St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

If you have faith, be thankful because faith is not something that you can acquire easily. We don’t know how we have come to have faith. Just because you decide to believe that doesn’t mean that you can believe. Just because you grew up in a Christian family, doesn’t mean that you necessarily have faith. Just because you come to church every Sunday, that doesn’t really mean you have faith. Just because you felt something at a retreat or whatever, that doesn’t mean that you have genuine faith. Faith is kind of a mystery. We don’t know how we have faith, how we have come to have faith. Of course, Saint Paul says faith comes from hearing. He said, “So faith comes from what is heard and what is heard, comes through the word of Christ.” But we do not know how we get to faith by hearing the word. The same word people hear, some people have faith, some people don’t have faith. So we don’t exactly know, but the dynamics or the mechanism of people acquiring faith is a mystery. I believe that it is the work of the Holy spirit. So when you have faith, be thankful, it’s wonderful to have faith.

Pastor Dave in our lectionary study said, “Faith is like an engine.” I thought it was a pretty good analogy or metaphor for faith. Faith is like an engine that runs a machine, moves a car, and makes the airplane fly. If we have faith, it’s like having an engine of life that moves your life forward. The stronger the engine is, the better we’ll be able to pass through the storm. In life, you’re bound to hit a wall. I’m sure you’ve all experienced some kind of wall in your life. It is the same for everyone. When you live life, sometimes you hit a wall. When you try to do something, you hit a wall. Whether it’s a sport, or art, or research, or study, or even spiritual life, we all face a wall. No matter how hard you try, you don’t get any better. You get stuck. And that’s what a wall looks like. But the wall is not there for you to give up. The wall is there for you to overcome, not to give up. To overcome the wall, you need faith. That’s where faith comes in in your life. When you hit a wall, whether in a relationship or whatever, when you hit a wall, to overcome that, what you need is faith. Without faith. It is easy to give up.

People with faith will come out with creative thinking when they hit a wall. People who have faith come up with creative thinking when a wall comes or when they hit a wall. But the people with no faith, they don’t have room to have creative thinking when they hit hit a wall. We human beings are given the ability to do creative thinking. In human history, humanity has experienced tremendous trials and challenges and difficulties whether it’s weather or wars and all kinds of things. They experience all these challenges, but every time they had creative thinking to survive and they survived and they created civilization. And what maximizes creative thinking, I believe is faith. When you have faith, you maximize your creative thinking.

I don’t like people who say, “I could have done it.” I could’ve done it. I don’t like that kind of phrase, I hate that kind of phrase. It has no meaning. Anybody can say, “I could have done it. If I studied hard, I could have done it. If my parents were better, I could have done it. If I stayed in whatever.” But people who have done it are the people who have overcame that wall. People who say I could have done it are the people who didn’t overcome the wall. They’re just making excuses. People with faith don’t give up. They don’t say things like “I could have done it.” They just do it quietly. We studied Joseph. He could have given up many times. He could have given up when he was sold out into Egypt. He could have given up when he was imprisoned. But, he didn’t.

Ultimately, he accomplished his dream. Hebrews writer made a whole list of examples of faith and in these examples of faith, he was almost saying that Israelite history is a history of faith. All the Biblical figures are the people of faith. That’s what he’s saying basically. By faith, the people pass through the Red Sea. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell. Through faith, they conquered kingdoms. Through faith, they quenched the raging fire, shut the mouths of lions. Through faith they escaped the edge of the sword. One’s strength out of weakness became mighty in war. But you know what is really amazing comes out at the end in his list.

He said, “Because of faith, they were tortured. Refusing to accept release.” They suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death. Their song into, they were killed by the sword. It’s a very interesting example. In the beginning, he talks about the miracles and victories. But at the end, he’s talking about persecution and hardships. In other words, through faith, not only do they experience miracles and victory, but through faith, they persevere through failures of life and even hardships and persecution, even death. That’s what faith is like. Because they had strong faith, nothing could stop them. Hardships and difficulties could not stop them from having faith. Faith makes us strong. If you’re not strong, we cannot survive this world. We have to be strong, but we don’t have that kind of strength. Only through faith can we persevere through the hardships and ungraciousness of this world. The strength the faith gives us moves us forward. When does our faith become weak and shaky? When does our faith become weak and shaky? When our prayers are not answered as we prayed. We try our best and yet so many more problems come to us. No matter how hard I try, we cannot overcome them. That’s when our faith becomes weak and shaky. We question our faith. We wonder whether it is any use to have faith.

Today, what did the Hebrews writer say, “Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised.” They didn’t get what they wanted all the time. They didn’t receive what was promised to them. They even died without seeing the result. When I realized that the result was not any more important to them, regardless of the result, they kept their faith because they saw something greater than that. That’s the faith of martyrs.

They didn’t give up because they didn’t see the result. He became people of faith who would keep their faith in whatever situation they might have been in. I think that’s a strength, that’s a character. I’d like to see more young people and modern people to have strength, character in life. We are giving up too easily. We are just looking for convenience. We do it only when everything, all the situations, are right for us. We don’t persevere through suffering and hardships.

Our ancestors didn’t do that. They persevered through the hardships difficulties. Today’s August 18th. August 15th, Korea was free from imprisonment. I mean the Japanese occupation. But they persevered through the wars and famine and hardships and difficulties. Our ancestors, whether they’re Koreans or non-Koreans, they all went through hardships. They survived. They were strong. But modern people, they’re too weak. Little challenges that we face, we get scared. Little stones with a little waves, we see, and we get scared. And we’re thinking of running away. We are thinking of giving up, sitting down and doing nothing. We got to be strong, otherwise we cannot survive this cruel world. Hebrews writer, the book of Hebrews, was written for the people who are leaving the church. Because of hardships and difficulties, some of them left the church and they gave up their Christianity altogether. And the Hebrews writer is really addressing this issue to these people who are leaving their faith.

This is what Hebrews writer told them, “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding his shame and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” In modern days, it’s really hard to be a Christian. It’s really hard to live a life of sacrifice, to live a life of serving. Run, my friend. Let us run with perseverance. The race is not over yet. Keep your faith. No matter how tempting, how difficult our situation may be, let us keep our faith.

Real faith will be revealed when times are difficult. Real faith will shine more brightly in difficult times. That is real faith. I’d like to show a slide. You don’t see anything right? When good times, there’s writing though in there, when you look very carefully. In good times, you cannot see faith and we don’t need to show our faith. When the difficult time comes, you see that faith shines more brightly. When the background is dark, when our life is dark, that’s when the difference comes. People who have faith, people who don’t have faith. When difficult times come, people’s faith will show more clearly. When life is hard, what we need is faith. Not your brain, not your strong will. You know, you experienced it. They don’t help much, but when difficult times come, remember to have faith and that faith will keep you strong. That faith will take you to heaven. Only faith.

The post Faith Makes Us Strong appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 12:32-34

Purses that to not wear out, purses that do not wear out. What does this mean? It is talking about our existence, the existence that does not wear out. Everything wears out as time passes. Our body wears out and even our thinking wears out. It is not fun to experience that when things get older and things wear out, it’s not fun to see it, taste it and experience it. Ruth and Steve, welcome back from your honeymoon.

At their wedding, I notice the difference between thirties, forties, and fifties. Even a few years ago, they weren’t like that. But this year at Ruth’s wedding, they just like to stand around and talk. They didn’t dance and they didn’t do all of these wild things. But they just, I mean, age tells you, everything wears out. I’m wondering whether it is inevitable that our existence is like all other physical things that wear out and get thrown away. Even our existence will wear out and get thrown away. Saint Paul said with entity “No,” he said, “No.” This is what he said, “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. Our existence does not necessarily wear out.” Do you believe that? I believe that it is important to believe this. It will change our attitude towards life. It will set a different tone for your daily life. I hope that we all also discover that truth or secret that Saint Paul discovered. He never got old. He never wore out. He always got renewed day by day until he died. That is a secret of life. I think all of you are to live like that.

Saint Paul taught us our existence. Our body may wear out, but our existence is not something that wears out and gets thrown away. Our existence can be renewed day by day. But the question for all of us is how we can make this kind of existence. How can we make this kind of life? One thing that I know is that we can never make this kind of life by trying to have more, wanting to live longer, and trying to have the maximum joy of this world. That I know. By trying to have more, you will not have more. By trying to be renewed by having more, you can never, it can never happen. Today Jesus told us, “Sell your possessions and give alms, make purses for yourselves that do not wear out.” Sell your possessions and give alms. It is a metaphor: purses that don’t wear out, the existence that doesn’t wear out.

It is possible by selling your possessions and give alms to those who need it. So not by trying to have more, but by trying to share more you’ll experience the renewed existence in your life. You know, it is strange logic. It is strange logic. The more you give away, the more abundance you experience. It’s a paradox. The more you give away, you experience more abundance, but that paradox is a truth that Jesus taught us. This is what Jesus said, “For those who want to save their life will lose it. And those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” This is a paradoxical truth, but that is really the truth. Greed kills humanity, sacrifice saves the humanity. That’s what Jesus showed through his life. Greed kills us, but sacrifice saves all of us. The secret of finding our life is not in trying to it for ourselves, but in giving away for a good cause. When we are able to give away our life for the noble cause of loving others, we don’t lose life. We find it. And that was the message Jesus showed through his teaching and also through his life.

Now when people see themselves wear out, as they get older, they experience this scarcity. They see everything run out. For example, money runs out, health runs out, time runs out and they get scared. Everything is running out. So out of their fear, what are they trying to do? They try to grab it, grab it as much as possible, but that’s a mistake. By grabbing it, you will not overcome your scarcity. At the wedding at Cana, when wine ran out, who filled it? It was Jesus who filled it. When things run out in your life by trying to grab it, you can not, you can never fill it. That’s when you turn to Jesus. Jesus fills our empty existence with his abundance, with his grace. By trying to have more, you can never have it. My friends, we need faith. When we live our lives with faith, we realize that giving away is not really a loss, but rather a gain. Giving away is a beautiful thing we discover when we have faith. People who try so hard not to give away, their existence will be robbed.

Last week, a few days ago, somebody called me and then she said, “I heard that the Korean nursing home project was not successful. It will not happen.” And she told me out of naivety, “I’m not sure whether it works or not,” but she wanted to give me two acres of the land and then asked me, “Can you build it?” I don’t know how to build it. I don’t know how much it will cost and whether that is really the best place. I don’t know whether it will work or not, but the heart of trying to give away two acres of land is a pretty big land.

That heart is what is precious. You know, the Eaton Center that you go to all the time, the whole Eaton Center land belongs to Knox Spadina Church, that is at Spadina and Harbord. There’s a Presbyterian church. The whole land belongs to that church and the Northern part from Queen and up, they sold it. But Queen and down is still theirs. Millions of dollars come in every year for renting, and they give away that money to those missionaries there. That’s why they can send so many missionary still. You know what happened? A few decades ago, about 30 to 40 years ago, one person donated the whole land to this church. And based on that land, they’re continuing that wonderful, amazing work of mission. Giving away is a beautiful thing. When you have it, you just have it. But when you give away, you don’t know what fruit you will bear, in life, in the world. Listen carefully, “Sell your possessions and give alms and make purses for yourselves that to not wear out on unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” That’s Jesus’ word.

When you have faith, you appreciate the value of generosity. Money cannot save us. Power cannot save us. But when you use that money and power for the people who need it, they will help you make the purse that does not wear out. It is neither the money nor the power that saves you, but your generosity. To me, faith is generosity. Faith is not just feeling. Faith is not sentiment. Faith is not just a sending to the doctrine. To me, faith is generosity because Jesus gave away his life. Jesus gave away everything he had. Believing in Jesus means generosity.

But as you look at the world around us, the haves exploit the have nots. When the world becomes like that, the world will become corrupt and it will be destroyed. All the kingdoms in the past, that’s how they were destroyed. They became selfish and greedy, rather than sharing the power and money they had with others. People who have more should share with people who have less. That is the right thing to do. That is the human thing to do. And I’m very glad to see a lot of us, a lot of you are being very, very generous. I saw you being generous. I’m very thankful to God for that. That is what faith is. Our young people went on missions. Today, we heard from Monica in KSM. They learned the importance of sharing their time, their skills, and their energy with others who are in need. From when they’re young, we have to teach them how to give, how to share. When they play with toys, we need to tell them, “you share with your friend.” That’s what we should teach them. That’s the most valuable lesson that we should teach. Our kids are people. Sharing is a beautiful thing.

When the world is not like that, when the leader of this world tells you otherwise, we should speak against that kind of selfish rhetoric. We should speak against that because we believe that sharing is the right thing to do and the human thing to do.

“But as you look at this world, socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. Rich gets all the benefits, assistance,” this is what Martin Luther King Jr said, it’s not what I said. This is what Adam Sandler said, “I cannot get rid of this, man. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. The more money you make they give you more free stuff they give you. It makes no sense.” But that is so true. When you have lots of money, you get more things as a benefit. When you don’t have anything, you get nothing. That was not the world Jesus dreamt of. We should dream the world Jesus dreamt of. We may not be able to change the world just like that, but at least we should not lose that dream. We should continuously try to live out that dream. Be generous, give your heart for each other.

Jesus said that treasure, that purse is a treasure in heaven. And he also said, “where your treasure is your heart is.” If your treasure is in heaven, then your heart is in heaven. How peaceful, how heavenly a life you will live. The real secret of living a life that is renewed day by day is by giving away, not having more. When you give away, when you learn, when you know how to give away, then you will have eternal life. You will have renewed existence. Every moment you will become big. Your heart becomes big and you will live on an abundant life. But when you’re selfish and greedy, your life will become smaller and smaller. Your existence will be robbed. The moth will destroy it. But when you’re generous, your heart is in heaven. You’ll be renewed. That’s how to gain eternal life, that’s how to gain the renewed existence in our lives. Be generous. Give away what you have as much as you can, your life, your time, your money, your possessions, everything. Don’t live just for yourself. That’s not what success is, that’s stupidity, that’s foolishness.

The post Existence That Does Not Wear Out appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Colossians 3:1-11

I was thinking about what shapes us. Isn’t it what we are thinking? We are what we think, we are not what we eat. We are shaped by what we think. Happy people are filled with good thoughts. Unhappy people, on the other hand, are filled with unhappy thoughts. What we are always thinking shapes who we are. Arrogant people will always think about other people’s faults. They will always think of how imperfect they are. Selfish people will always think about “what’s in it for me?” They always calculate. They always think about what’s in it for me. Negative people will always think about the dark side of everything that is happening in their lives. On the other hand, humble people will always think about the positive things of other people. Thankful people will always think about the brighter side of life. Considerate people will always think about others first, so our thinking shapes and determines who we are. Our identity. A French mathematician and philosopher said, “Our thinking determines even our existence.” He said, “I think therefore I am.” Thinking is not something you do once or twice. We always think; it follows us like a shadow. The question is not whether we think or not, but what we are thinking every moment of our lives. What we are thinking, the quality of our thinking. 

Sometimes, thinking comes to us independent of our will. All of a sudden certain thoughts captivate us and sometimes we get worried. We get anxious, and fearful thoughts sometimes attack us. All of a sudden, sometimes we get really angry because certain thoughts were triggered within us. We cannot fill our hearts with negative and dark thoughts. They will take away happiness from us. They will take away energy from us. They will make us weak. 

Depending on how you think, either you become a strong person or a weak person. Good thoughts make us strong. Good thoughts make us stable and resilient. Good thoughts enable us and empower us to sail through the storms and big waves. Strong minds give you strong muscles to handle heavy weight. I believe that our faith gives us strong minds and strong thoughts.

Today Saint Paul said, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Don’t walk around looking down, depressed. Lift up your head and look above. Look up, see God and gaze on God’s power that raised Jesus from the dead. Every moment we have to stand tall, we have to look above. We have to look up. Lift your head and look up, and gaze on the power that raised Jesus from the dead. Saint Paul said in detail in the Philippians, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. These beautiful things. You gotta think about these things all the time. This shows what a strong mind looks like. A strong mind does this kind of thinking. When you don’t have strong minds, you cannot survive in this ungracious, cold world. 

You have to be very strong to survive in this tough world. When I look around, a lot of people live with guilt and fear. When they live with fear and guilt, all kinds of negative thoughts will flood their souls. Worries, anxiety, lack of confidence, timidity; these things make us weak. Weak people just look around. Weak people always complain. They are weak people, not strong people. Weak people always complain. Have you then noticed weak people always blame others? They never take on their own responsibility. They never assume their own responsibility. They always blame others, either parents or friends or situations or school and all cause they always blame others. They are weak people. Weak people give up very easily. If they try a few times and it doesn’t work out, then they give up. These are weak people and these weak people are caused by weak minds, and weak minds are caused by bad thoughts: fear and anxiety and worries.  All this thinking makes you weak. And when you are a weak person, you do these kinds of things.

Good thoughts build up strong minds and strong minds give you strength to fight against the challenges of life, but you cannot have good thoughts just because you want to. I want to have a strong mind, but it is not. It’s apart from your will. You cannot have strong thoughts or good thoughts just because you want to. Good thoughts come when your thoughts are disciplined. Only through that, good thoughts are possible. That’s what spiritual discipline is all about. We have to discipline ourselves in our minds, in our thoughts, in our thinking. It’s not just about our body. We train ourselves, but we have to train our thoughts so that our thoughts flow into good thoughts. Good thoughts should be trained and disciplined. It’s not something that you can do once or twice and get it. It is something that you have to continuously and constantly do.

So I was thinking about my own congregation. I want our congregation to be strong people. I want my congregation to have strong minds and good thoughts. I want my congregation to always be filled with happy thoughts. That’s why I started Inner Voice two years ago, in 2017, to help people to start the day with good thoughts. I didn’t start that just to give you good insight or to have a deep, profound insight. I started so that you can always start the day and the whole day with good thoughts. This was what I said in my first Inner Voice on June 1st, 2017 in Korean, the word thought is made up of two syllables: saeng and gak. ‘Saeng’ means to create and ‘Gak’ means awakening or real realization. If that is the way the Korean word is formed, the word thought in Korean has a profound meaning: create awakening.

We all know that our thoughts influence our life in a profound way. We are formed and shaped by the thoughts we have in our minds. Thoughts are not random. There is a pathway in our thoughts. In the mountain. You see a narrow road that is created because many people have passed by in the same way. Our constant thoughts will pave a way of thinking. It is important to discipline our thoughts and make a habit of making good thoughts that will create awakening within us. My friends, don’t be tormented by your thoughts. Don’t be slaves of your own evil, negative, dark thoughts. Learn to discipline your thoughts. When you constantly think about not so good thoughts, your existence will become weakened, and weaker and weaker you will become. You’ll be very unhappy people. You’ll be people who will always complain, who will always blame others. That’s a weak life.

I want you to be strong people, but when you constantly think about good thoughts, your existence will become very strong. You’ll be forgiving. You’ll be understanding. You will be able to embrace challenges in your life. When you have good thoughts, you can do almost anything in your life. It applies to everything in life: sports, school, friendship, your work, anything. If you have strong thoughts, good thoughts and a strong mind, you’ll be able to overcome all kinds of situations in your life. Good thoughts create good character. The difference between the great people and the mediocre people is in their thoughts, what they are thinking every day. I want all of you to become great people, great leaders for our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The post Think! appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 11:1-13

Thank you very much choir and thank you also praise team. What a beautiful gift of music that God gives us to worship. Today’s passage is about prayer and that is the title, actually of the sermon. Life of prayer, I'm thinking that bulletin says egg or Scorpion. The thing is about preparing sermons is sometimes you’re on one track and you think you might have something going. But I didn’t really on Friday. And so our artistic pastor Dave was like, what about egg and Scorpion? But I admit I don’t have that kind of artistic flare. And as I reflected even more. This message came to me about a life of prayer. So that’s what we’re reflecting on today because today’s passage begins with a request from a disciple of Jesus to teach them how to pray. I mean, prayer was a central part of Jesus’s life. 

And so I think the disciples wanted to know more about this thing that was very central in his life, and when, when I reflect on this passage carefully, we see that Jesus is talking about something more than just saying words from our mouths. The first part of the passage, the Lord’s prayer are words that many of us have learned from a young age, but the other two portions, they get more into the heart of what prayer really is. Jesus is talking about something much deeper than mere words that we recite. Jesus talking about the kind of life that we live, a life of never giving up, a life of seeking a life, of asking, a life of knocking, and Jesus connected this kind of life with prayer. And so prayer is really the life we live that comes from deep within our hearts. How many of us know what these things deep within our hearts really are?

I mean, if anything, I think what we ask for or what we search for often arises out of difficult situations. You know, if you’re struggling with a health issue then what you seek and desire is better health. If there are financial stresses and struggles, what we seek is more money or greater stability. And if you’re in a difficult relationship, you wish for it to get better or maybe even just to go away. And so as I pondered this further, I realized that what we often seek or ask for is in response to this very ungracious world that we live in. Our theme at the ESM retreat was stories of faith, and Reverend Kim began by asking this question, credit to Paul Jang for this nice slide. All the happenings in our lives, are they indifferent to us or does life reflect graciousness? You know, his life, Just in indifferent and ungracious world where good things and bad things just happen to us randomly. 

Or can we find graciousness in the midst of this indifferent and ungracious world? And he defined stories of faith as stories of living out of a gracious God in an ungracious world. You know, that journey of finding God’s graciousness in this ungracious world is the story of faith, but then I realized that we have another story too. You know, the story of trying to escape from or to conquer or to tame this ungracious world that we live in. Or in other words, we allow the indifferent or ungracious world to define how we will live our lives. And so this story, many times conflicts with the story of faith. Living life in this world throws so many things at us and so the question for us is, are you searching for God’s graciousness in this ungracious world or for some control over this ungracious world that you live in? And I realized that a life of prayer is one of searching out for God’s graciousness in this ungracious world. You know, like today it’s a big day for me and the church you are calling in ordaining me to be a minister of this church and preparing for this sermon and for this day it’s been a real emotional experience. I mean, because of the long journey it’s taken for me to come to this place. I’ve wanted to be a minister for as long as I can remember. Not many people can say that, right? But that is true for me but this journey has been long and not easy. And I hope I can get through this sermon too. There is a Kleenex box. I mean, my whole life I’ve been a dreamer. My head has been lost in the clouds ever since I was a little kid. You know, Deb often has wave to me at the kitchen table to get my attention because I’m lost in the clouds. You know, my dream has always been to help create a world of greater harmony, justice and compassion. 

But the dreamer in me has often come crashing against the ungracious world we live in. And my whole life as I look back, has been a struggle between keeping my dream alive and allowing it to be taken away by this ungracious world. It’s a tough world to be a dreamer. The ungracious world that my parents lived in shaped me so deeply, I realize. And I know this is very personal for her, and I’m kind of glad she’s not here. My mother, she grew up without her own biological mother, but instead with a stepmother and stepsister, in that period of her life, it’s too painful for her to talk about really even today, her stepmother I think was jealous of my mom’s studiousness and would make her do all this house work instead so that she couldn’t study. Kind of sounds like Cinderella, right? You know, she once kind of said in tears that all she ever wanted was her own desk in her own room, just so that she can study. That’s all she wanted,and then her father passed away when she was only 18 and so she was basically all alone in this world. And then my father was born in North Korea. You know, his father was killed during the Korean War, during an American air raid, so my grandmother was left to fend for four little kids and they managed to get onto the last American boat to leave the shores of North Korea and they began a new life in the south. And I realized, I think I get my dreamer mindset from my dad, he was a dreamer too. He dreamed one day of owning a plot of land and growing animals and crops and he even studied horticulture at university, but he quickly realized that postwar Korea was no place for such a dreamer. And so establishing his own security and stability became the dominant theme of his life and their life in Canada was so difficult. You know, they came with no money. There was no one else to really help them, and I think many of us can understand all these. And I saw growing up the challenges they faced as economic fortunes shifted up and down as they received disrespectful treatment from customers working countless hours at that store. But they still made time for my dad to drive me around three or four times a week to play hockey while my mother would just stay at the store. 

But I mean they had done decently until my first year of university when the family business really took a hit. You know, they were on the verge of losing everything, property house assets, because they weren’t making enough money to pay off all the expenses. And so after my first year of university, I ran a window cleaning business, gave all the income to my parents, but they had to open a second store just to try to stay afloat, so I would go there at night and then I hired a manager for the window cleaning business so I can get another job at revenue Canada going after people who owe taxes. I mean that was a hard summer. I would eat breakfast at the kitchen table while watching tears roll from my mother’s eyes, from the stress and anxiety of having to come up with money that didn’t exist to pay off expenses. She had already lost everything in life before and the thought that she might lose everything she had worked for in Canada just ate me up inside and made me think that maybe I should just forgo my own idealism for reality. And that was why I went to business school, worked at corporate jobs, and eventually chose law school over seminary. Even though I knew deep in my heart that ministry in seminary was what I really wanted to do, 

But I can never repress my dreams for good, who of us really can. So I became earnestly involved in community building efforts, I started organizations that would empower students and young people. Does that sound familiar Hi-C guys? You know, creating events that would build a sense of community, but I even paid the cost of prioritizing community. You know, after law school, the rules of this world dictate that in articling year that’s what it’s called. You need to dedicate your life to the firm. Your life belongs to the man. But I resisted those rules and instead I focused a lot of my energy towards creating a talent show for young Korean Canadians and building a community around these efforts. I mean, it was a wonderful, marvelous experience where we built community until I became the only articling student in my class, not to get hired back as an associate. So while the rest of my class, these people I spend so much time with, they started making lots of money in their gleaming office tower. I mean the salary jumps high when you’re an associate. I was collecting EI checks at home in my boxers. A 30 year old dude just hanging at home and his boxers think how that made my parents feel. So the stress and added pressure from my parents, it just really became so unbearable. At one point I literally took a sleeping bag and I camped out at the apartment, my brother was staying and I didn’t even ask or tell him. I just showed up and I was there. There was an empty spare bedroom, no bed or nothing. I just put my sleeping bag on the ground and that’s where I was for two weeks. Binging on the TV show, Lost, no streaming back then. Just DVDs. 

How ironic. Cause I was truly, truly lost. You know, it became confirmation for me that this world is no place for a dreamer. And life didn’t really get easier, you know, after I eventually found a job at a small law firm where I literally got yelled at and screamed at by my boss on the regular, I was trapped there from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM because that’s what he expected. And eventually, I mean I started all over again after a year of that to begin a criminal law practice. I mean I was just grinding and focused on other goals. You know, like in 2009 I wrote down one of my yearly goals as ‘find the wifey’. And you know what I mean? Well maybe there’s something that Jesus saying, ask and you shall receive. Cause that is the year that I met Deb. You know, and just to prove that prayer is not just about the words we utter, I met her on the softball field at Jack Good latte Park. When my team lined up to start the game, in the Korean Christian Softball League, teams line up and it begins with a prayer. Well, I wasn’t being a pious prayer because my eyes were wide open, looking at her. God was listening to my heart, not the words. I mean, I was trying my best in life, living life according to the rules of this ungracious world, just trying to carve out whatever space I could within it. 

But looking back, I mean, I was angry at the world that was killing my dreams. I was angry and resentful at my parents for making me so fearful of my dreams. I was bitter towards society that had made me feel second-class for so long. I was angry at being a visible minority. Seeing how the people making decisions never looked like me. Always feeling like somehow I don’t really fit in or belong. Feeling like I always have to just be better than others. Just to have a chance. Always looking over my shoulder to see how people might be looking at me. I know that I felt despair, anger, and hopelessness, but for some reason I never fully gave up and I can’t explain exactly what that was. I mean, yes, there were many times I just kind of went along with the flow, trying to enjoy life, trying to make money, enjoying community work on the side, trying to be the man hanging out on weekends, going to karaoke, but still, there was a quiet, nagging voice persisting in me that all was not right, that this wasn’t all there was to life. There had to be more. I don’t know how actually but somehow I reconnected with Reverend Kim after many years. I went to see him and talked about various thoughts going on in my life, and he suggested that we start a Bible study for people like me who had left the church, where through the Bible we could examine and reflect on life. I mean, I, and I hadn’t read the Bible in years, so I was like, oh, okay, that’s interesting, but that was the beginning of a new journey. It began a journey of rediscovering my dreams and finally answering my calling to live out those dreams. 

And really I can attribute all of this. It’s nothing other than God’s grace. God’s grace saved me, so I realized a life of prayer is the search for God’s graciousness, and God’s grace in this ungracious world. It is the resistance to the indifferent and ungracious world that surrounds us. It is a declaration that this is not all there is and that I will find grace in it, even if it takes a lifetime. A life of prayer is the constant yearning, seeking and knocking for that grace in this world, and that’s what I realized I was doing all along without me even knowing it. I was yearning, searching, and knocking on the door for grace in my life and to rest in that grace. Prayer is not what we say with our mouths. Prayer is what is deepest in our hearts. Prayer is the struggle that has been driving our lives. Well most of the time we don’t know what that struggle really is. Jesus says at the end of our passage today, how much more will the heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him? How much more will the heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him? I believe that Jesus said this because we need God’s help to know what is in our hearts or even more for God himself to pray for what’s in our hearts even before we’re aware of what’s in it. The Holy Spirit that Jesus mentions here is the same spirit that Paul so eloquently articulates enrollments. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words and God who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. I was seeking all along to find rest in God’s grace. I didn’t even know this, but yet I was yearning for that and God was faithful and interceded on my behalf even before I knew it. To find God’s grace in this ungracious world, to rest in God’s grace, that was what I was searching for and as I did, I started to see the false illusions in my life. How much I was just trying to fake it till I made it. I began to find assurance of God’s love and acceptance for me. I began to discover the true joy and to find clarity in my identity and who I really was, and it was in God’s grace that I began to discern and finally answer my calling in life for ministry. 

God gives us the spirit to search our hearts. That is prayer. The cry of our hearts. We may not have the words, we may not even know that it’s there, but the spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. The past three years in ministry and seminary have been wonderful years. I will always thank God and remember these years fondly. It’s been a time of healing for me. I never really believed in angels before, but I do believe that all the kids in Hi-C and college group truly are angels that have been sent in my life. The students know how much I get emotional in front of them. I mean, seriously, I don’t think I’ve cried as much in my whole life as I have the past three years and I couldn’t really say why. I didn’t know why, but when I think about it now, I believe all those tears are tears of recognition and gratitude for God’s enormous grace in my life. How God has carried me through all the years. They are tears of joy and gratitude because God really has made my dreams come true. In these moments of joy, I realized that this is what I’ve always wanted and had been asking for. My dream my whole life has been to create what Martin Luther King Jr called the beloved community, a community where everyone feels loved, respected, and esteemed, and where that community could reach out into the world that needs grace, compassion, and justice to show the world that grace does exist and that it is possible to live by a different set of rules than those of the ungracious worlds we live in. 

In moments of grace in our community, I become overwhelmed with God’s abundant grace in my life. This community of Saint Timothy, you know, while far from perfect and with many flaws, it’s really the answer to my life long prayers. This is the beloved community I have always dreamed of. So I stand here. I’m just overwhelmed by God’s abundant grace, gratitude for this community that has so openly embraced me and healed me, for the pastoral staff and Reverend Kim, who have mentored me and taught me so much. For my wife, who has really supported me and our family so faithfully over the last few years and really given all of her body and spirit to support the family and kids. For my family who has supported us and for all the wonderful people in my life, past and present. St Paul said, I am who I am by God’s grace, and that is indeed so true with me. 

I mean my life, my life is far from perfect. There are still things in my life today that deeply ache my heart and cause great anguish. I still feel lack of control over things that cause pain. But even as I feel those things, I remember the words proclaimed by St Paul. The passage starts with therefore to keep me from being too elated. A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated, and we don’t know what this thorn really is, but there was something that was really causing great anguish in St Paul. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, and three as a symbolic number, as in like many, many times that I prayed to the Lord that he would leave me, but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ. For whenever I am weak, then I am strong. God’s grace is sufficient for me and God’s power is made perfect in my weakness. This world needs God’s graciousness and this will happen when the lives we live are a prayer. God will grant us the Holy Spirit when this becomes our life. Prayer. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts, search me, Oh God and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts. When we earnestly ask God to come in and search us, to know our hearts, to test us and know our thoughts, we will find God’s grace and in God’s grace we will find what we are looking for. My prayer for all of us as we begin this new chapter together is that our lives be a prayer of seeking, searching, and yearning for God’s grace in this ungracious world. 

The post Life of Prayer appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 10:38-42

Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. These three people were very special to Jesus. They had a bond. They were very close to each other. They were sisters and brothers, and they lived in Bethany. Jesus often went to their house. After Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” After saying that, he went to Bethany and he went to their house. Jesus didn’t spend much time with his own family. When you read the scripture, you don’t see many stories about Jesus staying with his brothers or his family. But he stayed with this family quite a lot. They were like another family to Jesus. He raised the brother, Lazarus, and Mary poured her perfume and anointed Jesus’ feet.

So they had a lot of our stories and a lot of history with each other. A very special family to Jesus. And Martha was especially very good to Jesus. Look at today’s scripture. It was Martha who invited Jesus to her house. Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him to her home. So Martha was very good to Jesus. I don’t think she just invited Jesus alone. This is right after Jesus sent 70 disciples to go out and do the mission and they just came back with excitement. This story was after this, so I’m not sure whether all 70 people were there or not, but at least 12 disciples were there. So it was not just Jesus alone in that house, but a whole bunch of people that Martha invited.

Martha was very busy hosting them and Jesus appreciated very much the hospitality that Martha showed, but also at the same time, Jesus understood Martha’s frustration. Martha was very frustrated and it is very understandable that you would be so frustrated because there were so many people that Martha had to host. She had to cook for them and everything while Mary, her sister, was just sitting there doing nothing but talking with Jesus. And Martha was thinking, “I want to talk to Jesus too, but you are not helping me.” So Martha was very stressed out. I don’t think Martha was jealous, but she was just frustrated and stressed out.

And Martha was frustrated not only with Mary, but I think she was frustrated with Jesus, too. You can tell by the tone of her voice. See, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has led me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me out.” It’s kind of a frustrating tone, isn’t it? Martha, I think, was very stressed out so she was frustrated. Frustrated with everyone, Mary and Jesus and the others. And what Jesus said to Martha was not to criticize her. Jesus knew Martha very well. We can see that from the way Jesus called Martha, but the Lord answered her. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.” Jesus called Martha twice. That is a very affectionate tone. “Martha, Martha.” It is a tone of affection for Martha.

Jesus didn’t criticize Martha, but what he said to her is very important to all of us who are called to serve. Jesus gives us a very good insight about what service is all about. We are called to serve others. That’s our existence. We don’t live just for ourselves. God called and Jesus called us to go out to the world and serve others, whether that’s your family, friends, or people in need, strangers. Jesus called us to go out and live a life of service. So life of service is a beautiful life and Jesus appreciates that. And Jesus evaluates that kind of life very highly. There are people who live their lives serving their own needs, but there are also people living their life, serving other people’s needs. Which of the people are you? Jesus appreciates and values the lives of the people who serve others, not serve their own needs. This is what Jesus said, “Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple. Truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Jesus recognized the importance of serving others.

But, it is not easy to serve. It is not easy to serve. As we serve others, sometimes we get disappointed. We get hurt. We get tired, too, and sometimes we get very frustrated. Like Martha. Sometimes when you live a life of service, you already have so many things to take care of just for yourself and for your family. And although you want to serve others, sometimes it’s too much for us to handle. “Oh my goodness, what can I do?” Sometimes we feel overwhelmed. That is when we lose the joy of serving and we complain and we blame others. There are a lot of things that we need to do. Modern life in one word? Busy. That’s what modern life is. We are all busy. Don’t tell me that you are busy because everybody is busy. That’s a characteristic of modern life and then, in addition to being busy, you want to serve others. That’s a challenge. Lot of things to do. No time.

We have to take care of our parents who are aging. A lot of you are the sandwich generation. You have younger children still to take care of and you have older, aging parents and you have to take care of them from in between. You’re just running around everywhere. You are driving around everywhere and sometimes you feel like you’re a driver, not a housewife or house husband but you are just driver. You are driving everywhere. Lot of things to do. Sometimes we feel that we are hard-pressed from every side. When there is no end for what we do and when we don’t see any fruitful results, when it is too much and the burden is too heavy, when we cannot see our future, we get tired.

We just worry about it, but don’t seem to have any energy left to do anything about it. We have to serve out of love. That’s what service is. You serve out of love, but love is getting cold. We lose the joy of serving and we don’t have strength to go on. That was what Martha experienced in today’s scripture. I don’t think we can judge Martha by just one incident. What Martha experienced, we all experience. We also get stressed out like Martha. That’s why Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.”

When you see these symptoms in you, when you have a lot of complaints when you have this frustration building up within you, when you start blaming others around you, when you see these symptoms, we should be able to know where we are in terms of our spirituality.

Just because these things happen within you, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have faith. That doesn’t mean that you don’t love the Lord. You have tremendous faith and you have tremendous love for the Lord, but sometimes we all experience physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion. This is when we need rest. This is when we need to have time with Jesus alone. We need quiet time. We need to replenish ourselves.

Some members sent me replies to my Inner Voice and they say, “These days, Reverend Kim, I’m so busy. I’m so scattered. Without your Inner Voice, I don’t know how I could survive every day. Every morning I read it and that gives me the energy, that gives me the strength to go on, to move on. We have to come to Jesus and leave everything in Jesus hands once in a while. And hear this voice, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. I will give you rest.”

This is not when you need to give love. This is when you need to receive love. We have to love ourselves first. If you don’t love yourself, who’s gonna love you? If you are not going to be gentle to yourself, who is going to be gentle to you? We have to experience that God loves us. We can serve others when we have love within us and we need to be nurtured with love. Serving is not just an action, but the action of love. We need to empower each other. We need to encourage each other. Before we make a judgment, we need to embrace each other with love. We have to understand that receiving love for ourselves is also part of serving. When you serve, you have to learn how to receive service from others.

When we face challenges of life, we can become very sensitive like Martha. Martha complained about Mary not because she hated Mary, but because Martha was very sensitive because of the challenges she faced. That’s when we need to receive Jesus, laugh and restore that love within us. Martha ultimately took Mary and Lazarus to France. They ran away because the persecution was too much, so they went to France and she did wonderful ministry in France and she finished her life there.

Once in a while you get tired and exhausted, but don’t be disappointed. Don’t be discouraged. We all do, but receive God’s love, stand up again and live out the life of serving others. That’s what we are called to do. That’s what good life is.

The post When I Am Tired appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 10:25-37

What the Samaritan did was not such a big deal. Jesus didn’t even use the word Good Samaritan. That’s what we came up with. The scripture doesn’t say Good Samaritan. Jesus never said Good Samaritan. The real point of this story is not about the greatness of this Samaritan. What he did was indeed noble. Helping out a person on the street was not in his schedule, but he took time to go down where this man was hurting and took him to the inn and took care of him, and even gave his money to the innkeeper to take care of him. That’s noble. How many people would do that? We are so busy and indifferent, we won’t usually care about the people around us who are hurting. We are too busy to do our own stuff and we are also very indifferent. We are living in a very indifferent kind of society.

Living downtown, I encounter people on the street all the time. Whenever I walk out, I see people. They are my neighbours. Whenever I stop the car, people always approach me for money. Most people are very thankful, but once I was coming to the early morning prayer at six o’clock in the morning. I stopped and then this guy was standing in front of me in front of my car and asked for money. So he came around. Usually, we don’t carry cash with us and I didn’t have much money. So whatever coins, probably more than a dollar, I collected everything and then I gave it to him and he threw back at me. Sometimes that happens, but I always feel bad that I can’t do much. All I could do is to give some change. So I try to make sure that I carry some change in my pocket whenever I go out. So living in downtown, they are always around you. 

The man who was robbed, how thankful he must have been. When we suffered, there were people who helped us and we are very thankful for their help. Also, what the Samaritan did was very dangerous. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for being dangerous. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was known as Ascent of Adumim, Adumim meaning red, so Ascent of Blood or Ascent of Red because of the blood many robbers shed there. People who cannot pay the heavy Roman tax lived around there, hiding from Roman soldiers and robbing the travellers often. So that’s why that road was called Ascent of Blood. So when they went through that road, people hurried to get through this road as soon as possible, as fast as possible. They had no time to look around. They just got through it. Even if they saw somebody hurting, it was too dangerous for them to stop by. That’s why the priest and Levite just passed by. So this Samaritan, what he did was noble and dangerous, but that is not the main point of this story either.

Jesus gave this story because a lawyer asked, “Jesus, who is my neighbour?” Yes, we have to love our neighbour, but who is our neighbour? And Jesus gave this story not to lift up the Samaritan, but to define, to tell them who their neighbours were. We are told to love our neighbours, but if your neighbours are those who you are comfortable with, like your family, your friends, your colleagues, then what good is that? What is so great about loving your neighbours? If they are your neighbours, people whom we do business with; people whom we have a vacation with; people who have the same economic and social status; people whose ideologies and political colours are the same; if we define them as our neighbours and love only those people, isn’t it just collective selfishness?

Let us just help each other because you are my friend. You are my neighbour. If neighbours are those around you who are like you, then what is so great about loving your neighbour? I don’t think Jesus was trying to say that loving your neighbour should be collective selfishness. Didn’t Jesus also say that “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” That’s what Jesus said.

Our neighbours are not those whom we are comfortable with; those whom we want to be with. Those who are helpful to us or beneficial to us. Jesus told us to go out into the world and be neighbours to the people in this world. This is what he said, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” Go be a neighbour like this person was a neighbour. That is our calling. That is what we need to do. It is our responsibility to be neighbours. Jews did not get along with Samaritans. They hated each other. They despised each other. As soon as they saw each other, they ran away. They didn’t even go through the area of Samaria because they did not like each other.

But, this Samaritan saved the Jew who was robbed. The scripture doesn’t say that he was a Jew, but 99% of the people who use that route from Jerusalem to Jericho were Jews so probably, he must have been a Jew. But, it doesn’t really matter whether he was a Jew or not. The people who listened to Jesus were Jewish people, they were all Jews and then Jesus was telling them the people that you despise so much, that person is your neighbour. That’s what Jesus was saying to the Jews. Jesus came to help humanity to overcome all our boundaries and become neighbours to each other. Jesus himself became our neighbour. To be our neighbour, he risked the danger and ultimately, he was crucified. That’s what Jesus did to be our neighbour.

Jesus wanted to change people who used to live with hostility to become people now, to live with neighbourly love. From hostility to hospitality. That was the vision of Isaiah. He shall judge between the nations and he shall arbitrary for many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. That was the vision of Isaiah. No more fighting. We are all neighbours. And Saint Paul captured Jesus’ intention very well when he said, “For he is our peace. In his flesh, he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall.” That is hostility between us. He got rid of the hostility between us so that we become neighbours with each other, especially to those who are different from us. Especially those who are weak and vulnerable, especially those who are alienated and isolated from society, especially to those who are voiceless. Jesus took out that hostility so that we can be calm neighbours to each other. The only way to be a neighbour is to have mercy. To have mercy. Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Mercy. This Samaritan, even though he was a Samaritan, he knew what mercy was all about.

This is what it says, “But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.” We don’t like the word pity because it’s kind of top-down kind of love, but that’s not what he meant. Here, the pity is an aching heart. An aching heart for the person who was suffering. You don’t see this aching heart anymore in this modern world. We are so different. We are so dull.

The pleasure of the world sometimes really makes our heart dull. We lose the ability to empathize. We lose the ability to feel pain for others’ suffering. We don’t have that aching heart anymore. Having this aching heart is to be a neighbour. When we have this aching heart for each other, we can become neighbours to each other. It doesn’t matter who they are. They don’t have to be lovable people.

This merciful heart is possible only when you experience the mercy from God. When you experienced the mercy from God, you know what merciful heart is all about. When God’s mercy is working within you, this merciful heart becomes formed within you. As Simon said eloquently in the beginning, “God’s mercy takes precedence over God’s wrath,” and that is our hope. When we commit sins, maybe God’s wrath may arise. But when we ask for forgiveness, when we repent our sins and ask for forgiveness, all of a sudden God’s mercy takes over and God’s wrath turns into God’s mercy. The greatest attribute of God is mercy. Let us be neighbours, not just to your friends, but look around. Not just in this sanctuary, but look around the society. Who are voiceless? Who are rejected? Who do you not like? Who are you not comfortable with? They are your neighbours. Not only those that you like so much. When you show that mercy to them, you are living out Jesus’ spirit.

Canada and the United States, we are neighbourly countries, but these days, sometimes we forget that we are neighbours. Whether you’re a politician or whoever who is turning hospitality into hostility, they do not uphold Jesus’ spirit. Let us be neighbours. That is our calling. 

The post Being Moved With Pity appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 10:1-11

In this passage, we discover that Jesus’ disciples were not just twelve disciples. We are familiar with twelve disciples, but actually, in Jesus’ time, there were many people who followed Jesus and wanted to be the disciples of Jesus. And Jesus sent 70 people among them to experience what it is to minister to people. And they were also disciples of Jesus Christ.

There was no Christian. Only disciples. Even now, there is no Christian. Only disciples. There is no such thing as “I’m a Christian, but I’m not a disciple.” That doesn’t work. If you’re a Christian, you’re a disciple. That’s what being a Christian is all about. So those 70 people who are sent by Jesus Christ, like them we are also called by God and sent for a specific purpose. So our life is not just life to enjoy. You've got to enjoy your life, but your life is not all about enjoying life, but your life is about being called and being sent for a specific purpose as a human being. You’re called as special people of God and God equipped you. And God is sending you back to the world so that you can become disciples of Jesus Christ. That’s what being a Christian is all about.

Is there a difference between just living and then living as a disciple? I think there’s a radical difference between just living and living as a disciple. In modern days, Christianity has become so watered down. We’re not quite sure what the difference is between me and those who are not Christians. Okay, I’m going to church. I go to church not every Sunday, but once in a while. But they don’t go to church. Is there any difference? Are we morally any superior to them? Are we any better people than them? It has been watered down so much, there’s not even a distinction between Christian and non-Christians – only just in concept. Intellectually, you ascend to the resurrection of Jesus Christ – is that what makes you Christian? Is it just intellectual belief? It is a belief system that is different? I think there’s a radical difference between living just as a human being and living as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Through today’s scripture passage I would like to reflect with you what it means to live as a disciple. Of course, we cannot just follow the living condition of the people 2000 years ago. That doesn’t make sense. Doing that doesn’t do any good anyway. They didn’t have iPhones, they didn’t have Samsung Galaxy. It is not desirable to just imitate their condition. That is not the purpose. Jesus told these 70 people, “Do not carry your purse. Do not carry your bag. Don’t even greet people when you see them on the street.” Do not even greet them, just keep following them? For what purpose? In this specific context, Jesus gave this instruction for these people. These are not the general rules for disciples to apply at any time, that was specifically given to them at that time, 2000 years ago.

When I went to Kazakhstan, I didn’t take any purse. I didn’t take any bag. I didn’t take any sandals. I just went out and preached the gospel. And then I met people. But that’s Kazakhstan, that’s a very specific context. But here in this world, in Canada, Toronto, what does it mean to live as a disciple? I think behind this story there is a spiritual principle. We need to find a spiritual principle and that spiritual principle is very important in living as a disciple. There are many spiritual disciplines, spiritual principles hidden behind this story, but I would like to just say one thing today. That is, they totally depended on God. Nothing else. When the disciples are one or when 70 people were sent, they had to totally depend on God.

The reason Jesus told them not to carry purses and bags was to give them training to totally depend on God. I think that is a very important lesson for us to learn. Many times, we don’t totally depend on God. We try to handle our problems with our own hands. They had to trust the God who provided them. Even with food. They had to trust that God would give them the power to be able to heal. How can you heal somebody? When they laid their hands on the sick, how can they heal them without the power of God? So they had to depend on the power of God. When they proclaim the Kingdom of God, how can they expect that the Kingdom of God will be established right there? Because only God can do it. So all the things that they had to do, they had to completely depend on God. When you completely depend on God, there’s one experience that you get. Do you know what that is? When you completely depend on God, there’s one experience that you get. That experience is you experiencing the power of God. When you completely depend on God, what you experience is the power of God.

We didn’t read it today, but in verse 17 and 18 the disciples came back and then they share their experience. This is what they said, “The 70 returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.'” They experienced the power of God. When they did the ministry, the evil power submitted to them. They experienced it. When they totally depended on God, they experienced the power of God. In life, experiencing the power of God is very, very important. That experience is possible only when you totally depend on God.

It is different from other kinds of power that you have like the power of position, power of status, power of your wealth, power of your talents and gifts and knowledge, all that. It’s very different. Experiencing the power of God is very unique and that experience gives us tremendous enrichment in our lives. When you experience the power of God, two things become formed within us. As you experience the power of God, these two things form in you. One is joy and the other is confidence. Joy and confidence, or you can say courage. Joy and confidence become characteristics of your life when you experience the power of God.

Joy. That’s a wonderful thing. Joy brings brightness to your life. When joy becomes a characteristic of your life, somehow your life opens up. Things turn out alright. Your life has to open up, not close in. And joy opens up your life; your life gets brightened up. Joy is the power of life. Joy gives vitality to your life. Through joy, even darkness is driven away. Jesus saw that Satan fell from the sky. The evil force in the darkness will be driven away when you have joy within you. It is life-giving energy. That joy is possible only when you totally depend on God and as a result when you experience the power of God. Another thing that comes to you is confidence; courage. That gives us the authority of life. Authority is not given to you because of your position. Authority is given to you because you have confidence and courage in life.

That is what authority is. We can live our lives with authority. You don’t get easily intimidated or let down. As we experience the power of God, we get confidence and that confidence gives us the authority of life. And we need that authority in life that comes from confidence and courage because a life of being sent is not necessarily easy. People may not accept you. Jesus said, “I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.” You are sent in the midst of wolves. Don’t be like wolves. You are lambs. Be confident as lambs. In the world of wolves, you don’t have to act like them. You don’t need to be accepted by them. You don’t need to be loved by them. You are lambs. You are passing out the peace. You are not fighting against them like wolves. When you are confident, you can be who you are. In the world of wolves, we may face danger, difficulties in life and sufferings and hardships. The road we take is a narrow road. It is a way of the cross. All the disciples, 12 disciples and Saint Paul, they experienced tremendous hardships and persecution, but they stood tall. They were confident. They just spoke the message boldly whether they were accepted or not.

Today’s scripture says, “If they don’t accept your peace, then that peace will return to you.” It’s their problem, not your problem. It’s not the problem of the person who sends, speaks the message of hope. Jesus even said that when you go to the town and if they don’t accept you, shake off your dust. You don’t need to beg them, Please accept my message. Don’t do that, shake off your dust and leave. This is what he said, “But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the Kingdom of God has come near.” People may not accept you, but our goal is not to be accepted. It’s not to be popular. It’s not to be well-liked and loved.

Our job is to send peace. Our job is to accept them. Our job is to forgive them. Our job is to tell them the truth. Today we have a congregation meeting for Simon Park. After many years of consideration, he has received this call to go into ministry. He gave up his lucre job as a lawyer and he came into ministry not because it pays him better. You will see that. Or his work will be easier; he has to live and work with a kid right now and he has to run around, he has to do the hamburgers and the guy will come in, play piano and there are all kinds of stuff he has to do. He responded to this life calling because there was a burning desire within him. He had no choice but to say yes. That’s a calling. All of you are the same whether you come into ministry or not. That burning desire within you, that is a call.

Simon, you will experience the power of God and you’ll be filled with joy. But you are a servant. You’re not a slave to meet people’s wants. You are a servant who proclaims the truth. Stand tall, be confident, courageous. You don’t beg for love. You don’t beg for attention. You do your thing. We do our own things. That’s what you are called to do.

My friends go out to the world, be the light. You are the disciples of Jesus Christ. Whether at work, at school or wherever you may be, be confident. You are called by God and you are sent there to be the light of the world.

The post Life of Being Sent appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Luke 9:51-62

We are the disciples who follow Jesus and Jesus teaches us about the disciples. Discipleship is in today’s passage. It wasn’t easy, though, to take what Jesus said. “Is that really the kind of discipleship that I can follow?” We wonder. Someone came to him and said to him, “I’ll follow you wherever you go,” with an enthusiastic tone. “I’ll follow you wherever you go, Jesus.” But Jesus was not very encouraging. Rather, he said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” I’m not sure whether he’s telling him to follow him or not, but he wasn’t very welcoming. He didn’t let another person even attend his father’s funeral. “You want to follow me? Forget about the funeral and you follow me.” And he didn’t even let another person say goodbye to his family. And he even said this, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Wasn’t Jesus too much? I just wanted to go say bye to my family first. And Jesus said this. Wasn’t Jesus too strict?

Who would follow Jesus? That’s why a lot of us say, “I go to church, but saying that I’m a disciple? Yes, I go to church and I believe in Jesus Christ, but following Jesus?” A lot of people have a problem with discipleship. But today in this scripture, I don’t think Jesus was laying down a general rule of discipleship. I don’t think he was against the funeral. I don’t think he was against saying goodbye to his family. I don’t think that was the point. Then what was Jesus trying to teach us about following Jesus?

I think he wanted to teach us that we cannot follow Jesus on our own terms. That’s what Jesus taught us about discipleship. We don’t follow Jesus in our own way. We don’t dictate how we follow Jesus. We cannot follow Jesus as we feel like it. I think that discipleship, the life of discipleship, reveals one particular aspect of our lives and that aspect is that life is not all about doing what we like. I think that the life of discipleship shows us that.

Life is not all about doing what we like. We cannot always handle life on our own terms. We cannot always go where we want to go. Sometimes life takes us where we don’t want to go. We don’t want to be there, but somehow life takes us there. I think the life of discipleship shows us that. A good example is Peter. Peter denied Jesus three times. You know that. And he felt really bad and Jesus came to him and he asked this famous question, “Peter, do you love me?” Three times, he asked this question. Through that process, Jesus wanted to restore Peter and then called him again. He wanted to restore his calling. At the end, before he told Peter to follow him, he said this very strange thing to Peter. This is what he said, “Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” That’s what Jesus said to Peter.

Others will take you where you do not wish to go. That is what discipleship is about. In life, we do many things on our own terms. We do what we like and we avoid what we hate. We want to be with people we like. We want to stay away from those we don’t like that much. But sometimes in life, we simply cannot do that. Your situation takes you where you don’t want to go. Your life situation takes you where you don’t want to go. Whether it’s your family, parents, or yourself or your children or your spouse. Somehow, life situation takes you where you don’t want to go. Where you don’t want to be. That’s what life is.

Jesus did not want to go to Golgotha. Jesus, did not want to take up the cross. He even said, “Let this cup pass away from me.” But his life situation took him where he did not want to go. Discipleship is to accept our life situation as it comes, and live with courage and commitment. At the retreat, we talked about stories of faith. We examined the stories of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Peter. Abraham sacrificed his son, Isaac. That was not what he wanted, but he showed radical obedience. He accepted his situation without putting his own agenda first, only trusting that God would somehow provide. Jehovah Jireh. Before, he tried to do it on his own and he made a lot of mistakes and he learned, but this time he showed his radical obedience. Some only believe that God will provide what is needed and God indeed provided everything Abraham needed.

Joseph had to go where he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to go to Egypt. He was sold into Egypt. His brothers sent him away to Egypt because of their jealousy, but his dream took him where he didn’t want to go. He even went to prison, but he didn’t take his situation with complaints or grumbling. He took his situation trusting in the power of that dream. He believed that God was behind the scene of what was going on in his life. He believed that. He believed that. “Right now, the situation is not very good, but behind all of this there is God.” He believed. He did his best in whatever situation he was in. He could have been very angry with his brothers. If I were him, I would be so mad. He’ll never do that. He’s such a nice guy. He could have lived all his life with this anger and hatred, but he didn’t. Even when he was where he didn’t want to be, he didn’t take his situation in his own hands. He accepted his situation and lived with courage and commitment.

My friends, we are all called to live with our own calling. Our life stories show that. As we look at our life stories very carefully, there is calling hidden behind the stories. Discipleship is to respond to that calling with faith. We are called to serve in love. Can you serve in your own terms? Can you love somebody with your own agenda? Can you serve the church with your own agenda on your own terms? We cannot follow Jesus on our own terms. That’s why Jesus said, “You want to follow me? But first deny yourself because you can not follow me on your own terms.” Deny yourself first and then follow me. Put down your agenda first. And then follow me.

Let yourself be bound to the needs of the people you serve. To the love for the people you love. We are bound to the needs of the people. We are bound to the love that we have for others. Put away your own terms and your own agenda. Simply serve them and love them. That’s what discipleship is. When you find something bigger and greater in life, you can put down your agenda because you saw greater things. Because life calling is bigger and greater than our own agenda. We cannot serve God as we feel like it. Jesus did not live his life on his own terms. He had an intimate relationship with God and listened to God’s voice and obeyed the voice. He responded to that voice with courage and commitment.

Last Thursday, I invited our younger staff to a restaurant downtown and they all came to my house. They stayed until 12 o’clock at night. I was so tired but they won’t go home. They’re sitting there and we’re talking. Simon, he’s already in his thirties. He’s too late. He’s already stuck. Now he’s going into ministry. He’s going to be ordained. I told Simon, “You’re too late. But you two.” They are in their twenties. “Do you really, really want to go into ministry? Do you want that? I’m at the end of my ministry. I’m telling you, do you really want to be in ministry? I mean, if I were born again, I would still go into ministry. But for you guys, twenties you can be a violinist. You can make a film; it still is not too late. You are only in your twenties.” And they all said yes. Without a doubt. We are blessed to have these kinds of youth pastors in our church, they are committed to that calling. So I told him, “If you’re not gonna stay in ministry, then know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life. Through ministry, what do you want to do?”

All of us, we have a call. Behind the life stories, there’s a call hidden. Find that call and follow that. Living your life on your own terms is not the best way to live. It’s not cool to live like that. Following the call, that’s what a good life is all about. That’s what discipleship is.

The post Not On My Own Terms appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Genesis 11:1-9

In today’s scripture, the word chaos comes to my mind as I picture what is going on at Babel Tower. The language was confused and they were scattered all over the place on the whole face of the earth. They could not live in the city. They built together. They were very scared of being scattered. This is what he says, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Not only did they want to make their name great, but they were very scared that they may be scattered upon the whole earth. They built a city and walls around it. Every week, the staff gathers together to have a Bible study. Every Friday we reflect on the passage that we are going to preach on that Sunday. So the staff gathered together, and they ask about your insights so they bring in their insights. This week, our youngest staff member, James Park, gave us great insight and he said that “Maybe, Reverend, the reason that they built a tower so tall was because when the flood comes again, then they will be able to survive.”

I thought it was great insight because this happened right after the flood. Many years passed, but story-wise after the flood story, then came the Babel Tower story. After the flood, people were obsessed with their survival. That’s what people do when they experience tragedy. They become very scared. Like after 9/11, they were obsessed about the safety of the city. Just last Wednesday, one elder told me, he was kind of walking around there and I asked, “Why don’t you go in?” And he said, “I’m scared whenever I do worship because you don’t know who may come into our sanctuary and do anything because all kinds of crazy things are happening.” So after the flood, they were obsessed about their own survival. They didn’t want any of that to happen again. They needed each other to survive. They needed to work together to survive. Being together gave them a better chance to survive than being scattered. After 9/11, we said, “United, we stand. Divided, we fall.” That was a slogan that we always recited. That’s why they were gathered together. They were scared of being scared. I told you before that I translated Mary Jo Leddy’s lecture. She reflected on the experience of the first settlers from Europe in Canadian soil. As soon as they arrived in Canada, they encountered massive land. I mean, they never experienced this kind of massive land in Europe. Rivers are small and the cities are small but as soon as they got here, St. Lawrence River and the Ontario Lake is huge. Massive land that they experienced, not only massive land but they also experienced tremendous extreme weather. It was so cold. It was different from the first settlers in the United States because they had relatively good weather. But up here, it was severe weather they experienced. And they also were surrounded by a hostile environment and threatening environment, including the people who lived in indigenous people, the native people who were living in it. As soon as they encountered this threat and danger, the first thing that they did was build a fortress. But soon, that fortress mentality became their culture and their mentality; their way of thinking. They created fortresses, garrison mentality. And then within it, they were nice to each other because they need to survive. They built walls around it. Within the fortress, they felt very safe. So they were nice and kind to each other. So they are saying Canadians are nice and kind to each other in that way. So they kind of built this kind of character. But outside of their fortresses, they became exclusive. They were nice to each other, but they were hostile to others. Their unity was for their own survival. And this kind of unity is destructive and selfish. It creates collective selfishness. This kind of unity, in my opinion, is false unity.

You achieve unity for your sake. You achieve unity for your own survival. That is not the kind of unity God wants. That is not the kind of unity God had in mind. It is not the unity that human beings create for our own survival. That’s not what God wanted. When Jesus came to this world, he saw that kind of unity, unity for their own sake. They had a system that unified them, but that system also oppressed the weak and the vulnerable and gave the powerful, the privileges and benefits. That was far from the unity God wanted for us human beings, so Jesus was very troubled. They are very unified. They are together, but all together, they were oppressing the people who were outside of their own fortress. And Jesus did not like to see that. That’s why he was even harsh in his words. Let me read for you. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.” It sounds like Jesus came to give this world confusion and conflict. In the eyes of the powerful who control that selfish unity, what Jesus did looked like that. To maintain their unity and a Jiminy. A Jiminy is a power to collect. People collect their power there to kill Jesus, just to keep that false unity. They had to get rid of Jesus. That’s what false unity does. The kind of Jesus wanted was not the unity for survival, but the unity of love that would deeply connect all of us regardless of who we are.

You can see that fairly clearly in Jesus’ last prayer. He prayed for the unity, but that unity was not unity for your own survival or for your own selfish reason, but the unity of love. This is what Jesus said, “The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” It is unity of love. The unity human beings created is a unity at the cost of excluding people who are different from us and are not helpful to us. We have to ask ourselves what kind of unity we are creating. If our unity is the kind of unity where other people cannot come in, then it is man-made unity and the man-made unity will soon collapse. For survival, you don’t need to worry. That’s what we believe. God will take care of our own survival. 

People who built a tower did not believe that so they took matters into their own hands. They gathered together to collect their power, but God will take care of what we shall eat, what we shall drink and what we shall wear. God promised that. We are the people who believe in that. We are Christians who believe in that. God will take care of our needs. God will take care of our survival. What we need to do is not to pursue the unity for our own survival, but to pursue the unity of love. The kind of unity that takes care of people and includes those who are less fortunate than us and who are alienated and ostracized. That kind of unity, it is a unity of love. You don’t create unity just for yourself. You create unity by including those who are ostracized, who are less fortunate than us. By doing that, we build the unity of love, not unity for survival. They are not the people, the weak people or other people to be excluded, to preserve our unity, but we have to embrace them with love among you, around you who are excluded, who are ostracized, who are alienated. The poor, the have-nots, the people who are disadvantaged. They are the people that we need to include to achieve true unity of love. In today’s story, we see confusion, but later in Acts of the Apostle, we see unity and that kind of unity is one only the Spirit can give us. Not what we human beings can create, it’s what the Spirit gives us. That’s a miracle. Let me read for you, “And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews, and proselytes, Cretins, and Arabs,” all different people. In our own languages, we hear them speaking about God’s power, the power of unity. All these people were able to hear in their own language. Today is a day of Pentecost. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came and brought true unity to us. The Holy Spirit made us one who is different from God’s power. How the Holy Spirit came down is not important. With tongues of fire, or all that? Oh, that’s just a movie. That’s a sensation. That’s nice, but that’s not what’s important. The speaking in tongues, that’s not what’s important. What is important is what the Spirit did when the Spirit came down. The Spirit brought us unity which is impossible for us to create on our own.

The Spirit came to this world and brought us, brought the divided humanity to be one. And we are called to do that work. Disciples of peace and harmony proclaim the unity; we are called to do that. That’s why Saint Paul said, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” He said that 2000 years ago. Can you believe that? I don’t think it was his own opinion. It is Spirit who gives in this word.

It is so nice. I want to read with you together today so let us read together. “There is no longer Jew or Greek. There is no longer a slave or free. There is no longer male and female for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus came to do that. Saint Paul experienced tremendous persecution and hatred from his own people, not from the foreigners, not from the Romans. He received prosecutions and threat from his own people because Paul said, you don’t need to discern circumcision. You don’t need to keep the dietary rule, but circumcision and dietary rules were identity markers. That’s what defined who Jews were at the time and Paul said, “You don’t need to do that, but we are one in Christ.” We are one in Christ. Since Saint Paul experienced tremendous persecution, but he recognized this unity is what the spirit gave me to do. So he risked his life to achieve that. I pray that the Holy Spirit comes upon us and makes us one. I pray that we become one in the Holy Spirit. That is the meaning of the Pentecost. We celebrate the Pentecost as a day of coming of the spirit, but the Pentecost was not a Christian celebration from the beginning. Pentecost was a Jewish Celebration. It is kind of like a harvest festival, but on Pentecost, not only did they celebrate harvest, but they also celebrated the coming of the law, receiving of the law from Moses and when it comes to the New Testament, the Acts of Apostle, It became the day when they receive the Holy Spirit. What the law could not do, the spirit was able to do through God’s grace. Laws cannot make us one. Only the grace of the Holy Spirit can make us one.

Don’t get along with people only who are like you. Whom you like, whom you’re comfortable with? That’s not what church is. Meet people who are different from you, who think differently from you, embrace them, especially those who are voiceless. Embrace them. The true unity is possible only in diversity when there is no diversity, unity is not possible. When we accept each other with the grace of the spirit of God, then we can achieve unity. You are called to do that. You are the disciples of Jesus Christ. You are called to proclaim this unity in your family, among your friends, in the church, in our society. God called you to do so. Let us deeply think about what true unity is. 

The post False Unity appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

John 17:20-26

The post So That We May Be One appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.