2019년 9월 17일 화요일

THE BLESSED LIFE

The First week of Creation Liturgy, September 1, 2019

Luke 14:7-14 New International Version (NIV)

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Jesus spoke to many kinds of people during public life more often than we thought. There are words that we can readily accept, but there are words that sound unacceptable or unrealistic. Christians dealing with the latter have two reactions. One is the attitude of not taking it seriously. It's usually a good thing, but it goes by. The other is an awkward but trying to keep it by force. This attitude is what happens when you misunderstand Jesus' word. Jesus is not an'old fossil' as young people put it today. He doesn't bother us on purpose. He gives us freedom and peace. He is giving us the exact word "Blessed Life." Let's see the today's content, Luke 14:7-14.

The place of honor, the lowest place

Here are two similar stories. This is what Jesus said when he was invited by someone. One is metaphor, the other is teaching. The first story is about Luke 14:7-11. Many people were invited to the wedding party. There are separate tables for these parties. The invited person wants to sit at the place of honor. Jesus advises them not to sit at the place of honor. Because it's clear that when a higher social figure comes, the owner will come and ask this person to vacate his seat. He said it's wise to sit at the end. Because I'm sure the owner will tell me to move to a higher position later on. In verse 11, Jesus said this in conclusion.

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Although Jesus' words to lower ourselves are not wrong, the world we live in has difficulty in not following these teachings. The world doesn't raise people who lower themselves, but it weighs them down. They completely ignore people with low social status. To avoid being ignored, everyone is looking for opportunities to go up one step further. Jesus' words, "In this world, those who lower themselves are elevated," sound hollow. Or it sounds like an emphasis on the virtue of sheer humility.

Very few people are so humble that they lower themselves. People instinctively try to elevate themselves. Only the pride is rooted in our nature. In short, we're being condescending. We put forward the fact that we know a lot whenever we have the opportunity. We're talking about how morally superior we are and how sacrificial we are.

C.S. Lewis describes pride as the greatest evil in the "Mere Christianity" category. Let's read a passage on page 193. "According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."

Pride does not only manifest itself to those with high social status, but also to those with low social status. Not only in the world, but also in the church. Not only in the immoral, but also in the very moral. It's hard to follow Jesus' words because we can't lower ourselves socially or personally, but we just try to pass by or force ourselves to appear humble.

If you really want to lower yourself, you need to be able to see how high you're sitting right now. A really good person doesn't have to be condescending. People who know so much don't have to pretend to know so much. The physics professor, invited as a special lecturer for middle and high school students who are interested in physics, doesn't act up. The professor doesn't get angry because the students don't approve of him. The professor only gives his students the world of physics.

We Christians are the disciples of Jesus Christ and the children of God. There is no seat higher than this. I don't think anyone who actually knows this needs to be recognized by others. Some of you might think differently. The fact that we're children is part of a world of faith, and it's not realistic in the world. I'm sure you're saying that because you haven't actually experienced Christianity.

In this parable, the person who went up to the top is not interested in the seat, but is interested in the wedding feast. There's a wedding party now. It's a festival. Everyone is enjoying eating, drinking, and singing. You don't have to think about who's sitting high. Our life is like a wedding feast. We have to eat, drink, dance and sing together. People who know it don't have time to pay attention to high and low. Some people think they can't afford it because they're having a hard. I understand what that is, but I don't agree with it.

Let me give you an example of a church. There's a church with 500 people, and there's a church with 50 people. There are differences in numbers, but both churches are the bodies of Christ. It's an apocalyptic community of worship that distinguishes it from the world's. If you focus on that fact, a believer or pastor in a church with 50 members can take church life as a festival. Don't you think your life is the same? A person who accepts life with this kind of thinking does not fret over it or anxious because he or she cannot move up to the top. This problem can be seen more clearly in the second story.

A person who has nothing to repay

Jesus continued to say something embarrassing to the man who invited him. Jesus told him not to invite close relatives or rich people to dinner. That's because they might invite you back later as a token of gratitude. He said it was very scary to be invited again, to be rewarded. To celebrate, invite the poor and the disabled. They don't have the ability to pay back, so 'This invitation is a blessing to you.' This is a story out of our common sense. We live in the world, picking and treating people who are capable of paying back. A person who is good at such a thing can rise in the world. No one is literal about this word of Jesus. People can't actually live that way in the world. This is not to say that you should not invite close friends or churchgoers. Why did Jesus say something that was hard to understand in common sense and difficult for us to practice?

Look at Jesus' saying that you are blessed that the invitees are not able to pay back. People generally think that it's natural for anyone to get it. Nobody says it's bad. People feel bad when they give it to them and they don't respond. It's a cognitive disorientation, so nobody's going to say anything about it. If a person feel comfortable when he/she doesn't pay back, you already have too much.

In the previous story, I told him that he who sits at the end of the feast knows the joy of the wedding feast. Now he's also the one who participated in such joy. That means he has so much to satisfy himself that he doesn't get any more. Some of our church members are gardening. Tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are held every day. He can give it to someone else who needs it. He doesn't feel bad even if he doesn't pay back. That's because you're full of vegetables. Yes. Anyone who feels full of the fact that we have received life as a gift from God lives in full satisfaction without receiving what is expected from others. More fundamentally, I don't expect it at all. I forget that I gave it to anybody.

The monthly budget of our church is approximately 7 million won. 1.54 million won is spent on a fixed basis every month. There's money that's not fixed. This is the money for the Sharing Mission. Sometimes some people worry that our monthly rent is too tight at our church, but the finances going out are too big. This is a reasonable concern. You might think it's an expense that doesn't directly help the church. That makes sense, too.

The operation committee members, including the members of The sharing Mission, will take care of the well-run costs of sharing. But it's something to be happy about that we don't get as much as we do. Because we have already received so much that we do not have to be paid back. We have received enough from each of us personally and at the church level. You already know what it is. The depth of knowing it reveals the level of faith.

I'm going to tell you one of the key things about what we've already received. That's the fact that life is God's gift. People in the world who can think know this. They don't have to be greedy in their natural ways. I value those who live like that. But I can't get rid of the feeling that I'm missing something. They don't know that God gave us Jesus Christ. They live according to the laws of nature, but we go further and believe in Jesus Christ, and we live close to him. For those who live in the natural world, life feels dim, but for those who believe in Jesus Christ, we actually experience life. That's the experience of liberation from sin and death.

If you live according to nature, you still cannot escape the power of sin. With the fact that nature is transience, your life goes transience. They are not greedy, but there is no hope for a new life. Through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have learned that our lives are both God's gift and the process of preparing for a new life. We are like a bride waiting for the bridegroom to come. We're about to celebrate the soul. So we don't get upset when we're in a low position or if we don't get paid for what we've done.

I'm sure many of you think this explanation is understandable, but it doesn't really come true in real life. It's still unstable, it's upsetting, it's unfair, and it's going to make me feel like, why is the world like this, why is it so bad? This issue is not resolved by force. The best course of action is to step one step further into the center of the Bible and Christian faith. In that manner, today we are talking about the text of the Bible.

The time of resurrection

The content says the guests at the feast have nothing to pay for, and the reason they're blessed is because they're paid on a completely different level. Look at verse 14. It's really wonderful word.

and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The resurrection that we're talking about here is the end of life. We believe that at the last time Jesus will come again. There are people who argue that such stories only work in the mythological era, and that there is no point in this age of cutting-edge science. You make that argument in a very monotonous light of the world. When Jesus comes again, it means that all the secrets of the world, the secrets of life, are revealed. We don't know much about life and the world right now. No matter how advanced physics and biology are, they can't reveal their secrets. This may sound like a pun, but it's what physicists say.

In the book 'God, Human, Science' Hans Peter Duhr, a physicist and philosopher, describes the ultimate physics world by analogy with ant hill. In some parts of Africa, there are large column size ant colony. If you look from a distance, it looks like its standing still. As you get closer, thousands and tens of thousands of ants are intertwined.

Now we look at the world from too far away and everything seems to be in a stable. And if you go very close, if you look at it with an electron microscope, you can see that almost infinite number of particles continue to appear, disappear, disappear, and then reappear. When the secret of the world comes to light, we will receive a reward that we never expected. What do you mean? It means entering the absolute world of life.

If you think today's words mean living by helping the poor and the disabled who cannot afford to pay back while waiting for the end of the day, you know it partially. If you know it in partial, God is worthy of us, but if you know all about it, you are a very happy person, a blessed person. And that's the fact that the end of the resurrection is not only a distant future, but it's now. If he can pull the end-of-life out of here now, he's already paid off. It's the preoccupation of the end. Some of you might think it's ambiguous to live with apocalypse. I think it's clear and unambiguous. For example, if you're actually aware that you're going to die tomorrow, you can live a whole different life today.

It's not easy to actually live that way, even if you know it clearly. A life full of resurrection, end-of-life, joy and freedom is not just words. I still have a small argument with my wife about nothing, and I feel uncomfortable when I'm with someone who's stubborn. There are many more people who live a lot more life-sufficiently in real life than I do in every week's plausible preaching. These are people who don't feel uncomfortable at the end of their lives and don't want to be rewarded, just like the people in the content today. They've been paid back by the power of life that's already been completed at the end. Some people feel that they've already received it, others don't.

You've probably got a hold of what's at the heart of today's talk. That's not what the world recognizes or treats you, but the fact that your relationship with God depends. Human relationships in the world are not that difficult. You can have a good relationship with at least personality and common sense. You can do it yourself. The most important thing is the relationship with God. That's because you're only given a blessed life there.

2019년 9월 16일 월요일

THE SOURCE OF WISDOM

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Trinity Sunday June 16, 2019

1 Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

2 At the highest point along the way,

where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 beside the gate leading into the city,

at the entrance, she cries aloud:

4 “To you, O people, I call out;

I raise my voice to all mankind.

23 I was formed long ages ago,

at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,

when there were no springs overflowing with water;

25 before the mountains were settled in place,

before the hills, I was given birth,

26 before he made the world or its fields

or any of the dust of the earth.

27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,

when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

28 when he established the clouds above

and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

29 when he gave the sea its boundary

so the waters would not overstep his command,

and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

30 Then I was constantly[e] at his side.

I was filled with delight day after day,

rejoicing always in his presence,

31 rejoicing in his whole world

and delighting in mankind.

There's a saying, 'He's wise.' Wisdom is not just about being intelligent. The world looks for bright and smart people. They're treated nicely. You can't deny such social status quo. I hope the world will be better off with more smart people. The problem is that a smart person doesn't guarantee a wise life. There's a wise person who doesn't have to be smart on the other. It would be best to be intelligent and wise, but not many. If you have to choose between the two, you become a wise person. In general, a person's personality is intertwined with intelligent life and wise life, that is intelligence and wisdom. Some have a lot of intelligence, some have a lot of wisdom. Do you, and your children, want intelligence to be excellent, or wisdom to be superior to intelligence?

The ancient Jews thought wisdom was the highest level of human life. Because wisdom belongs to the divine dimension. It says there was wisdom before creation. Proverbs 8 personified wisdom. Look at Proverbs 8:22-24 in Common English Bible.

22 The Lord created me at the beginning of his way,

before his deeds long in the past.

23 I was formed in ancient times,

at the beginning, before the earth was.

24 When there were no watery depths, I was brought forth,

when there were no springs flowing with water.

Here I refers to wisdom, not to people. It's wisdom that existed before the land, the sea, and the river. According to Genesis 1, God was the first to make light, and the next to heaven, and Proverbs was that wisdom was made first. If wisdom existed before all things, then wisdom is not a creation. The text describes wisdom as 'formed,' but wisdom is completely different from the creatures of the world. We can confirm it from verse 30. “Then I was constantly[e] at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,….” Wisdom is not just the power to live intellectually or intelligently, it is God's creating power itself.

The idea that wisdom existed before the world is conceptual and you may think of it as something we cannot understand. In a busy world, it can be said that it is a difficult point of view to accept. That's a misunderstanding. The Bible, such as proverbs, is not just about expression, but actually about concrete life. The man who wrote the proverb saw people struggling in life. Everyone struggles, but not every life is happy. What we live these days is no different. To strive to make a happy family in a narrow area, and to make a good society, a good country, and a world in a wide area. There is a lot of trial and error going on in the struggle The results of all efforts are ruined by trial and error.

There are two reasons. One is the mechanism of life that runs in the world. In this world, if one person is happy, the other person is unhappy. The team that wins the soccer game is happy, but the team that loses is unhappy. The other is that the human soul is not satisfied with what it is given in the world. It is said that our country is now the world's 10th largest economy. A lot of people tried to get there. But now we're not satisfied. The American and Chinese who dominate the world today also are not satisfied. In Go's aphorism there is a saying "I go through ponder and then make a wrong move." Likewise, though either we or the people lived in the time of writing Proverbs strive to live better life, the fact that people's souls are empty does not change . The best thing to do in this life is to live wisely, says Proverbs. Because you know if you're not wise, your life is bound to be damaged more and more. Not only the ancient Jews, but also the people who lived in all the ancient civilizations, and today we know this.

The wise do not conform unconditionally to the needs of the times in order to live according to their wisdom. They know in depth what's important to people and how they're happy to live. One characteristic of wise people is that they avoid competition and fights. People who are not wise enjoy fighting. Its extremes are martial arts. Fighting is a measure of happiness by turning their body into a weapon and completely overwhelming their opponent. Our daily lives often work like this. People live by the ultimate goal of victory. A wise man knows that victory does not guarantee his happiness. If you win a fight, it's just that moment of excitement, and it's not about happiness. There is no one who doesn't know this fact. They know it from experience. But they don't live wisely. They are not happy because they are not wise. What is the reason?

That's because wisdom is the ordinary ability. The Proverbs express it as "I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be." (23) I read the corresponding passage earlier. The following verse says the same thing. Shall we see verses 25-26.

25 before the mountains were settled in place,

before the hills, I was given birth,

26 before he made the world or its fields

or any of the dust of the earth.

According to the passage, wisdom is not so much an intellectual ability as a person to train or develop, but rather an origin ability that existed before the Big Bang. If you're wise, you've got this origin ability. According to Genesis 1:2, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." According to this word, the wisdom Proverbs say is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, that is the spirit of God people cannot live wisely. That's why there aren't many wise people. Think about it. How can a man created in the image of God live wisely without knowing the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Life? You can live smart. You can live a good life. You can live a decent and civilized life. But you don't live wisely. There are many people who know the best of a kind, elegant and civilized life. That's what the world will teach you, but the Bible doesn't say that. Because only a wise life leads one to true happiness. I think the teaching of the Bible is right.

The Old Testament says that fear of the Lord is the very foundation of wisdom. Refer to Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10, Job 28:28 and Ecclesiastes 2:26. We can confirm two only. Psalm 111:10a says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” And Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”To fear Jehovah means to concentrate on the actions of Jehovah. Today's text also describes what Jehovah did. That's the creator. Look at the heavens and the earth and the seas and all the creatures that live there. Look at the light and the darkness. Feel the gravity. Listen to the sound of the rain. Then you realize that focusing on God's creation events is the foundation of wisdom. This will help you realize what is important in our short life. That's wisdom.

I told you right before that one of the characteristics of a wise man is to avoid a quarrel. That is what happens to those who fear God, who are amazed at his creation. Of course it is. People who feel in the depths of their souls the heavens, the earth, the seas, and all the creatures that live there never think of fighting with anyone else. Because his soul is full of the joys of life. Recall the happiest moments you've had in the past. There must have been a moment when you had a loved one, when you got accepted to school or work, when you read a good book and were moved, you know, different, but that's what I don't argue with anyone at the happiest moment. I don't feel like arguing at all. Arguing with someone is proof that your soul is empty.

Some may ask, "No matter how wise a man may be in fear of God, how can you live without a fight? Have you never fought before?" People often fight. A world without fighting is, of course, not possible in this reality There's a fight between individuals and between countries. The closest couples fight, too. Even couples have different habits, values, and world views, which makes them uncomfortable to be together, and we have to live with the conflicts that arise. I don't think I've fought to beat anyone but 'Fighting(go)' to win a tennis match. I may have fought in real life, but I don't remember. You're going to live like me.

I'm not talking about a small disagreement that can easily be overcome, but a previous fight that only ends when you conquer the other side and win. This world today in the 21st century is characterized by the routinizing of fierce fighting. Many people live angry lives. In the history of the world, we went through revolutions such as the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, etc. We've achieved a lot through a revolution that's sort of a fight, but we haven't been happy. When Karl Marx hears this, he'll accuse me of being impotent and ignorant of the world. What do you think of today's civilization and today's life? Among these civilizations, are you happy now? Don't you think people live happy lives by filling in what they say is a condition of happiness? I'm sure you're not, because you're afraid of Jehovah, and I hope so.

I told you, "The fear of Jehovah means that I am focused on the creation of Jehovah." The key to creation is life. The word "the fear of Jehovah" refers to a life-oriented attitude. So the root of wisdom is to focus on life. Life is a physiological phenomenon that lives by breathing, eating, drinking and excreting. Everyone does their best to enjoy life now. It's a visceral phenomenon that's given to every human being, and it's obvious. The problem is not focusing on that phenomenon, but on who eats better. There is a street cat family that visit my house every morning. They are looking for food all day long. It's the fate of wild animals. For them, only physical life is life. They want to be cute to their owners, but it's not absolute to them. So they don't have art and poetry. People are different. Even if you're hungry, you have to share your love with others. Humans are the only animals that can choose the poor as their spouses. Even though life is tough, the poet writes poetry and the painter paints. For humans, life is different from that of animals.

Jesus' disciples experienced Jesus as life. Peter's confession points out it. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” The author of John's Gospel tells a much more theological story. To the Jewish crowd who were proud that their ancestors had eaten in the desert, Jesus declares that even their ancestors could not escape death. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.(요 6:49). The disciples believed that Jesus and the one with him would be eternal, and that he would come back to life at the end. It means that Jesus is the source of life. His disciples' life experiences led him to recognize Jesus as being directly related to God's creation.

John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

This passage is similar to the description of wisdom in the Proverbs. Wisdom existed before the creation of the world, and the logos that point to Jesus rise to the creation of the world. In a way, this doesn't make sense. Jesus was active around 30 A.D. How does he become a logos that already existed in the beginning? You don't have to think that's weird. Let's say these two young people fell in love at first sight. They can only find the meaning of existence through the other side. They want to describe their love relationship as something they loved in their past lives, something that they loved in a star and were banished to Earth because of love. What more can Jesus disciples say when lovers experience this absolute life?

The disciples of Jesus experienced life through Jesus that did not need to be supplemented by anything else in the world. Because they had experienced the fullness of life from him, they could proudly say that believing in him will bring eternal life. Is it hard to believe this? Can't you agree? The absolute world is incomprehensible if you don't experience it. Einstein's theory of relativity says that if you can build a spacecraft that moves faster than light, you can travel time to the past or into the future. We don't understand it from our daily experience. We don't understand black holes. It means that the universe and the history of the Earth and humanity we live on are much deeper than our superficial experience. It's a depth that we can't help but say it's too.

Modern people tend not to experience life, that is, in the depth of their soul. Everyone is busy, but there is no joy in the soul, the fullness of life. You don't know how to live a wise life according to the Proverbs' expression. Many people think that the joy of the soul or a wise life does not feed them. I think only the joy of the soul actually gives us food. He who knows the joys of the soul can think that what is given to him is enough, but he who does not have the pleasure of the soul thinks that much is not enough. The reason I always feel inadequate is because I compare it with other people. The fact that Jesus' disciples experienced Jesus as an absolute life means that they don't have to compare their lives to anyone else. I and you have experienced new life through Jesus so that you don't have to compare it to anyone else, so you don't have to be intimidated by any of the conditions, and you don't have to be self-confident at the same time. This attitude of life is the wise life that the Proverbs says.

God's fundamental attribute

1 Timothy 1:12-17, The Third week of Creation Liturgy, September 15, 2019

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The worst sinner

Besides the Bible and theology, the most exciting story I can tell is tennis. It's been 40 years since it started in 1980. Tennis club members can be divided into two types. While there are members who are steadily improving, there are members whose skills rarely increase. Music, painting, literature, life, all the same, can be developed to the point of death. Because the world is close to infinity. There is pleasure in the process. As the saying goes, "The joy of learning or the joy of reading," there is the joy of tennis, and of course there is the joy of life and of faith. The key to that pleasure is maturity, leap, and development. The maturity, the leap, the development of faith takes place when the world of the Bible is experiencing shockingly. Do you often have that experience in the Bible?

Today's content is part of Paul's letter to Timothy, a fellow and disciple of the faith. As I am reading the content, I've experienced a world where I can't help but call it a surprise, a shock. Paul called himself as “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”(1 Timothy 1:15b). No one think Paul as the worst sinner. Rather Paul once bragged about himself. In Philippians 3:4-5, Paul says, “ though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;.” In 1 Corinthian 11:16, He described how he lived as a worker of Christ for a long time.

Paul is not immoral, shameless, unscrupulous, or atheistic. But the reason he described himself as the head of a sinner is because he experienced redemption. Salvation is an absolute life experience. Nothing is intact in the face of absolute life. In front of the sun's light, the brightness of the flashlight doesn't mean. I'll take tennis as an example again. Last time, Nadal of Spain won the U.S. Open tennis tournament. I also like to play tennis in amateur clubs, but in front of Nadal, I am a chief among sinners. If you say you can't play tennis at all, it'll be worth it, but since you think you know how to play it, it's a sin in front of someone who has entered the absolute world of tennis.

Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Here, sin is not what people think of ethical morality. All our pride and achievements are sinful. People fall into despair as they try to complete their lives with such pride and accomplishment. So it's a sin. People usually hang on to pride and achievement, although there are differences between individuals. People do their best to be recognized by the people around them. You may have experienced it at the Chuseok meeting. The more people cling to pride, achievement, recognition, and praise, the more life shrinks or swells. I was not completely free from pride, achievement and recognition. But I know for certain that it is useless. Those who actually know and believe in Jesus Christ, of course, are free from self-boasting. And that's one of the signs of what happens to the saved. The attitude we need to get out of our pride is to recognize and admit that we are the chief of a sinner.

Eternal King

Paul is not a self-torture or inferior. As I said earlier, he has experienced some absolute world of life. There are two spiritual phenomena in that person. One is to realize how humble he is, as I said before, and the other is God's praise. Paul says he is the chief of a sinner. and then in verse 17, he praises God. These two spiritual phenomena are actually one. Because you can only experience the highest presence at the lowest level. There's no spirituality in the middle. Listen to Paul's hymn. This hymn was called a roll in the church where Paul belonged. The hymn number 11, that we're going to sing a little later today is basically similar to this. If this hymn comes from the center of the soul, this is the man who has experienced the salvation of God.

I read verse 17 again. " Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Here the fundamental attributes of God are described in several words. Anyone who knows this attribute is someone who has experienced God. If you really want to experience God, you have to understand these attributes deeply.

First of all, Paul described God as an eternal king. The term "king" is, of course, a metaphor. At that time, the king was an absolute power to exercise life-or-death authority. But the king of the world dies. It's not forever. When you say that God is the eternal king, it means that only God gives us life. Many Christians hear these words so often that they don't feel shocked. They just accept it and they still try to find the king of the world. They try to find political messiah. They put their neck on a star in the entertainment industry. We expect the kings of the world to guarantee our lives. Paul and other early Christians believed that God alone would guarantee their lives forever.

Think back to the term "eternal" king. Eternal is a concept opposed to finite. The capital, the technology and the politics that govern modern people's lives, no matter how powerful they are, rule us only while we live. Only God, the eternal king, is responsible for our lives beyond our death. Maybe you don't really understand this expression. This is what most people think. "After death, I don't know, and while I'm alive, it's enough to live happily and happily without hard work." That's what I respect. I hope that education, politics and the economy in this country will play this role faithfully. So we fight for political democracy, for economic democracy. Even if it's all right, I'm not satisfied with it. If death completely ends my fate, I might as well die now. Because everything we experience in our lives is vain. There's nothing in vain. All things that have been good for us and all men are not eternal. As having a cup of coffee at a cafe after lunch, our lives end in a moment's. It's also possible to say that it's more precious because it is vain. But I believe that my fate is in God's hands until after death. That is why I praise him as an eternal king. And I do my best to enjoy the life of the God while I live.

How can we know that God is an eternal king who presides over us until after death? Is there any evidence of that? There is no evidence that everyone can agree on. We are the ones who take the Bible as evidence. The Bible testifies everywhere that our fate is not the last thing we think of as death. The culmination of such testimony is the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible and Christian creed say that God raised Jesus from 'the dead'. The dead are the destiny that we are all given. Even though you have a lot of money, you are healthy, you are all "the dead." Jesus disciples and early Christians sang like this, " But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep."(1 Cor. 15:20) Those who believed in him were given a promise of resurrection. It's a belief that you live in seeds, but one day you turn into flowers. Seeds die, but they don't die out completely, they turn into flowers. Some people say that such Bible claims do not have universal support in the world and therefore cannot claim God as an eternal king. If you say that, just let him say so. The truth is not visible to everyone right now. Physical and biological truths aren't the only truth. They're part of the truth. Someday, when the time comes, the truth that the Bible tells will match the truth that physics and biology tell. Until then, we must hold fast to what the Bible says the eternal king means.

The only God!

Verse 17 we read earlier express God as the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. God is immortal. Everything in the world is getting worn and old and dying. Babies are old and decrepit, too. So is the rock, and so is the Earth itself. Early Christians believed that the empire was not destroyed, so if they belonged to the Roman Empire, they were comforted in the face of death. Some people thought so of the family. But all of it is rotten. For God is the source of all that, and he is not corrupt and does not die. God is not going to be in your hands for some. Because they think only what they see is real. We can't see cells and atoms in our eyes right now. But no one can say that there are no cells or atoms. The wind is invisible. But no one says there's no wind. You won't even feel the wind when you indulge in self-pity. We cannot deny that what is invisible is more precious in our lives than what we see. Nevertheless, they reject God unconditionally because he is invisible. That happens when you close your eyes towards the truth.

Here the expression, ‘the only God' is important. This expression is often heard, so you can think of it as a cliche. This expression is shocking enough to shake our entire lives. There is no single organism or thing in the world. Even the rarest creatures and things are the same. Because you can't exist alone. The typical target that exists alone is the sun. So ancient people used to worship the sun as a god. In fact, the sun is just one of many stars. The phrase 'the only' applies only to God. What do you mean? No one in the world can infer God. So Carl Bart said it was impossible to retain the existence of God. It's like a fish in the ocean can't imagine the world outside the water, especially humans. When we meet God, we will not recognize him. Because he's the only one.

The word "the only God" means that everything in the world, including man, is an object, an individual and a part, but God is a total. figuratively, each piece of puzzle that is close to infinity is human and all, and the whole is God. Each piece of the puzzle has a slightly different shape, but is almost identical, and the whole piece is completely distinct from the piece of the puzzle. The whole can be in the shape of Deoksugung Palace or Mount Geumgang. There are several pieces of the puzzle, but the entire Deoksugung Palace and Mount Geumgang shapes are one alone. The puzzle pieces don't know the whole picture. They only recognize that they belong to the whole picture.

It's possible to ask, what is the use of God's fundamental attributes so far in this complex world for us? I'm busy living, I'm tired of taking care of my sick body, and I care about my uncomfortable relationship with my parents-in-law. It's not easy to tolerate loneliness. What does the fact that God is the eternal king have to do with our daily lives? Does God, who is not rotten, invisible, and the only one, give us money or health? Deep knowledge of God does not immediately solve our daily problems. But knowing and experiencing God's fundamental attributes will greatly reduce the problems you think are troublesome in your daily life. To experience God means to accept life on the deepest level. It's like you don't take your child's work seriously when you grow up. So Paul says that in 1 Corinthian 13:11, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." Now, when you grow up, you feel completely new and new about life.

Honor and glory!

The new life comes in the last sentence of today's content. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen!” Our service today is like this one. Be honor and glory to God! If you change the expression that we are used to, it's called worship and praise. What does this actually mean? It means that we use God's fundamental attributes as the content of our lives. This life does not serve the king of the world that is not eternal, nor does it serve what is to be killed, nor does it absoluteize what is seen, nor does it hang on to something that is partial. On the one hand, no matter how difficult the world is, no matter how well it works, it is not arrogant or overly pleasant. It is not that I am indifferent to the affairs of the world, but that I will enjoy and enjoy the fullness of life in God no matter how things unfold. That is the attitude of life to be honor and glory to God under any circumstances. Would you like a more specific answer? The more specific answer is that anyone who goes into God's fundamental attributes will know it by themselves. Please accept me when I finish my sermon by telling you my daily life.

Someone asked me, "You want to have grandchildren, too, don't you?" And I said, "Well, It's not. I don't want anything else for I am living at the height of my life. And if I have grandchildren later on, that's going to be the another moment of culmination." And so is the political issue. I long for the division of North and South Korea to change into a peace regime as soon as possible and for labor, education, and economic systems to be changed justly. But if our history does not pass, I will not despair; if it does, I will not be overjoyed. Because I am already satisfied with God's grace in all the conditions of life that are given to me today. That's actually true.

“The only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen!”

THE PORTER'S HAND

Jeremiah 18:1-11, The second week of Creation Liturgy, September 8, 2019

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’

Jeremiah served as a prophet in Jerusalem for decades before Judah was destroyed by Babylon in 587 B.C. He was born to a family of priests in Anathoth, five kilometers north of Jerusalem. His family is all right. Things were not good in his time. The country was disturbed by the threat of the Imperial Babylon and the public was not happy. The word of God preached by Jeremiah was not very pleasing to the general public, not to mention the royal family and nobility. Most people turned their backs on him. He was imprisoned for disturbing the people, and his life was at stake. The Jews would not have been able to bear it because they were told that the future of the bondage was uncertain at a time when the threat of the Babylonian Empire was too great. The text of today's sermon is one of those criticisms.

According to the text of today's sermon, Jeremiah 18:1 and below, Jeremiah one day visited the home of the potter. These days we don't use many earthenware vessels, but in the old days, most of them were earthenware. Once upon a time, there were many famous potters in our country. Our country also transferred technology to Japan. The potter makes clay his own way and makes rice bowls, glasses, and vases. The shape of the earthenware is not what clay wants. It is determined only by the wishes of the potter. Another important thing here is that the potter also breaks down some of the works that he doesn't like. If the earthenware pot doesn't work as well as you want, mix it in the mud. He makes another work out of it. The potter will have all the deciding rights.

God, the superintendent of history

Jeremiah realized God's will in the house of the potter. Jeremiah proclaimed it to the people of Jerusalem. There are two main things he's been spreading. The first is that the fate of Israel is in God's hands. I'll read the verse 6. The word is solemn enough to ring our souls out of that abyss.

He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

Jeremiah's message that the fate of a country is in God's hands, just as mud is in the hands of the potter, means that the superintendent of history is God. This message would have sounded like nonsense to some people. This is because people think that the fate of a country is determined by an empire. The empire of Jeremiah's time was Babylon. North Israel, which was a brotherly kingdom, was defeated by the Assyrian Empire 140 years ago. As Assyria weakened, Babylon overpowered the eastern Mediterranean. The Empire is bound to have an expansionary policy. Otherwise, it collapses on its own. Most of the small countries that are against the expansionist empires have been defeated. To avoid defeat, a small country must become a colony of tributes. In Jeremiah's time Judea was spared by tribute. The idea that an empire decides history is accepted by people as truth both in the old days and in the present. If you look at the /external appearance of historical phenomenon, that seems right.

The empire of today is America, no matter what you look at. China is a similar country, but it's definitely America, which has a bigger impact on us. The Babylon, where Jeremiah was active, may be evil and now some people may think America is just, but it is not. Babylon was also a very sophisticated, rational, and the most civilized country. In 587 B.C., at the end of Jeremiah's activities, Judea fell. Many nobles and intellectuals were taken prisoner by Babylon in accordance with her policy of assimilation. There they either devoted themselves to learning or lived as state officials with certain benefits. It seems to us that America, the world's strongest nation, has the destiny of the world in its hands. We can't ignore it. There are many people who think that we should read America's countenance as much as possible. There are even people who are reading Japan's countenance.

This issue is not only at the national level. So is our personal lives. The idea of a successful life is pervasive in people only when there is such a powerful force as the empire. I don't have to tell you one by one what it looks like in our lives today. I'm sure you're familiar with the story behind the Justice Minister's hearing these days. The reason that many young people feel uncomfortable about the justice minister candidate is that he actually lived a very strong vested interest in liberal values. I don't know, but his family would be in the top 1 percent of our country. Any parent in that class would have made such an effort as it was revealed to the Ministry of Justice's family for their children. If his daughter went to a high school where all the talented students from across the country, she would have made a point of exchanging information for herself. It's not illegal, but it's enough to give a sense of deprivation to young people who can't get there. It can't happen in a country like Germany. I don't think this problem is solved by witch-hunting criticism of either parent or student. The biggest problem is that Korea is an academic society. The academic hierarchy continues to affect teenagers from the beginning to the end of their lives. Even if you become a pastor, it is good in Korea to graduate from Seoul National University. Academicism and imperialism are the same thing.

Jeremiah declared a completely different message. He says the fate of Israel, or the people of Jerusalem, is determined by God, not by the hands of the empire. It means that God is the master of history. Look at the numerous empires that have appeared in the past history. The strongest empire was Rome. There are also many books and papers on the history of the fall of Rome. There's a debate about whether the cause of the collapse is external or internal. What's important is that Rome, which seemed to last forever, collapsed in vain. China thinks it's the world's center. So the name also uses the word Jung(中), which means center. Do you think so? Protests are now continuing in Hong Kong that are comparable to the civil revolution. Tibet has long been trying to become independent from China. Many other minorities will also be separated when there is an opportunity. Just like the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990's and was divided into countries. The right concept for this is the butterfly effect. No one knows when or what will happen.

The ancient prophets were able to confirm that God was breaking up the history of the Empire and making a new one in the Outer Oyster case. Ancient Israel could not dream that they would be liberated from Egypt. The first reason for this was that they managed to make ends meet in Goshen, Egypt, and the second reason was that Egypt's power was too strong. They crossed the Red Sea in Moses' guidance. It was God's power that ancient Israel first experienced at the ethnic level. After Egyptian horsemen fell into the Red Sea and died in pursuit of Israel, the young women, including Moses' sister, danced and sang the following song. “Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”(Exo. 15:21). What do you think? Do you agree that God is the master of world history?

The Opened future

The second message Jeremiah issued to the people of Jerusalem is that God changes his initial thoughts. That's what's written in verse 8. If a nation turns away from evil, it will undo what God had planned to do, and if a nation does evil in God's sight, then God will reconsider the good God had intended to do for it. According to this, the criterion for God to change his original will is evil. It is often said that if we try to lead good life, God will bless us; if we do evil reversely, God will punish us. If you're not very naive, you know the world doesn't work this way. You can't conclude that a good person is always healthy, rich, and has a happy family We cannot conclude that the life of a wicked man is going to get worse. We should not accept Jeremiah's message that turning away from evil is blessed, and that doing evil is punished as a lesson of the good and bad. That's a lesson that can come from teachers of ethics in the East and the West. The Bible is a more fundamental dimension.

When God changes his mind, it means that history is not closed, but open. The former is history determinism, and the latter is history openness. Historical determinism is more familiar to us. If you switch to a term that we're used to, it's a theory of planning. In other words, God has scheduled those to be saved and those to be thrown away. Partly the theory of the plan is not wrong, but the whole Bible is misleading. If we mechanically press forward with the theory of the schedule, we have no responsibility for history. Everything is scheduled, so there is no choice between evil and distrust. It's a kind of fatalism. Scheduled theory doesn't mean that history can't be predetermined and changed, but it means that our salvation is mysterious.

Jeremiah, the prophet, is not sitting idle at his desk discussing historical philosophy, saying, "History determinism or openness." Now, in the present situation of Judea, his people, who are afraid of the Babylonian Empire, are proclaiming God's will in the spirit of vomiting blood. At that time, the Jews were either afraid that their country might be destroyed like any other country around them, or they were convinced that God would protect them unconditionally. And that conviction is actually a phenomenon that comes from anxiety. The Jewish people were in a state of complete disarray and anxiety. Jeremiah conveys the will of God that he has realized. The future of Judea has not been decided. The fate of all countries, not just Jews, has not been decided. You don't have to be vaguely determined or despairing. The fate of the Jewish people depends on what they do here. In light of this, Jeremiah expressed his willingness to change his will, taking the risk that God's concept of omnipotence could be compromised.

Not only the nation, but also the future of the individual is open, not closed. Some people live by feeling this fact, while others do not. People who don't feel this are either bored with life or are obsessed with it somewhere. On the other hand, people who feel this live in tension, looking at life as interesting. Let's say someone went on their first trip to Eastern Europe. Prague in the Czech Republic is good, too. He walks through these alleyways with a bag on his back, or with a map in his hand, or a smartphone with a map app in his hand. It's interesting because he doesn't know what's going to happen around that alley. When we look at our daily lives on the surface, the same thing seems to happen over and over again. If it's new, it's just a lot of money and a lot of social status. From the depth of everyday life, today and tomorrow are completely different. The peach flavor we eat today is different from the peach taste we eat tomorrow. Today's feeling of rain and wind is definitely different from tomorrow's. Today's me and tomorrow's me are different. If you go deep into your soul, tomorrow is much more new. If we're ready, our future will be completely new. Because the future is not closed. The culmination of such a new future experience is the experience of heaven.

In his book 'Days of Awe and Wonder' Marcus J. Borg says about Jesus' alternative wisdom as follows. I read a part of it. "The alternative wisdom of Jesus, the path that many people haven't yet gone, is, in fact, a life that lives in the relationship with the Holy Spirit. The wisdom of Jesus leads us to a life of holiness -- God -- that is a very central place within. In contrast, life follows conventional wisdom, which most of us have lived for a long time. I hope we all pay attention to two of the many consequences of living in a world of conventional wisdom. One thing is that conventional wisdom blinds us to surprises." Marcus Borg's conventional wisdom is that he sees life as a fixed entity. It's a closed world view. No matter whether there is knowledge or wealth, a person bound by conventional wisdom does not experience the wonders of life.

There is actually one message that Jeremiah would like to convey to the people of Jerusalem. In other words, look not only at the international political technology level, but at the relationship with God. Verse 11b says the relationship with God: “So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions..” The text does not specify what the evil way is. We know what the prophets of the Old Testament share in common. These are two things. One is idolatry, and the other is to make society feel bad about orphans and widows. These two things work together. Idol-ism is materialism. It's the attitude of life that regards money as the best value. In a materialistic society, if the gap between the haves and have-nots increases, the social poor will increase. Most of the countries of the time went on this evil path just as they do now. It's a natural thing to look like this. You have to eat well and live well, and you have to increase your defense spending. In order to do so, we need to build up the strength of our country. In these times, the just world was not a concern for people. So did Judea, the kingdom of Jeremiah. Jeremiah appealed to the people to turn away from the evil road as soon as possible, because God planned to bring disaster on him.

Did the Jews listen to Jeremiah? Sadly, no, of course, they didn't listen to Jeremiah's message. According to Jer. 18:12, the next passage of the text of today's sermon, they mocked Jeremiah's words as futile. They're going to keep living the way they've been. According to Jer. 18:18, there was a collective voice against Jeremiah, and they conspired to kill Jeremiah. These days, there are many people in Korea who are uncomfortable with or refuse to reform. It's the same with personal life. The conventional attitude of life within us holds on to us.

Dear saints, do you usually live with the full power, the providence, and the power of God, like the hand of a potter? Or do you absolutize the world experience you've accumulated so far? Don't forget. We are clay and earthenware in the hands of the potter. Our fate is in the hands of the potter, God. For those who accept it will be blessed by God who does not expect it.

2019년 9월 6일 금요일

God's repentance

Jonah 3:1-5,10, Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 21, 2018.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

The calling of Jonah
There are no Christians who don't know the story of Jonah. Children in Sunday school listen to Jonah without any hesitation. Because the story is exciting. Jonah is a prophet. The book of Jonah followed his name. According to Jonah 1:1, Jonah is the son of Amittai. One day Jehovah spoke to him.“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” It means that the judgment of God is coming. Jonah should have answered 'Amen' and obeyed it. But Jonah does strange things. Let's read John 1:3. "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord" Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh, which God had said. Jonah tried to hide somewhere. Tarshish is the furthest place on Jewish soil.

Jonah's boat to Tarshish is a trading ship that goes around the Mediterranean Sea. The wind and waves have risen greatly. People threw things inside ships into the sea to make them lighter. That hasn't solved it. The fear of being sunk captivated both the crew and passengers. They eventually decided to pick people and throw them into the sea. Jonah won. They threw Jonah into the sea, the wind stopped, and the big fish swallowed her whole. Three days later, the fish vomited Jonah on land and Jonah survived. It's a fairy tale.

Jonah said she prayed to God for three days in the belly of the fish. It's in Chapter 2 because it's Yoga. It's a prayer from a very deep sigh. So the verse 2:5 is like this. "Water has brought me to my soul, and deep has surrounded me, and sea grass has wrapped my head." This is the seventh verse. "When my soul was tired in me, I thought of Jehovah, and my prayer came to you and went mad at the temple of the LORD." This means that Jonah was trapped in the darkness of his soul and gained new strength through him. Jesus once told the story of Jonah (Luke 11:29-32, Matt. 12:38-42). When people asked Jesus to show them a sign, Jesus said there was nothing to do but "the sign of Jonah." Jonah's sign refers to three days of captivity in a large fish's belly and then surviving.

God's compassion
Jonah says he'd rather die than feel bad about the Nineveh people being saved from extinction. For Jonah, the last thing God gave him was the verse 4:11. And it fully contains God's heart. "And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?"' The text cites the number of strangers living in Nineveh. Furthermore, livestock is mentioned. This includes the fact that God is the one who created them. The Jews rejected the Gentiles, but God couldn't let them. God is trying to save them. This is the momentum that the exclusive and selective salvation of Jews extends to the inclusive and universal salvation based on God's compassion and mercy.

Jonah, who has barely survived, takes the word of Jehovah again in verse 3:1. The message is to go to Nineveh and proclaim the word of Jehovah, just like the first one. Nineveh is an ancient city on the coast of the Tigris River, which is relatively close to the Jewish land where Jonah lived. It became a major city in Asshur since the 12th century of B.C. It was said that Sennacherib, king of Asshur, used it as the capital and became the most cinematic and prosperous city in the Middle and Near East at that time. This time Jonah obeyed to the word and went to Nineveh instead of course went to Nineveh. But Jonah's message is very dry. “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”' (Jonah 3:4). He didn't even explain what was wrong with the people of Nineveh. Jonah didn't say that if they repent then Jehovah would save them. This means that Jonah came to Nineveh after receiving the second word, but he never wanted to declare God's word.

Jonah had a lot of complaints from the start. He could not understand God's will. It's similar to Job's story. Job also made a mutterous remark toward God. Furthermore, both of them struggled to die. This is Job 3:11. 'Why didn't I come out of my womb dead or why didn't I die when my mother broke up?' these expressions are repeated It's Job 7:15. "I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine." Jonah has a similar sigh in the fish's stomach. It's 4:3. "Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Jonah says that again in verse 4:8. "It would be better for me to die than to live." Job and Jonah said in different circumstances, but the meaning is the same. It means that I am dying because I cannot understand God's will.

God's repentance
Job's feelings are understandable to us. It was hard to accept that even though he wasn't guilty, he encountered a catastrophic event and was sympathetic to and condemned by his friends. Jonah's case is a little different. According to section 4:1, Jonah is "very angry and angry." You can see what the reason is in the preceding passage, section 3:10.

When God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil ways, he did not bring down the disaster that God had said to them, "Go back to your will."

If the people of Nineveh had turned away from the evil ways so that God would not bring about the disaster he was about to bring down on Nineveh, Jonah, as a prophet who went to Nineveh and delivered the word, had to rejoice, because it was the result of the proclamation of God But Jonah was rather angry. God tried to persuade Jonah not to be angry, but she insisted. I'm not even sure if Jonah has collected her claims later. Why is Jonah so stubborn?

I often see people in 21st century Korean churches with similar attitudes to Jonah. They claim a self-righteous salvation view. They insist that there is no salvation outside the church. Furthermore, there is no salvation in the Roman Catholic Church, and there is no salvation in other Protestant churches. They are often accused of others being a liberal. The libertarians they speak of are the ones who cannot be saved. The closer they get to pseudo heterodoxy, the stronger they become to the closed of salvation. The so-called "Shincheonji" claims that the 144,000 people in the book of Revelation belong to their sect. The common practice of people falling into this closed, dogmatic and exclusive salvation is that they get angry and hate the way they live, even if their faith is a little different from theirs.

Jews in the Jonah era thought that God only gave the Jews grace and salvation. All strangers must be judged. But the Nineveh people suddenly became the ones who were saved by God. So Jonah had to say it was better to die than to accept this. It's similar to people who criticize homosexuals and those who demand alternative military service. Passion toward God can be reduced to madness. The difference between a prophet and a false prophet is also a piece of paper. It's not that Jonah is a false prophet. He tried to tell the Gentiles that God's salvation was declared and practiced, even through the performance he was destroying. In this respect, he is a real prophet.

Jonah explained this through theological concept, which is hard to accept as a Jew. In Jonah 3:10, he said, 'God changes his mind.' The attributes of God that we know are eternal. Paul also confessed that God had chosen him before eternity. Calvin said more famous things. "God has already double-scheduled those to be chosen by God and those to be abandoned by God." The tradition of the Exodus says God has been stubborn the heart of Pharaoh, Egypt's most powerful man. It was an unacceptable argument in the Jonah era that God, almighty and eternal, changed his mind in the middle. Jonah has now made a bold declaration of that enormous argument. It's revolutionary. Such a declaration would not have been easy to accept at the time.

Some of you may want to emphasize that the Nineveh people have repented in this story. It's not that important. If it were important, Jonah would not get angry, but rather cheer. The key point here is that God changes his will to save even the Gentiles. The basis for God's change of heart is his compassion. It was also the compassion of the person who recorded Jonah. And that's what we need today.

If the Gentiles can be saved, they can say that Jews, as God's chosen people, do not have to obey the law. In our case, it's possible to argue that you don't have to come to church now. These refutations come from still not knowing God's grace and mercy. More fundamentally, it's because it misunderstands redemption. Salvation is only God's remit, and is therefore given according to his will, not by our efforts. All we can do is do our best to save everyone. We have to hold on to the fact that God can change his mind, even if there are people who are forced to be ostracized, such as those who are shameless or have acted against humanity. And that's what we have to do. I'll explain in two ways what it's like to be.

The depth of universal salvation

One is the social dimension. The world in which we live said, 'You are excluded from salvation.' operates in a way. It's sociologically a otherizing phenomenon. Think about school education. School education is conducted in such a way as to exclude students who cannot study or cause problems. They are treated like strangers. The number of students who passed Seoul National University is evaluated by high school. Not just education, but society is being tamed in this way. These days, young people with school education and social experience view North Korea as having decided to participate in the PyeongChang Olympics. We're otherizing them in. These days, it's less, but not so long ago, there were a lot of people who said, "They're pro-North Korean leftists, so we shouldn't deal with them." They think inwardly that stranger can't be saved, I can't accept that happening, and I'd rather die than accept it. They don't say I'm going to die on the outside, but think it in their mind. On the other hand, the text says that God also changes his meaning. What an amazing declaration? The Church should take the lead in expanding this amazing manifesto to the world. If you're a person who actually believes in God, of course you should.

The other one is on a personal level. We're tamed by the way we deny the lives of strangers in our lives. The legal life has stuck in our lives. The idea of being unhappy when I'm poor completely dominates me. This idea pushes our lives through a very narrow gap. Like Jonah, there are many things that modern people hate and get angry They can't stand the sight of strangers in their lives. These days, as I get older, I feel that I should never do anything compared to other people. Because everyone has their own depth and fragrance of life. Life doesn't make sense only when it's like any other. In the case of a pastor, you don't have to have a big church pastoral to have a sense of meaning and pride. As long as you are ready to serve God, the big church is the big one, and the small church is the small one, and everything is the best and its pinnacle. So is your life. If you're in bad health, you're in bad shape, you're out of money, you're out of education, you have your unique depth of life. If we miss that depth of life and become strangers, our lives will be destroyed. God will accept your life not by the standards of men but by the standards of God, so let your heart rest.

It's not vague or romantic, it's real. For God is a man who is turning his will for us, and the light of salvation shines on us in an unexpected situation. No matter how dark it may seem, the light of salvation comes without fail. To give you a very extreme example, if a person diagnosed with terminal cancer lived a life-sufficient life in a nursing home for the rest of his life, he was the one who entered the light of salvation in life. Even before we fall into such extreme situations, we can experience the light of salvation. Just as God's salvation was in Nineveh.

What we need here is to realize and experience the holy compassion and mercy of God. That's what the writer of Jonah was trying to convey. Hold God's compassion for those who cannot discern the right or the left and the livestock, and God's mercy for them to change his will. If you actually do that, you'll see that the world and your life are filled with completely new light, just as the sounders feel in their own good. And that light we experienced most specifically through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the son of God, who has changed his will to save us from extinction. Those who believe in him will taste the light of life through God's holy compassion and mercy.

Blessed Life

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 17

Luke 14:7-14

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”