SERMON TITLE: We Journey Together

Preached by the Rev. John Lee on January 28, 2007 at DPUC

Luke 4:21-30

4:21 Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

4:23 He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'"

4:24 And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.

4:25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;

4:26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

4:27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

4:28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.

4:29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.

4:30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

We Journey Together

We've all heard predictions about the future. Many people couldn’t believe what was going to happen in the near future. But the world continuously evolves and develops beyond people’s imagination. In 1876, Western Union internal memo notes regarding a new machine, "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." Today, almost everyone is connected with a telephone.

David Sarnoff who later became the chairman emeritus of the RCA Corp., urged for investment in the radio in the 1920s and associates refuted like this: "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" He later added image and developed the TV and became a world leading company in this field. Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, in 1943 said, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." But even after three decades, Ken Olson, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977 said, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

Nowadays perhaps we think that there in no more room to invent or develop further and say like Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899,  he said, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."  But human capability seems to have no end, and certainly the world will develop far beyond our imagination.  

The world is changing so fast. It is hard to image what’s coming next.  Science and technology create miracles every day.

By utilizing electronic digital device, global transnational companies grow so fast and become like huge monsters. These big companies have significant influence to the world, and when they have a new plan or any news, the media reports it as headline news. They grow and get richer while the number of poor people in the world increases. In this crisis, it seems like the church cannot do much to solve this problem. World’s secular businesses seem like they are much more influential than the church.

We Christians look to the bible and pray to God when we have a problem or need wisdom or are longing for inspiration from God. Today’s gospel along with the stories of last few weeks tells us our reality and the ways of Jesus. In Jesus’ ministry, many unexpected things happened. When he left the river Jordan, he was tempted by the devil. But Jesus walked with the Holy Spirit and walked the way he had to walk and won against all temptation. We have to note that, in this story, the temptation was not a vicious thing, but a desire for fame, possessions and the like.

When he was invited to conduct the ritual of purification at the wedding at Cana of Galilee, all the people were drunk and couldn’t perform purification. People wanted more wine, but it had run out. At this time, Jesus did what he had to do, not what the people asked for, for their fun, and ordered the servants to bring the water from the jar of purification. Now at his home town, people got up and drove him out of the town.  However there is one thing that is very clear from what he did. Jesus spoke what he had to say from the scripture. Jesus did what he had to do. No matter how the circumstances changed, Jesus did what he did.

But people judged from their own experiences and asked for what they wanted, that is for him to exercise only visible and tangible miracles as he did at other places. Jesus reminds them that God loves all the people, not just Israelites. You are asking for a miracle, but it happens to those who believe in God and the good news of God, and follow by an act of repentance. It is Jesus warning for the people of his time and people of this time who are searching for only tangible things.

Jesus advises us, behind what we can see and what we can touch, there is something more important. That is love, agape, the love of God. So the apostle Paul teaches us that “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

This is what Jesus speaks us today that we need this. We, as church of Christ, are called to bring vision to the world we live in. This is what we have to proclaim to the world that is in crisis. Bring the vision is not a simple development of technology, but renewing of our sight by our faith in Jesus Christ, and inspiration of God. Can we do this? YES. We can. What the church needs to do is to remind the people and the world to refresh its value system and live and move by the Holy Spirit of God that unites and empowers us to live in harmony and peace by living out God’s love, agape, the teachings and life of Jesus Christ.

The churches cannot follow the pace of the global development. There is a strong voice from the world that calls for convenience and fun with more money and more power. What the church of Christ should bring to the world is not fun or comfort, but the meaning of life and purpose of life.

Bill Gates wrote a book, “Business @ the Speed of Thought”, and he emphasizes that the business should build an electronic nerve system. This suggestion is not to create mass production, but to provide quality business by reducing defects and having better service to the customers or clients. Once this system is working, most of the problems that occur any place and any time can be solved quickly by the head office within a day or at most a week, and a system can be built to prevent any possible problems.

I thought when the church adopts this system, any sort of problem will be solved immediately or with a few days. It is good. But what God requires of us, the church of Christ, is not to bring convenience or fun to the world. What we have to do is to proclaim to the world that there are more important things in the world. It is God’s love, God’s peace and harmony that we and the world should not forget. It is not an easy way. But we walk together with Jesus Christ and we walk together with each one of us who gathers as church. Jesus knows about the future and what the world truly needs. Jesus clearly envisions with one eye on today and another eye on tomorrow what the world truly needs.

Jesus’ way of “to be with the world and for the world” means that Jesus lives with the past, present and future. Jesus knows what the world needs in future. And he give the world this, not what the world is asking with its greed. This is who Jesus is. The last few weeks of lectionary reading tells us “who Jesus is” through the stories of baptism, wedding and his proclaiming of the good news at the synagogue. We know “who Jesus is” by looking at “what Jesus does”.  We can know ourselves by looking at what we, each one of us, are thinking and doing.

We need to know what is happening in the world. We need to be able to walk or run at least with the pace at which the world is walking or running. And, like what Jesus did, we should proclaim the good news, the real good news for the world that comes from God. It is not an easy journey. Like in today’s story, people will drive us out of the town, and lead us to the brow of the hill on which their theories and ideals were established. But we do not worry. God so loves the world, and God sent Jesus Christ who walks with us. In this world of many changes, we want to look with one eye to the past and present, and the other eye to the future.

And we don’t forget that we journey together, together with our friends in Christ,  and together with Christ Jesus. This is God’s blessing for us. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 This site is prepared by the Rev. John Young-Jung Lee,

a minister of The United Church of Canada

with volunteers who are committed in the works

of Peace and Justice in our global village 

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Acknowledgement:

Web planning team: Marion Current, Hannah Lee

Technical support & web designer: David Nam-Joong Kim

 Art design team: Raymond NamKi Jung, Johnny Jong Hyun Jeong

Updated January 28, 2007