St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Luke 23:44-49

*English sermon begins at 14:10

The Lives We Live

Everyone wants to live a good life. We want our lives to be peaceful and enjoyable. But the lives we want to live, and the reality we face, are often very different.

There is the life that we want to control and the forces of life that control us. The more we live, the more we see that the life that controls us is often more powerful than the life we control. If the life that controls us brings good things, then we're thankful and have no complaints. But when the life that controls us brings uncertainty, grief, and sorrow, it makes living very difficult.

Faith begins when we recognize that our ability to control life is much smaller than life's ability to control us. Faith accepts our need for a power greater than ours. But what kind of faith are we seeking? Are we seeking a God who makes my life better for me when I need it? Or are we seeking to know this God who works in my life?

What Did They See?

People in Jesus' time were looking for a Saviour. Their lives were so difficult. They were powerless. They had no political power; no economic power. They knew they needed a power greater than what they had.

People were drawn to Jesus by his power. Crowds flocked to him to experience and witness healings. They saw him as someone who could make their lives better. Many people indeed were healed. But most of them went on their way after they got what they needed. Their focus was on their own lives.

But some who met Jesus began to follow him. A number of women who were healed by Jesus began to follow him. They provided resources to feed, clothe and provide for the needs of Jesus and his disciples. They spent time with Jesus, listening to his teachings and interacting with him daily. They got to know him personally.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, people had expectations. They expected Jesus to change what they themselves couldn't change. They expected political, economic and social change that would make their lives better. They entered Jerusalem singing Hosanna!

But the forces against change were powerful and motivated. These forces conspired to arrest and kill Jesus. They hung Jesus on the cross.

To the people's surprise, Jesus did not put up a fight. He seemed weak compared to the great power of the leaders. Jesus did not or could not save himself.

The crowds who had gathered went home, beating their breasts. When they looked at Jesus on the cross, they saw a weak and powerless Jesus. They saw someone who was defeated. In the cross, they saw their own powerlessness to do anything about the forces that controlled their lives. They turned away and went home, defeated and crushed.

Jesus' acquaintances and the women who followed him remained. They stood at a distance and watched. What did they see? With their eyes, they must have seen the same things as the crowds. There must have been sadness and disappointment. There must have been doubt and fear. There must have been confusion and bewilderment. But alongside all of that, I wonder if there was also trust and faith? I wonder if they remembered Jesus' teachings that this is what he had to go through?

We can't know for sure. What we know is that they stood and watched, facing the cross where Jesus hung.

What was the difference between the crowds who went home and the women who stayed and watched? The crowds had heard of Jesus and maybe even saw Jesus, but they did not know Jesus. For them, Jesus was only useful if he could do something for them. Since he died a weak death, he was of no more use to them. So they turned away and went home. Those who stayed and watched knew Jesus. They had spent time with Jesus. They remembered his teachings. Their hearts were changed. They loved Jesus.

The Cross in Faithful Eyes

When difficulties strike, when our expectations get crushed, when the weight of life's forces overwhelm our sense of control, what do we do? Do we turn away defeated, beating our chests? Or do we stand, watch and wait in faith?

Those who expect God to simply make their life better without any desire to know God will never have real faith. When difficulties strike, they will seek the most expedient way to deal with them. When God doesn't meet their expectations, they will turn away and seek other solutions. God will always be someone who has to prove himself.

But for those who follow Jesus, when difficulties strike, we stand and wait. We can be filled with fear. We may be confused. We may be uncertain about what comes next. We may even have doubt. But followers of Jesus do not turn away. We stand and wait. We look our difficulties in the eye. We fix our eyes on the cross.

The cross symbolized defeat and powerlessness. But for people of faith, underneath that defeat lies the mysterious power of God. A power that can only be seen with faith. That is why for us the cross is the power of God.

The women stood and watched. They were the first to discover the empty tomb. They saw the first signs of good news and reported it to the disciples.

When difficulties hit us, don't turn away from them. Instead, stand and wait. Fix your eyes on God. If you do that in faith, through the dark situation, you will begin to see signs of hope and good news.

May the cross you bear in your life not be not a source of sadness, but power and faith for your life.

The post Watching and Waiting appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Psalm 31:9-16

The Inside

Some of our college students are graduating from McMaster University. When they were in first year, we started a Bible study together. We booked a room in the main library and met there each week. When they were in second year, they moved into a house together, and I would go there weekly and have Bible study with them. Then the pandemic hit, and two whole school years went by. I visited them a week ago to reflect on their journey through their undergraduate years. It was so nice to be together with them again.

During these past four years, they've been through many things. Relationships, conflicts, ups and downs with school, and a pandemic for half of their undergraduate life. Many things happened on the outside, but the real change and growth happened inside of them. In fact, during the pandemic, nothing much really happened on the outside, but inside of them, they went through so much change and growth. What happened on the inside is not visible, but it is just as real, and perhaps more significant, than what happened on the outside. What happened on the inside defines who they are.

We experience many things on the surface of our lives. That is real. But there is a lot that goes on inside of us too, and that is very real as well.

The students at Mac were able to recollect what happened on the outside, but they had more difficulty articulating what happened to them on the inside. Even though what happens on the inside is just as real and perhaps more significant than what happens on the outside, it is more difficult to describe and articulate what happens on the inside, because we cannot really see it, and we don't really notice it. We go day to day in the world without really seeing or noticing what happens inside of us.

There is a tight correlation between what happens on the outside and what goes on inside. What happens on the outside affects what happens on the inside. Who we are on the inside affects what we do on the outside, and how we approach what happens on the outside. The only thing is, we often don't see this correlation, because we don't really see what's going on inside.

The inside is where the seat of our soul resides, where our spirit is. So what happens inside of us is spiritual. Spirituality relates to what happens inside of us. Our spirituality is affected by what happens outside, and it shapes what we do or how we approach what happens outside. Because we are unaware of what's going on inside, our spirituality is often quite limited. Mature spirituality is difficult, because we are not in tune with what's going on inside of us.

There are many things that happen on the outside. Some things, we decide what happens. We decide what to eat, what to wear, where to go. But many things in life happen to us without us planning for it. We don't plan on getting into conflicts with those we live with or work with. We don't plan on bad or unexpected things happening to us. So much of life is beyond our control, and so many things happen to us.

How We Respond

There are many good things that happen to us. They bring us joy, happiness and contentment in life.

But we also know that there are many things in life that leave their marks on us. Even long after those things have passed, their effects on us remain. When bad or unexpected things happen to us, inside of us we get hurt, wounded or fearful. Even after that thing has passed, the hurt, wounds and fear remain. At a given moment, nothing might be happening on the surface. Things may seem peaceful. But we can lack peace because the effects of bad things remain and continue to affect us. There are many words to describe the manifestation of what remains: anger, trauma, depression, fear, worries, numbness and many more. What remains from the bad things that happen to us is suffering.

We often think of suffering as what is happening to us on the outside at that moment. The world was shocked and grieved at the way civilians were killed in Bucha, Ukraine, some with their hands bound. They suffered before they died. But suffering is also about what happens inside of us even after events have passed. The families of those killed will suffer from grief, anger and confusion for a long time to come. Suffering from past experiences remain inside that person. We are often unaware of the suffering that resides in us.

Suffering is a fact of life. But how we respond to our suffering is the most important thing. One way or the other, our whole lives are a response to the suffering within us. Our fears, traumas and wounds can control us and dictate our thoughts and actions. Or the suffering inside of us can give us new purpose and perspective.

Passion Sunday

Today is Passion Sunday. Passion means suffering. On Passion Sunday, we remember the suffering of Jesus. We know that Jesus suffered physically when he was beaten and crucified.  But his suffering was much deeper than that. His real suffering took place inside his soul.

Jesus was filled with the Spirit and intimately connected with God. He was in tune with God's will to love and heal others. But his acts of love and healing became threats to the ruling leaders who benefitted from a system that hurt those whom Jesus ministered to. Jesus' teachings and actions implicated the leaders. Instead of changing hearts, people's hearts became hardened. His actions only aroused more and more opposition. Jesus' followers believed that their journey to Jerusalem was a journey toward victory and change. But Jesus knew this was a journey toward conflict, rejection and death.

Jesus suffered from fear, pain and heaviness in his heart. He was wracked with grief. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he expressed the depths of his inner torment to his closest disciples:

I am deeply grieved, even unto death. (Matthew 26:38)

He began to pray. He begged God not to make him go through what he saw coming. He begged God to take away his suffering.

Luke records the intensity of his prayer in this way:

In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. (Luke 22:46)

But even with this intense prayer, Jesus heard nothing but silence. In his greatest hour of anguish, God did not answer. In his greatest hour of need, his closest friends fell asleep. In his greatest agony, Jesus was all alone.

All the way to the cross, Jesus was alone. Hanging on the cross, Jesus expressed his deep abandonment:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34)

Today's psalm describes well the suffering of Jesus. It reflects what he was probably praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.

I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many – terror all around! – as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. (Psalm 31:9-13)

The gift of the psalms is that they give words to universal laments of the heart. They are the expressions of human suffering in our hearts. Jesus suffered the suffering of a human heart. But how he responded to his suffering is very revealing.

After hearing nothing but silence from God, this was his response:

My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. (Matthew 26:42)

Jesus' response to suffering was faith. This is the confession of the psalmist, after articulating his deepest distress:

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, You are my God. My times are in your hand. (Psalm 31:14-15)

Jesus' suffering was overwhelming, but inside of him was something more powerful than that – it was his faith. Instead of letting his fear dictate his actions, instead of escaping from his suffering, he took on his suffering with faith. Even after feeling forsaken by God, Jesus died with faith in God.

Seek Faith

Faith is not something we can see on the outside. It is not saying the right words in front of others. It is not demonstrating it with religious actions. Faith is what resides inside of us.

Up on the cross, Jesus' faith unto death revealed his true identity. It revealed the power of his faith over suffering. The centurion standing near Jesus saw him for who he really was:

When faith is in us, it is a force more powerful than the pain, fear and wounds we receive from the bad things that happen to us. Faith is the power that frees us from the grip that our suffering has over us.

This is the power that St. Paul discovered in Christ:

He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For you are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. (2 Corinthians 13:3-4)

We are weak, but faith is the power to see God at work in your life. Through faith, suffering reveals God's presence. Through faith, suffering is the opportunity to meet and experience God. Faith unlocks God's power in your life. So when you face suffering, don't seek to escape it, don't run away from it. Seek faith.

Fait...

John 12:1-8

The Good Shepherd

Knowing others and understanding them is very difficult. Many times, we live our lives, not knowing how others feel. We say things without thinking what they may feel. We do things without understanding how they may affect them. We are so indifferent that we don't care at all about others.

When the world becomes like that, there will be many people who feel very lonely and isolated. We will live in a fragmented and disjointed society.

Feeling understood is a very important part of a good life. Our God whom Jesus introduced to us is very intimate God who knows us and understands us.

Jesus said,

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. (John 10:14,15)

God knows about us even in such a detail like how many hairs we have on our head.

But even the hairs of your head are all counted. (Luke 12:7)

Intimate God wasn't Jesus' unique idea. Prophets also knew very intimate God. Jesus continued the prophetic tradition.

God said to the prophet Jeremiah,

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (Jeremiah 1:5)

God knows our wishes and dreams, our troubles, our sorrows, our disappointments, and our shortcomings. God knows what we are insecure about and what we fear. God knows how we feel.

Jesus had this tremendous knowledge about people. He knew what they were thinking and what they were feeling.

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman, he knew exactly what her problem was, what she was going through, and what she needed. What she needed was water and Jesus talked to her about the living water.

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. (John 4:13, 14)

When he mentioned her secret of having had five husbands, she let her guard down and started talking with Jesus. What we read in today's story was not about how expensive the perfume was. It was not about her sacrifice. It was about how well Mary also knew about Jesus. She knew exactly what Jesus was going through. She knew exactly what Jesus needed. She had the powerful insight about Jesus and what was going on in his life. Let me tell you a little bit of background of this story.

The passage begins with this.

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. (John 12:1)

When you read chapter 11, you will see the story of Jesus raising the dead Lazarus. In today's passage, they all gathered together to celebrate the life of Lazarus who was raised from the dead. It was a big deal. It was not a funeral reception. It was a party for coming to life from the dead. Raising Lazarus created a great commotion. So many people heard about this news. So they came to see, not only Jesus but also Lazarus who came to life.

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. (John 12:9)

So the mood was celebratory. No one was thinking about death. Everyone was thinking about life. No one was thinking about the consequence of raising Lazarus. To them, it was just a fantastic miracle. Raising the dead man? What can be more sensational than this?

But not to Jesus. Jesus was thinking about the consequence of raising Lazarus. Jesus knew that raising Lazarus would create commotion and more people would follow Jesus. This would bring a greater threat to the religious leaders.

Jesus’ Hour

That was exactly what happened right after Jesus raised Lazarus. Many people came and were totally shocked pleasantly but the leaders weren't very happy. They didn't know what to do with Jesus.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.' (John 11:47, 48)

So what did they decide? They decided to kill Jesus. Not only Jesus, but also Lazarus.

So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus(John 12:10, 11)

This was the reason why Jesus could not simply enjoy the party.

In John, you hear Jesus saying this many times. My hour has not yet come, my hour has not yet come When did Jesus say that his hour came? Right after raising Lazarus.

Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:23-25)

Raising Lazarus meant that his time came. Time to really confront the religious leaders. Time to die. By raising Lazarus, he invited death to himself.

Right after he said his hour came, he confessed his struggle.

Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say Father, save me from this hour? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. (John 12:27)

Mary’s Love

All these things were going on in Jesus' mind. Jesus' heart was heavy. But nobody knew what Jesus was thinking and what he was going through in his mind. Nobody understood him.

But Mary did. How? I don't know. She knew something very serious was happening.

Something prompted her to take out her most precious thing. It wasn't planned. But she felt compelled to do that. She didn't have much. But she had this very expensive perfume. It was worth one year's wage of a labourer. So it was about $40-50,000. It was very expensive.

She poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. It wasn't necessarily a beautiful scene. It was a very uncomfortable scene. Finally, Judas couldn't stand it any more. So he blurted out, Why this waste? There was nothing wrong with what he said. But one thing that he didn't know. He didn't know what Jesus was going through and what Jesus needed.

Jesus interrupted Judas and said,

Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. (John 12:7)

She knew what was going on in Jesus because she truly loved him. KNOWING SOMEBODY IS NOT A SKILL. IT COMES FROM LOVING THAT PERSON.

Wisdom that Comes From Love

When we don't have love, we can never know and understand what others are going through. When we don't have love, we become blinded. We don't know others, we don't know God, and we don't even know ourselves.

What God wants from us is not what we do for him. He doesn't need anything. He has everything.

That was what God said.

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?

says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams

and the fat of fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,

or of lambs, or of goats. (Isaiah 1:11)

What God wants from us is for us to know him and understand him.

That was what Hosea said,

Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;

his appearing is as sure as the dawn;

he will come to us like the showers,

like the spring rains that water the earth. (Hosea 6:3)

God doesn't want our sacrifice. God wants us to love him and know him.

God expressed what he desired through Hosea,

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

How can we develop the ability to know others? Love them. Then you will know them.

When somebody feels heard, known, and understood because of you, you give the best gift for that person. Sometimes, after the funeral sermon, either in the eulogy or after the service, they say exactly . They show their appreciation that I understood the person who was deceased. That is the greatest compliment for me.

Understanding somebody is hard. But if we have love, we will get better at it. We will get to know them and get to know God.

What we need is the heart of love. Then, we can do beautiful things like what Mary did. We can do so much good to others because we would understand them. This kind of wisdom comes from love.

The post How Did Mary Know? appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Imago Dei

We are created in God's image. Imago Dei.  That is the image of God in Latin. God created us in the image of God.

That's what we hear in the creation story.

Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.' (Genesis 1:26)

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

God did not just create us in his image, He gave us the ability to be able to understand God through that image. We cannot see God physically with our human eyes but we can understand God through his image he created in us.

But the problem is – that image is distorted because of our sins. Not only that image is distorted, we human beings now try to create God in our own image. When Jesus came to the world, he saw this distorted image controlling people and blinding them. They said they knew God but they were far from understanding God. They were blinded. They could neither see God nor understand God.

Welcoming the Sinners

Jesus gave us today's story to tell us who our God is. He wanted to restore the true image of God.

Today's story began with this.

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'(Luke 15:1, 2)

They were offended because Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. They were offended not for a cultural and moral reason but for a spiritual reason. They believed that God saw sinners as dirty and untouchable. So it was right for them to stay away from them too.

We can see where this kind of attitude could come from.

Listen to Psalm 1. The first chapter of Psalm is not only the introduction to Psalm but also to our life.

Psalm 1:1 says,

Happy are those

who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or take the path that sinners tread,

or sit in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1)

What this passage teaches us to stay away from sinful way of living. But they conveniently separated themselves from the sinners and discriminated against them, saying that they were dirty and untouchable. They would not either welcome them or eat with them.

And when they saw Jesus welcoming the sinners and eating with them, they were upset.

The Three Stories

In this context, Jesus gave today's story. Today's story is the last one of three stories.

All three stories were about those who were lost.

The first one is about the lost sheep.

Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:4)

The second one is about the lost coin.

What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (Luke 15:8)

The last one is about the lost son.

for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! (Luke 15:24)

All three stories reflect God's attitude toward sinners. God saw sinners not as dirty and untouchable. God saw sinners as being lost. In today's story, the lost son wanted to eat with pigs. Pigs were considered as dirty animals. The elder son saw his brother as dirty and untouchable. But the father did not see his son as dirty and untouchable. To the father, he was his precious son. He was just lost. But he was always his son. There was never a moment when he was not his son.

Redefining the Image

He believed and hoped that someday he would come to his senses. That was exactly what the son did.

But when he came to himself he said, How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! (Luke 15:17)

He came to himself meant he came to his senses.

That's how NIV version translated.

When he came to his senses, (Luke 15:17)

The father was waiting for the son to come to his senses. That waiting was painful and agonizing. That was the image of God Jesus tried to portray. God who suffers with us and because of us.

When the son came back, while he was far away still, the father was able to recognize him.

But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)

How did he know that he was his son? He knew right away because he was hoping every day that his son would come to his senses and come home. He was waiting every day. That's why he knew.

This image is very different from the image that people in Jesus' time had about the patriarchal father. Jesus was drawing a very different picture about God. Jesus used the image of a father but he changed what the real father looked like. Not patriarchal father. He redefined the image of the father.

There is Rembrandt's famous oil painting, called, The Return of the Prodigal Son .

The image of the father in that picture is not a powerful, wise, dignified, and authoritative father but a weak, broken, tired, sad, and near-blinded old man. When you look at his hands, his left hand is a strong man's hand but his right hand is a woman's hand.

Henri Nouwen wrote beautifully about this story, using Rembrandt's painting in his book, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming.

He said this,

The Father is not simply a great patriarch. He is mother as well as father.

Rembrandt depicted who God was so well, better than any theologians.

We can see a feminine image of God in this father, not a patriarchal father.

The very moment the father saw his son from afar, this was what the father did. We will read that part again.

But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)

He was filled with compassion. The word, compassion , is Rachamim in Hebrew. It means womb love. It means mother's love.

Isaiah saw that too in God.

Can a woman forget her nursing-child,

or show no compassion for the child of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; (Isaiah 49:15, 16)

God did not stay away from sinners. God actively reached out to the sinners.

Letting Go

The first two stories are about God actively searching for the lost ones. The shepherd went out to actively search for the lost sheep. The woman actively searched out for the lost coin.

But in the third story, the father did not go out actively search out for the son. That is the difference between sheep and human beings. Coin and human beings. If the father could find the son by actively searching out, he would have done it. But that was not what the son needed. The son needed to come back on his own, in his own time. Father had to wait for the son to come back on his own, in his own time. Waiting for the son to come back is more difficult sometimes than doing something like going out and searching for him. Because there is nothing you can do about it. You feel so powerless. Waiting with hope is the same as actively searching.

Letting go of your son is as hard as possessing and controlling him.

When the son asked for his portion of the inheritance, the father could say no. After all, it was a great insult to the father. He didn't die and yet his son asked for his portion of the inheritance. He had all the right to say no. Any father in Jesus' time would have said no. Or even kick him out with nothing. But this father gave him what he wanted. That was the difference between the patriarchal father and this father. He let go of his son. This made the elder son angry. He probably thought in his mind, what kind of father are you? He lost respect for his father.

But he didn't understand how hard it was for the father to let go. Physically he let go, but his mind was always on his son. He prayed every day for his son to return home. That is the image of God Jesus tried to teach us.

The Story of a Father

When we have the distorted image of God, we cannot know God in a real way. When Jesus taught them about God, they refused to accept his teaching. Because of their distorted image, they couldn't understand what Jesus was saying. They didn't like what Jesus did and said.

Our God is a broken God. Our God is in pain.

Isaiah said,

He was despised and rejected by others;

a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;

and as one from whom others hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him of no account. (Isaiah 53:3)

That was the image of Jesus Christ. That was the image of God Jesus portrayed. It was all because of his love for us. His love was com-passion. Com means together. Passion means suffering. God's love is love of suffering with us, for us, and because of us.

This story is not a parable of a prodigal son. It is a story of a father who is in pain because of his love for his sons.

That's how the story begins.

There was a man who had two sons. (Luke 15:11)

It is a story of a father who had two sons. It is a story of God.

The post Who Is Your God? appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Isaiah 55:1-9

Beauty is Hidden

The attitude we have about our life is very important. Depending on what attitude we have, our life will turn out very differently.

St. Paul said,

We walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

That was his attitude towards his life. Walk by faith, not by sight? What does this mean?

He saw that life is more than what he could see. He discovered that truth about life. Do you live only by what you can see? Or do you recognize that there is something about life that you don't see?

What excites me about life is not what I see but what I don't see. We do not necessarily see everything. There are many more things that are hidden in what we do not see. I experience daily that life is bigger than what I can see, touch, and feel. If what I see is everything, it is depressing. What we see is fight, struggles, war, sickness, and death.

With God, I can pursue what is much bigger than what I see. My friends, I believe that LIFE'S SECRET is hidden in what we cannot see. Wonderful TREASURES are hidden in what we cannot see.

That was what St. Paul said.

We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Whatever you can see with your eyes is temporary no matter how beautiful it is. What is eternal cannot be seen with your eyes. Bigger things are hidden in what we cannot see. Beautiful things are hidden in what we cannot see.

DEATH is what you can see. But the RESURRECTION is what you cannot see. SUFFERING is what you can see. But the GLORY is what you cannot see. MONEY is what you can see. But HAPPINESS is what you cannot see. Your REALITY is what you can see. But God's PROMISE is what you cannot see.

If you accept that beautiful things are hidden in what you cannot see, then you realize that you need FAITH. Faith is the only way to deal with what we cannot see.

Comfort With What We Cannot See

This is what the Hebrew writer said,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Just because you cannot see ANYTHING GOOD happen in your life, don't get discouraged. Don't give up.

When we have faith, we can go beyond miseries, suffering, hardships, hopelessness, and even death that we see around us. Faith helps us to move on even when we cannot see good things happening around us.

Even though we do not see the result, we can take a meaningful step with our faith.

Martin Luther King Jr. said,

Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.

That is so true. Faith is taking a meaningful step even though we do not see the whole picture.

With God, we become comfortable with what we cannot see.

Isaiah was speaking to people in exile. Babylon destroyed Israel and took them as captives. Life in Babylon at first was hard and difficult. They lost their temple, their home, and they were taken to a foreign land.

It was like what is happening right now in Ukraine. More than 3 million refugees had to flee from their homeland.

Israelites were taken as captives. They lost everything.

We can see the sentiment of the Israelites in the captivity in Psalm 137.

By the rivers of Babylon

there we sat down and there we wept

when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there

we hung up our harps.

For there our captors

asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

Sing us one of the songs of Zion!'

How could we sing the Lord's song

in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

But later, they got used to lifestyle in captivity. Life in Babylon became very comfortable. Even better than their life in Israel. They were more abundant, more food, more money, more sophisticated civilization. Culturally it was superior to their old lifestyle.

But in the midst of it, they lost God in their consciousness. When you don't have God, do you know what happens? You depend on only what you can see. That's what happens when God disappears in your consciousness. Only through faith, you can go beyond what you can see.

Their life was filled with a lot of things but somehow there was no satisfaction in them. They had bread and water but it was bread that could not fill them and water that could not quench them them. These things did not give them satisfaction.

That's why Isaiah said this.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? (Isaiah 55:2)

What he meant was, Why do you spend your money for the bread that does not fill you up, and your labour that does not satisfy you?” They had bread, they had money, and they worked hard but nothing really satisfied them. They were lost.

But God did not leave them alone. God invited them to come back to him. God wanted to give them the living water.

The Whole Picture

There was a woman in Samaria. She failed marriage several times. She wasn't happy and she couldn't find satisfaction anywhere. She met Jesus. Knowing what she needed, Jesus said this.

Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.' The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.' (John 4:13-15)

Jesus was not talking about water she could see. Jesus was talking about water she could not see. That water gave her true satisfaction.

When we come to God, we are introduced to the world of what cannot be seen. We discover that God is much greater than we can imagine.

That was what Isaiah discovered.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

When we pray, we will discover God whose ways are higher than our ways, and whose thoughts higher than our thoughts.

Many times, we don't see the whole picture of life. When we suffer, we don't see hope. We only see the suffering. When we are sick, we don't see healing. We only see the sickness. That's not the whole picture. That's only the half picture.

Let us focus on God whose ways are higher than our ways. Let us leave our lives in God whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Prayer

In a way we don't know, God will allow us to see what we could not see before. Life's happiness is hidden in what cannot be seen.

That was what I shared yesterday in my Inner Voice.

God calls into being things that are not. God is creator and he creates life from the dead. With God, we can hope for things that look impossible in our eyes. When we have hope, we can imagine things that are not visible to us. That is what prayer is. Prayer is not seeking what we can see but what we cannot see.

Yes, that's what prayer is. Prayer is to imagine what we cannot see. As we live a life of prayer, we become comfortable with what cannot be seen. You even enjoy what cannot be seen. You can imagine what you don't see right now.

When you see all your doors closed, imagine a small door opening for you. When you see your sickness, imagine healing. When you see your tears, imagine tears being wiped away. When you see war, imagine peace being restored.

That's what prayer is. When you pray, you start living by what you cannot see, not just by what you can see.

The post Live By What Cannot Be Seen appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Leadership

We know that leadership affects other people. A bad leader can cause a lot of harm and suffering. A good leader, however, can inspire people and rally people in unity and purpose. Because of this, we consider leadership to be very important.

St. Paul brought people together in the communities he founded. He founded the community at Philippi. The Philippians held a very special place in Paul's heart. Together, they experienced the powerful presence of God. They worked and toiled together to build the community. They were his most loyal community. In some other communities, people turned away from him and started following other leaders. But not the Philippians: they were his ride or die people. When he was in trouble, they were the only ones to raise funds and send money to him. There was a deep bond of love for one another.

But once St. Paul left them, they started to have issues. People started looking after their own interests instead of the interests of others. People started competing with one another. Conflict and division ensued. While Paul was there, they had experienced togetherness and looking after the interests of others. After he left, however, personal agendas and interests took over. What Paul was able to do for them, bringing unity and purpose, they were not able to do for themselves.

This is common among groups after an inspiring leader leaves. By the force of their personality, conviction and charisma, a strong leader gets people to believe in a common purpose. They lay aside their own agendas and interests for that common purpose, and this creates strong bonds and feelings of togetherness. The leader is the glue that holds this group together. But once that leader leaves, the strength of their personality is gone. The sense of common purpose they instilled often subsides. Much of the unity is often the effect of a leader's abilities and not the maturity of the whole people.

St. Paul says this to the Philippians:

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)

Paul is telling them not to rely on him to keep the group together. Each of them need to work on becoming mature. They need to be able to hold themselves together without his personal presence. They need to live out what he taught them without him having to be there.

The Nature of Immaturity

The problem is not so much the lack of great inspiring leaders. The problem is the lack of maturity among ordinary people. It is nice to have great leaders who can bring people together. We celebrate such people and admire them. But often we place too much burden on them. Great leaders become a crutch for people. It becomes an excuse to not do our own work, and rely on the leaders to do the heavy lifting for us. It becomes an excuse to remain stuck in our immaturity.

What is the nature of immaturity? It is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness makes us immature. The extreme form of self-centeredness is narcissism. We are living in a world filled with narcissism. Narcissism pervades this world. We have become so self-centered that we don't even know how self-centered we are. It's like the story of two fish: one fish was swimming along and crossed paths with another fish. That fish asked: how's the water today? and the other fish responded what water? Narcissism is so embedded in the air that we don't even realize that we're breathing it in.

True maturity comes when we remove ourselves from the center. This is true spirituality and spiritual maturity.

Paul says this to the Philippians:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. (Philippians 3:5-8)

We see a downward movement of continual self-emptying. This passage captures the trajectory of Jesus' life. His life was a journey of emptying himself, all the way down to death on a cross.

Jesus removed himself from the center, but what replaced it was not empty space. What filled his center was God's love and will. His bodily and material needs, his safety and security, his own dignity and sense of honour – did not take center stage. The will of God did. At the Garden of Gethsemane, his self wanted to preserve itself. He struggled mightily, asking God that the cup might be taken away from him. But his final words were: not my will, but yours.

God's will was the center of his life. His whole life reflected this. Loving the unloveable. Healing the undesirable. Honouring the unhonourable. Respecting the unrespectable. He expanded the boundaries of who was eligible to experience the mercy and grace of God.

The ultimate expression of God's will was at the cross. He was nailed to the cross by his enemies. But hanging on the cross, humiliated and ridiculed by his enemies, this is what Jesus said:

Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)

Jesus' final expression of God's will was to forgive his enemies. This is the deepest meaning of the cross.

Paul describes enemies of the cross in today's passage:

Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. (Philippians 3:19)

These are people who keep their self at the center. Their god is the belly. In other words, taking care of my stomach, my needs is their god. Their minds are set on the earthly things of taking care of myself first. We are all enemies of the cross. We crucify God's will and turn away from the cross. Yet we are the ones that Jesus asks God to forgive.

Suffocating Self-Centeredness

Our self-centeredness separates us from the will of God. It suffocates, it crucifies, the will of God from our lives. Jesus removed himself from the center, and let God's will become the center. My friends this is the very heart of the Christian journey. To be a follower of Jesus is to be shaped by Jesus to be like Jesus. To walk the path that he walked of removing himself from the center and being filled with God's will.  To have our life take that shape.

This is the journey that St. Paul was on. He describes it like this:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Philippians 3:10-13)

We can never fully be like Christ in emptying ourselves of our self-centeredness, but like St. Paul, we are called to always press on to make that our own. He is saying join me! on that journey.

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. (Philippians 3:17)

He wasn't saying this to boast, or to say that he had it all together. He was talking about his example of pressing on with everything he had to have our lives take on the shape of Christ.

Citizens of Heaven

He says that our citizenship is in heaven. What does it mean to be a citizen of a particular place? When immigrants first arrive in a new country, they feel very displaced. Everything is foreign, everything is unfamiliar. They miss their old home.  There are so many adjustments to make. But over time, they become accustomed to their new home. They feel more a part of their adopted country. When they go back to their old country later on, they feel out of place and like they don't really belong there any more. They may enjoy visiting their old country, but they no longer feel homesick for it or wish to live there. They agree more with the norms, customs and standards of their adopted country.

Citizenship in heaven means becoming accustomed to the ways of the Lord of that realm, the ways of Jesus Christ. Citizens of heaven are all former enemies of the cross – that is, those who were driven by the self at the center. But they now strive to have God's will at the center. Their lives take on the shape of Christ. They are able to live their lives more for others. The longer we are citizens of heaven, the more we take on the norms of Christ and his self-emptying. The self-centered ways of the world become more foreign to us. We live in the world, but we feel like strangers and aliens in it. Less and less the ways of the world seem to make sense to us. But we live out God's will in loving this world, caring for it, and giving of ourselves for it, even those who turn against us and become our enemies.

Citizenship in a new place requires immersion in it. As citizens of heaven, we must be immersed in our Lord Jesus Christ. We must walk daily with him. Meditate on his words and his life. Seek God's Spirit to shape us in the way of Jesus. Just like citizenship in a new country, this process takes time. Changes are hard to detect or notice. But slowly but surely, God changes and transforms us with his power.

We are citizens of heaven, but we live in this world. Living in this world brings many challenges. People get hurt and suffer at the hands of others. But what can happen for those who suffer difficulty is that they can become trapped by their victimization. This ...

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Lent

As of last Wednesday, Lent has begun. Lent is a period of 40 days before the Easter. Lent is a season of remembering Jesus' suffering and death and his love for us. It is time to prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is time to appreciate God's love for us. It is time to think about how to follow Jesus' footsteps.

During Lent, let us think about the spiritual aspect of our lives. During Lent, people do many things that help them spiritually. Some people make new resolutions. Others set aside time for prayer.

I think it is important to live our lives, feeling the season. Life has seasons. Season for working and season for resting. Season for celebrating and season for reflecting. Lent is a season for thinking about spiritual things. Today's passage is about giving, praying, and fasting. How appropriate! We can cultivate these three things during Lent.

Three Spiritual Principles

Giving, praying, and fasting – These were important spiritual disciplines for the Jewish people during Jesus' time. I think it is important for us too. So I would like to reflect with you about these three spiritual principles.

Giving

First, giving is an important part of our lives. Jewish people have taken this discipline seriously. Even now many Jewish people take the discipline of giving as a part of their lives and practice it. 60 percent of Jewish households earning less than US$50,000 a year donate. Regardless of their economic status, they take giving as an important life principle. God has commanded them to do so, they believe. It is embedded in their religion and in their culture.

Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.' (Deuteronomy 15:11)

I think life of giving is a beautiful life. It is a sign of a blessed life. There are many people who practice philanthropy as a significant part of their life. We should incorporate giving as a part of our life.

Giving does so much good for us. It teaches us to be generous and generosity is an admirable quality of a person. It is hard to cultivate this character and we can do it by practicing the lifestyle of giving. It is good not only to enjoy the abundant life we have but also to share it with others. When we practice giving, somehow we experience the abundance of life. When you give, you don't become less. You become more.

It's like the widow who gave her last meal to Elijah. Her jar became never empty.

It also keeps us from falling into the temptation of greed. It is a good way to protect ourselves from materialism. As the exercise does good to our body, the exercise of giving does good to our soul. I notice that people who are giving generously are generally happy.

Prayer

Secondly, prayer was also a very important discipline to Jewish people in Jesus' time. Typical Jews at that time prayed three times a day. Morning at sunrise. Afternoon at 3 pm. Evening prayer at nightfall.

We can assume that Jesus also practiced this discipline. In addition to that, Jesus often went away alone into the mountain to pray. We need time to be alone. The busier we get, the more we need to have time to be alone. We need time to be connected with God. Otherwise, we can get easily drift into worldly things, away from God. We will get stressed out and lose joy of life. You don't get joy by buying things. Joy is a quality of experience you get when you are connected with God. It is not something you can buy; it is something you experience when you are connected with God.

Prayer should be incorporated in our daily living. I send you the Inner Voice so that you can incorporate prayer into your daily life. Last Friday, one person told me that he would do fasting one meal a day during Lent and give that money to Ukraine after reading the Inner Voice about true fasting. Jewish people used the Shema & the Tephilla, meaning Prayer. In the morning, they used both. In the afternoon, they used Tephilla alone. Evening prayer was like morning prayer.

It is important to have a system of prayer. You need to give break to your mind and your spirit. You need to be reconnected with God daily. You need time to meditate on yourself, your life, and the world you live in. You need to be mindful of what you are doing and how you are feeling. You have people you care to pray for . You have situations that require your prayer. That is what Christian life is all about.

Especially, we have a lot to pray for this world these days. People are dying and fleeing from the war zone. Gas price already went up. Food price will go up soon. Especially those countries like Egypt and Turkey – they rely on Russia and Ukraine for 70% of their wheat supply. Many African countries are suffering.

The world has already suffered from food shortage during Covid time. It is getting worse now. We need to pray for the world. Even the largest nuclear plant was attacked.

Fasting

The third important spiritual discipline is fasting. Giving and praying – some people do that. But the discipline of fasting is not something many people do these days.

Food is a great source of temptation. We eat without thinking. We consume too much. All kinds of diseases come from consuming too much food. By fasting, we appreciate how valuable our food is. By fasting, we keep ourselves from overindulging. Fasting is to recognize that it is God who sustains us, not our food. When Jesus fasted, Satan came to him to tempt him and Jesus said, we do not live by bread alone. Food is important but Satan could not tempt Jesus with food.

When we do fasting, we say that our body does not dictate us. We control the body. We don't listen to every nagging of our body.

Fasting doesn't have to be complete starvation. Fasting can be done in a creative way. After all, it is your way of disciplining yourself. You can reduce the portion. You can cut down certain foods. Instead of paying attention to body's demands, we give our attention to God.

Also in hunger, we identify with those who are hungry. We can think of injustice in this world. Instead of indulging and complaining, we are in solidarity with them. That was the Inner Voice that I sent on Friday. It was from the Isaiah passage.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6)

In the Right Attitude

Giving, praying, and fasting – These are very important spiritual disciplines that help our life greatly. But we need to be careful here. These practices do not make you any superior to other people. We don't do these things to show off or to feel more important than others.

This is what Jesus said.

Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)

When we use our piety to show off, we lose the value of these beautiful spiritual practices. You are turning meaningful spiritual practices into tools for your social recognition.

When we do these practices with a right attitude, they become treasures. But when we use them for our own credits, they become ugly piety that turns people off.

Showing off your spiritual disciplines is like storing up treasures on earth.

This was what Jesus said.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19, 20)

Jesus also said,

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

When we give, pray, and fast, where is your heart? Is your heart on people who see you or on God? When we do these things with a right attitude, they become treasures, treasures stored up in heaven.

The post Giving, Praying, and Fasting appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

The Glory of God

We all need the GLORY OF GOD. The question is: WHAT IS the glory of God? We hear it all the time. We use it quite often. And yet is it hard to put it into words, or define it.

It is one of those words that we experience all the time and yet hard to say exactly what it is. It is like beauty , love , and so on. We know what it is and we use it all the time and yet, it is hard to say exactly what it is. Maybe it is a reality which is too big to describe in a few words.

The Psalmist said,

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

From the poetic imagination of the psalmist, I get a glimpse of what the glory of God is.

Manifestation of God – THAT is the glory of God. When the invisible God manifests himself, we see the glory of God. Heavens are telling the glory of God. Heavens manifest the presence of God. Beautiful nature manifests the glory of God. In the Old Testament, we hear the cloud of Shekhinah. The cloud manifests the presence of God.

When it comes to the New Testament, Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate, manifested God. That is the glory of God.

This is what John said.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Two or three gather together in my name, I will be there, Jesus said. Shekhinah will be there. The glory of God will be there. When we pray, when we praise, God's glory will be there.

The glory of God is the manifestation of God's presence. When you feel strongly the presence of God, you see the glory of God. It can happen during prayer, during worship, and during Bible studies. Or it can happen when you see a beautiful sunset. Or when you are in the hospital. Or even on your deathbed.

It is not necessarily a miraculous and supernatural phenomenon. It is a moment of sensing God's presence in your life. That is a glorious moment.

A Veil to Cover Our Minds

Moses saw the glory of God when he received the 10 commandments in Mount Sinai. His face was shining. There was a glow on his face.

Unfortunately, Moses put a veil on his face because he knew that the glow was only temporary. And he didn't want his people to think that the glory of God was there for a while and faded away. That was how Paul saw Moses' action.

Paul was using this as a metaphor in today's passage. Moses covered the glory of God with a veil. That veil was still on the minds of the Israelites and they could not see the glory of God. That was his own personal experience.

He knew God's commandments very well but these commandments could not remove the veil. Even though he knew the law well, he could not see the glory of God because of the veil.

Do you remember when he first met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus?

This was what Luke said about Paul's experience on the road to Damascus.

Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. (Acts 9:8, 9)

So, God called Ananias and told him to reach out to Saul.

So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. (Acts 9:17, 18)

His veil was removed from him, when he received the Spirit. Now he was able to see the glory of God. Even though he knew the commandment of God, he didn't see the glory of God. Seeing the glory of God is the work of the Spirit, not the law.

That's why he said,

for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6)

Here, the letter meant the law written on stone tablets.

Also, he said,

Now if the ministry of death, chiselled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses' face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? (2 Corinthians 3:7, 8)

Having knowledge is not enough. Knowing the law is not enough. It can be a veil to cover our minds so that we cannot see the glory of God.

Being a good person is not enough. Our righteousness can be a veil to cover our minds so that we cannot see the glory of God.

Having power is not enough. It can be a veil to cover our minds so that we cannot see the glory of God.

In Our Lives

Our upbringing, our experiences, our education, and our environments shaped us to be who we are. Through these things, we have come to understand our reality better. But we have to realize that they can also limit us. They can be a veil that blinds our eyes and a chain that enslaves us.

This week was a gloomy week. It was hurting to see one country invading another country just like that. The war of greed, the war of intimidation, and the war of domination should not be allowed and yet I saw it happening with my own eyes. It brought tears to my eyes, especially when Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, said I need ammunition, not a ride. US offered him to evacuate. That was when he said that. I need ammunition, not a ride.” He remained there to keep the country. Koreans experienced this kind of invasion twice. I saw the power of darkness there. I prayed for the glory of God to shine in that region.

We see so much darkness around us. We see so much darkness within us.

The Glory of God

We need the glory of God that defeats the darkness and brings light. It is like the strong light that chases away darkness within us and around us.

Jesus came and removed the veil so that we can clearly see the glory of God.

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Moses saw the glory of God only briefly. But through Jesus, we are transformed and we see the glory that is eternal. Through Jesus, the veil is removed and the glory of God is revealed to us.

We need the glory of God to fight against evil, to fight against darkness we face in life. When the glory of God fills our heart, we will get confidence. We will get strength and we will prevail.

This is what St. Paul said.

For it is the God who said, Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

And he continued,

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

He connects the glory of God with the extraordinary power we get.

Then he said,

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushes; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

The glory of God gives us the strength and confidence. We live now with the strength and confidence, experiencing God's glory every day. It is the Spirit who shines the glory of God in our lives. So, when there is the Spirit, there is freedom, freedom from timidity, fear, and darkness. We are not bound any more. Your life will have a glow. Jesus said, you are the light of the world. And now with the glory of God, you have become the light of the world. And you shine the glory of God.

The post Veil Removed, Glory Revealed appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

If the story ended at chapter 2, then it would be a great story of calling and repentance. If the story ended at chapter 3, then it would be a great story of calling, repentance and a heroic response to one's calling. In fact, a chapter 3 ending would be more parallel to the modern mythical story of our modern society: how one feels a calling, shrinks in fear, but then overcomes that fear to live out a glorious calling. In terms of results, Jonah was the most successful prophet. But the story doesn't end there. We have chapter 4.

It's a very confusing chapter, it's mysterious and weird.

• But we have it. 

So it's very important to reflect deeply on this last chapter.

The word angry comes up 5 times in English, 6 if you include the Hebrew root for displeased

Jonah's anger is a recurring theme, and one you identified in your questions.

Jonah is angry that God changed his mind about Nineveh.

• He reveals the true reason that he ran away: he knew God was compassionate and would change his mind.

But Jonah's reaction reveals that DP is right when he states that Jonah has no love for Nineveh.

• If you read his action in Nineveh carefully, you see that all he did was proclaim Nineveh's impending doom.

Jinny asked why he went out to see what would happen.

• He probably did so to see if God might actually change his mind again at the last minute and actually destroy them.

So in line with some of the questions posed: 

Why is Jonah so angry about God's compassion and change of heart?

What does his anger reveal about Jonah?

Jonah was so happy about the bush.

• It's like he forgot his anger at God about letting Nineveh live

It's to the point where he repeats what he said about God's change of heart to Nineveh: It is better for me to live than to die

The interesting thing is that God asks a second time: Is it right for you to be angry?

• The first time, he didn't answer, he simply left town.

What's different about his anger about the bush from his anger about Nineveh?

What's the same?

What do you learn about Jonah from this?

What do we learn about ourselves?

When Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he had a deep moment of reckoning.

• He showed repentance.

Rockey asked if Jonah actually repented in the fish, or if it was superficial.

What do you think?

What's the difference between his repentance in the fish, and what you see here?

On the face of it, it seems like Jonah's calling was to go to Nineveh and cry out against it. 

• Was that it, or was it something more than that?

What does this last chapter reveal about the nature of God's calling?

What does this say to you?

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Luke 6:27-38

Eye for an Eye

The moral standard of the world is.

Do to others what they do to you.

It is easy to understand. It is rational. Fair. If they do evil to you, then you have a right to do evil to them. If they took $100 from you, then you have a right to take $100 from them. It makes sense. Logical

That was what Moses said too.

Anyone who maims another shall suffer the same injury in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered. (Leviticus 24:19-20)

We often misunderstand Eye for eye. We think that this means to revenge. Moses gave this rule not to revenge but to treat others fairly. Don't return with excessive retaliation. If they took your eye, don't take more than eye.

But Jesus' teaching is different from the moral standard of the world.

It wasn't

Do to others what they do to you.

It was this:

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Treat others as how you want to be treated.

How do I want to be treated? I want to be treated with respect and honour. I want to be treated without prejudice and discrimination. I want to be accepted. I want to be loved.

Then treat others in the same way. Don't treat them as they treat you. Treat them as you want them to treat you.

Just because they treat you badly, don't bring yourself down to their level. Don't let them control how you live. We cannot control how they treat us. But we can control how we treat them. We don't follow what they do to us. We follow what is good. We don't follow the evil they do unto us. We follow the good that is good for all.

Understanding Love

Understanding this is the first step of understanding love. Love is not about how you feel. Love is not our response to those who love us. Love is doing the good that each person needs whether that person deserves it or not. In that sense, even to our enemies, we do good – that is love.

But come to think of it, that is how God loves us. God has been good to us. Not because we deserve God's goodness but because we need it.

This was what St. Paul said.

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Then in two verses later, he said this.

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10)

While we were God's enemies, Jesus showed us God's love by sacrificing himself for us.

Love your enemies – it is paradoxical. It is oxymoron. Enemies are those you hate by definition. But Jesus said to love your enemies and he showed us his example. Jesus died for us to save those who were enemies to God. In loving enemies, God's mysterious plan of salvation is hidden. God's love for us is like loving enemies. That is God's love. In loving our enemies, the essence of the gospel is hidden.

Also, in loving your enemies, the essence of love is hidden. We will find love in its PUREST FORM in loving our enemies. In other kinds of love such as romantic love, altruistic love, love is mixed with selfish desire, selfish motivation, heroism, and personal gain. But in loving enemies, you will be able to see love in its purest form.

From this pure love comes true power and confidence. Our enemies cannot intimidate us any more. They no longer become the object of our hatred.

Hatred

Hatred is hard. Hating somebody takes a toll on us. You don't know how many people live their lives trapped in the ugly feeling of hatred. When we have hatred within us, we can never be happy. Hatred brings evil to all of us. It creates a bad cycle. Hatred takes away freedom from us. We become paralyzed when we are trapped in hatred.

Hatred poisons our soul. It is like a bug. When you catch it, you cannot sleep. It makes you feel down and depressed. It makes you angry. It makes you weak. It takes away joy. It damages our mind and our body. It is like a severe disease. It is a disease our enemies bring to us.

It is like opening the door for the evil to come in and destroy us. That's what hatred does. What our enemies did was bad enough. Now if we hate them, we are doing what is worse to us than what our enemies did to us. We let the evil come in and take us into deeper darkness.

That is not a very wise thing to do, is it? So love your friends and hate your enemies – it sounds logical and it sounds good but it is not really a wise thing to do. Do to others what they do to you – it sounds rational but not a very practical thing to do.

Loving your enemies makes much more sense than hating them. It stops them from harming us more than what they already did. It is good to all of us.

But the problem is we cannot do it on our own. We don't have that kind of love.

Love From God

This kind of love comes from God. When we experience this love from God, love enters into our soul. It touches every cell of our body, and strengthens and empowers each cell. It heals our poisoned soul. It heals our wounded heart. It strengthens us. With this strength, we can defeat the evil our enemies bring to us and do what is good.

Love is the power to bring light to the darkness, hope to despair, goodness to evil. Love conquers. Love brings victory. This love brings victory even over death. This is the only power that defeats death. This is the power that casts out fear.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18, 19)

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

This love flows from God. It is not what we have. It is not something we can create or cultivate. It is not something we can learn on our own. It is not something we can experience in this world.

It is God's gift to those who seek it.

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