“A Realistic Optimist” (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)

Unforgettable Encouragement

Have you received unforgettable encouragement? I do. It was when I was in 6^th grade. At that time, I was strongly addicted to video games. I had to play every single day. I could not control myself. I even stole my parents' money to play games. I got into bad company. I often told lies to my parents to cover up my wrongdoings. One day during winter vacation several mothers from my class came to see my mother. At that time I was taking a nap in my room. The sound of their conversation woke me up. The parents thought I was outside. They began to talk about me and my wrongdoings at school. There was only one compliment, and the rest of them were all criticism. I was so embarrassed and afraid. I pretended to take a nap for a long time. After a while, I went out to the living room. My mother smiled at me and just said one thing, "My son, today we had visitors from your school. They said you have many friends, and you are popular at school. I am very proud of you." She shared the one and only compliment that she had heard. At that moment I knew I was forgiven. I was so deeply moved by her love and forgiveness. From that day I was able to overcome video game addictions.

 Encouragement for the Church

I share this because the Corinthian church in today’s passage receive the same kind of encouragement from the Apostle Paul. His first encouragement is about identity – approving of who you are. He says in verse 2, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling…” (NASB). Here Paul uses “past tense,” which means the church has already received the ultimate word of approval and acceptance. Paul’s second encouragement is aptitude encouragement – approving of what you do. In verse 5 he says, “In every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind” (NRSV). Eugene Peterson translates verse 7 this way: “Just think – you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all” (MSG). Then, Paul’s third encouragement is about approving of where you are headed, trajectory encouragement. In verse 8 he says, “Jesus will sustain you to the end.” In other words, Paul tells the Corinthians that they are on the right track. So, the three words of encouragement from Paul are:

·     Your identity is sure. You are sanctified.  
·      Your gifts are sufficient. You are enriched in every way.  
·      Your future is secure. You are on the right track.

Problems in the Corinthian Church

If you hear up to this point, it sounds like the Corinthian church was doing a wonderful job – an attractive, loving, perfect church. But in reality, the Corinthian church was filled with problems. The church was known for judging each other harshly. They were divided over prominent leaders – Peter, Paul, Apollos, and even Christ. Some of the church members committed adultery, not repentant but boastful. Some practiced their “Christian liberty” and hurt other church members’ feelings. One church member initiated lawsuits against another. The powerful ignored the needs of the poor in the church. The list goes on.

If we consider the reality of what was happening in the Corinthian church, we cannot but ask the following question: “How can we believe the content of Paul’s encouragement? Why is he so naïve to think everything is ok? On what basis is he so positive and optimistic?”

Simply Jesus

The answer is Jesus. Now I am going to read today’s passage very carefully. While I am reading it, please count how many times the word “Jesus” occurs:

 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

    To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind – just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1:1-9, NRSV)

In these 9 verses the name Jesus occurs eight times, and if we include the pronoun that refers to Jesus, it would be about 13 times. We can see how much “Christ-saturated” view Paul has. All of Paul’s surprising encouragement is firmly grounded in Christ. Yes, more than anybody else Paul was keenly aware of the Corinthians’ flaws and their problems. But he sees all things through Jesus’ eyes. Here Paul is saying, “Corinthians, you are sanctified not in yourselves, but in Christ Jesus. Your speech, your knowledge, your gifts are enriched in Christ. And in Christ, God will sustain you to the end.” So in the midst of all the problems Paul is still able to say to the church, “I give thanks to my God always for you!” (v. 4) Paul is a realistic optimist in Christ.

 A Realistic Optimist

In his book Here and Now Henri Nouwen talks about how his friend is a realistic optimist. Wherever he goes, whomever he meets, this friend radiates joy. He doesn’t deny human sufferings, nor is he blind or deaf to the great sorrow that surrounds him. But his spirit always gravitates toward the light in the darkness like a sunflower. Whenever Henri Nouwen meets him, he is tempted to draw his attention to the wars between nations, the starvation among children, the corruption in politics, and the gun violence, and racism, trying to impress him with the brokenness of the human race. Then his friend smiles and says, “I saw two children sharing their bread with one another, and I heard a woman say ‘thank you’ and smile when someone covered her with a blanket. These simple poor people gave me new courage to live my life.” After his conversation with the friend, Nouwen concludes, “My friend’s joy is contagious… Yes, I know there is a sun, even though the skies are covered with clouds. While my friend always spoke about the sun, I kept speaking about the clouds, until one day I realized that it was the sun that allowed me to see the clouds.”[1]

On another occasion, Henri Nouwen had an opportunity to meet Mother Teresa. At that time he was struggling and overwhelmed with all kinds of social issues. As soon as they sat down, Nouwen started explaining all his problems and difficulties— again trying to convince her of how complicated it all was. After ten minutes of elaborate explanation, he finally became silent. Mother Teresa looked at him quietly and said, “Well, when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord and never do anything which you know is wrong . . . you will be fine!”[2] Here we find one thing in common between Nouwen’s friend and Mother Teresa. Both of them keep focusing on God – his faithfulness, his goodness, his grace, his sovereignty – rather than the fickleness of humans. Both of them keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky. These are messengers of hope, the true realistic optimists.

Take Heart!

Paul is going to talk about problems later. But first, he wants the Corinthian church to know their identity is sure because it was given to them by Christ, their gifts are sufficient because they were given by Christ, and their future is secure because it has been prepared for them by Christ.

So what does this mean for us – individually and collectively as a church? As we look into ourselves and our church, we will be easily disappointed with our own brokenness and the messiness of the church. As we look around, we will be disheartened at the news of the day. But today’s scripture tells us, “Take heart! Invite Jesus, have Jesus at the center of your story, your life, your thoughts, your imaginations. If you can do that, you will see that God’s unchanging reality is still much more powerful than what you are going through today.” No matter how many problems we might have today, in Christ our identity is sure – we are called, we are sanctified, we are beloved. In Christ our gifts are sufficient – we are enriched, we are equipped, we are empowered. And in Christ our future is secure – we are on the right track, we will be sustained to the end. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Today may we hear these words of encouragement from God. May we not try to build our own identity, but rather, may we have Jesus at the center of our life and live into the identity that has been given to us by Christ. Amen. 

 

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[1] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Here and Now: Living in the Spirit (The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994), 32-33.

[2] Ibid., 102.

 

 

 

 

 

“Living Well, Dying Well” (John 11:17-27; 1 Cor 15:50-58)

Death’s Bite Remains

It was yesterday morning when the phone rang. It was sad news about the sudden death of one of the most faithful members at the Hodgdon UMC. At first, I couldn’t believe my ears. Still can’t. She was at the Easter worship service. She invited my children to come over to her place and learn how to bake oatmeal bread during this upcoming spring break. But now she is gone. Last Sunday we sang and celebrated the resurrection of Christ. Indeed Jesus conquered death through his resurrection. Death’s sting is removed but its bite still remains. So we mourn and grieve the loss of our loved ones.

As I was grieving all day yesterday, somehow the story of Lazarus came to my mind. Jesus knew that he would shortly raise Lazarus from the dead. But when he stood before the tomb, he wept. Jesus wept (John 11:35). In our broken world Jesus suffers with us. He mourns with us. He is with us. The story of Lazarus begins this way: “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha” (v. 1). It looks like they were very close to Jesus. Verse 5 says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” When Lazarus got seriously ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.” They were anxiously waiting for Jesus and for his miracle. But when Jesus heard this, he stayed two more days where he was (v. 6). In other words, Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, so he stayed two more days. He waited until Lazarus was completely dead. Why? How can this be? Jesus answers our “why” question later in verse 15, saying, “For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” In other words, Jesus waited until God’s time, so that they (and we!) might know the God of today, the God of resurrection.

The God of Yesterday

When Jesus arrives in Lazarus’s place, Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. Both Martha and Mary say to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vv. 21, 32). Here what they were saying is, “Lord, it’s too late. Now there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s over.” They believe in the Jesus of “yesterday,” but they don’t believe in the Jesus of “today.” All of us in this room have our own testimonies. We have our stories – how we met Jesus, how we were healed, etc. – at some point in our lives. We believe that Jesus died for our sins. We believe that Jesus was raised from the dead to make us righteous. We believe historical Jesus, the Jesus of yesterday. But too often, we think that there is nothing even Jesus can do about what we are going through today. We think, “It is too late,” “Even Jesus cannot do anything at this point!” However, today Jesus comes to Martha, and he says to her, “Your brother will rise again today!” (v. 23)

The God of Tomorrow

Then, Martha answers, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (v. 24). Now she believes in the Jesus of “tomorrow,” but she still doesn’t believe in the Jesus of “today.” She has some kind of faith in the resurrection of the dead on the last day. But still, she doesn’t know what to do in front of the present, real death of the loved one. Martha believes in the Jesus of yesterday, she believes in the Jesus of tomorrow, but she doesn’t know yet the Jesus of today.

The God of Today

So Jesus says to Martha, “I AM the resurrection, and I AM the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (vv. 25-26) Martha replies, “Yes, Lord” Jesus says to her, “Then, take away the stone” (v. 39). She is shocked and says, “But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” In Jewish tradition, if someone is buried in a tomb for 4 days, then people consider that person dead completely. So, from a human’s perspective, Lazarus is completely dead. But now, Jesus says, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? Take away the stone!” (v. 40) So the people take away the stone – the stone of doubt, the stone of unbelief. Then, Jesus looks up and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me!” (v. 41) Jesus completely trusts in the God of today. And he calls in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” Then, the dead man, Lazarus, does come out.

The Best Is Yet to Come

Lazarus was raised, but later he died again. The resurrection of Lazarus is in a sense the prelude to what would happen to Jesus himself – his death and resurrection. In his death and resurrection, Jesus crushed the Serpent’s head. Jesus destroyed the one who had the power of death. Death is not a natural part of life, but the most unnatural part of life you could imagine. Death is a horrible enemy, the last enemy, attempting to keep us in the grave. But in his death and resurrection, Jesus set us free from the grave, from the fear of dying and death. So now we can say in Christ, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” The Jesus of today who raised Lazarus now reigns, until he has put all his enemies, including death, under his feet.

Death’s sting has been removed, but its bite remains. But it does not have the last word for Christians. Only Jesus’ cross and resurrection define our destiny. Today we do mourn and grieve. But we do not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Th 4:13), because we know the best is yet to come. A Christian’s last is his or her best. Richard Sibbes rightly said, “Christians are happy people in their life, but happier in their death, because then they go to Christ; but happiest of all in heaven; for then they are with Christ.” We can only imagine that day!

The apostle Paul always lived with the end in mind, saying, “I die every day” (1 Cor 15:31). To die well is a matter of every day. To die well is a matter of the whole life. So Paul concludes today’s scripture, the resurrection chapter, this way: [When all has been heard, the conclusion is] “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58). Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us live each day as if our last. Let us die every day – die to self and live for Christ every day. Then when death comes knocking on our door, we will end our days with comfort and joy. Amen.

“Living the Resurrection” (Luke 24:28-35)

The Walk to Emmaus

George Gallop did a poll that said 84% of people who never go to church believe Jesus rose from the dead. But many people, and perhaps some of you in this room, may wonder, “So what? It happened 2,000 years ago. Does it really matter? Is it relevant to my life?” The answer is “YES.”

Today’s scripture tells us why the resurrection of Jesus is so important and how we can also live the resurrection in everyday life. In today’s story we meet two disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and perhaps his wife, who were heading home in Emmaus after a traumatic weekend. As they walked along for about two hours (seven miles), they were talking about everything that had happened that week – Jesus’ suffering, his death, and even his resurrection. But the news about Jesus’ resurrection itself (vv. 23-24) didn’t affect their lives. They still looked sad when Jesus camp up and join the conversation. And they couldn’t recognize Jesus because they were overcome with anxiety, grief, and fear. But later, their hearts were burning and they returned to Jerusalem with new hope. Something happened somewhere in the between. I believe that something is the resurrection meal written in verse 30:

When he (Jesus) was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Took, blessed, broke, gave – these four verbs summarize the life of Jesus and also the pattern for our lives.

Life of Jesus

Took. God took Jesus. When Jesus was born and presented in the temple, Simeon praised God, “My eyes have seen your salvation!” (Luke 2:30). When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he cried out, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Indeed, Jesus took our sins and brought himself to God. And God took Jesus.

Blessed. God blessed Jesus. When Jesus was about to start his ministry and baptized, coming up from the water, there was a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). When the time drew near for him to go to Jerusalem, Jesus took Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain. Before them he was transfigured. Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt 17:5). Jesus is God’s Messiah – God’s anointed one, blessed one.

Broke. But then Jesus was broken, his blood poured out. Even though Jesus is God’s blessed one, he was broken and became a curse for us on the cross (Gal 3:13). Prophet Isaiah proclaims this wonderful truth this way: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Is 53:5, NIV). Again Paul declares, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Co 5:21, NIV). Jesus was broken so we could be made whole.

Gave. God took Jesus, blessed Jesus, broke Jesus. There is more! “God raised him up and put an end to suffering of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24). Christ is risen from the dead. And he has become the firstfruits of those who have died (1 Co 15:20). Jesus has become the pioneer of our salvation (Heb 2:10), the trailblazer of the abundant life, eternal life, resurrection life. And he says to us today, “I am the bread of life. Come and eat my flesh and drink my blood. Come and follow the path that I have set before you.” (cf. John 6:35-59)

The Pattern for Our Lives[i]

So the pattern for the Christian life, the resurrection life is in these four verbs: take, bless, break, give. First, Jesus takes what we bring to him – our bread, our fish, our sins, our fear, our strength, our weakness, our hunger, our thirst, whatever we are, just as we are. Most of all we bring ourselves to Jesus. And he takes us.

Jesus then blesses and gives thanks for what we bring. He doesn’t criticize or condemn or reject our offering. Jesus welcomes us just as we are. He loves us not because we did something good or impressive for him. He just loves us even before we commit our lives to him. When Israel, God’s people, was still in their sins, God said to them through Prophet Zephaniah, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (3:17). Our giving does not change God; it changes us. Jesus gives thanks for who we are in our bringing.

Jesus breaks what we bring to him. Even though Jesus welcomes us just as we are, once we ourselves are in Jesus’ hand, we are not permitted to remain the same. Our pride is crucified, our self-sufficiency is broken, our selfishness is pruned. In Jesus’ hand we experience some kind of death.

Then Jesus gives back what we are and who we are. But it is no longer what we brought. It’s new creation, new life, new power, new hope, new bread that can feed many others.

Living the Resurrection

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. His resurrection matters because through his resurrection Jesus has become the trailblazer of our salvation. Now we can follow the path that he has set before us. Now we can live the resurrection in everyday life: take, bless, break, give.  

Let me give you an illustration of what it looks like to live the resurrection. When Martin Luther King Jr. became a part of leadership of the Montgomery bus protest, he began to receive threatening phone calls and letters. Late one night Dr. King received another house bombing threat phone call. He could not sleep. He was concerned about his wife and little ones. He was overcome with worry and fear. He was ready to give up. When his courage had almost gone, Dr. King determined to take his problems to God. He prayed, “I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid… I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” At that moment he experienced the presence of God. And he heard the quiet assurance of the risen Christ, saying, “Stand up for righteousness, stand up for truth. God will be at your side forever.”[ii] The outer situation remained the same, but one thing changed. The presence of the risen Christ became a reality for him. His fears were gone. He was ready to face anything. Three nights later, his home was bombed. But strangely enough, he was peaceful. God gave him a new strength and trust.

At our table the risen Christ is present among us as host today. Come to Jesus today and at every table. Bring yourselves – your doubt, your anxiety, your frustration, your sorrow, uncertainty for the future, fear of illness, or dying or death, whatever you are. Bring it here to him and trust him. And Jesus will take it – take you, bless you, break you (the old self), and give you new life. And you will say, “I no longer live, but the risen Christ lives in me!” (Gal 2:20) Amen.   

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[i] Eugene H. Peterson, Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in Everyday Life (Kindle Locations 796-797). NavPress. Kindle Edition.

[ii] Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love (Fortress Press 2010), 116-17.