“O Love That Will Never Let Me Go” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

 

*What Our Lord Saw from the Cross, by James Tissot.

Breathing Underwater

How was your week? There are times when we feel like we breathe underwater – overwhelmed and struggling just to keep up. For me, last Thursday was one of those days. I worked hard, but I very unmotivated, unproductive, and unfulfilled. My “To do list” kept growing. Sermon ideas were not coming together. The visitation list was long. Reports were due. I did not have enough time with my children. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t catch up. So, I went out for a run. Running usually gives me joy and a sense of accomplishment. But that day, even running betrayed me. My body felt heavy. My ankle hurt. I felt cold and hungry. I wanted to stop. I almost called Joyce to pick me up. I barely finished. It was a low day. But early the next morning, God lifted my heart as I meditated on today’s scripture – 1 Corinthians 13.

 

Problems Analyzed (13:1-3)

We know 1 Corinthians 13 as the love chapter. It is often read at weddings. And that is beautiful. But the original situation was very different. When Paul wrote this letter, the Corinthian church was in serious trouble. They were divided over their favorite leaders. They tolerated serious sexual sin. They were proud and competing over spiritual gifts. So their worship became chaotic. In short, Corinthian church was messy. It was falling apart.

 

In this particular context, Paul goes straight to the heart of the problem: They lacked love. They were smart, eloquent, rich, but they didn’t love each other. They had spiritual enthusiasm and gifts, but they didn’t love each other. They engaged community service and involvement, but they didn’t love each other. That’s why the Corinthian church was struggling. And when we think about it, most problems in life come from the same place – a lack of love. We desperately need more love.

 

The Love that We Need (13:4-7)

After diagnosing the problem, Paul gives the cure. The love we need is Agape love – a love that is patient and kind, a love that is not self-seeking, a love that forgives, a love that always protects, always trusts, always endures. This Agape love is perfectly shown in Jesus Christ.

 

The artist James Tissot helps us see this through his painting What Our Lord Saw from the Cross.[1] Instead of looking at Christ on the cross, we see what Christ saw from the cross. We see soldiers gambling for his clothes. We see religious leaders mocking him. We see a curious and ignorant crowd. We see grieving women and other disciples.

 

From the cross, Jesus himself was suffering beyond words. Yet he was not focused on himself. He didn’t just see the crowd. Instead, he saw each and every individual face. He saw his torturers and prayed, “Father, forgive them.” Love keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus saw the thief and said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Love is kind. He saw his mother and his beloved disciple and said, “Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.” Love is not self-seeking. From Christ’s own view, the cross is not just suffering. It is Agape love. Jesus saw the broken world below him. And he chose to stay. Love bears all things, endures all things.

 

Love Begets Love

Christ’s love compels us. We may have natural love for our family and friends, but Agape love does not come from us. It is a gift. When we come to the cross and trust Christ crucified, Christ’s love is poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

 

Let me share a story that shows how Christ’s love changes us. Many of you may know the story told in the book and film End of the Spear. In 1956, five young missionaries flew into the jungles of Ecuador to reach the Waorani people, a tribe known for violence and isolation. These men loved Jesus deeply. They believed Christ’s love was for everyone, even those who had never heard his name. After making several friendly contacts, they landed on a sandbar to meet the tribe. But something went terribly wrong. All five men were speared to death. When the news came back to the United States, it felt like a tragedy. A failure. Five young lives lost. Families broken. Children left without fathers. It seemed like their sacrifice had accomplished nothing. What a waste.

 

But the story did not end there. Instead of turning away in anger, the wives of these men did something surprising. They stayed. Some of them even went back to live among the very people who had killed their husbands. The tribe chief later asked, “Why?” The wives answered, “Because Christ loved us first. We wanted to show you there is a new way of life in him.” That’s Agape love – the love that suffers, the love that forgives, the love that stays. Over time, something remarkable happened. The killers became friends. The tribe laid down their violence. Many came to faith in Christ. Love begets love.

 

The Love That Will Never Let Me Go (13:8-13)

For me, the most powerful and encouraging words in this passage are found in verse 8: “Love never fails.” What does this mean? It means Christ’s love will prevail no matter what. It means our victory does not depend on our performance, but on the finished work of Christ.

 

The other day I watched the women’s 3000-meter short track relay final at the Winter Olympics. I felt nervous. I wondered, Will they make it? Will they win? For most of the race, the Korean team was in the third place. It looked uncertain. But with two laps to go, they surged ahead and won the gold. Later that day, I watched the race again with my children. The second time felt very different. I was calm. I was confident. Even when they were behind, I was not worried. Because I already knew the ending.

 

This is our life in Christ. Today, life may feel like a live broadcast. We may feel tired. Discouraged. Uncertain. Afraid. But God tells us the truth: Christ’s love will prevail. We already have the final victory. One day, God will make all things right. And we will stand complete and blameless before him. That’s way Paul could speak with hope and stay positive in the middle of a troubled church. And that’s why we can be “eternal optimists” no matter what. Our calling is not to do great things for God, but it’s to do small things with great love – with Christ’s love.

 

“Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Nothing – not death or life, not angels or demons, not our fears for today or our worries for tomorrow, not even the powers of hell – absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” (Romans 8:38-39) Amen.

---

[1] Terry Glaspey, Discovering God Through the Arts (Moody Publishers, Chicago, 2021), 114.

“Reflect. Repent. Renew” (2026 Ash Wednesday Message)

 

Intro

• God still speaks today.

• Often, God speaks by disturbing our comfort zone and revealing our spiritual blind spots.

• That is what happened to Jonah.

• In the Book of Jonah, God disturbs Jonah seven times.

1. God’s Word Came to Jonah (1:1)

• God’s Word always reveals two things: who God is and who I am.

• Jonah was a well-known and respected prophet. Yet God’s Word exposed his blind side. Outwardly he was successful, but inwardly he was not ready. Not yet.

• God said, “Get up and go to Nineveh and call them to repentance.”

• Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a rising and terrifying enemy.

• Jonah was not happy. He ran away from God and from his mission, toward Tarshish.

2. God Sent a Great Storm (1:4)

• Sometimes storms come into our lives.

• “The ship threatened to break apart.” That is how life can feel in a storm.

• But Jonah went down into the hold and fell into a deep sleep.

3. The Sailors’ Compassion (1:6)

• The pagan sailors showed more compassion and reverence than Jonah.

• “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God!” they said to Jonah. 

• Even after Jonah admitted the storm was his fault and asked to be thrown into the sea, they tried their best to save him and the ship.

4. The Great Fish (1:17)

• God saved Jonah with a great fish. For three days and three nights, he stayed in its belly.

• This was a humbling and disturbing experience.

• Down, down, down: to Joppa, into the ship, into the sea, into the fish.

• There Jonah encountered God and prayed.

• Was he fully changed? Not yet. The story continues.

5. An Unexpected Revival (Chapter 3)

• Jonah finally went to Nineveh. It was a great city, a three-day journey across.

• He preached for one day—likely with reluctance.

• Then the unexpected happened: revival. From the king to the animals, the whole city repented.

6. God Changed His Plan (3:10)

• God saw their repentance and showed mercy.

• But Jonah was very angry. “This is utterly wrong!” (4:1)

• God continued to stretch Jonah and reveal his blind side. Jonah still did not see it.

7. The Lesson of the Plant and the Worm (Chapter 4)

• God provided a plant to give Jonah shade. Jonah was very happy.

• The next day, God sent a worm. The plant withered. Jonah became angry and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

• God gently asked, “You cared about the plant. Should I not care about 120,000 people who live in spiritual darkness—and also many animals?”

• Jonah’s compassion was small and self-centered.

• God’s compassion is wide. His salvation is for all people.

Conclusion

• The story ends with God’s question. It is a cliffhanger.

• We are not told how Jonah answered. Yet someone had to write this story. Who knew what happened inside the fish? Most likely Jonah himself.

• This book reads like a confession. 

• This is my prayer for Lent: “Disturb me, Lord. Show me my blind spots. Help me grow.”

• Our Lenten path:

  • Reflect – through our Lenten daily devotion 

  • Repent – turn our hearts back to God (using a Prayer of Confession bookmark)

  • Renew – put faith into practice

May God gently disturb us, transform us, and renew us through this journey.

“Transformed” (Romans 3:21-26, 12:1-2)

Luther’s Breakthrough
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is like one of the highest mountains of God’s glory in all of scripture. Throughout history, it has changed countless lives. Many have been deeply moved, even saved, through reading its words. Martin Luther is one of them.

At that time, Luther was already a believer. He was a professor at the University of Wittenberg, teaching Psalms, Romans, and Galatians. But the prevailing teaching of the Church was what we call “infused grace.” People believed that God gave sinners some “grace” to help them try to live rightly – to “start to become” righteous. After that, it depended on you: your obedience, your piety, your good works. At the final judgment, God would decide whether you were good enough.

Luther struggled greatly with the phrase “the righteousness of God.” In fact, he hated it. No matter how often he confessed, how many prayers he prayed, how many good works he did, he had no peace. He felt restless. He felt he was never good enough. Eventually, he even became angry with God. But as he meditated on Romans, God opened his eyes. Luther discovered the true meaning of God’s Word: God’s righteousness is not about us becoming righteous. It is about God crediting to us the righteousness of Christ. His holiness. His goodness. His perfect obedience. When we trust in Christ, God declares us righteous, not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus has done. And in that moment, Luther found peace. God was not demanding perfection from him. God was giving him Christ’s perfection. That is the Good News we celebrate today.

The Gospel Power
Romans 3:21-26 is one of the clearest and most beautiful summaries of the gospel in all Scripture. It tells us our need and God’s answer.

First, our need. God is righteous. He is perfectly holy, perfectly good, perfectly right. His standard is glorious. Imagine a high jump bar set far above our heads. We see it. We run toward it. We try our best to jump. Some of us jump higher than others. Some of us train harder. Some of us may feel a little better. But the truth is this: none of us clears the bar. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) If it depends on our effort or our goodness, we will always come up short. That is our sin problem. We cannot lift ourselves into right standing with a holy God.

Second, God’s answer. The Good News is not advice; it is not a suggestion; it is not God saying, “Try harder.” Good News is truly “news” – it is something that has already happened and is now announced to us. God saw that we could not clear the bar, so he sent his Son. Jesus lived the life we could not live and cleared the bar perfectly. On the cross, he took our falling short upon himself—our sin, our guilt, our failure. In his resurrection, he opened the way for us to stand right before God and begin a new life. As we sing in A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.” But there is the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing, Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about what we must do to reach God; it is about what God has done to reach us. Now the question is simple: will we believe this good news is true?

Les Misérables
When we believe the gospel, we are saved. Salvation has many dimensions. We might think of it as a threefold work. First, when we believe the good new of Jesus, we are made right with God. (“Justification”) From that moment on, by the work of the Holy Spirit, we begin to grow and become more like Christ. (“sanctification”) And one day, when we stand before God, we will be made completely blameless and whole. (“glorification”)

The French author Victor Hugo tells this kind of pilgrim journey through the redemption story of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s seven hungry children during a harsh winter. He is caught and sent to prison for 19 years. Prison hardens him. When he is finally released, no one welcomes him, except one person. The bishop opens his home, feeds him, and gives him a bed. But during the night, Valjean steals sliver and ran away. He is caught again and brought back. Instead of condemning him, the bishop says, “You forgot the silver candlesticks.” The he tells him, “Don’t forget. never forget. You have promised me to become an honest man. You no longer belong to evil. I bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.”

That act of grace transforms Valjean’s heart. From that day forward, he chooses a new life. He becomes a man of compassion, generosity, and sacrifice. He cares for the poor. He adopts and raises Cosette as his own daughter. Again and again, he risks his life to save others. Jean Valjean’s story is a story of redemption – a sinner changed by grace and mercy.

From Glory to Glory
In many ways, this is every Christian’s redemption story. Once we were darkness, but now we are light in Christ. So in Romans 12:1-2, Paul says, “By God’s mercies, present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed.” But how? “By the renewing of your mind.” Transformation happens when we allow God’s Spirit to work in us, opening our eyes and changing the way we think. That’s what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. Something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. His spiritual eyes were opened.

In our Christian pilgrimage, transformation happens again and again. We are changed from one degree of glory to another. Once Pastor Kwan Lee shared a story about one of his close pastor friends who came out as gay. Out of fear and a desire to be right, he cut off the relationship. He thought he was defending truth. The friendship was never restored. Then years later, Pastor Lee suffered a massive heart attack. As he lay in the hospital waiting for surgery, he heard the inner voice saying: “What is a Christian?” He had no answer. Then came these words: “A Christian is someone who loves like Christ.” That voice pierced his soul. He realized he had focused more on being right than being righteous – being loving. Since then, every morning he prayed, “Lord, help me not to hurt anyone today.” And every night, “Lord, forgive me if I have hurt someone.” That is transformation. When God renews our minds, we are changed from one degree of glory to another.

Lent
Lent is a journey – a 40-day journey to inside-out transformation. This year I invite us to practice 3R’s daily: Reflect. Repent. Renew.

Reflect. Christian faith is not blind belief. God always invites us to think, to ponder, to reflect. For 40 days, each day we will have a short devotional –Scripture, our church member’s faith story, and a prayer. Set aside time to reflect.

Repent. Repentance is not only confessing our wrong actions. It’s changing direction. Turning toward God. The heart of repentance is loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbor as ourselves. We’ll have a prayer bookmark, and I invite you to pray this prayer each day.

Renew. Renewal is God’s work. As we reflect and repent, God renews our minds and hearts. Then we will be able to know God’s will. Each day, do one small, intentional act of love. Know God’s will. Do God’s will.

“Take my life and let it be.” May we offer ourselves fully to God. May we be transformed from glory to glory. Amen.

“Acts 29” (Acts 28:30-31)

 

Chain of Faith

Have you heard of the name Edward Kimball? Probably not. And yet, his story reminds us that even a “nobody” in the world’s eyes can have an incredible impact when they care about others and about God’s kingdom. Edward Kimball was a Sunday school teacher in Chicago in 1855. One day, he felt prompted to visit a teenage student from his class at the shoe store where the young man worked. There Kimball shared the gospel. He continued to nurture that young man’s faith through his Sunday school class. That teenager’s name was D.L. Moody. And the story did not stop there.

1. Moody later shared Christ with F. B. Meyer.
2. F. B. Meyer’s preaching led to the conversion of J. Wilbur Chapman.
3. Chapman’s preaching led to the conversion of Billy Sunday.
4. Mordecai Ham was converted at a Billy Sunday meeting.
5. Billy Graham was converted at a Ham meeting.

Billy Graham went on to preach the gospel face-to-face to more people than anyone else in history.[1] This whole chain of faith began with one Sunday School teacher who faithfully shared the good news and cared for others according to the gifts God had given him.

My Grandfather
Let me ask you a personal question. Who shared the gospel with you for the first time? Who helped you experience God’s love in a personal way?

For me, whenever I tell my faith story, it always traces back to my maternal grandfather. He was a North Korean defector. His family was locally influential, and just before being arrested by the Communist Party, he narrowly escaped by swimming across the border. He later fought for South Korea during the Korean War. After the war, life was hard. He was lonely, discouraged, and overwhelmed. At one point, he even considered ending his life. But a friend invited him to church, and he began attending weekday early morning prayer. There he heard the good news of Jesus Christ, and he became a Christian.

My grandfather deeply fell in love with Jesus. He went all in. Later, he was called to ministry and became a Methodist pastor. He was a contagious Christian. Because of his faith and love, his entire family came to Christ. He was later appointed to the church my father was attending. And through my grandfather’s influence, my father also became a pastor. My grandfather was my pastor from third grade to seventh grade. Through his preaching, and through the congruence of his life, I tasted and saw the love of Christ. I believed. I was saved. And I sensed God’s call to ministry.

When I was young, my grandfather often shared his testimonies, freely and joyfully, telling stories of how God was at work in his life. One story, in particular, stayed with me. It was about his first appointment. He had two choices: (1) One church offered a parsonage and stable compensation, and (2) The other option was to plant a new church, with minimum support. As he prayed, he heard the voice, saying, “Are you Lot, or are you Abraham?” In Genesis 13, when Lot and Abraham became wealthy, they had to separate. Lot looked up and chose the Jordan Valley. It looked like the Garden of Eden. But it turned out to be the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham waited for the Lord and followed God’s guidance. My grandfather replied, “Lord, I want to be like Abraham.” So he chose to plant a new church, with his wife and their 3-month-old daughter, my mother.

In 2018, I reached a very low point. I was ready to throw in the towel. I was about to ask my DS for a new appointment. Then, I remembered my grandfather’s first appointment story. So I prayed. And instead of leaving, I chose to “abide.” I told my DS, “Let me stay here for another 20 years.” I don’t know about you, but for me, my heart gets discouraged easily. My hands grow tired. When that happens, I return to my grandfather’s faith stories. I can almost hear him saying, “My son, you are not just called to be a patient, but a soldier. Stand firm. Be a man of God.” And I remember Paul’s words: “No one serving a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” (2 Timothy 2:4) My grandfather has passed away, but he still speaks through his faith. (cf. Hebrews 11:4)

Acts 16
This week, we turn to the Book of Acts, written by Luke. Who was Luke? Early church tradition tells us that Luke was from Antioch of Syria. He was well-educated and trained as a medical doctor. It is possible that he came to faith during Paul’s early missionary work.

In Acts 16, we see Luke’s spiritual turning point. Up to this point, Luke writes as an observer. He uses the word “they.” But then, something changes. Paul begins his second missionary journey, and Luke joins him. Suddenly, the language shifts from “they” to “we.” “So we set sail from Troas…” (16:11) Luke is no longer just telling the story. He is living it. He travels dangerous roads with Paul. He sails through violent storms. He sits in prison and tends Paul’s wounds. Luke becomes a faithful companion.

Acts 28
Then, we come to the end of the book of Acts. And it feels abrupt. Paul arrives in Rome. We expect revival. We expect a great awakening. But instead, after Paul preaches, the people disagree with each other and leave (Acts 28:25).

Paul remains under house arrest for two full years. Again and again, Scripture shows us that God’s ways are not our ways. Paul once believed his calling was to preach the good news to the Jews. He had the best training. He knew their history and culture. But the Lord said to him, “Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” (22:21) Later, while ministering among the Gentiles, Paul experienced a painful thorn in the flesh. So he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove it. But the Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) God used weakness to keep Paul humble and fully dependent on Him and His divine power.

The story of Acts ends with imprisonment. And we may wonder, “Why?” It doesn’t make sense. But during those two years: Paul’s body was bound, but God’s Word was not. Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon during this time. Not only that, Luke stayed with Paul. And Paul mentored him closely. Many scholars believe Luke wrote his Gospel during this time (around AD 60-62), and then wrote Acts shortly after. Nothing was wasted.

Acts 29
Luke wrote his Gospel so that we might believe in Christ and have eternal life. Then he wrote Acts so that we might live out our calling as followers of Christ. Luke was not called to preach like Paul. He never planted churches like Paul. But he stayed. He listened. He wrote. At the end of Paul’s life, during his second imprisonment in Rome (AD 64-67), Paul wrote: “Only Luke is with me,” (2 Timothy 4:11). Through Luke’s faithfulness – through his two books, which make up about 27% of the New Testament – people across generations continue to come to know Jesus. Sometimes the most powerful ministry is not leading from the front, but walking faithfully beside someone God places in our lives.

So what’s is your calling? Once, an enthusiastic volunteer wrote to Mother Teresa, offering to come and help her in Calcutta. Mother Teresa replied, "Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools". And she added, "I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand.”

So let me ask you: Who is that one person? Where is your Calcutta? May we be found faithful. As Scripture says, “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” (1 Cor 4:2) And may we one day hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.

-------
[1] Kenneth Boa and Jenny Abel, Recalibrate Your Life (pp. 200-201). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

“I Believe” (John 11:17-27)

*Vincent van Gogh, The Raising of Lazarus (1890)

Winter, but Not the End
If you have watched or read C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, you may remember this line: “Always winter, but never Christmas.”

Narnia is frozen. The White Witch rules with fear and power. The land is cold. Life feels stuck. Nothing grows. Hope seems buried under snow and ice. But quietly, something begins to change. There are rumors. Signs. The snow starts to melt. The ice cracks. Spring is coming. Aslan is on the move. The winter is not the end of the story.

Friends, many of us know this kind of winter. Not just outside, but inside. Some of us are grieving. Some are tired. Some feel numb. Some look at our country and our world and feel sad, frustrated, even overwhelmed. If you are in a season of winter, today’s message is for you.

John and Signs
Unlike the other three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), John doesn’t follow Jesus’ life and ministry chronologically. Instead, he focuses on “seven signs” – signs of hope, signs of spring, signs that reveal who Jesus is. John tells us why he writes this way:

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31, NIV)

The story of Lazarus is the seventh and most powerful sign. Lazarus’ family was not only facing external oppression from the Roman Regime; they were grieving, broken, and living in a personal winter.

Martha and Mary were deeply disappointed and hurt. When their brother Lazarus became ill, they sent a message to Jesus, hoping he would come right away. But for some reason, Jesus stayed two more days. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days.

God of Yesterday and Tomorrow
When Martha saw Jesus, she said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” (v. 21) Have you ever felt that way? “Where were you, Lord? You came too late. Where were you when my loved one died? Where were you when my marriage fell apart? Where were you when my child went astray?” Martha was focused on the God of yesterday – the One who was “not there.”

Jesus gently said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” This time she believed in the God of tomorrow, the life after death.

I AM
Jesus said to her, “I AM the resurrection and the life.” Here, Jesus was saying, “Martha, I am the God of today, not just yesterday or tomorrow.” Martha replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.” “I do believe that you are the God of today.”

We, too, can often focus only on the God of yesterday or tomorrow. We remember how God has helped in the past. We also have faith that someday we will get to heaven after death. But through the story of Lazarus, John tells us that eternal life is “present tense” – here and now. Jesus prayed in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Jesus also said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” When? Now. Today.

Living the Resurrection
So now, Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out. Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Lazarus had life again that day, but one day he would die again. This is the sign that points to a deeper truth: Jesus, who called Lazarus out of the tomb, walks toward His own tomb within days. He laid down His life, for Lazarus and for us, so that we might believe in him and have new life today.

We see this kind of resurrection life in Ben-Hur. Ben-Hur and Messala grew up together as close friends, both Jewish. But as adults, they chose very different paths. Ben-Hur stayed faithful to his people. Messala chose power and became a Roman officer. When their paths crossed again, ambition won over friendship. Ben-Hur’s family was arrested. His mother and sister were imprisoned and became lepers. Ben-Hur was sent to a slave ship. From that moment, his heart burned with revenge. Years later, miraculously Ben-Hur survived a shipwreck. He gained freedom, wealth, and strength. Eventually, he faced Messala and defeated him. But even after winning, Ben-Hur was not free. His heart was still restless.

Then he heard about Jesus - a man who healed the sick. He rushed to bring his mother and sister to him, but arrived too late. Jesus was already on the cross. From a distance, Ben-Hur watched. He saw the mocking. He heard the cruelty. Then he heard Jesus pray, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” In that moment, Ben-Hur said it felt as if Jesus took the sword out of his hand. The hatred was gone. Peace entered his heart. That is resurrection life. Not only life after death, but a new heart, a new way of living, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, here and now.

Here and Now
Many artists have tried to paint Lazarus being raised. For me, my favorite is Vincent van Gogh. As many of us know, Van Gogh lived a very hard life. Early on, he hoped to serve God. He worked as a lay preacher and missionary, but he was eventually dismissed. He struggled to find his calling. For most of his life, he was unknown, misunderstood, and poor.

The Raising of Lazarus was painted while Van Gogh was in a mental hospital, in his final year. He based the painting on a Rembrandt print, but left out Jesus. Instead, he focuses on Lazarus, weak and struggling to rise. Many believe Van Gogh saw himself in Lazarus. That’s why Lazarus has a red beard, like Van Gogh. How about the two women at the grave? They are not biblical figures. They are real people Van Gogh knew: Mrs. Roulin and Mrs. Ginoux. They were friends who showed him kindness and care during one of his darkest seasons.

Van Gogh reminds us: In winter, we may not hear Jesus’ voice clearly. We may not see dramatic miracles. But even then, Jesus is still at work. Resurrection life still comes to us. His presence, his grace, and his power in this season may be gentle, but they are still, and always, more than enough to raise us up. This is resurrection, here and now.

I want to close with Dr. King’s last speech. Without knowing he would be killed the very next day, he said:

“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, resurrection life is now. By faith, we’ve been to the mountain top. By faith, we’ve seen the Promised Land. Do you believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? Do you believe he was raised from the dead? Do you believe he is the resurrection and the life? Let us say with all our hearts, “Lord, I believe.” Let us live by faith, not by sight. And we have life – abundant life, today and always. Amen.