The way to participate in Christmas

2008 Christmas Message

Isaiah 62:6-12

Overcoming a romantic Christmas

Today we have the Christmas of 2008. We are all merrily attending today’s worship service. Other Christians in other parts of the world may also experience great joy through Christmas worship service. People other than Christians also seem to be sharing this joy of Christmas season. We don’t feel the Christmas atmosphere in New Delhi, but in other places like Europe or USA Christmas mood is getting into high spirits. There are many things to enjoy about Christmas, streets bustling with many people in the street, glittering Christmas trees, joyful carols and overflowing Christmas gifts. Many may visit their hometown and celebrate Christmas with family like shepherd Liavikho, Almodi and other brothers. All of these are the moment of confirming the joy of this world. I hope all of you may have such joyous life as much as you can.

However, there is a fact we should not forget. This joy will also soon pass. How many gifts do we have that of the past years? How much lovely memory do we keep that of the past Christmas? Whatever sweet memories we have, it withers like a faded photo as time passes by. Many people, mainly women have such tendency, try to trace back a vague memory and keep a romantic memory. However, it is nothing but a trial to hold sand that is passing through fingers. I don’t emphasize on the pessimistic life but correctly look into the reality of life. That is, not to stay in high spirits of Christmas mood but to enter into the real meaning of Christmas.

The entire stories related to Christmas are beautiful and peaceful. Your memory also might be filled with such stories. Mary holding newborn baby Jesus in her arms, worshiping Magi, praising angels are the scenes we have seen in famous pictures. The figures of shepherds who heard the news of Jesus’ birth from the angels in the midnight also is a pastoral scenery. Indeed ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men’. The hero of all these sceneries is Jesus. However, the very Jesus would be executed in the most miserable way. He was merely thirty three years old at that time. Is it the time to enjoy Jesus’ birth? If Mary predicted about such Jesus’ miserable destiny how much would have she been distressed!

I am not intending to spoil your joys of the holiday season with this fact. I’m telling you the fact that Christian faith lies not in a mood but participating in a certain ultimate fact. Very early Christians didn’t observe Christmas. Some of you may know Christmas had gradually positioned as an important day in the Church calendar after Christianity became a state religion of Rome. The date December 25 was also related to a god of sun that Romans worshiped. December 25 was originally the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, from which the length of day began to be longer than night. It was a day that Romans celebrated with great splendor. Once Christianity became the state religion, Christmas replaced that day. Early Christianity didn’t have any room to think about Jesus’ birth. Think of it. Jesus was killed in the most cursed way. The death on the cross was shameful for both Greek and Jews in those days. If Jesus died in such way the followers of him couldn’t express their identity as Christian freely. If we think of this in the modern context, they are similar to children of terrorist who are imprisoned in Tihar prison. For the disciples to be in such situation, did they have any room to sing merrily, exchanging gifts and making a Christmas tree? No. They were absolved in the identity of Jesus who was executed on the cross and arose from his death after three days. That was the very Jesus. We now know him well or think we know him very well, but at the time of early Christianity they didn’t know Jesus properly. More precisely speaking, we also don’t know Jesus completely. Why?

We have learned and believed that Jesus is the Messiah. Messiah means a savior. Then think again. If Jesus was the savior then this world at least has to be changed even a little bit last 2008 years. Jesus had lived in Judea 2008 years ago. Did this world change before and after Jesus’ coming? Not many changes have happened to this world. Even after Jesus’ coming, people still get sick, handicapped people remain unchanged, some evil doers prosper and some innocent suffers. Either before and after his coming we all live like this, get old and die. Nothing has changed. Here is the reason I told you we don’t know Jesus completely. The salvation through Jesus hasn’t been completed yet. We are waiting for coming of completion of salvation. We are waiting for the Lord more than a watchman waits for the morning that how can Jesus who came to this world 2008 years ago save this world. When the complete salvation happens we shall come to know the real identity of Jesus and God’s salvation reign that had happened in Jesus’ life. We are waiting for the hour that God will complete salvation through Jesus. That is advent and also is Christmas. Are you waiting for Christmas with such ‘burning thirst?’ Or captured by a romantic mood like other people in the world?

The savior

500 years before Jesus’ coming, Isaiah was already eagerly waiting for the savior. This really is a mystery. Isaiah and other Judean prophets of those days and even today were waiting for such complete salvation of God. Yes. The faith of the Subscribes is to wait. Look at the contents of today to get to know what Isaiah was waiting for.

Isaiah prophesied under quite difficult situation. Of course, comfortable situation might not require a prophet. Though Judea reestablished and offered Jerusalem temple after returning from Babylonian captivity, there was no sign of fulfilling the prophet of Haggai and Zechariah at all. I read Haggai’s prophesy, “From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "'From this day on I will bless you. "”(Haggai 2:18, 19) The temple offering ceremony took place in B.C. 515, and even after that the situation of home and foreign political affairs and the condition of people’s life were bad. So many people got greatly distressed. Imagine the greatness of their disappointment. All their expectation to regain all the splendor of Jerusalem that of King David and Solomon through the incident of releasing from Babylon captivity life, the temple reconstruction, discovery of the Scribes in which God’s word was written had come to nothing. It is natural if you expect more then you are thrown into despair more.

For them Isaiah again proclaimed the salvation of Jerusalem. He explains it in detail. Look at verse 6, 7. “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isaiah delivers the vow of the Lord God in verse 8. “The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled;” It may sound a little heartlessly that ‘Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.” It may be right to share what is mine with others as much as possible. Such word can be understood firstly how much Israel people had undergone the persecution of neighboring countries mercilessly from neighboring country. Those who once have been afflicted by others bear a grudge against them. According to Isaiah, God will satisfy their grudge. For Israel people at least eating and drinking and worshipping the Lord God without tension was the very salvation. To Israel people who got despaired even in this matter, Isaiah prophesied God would protect them.

Isaiah’s prophesy reaches the climax in verse 11. “See, your Savior comes!” A Savior will come to Zion (Jerusalem) with his people. They will be holy people and called as the people the Lord saved. Jerusalem becomes the city of longing for the peoples and not to be forsaken any more. The people in Jerusalem were like remnants of defeated troop become the holy people and Jerusalem the forsaken city becomes the object of longing. It will be accomplished with not by the people of Jerusalem but by the savior. He is God. God will come to them.

Did such things happen to them practically? Sorry to say it didn’t come true. Jerusalem people who once had despaired because of unfulfilled prophesy of Haggai and Zechariah. And again they heard prophesy of Isaiah but it also wasn’t fulfilled. Then did the prophets tell a lie? No. Isaiah declared the word of God what he had received from God. We call it oracle. It was not Isaiah’s responsibility. Then whose responsibility was that? Was it God who had given prophesy to Isaiah? How can we call God to account? What problem does it have in the situation that prophesy wasn’t fulfilled.

Historical responsibility

We are now standing before a puzzle that is hard to solve. Isaiah’s prophesy was clearly given by God. It is the truth. Then it wasn’t fulfilled in history. Israel suffered again even after Isaiah and completely lost their country in the first century. We have to know what prophesy was, that it was the word of God in order to solve this problem. God’s word is God’s command in which his will would be declared toward us. Our receiving of God’s will depend on our attitude. In those days if Israel people concentrated on the word of God, prophesy might be fulfilled as it was. Probably Israel people responded to Isaiah’s prophesies derisively. How could God’s will be fulfilled to such people? The responsibility of failed fulfillment was Israel people’s unbelief.

Today we have received Christmas with joy. The incident of Jesus coming was the complete prophesy that summarizes the entire Old Testament. We have heard prophesy that the savior Jesus had come on Christmas. Was this prophesy fulfilled in this history? Of course, the fact that Jesus had come itself is fulfillment of prophesy. However, as I told you beginning of this message, though Messiah had come but salvation has not been revealed to us yet. We don’t know and haven’t experienced the reality of salvation face to face. At this point Christmas is still a prophesy. The prophesy will be completely fulfilled at the end of days, the day of Jesus’ second coming. We haven’t got to the end of the world. What shall we do who heard the prophesy of Christmas in the middle of history? The best way for us is able to fulfill Christmas’ historical responsibility.

What is the responsibility in detail? I don’t have much word to say for this. How can I teach you for I don’t know your experiences in the world, life and history? The only teacher will be the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. If you open your heart to the spirit of the truth the Holy Spirit may teach you according to your situation. The Spirit may teach what life you have to take in order to fulfill your historical responsibility. You may think this word is too obscure. If you really think that it is too vague idea, then this reveals that you haven’t thought deeply about the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ and his salvation. It is similar to those matured children know how to help their children by themselves but the immature don’t know despite repeated lecturing. Of course I also belong to the immature group.

I would like to give you a direction. Listen with your spiritual ears to the historical fact that Jesus has come. True meaning of Christmas is quite differs from the status to be happy by singing Christmas carol and exchanging cards. Do believe that salvation was already accomplished on earth and our history through Jesus Christ. Believe the fact of Jesus’ second coming that fulfills the complete salvation. Before believing do understand its meaning. If you are the person who really understand and believe it the Holy Spirit may help you to realize how to carry out your responsibility in history. It is not the only one. Some may have work for the minority of society or to keep maintaining ecosystem useful or for church renovation or for the needy people. Do not merely pray for the coming of kingdom of God but also struggling on serving for establishing the kingdom of God in the world whenever chance is given. Such life is the way to celebrate Christmas. On this 2008 Christmas, may the true meaning of Christmas be abundant in your life.

A song of Soul

Advent 4th Week

Luke 1:46-56

A SONG OF SOUL

Background

Gospels emphasize more on Jesus’ public life than his childhood. The attitude on Jesus’ public life and his childhood varies according to the gospel. Mark’s gospel was the earliest written where as John’s was the last gospel that dealt with Jesus public life. Jesus’ public life only began when he was about thirty. However, Matthew and Luke also dealt with the myth of Jesus’ birth. Matthew’s gospel wrote the news of Jesus’ birth that delivered to Joseph the fiancé and Luke’s gospel directly to Virgin Mary. Its author caused the differences (what is it? What differences?). Matthew’s gospel was written by Matthew who emphasized on the Jewish tradition. The author of Luke’s gospel gave emphasis on the gentiles, women, children and neglected people. However, when we read the text today we have to premise that this text is written under a theological background.

Let’s briefly observe the background of today’s content. It is similar to a stage background, (what?) takes an important role in a play. Luke closely connects the birth of Jesus to that of John the Baptist. Luke explains how Elizabeth got pregnant in Luke 1:5-25. Elizabeth was barren due to her old age but got pregnant like Hannah who gave birth to Samuel at her old age. Six months after her pregnancy, Mary also entered into the maternity line. At that time Mary got engaged with Joseph but didn’t marry him. The fact they didn’t marry signifies they hadn’t slept yet. However, pregnant Mary visited Elizabeth. Once Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"(Luke 1:42-45). The contents we read today are Mary’s reply to the greeting of Elizabeth.

You may probably know well about the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary. This is an introduction to a beautiful folktale that gives new inspiration despite repeated reading at the season of Advent and Christmas. According to the description of the Bible, two women both got pregnant in a specific way. The angel Gabriel noticed their pregnancy in advance. Elizabeth was over age to be pregnant and Mary was unmarried. One side was too old and the other was too young. Both women became pregnant in an abnormal way. In that case the concerned parties cannot be but confused. It’s hard to balance (what?) not knowing what is what. As a widow know what another widow goes through, two women met together and shared a spiritual conversation that only two of them could understand.

Those who are with discerning power might wonder about this story. Elizabeth was a woman with plenty of life experience and might be able to talk to(about?) a religious story but Mary was mere 15, 16 year old lass. It seems unnatural that such young lass could sing the song that contained a content of social revolution. If your thought reaches to this point then you’re closed to the text of Bible.

On the other side, the question “Had Mary sung such song?” is not much important. For now we don’t know about Mary’s childhood. The author of Luke might dictate the handed down song. It might be either original Mary’s song or just the author connected the tradition to Mary thought. Though we cannot catch a clear reality of origin, however this song surely contains in it Early Christian faith. We now should ask this way. Why did early Christian community, precisely Luke community sing such a song? Whats the song about?

A Song of soul

What were you thinking while you’re reading the song today? Did you have any feeling that the song lead you into the spiritual world? In many cases people read the Bible text half-heartedly. Those who have little spiritual desire read the Bible in order to get religious satisfaction. In this status we can never identify with the text despite our fanatic attitude. Rather the important point is that we have to read the Bible text following as it leads us. Then we are able to identify with the Bible text. To follow wherever Bible leads is the right way to read Bible and it may help us to catch the deeper meaning ‘my soul’.

We can hear such praising song from Mary. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (46, 47) What is the meaning of ‘My soul glorifies’? When we often encounter such expression in the Bible we used to skip it without paying much attention. We think we are living by spirit when we become husky caused by shouting prayer or carry a worn out Bible due to too much reading. Such fervent faith life also is necessary. However, such things are mere a healthy religious custom. We can attend early Morning Prayer for 365 days without missing even a single day. The followers of ‘Jehovah witness’ think to preach their religious doctrine by visiting house by house as their absolute duty. People can behave this way with their fervent zeal and persistent effort. The fact that ‘my soul glorifies the Lord’ has a totally different level from such religious behavior or discipline.

At this very moment my message may meet a certain limitation. Because I am not able to correctly deliver the meaning of ‘soul’. I wouldn’t explain it theologically nor tell my short experience about soul. Rather I would like to approach to this at the common sense level. What do you think what soul is? If you are thinking the worship we are doing now is the act of praising God from your soul, then how about your status now? Do you feel the identification of your body and soul? The soul indicates us when our body and spirit became one.

Generally we aren’t living by ‘soul’. It means the separation of our spirit and body. Of course, outwardly it seems spirit and body is separated but practically it is one. The separation of spirit and body means we are seeing this world formally. Then with status we cannot hang on our entire existence and destiny to our life. Our life is composing of just the series of trials to solve the puzzle of which answers have already given by this world. Let’s ask ourselves like this. Where do I hang on my entire existence? In fact the fact itself to hang on everything seems even meaningless for modern people. For ‘a song of soul’ is only given by the relationship with God. For modern people who ignore such spiritual horizon in their life, singing the song of soul is almost impossible from the beginning.

Yes. Soul is a path to communicate with God. So in Mary’s song the author of Luke’s gospel today continues as following in verse 47. “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Such rejoicing makes us praise the Lord. To some such explanation may sound stereotypical. It happens because of their ignorance about the savior God. God is the savior of man. The idea about him is rightly connected to the salvation matter. What is more fundamental than salvation? Those who are penetrating death, nihility, despair and meaningless of this world cannot pass by salvation matter. Literature says salvation and even the matter of terror also are connected to salvation. At this point the attitude to dig completely into the matter of salvation is rightly to praise by spirit. Those who are saved, precisely speaking, those who know God the savior, cannot but sing a song of soul.

The almightiness of God

How does Mary sing of God’s salvation activity? Today’s content clearly explains it. The fact is that the activity takes the way of reversal.Look at verses 51-53. “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” This meaning of this word is similar to Isaiah 61:1,2 Jesus quoted. (Luke 4:18). Not only this, but also it is similar to the Sermon on the Plane of Luke’s gospel which runs parallels to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel. (6:21-26).

Who are the proud, the rulers and the rich? On the contrary, who are the humble and the hungry? Every place in human society has such hierarchy. The society may be well maintained but it is impossible to avoid such division, discrimination and conflict. The failure of communism that Marx dreamt to establish a complete equal society is the proof of this. Mary sings that God completely renews such hierarchical and twisted society. This is a song to make the society equal by bringing down the proud and lifting up the humble sound a little improper according to a listener. The gospel of Christianity never tolerates an evil order, which is fixed by man.

However Christian today lost all such abilities to bring down the proud and lift up the humble. In ancient society, once Christianity became a state religion of Roman Empire by Constantine it caused to lose that ability. And now conspiring with capitalism becomes the cause of losing that ability. Some Christians don’t want to lose their position or properties. They are afraid of changing their life. Then what shall we do after reading today’s content? Should we find out the proud, the ruler and the rich and deprive them by force? But the Bible doesn’t teach a church to practically come out for social revolution. Making the proud shameful is not the work of the church. Our soul cannot praise the Lord in this way. It drills us at a moment but cannot lead us to praise the Lord. The praise of Mary concentrates on the power of the Lord. God is the almighty and holy. (49,51). God only can bring down the rulers from their thrones. (52) We have to fear him. (50) For them the Lord extends his mercy. What does Luke tell us? The key point is only the Lord can fulfill the newness of this World.

If you want to feel this word a little more vividly you have to keep in your mind the times when Luke’s gospel was written. Mary’s song sounded like the Liberation theology or Marxism’s manifesto because it was written when the Roman Empire’s power leaped high into the sky. Isn’t it wonderful that God brings down and rules over the absolute power that everybody were afraid of? Mary’s sight to concentrate on the Almighty totally ignored the power of Roman Empire.

Now we face a tension in the actual life of Christianity. Social change and the actualization of revolution are not the fundamental goals of our faith, different from a certain party or a civic society. But we expect a fundamental change by the Lord. Then how can we Christians live? Should we wait by only praying? Or should practically participate in world history? These two attitudes, that is, waiting and participation is two types of life style that are revealed in the believers of the Almighty God. Those who sing a song of soul do not miss this tension between ‘waiting and participation. Sometimes wait and sometimes participate. It goes together in Christian’s life.

TOWARD THE SPIRITUALITY OF HISTORY

Advent 3rd Week
TOWARD THE SPIRITUALITY OF HISTORY
Isaiah 61:1-14

A tradition of prophet
Adding to certain explanation to today’s content may be a little awkward like an additional painting on a masterpiece. Basically I used to stand here not to preach but reveal God’s will through his word. However, today I would like to intentionally reduce my role as a preacher for Isaiah 61 doesn’t contain any complicated sentences that need to be explained. So I only would like to give a guide for the background of writing of today’s contents. It might be just similar to a role of a guide in an art gallery.

While you’re reading today’s content you might vividly sense prophet Isaiah’s spiritual breathing. The author was a person popularly regarded as the third Isaiah. He wrote it in early B.C. 5 century, the end stage of Babylon captivity life of Southern Judean. We can imagine his feeling when he was writing today’s content. Just imagine the moment of a freedom fighter who met the Independence Day after long time suffering in the prison under the British colonial. Also imagine the moment when a patient who suffered from a chronicle disease like cancer comes out of hospital with complete healing. Would they like to sing and dance? Today’s content was written in such situation. The words deliverance, freedom and hope in today’s content reflect such situation.

The prophecy of Isaiah wasn’t a creative idea of his own but connected to Israel’s historical tradition, the year of the Lord’s favour that mentioned in Levites 25:8-12. The year of the Lord’s favour is rooted in the tradition of the year of Sabbath and it goes back to the tradition of the Sabbath. The Sabbath mentioned in the fourth commandment is the result of the spirit of God’s creation and Exodus. Both the creation and Exodus signifies life, deliverance, liberty and hope. The year of the Lord’s favour lies at the end of traditional stem. The year of the Lord’s favour comes after fiftieth year, rightly next year of the seven times of the year of Sabbath. At this year everything returns to where it was. “Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.” (Lev. 25:10).

Based on such tradition of the year of the Lord’s favour, Isaiah wrote today’s contents. Look at verses 1b, 2. “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.”

Coincidently it was Jesus’ first reading at the synagogue. Jesus read the very content at the Nazarene synagogue after returning from wilderness. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18, 19)

The tradition of prophet was not a peculiar idea of one or two person but the thoughts that underlined the entire Israel’s history. After returning from Babylon captivity, Isaiah inherited the tradition from the Law that the Exodus community Israel had received in the wilderness. Jesus the savior of the world inherited it from Isaiah. What the tradition of prophet all about and then it had been continually leading the life of Israel? The author of gospel accepted Jesus Christ as the savior of the world and didn’t bind the gospel within Israel. Then how did they regard the tradition of prophet of Israel and Jesus’ world salvation as one? Don’t you wonder about this? What in the world the tradition of prophet penetrates the entire Old and New Testament?

The people of spirit
When we consider the tradition of prophet the first thinking point is ‘spirit’. Look at verse 1. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” The tradition of the year of the Lord’s favour in Levites also was the command given by the Lord God. Jesus who read Isaiah’s prophesy at the synagogue also worked in the spirit as we can confirm from the statement that ‘the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.’ (Luke 3:22) Today we also live by the spirit, the tradition of prophet. According to Acts, Christian community is the Spiritual community. Not only Acts but the entire New Testament is the report of the activity of the Holy Spirit. Even today churches often mention the word ‘fulfillment of the Holy Spirit’. Connecting to the Spirit in both a believer personal and church community means to take the tradition of prophet preciously.

What do you think about the Spirit? Who are the people filled their heart with the Holy Spirit? The word written in verse 1, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me” is often greatly misunderstood in two ways. One of them is the instrumentalism of the Spirit. It is the activities to make their life convenient by using the Spirit. If they go to the extreme, they become a fortuneteller who prophesies other believers’ future. They prophesy sexes of baby in a mother’s womb. Some people identify the Spirit and tongues. Their activities look very pure but still it is an act of instrumentalism of the Spirit. They utilize the Spirit as an instrument to strengthen their faith.

Another phenomenon to misunderstand the Spirit is the extreme ideation of the Spirit. Of course the Spirit can be thought as an idea but also as an extreme it becomes distortion of the Spirit. We usually use the term ‘the salvation of the Spirit’. If it signifies only salvation of our spiritual part regardless of body part then it is wrong idea. Those who think human as structure of dualism of body and soul have a possibility to regard the Holy Spirit as a sort of ghost. This matter is a little complicated and I do not want to take it long time to deal with now. It’s enough for us to confirm the fact that we do not regard the Holy Spirit as a mere spiritual thing without regard to the physical. The attitude of thinking the Spirit as a ghost never can be a right idea of Christianity.

I have explained misunderstanding about the Spirit. Now I would like to a little positively tell you what the Spirit is. I cannot tell you it using a word or two for there is many descriptions about the Spirit in the Bible. I will tell you it with a simple example. Baby Abeidao began to walk. What was the power to let him come out of the world? Of course his father and mother might take an important role. If we see it superficially it is a combination of an egg and a sperm. However, if we look into it at the profound deeper level we can see there is much fundamental power that gives a new life birth combining an egg and a sperm. What is the power? Several millions years of history worked on it and now a certain a gene action might be involved in his birth. This is the biological foundation that we know. So people think if they research it then the origin of life can be clarified. However, with such research the origin of life cannot be plainly clarified. What we can do is to explain the phenomena that have been partially revealed. Generally, we don’t know why this world is progressing with what we are experiencing now not with other aspects. Man is composed not only of dust but also soul. It means the soul works through the dust only. There is no body there is no soul for man. It is quite a mystery. Soul and body are different phenomena but it becomes a life through combining them together. We call the power that makes the mysterious things possible but unknown way to us as the Holy Spirit. Like this the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God fills the world with life in mysterious, concealing, hidden, secret ways, beyond our imagination. This is the mystery of the world. Those who are captured by the mysterious spirit of life are spiritual people and prophets.

Justice and praise
There are many spiritual people in Israel who look into the depth of life. Isaiah was one of them and saw the mystery of history. It means he saw history with spiritual view. It, that is to say, is a prophesy. What is this in detail? The first thing we need to confirm is that like other prophets Isaiah also didn’t receive a peculiar transcendental oracle. He tried to catch God’s salvation act through mysterious God’s reign that had been working in Israel’s history.

When Isaiah was thinking about Israel’s history he couldn’t think it separately from the Lord God. Isaiah lived in the history like us and he didn’t rise above Israel’s history. So Israel’s history became the background of his prophesies. Naturally his prophecies were filled with Israel’s historical viewpoint. For example, look at verse 6, 7. “And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.” These phrases can be doubted because of excessive nationalism. However, Isaiah was not the person limited to such nationalism. The Lord chose Israel but it was not an unconditional choice. When Israel was dishonest and didn’t serve God rightly they were forsaken. Judging at a fundamental level, Isaiah showed his sincerity to the will of the Lord God rather than Israel his nation. It was because he was, as I pointed earlier, the man who tried to preach the salvation plan of the Lord God through God’s reign on his nation.
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The salvation plan and God’s reign that Isaiah had seen is well summarized in verse 11. “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Read it carefully. Though the tradition of prophet is clearly established in Israel’s history it never seems to favor Israel. The main concern of prophets focused on raising up a righteous community on God’s point of view. Such righteous community affected not only Israel but also ‘all nations’. Isaiah proclaims, “The Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Though Israel is the chosen people if they become unrighteous community then God would never forgive them.

A righteous community contains all qualities that I have mentioned in earlier paragraphs. The foundation of restoration of the poor, brokenhearted and captivities into the image of God again is righteousness. You may remember the fact that this prophecy is related to the tradition of the year of the Lord’s favour. The Lord God had given Israelites the command to keep the year of the Lord’s favor in order to establish a righteous community.

What relationship does a righteous community and spirituality have? The prophets who were anointed by the Spirit of the Lord thought that the society could only be righteous when it was ruled by God. In other word, if there is a righteous community then it means the Lord God is ruling the community. So Isaiah suggested righteousness and praise as one. It signifies a righteous society and God’s praise can never be separated. It again can be said those who direct a righteous community only can be true God worshipper. A yearning desire for righteousness is a spirituality of history. Whoever has seen the righteousness wants to give a true worship. The worship service we are having together on the day of third Advent may sublimate your hope and waiting for a righteous community.

A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH

The Second Advent week

2 Peter 3:1-13

Delay of Advent
Early Christian communities were so earnestly waiting for Jesus’ second coming that they were known as the ‘Second coming community’. However, Jesus’ second coming was delayed and while they were waiting for Jesus’ coming again many fellow Christians were passing away. The delay of Jesus’ second coming caused very serious problem in their community. People showed different responses before the delay of Jesus’ coming again. Some prayed more fervently for Jesus’ coming and some left the church. Others newly interpreted the meaning of his delay. The people in today’s content mocked the faith of Jesus’ second coming. “They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." (4)

Peter expressed them as the people ‘following their own evil desires’. Of course, this expression is not specifically insulting. It is a general expression for the people of the world who live according their thought, idea and maintain their life however they want it. We live like this in our daily lives. We do not obey God’s will but stay loyal to the desires that spring up from our heart. In this regard, though our life looks good we are nothing but the people ‘following their desire’ if the motivation of our life is not seeking God’s will. Peter here hints the intention of mockers who was mocking the delay of Jesus’ second coming. He says the mockers uses the delay of Jesus’ second coming as a plausible excuse of their loosen life in this world.

Though they made it as a plausible excuse for their loose life in this world, their attitude to raise this matter was somewhat reasonable. Like their expression, talking about Jesus’ second coming seemed a little strange under the situation of ‘everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation’. The sun that shined for 4.5 billion years still shines even today. The heaven and the earth still take its position as they were in the past. Who will be the person among us thinking the sun can disappear tomorrow. How can it be sounded extremely strange if someone insist Jesus’ second coming while the earth rotates on its axis and revolving around the sun, stars shine on the sky? Not only did the early Christians mock Jesus’ second coming, we find ourselves doing the same thing even today. We also assist such mockery. Let’s strain our ears to Peter’s explanation.

Change of the world
Look at verse 5. “But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.” Peter asserts that the people who mock Jesus’ second coming deliberately forget that by God’s word the heavens and the earth were created. The word that the earth was formed out of water and by water might be an influence of Thales’ philosophy that presumed water as the source of all things in the universe. You shouldn’t be supersized in saying that the Bible was influenced by world philosophy for God’s word takes its main position in this expression. The author who remembers the Noah’s flood says the ancient world was deluged and destroyed. But by the same word the present heavens and the earth were reserved. (7a) And the heavens and earth will be burnt on the day of Judgment. (7b) The conception of burning by fire also might refer to Herakleitos’ philosophy which says this world will begin after being destroyed by fire. Today the readers of Bible do not need to worry about the fact that the Bible was written with such influence of worldly philosophy, for the Bible put God and God’s word in its center. The point that the authors of Bible didn’t fall into a dogma but opened the door of dialogue toward the surrounded world is the proof that they hold the attitude of a truth seeker.

What is Peter talking about? Peter is now pointing out the logical problem of the mockers who mock an advent faith. Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation in their eyes but this world has decisively changed and also will be changed. They see only the visible phenomena of the world but the author of Bible sees the inner world. The fundamental change is happening in the inner world by God’s word. That inner change rightly predicts the end of the world, that is, Jesus’ second coming.

Dear brothers and sisters. The world is placed before us like this. The world is seen differently based on its viewpoint. For some, the peoples of the world who understand and resolves matters with their own way regards nothing is related to God. However, we who believe God regards everything in this world are closely related to God. We are the people who see this world by a spiritual viewpoint. According to the text today the author is seeing this world based on God’s word. There are people who feel difficult to understand the meaning of seeing spiritually based on God’s word. Let’s think this matter a litter more based on the text.

The author explained the world with water and fire, the viewpoint of ancient people. The core of it is the following. The root of existence of the world is laid not on the outer fact but the inner. The inner fact, of course, is God, God’s word. I will tell you the simplest physical fact. The earth does not rotate with its own power but completely is dependent on the sun. If the sun loses its power only 10%, life on earth will be exterminated. The sun takes a small position in the galactic system. If you feel the macro physics too far to understand then think the fact near to us. Nowadays many people are suffering from hepatitis. Suppose we eradicate all viruses in the earth to protect hepatitis. Probably humankind will be exterminated because of this. ‘War of the Worlds’ is a science fiction-disaster film based on H. G. Wells' original novel, directed by Steven Spielberg. The story dealt with the invasion of extraterrestrial. Any weapons on earth were useless to defeat them. The last scene of this movie narrates that it was the viruses and bacteria that destroyed the invaders.

What does this signify? We shouldn’t see this world externally. The inner spiritual world is much more abundant and deeper. The science of today doesn’t have a clear idea about sources of the abundant life in this world. Some power may be clearly working but it is hidden from our cognitive system. We who believe God’s creation regard it as a spiritual reality. Those who keep such spiritual reality in their mind cannot mock the delay of Jesus’ second coming just seeing the outer phenomena of world.

Dismantlement of the world
The author of Bible explains the Advent faith positively after depending mocking for delay of the advent. According to his expression, we have to think three facts related to the advent faith.

First, the relativity of time. The author says quoting Psalm 90:4, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (8) We have a dim consciousness whenever we think about the time. It is hard for us to distinguish what difference between the age of the earth, 4.5 billion years old and 24 hours of yesterday. As our forefather’s teaching, our life is felt as just a moment of a noon’s nap. The author tells us do not simply calculate the delay of Jesus’ coming with our time conception.

Second, the delaying of his coming is related to human salvation. Look at verse 9. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God’s favor to give an opportunity to those who are not saved is the reason for delay of Jesus’ coming.

Third, Jesus’ advent happens like ‘thief’s invasion. Look at verse 10a. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” Such parables related to this theme have been already given by Jesus. (Matthew 24:43) The end of the world comes to us unexpectedly. The individual death also is the same. Many people die unexpectedly. Of course it is a little different case if people die not by sickness or accident but in normal way. However, even such death is not much different. Not only individual death but the ecosystem of the earth can be demolished without any previous notice. It is similar case that the bank seems to be safe just before overflowing but it cannot stop once its corner begins being destroyed.

The author describes the end of the world by the following. “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” (10) Jew’s revelation thought is revealed in this expression. Such influence is unavoidable for Christianity is rooted in Judaism. There are similar expression in the gospels and Revelation.

Modern Christians who read such statement of the Bible shows two responses. On one hand people think that the world understanding of ancient people is meaningless. They say modern people are mature enough and should take off such immature world viewpoints. Theologically speaking, it is stated that the Bible should be ex-mythologized. On the contrary, there are people who insist such expression of revelation thought should be accepted literally. Martyn Lloyd Johns also stated the same. In my viewpoint these two attitudes both are not desirable. Those who participate in such Bible tradition they didn’t have any choice. However, what their concern was not the viewpoint of ancient tradition but God’s sovereignty. This world is nothing but God’s creation though it seems great. It means such world can be dismantled so simply and easily.

A new heaven and a new earth
Upon hearing this, if you think the teaching of Christianity is negative and pessimistic then you seriously misunderstood the passage. In many cases Christianity approaches and interprets life in this world negatively. They denied history, interpreted human life in acetic way and made it in dual, sacred and secular. Such assertions come from improper understanding about the foundation of Christianity.

The idea of the description of today, “the dismantlement of this world’ is very clear. It is not denying this world but hoping for ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ by penetrating the limitation of this world. Look at verse 13. “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” The old world is gone by fire and a new heaven and a new earth begins. A new heaven and a new earth is the core of the text.

People may think of the new heaven and a new earth vaguely. We have much work to do rightly now for our survival in this competitive world. Studying, office work and terrorist problem are the pending problems. For students who feel ultimate importance of impending end semester exam a new heaven and a new earth sounds totally different story of another world. In fact our daily life lay before us is very important which cannot compare with anything in this world. Eat, excrete, meet others, struggle to make humane world and etc are equally important for us. However, we should not lose the teaching of the Bible toward a new heaven and a new earth because of we give our daily activities so much importance.

Let’s ask about the things of a new heaven and a new earth in detail. What sort of a new heaven and a new earth are we waiting for? Is it the world we are freed from labors or studying? Is it the world with no more wars? Is it the world of perfect welfare society? The world guarantees health and long life by developing neural stem cell. Though we have to do our best in order to establish such world which is achieved by developing and progressing, however, a new heaven and a new earth is different from such world. A new heaven and a new earth cannot be achieved by our effort but by God’s sovereign and eschatological ruling. The resurrection Christ, totally new life, comes again and will judge this world. Through the judgment of dividing life and death very clearly a new heaven and a new earth will be begun. So the author of Scripts advises us, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (14)

THE PRESENCE OF THE END OF TIMES

The First Week of Advent
Word/ 1 Corinthian 1:1-9
THE PRESENCE OF THE END OF TIMES

Regarding Advent
Church has its own calendar different from the solar calendar of our society. Christmas and Easter also are included in the church calendar. Roman Catholic observes much more days than our Protestant such as Assumption of Mary, All Saints Day and so for. However, the first division of church calendar that the entire church observes is Advent. Advent is composing of 4 weeks calculating 4 weeks before Christmas. Today, 30th November, is the first week of Advent.

Advent signifies First coming of Jesus, his presence and his Second coming but the last regards particularly as important one. The faith for Second coming of ascended Jesus has been confirmed since Early Christianity. What is your opinion about such faith? If you are the person who keep Christian faith in your heart you may not deny his Second coming.

However, you also cannot say you believe Second coming as the Bible says. Some of you may think you will ascend to heaven riding on the cloud or some of you may nullify the advent of faith, or most others think of it much seriously. In fact, there are not that many Christians who maintain their life thinking seriously about the foundation of Christianity. Outwardly they seem to keep their religion fervently but their inner status is far from Christianity.

It is not because of their hypocrisy or irresponsibility but Christian faith itself has a difficult point to digest with our daily experience. For example, Jesus’ teaching of ‘But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first’ is hardly understood in this world ruled by principles of competition. When they enter into the depth of life they can understand the fact that there is no difference between first and last. Those who regard even faith as the matter of competition and self-satisfaction beat around the bush or deny the teaching of Christianity itself rather than accept it.

The advent of faith also is the same case. Those Christians who are proud of their religious life view this teaching vaguely. What does it mean when one says that Jesus will come again? If Jesus comes again then where he is now?

According to the Apostle Creed, Jesus is seating at the right hand of God. Then where is God? None of us who are living in the post-Enlightenment age think that heaven is what people of New Testament ages thought it was. The people in the New Testament age understood heaven as a hiding place of life. So they thought it was natural for God to be in heaven, and for Jesus to ascend to heaven. Before their eye the mystery of life was in accordance with the unreachable mystery of heaven.

Then what’s wrong with the teaching about Jesus’ second coming? If the Bible explains about these things in detail it would be good for us. Unfortunately we cannot find about this in the Bible. It signifies the honesty of the authors of the Scripture. They didn’t deal the incident of God as magic. They didn’t try to show others God’s work as something good with reasonable decoration.

It is described in a simple and honest way by them those who have experienced God’s spiritual incident. It is alienated to our worldview today but their statement for Jesus’ second coming clearly includes spiritual reality. We are looking into what the spiritual reality is that today.

The Second Coming of Christ
Apostle Paul mentions about Jesus’ second coming at the head of his long letter to Corinthian Church. Seeded in his second mission journey Corinth was well-to-do city in those days. I’m not sure about the reason clearly but the Christian community in Corinth also maintained a well-to-do life.

Look at verse 5. “For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--.” Paul’s word ‘enriched in every way’ basically they were enriched in religious matter but it may also include other necessary factors to live in. It might include financial matter too. Especially they were articulate about their knowledge of Jesus. They became the noted people among their society in belief and theory. If we change it in modern terms, Corinthian Christian were intelligent, educated middle class people.

Paul neither absolutizes their rich nor denies cultural abundant life in this world. He was neither a stoic nor a hedonist nor a transcended person from the world nor a secularist. He was a realist who accepted and enjoyed his real life whatever situation was given either sufficiency or deficiency. He acknowledged the affluent life of Corinthian Christian as it was.

According to Paul’s request for donation to Corinthian church (2 Cor. 9), we can assume Paul’s idea about worldly property. He focuses on God’s will, that is, spiritual sight in any situation.

Look at his spiritual insight in today’s text. Look at verse 7. “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” ‘The present life does not lack anything’ and ‘Advent of Jesus Christ’ is a contradictive situation. Jesus’ advent signifies the incident of the fundamental dismantlement of all human achievement in this world. All the conditions we want to achieve belong to these.

Contrary to this, Jesus’ second coming is the life incident that will happen to transcendental and totally different way. The differences between the affluent life in this world and Jesus’ advent definitely occurs tension.

Shall I give you an example? A group of children gather and play a marble game. Some children lose and some children win. At that moment, their entire life is held up in a marble game. As evening comes, their mothers call them to be back at home. They have to stop their play. Once they enter in their home they can no longer play their marble games. It is because their home is totally different territory of life to a play ground.

Paul reminds this fact to Corinthian Christian who are living affluently. It means that, though they are living well without anything lacking, Christian life is the live coming out of that life expecting Jesus’ appearance. We don’t feel much difficulty to understand till this point.

Though Jesus’ second coming sounds vague, the personal death of our friends or related people awake us the reality that the end of present life surely comes. However, there is a problem after that. We don’t have any confidence for what Jesus’ second coming and his appearance is all about.

It is not a strange phenomenon that we don’t have any confidence about his Second coming. Our confidence is given through mostly either our present sensitive confirmation or the incidents that practically happened in the past.

However, Jesus’ second coming is purely future incident. How can we have confidence for the incidents that we have to expect only and that had happened only one time, which is Jesus’ resurrection? Here we can be on the horns of a dilemma. As an intelligent being we cannot have a groundless blind faith for this matter. Despite this we cannot but believe it as a Christian.

I cannot help you able to come out of such dilemma. I only partially explain the way that the Bible and theology suggest. However, this suggestion also cannot be the complete solution for everything. Even though it is a clear way the responses are different according to individuals. For example, there are some people who never understand God doesn’t show any favoritism to either we or to homo-sexualities. Once your mind is closed then you can’t see anything.

Fellowship with Christ
I’m returning the previous story that I mentioned earlier about the children who played a marble game. Let’s say there is a thoughtful child in the playground. The child may predict the game is not everything while he plays. Of course, the child knows the fact that he will go back home based on his past accumulated experience. However, though it varies according to individuals many live like they knew nothing of such things happening in the past.

I think we can imagine the world that will be happened to us through Jesus’ second coming at a certain level by intuiting the life in this world that we are experiencing now. The life we experience is transitory. Nothing in this world secures eternal life. If God exists God would prepare not such transitory way but eternal way of life. If we see it a little different angle, nothing is in this world fixed at the presence. The world including me is moving toward somewhere else. Where does it direct to? If God is the Creator is he prepared the hour to complete the world?

Such my word may not have a deceive persuasion power. It is because such logic has to meet an opposing argument at the similar level. In the last resort I cannot but say it through today’s content.

Look at verse 9. “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” Paul mentions about the fellowship with Jesus Christ after making allusion to the time of Jesus second coming and the Day of Judgment. Here the second coming and his judgment almost have the same meaning. These incidents mean a transitory life in this world changes into a real life. Nobody decisively can tell about it in detail but one thing is very clear that it is the completion of life.

At this point we experience and hope it by identifying with Jesus. It is because we believe that Jesus is ‘the way, the truth and the life. From him ‘the resurrection from the dead’ had happened. What does it mean? It means finally the end of world, second coming and judgment, the future incidents will be given to us through identifying with Jesus now.

I am naming it as ‘The presence of The End of times’. The end of times, the completion of life is not the far away future incident but as of today too. If now we are united with a real life it is the same status entered in the life world that will be completed at the end of times. Do you think it is right? Can you understand what it means?

People used to divide past, present and future chronically. Not only this, people divided you and me and others. There is a strict distinction between a good person and a bad person. People are accustomed with the life dividing this world according to their own standard. Once we are occupied with such manner we neither can understand the fact that the End of times have involved in the present life. Nor can believe. Nor can hope.

However, Christian faith overcomes such chronicle time. It is because we basically believe that God created the world and the universe. The first creation has not ended but is connected to the world that will be completed at the End of Times. In between of creation and the End of Times the power of creation is leading us. Both the beginning and the End of Times are God’s creation.

Then finally the End of Times has already entered into the presence. The End of Times rules over our today’s life with unknown mysterious way. We believe such work of creation and salvation is God’s salivation activity.

There is Jesus Christ at the center of God’s salvation activity that penetrates the creation and the End of Times. Identification with him is right way to participate in the life of the End of Times. How can we prove it? At this step we are required not proof but trust. Based on Jesus’ teaching, his activity and the incident that had happened to him, we have to believe Jesus as Christ. The word believing means to entrust our destiny and future to him. These are the people who live the End of Times presently. I hope such the presence of the End of Times may happen to you who meet the first week of Advent.