Rest

 Rest

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30, after the fifth Pentecost Sunday , 2020 years 7 Mon. 5 days

 

 

Jesus and John the Baptist

Matthew 10 focused on the relationship between Jesus and his disciples , and chapter 11 was written against the background of the relationship with John the Baptist . John the Baptist is a person who proclaimed the kingdom of God before Jesus . According to the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptist was born six months earlier as a relative with Jesus . He is wearing a camel fur coat in the Jordan desert tinged with a leather band spent eating locusts and seokcheong ( Matthew 3 pages ). It is a kind of wilderness homelessness . His message was judgment . Since the ax is placed at the root of the tree, a tree that doesn't produce good fruit is said to have been cut down and burned by God . At that time, people, including the people of the world, rushed to John the Baptist and were baptized . John the Baptist was put into prison after publicly accusing King Herod of receiving Herodias as a wife, who divorced his brother Philip . In prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus and said,Answer if you are the Messiah the Jews are waiting for .” I made you ask . Jesus' answer to John's disciples is detailed in Matthew 11:4 and below . Jesus appreciated John the Baptist . “ This is Elijah, who came, ” ( Matthew 11:14).

John the Baptist and Jesus have similarities and differences . What they have in common is that their message was the kingdom of God and that they were young and killed . John the Baptist was young throat well by Herod , Jesus ran on the cross by Pilate . The difference was in the way they lived . John the Baptist lived an ascetic life like a monk . On the other hand, Jesus did not hesitate to eat and drink . Many people disliked this way of life of Jesus . In particular, those who kept the Law, such as the Pharisees and scribes, treated Jesus like a person of appetite . Matthew 11:18, 19. According to section time people saw a madman John the Baptist , Jesus was accused enjoying the eating and drinking here as a friend of publicans and sinners .

Jesus explains this situation in today's sermon text of Matthew 11:16 and below, using a metaphor for the play of children at that time . The children who sat in the marketplace shared their side and played with each other . It blows the flute in one dancing in there , crying children away from the weeping one will hit the chest . The interpretation of this parable is divided into two according to the scholars . 1) John the Baptist eoteuna weeping cry So no one did not hit in the chest , Jesus eoteuna fire, no one flute dance . It is an interpretation of criticism of people whose souls are insensitive . 2) People play the flute, but John the Baptist hits the chest without dancing, and the people are sad , but Jesus accused him of dancing without hitting the chest . It is impossible to say which is the more accurate interpretation, but it is clear that the people at that time did not like the life of John the Baptist and the life of Jesus . As such thoughts accumulate, they are compelled to remove John the Baptist and Jesus .Directly responsible for their deaths, but to Herod and Pilate , iteotgie the support of the people at the time would have caused such a tragedy .

 

Legal positivism

Those who criticized Jesus were not impersonal or disrespectful, but rather socially worthy of praise . Represented by the Pharisees and scribes, they were recognized by everyone because they lived up to the laws that were the absolute norms of society at the time . Even these days, such exemplary people are recognized . There are such people, and the world rolls like this . In their eyes, Jesus was the one who endangered existing orders, norms and categories . Was Jesus' life really bad enough to be blamed by them ? Let's split their accusations into two .

One is the accusation that Jesus covets to eat and enjoys wine . In fact, Jesus says something to eat , it was often not a minute to lose the spirit drunk on wine . Those who accused Jesus of being greedy for eating would not have been unaware . This accusation means that Jesus does not meet the standards of the law in matters of eating . The law treated the matter of eating very strictly . They distinguished between edible and non- edible animals , edible and non- edible fish . And do not drink blood , wash your hands frequently, and , also to be fasting season . Jews they found in these staples of the fact that apart from the other peoples of the Near East and , because yeogyeotgi could keep the nation's health in this way at the same time . It's akin to keeping your distance and washing your hands from the COVID- 19 outbreak these days .In light of these standards of the law, Jesus seemed to be greedy for eating and drinking .

The other is that Jesus is a friend of publicans and sinners . In terms of the day this expression sounds as a compliment , it is that this attitude is contrary to the law at the time . According to the law, tax collectors and sinners should not be subject to intercourse . Their arguments make sense . You must live at a certain distance from people who have contagious diseases . The tax collectors who live under the Roman system are a kind of slavery and must be expelled from the community . When storing apples, it makes sense to pick out rotten apples so that whole apples do not spoil . They did not know the fact that the tax collectors and sinners sorry , I thought that I can not help it faded separate them from the community tears am the best way to keep a healthy society . Such thoughts were recorded in the law as they became tradition . In their eyes, who kept the law literally and thoroughly, Jesus was a man who ignored the law .

I have no intention of selling unconditionally the fact that at the time, Jewish leaders, mainly Pharisees and scribes, criticized Jesus . They also had the sincerity to live according to the Word of God . The problem is that they have absoluteized the laws they know . They thought that the law could save the world . Being a kind of legal positivist they were compelled to condemn Jesus . It's like people who stay at the level of amateur baduk in Go criticize the number of professional Go 9 dan . If you don't know, you can learn . They simply criticized Jesus on their own level, not thinking about learning the deeper dimensions of his life . These things are still in the world , and we in fact take place in everyday places, you'll notice . It also happens in the church . Since you are looking at God with one eye, it seems strange that a person who is looking with both eyes is strange .

 

Truth experience

How can we see God , life , not with one eye, but with both eyes ? This means that soon How can you face the truth , is also a question . Otherwise, we live like Pharisees and scribes who constantly accused Jesus . Living with one eye is an attitude of life in which people judge others while looking at the world from one side . There are risks for everyone, but this happens very often, especially in those who think they are smart while living in a profession . People who think they are not smart can rather see the reality of life more accurately . Listen to Matthew 11:25 .

 

Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding this from the wise and discreet and revealing it to little children .

 

You can say this in today's situation . It means that young people who enter Seoul National University do not know the essence of life, and young people who enter local colleges do . Or the Supreme Court judges don't know the truth and the staff at the computer parts company knows, or the seminary president doesn't know God and the nameless pastor of a small church knows . The world doesn't work this way . The wise and wise in the world work in a way that rules the world . The knowledge, wealth and power of the world are given to them . In this reality, Jesus' words are empty . Many Christians also listen to these words with one ear and let them go , but they do not take it seriously .

The reason Jesus' words don't feel real is that we treat them only with the experiences we have gained in the world . The world claims that they can create life . We kindly present the standard of a happy life . People strive to meet those standards . Those standards are fascinating . We know very well what those standards are specifically . The conversations people meet and have are all these things . Real estate stories, for example, are an important topic of such conversations . That's what they say at alumni meetings and even at church missions . All our desires take root there . I understand . What if you can easily earn more than your annual salary by investing in real estate within a year ? Few people won't be shaken at all when that happens around you . But Jesus gave another word .People's happiness doesn't depend on the standards the world provides , and the more we cling to it , the farther from happiness is . You can change Matthew 11:25 like this . Real estate investment ( or speculation ) who has the power to dictate to the world the ability to earn a lot of money to happiness is knowing , people who do not have that ability to know the horses happy . Do you agree to this ?

 

Life of rest

Happiness has the same meaning as salvation . Jesus Matthew 5 chapter , " Blessed is the man who " spoke with respect to . The blessed people mentioned there are those who have been saved by God . Jesus spoke of the standard of true blessings differently than people thought at the time . It means that the poor , the mourning , the meek , the hungry and thirsty of righteousness are happy . This is the same meaning as today's text that the truth of God appeared to children, not to those who are wise and discreet . To understand these words, we must first be able to see what happiness is with both eyes, not with one eye . It's a story you all know , but I'll just supplement my thoughts there a little .

When are you really happy ? At what moment do you feel that you have been given life ? According to today's real body ' Pause ' is the answer when there is . No matter how much power and wealth you have, it is unfortunate for a person who cannot rest . How could I say that a happy person who cares not break even at one point in order to maintain the power and prestige . Today we are what put life in your mind that only the development of a working economy and the spirit of his name , what is happiness , and does not even think about whether what the pause . Living with heavy burdens big and small all my life , I think that's what life will be .

How can we find true rest ? Everyone wants true rest, but no one knows that it's not easy . The world also offers a way to get a sense of psychological stability in the name of healing . Buddhism is much more practical in this area . It's a religion that takes great care of studying the mind to get true rest . I will not judge other religions . I will only tell you the Christian faith I know . Jesus told the hardworking and heavy burdened people to come to Himself . He has promised that those who come to you will find “ rest ” . I believe in this promise . So I live as Jesus' disciples just like you do . It is because we believe that we are not simply psychological healing, but the rest of the soul , that is, the salvation of the soul that belongs to the deepest dimension of our personality . Have you ever had true rest through Jesus ?How about now ? Can you describe the experience to others ?

 

Cross incident

If you say in terms of the primitive Christian doctrine , to face the cross of Jesus it is the basis of this experience . Jesus' death on the cross is the most unfair and painful event in life . All they want to avoid the crucifixion at the time , I thought it a foolish death . But the disciples and early Christians thought it was the power of God and the wisdom of God ( 1 Corinthians 1:24). It is because we receive salvation ( life ) through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ . If you change it to today's theme, it means that you will find true rest through the death of Jesus Christ . Does this really make sense ?

Consider the site where Jesus was crucified . For Jesus, the event is despair . It was a place where I couldn't get help from anyone . No regrets for past events or future life planning can be involved . It is a moment of isolated servants that everyone is afraid of . According to the disciples who wrote the Gospels, Jesus said seven words on the cross . In short , " God , why are you forsaking me ?" It is . It does not mean that you died while resentful of God . Those who do not love God cannot say this . Those who absolutely did not hope that the Kingdom of God and His righteousness would come true in this world do not understand this . The other side of God's experience is abandonment from God . Jesus' remarks, hung on the cross, are proof that he has completely committed his destiny to God .

Think more practically about the existence of death on the cross . It doesn't matter who lives in a more luxurious house in front of the crucifixion . It is pointless to be recognized by others . Our big and small bragging doesn't mean anything . This is why the great theologians looked down on their writings at the last minute . There is no room for argument between capitalism, socialism or communism . Whether that person is heterosexual or homosexual is not a matter of controversy . The crucifixion is the place to stand completely naked before God . If the crucifixion takes place in our daily lives , this is the existence of our Christians, and we will move on to a life on a completely different level from today's life, which is distracted by our desire for recognition . Only then will we be given true rest . So the disciples and early Christians were able to confess that they were freed from sin and death through the cross of Jesus .

Saints love you , if you enter deep into the heart of the Christian faith, even as Christians, not departing from the plausible cheosesul of the world . In that way, you may manage to end your life, but like a slave, you cannot avoid the “ hardwork and heavy burden ” . Thinking of such a life as life . Draw close to Jesus Christ . Then you are a true soul " pause " will be met . That is salvation . Amen .

In the Wilderness of Rephidim

 

In the Wilderness of Rephidim

 

Exodus 17:1-7, Third Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2023

 

Even today, there are people living as nomads in various parts of the world such as Mongolia, Siberia, and Africa. Their lives are incredibly uncomfortable to those of us who live in advanced civilizations. We turn on the faucet and use water as much as we want, but they don't even have enough water to drink or wash with. They have to constantly move to find food and water for their livestock. They rely heavily on nature to survive, so the safety net provided by civilized society is severely lacking for them. Some of them use solar power for electricity, but many do not. They don't have a salary or pension, and there are no hospitals, saunas, convenience stores, fancy restaurants, or movie theaters. They spend their entire day solving survival problems. Are their lives unhappy? Even if we cannot confidently say that we, who live like kings compared to them, are ten times happier, we might be twice as happy.

 

In Rephidim,

 

The Old Testament sees the time when the Israelites lived as nomads in the wilderness as a practical symbol of the Jewish faith. The Exodus and the Law are both related to this time in the wilderness. According to today's sermon passage (Exodus 17:1-7), the Israelites arrived at Rephidim, and "there was no water for the people to drink." They had already experienced a water problem before the story told in today's passage. According to Exodus 15:22 and following verses, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and traveled for three days in the wilderness of Shur without finding water. Later on, when they reached Marah, they found an oasis-like spring. However, they couldn't drink the water because it was bitter. The people blamed Moses for not leading them properly. Moses prayed, and according to the word of the Lord, he threw a branch from a tree growing there into the water, and the water became sweet. Perhaps the branch had a purifying effect. It's uncertain how long it had been since this commotion happened, but another water problem occurred in today's passage. The Israelites complained to Moses, saying this in verse 3:

“Why did you bring us out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

This one sentence reveals the ancient Israelites’ problem consciousness. Not only them, but also the thoughts of modern people in the 21st century can be seen there. First of all, they had a problem with “the Exodus.” As we generally know, the Exodus was the event that the ancient Israelites eagerly awaited. It was an event that made them feel the abundance of God's life and love. However, the Israelites questioned why they were dragged out of Egypt, where they were living well, to be put through such suffering. Their argument is not necessarily entirely wrong. The area where they lived as a minority group within the Egyptian empire was Goshen, a region in the Nile Valley. Even though oppressive policies towards minority groups were often implemented in Egypt, they did not suffer greatly in terms of food and living conditions. They went through the Exodus at the persuasion of Moses, carrying the lofty dream of entering Canaan, but now they are in a survival crisis that they could not have imagined in Egypt. Food was greatly scarce in Egypt, and it was difficult to find drinking water. In the previous chapter, Exodus 16, the famous story of manna appears. “The Israelites called it manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.” (Exodus 16:31) They turned a plant they didn't usually bother with into their staple food. They may have thought, "Since we can't go back to Egypt, let's eat manna and endure the wilderness period." However, the water problem they experienced at Marah in the Surah wilderness happened again here at Rephidim. They couldn't bear it anymore, especially since they were used to the plentiful water of the Nile. So they came to deny the very event of the Exodus, which was God's command. In the face of these problems of survival, human beings can only be humbled.

The issue of eating and drinking is of course important. Although Jesus did not mention a prayer to make his disciples rich in the Lord's Prayer, he did say to ask for daily bread. He himself lived with people and ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors to the extent that he was accused of being someone who sought to eat and drink with them. The Christian community incorporated the issue of eating and drinking into worship through the sacrament of communion. The Old and New Testaments often symbolized the Kingdom of God as a table community. If you know this biblical tradition, you should strive and struggle to create a world where no one is unable to eat and drink properly. The problem is that such difficulties lead to questioning the essence of life, which is liberation, freedom, peace, and rest that come from the relationship with God.

 

The complaints of the people that our children and our cattle will die of thirst sound desperate. It's not enough to just feel sorry for such situations. It's our homework to worry about and solve this together. Furthermore, we must consider the water that other people, their children, and their cattle will drink. But didn't the Israelites quarrel with Moses and resent him? In life, we sometimes argue, hold each other accountable, and even resent each other. However, this is not the time for the Israelites to do so. Moses is more concerned about the people than they are. The weight of his responsibility as a leader is beyond imagination. For 40 years, Moses constantly heard such complaints from the people. In the end, he could not cross the Jordan River in the Moab wilderness. We don't know if he deliberately did not cross it or if he could not. He said his responsibility was enough for the 40 years, and they should take care of themselves in the land of Canaan.

At the rock of Horeb

In today's passage, Exodus 20:1-13, the story is more explicitly stated in terms of the people's complaints. The people who had run out of water grumbled against Moses, saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to this terrible place? There is no place to plant seeds or figs, grapes or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink." This was their reality. When Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, water flowed out. The Lord spoke to Moses and his brother Aaron, saying, "Because you did not trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." The passage explains that because the Israelites had argued with the Lord, the water from the spring was named "Meribah" (Exodus 20:13). A similar explanation is also given in Exodus 7:7.

Let's follow the progress of today's passage again. Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me" (Exodus 17:4). Although Moses' charisma was so great that the people could not look directly at his face, he could not completely overcome the Israelites in the wilderness. In some special cases, there were situations like civil war among the people. The Lord spoke to Moses, who was pouring out his complaints, indicating that he had realized the solution to the problem. Moses took the staff that he had used to strike the Nile River with the elders of Israel and went to the rock at Horeb. The elders were opinion leaders who understood Moses' words and actions better than the ordinary people. However, they had to stand firm so that the Israelites would not be shaken by any difficult situations that might arise. The staff that was used to strike the Nile River is a symbol of what God did in Egypt. Thus, the problem was solved.

Some Christians pay attention to the fact that water gushed out at Massah and Meribah. They pray and praise God to perform such miracles for us, just as He did for the Israelites. That is the essence of faith in signs. The faith of the Israelites and leaders who asked for signs towards Jesus was just like that. Looking at today's passage from that perspective is deviating from the focus. Let me briefly explain the situation. Moses had spent 40 years as a shepherd raising sheep in the wilderness and knew a lot about the geography of the wilderness. He knew where there was a spring and where the grass grew. However, not all springs always had a lot of water. He could have gone and found nothing. After wandering around a few places, Moses finally found a special spring that came out of the cracks in the rocks of Mount Horeb. You could say that it was God's guidance. What does that mean? If the Israelites had waited a little longer, the water problem could have been solved. However, they could not wait and quarreled and complained with each other. And they doubted God. The focus of this story is not the fact that God miraculously poured out water from the rock, but a warning about the neurotic reaction of the Israelites when things did not go according to their plans. Look at the last verse, verse 7:

"So he called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'"

We also mentioned Psalm 95, which we read together during worship. "Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did." (verses 8-9) The Old Testament sees unbelief in God as the root cause of disputes and grudges among people. It is said that such phenomena occur because people cannot be sure that God is with them.

I can understand the attitude of the ancient Israelites towards life. The journey to Canaan is long. There is a risk that the entire nation may perish if an epidemic breaks out. Other nations that block their way are waiting all over the place. On top of that, food and drink are frequently scarce. They may have felt some anxiety about Moses' words that the Lord God would lead them. They may have thought that they were brainwashed or manipulated. It was difficult for them to be sure that God was with them just by the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. They needed those miracles and signs to be repeated beautifully again now. If there were no such miracles and signs, they would be anxious. Because they are anxious, they argue with each other, ask for responsibility, and doubt God.

Miracles and Signs in Daily Life

What was the reason for the Israelites in the wilderness to quarrel, complain, and be tested by God? How can we avoid repeating such mistakes? What is the essence of the story of the wilderness of Ravitim?

Experiencing the signs and miracles of God in everyday life is more important than anything else. As mentioned earlier, the manna event opened their eyes to new food in the wilderness. Water is also available everywhere. Signs and miracles are abundant around us. We often do not see them because we are distracted by other things, but we can see them when we wake up from the sleep of the soul. Matthew Fox called this the original blessing. For example, walking upright is a miracle. People who walk without thinking do not realize how amazing upright walking is. The Homo erectus, who evolved from the hominids, became the ancestors of humans. Among many mammals on Earth, only humans walk upright. This is a miracle among miracles. How do you receive spring rain? This is also a miracle among miracles. A single flower is a miracle and a sign. The fact that we worship together here and now is also a sign and a miracle. A meal is also a miracle and a sign that you will acknowledge. There is nothing in our lives that is not a sign or a miracle. Everything is mysterious. Those who know this do not seek signs or miracles that make them rich overnight. They do not envy others. Moreover, they do not test God.

Those who experience signs and miracles in daily life, that is, those who experience the mystery of life, live with a sense of "inner abundance." This is a symbol of the fact that God is with us. A person with inner abundance does not test God, even in any situation where, like the Israelites in today's passage, there is a great shortage of water. They do not doubt whether God is with us or whether God loves us.

In the 21st century, South Koreans have reached a high level of economic prosperity and gained global recognition for their K-culture, yet they seem to live without any internal fulfillment, given the amount of talk, resentment, and conflict. The nervous attitude of the Israelites during the water shortage in Rephidim overlaps with the attitude of modern-day South Koreans. When I say that internal fulfillment in God is important to them, I receive sarcastic comments like, "You sound like a preacher." In this era, preachers are powerless.

I would like to ask those people very directly: what is the specific difficulty that makes the concept of inner fulfillment sound so empty and precarious for their own lives? Perhaps they have lost half of their wealth, or all their friends have left and they feel lonely. Maybe they work hard and sweat at their job, but still can't afford to buy a home. Maybe they have separated from their spouse, are worried about their health, or feel powerless due to old age. Do they fight and resent others, or even want to argue with God? They may say, "My life is ruined, so just take it away from me." I can empathize with how heavy the burden of life must be for these people. However, empathy does not necessarily mean agreement. It is because there is a completely different life next to that kind of life.

Dear beloved saints, if you are aware of and experience the fact that God is with you, and if you take one step deeper inside, your life will not crumble even when you feel like you are drinking from a well that is running dry. The Holy Spirit provides an incredible strength to endure difficult situations. Is it hard to believe? Maybe because you haven't had the actual experience of hitting rock bottom. There are people who have unjustly fallen to the bottom of life. But God's son, Jesus Christ, is waiting for you even at the bottom, and at the moment of death, so don't worry in advance.

The Issue of "Sin" for the Pharisees

 The Issue of "Sin" for the Pharisees

John 9:35-41, Third Sunday of Lent, March 19, 2023

In the Gospels, various types of people appear. There are those who are friendly to Jesus and those who are hostile. There are ignorant people and educated people. There are poor people and rich people. There are people with chronic illnesses or disabilities and those who are healthy. The group of people who showed the most hostile attitude towards Jesus were the Pharisees. The original meaning of the word Pharisee (Phariseeism) is "separated one". It is a good meaning. The Pharisee movement became a major force from the time of the Maccabean War between the Jews and the Seleucid Dynasty from 167 to 142 BC. Their religious elite group is characterized by their commitment to upholding the law. Politically, they rejected Roman rule and dreamed of a new reformation. The Sadducees, who competed with them, were wealthy and politically conservative, maintaining good relations with the Roman authorities. Paul was originally a Pharisee. Following the Jewish War of AD 70, the Pharisees became the dominant force in Judaism. The canon of the Old Testament was decided by the Jamnia religious council (AD 90) led by them, consisting of 39 books. Judaism, armed with the law, began to demand more stringent compliance from the Christians, who until then had maintained loose relationships with them. At that time, Christians had to decide whether to accept the demands of the law-oriented Judaism or to refuse and go a completely different path. Against this overall background, the relationship between Jesus and the PharThe Sabbath Controversy

John chapter 9 deals with the Pharisees' objections to Jesus' healing of a blind man and Jesus' response to their objections. As Jesus and his disciples were walking along, they met a man who had been blind from birth. The disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus replied that it was not because of sin that the man was blind, but so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Jesus then healed the man's blindness. This caused a commotion because the day on which the man's sight was restored happened to be the Sabbath. The Pharisees had different opinions about what had happened. Some of them said that Jesus could not be from God because he did not keep the Sabbath, while others said that Jesus must be from God because he had performed such a miraculous sign. The Pharisees pressured the formerly blind man and his parents to denounce Jesus, even going so far as to invoke the authority of Moses. But the man who had been blind refused to renounce Jesus, despite their efforts.

The narrative takes a new turn in verse 35, which is the focus of today's sermon. Jesus encountered the man who had been subjected to the Pharisees' attacks and threats. Jesus asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" (The Son of Man is called the Son of God in other versions of the text.) The man replied that he wanted to believe. Jesus told him, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." The man then declared, "Lord, I believe," and worshiped Jesus. In response, Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." This statement contains the most fundamental confession of faith in early Christianity.isees had to be sharply contrasted because of the way the Gospel of John was recorded.

Here are two types of humans here, those who cannot see and those who can. The ones who cannot see are congenitally visually impaired, and the ones who can see are Pharisees. Is it valid to say that Jesus Christ's judgment is to make the visually impaired see and the Pharisees not see? Isn't it desirable to make the visually impaired see without the need to make the Pharisees unable to see? The Pharisees present there must have felt bad. They might have asked, "Are we also blind?" like Nicodemus, who asked if he had to go back into his mother's womb and come out again in order to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). They took Jesus' spiritual words and interpreted them as physical words. Jesus answered in verse 41. It is a more explicit expression than verse 39.

"If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

In this passage, Jesus brought up the issue of sin. The reason he said this was that traditional Jews, including the Pharisees, believed that visual impairment was due to sin. As mentioned earlier, the disciples also asked, "Whose sin caused this man to be born blind?" The story of Adam and Eve's fall is told in Genesis 3. The snake tempted Eve, saying that even if she ate the fruit of the tree that made her know good and evil, she would not die. Rather, her eyes would be opened like God's. When she heard that her eyes would be opened, she found the fruit "desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it" (Genesis 3:6). The first humans, Adam and Eve, ate the fruit and were expelled from the Garden of Eden. The intense desire to have eyes like God, to be able to distinguish between good and evil, is the essence of sin. After mentioning the story of creation in chapters 1 and 2, Genesis immediately talks about human fall in chapter 3, and the story of Cain, who killed his brother Abel, is dealt with in chapter 4. The structure of the story seems to immediately negate the beautiful creation that was pleasing to God. The book of Genesis emphasizes that sin operates at a profound existential level that destroys human life. From a theological perspective, this is the original sin, and from a philosophical perspective, it is the 'banality of evil' (Hannah Arendt)

Law and Sin

The problem with the Pharisees is that they looked for sin and evil in the law. Living a life without sin meant keeping the law, and living a life with sin meant breaking the law. The standard for the righteous and the sinner was the law. In today's passage, the Pharisees criticized Jesus for healing a blind man on the Sabbath. The concept of the Sabbath itself is important. The commandment to keep the Sabbath holy means making God's creation and the exodus spirit the center of personal and social life. The problem is that in Jewish history, especially in Pharisaic tradition, the Sabbath system functioned as an absolute norm. The fundamental spirit of creation and liberation, which is the essence of the Sabbath concept, disappeared, and only Sabbath regulations came to dominate human life. Seen in that light, Jesus, who healed the blind on the Sabbath, is also a sinner. The Pharisees who remained faithful to the Sabbath regulations were the righteous ones, the ones who knew God's will correctly, and the ones who had opened their eyes. We must acknowledge their sincerity and passion for the law.

Jesus saw the Pharisees' thinking as the fundamental problem that distorts our lives. By judging the world only by the categories of the law they know, they miss the essence. They were knowledgeable and religiously respected people of their time, but because they were trapped in the category of the law, they could not judge what was absolutely important and what was relatively important. They missed the fact that the incident of healing the blind was actually an event of creation and liberation, which is the essence of the Sabbath. The Pharisees, who were religious experts and blocked God's creation and liberation, were the ones bound by the power of sin. As clearly revealed in the prosecution organization in Korea, essential distortions frequently occur in those who claim to be professionals. In the Korean church, there are also Christians and leaders who treat the Bible as the Pharisees did, with distorted essence.

Last year, at the end of the year, I saw news on an online newspaper about pastors who participated in a one-person protest against the "Anti-Discrimination Law" next to the National Assembly building. Most of them were pastors of large churches. I was surprised to see Pastor Lee Chan-soo, who advocated for reform-oriented ministry that was different from other pastors of large churches, participating in the relay one-person protest. The core of the opposition to the Anti-Discrimination Law is the issue of homosexuality. They distinguish between homosexual acts and homosexuals, but it is difficult to understand if they are truly distinguished. Homosexuals love, but homosexual acts are sin. The pastors seem to think that it is okay to discriminate against homosexuals as long as they do not discriminate against them as people. But this thinking itself is a distortion of the essence. Discrimination against homosexuals is also discrimination against people. The Bible teaches us that we must love our neighbors as ourselves, regardless of their sexual orientation or any other differences.

Jesus said to his disciples regarding the fate of this man, "It is not because of his sin, but rather to show the works of God in him." The disciples probably did not understand what he meant. The Pharisees also did not understand Jesus' statement that "those who claim to see become blind." They believed that strictly observing the Sabbath was doing God's work, but Jesus thought that helping people live like humans was doing God's work. When theological perspectives differ, thoughts and responses to human life will inevitably differ. As I mentioned before, the Pharisees threatened and ignored the blind man, and on the other hand, they acted hypocritically, pretending to be righteous. According to John 9:34, they drove him out. That was a kind of excommunication, and they were confident that it was God's work. What is the sin if not this attitude of judging and dividing others within their religious and political norms?

In 21st century Korea, Christians generally live like Pharisees with only differences in intensity. The church raises them up as pastors, ordained deacons, and elders. If Jesus came to the Korean church today, would he not give the same warning to the Pharisees in today's text? I will read verse 41 from the New International Version: "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

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

Hiding and Revealing

 Hiding and Revealing

Colossians 3:1-4, Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023

Today's sermon text contains many abstract concepts, and the most notable of these is the expression that "life is hidden." First, let's read Colossians 3:3:

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

The phrase "you have died" in this sentence refers to the spiritual existence of a Christian who has undergone baptism. Through baptism, Christians see themselves as having already died. Of course, they have not actually died, and they cannot die. Our lives are part of God's good creation, and every aspect of our lives should be valued. Extreme asceticism that has appeared in Christian history is not true faith. When we say that we have died through baptism, we mean that we have accepted our previous self and our new self as different beings. We have rejected the worldly achievements that we pursued when we did not know and believe in Jesus Christ, so our previous selves are like dead.

Baptism means not only dying but also living again. We die with Christ and live with Christ. Our old selves die, and our new selves are born. However, just because our old selves die, it does not mean that our lives are entirely renewed. There are still trials and errors in our daily lives, but the direction of our lives is completely different. As Colossians 3:2 says, we focus on "the things above," not on "earthly things." Colossians 3:1 explains that "above" is where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. "Above" does not refer to any space in the universe or the world of the Platonic "ether" as described in the philosophy of Neo-Platonism during the time of the writing of Colossians. Rather, "above" refers to the world ruled by God's power. To understand "above" correctly, it is essential to know what God's power is.

According to the fundamental teachings of Christianity, God's power is revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The power of the resurrection is the ultimate power of God. When the New Testament speaks of the resurrection of Jesus, it mostly mentions "the dead." This is because overcoming death is the essence of the resurrection. Death is the destiny of all living creatures. This includes humans as well as other living creatures. The reason why death is special to humans is that only humans are aware of death. Some argue that animals also have a vague consciousness of death, but this is not certain. If animals were aware of death, they would show signs of preparing for death while they are still alive. I have not heard anyone say that funeral culture exists among other animals. Humans consciously or unconsciously accept and cope with their lives in relation to death. This is because they know how violent and brutal death can be.

Modern civilization alienates death. More accurately, humans are alienated from death. There are two reasons for this. One is a consumption-oriented life. Modern people try to experience a feeling of detachment from death through consumption. If they become acutely aware of the fact that they will die, they cannot maintain a consumption-oriented life. I recently got rid of all my clothes except for work clothes and tennis clothes. I can live with three modified hanboks depending on the season, so there is no problem. This is not to say that everyone should live like me. It is simply an expression of my will to reduce consumption as much as possible now that I am 70 years old. The other reason is that modern people dream of immortality through artificial intelligence and medical advances. They consider it salvation. If I were given the choice of immortality, I would say "no, thank you." It's not because I don't like living a long and healthy life, but because life is meaningless without experiencing death. I learned this from the Bible, and I believe it to be true.

Jesus Christ, whom we believe to be the Son of God, also fell into the depths of death. It is difficult to mechanically believe in the Christian doctrine that Jesus carried the cross to forgive and save us from our sins. Jesus wanted to avoid the cup of death as much as possible. The day before he was crucified, when he went to pray with Peter, James, and John, he was "deeply amazed and sorrowful," and told them to "stay here and keep watch" because he was "exceedingly sorrowful even to death" (Mark 14:33-34). Just before he died on the cross, he cried out, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" Why did Jesus think he was abandoned by God through death? If the path to human salvation existed, wouldn't it be right to go boldly? In contrast, Socrates, accused of inciting young Athenians, accepted death gracefully by receiving a cup of hemlock, leaving his disciples with the words to repay a borrowed chicken from a neighbor. Such an attitude is a tradition of Greek philosophy based on dualism between the spiritual and physical worlds. From the perspective of the New Testament Bible, which regards the human body as a holy creation of God, the death of the body is a complete destruction of human life. It is a desperate event. The disciples who witnessed their teacher being crucified and buried in the tomb were scattered back to their hometowns. The movement of God's kingdom started in Galilee had to come to an end. We all end our lives with death.

At some point, the disciples began to experience Jesus, who had been crucified and buried in a grave, as the "Living One." It is not easy to understand this experience of the disciples, just as it is difficult to understand the sentence that Jesus cried out on the cross, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" According to the gospel proclamation, Jesus did not simply come back to life in the same body before dying. Rather, it is said that even though the door was closed, the resurrected Jesus entered the room. More importantly, it is a fact that the risen Lord appeared only to his disciples and those who had followed him. In 1 Corinthians 15:5, a list of eyewitnesses to the resurrection is given, including Cephas (Peter), the Twelve, five hundred brothers and sisters, James the brother of Jesus, all the apostles, and Paul. If the risen Jesus had appeared at the Sanhedrin or Pilate's office or in the center of Jerusalem, the news of Jesus' resurrection would have been more widely spread. However, the fact that the risen Lord appeared only to those who had a special relationship with him means that his resurrection was a special event that occurred in the realm of faith, not a general event that could be reported in history books or the mass media.

It is difficult to think that the resurrection of Jesus has little evidence to support it. What is reported in the news is not always important or certain. The truly important events are not recognized when they occur, but only when their results become apparent after a considerable amount of time has passed. When Jesus was born from Mary's body, almost no one recognized it. If people had known beforehand the significance of Jesus' birth in human history, many would have paid attention. Our daily lives are similar. The important events in our lives do not always reveal themselves from the beginning. Memories of certain experiences, even if they are vague, can determine a person's life later on. This is because the nature of this world is to conceal.

In today's text, Paul says that our lives are "hidden in God." This means that our lives have not yet been fully revealed, and therefore we cannot face the true identity of our lives. We still do not fully know who we are. Some people may feel uncomfortable with the question, "Who are you really?" They may argue that just being alive and living vividly is life itself. Of course, it is life, but it is not the kind of life that the Bible calls eternal life. I am not saying that the fact that our current lives inevitably end with old age and death means that they are hidden. The very nature of our vivid daily lives is to conceal. Try listing the things that you currently think make you happy. For example, let's say you won the lottery for one billion won, became a best-selling author, or a famous YouTuber, or married a good person. We do not know what impact these things will have on our future. We just blindly follow the vague idea of a "good life" that the world presents to us. This does not mean that our daily lives are not precious, but rather that the events that occur in our daily lives are not yet fully revealed, but are hidden. In other words, they are open to the future, like a seed that contains a hidden flower. When certain conditions are met over time, an unimaginable flower blooms from the seed. Are you waiting for the moment when a flower blooms in your life? Is this a story that is too far-fetched for you to believe? Do you not feel the reality of it? What do you really feel while you live?

Paul speaks of a very important fact here. He says that the life of us Christians is hidden 'with Christ' in God. Someone who lives for money is hidden with money. The phrase 'with Christ' means to be one with Christ. To borrow Paul's expression, Christ is in me, and I am in Christ. This refers to the spiritual solidarity in which we participate in the destiny of Jesus Christ, which leads to his suffering, cross, resurrection, and second coming. Being baptized, becoming a member of the church community, gathering regularly for worship, and sharing fellowship among church members all indicate the fact that we are one with Jesus Christ. Through this, our life, that is, our future, is hidden with Christ in God.

Appearing in Glory

The statement that our life is hidden means that our life has not yet been manifested. We still feel hungry, lonely, sad, and angry. We are disappointed in ourselves, and we secretly want to boast. No matter how many life goals we achieve, we are not satisfied. Human existence is far from the completion of life. We should be careful when we see videos on TV, YouTube, SNS, etc. that show people who seem to be completely satisfied and happy with their lives. Such stories are only partially true. No matter how splendid they are, they are only seeds. The happiness of a seed is different from that of a flower. We must endure the life of a seed. Only then can we welcome the moment when life is manifested. Referring to that moment, Paul says in verse 4:

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

"In verse 3, it says our lives are hidden in God, and in verse 4 it says that Christ is our life. Together, verses 3 and 4 mean that we are currently living a hidden life in God with Jesus Christ as our life. When Christ appears, we will also appear with Him. Our destiny will be determined by Jesus Christ. I am waiting for that moment.

The Christian tradition teaches that Jesus will come again at the end of the world to judge the world with life. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and following, when our Lord comes with the sound of the trumpet, those who have died in Christ will rise again, and those who are alive will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord. Paul expressed that moment as "we will always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). That is heaven, eternal life, and resurrection as we know it. What does that mean? When Christ appears, we will be with the Son of God and always be with Him. We will become flowers that cannot be imagined in the dimension of seeds. It is the completion of life. Therefore, today's passage says that we will appear with Christ in 'glory' (δόξα).

I heard that the movie series 'The Glory' was quite popular. The 'glory' mentioned in the Bible refers to an event where all the tangled problems associated with vengeance are healed in a fundamental way according to God's way. We do not know how God will heal or what specific way He will appear. Jesus himself said, "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) It is because it is an event belonging to God's glory. In other words, it is an event where God reveals His divinity according to His way. We hope for it, but the people of the world do not value it much. They are not interested in it. They only focus on achieving their own scripts and programs. The reason they seek a glorious life only within their own categories is because they do not seek their own glory but the glory of God. We, as Christians, seek and praise the glory of God. We are waiting for today with great anticipation to welcome that moment. God's glory will soon be ours, and we will participate in it."

Waiting for the coming of Jesus with vague expectations and idle hands is certainly not enough. We do not simply look up to heaven and turn away from our daily lives and historical responsibilities. We believe that the moment of glory has not only yet to come, but that it has already begun here. Living in the dialectical tension between hiddenness and manifestation, that is, between "not yet" and "already," we strive not to lose sight of this tension at any moment in our lives. Therefore, we neither boast of having completed our own lives nor fall into despair, arrogance, or discouragement. We acknowledge that we are always lacking in something, yet we are always full of joy. So, no matter how many things we have to be proud of, we do not become complacent, and no matter how unfortunate our circumstances, we do not consider ourselves unhappy.

The important point here is the fact that we are "with" Jesus Christ, as mentioned before. Verse 3 says that we are hidden with Christ in God, and verse 4 says that we will appear with Him in glory. We are fortunate to live not alone in facing this great destiny but to live with Him. Therefore, the last verse of Matthew 28:20 conveys the promise given by the Lord of Resurrection, saying, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Until when? Until the moment of our death!

"Don't be afraid!"

Matt. 10:24-39, third week after the Pentecost, June 21, 2020.

The content of Bible is not always comfortable and gracious. There are many uncomfortable contents to read. Such characteristics stand out in Jesus' sayings. Matt. 10:24-39, the content of today's sermon, is one of them. It consists of two paragraphs. The first paragraph is verses 24-33. In verses 32 and 33, Jesus said that only when his disciples acknowledge Jesus in this world, Jesus acknowledges them before the Father of God, and if they deny him, he denies them. That sounds like a threat. The second paragraph is verses 34-39. Jesus said that he came to give the sword, not peace, and that the enemy was a family member. It sounds intimidating for somehow. Even if it's a word with a deep spiritual meaning, it's not realistic. Today I'm going to hold on to this uncomfortable remark, as Jacob wrestled with the angel. Through this, I would like to meet the essence of Christian faith.

1) The overall emphasis in the first paragraph is 'fear'. There are many expressions that tell you not to be afraid or to be afraid. The reason Jesus told his disciples this is that in the future, there could be a situation in which his disciples would be afraid. Not only the disciples but also the early Christians who read the gospel of Matthew lived in the same situation. Jesus, his disciples, and those who belong to later Christianity, have fallen into the same fate. It's a common destiny. Verses 24 and 25 describe it as a proverb. It says that the student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. The disciples cannot avoid the fate of Jesus, the teacher. When people accused him of being Beelzebul, the people accused them of being Beelzebul's pawns.  When people around you get this kind of criticism, you're afraid. It was similar to the fear that the Sincheonji(a cult originated from Korea) people felt when the number of Corona 19 confirmed by Sincheonji soared in Daegu in February and March.

The existence of early Christians was fear itself. It's start was Jesus' crucifixion in accordance with Roman criminal law. After Jesus' arrest, his disciples hid or denied that they were his disciples. Early Christians were persecuted both large and small for a long time by Jewish authorities and the Roman Empire. Because of this, many people gave up their faith. Do you think there is nothing to fear about the issue of faith because today is not the time of the Roman Empire, but a time when religious freedom is fully guaranteed? That's not true. The Roman Empire's worldview and the spirit of times of now are no different. I'm sure everyone knows why. Jesus spoke so firmly to his disciples in verse 28. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." 

Those who can handle their bodies as they please but cannot kill their souls are the powerful in the world. They killed Jesus, persecuted his disciples cleverly or mercilessly, and then arrested, locked up, tortured, and killed countless Christians. The history of suffering of Christians has been long and harsh. Jesus said that even such a powerful world power cannot touch the souls of his disciples. What the disciples will fear is not the evil power of the world, but God who can put the body and soul into hell.

The reason why people are insensitive in front of Jesus' words is that they are used to life subordinate to the body, not to the soul. In the 21st century, the Age of Materialism, this trend of life is much stronger than it used to be. Most of our lives revolve around the body and matter. In a word, money rules all our lives. You live like you don't have a soul. Some people with a sense of history think of justice and peace. They think about the progress of history with poor people and ecological environment in mind. Not only are these people a minority, but they're also inconsistent with their lives. Everyone thinks that money determines our lives, so on the one hand they fear falling into poverty, and on the other they hate the poor.

How can we live in times like this without fear? Will avoiding scary conditions solve this problem? Not only does that not happen, but it's also clear that even if it does, fear doesn't go away. There is no other way. Only when the soul is richer can it not be dominated by those who threaten the body. Just about marriage, for example. Young people these days decide on marriage based on very realistic calculations. They are sensitive to appearance, moneymaking, character, etc. They don't care if they have the power of love. They neglect the power of the soul.  So the fear of marriage never goes away. Other lives are similar. Because the soul is not rich, we have no choice but to fear the world dominated by money.

There are probably people who will ask, "What does it mean to be rich in spirit?" Even though we are used to the word "rich soul," the actual meaning is unfamiliar. Today's content accurately and kindly explains the problem. Look at verse 29. Here comes the story of sparrows. Even the humble sparrow said he wouldn't fall to the ground unless your father allowed him to. The disciples were nothing but sparrows in front of the Roman emperor at the time. They have neither power nor recognition. But what happens to them at the ultimate dimension is God's permission. It's about God. Consider whether it is important to be recognized by the emperor or by God. The Emperor's work and God's work do not divide like cutting tofu with a knife. Just as rain and wind are inconvenient for some, but life is full for others, the same thing can be the emperor for some, and God's work for others. A man with bright eyes of the soul can feel God's hand in what the world sees as insignificant as a sparrow.

For example, let's say you work at a school or company restaurant. It's not recognized in the world. From the depth of the soul, it is God's work. It means that God is with us in the work. For those who do not know that God is with them, such restaurant work will not be as much as a sparrow. Imagine you are prisoners of war. Most of them suffer from forced labor, and you work at a restaurant in a concentration camp. You'll think you're happy. That's how I clean and wash the dishes at home.

Let me give you a more realistic example. I had a stroke or a car accident. Fortunately, I regained consciousness a few months later and woke up a year later and started practicing walking. Under such circumstances, cleaning and washing dishes can only be fascinating. If you're ecstatic, it's God's permission. Those who live in this manner are not afraid of those who kill their bodies but cannot kill their souls. Is this kind of life really possible for us, Christians? Why can't we go deep into that kind of life? Answering these questions is a sermon. As a preacher, I always return to my original intention and stand before this question in the sense that the preacher must first know this life and live it. I'm giving you the answers I get there.

Being a Christian means discovering joy and reason for existence in life, unlike the standards of the world. Christians are those who have found the joy and reason for its existence in Jesus. Look at the disciples who follow Jesus. They threw away everything about themselves They abandoned their job as a fisherman and their family. They didn't show off their previous jobs to people, nor were they ashamed of it. Because they found a whole new standard of living in Jesus. Verses 32 , 33 point to that fact. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."

2) The second paragraph begins with a very unconventional sentence. Verse 34 says Jesus came to give the sword, not peace. This is not what we generally know of Jesus. He is the king of peace. Verses 35 and 36 sound even more irrational. "For I have come to turn “a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—  a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household."

Verse 37 is a content that can be misunderstood. He said that a man who loves his father, his mother, and his son and daughter more than Jesus is not fit for him. This expression is only likely to come from the cult leaders. In the 1990s, there was a heresy that encouraged believers to leave their homes. Why did Jesus say such misleading things in the text?

Those listed in the word of Jesus are the most powerful subjects in our lives. The fence of family will not disappear as long as mankind survives. Paradoxically, there are traps here. A family that protects and enriches our lives can actually destroy important lives. There are things that stop children who sacrifice themselves for social justice by saying, "A cornered stone meets a mason's chisel." Some people wanted to live a normal life, but they chose a job they didn't want because of their parents' excessive desire. Of course, there are parents who give them strength when they need it and give them the right direction. Perhaps the latter case is common. Families that care about each other personally are the happiest conditions of life. The following facts do not change, even if you assume one or another. It is the fact that if you have someone or object to rely on, your relationship with God does not deepen. 

Figuratively, children who are fascinated by playing with their friends are like not thinking about going back home. Here's why monks to leave their home. Not because they didn't know the happiness between family and friends, but because they wanted to find a more absolute life.

In Jesus' remarks that he came to give a sword, not peace, a sword points to the fierce perception, enlightenment and practice of not staying in an appropriately friendly relationship. If the word that the kingdom of God is near filled his soul, he cannot remain the standard and way of life in the world. I can't explain all the specific standards and methods of life here. It doesn't just appear to be broken, because each life is different. One obvious fact is not to be hung up on being recognized by the world. No matter how good a thing is like a Nobel Prize, getting recognized by the world alone will never get life. It doesn't mean that the world is meaningless, so it doesn't mean that you can make money and fight the world, become a loner and cause inconvenience. 

It is right to say that those who don't want to work should not eat (1 Thessal. 3:10). What's important about our lives as a whole is to break away from the preconception that the greater the discretion we have to deal with, the more competitive we are, the happier our lives will be. So Jesus said in verse 39, the last clause of the text today. "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." 

The 28th verse, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. ," and the 39th verse, "whoever loses their life for my sake will find it," sound equally uncomfortable. Because it's a word that goes against the life we live in now. As we often say, the capitalist system works as hard as the Big Brother, so we have to struggle not to stay behind other people. We're worried that our life will go wrong. It makes our nerve sharp. The soul becomes more and more destitute. We own more stuff, dress ourselves up, and spend more to avoid it. It is no exaggeration to say that you spend your life making money for the fun of spending it. I believe that Jesus' diagnosis of 2,000 years ago that this is not about getting life, but losing it, is right in today's reality.

3) How do you accept the saying that "the one who loses his or her own life for me" gets his or her life? This sentence is the compression of all the New Testament. The New Testament focuses on this fact. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. God's glory was revealed to Jesus. By believing in Jesus, we are recognized as righteous. Jesus is the Son of God, and he will come again as a judge at the end of life. These teachings are located throughout the New Testament. Jesus is the only way we can get life. Do you actually live with this Christian belief? Have you ever considered this problem seriously?

The standard that we can test whether we live on the basis of these words is whether or not fear. If you're afraid, you can't live by Jesus. If you're not afraid, you live as Jesus says. You shouldn't misunderstand that you're not afraid of the world. It's not about being proud of yourself. I think the representative people who are afraid of the world are gangsters and soldiers. They seem fearless on the surface because of the force that most people don't have, but they are actually terrified. It's because it's a group that can't endure without gangsterism and weapons that kill humans. Individuals or groups who can only show their existence by force are cowards. Because they are people who cling to the artificial organization and force of the world.

Jesus was not afraid of other powers because he actually believed that the kingdom of God was near. He replied to the lawmaker, who asked what the greatest commandments were, that he loved God with all his heart, with his life and his will, and that he loved his neighbor (Matthew 22:34). John, who had heard this from Jesus, later said, "He who fears that there is no fear in love, but that there is punishment in fear, and that he who fears is not fully fulfilled in love." (John 4:18) That's right, my beloved saints, because those who are obsessed with Jesus Christ, the love of God, have taken life, they are not afraid of those who kill their bodies but cannot kill their souls.

The Way of the Holy Spirit Community

The Way of the Holy Spirit Community

1 Corinthians 12:4-13,  The Advent, May 31, 2020

 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 

There's a repeated word in the content of today's sermon, verses 12:4-13. That's 'the Holy Spirit'. It comes nine times. Not only the 1 Corinthians chapter 12, , but also the  chapter 13 and 14th are about the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit issue has become a controversial issue in the Corinthian Church. At the center of the controversy lies the question of the gifts. Many Corinthians argued that the evidence of the Holy Spirit was in dialect gifts. There are traces of it in the apostles. Dialect was accepted as a very important gift in early Christianity because it was close to the secret of God's experience through a special language phenomenon. Paul even said he prayed in dialect more than anyone else (1 Cor. 14:18). The problem is that they insisted exclusively and privilegedly on dialect gifts. They ignore other gifts because their dialect gifts are superior. Paul found the danger of the Corinthians breaking apart because of this problem and thought that he should teach them correctly. It appears in Chapter 12-14. A direct explanation of the dialect is given in Chapter 14, and today's text provides a theological explanation of the relationship between the gifts and the Holy Spirit. Paul thought that since dialects are inherently the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he should first know the relationship with the Holy Spirit.

 1) The word 'gifts' is a translation of the Greek word 'Charisma'. Charisma is the special gift God gave to the people through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a translation of the Greek word 'Pneuma.' Pneuma is a word that means wind, breath, energy, and spirit. Since the Holy Spirit was the Spirit of Life, Christianity has called it the Spirit of Creation, the Spirit of Salvation, the Spirit of Resurrection, and the Spirit of End. One of the power of the Holy Spirit is the conferment of gift. The gift is given as a gift to people who come to church.

In the 1 Cor. 12:4, Paul said, "There are different kinds of gifts." The gift varies, but the Holy Spirit, the ability to give it, is the same spirit. In verse 5, Paul explains it in a slightly different way. He said Christians have many different positions, but the main is the same. The God who gives here is the Holy Spirit. Verse 6 explains it a little bit more. I'll read verse 6 and 7. I'll translate and read the Lutheran Bible.

 Each person has many gifts, but God is one. The God has a history in every man's affairs. By showing these things, you have made the gift of the Holy Spirit a common good.

There are two main points of the content from verse 4 to verse 7. One is that many gifts come from one source of the Holy Spirit, and the other is that the emergence of the Holy Spirit through it benefits the entire church community, not the individual. Diversity and  being public.

Paul explains this fact a little bit more in verse 8. Verses 8–10 give you a list of different gift list. Some are connected to the present church and some are distant. It is as follows: Words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing the diseases healing, practice of ability, prophecy, spiritual sense, dialects, interpreters of dialect. Dialect and dialect translations are the last ones on this list. This means that the most important gift that some members of the Corinthians showed off with enthusiasm was not the one. This list did not list all the members of the church at that time. For example, relief and church administration belong to the gift. In today's church, choirs, Sunday school teachers, church library services, and meals are all gifts. After referring to the list of gifts, Paul summarized the relationship between the gifts and the Holy Spirit in verse 11. "All this is done by the same Holy Spirit, giving it to each person according to his will." In this verse, we can also confirm that the Holy Spirit has the initiative of the gifts.

2) The following paragraphs, verses 12 and 13, describe the relationship between the body and many parts. Our bodies are one, but we have several  parts of body, and they are different. The functions of arms and legs, head and chest and waist, eyes, nose, ears, and mouth are clearly different. There are more diverse organs in the body. The function of intestines and liver is completely different, but both are connected to the body. Here the body is Jesus Christ, and the other parts are the congregation. All the Christians who live as various gifts are united in Christ. The power that enables organisms as one body is the Holy Spirit. This is how Paul reveals the fact in verse 13.

 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink

 Paul pointed out in front of the church that although there are various gifts, they are one in the Holy Spirit. We've talked about a problem that goes far beyond the diversity of the gifts here. Inside the church, there were Jews, Greeks , some were still servants, and others were free citizens. If you change it to the current way, there are company presidents and employees, university presidents, and cleaners. In 1960, when the black-and-white racial conflict still existed, the American church said that there were white and black people in a church. If we go back to the Joseon Dynasty, the aristocrats and the people are in same church. Paul's claim that although there are differences that are hard to overcome, they all became one body after being baptized by the Holy Spirit is a revolutionary idea. It's a whole new worldview. The foundation of this new world view lies in the fact that the church is a Holy Spirit community.

The expression of the Holy Spirit community doesn't sound real to all Christians. The Holy Spirit is invisible. We only experience the Holy Spirit with its ability. As you can experience invisible wind by force. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of life, so it appears to individuals and society as the power of life. Let's say we have a teacher here. His teaching activities can kill or save students. He lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's say there's a congressman here. His activities save and kill lives. The same goes for pastors. At the time of Jesus, the activities of religious leaders, such as Pharisees and scribes, were close to killing. They are not people of the Holy Spirit.

 

3) Let's take a closer look at the problems of the Corinthians Church, which Paul is concerned about. I told you earlier that there was a controversy over the gift. Paul told them in verse 7 that the gift of the Holy Spirit was to benefit the community. They translated the revision as simply "beneficial," but translated it as a common benefit for both the Lutheran  and the NIV Bible. It's kind of a public thing, or a common good. If you do not benefit the community, you misunderstand the gift, and if so, you are not the one who received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pay more attention to the fact that this is for common benefit. If you put your arms and legs forward, the whole body will be wrong. This is how it is explained in a fable style. You can insist on leaving your head and making all the rest of your legs, or on getting rid of your nose and ears and making ten eyes because your eyes are the most important. Then your body will be damaged. In the Corinthian Church, where Paul writes letters with a desperate heart, many people used to use privately, not public. It means that he used the gift as an opportunity to show off. This was destroying the community of the church.

Let me tell you more about your church life. There are two things. First, you all received a gift. There's no one without a gift. If you think that a person baptized by the Holy Spirit has not received a gift, it is like not recognizing that you are a human being even though you were born as a human being. You may think that you don't get a gift because you don't do a lot of volunteer work for the church. That's a misunderstanding. Not all of them were preached, not all of them were given by the steering committee, not all of them were given cleaning services. You just don't know what you've received, but no one has not. A claws that seem like little things are a kind of part of body. Eyebrows are like that too. If you think about it, you'll see what kind of retard you're connected to the Church, the body of Christ. He was not baptized by the Holy Spirit if he had no idea. Even if you were baptized formally, you didn't receive it in content.4) Second, the more important thing in this passage is to examine whether or not one's gifts actually come from the Holy Spirit. One of the criteria is the public benefit right in front of it. Or a joint line. It's important whether you place your role in the church in the public interest or in the common good, or in your own private benefit. It's not always as clear as cutting a radish with a knife. Because the human mind is very subtle and complex. On the surface, it seems to seek public interest, but on the inside, it can lean toward its own benefit. Sometimes he's not aware of it. Don't get me wrong. No matter how wrong things happen in the church, I'm not saying that we should think about the whole church rather than the individual. You have to fight for church reform. The Protestant Church's name is "Protestant" for no reason. Fighting should be a fundamental achievement, not a private one. When that private mind builds up, it will one day destroy the community.

It is not easy to use one's own gifts for the public good. It's hard to tell what the public benefits are. Personality and culture can save the public's interests within a category, but they cannot go beyond what you know. Living as a roughly cultured Christian is not much of a blemish, so if you want to live like that, live like that. As a preacher, I have no intention of preaching you the Christian character and culture. Because it only changes the shape of life, it doesn't reach the belief that the nature of life changes. The key here is to go back to the roots of Christian faith. That's why Paul continues to talk about his relationship with the Holy Spirit today while talking about the gift. How can you live by using it as a gift without getting near the Holy Spirit, the source of the gift?

 

5) Paul said strange things in verse 13b. "...we were all given the one Spirit to drink. " Drinking the Holy Spirit is a literary metaphor. This expression relates to the baptism mentioned in the same verse 13. Baptism is a religious ceremony that means to die and live with Jesus. The start of this ritual is the union of the crucifixion that happened to Jesus. The crucifixion is blood, so baptism is union with this blood. The baptism is what Paul described as "Drinking the Holy Spirit" in that it is a Holy Spirit event. The word baptism is the Holy Spirit event means that you get life through baptism.

You can ask yourself, what does it really mean to get that life? People outside the church feel empty about our claim that Jesus lives. You think you don't get life in the name of Jesus, you get life with money. Who's right? We Christians believe that through Jesus we were freed from sin and death. Such a religious ceremony of faith is baptism. The baptism goes into and out of the water. Going into the water means you're dead before, and coming out of the water means you're reborn as a new person. Therefore, the man baptized in the name of Jesus is a newly born man. If you don't realize you're born again, you don't realize you're going to get life, or you don't realize you're drinking the Holy Spirit.

Even if you believe in Jesus and are baptized, there are probably people who think that there is no change in real life. I don't feel like I'm born again. It's an idea that happens when you misunderstand baptism. Baptism is that you are born as a new person, not that you are already mature as a new person. The newborn is human, but if you leave it alone, it dies. You have to take care of him for a long time. We need to train him. The baptized person must be spiritually cared for to actually become a new person. If you don't take care of him and complain that you don't know if you've become a new person, he's like a child who refuses to eat. Have you ever taken care of your own soul like a newborn? If not, take care of it as if you are raising a baby. Over time, you'll realize you're a new person.

 

6) Yes, if you fully know that you are baptized by the Holy Spirit, you are dead and reborn with Jesus, and you are growing up, you will see how you will use your own gifts and your life for the common good. As life becomes richer in that direction, you will be reduced to infinity, where you will enjoy God's ultimate freedom and rest. That's the truth of salvation.

It's a cliche, but I think it's appropriate in this part. Let's say you knew you were going to die in a week. Before and after you know it, you are completely different person, a new person, or someone else. The world looks different, and relationships with others are completely renewed. I will no longer have a war of nerves with others, and I will not spend time on a vain attempt. This is the way a person who is baptized by the Holy Spirit renewed. So Paul was able to boldly declare that Jews, Greeks, servants, and free men had all become one body. Is life really possible for us? Are you praying for your soul to deepen the inner workings of this faith? Have you given it up because it's too far away?

Dear saints, today is the Advent. The church in which we are baptized by the Holy Spirit and drank the cup of the Holy Spirit together is a community of the Holy Spirit. Let us not just say in words that we belong to the Holy Spirit community, but in the path of the Holy Spirit community. The path is not to use one's own gift (life) for private purposes, but for common good and public good. I believe that if we open our hearts to him without stubbornness, the Holy Spirit will lead us in that way.