amazing story. Paul clearly pointed out in Romans and Galatians that we are justified by faith in Jesus, who "justifies me." The aphorism (saying) of the prophet Isaiah, "The one who justifies me is near," was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Yes, beloved saints, do not forget that there is no one in this world who can condemn us, our faith in Jesus