“Discipleship” (Matthew 5:1-12)

Eye of the Needle

Jesus said to his disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt 19:24). Jesus uses this metaphor to show that God’s grace is necessary for us to enter into salvation.

If we visit Bethlehem, we would find the gate, called, “The eye of the needle” at the entrance of the Church of the Nativity. It is the oldest church in the Holy Land. The highest lintel was the original entrance. The middle opening with an arch was built by the Crusader. The current 4-foot small entry was built around 1500 AD to prevent war animals from entering the Church. Whoever wants to enter the church, they would need to bow low. This place is a significant reminder that we enter the kingdom of heaven on bended knees.

A disciple is someone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, intentionally follows him, and strives to live more like him. The word “discipleship” is often used to describe a journey of spiritual growth; journey into Christlikeness.

Discipleship and the Beatitudes

The beatitudes paint a masterful portrait of a disciple’s journey into Christlikeness. First we see them acknowledging their spiritual poverty and mourning over it. This makes them meek and gentle in all their relationships. They constantly hunger and thirst for righteousness, longing to grow in grace. Since they live by grace, they show mercy and grace to those battered by sin. They are cleansed and pure in their hearts, and seek to play a role as peacemakers. But they are not appreciated for their efforts, but rather opposed, slandered, and persecuted for doing right in this world. They stay humble, and stay the course to the end.

Discipleship and Humility

A recurring quality from each beatitude is humility. We may say discipleship is a journey toward humility. God often uses our humiliating experiences – our sickness, our aging process, our weakness – to make us humble, to make us more like Christ. Humiliation is the road to humility. I am often asked, “Where are you really from?” Though all my children were born here in the US, they too are asked, “Where are you really from?” This question implies that you are not one of us. Until Joyce and I received green cards in 2019, when we went through immigration at the airport after our international trip, we were always set aside for further investigation though we had all the papers. We often had to wait for long hours in an investigation room and missed our connecting flights. One time we were almost deported. For me personally, these humiliating experiences help me stay humble.

For many of us, aging process is another humiliating experience. I love the way Missy Buchanan describes it with a prayer poem. The title of the prayer is “I can’t do it now” [1]:

I can’t do it now I gave up the keys to the car.

I knew it was time.

In fact, it was a relief.

But it was hard for this do-it-yourselfer to admit I cannot do things I once could.

 

O Lord, my sense of independence has taken a beating.

There are so many things I’d like to do but can’t.

If I could, I would change an overhead lightbulb and balance my checkbook.

But these tasks are hard for me now.

 

At times I feel humiliated by my dependence on others.

I don’t want to be a burden.

Lord, give me a humble spirit to accept help graciously.

In my weakness you are strong.

In the mystery that is life, help me to depend on you and trust your perfect plan.

Humiliation is the road to humility. Another good example is the film Driving Miss Daisy. It is a story about two main characters, Miss Daisy, the stubborn 72-year-old widow and her African-American driver, Hoke. The story begins when Miss Daisy crashes her car by putting her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake. Her son, Boolie, tells her that no insurance company will now insure her and that she must get a chauffeur. He finds Hoke and hires him as her driver. On one occasion she yells at Hoke, “I don’t need you, I don’t want you, I don’t like you!” But gradually as Miss Daisy and Hoke spend time together, they grow to appreciate each other until years later she says to him, “You’re my best friend. Really.” Later on, Miss Daisy shows signs of dementia. Her son arranges for her to enter a retirement home. The film ends on a Thanksgiving Day in the retirement home. Boolie and Hoke both visit her. Now Missy Daisy is 97, and Hoke is 85. He notices that she has not eaten her pumpkin pie, and as she tries to pick up her fork, he gently takes the plate and fork from her. He cuts a small piece of pie and carefully feeds it to her. She is delighted. At the beginning, she refused to be dependent on him for anything. At the end, she is dependent on others for nearly everything.

Whether it is aging or sickness, whether it is a disappointment or a frustration, we need to learn to trust God who makes us humble like Christ in this process. “It is good for me that I was humbled, so that I might learn your statutes.” (Psalm 119:71, NRSV)

Our Lord Jesus is the humble Christ. He is born a baby, totally helpless and dependent on others. He needs to be fed, he needs to be washed, he needs to be held. And at the end, on the cross, once again he becomes totally vulnerable and dependent, unable to move. But he never loses his divine dignity.

Cultivating Humility

The more humble we stay, the more we become like Christ. As disciples of Jesus, how can we then stay humble? How can we more proactively cultivate humility in everyday life? For me personally, I always try to remember and practice the advice of Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, who preached at one of the ordination services. His sermon was on humility and included the following advice[2]:

1.     Thank God, often and always...Thank God, carefully and wonderingly for your continuing privileges...Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.

2.     Take care about the confession of your sins. Be sure to criticize yourself in God’s presence: that is your self-examination. Put yourself under the divine criticism: that is your confession...

3.     Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly, but they help you to be humble. There can be the trivial humiliations. Accept them. There can be the bigger humiliations...All these can be so many chances to be a little nearer to our humble and crucified Lord...

4.     Do not worry about status...There is only one status that our Lord bids us to be concerned with, and that is the status of proximity to himself...

5.     Use your sense of humor. Laugh about things, laugh at the absurdities of life, laugh about yourself, and about your own absurdity. We are all of us infinitesimally small and ludicrous creatures within God’s universe. You have to be serious, but never be solemn, because if you are solemn about anything, there is the risk of becoming solemn about yourself.

Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

When we are humble, we are poor in spirit and pure in heart. When we are humble, we are meek and merciful. When we are humble, we are mourning and hungry. When we are humble, we become peacemakers and the persecuted. When we are humble, we are like Christ.

So far, I have shared much about the beatitudes as the journey toward humility, as the journey toward Christlikeness, but how is it possible for us? Many of us in this room love the beatitudes, but oftentimes, we feel the gap between its ideals and our reality, and we question, “Are its standards attainable?” In our own strength, it’s impossible. But God has given us his Holy Spirit to enable us to live the beatitudes. William Temple used to illustrate the point from Shakespeare in this way[3]:

It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like his. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like his.

Without the Holy Spirit, all our spiritual disciplines are no use. We practice spiritual disciplines in order to create room for the Spirit of Jesus to come and live in us and empower us to live a life like his. May we welcome and be filled with the Holy Spirit. By God’s grace, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, may we stay humble and stay the course until we enter the kingdom of heaven on our knees. Amen.

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[1] Missy Buchanan, Living with Purpose in a Worn–Out Body (p. 20). Upper Room Books. Kindle Edition.

[2] John Stott, The Radical Disciple (p. 74). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

[3] Ibid., 25. 

“The Call” (Matt 4:12-22)

Here I Am, Lord

When was the first time you felt God’s love? Reflecting on my spiritual journey, I realize that God’s grace always surrounded me. When I was young, I suffered from various diseases, including serious ear infection, chronic indigestion, asthma, and arthritis. God healed me from those diseases. So I came to know God as Healer. But it was in my 7^th grade when I felt God and his love profoundly for the first time. I was attending a youth summer camp. That year the speaker was my grandfather. He shared his faith story with us, then preached the good news of Jesus Christ. How he came and died in our place to give us new life. So I repented my sin and invited Jesus to be my personal God and Savior. During the last service, he did an altar call. That night I said “Yes” to the invitation and decided to go all in for Christ.

Peter’s Call Story

Today’s scripture is about how Jesus calls Peter and the other first disciples. Here we need to remember that this is not the first encounter between Peter and Jesus. John’s gospel helps to fill in some of the background. Two disciples of John the Baptist, Andrew and John, left him to become disciples of Jesus. Then Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus. As soon as Jesus saw Simon, he said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Peter (Rock)” (John 1:42). Since then, Peter accompanied Jesus. He went to the wedding at Cana with Jesus, where he observed the first miracle. He continued to follow Jesus for about a year. He still had his family, he still had his fishing job. And now Jesus came to Peter and demanded his all, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately Peter left everything and followed him – from loosely following to going all in.

Since then, Peter went through so many ups and downs. At one time Peter was the first to boldly get out of the boat and walk on water by faith, but in a few seconds, he was doubting and terrified by the strong wind and sank. Peter was the first to confess the divine nature of Jesus. He rightly said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But, in a few minutes, he rebuked Jesus when Jesus began to explain that Christ must suffer and die, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Peter was the first to draw a sword to defend his Master in the garden, but within a few hours, he denied his Lord three times.

Peter’s spiritual journey curve is so inconsistent, but God’s grace curve in his life is so stable. It sustains him and empowers him to live out his new name, his new identity in Christ – man of Rock. As we know, in the New Testament we have two letters written by Peter. They were written about thirty years after these earlier events of his life. In the letters Peter is solid and steady like a rock. He is no longer easily moved. He does not fluctuate. He is stable, resilient, strong, and consistent. Even in the midst of severe persecution he stands firm and encourages other fellow believers. In 1 Peter 4:12-13 he said, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (NIV). Simon Peter has matured. He is no longer a man of many moods.

My Call Story

Since my encounter with God in the 7^th grade, God continued to shape my calling. In particular, for me personally, the years in college were transforming years in terms of discerning the call. God pruned the path that I thought was the best – working at UN. Instead, I sensed that I was called to ministry in the most unexpected time and place – while I was in Thailand as an exchange student. But the most defining moment was when I was teaching the youth group. I was teaching 10^th and 11^th graders. Some of them were from dysfunctional families. I began to meet with them during the week as well as Sundays, starting a “Vision Study Club” to help with their academic work and teach God’s word. By the grace of God they started to discover the goals of their lives and eventually entered their chosen colleges. As I saw them change, I said to myself, “I want to do this for life.” That year I took my students to the summer camp. There was a prayer time after the message. While I was praying for each of my students, I heard the inner voice saying, “I want you.”

Recently, my daughter Lydia asked me, “Why do you keep doing what you are doing?” because she has heard and seen so many challenges in ministry. My answer was, “Because it is a calling.” Actually, I asked the same question to my father about 20 years ago. At that time the new church was being built. In the midst of it he had to deal with so many problems – divisions, gossip, false accusations, etc. So finally, one day I said to him, “Dad, why don’t we just move on?” I can still vividly remember his answer. He said, “If we moved now, the church will be falling apart. If we had to move, let’s move when the church is united and thriving.” He continued to serve that church for 30 years and retired at that church last year. Why? Because it’s a calling.

Your Call Story

How about your call story? Many of us in this room are already Christians, Jesus’ disciples. But like Peter, Jesus is calling us to new ministries, new possibilities, deeper commitment this year 2023. He continues to shape our calling.

Our calling, whatever it is, is sacred. Our calling, whatever it is, is ultimately to fish for people – to bring people to Christ by loving them with agape love. This is an honorable as well as challenging calling. We need to stay in touch with people, but at the same time, to stay the course. What does it look like to love people with agape love? For me personally, I find encouragement in the life of Mother Teressa, who said,

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

The one who calls us is faithful and he will do it (1 Th 5:24). We are called not to be successful, but to be faithful. Wherever we are in our spiritual journey, may we be found faithful and trustworthy stewards. May we go all in for Christ:

No more waste… Employ what God has given you in doing good… Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can. (Wesley’s Sermon “On the Use of Money”).

 

“Disciples” (John 1:35-51)

Rafiq

In Arabic, Rafiq (رفیق) refers to “intimate friend”, “companion”, and “comrade.” One time a local newspaper in London gave the following quiz to their readers: “What is the fastest way to get to London from Manchester?” Many people, including mathematicians, scientists, students, entered their names with ingenious answers. But the winning answer was “traveling with a good friend.”

Today’s scripture is about calling the first disciples of Jesus. Why did Jesus call twelve disciples? Mark 3:14 answers this way: “He [Jesus] appointed twelve to be with him and to be sent out to preach and to have authority to cast out demons.” Jesus still comes to us, inviting us and calling us, to be our Rafiq, our companion.

Come and See: “Being Disciples” (Discipleship)

In today’s passage Jesus first calls two people – Andrew and John, with a simple and straightforward invitation, “Come and see” (v. 39). In our lives there is a person like John the Baptist who points us to Christ, saying, “Look, the Lamb of God.” But that’s not enough. We must come and see ourselves at first hand. We must taste and see that the Lord is good at first hand. At first, they called Jesus “Rabbi” or “Teacher.” But after spending an entire day with him, they shouted with excitement, “We have found the Messiah – the Anointed One!” (v. 41) The next day when Philip invited his friend Nathanael to come to see Jesus, Nathanael was skeptical and said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (v. 46) Basically, to him Jesus was a mere “Nazarene” – a country bumpkin without an education. But after he did come and see himself, he now exclaimed with conviction, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (v. 49)

At the heart of discipleship (being a disciple of Jesus) is to come and see, and to spend quality time with him day by day. If you asked me, “Who is Hannah?” I can describe her quite well. But if you asked me, “Who is Lydia?” I can give you a much more in-depth answer - who she is as a person, because I have spent much more time with her. “Who is Jesus to you?” That is one of the most important questions in life. The more we spend time with him, the more our answer would become rich, meaningful, and personal. 

The question is “How do we cultivate an intimate relationship with Jesus in our everyday life?” For me personally, I find the story of missionary Frank Laubach very helpful. Mr. Laubach went to the Philippines as a missionary. But after 15 years, he became very dissatisfied with his spiritual life. He realized that he had not lived every day in minute-by-minute effort to abide with God. Then, he resolved to bring God to mind at least once each minute, at least one second out of every sixty. He called this experiment “the Game with Minutes.” He began to talk and listen to Jesus, work and rest with Jesus, eat and sleep with Jesus, twenty-four hours a day. Moment-by-moment he asked these two questions: “What, Father, do you desire said?” and “What, Father, do you desire done this minute?” For the first few weeks nothing seemed to change. But later, he said, “The results of this practice grew rich after six months, and glorious after ten years.” In his letters sent to his father, he provides practical suggestions about how we may deepen our relationship with Jesus in everyday life[1]:

1.     Pray.

2.     Recall God.

3.     Sing or hum a devotional hymn.

4.     Talk or write about God.

5.     Seek to relieve suffering of any kind in a prayerful spirit.

6.     Work with the consciousness of God’s presence.

7.     Whisper to God.

8.     Feel yourself encompassed by God.

9.     Look at a picture or a symbol of Christ.

10.  Read a scripture verse or poem about God.

11.  Give somebody a helpful hand for the Lord’s sake.

12.  Breathe a prayer for the people you meet.

13.  Follow the leading of the Inner Voice.

14.  Plan or work for the Kingdom of God.

15.  Testify to others about God, the church, or this game.

16.  Share suffering or sorrow with another.

17.  Hear God and see Him in flowers, trees, water, hills, sky.

We become disciples of Jesus as we fix our eyes on him and practice “being with him” moment by moment.

Come and See: “Making Disciples” (Evangelism)

True disciples make disciples. But how? We can learn from Philip, one of the first disciples of Jesus. After Philip spent a day with Jesus, he was transformed. He couldn’t keep new-found joy inside. He had to share it with his friend, saying, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth!” But his friend Nathanael was unimpressed and skeptical. Philip didn’t argue with him; but instead, he simply said, “Come and see!” (v. 46) This is how we make disciples. Oftentimes we don’t feel confident or equipped to share the good news of Jesus with others. We feel like we need to have more biblical knowledge. Not so. Our job is not to advocate or defend God. It is not to convince or persuade people. We know we cannot change people – their hearts, their convictions. Only God can. Our calling is simply to invite them and to point them to Christ, saying, “Come and see!” 

We can start with the person next to us – our own family members, our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends. This past week I was kind of physically “half-homebound.” I spent most of time on housekeeping – fixing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry, and cleaning – during the day. I didn’t have that much opportunity to go out and see many people within and without the church. But then, all of sudden I realized that my main parish is where I am – my home. Housekeeping in Korean is “Salim” (살림). Interestingly enough, Salim also means “Letting (others) live.” As I was doing the housekeeping, letting my children live, God opened the door for me to disciple my children. Each day on the meal table, beside the bathtub or sink, on the floormat at night, we had lots of meaningful conversations. They asked so many questions; I had so many opportunities to point them to Christ. We talked about relationships with friends at school and marriage, time management and sabbath, allowance management and tithing, etc. We can make disciples who are right next to us. We can start from where we are.

A Disciple’s Life

We are continually “becoming” – becoming disciples as we ourselves come and see, being with Jesus day by day. We are faithfully “making” – making disciples as we invite our people and help draw them closer to Jesus with our words and our actions, “Come and see.”

Perhaps some of you who are hearing, or watching, or reading this message may feel like you are not doing much for the Lord because of your life stage, or your family or health situations. I pray that Missy Buchanan’s prayer poem, “Ordinary days”[2] may encourage and comfort your souls:

There’s a slow, steady rhythm to ordinary days.

Uneventful kind of days that follow a simple routine of meals,

medications, and favorite TV shows.

During this time, empty squares march across the calendar.

 

One day feels like the next.

In truth, I like days that are uninterrupted

by crisis or sudden change.

I am thankful for the repetition.

 

But Lord, it’s easy to get lost in the monotony.

Save me from the emptiness

that comes with too much time to think and too little to do.

It is fertile soil for negative thoughts to grow.

 

And if I hold too tightly to rigid routine,

remind me that I may miss out on a wonderful surprise.

Help me rediscover the abundant blessings in my life.

 

Today I will turn the pages of an old photo album,

and I will give you thanks for my life stories.

I will pray for my loved ones, calling each by name.

O Lord, show me the extraordinary joy in ordinary days.

This is the prayer of the disciple. Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work, as Oswald Chambers said. Whether our life is mundane or challenging, may we come and see, staying close to Jesus, day by day, minute by minute. Wherever we are in our life journey, may we invite our people to come and see Jesus as long as ever we can. Amen.

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[1] Frank Laubach, Letters by a Modern Mystic (p. 114). Purposeful Design Publications. Kindle Edition.

[2] Missy Buchanan, Living with Purpose in a Worn–Out Body (p. 29). Upper Room Books. Kindle Edition.

“Forgiven, Beloved” (Matthew 3:13-17)

Humility

The other day Esther (5 years old) entered into conversation with her older sister Grace (7 years old). She asked, “How can I meet God?” Without any hesitation, Grace replied, “There are four steps you need to take to meet God. First, you need to find a quiet place to meet God without any distraction. Second, you need to pray peacefully. Third, you need to be humble. And lastly, you need to answer the following two questions: (1) Do you believe that Christ died for you? (2) Do you want to serve God?” Esther asked, “What does it mean to be humble?” Grace said, “If you think you need God, you are humble. But if you don’t think you need God, then you are not humble.”

John’s Baptism

I don’t know where Grace learned all these four steps from. But I think she made a good point – especially about humility. I shared Grace’s story because it has to do with John’s ministry. His calling from God is basically to prepare the way of the Lord and to make his paths straight. In other words, his life mission as a messenger is to help people prepare their hearts to receive their Messiah who is coming very soon. And humility is a key element of heart preparation. That’s why John used baptism as the central means of his ministry.

In John’s time baptism was used for the Gentiles who would want to convert to Judaism. So if you are a gentile and want to believe in the God of Israel, you need to be baptized in order to demonstrate that you sincerely repent and are willing to follow the Law of Moses in public. Baptism was for the “unclean” Gentiles. But now, John used baptism for Jews as well as Gentiles! This was unheard of because the Jews were the “children” of Abraham. They felt they were already right with God. But John turned that notion upside down and taught that everyone needed to repent, confess their sins in pubic, and be baptized, saying, “You brood of vipers… do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’” Humility is the way to meet God.

Two or three days ago Hannah was sick. She had a fever and couldn’t sleep. Joyce gave her a lukewarm bath to bring down her fever. That reminded Joyce and me of water baptism. There was no intrinsic power in water itself. But as we were giving her a bath, we humbly prayed that somehow God would have mercy on her and heal her. I believe that’s what John the Baptist was doing it for God’s people. There is no intrinsic value or power in Jordan river. But as he was baptizing the people, he would humbly pray that God may cleanse them of their sins and prepare their hearts to receive the Christ. John the Baptist said, “I baptize you with water for repentance… but the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). 

Jesus’ Baptism

What is the baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire? I like the way the Message Bible interprets this verse:

"I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama--compared to him I'm a mere stagehand--will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.”

Our God is able to give us new life, new heart in Christ, changing us from the inside out permanently. But before that, Jesus comes to John to be baptized first. John the Baptist must be puzzled, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus said to him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Here in this context “righteousness” is a relational term – being right with God, having peace with God. But how does Jesus make this happen? By receiving the baptism of repentance, by taking away the sins of the world as the Lamb of God. That is God’s way of salvation.

Gordon MacDonald is well known as President Bill Clinton’s pastor with a past. He himself committed adultery and publicly repented. He experienced forgiveness of sin in a very personal way. In one of his books Pastor Gordon asks us to imagine the scene of Jesus’ baptism if it took place in the twenty-first century. Imagine John’s baptism occurs in our lifetimes, so we go out to be baptized by John. Imagine someone decided to get organized, so they set up a registration table, handing out nametags for each person who wants to be baptized by John. When a person registered for baptism, the person working the registration would ask, "What’s your name? And what sins do you need to repent of?" You’d say, "My name is Gordon and I’m an adulterer." So each person to be baptized would have a nametag with their name and their sin written on it. What would you and I have on our nametags? Perhaps it would be words like “unforgiving spirit” or “pride” or “guilt of abortion” or “hypocrisy.” Then comes Jesus who doesn’t need a nametag, and he asks each of us to take off our nametags. As Jesus prepares for his baptism, he puts all our nametags on himself, mine and yours, my name and your name, my sins and your sins. And then Jesus goes into the waters of baptism, identifying himself with our sins. That’s the reason why Jesus was baptized by John. 

Remember Your Baptism

Whatever we have on our nametags, Jesus takes off ours and gives us a new nametag, on which is written, “Beloved child of God.” That’s what happens when we are baptized. We are forgiven and adopted into God’s family. By baptism, God promises to give us new life, new identity, new name in Christ. Our part is to humbly believe this promise and receive baptism with thanksgiving.

Baptism is needed only one time in a person’s life. But from time to time we can renew our faith and our covenant with God. For instance, we can remember our baptism every morning when we wash our face or take a shower. I learned this spiritual practice from Adam Hamilton. We may offer a very simple prayer something like this:

“Lord, as I enter the water to bathe, I remember my baptism. Cleanse me anew. Let me hear you say, ‘You are my beloved.’ Help me to live as your child today and honor you in all that I do. Amen.”

We can also remember our baptism and renew our commitment to God as a church. Every New Year’s Eve John Wesley and the early Methodists had a special service called a Watch Night Service. The heart of the service was to commit themselves to God by reciting the covenant prayer. Today we as a church will take a moment to renew our baptismal covenant with God. The covenant prayer card will be given as a reminder. May we keep it always. May we write this covenant prayer deep within our hearts.

“I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Jesus, Immanuel” (Matthew 1:18-25)

The Gospel in a Nutshell

On one day in September last year, about a week after Lydia recovered from COVID-19, she was not feeling well. She had a migraine, double-vision, vomiting and delirious. She went to ER at the local hospital, then was sent to Bangor that night. As soon as she got there, they took her for all different kinds of tests. But they couldn’t figure out exactly what the cause was. It was a scary night. Joyce and I could feel her pain. We could feel her agony. We wish we could take her place. But all we could do was to be with her.

In Exodus 3:7-8, when the Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out, the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people… I have heard their cry… I know their suffering, and I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians…” And God did send Moses to deliver his people. But Moses was a just shadow of the true and better Messiah to come. When the right time came, God sent his Son… to set us free from our sins and to give us new life. On this Christmas Eve, we affirm that Christ is “Immanuel” – God with us. Christ is the God whom we can know, feel, and touch. He is God with skin.

I like the way Dick Foth explains the gospel in three sentences: “God came to our place. God took our place. And then God invites us back to his place.”

God Coming to Us

He came to our place, in order to be with us. For parents and grandparents, Christmas season can be stressful. Many of us are thinking about what would be the best gift for our children and grandchildren. But the greatest gift we can give our children is the present of presence. For me personally, my greatest hero is my grandfather. When I was in Korea, I used to live close by him. Probably it would take about half an hour by car. Even after I was grown up and went to college, I often dropped by my grandfather’s place, particularly when I felt down and depressed. At that time, he was a retired pastor, but he was still quite busy. But always, he made himself available to me. He shared his life stories with me. He attentively listened to my stories. We had a meal together. We watched TV together. We took a nap together. I didn’t always open up and share my struggles and problems. But after spending time with him, I always felt much better and uplifted. He gave me the present of presence. That’s what Jesus did to us. The greatest gift God gives us is the present of presence. Immanuel, God-with-us!

God for Us

God came to our place. But not only that, he also took our place. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be sin for us, so that we could be made right with God” In other words, Jesus became our sin, so we could be his righteousness. He became our darkness, so we could have the light of life. He became our curse, so we could be his blessing.  The prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes our place this way (53:3-6, MSG):

He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on him, on him.

He took our place.

God with Us

But there is more! He invites us back to his place. Years ago I did a cross country trip from Vancouver to Quebec with four other friends. So many good places. But for me personally, my favorite place was Rock Mountains, Banff and Jasper, particularly Lake Louise. It was truly breath-taking, to say the least – the sight of the emerald green water and rugged peaks and glaciers. I will always remember that feeling. It was a perfect day. But now as I look back, one thing was missing. “I wish Joyce was here.” One of my bucket lists is to take her back there, so we can experience it together.

That is why God became “Immanuel,” not only to be with us here in our place on earth, but also to invite us back to his place and to live with us forever! As we read Revelation 21-22, we see his place, the new heaven and the new earth. It is just beyond description in our human language. God wants to spend eternity there with you. The Apostle John by the Spirit says this way: “Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with us, and we will be his people. God himself will be with us. He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.” (NLT). He came to our place. He took our place. Then he invites us back to his place.

Experiencing Immanuel

Do you experience this Immanuel? A.W. Tozer said that “Most Christians are theological Christians… They’re trying to be happy without a sense of the presence.” In other words, many people intellectually agree that Jesus is Immanuel. And they want to live a life with God – life filled with love, power, joy. But they don’t experience it. They don’t experience God’s presence. Why?

Here’s what many Christians tend to do: when we receive Christ, we invite him to be our guest, special guest at best, but not our Master. We are still in control of our lives, making decisions according to our experience, our preferences, our knowledge, our plans. We drive the car, and Jesus is in the passenger’s seat. Even though he is the best driver and is with us all the time, our life is still constantly in conflict, confusion, and stress. And there is a constant danger of accidents. The best way to handle this situation is to get out of the driver’s seat and let him drive. Where is Jesus in your life? Is Jesus in the driver’s seat in your life? May Christ Jesus dwell in your hearts as Lord of all! May Christ be made much of in and through your life! “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live. But Christ lives in me! The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me!” (Gal 2:20). Amen. 

“Jesus, Light of the World” (Matthew 2:1-12)

Lost and Found

Have you ever been lost? Have I ever been lost? Yes. Countless times. There is one particular incident that I still remember. At that time I was in the 3^rd grade (in Korea). That year there was a pastoral appointment change for my dad and the family. Since a newly appointed church was not far from the previous church, I didn’t have to transfer to a new school. But still, I had to take the public bus to school. One day on the way home I took the wrong bus. As soon as I realized something was wrong, I got off the bus. I stood there for a while, because I didn’t know what to do. I was lost. Then I just started walking. On the way I met a kind sanitation worker. I asked him to tell me how to get to the town where I lived. He pointed his finger at a certain direction, naming some big buildings on the way. With his guidance, I walked, walked, walked, probably for about an hour, then I began to see familiar buildings. I was lost and found.

Journey to Jerusalem

Today’s story is about a journey – the journey of the Magi. Their journey is an intimate, peculiar story, but at the same time it’s the universal story of all Christians. So, who are the Magi? The term “Magi” (magos, “magician”) originally referred to a priestly caste in ancient Persia, a Persian teacher and prophet. If the Magi came from Persian or Babylonian area, they would have traveled approximately nine hundred miles. It would have taken several months until they arrived in Jerusalem. It is doubtful that they come to worship Jesus, knowing that he is the Son of God. They most likely follow their custom to pay homage to the king of their neighboring country. One day they observed a star in the east that signaled the birth of a new king. The Magi must have assumed that they would find the newborn king in Herod's palace in Jerusalem. So now they’re on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship him.

In this story, the star signifies God’s presence, God’s grace – God’s prevenient, justifying, sanctifying grace. In particular, Magi’s journey to Jerusalem is led by prevenient grace – the grace that prepares their hearts to receive a new king, the grace that gives them new desire and thirst for the truth and meaning of life, the grace that helps them to realize, “I cannot save myself. I need a savior.” Agha Behzad was one of Iran’s well-known painters but he lost his way. He violated the laws of his Moslem religion by drinking alcohol and smoking opium. Even his best friends deserted him so he lost both his friends and his religion. Without hope, he was lost, wandering and searching, until his neighbor invited him and took him to a Christian gathering. There he saw the light. He started a new life and began painting again. Now he used his talent to paint Christian themes used in the church in Iran. His art portrays Christianity through the eyes of a new convert, filled with awe, wonder, and joy.

Now I invite you to pause and think about God’s guiding star that led you in the right path. For me personally, the star was my grandparents’ presence. It was my mother’s tearful persistent prayers. It was my sickness that drew me close to God. God is at work, nudging us and guiding us even before we seek him.

Journey to Bethlehem

With the guidance of the star, the Magi finally arrive at the palace in Jerusalem. We don’t know for sure, but it seems like the star is no longer visible or stops guiding them. So now they have to ask King Herod, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” (v. 2) They get the answer from unlikely candidates, unexpected guiding star – the chief priests and teachers of the law, saying, “Bethlehem!” Magi’s journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem reflects God’s justifying grace. It’s not enough to know, “I cannot save myself, I need help. I need savior.” It’s not enough to intellectually agree that there is a creator or supreme being out there. God’s guiding start, God’s justifying grace, specifically takes us by the hand to Christ. After the encounter with King Herod and his people, to their surprise the Magi see the star again, and it guides them to Bethlehem. Then in Bethlehem the Magi personally encounter Christ. And now they are filled with joy, worshiping him, adoring him.  

As I was pondering how the Magi encountered Christ, one particular individual came to my mind. His name is Blaise Pascal. He was perhaps the most brilliant mind of his generation. At the age of 19 he invented the world’s first mechanical calculator. He achieved both wealth and honor at a very young age, but for some reason at the pinnacle he felt miserable. He felt something was missing. Though he considered himself a Christian, there was no joy, no peace. On November 23, 1654 he got a major horse carriage accident, but miraculously he was saved. He saw this as a warning directly from God. That night he humbly surrendered his life to Christ and encountered him in his room. In his journal Pascal said:

FIRE. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude, heartfelt joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. "My God and your God." . . . Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy. . . Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. May I never be separated from him!

Since that night, he always carried this note in his inside coat pocket until he died. For the Magi’s journey to Bethlehem, unexpected people and unpleasant incidents were their guiding star. How about you? For some of us the star that leads us to Christ is our sickbed. For some it is a crisis or traumatic experience in life. Whatever it is, by God’s grace – God’s presence and power in our lives, we are guided to Bethlehem where we encounter and worship Christ the King.

Journey to Home

After the Magi worshiped Christ, they returned to their home country. We may think their journey from Bethlehem to their home was smooth and easy, and they lived happily ever after. But the truth is that since Herod’s military had a heavy presence all over the county, the Magi had to take great risk to their own lives by avoiding Herod and making a long detour back to their homeland. Their journey to home was tough and treacherous, but God’s grace was greater. God’s guiding light in their hearts was brighter. That’s God’s sanctifying grace – the grace that sustains us, grows us, leads us home.

The journey to our heavenly homeland is hard for the saints and ordinary Christians alike. In August 2007 TIME magazine had an amazing cover story titled “Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith.” Mother Teresa’s secret letters were made public by her mentor and colleagues. The letters show that she spent almost 50 years without sensing the presence of God in her life. In one of the letters that she exchanged with her mentor, Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, she says, “Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear…” In more than 40 communications, she compares the experience to hell, and at one point she says it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. As she was walking through the darkest night of the soul, her constant prayer was, “Lord Jesus, come be my light.” And Christ did come, and she made it home safely. 

Life is a journey. Some of us may be on the way to Jerusalem – wandering and searching, some on the way to Bethlehem – encountering and worshiping Christ, and some are on the final journey to home – struggling and tired and afraid. But wherever we are in our journey, God’s grace – God’s presence and power in our lives – is always greater than our problems. God’s light is always brighter than our darkness.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come;

’Twas grace that brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. And may the light of Christ lead you home. Amen.

 

 

 

“Jesus, Prince of Peace” (Acts 6:1-7)

The Crisis

It’s the second Sunday of Advent. Today we proclaim Jesus as the Prince of Peace. I don’t know about you, but for me, when I say, “Jesus is the Prince of Peace,” I feel tensions between God’s promise of peace and the reality of conflicts and divisions in our world today. I cannot but ask, “Yes, Jesus came to us. But where is peace? Where do we see the signs of peace?” As I was wrestling with these questions, reading and meditating on different passages in the Bible, I discovered that God’s promise of peace is now partially realized through the church – the community of believers who confess Jesus as the Lord. The church is God’s means of showing the world how good, how peaceful it is to live in God’s kingdom, under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

The early church did taste and see that the Lord is good, and that Jesus is the prince of peace. They met together both at home and at the temple day by day. They shared everything they had. They shared their meals. They shared their possessions with joy and generosity. They were in great harmony. The disciples were increasing in numbers, and everything seemed to be going well. But then, the enemy launched a counter attack – first from without (persecution particularly from the Jewish religious leaders), and then from within (division and distraction).

Today’s passage tells us how the enemy tried to destroy the church through division and distraction. In the early church there were mainly two groups of people in terms of language and culture. The majority of the church believers were Hebrew-speaking Jews, and there were some Greek-speaking believers as a minority group. Satan tried to distort this "diversity" into "division." For some reason, the Greek-speaking widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food. So the Greek-speaking disciples started to complain against the majority group, that is, the Hebrew-speaking disciples. Satan put a barrier between the believers. That division made the apostles “distracted” from their ministry. Now the peace and unity of the church were at stake. So how did the early church overcome this crisis and keep the unity of the Spirit?

Holy Conferencing

The first principle is: holy conferencing. When the apostles heard this problem, they called a meeting of the disciples (v. 2a). Now I would like to invite you to use your artistic imagination and see what’s really happening in these seven verses. Though it’s rather a brief passage, there are a lot of things going on – between words, between verses. I don’t think the apostles called the meeting and told the group what to do. Rather, I think they did a holy conferencing – listening to each other, discerning together, praying together – for hours, or perhaps for days.  

Recently, I read the book Holy Listening written by Margaret Guenther. The first thing I have learned is holy listeners ask questions in order to put themselves in other people’s shoes and to feel their feelings and emotions. They ask questions with curiosity such as: “Could you say a little more about that? Can you give me an example of what you mean by…?” “Help me understand what you are saying. Do you mean ...?” Then they listen with compassion.  I am positive that the apostles would ask good questions to listen and feel the people’s feelings. It is not just about food. Underneath the complaints, as a minority the Greek-speaking disciples have the pain of not being accepted, of not being listened to, of not being heard. The apostles would sense that they have been hurt a lot. After this holy conferencing (listening), they develop two action plans.

Focus on the Essentials

First of all, the apostles focus on the essentials. They do their part, saying, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables” (v. 2b), “… while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word” (v. 4). They did not ask “Who or what is right and wrong?" (“knowledge approach”) Instead, they asked themselves, "How can I practice love in this situation?” "How can we build up the church together?" (“love approach”) And they found the answer! The answer was to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word of God. The apostles realized that the church would be spiritually united only through prayer and the word of God. So they chose to focus on the essentials. They chose to focus on their own calling. The great temptation for pastors today is to try to control all church ministries. They become leaders in every area of the church ministry, but the thing is they come to neglect their own calling because of other ministries. This is the strategy of Satan: "Distraction."  But the apostles discerned that this distraction was from the enemy and that the cure for this was to go back to the basics. They knew the limitation of their time, energy, and gifts. They knew that they were called to be one part of the body, and they chose to focus on their calling, the essentials. 

Our spiritual ancestors practiced the following spiritual disciplines: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love.” Then, what are the essentials? As Christians, we need unity on our Christian core beliefs, such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Great Commandments (Love God, Love Others), and the Great Commission (Make Disciples). For any other non-essentials, we can have room to think and to let others think.

Choose Love  

The second action plan is this: empowering love. The apostles designated and empowered others. In verse 3 they said, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task.” Now it is the believers’ turn to choose. The great temptation for believers today is to be outsiders and complain against those different from them. This is the strategy of Satan: “Division.” But the early church believers followed the example of the apostles. They also used a “love” approach. They asked themselves, “How can we practice love in this situation?” “How can we build up the church together?” Then they chose the seven people. We can find a very interesting fact here. All seven were Greek names. In other words, all of them came from a minority group. The majority of the early church believers did not choose their own people. They did not insist on their own way, but instead, they chose the right persons for this issue. They chose seven people from the minority group to take care of their widows. This is love approach.

Jesus is our great model. One day the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They came to Jesus to catch him in theological or legal error and asked him a question, “What is right and wrong?” But Jesus refused to get hooked. Instead of answering them, he bent down and wrote something with his finger on the ground in silence. By his silence Jesus forced them to stop playing games, to look within themselves, and to ask themselves, “Is this love?” After this, they went away, one by one. Then, Jesus said to the woman, “I don’t condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). Love and compassion without compromise.

The Church: A Foretaste of God’s Peaceful Kingdom

Jesus wants his church to foretaste his peace, his love, his joy, his hope today and to show them to the world. In today’s passage the apostles and the believers all together in one mind asked the same question, “How can I practice love in this situation?” When they devoted themselves to practicing love, the church of Christ prospered. The Bible says, “So the word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (v. 7, ISV). The point of this verse is not just about the church growth. But, it testifies when we really practice Christ’s love, the Lord will even soften the hearts of our enemies, and draw them to Christ.

When we think about the present and future of the UMC, it almost seems impossible to become one between traditionalists and progressives. But just as Dr. King had the vision of building beloved community, I have a dream today. I have Isaiah’s vision of God’s peaceful kingdom: “The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). My prayer is that we as a church will never give up having holy conferencing together, always focus on the essentials, always choose love, so that Christ’s Church may be strengthened and God get glory. Amen.