Is Jesus the Messiah or Not? That is the question that the Bible passage is asking today. Jesus was before the Sanhedrin (Jewish Council). The high priest asked: “Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God?” Jesus answered “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” The crowd answered. “He deserves to die!”

     Can you understand these exchanges of conversations?

Why did they say that Jesus deserved to die? Jesus deserved to die because of blasphemy. What is blasphemy, then? Blasphemy is “to speak impiously or irreverently of God.  Also Leviticus 24:16 says that that if a person blasphemes the name of the Lord he or she “shall surely be put to death”.

To understand this whole conversation, we have to know the passage in Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel says, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

In other words, Jesus said that he was the one that Daniel saw in his vision! That means Jesus said he was the Messiah and the Son of God! Jesus was killed because he claimed that he was the Messiah and the Son of God.

Have you met a Jehovah’s Witness? They say that Jesus never claimed that he was God! However, we just saw that Jesus saying that he was the Messiah and the Son of God! They say that Son of God is not God. Let me ask you this question. What is a son of a dog? A dog! You are right! Then what is a son of a human? A human! You are right again. Then this is the last questions. What is the Son of God? God! Good answer! So, Jesus was and is God!

Jesus was sentenced to death because he claimed that he was God! C. S. Lewis examined this claim and found out that he had only three logical options.

1)     Jesus was a liar who knew that he was not God.

2)     Jesus was a crazy man who did not know that he was not God.

3)     Jesus was truly God.

Then he review all the teachings and actions of Jesus and concluded that Jesus was God! Lewis once was an atheist but later became an apologetic scholar.

Jesus is God and the Son of God (one of the three persons in Trinity with Father God and the Holy Spirit!) This God became a human being and died for our sins on the Cross! Now you and I do not have to be tortured by the guilty feeling from the sins and mistakes that we have had. We do not have to be trapped in the low self-esteem that all our mistakes and sins have fruited in us all these years! You and I do not have to compare ourselves with others to be loved or respected by someone! We do not rely on the comments that others make to have this positive identity for ourselves! We are children of God redeemed by God’s Grace! If God is with us, who is against us? We are saved and forgiven! God think that we are worth God’s life!

Actually that is what God is saying! We are worth God’s life. We matter to God! Whatever our financial situation is, whatever our physical condition is, whatever our achievement is, we deserve life and love of God! That is what Jesus means when he says, “I am the Messiah and God.” This is not just a theological argument or a claim! This is a Good New for you and me! Praise God for this love!

1. When you accept this unconditional love of God what would you change in your life?
2. With whom would you share this Good News?

     Do you remember your first kiss? I do. When I was a seminary student, I met my wife-to-be, Hyesung. We studied together late and I used to walk with her to her house. It was a raining day. I held up an umbrella for us. We came close to her house. We stopped. Then she turned around. This was the time that we said good-bye and good night. She smiled. And she closed her eyes. My heart was pumping. I did not know what to do. I could not breathe. Then I found myself kissing her. I drop the umbrella. We were soaking wet in the rain. I said in my heart, “I will be with her, I will protect her, I will do everything for her, and I will not leave her!” It was like eternity.

     Kiss is a language. Usually it delivers the message of love and commitment. Do you remember the woman who kissed the feet of Jesus?  Luke 7:36-50 tells a story of a woman.  When Jesus was invited by a Pharisees to have dinner with him, a woman came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.  Pharisees were angry both at her and at Jesus. However, Jesus knew that she was saying in her heart, “I give my life to you, I will follow you, I will do everything for you, and I will not leave you!” Why? Because her sins had been forgiven!

     However, not all the kisses are the signs of love and commitment. Here is Judas Iscariot. Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. That was the signal for the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus. That was the kiss of betrayal. Judas finally departed from Jesus, from what Jesus was teaching and preaching, and from the vision of the Kingdom of God. It was too scary for him to accept. What he wanted was the secular kingdom and power in it. He did not want to serve others as Jesus did. He did not want to share what he had as Jesus did. He ultimately did not want to die sacrificial death as Jesus would do. He clearly understood what Jesus was up to. So he decided to go the other way. His kiss was his message against the love of God.

     To this strong objection and evil thought, Jesus replied with unconditional love and forgiveness.  Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Jesus even loved Judas. As he washed his feet, he held his hands. As Jesus gave Judas bread and wine, he gave Judas permission to betray him. He softly and lovingly whispered to his ears. “I have already forgiven you. I will die even for you!” This is the love of God. Our promises are broken but God’s promises are still standing. Our love is conditional but God’s love is unconditional. Our kiss is fluctuating but God’s saving Grace is steady and faithful.

     With this love, Jesus is inviting you and me to come closer to God. You and I may have had many things that now we regret. We may have departed from Jesus many times. We are sinners. However, that is why Jesus died on the Cross.  He is now risen and waiting for you and me to share his victory and joy. Would you accept his love and invitation today?

1. What make you hesitate to accept Jesus as your savior?
2. When you accepted Jesus as your savior what happened in your life?

The sky is blue

as if Good News is waiting for me

It should be a clue

that God’s promise has different color

than my heart bears

Down here

I look up the bright sky

with my hands and feet in dirt

Why did I have doubt

that tomorrow follows today

and Spring chases Winter?

Ah! The cool breeze

cracks the hard shell of my heart.

     We started our New Year with hope and expectation. We even made New Year’s resolutions. I shared with you last Sunday the top ten New Year’s resolutions. The first one was “To spend more time with family” and the second one was “To lose weight”! So, let me ask you now. How are you doing?

   The reason why we fail so many times is found in today’s Bible passage. When we try to do everything alone, we will fail. When we work with God, we will succeed. When we pursue our own will, we will lose. When we follow God’s will, we will win.

     In the Bible, Jesus said in advance that the disciples would run away from him and disown him. However, Peter and other disciples said that they would rather die with Jesus than to disown him. Here we can see their genuine willingness.  The problem lies not in their willingness. Jesus said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

     We want to do God’s work. We want to live out God’s will through our daily lives. We are genuinely willing to die for the Lord. However, our flesh is weak. That is the problem! How can we overcome this weakness of our flesh?

     Jesus suggested one solution. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” When we pray, we are not alone. God works with us. What is prayer? Prayer is our time with God to know God’s will. Prayer is a process through which we surrender our will to follow God’s will. At the end of our prayer, therefore, we would say, “Not my will but Thy will be done!”

     Prayer works this way. First, we say to God what we want. “Lord, I want such and such.” If our request pleases God, God will say “YES!” to our request and it will be granted either instantly or in God’s time (in that case, God will say “Wait!”). For example, you pray, saying, “Lord, I want to bring Mr. A to our church!” and talk to Mr. A. To your surprise, he would say yes to your request!

     If our request does not fit to the will of God, God would say “NO!” NO is also God’s answer to our prayer! Sometimes NO means “Not Now.” In that case, the answer is actually “Wait!” For example, we have prayed for and invited Mrs. B for three years. So far she has not come yet. However, we keep praying for her because we know that we have to wait for God’s time! Sometimes NO means “NO!” Apostle Paul pleaded God to take a thorn away from him three times but God said no (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). Paul accepted God’s answer and realized that it was better for him actually. A thorn actually made him humble all the time.

     We can carry out God’s mission through prayer. Without prayer, we cannot achieve God’s dream. Prayer is essential part of our faith journey. We need to set aside some time for prayer as well as constant prayer. Even when you constantly think about your spouse, you still have special time with your spouse to keep the couple relationship. Without that special time, we cannot keep our relationship.

     Even though prayer is so important in our spiritual life, sometimes we cannot pray. For example, the disciples of Jesus could not pray because they fell asleep. Sometimes, we are so occupied with other things we cannot pray. Then what happens? Jesus was praying at the Garden of Gethsemane while all the disciples were sleeping. When we all fail, God is still working for us! God’s faithfulness never fails.

     We have to pray to be faithful. Ultimately, however, God’s faithfulness is the foundation of our hope. We fail many times but it is God who saves us time and again. The Bible says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15).

     Pray hard! However, remember that when you cannot pray, there is someone who prays for us! Romans 8:26 says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

     If God is praying for us and finally achieve God’s will on earth, why does God command us to pray? Because God wants us to participate in God’s joy, to share God’s excitement, to be a part of God’s work, God commands us to pray.  When I buy my house, I and my wife paid almost all the down payment but we asked our children to pay 10 dollars each. Because they paid their “shares” now they are co-owners of our house. It was not the amount but their consent that mattered. God can do everything alone but God wants to give us the joy of being God’s partner.

1. Without prayer, we cannot bear spiritual fruits.
2. Through prayer, we can discern God’s will.
3. Through prayer, we can bear spiritual fruits.
4. Sometimes, however, we cannot pray because of our weaknesses.
5. When we cannot pray, God will pray for us and in us.
6. Finally, God’s will be done no matter what.
7. God still wants us to pray because God wants us to share the joy of the final victory!

Questions for Reflections

1. When do you have time to pray in your busy daily schedule?
2. What are the fruits that you have had through prayer?

We start this year with God’s amazing Grace! Last night, we have examined our heart. We know what we have in us. However, many times, we pretend that we are not the person that we see ourselves. Sometimes, we even deceive ourselves. What is amazing about God’s Grace is this: God loves us even when we pretend and deceive ourselves.

Here are God’s people! They gathered together around the Passover table. Jesus already said “My appointed time is near!” but nobody understood what he meant. Jesus wanted to have the last meal with his disciples, knowing that one of them would betray him. He even openly predicted: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

It is like our new year’s resolution. “I will do this and that this year!” God already knows that we cannot keep the resolution but still encourages us. Many of you will say to me: “Oh, no, pastor, you are not talking about me!” Yes, right, I am not talking about you!

Then Judas, the one who would betray Jesus, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus smiled and looked at him with his loving eyes. “You have said so!”

God knows our struggles and weaknesses. God knows that we mean it when we say we would do this and that. So, Jesus, without any debate or rebuke, simply took the bread and offered to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

When we have the Holy Communion, we take it as sinners. Some people do not come to take the communion because they feel that they are not qualified. However, my friends, nobody is qualified to take it! We all participate in God’s Grace. Jesus pre-forgave his disciples including the Judas Iscariot, who would betray him and offered his body and blood for them. We start our new year with this Grace! Both God and we know that we are going to make many mistakes. However, both God and we also know that God’s Grace is working in our lives. Let us take this new-year with faith and courage! God be with us all!

1. What is your new year’s resolution?
2. When have you experienced God’s Grace in your life?

Today is the last day of 2011. We can remember what we have done this year. We have done great things and we have done some things that we are not proud of. We have also done things that we need to repent.

However, the one thing that we need to examine tonight is our heart because      God pays more attention to who we are than what we have done. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” As long as we struggle to stay in God’s Grace, God gives us the second chance.

Read the Bible for tonight! The chief priest and the elders looked pious. They said that they would not arrest Jesus during the festival, the Passover week. Their action showed that they kept the religious calendar and rules. However, what was their real reason not to arrest Jesus during the festival? They said, “Or there may be a riot among the people.” They did not fear God. They were afraid of people! They wanted to keep their reputation and position while keeping the political peace!

The disciples of Jesus sounded like the champions of social justice. When the disciples saw a woman who poured out an expensive perfume on Jesus, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” However, this statement showed that the disciples did not fully understand the mission of Jesus and the urgency of it. Jesus clarified what he would do and what we need to do.

Jesus should die on the Cross to save the whole humanity and we should be left on earth to serve the poor! Jesus said that the poor will be with us always! Taking care of the poor is our mission! However, Jesus would not be with the disciples physically forever! And now is the time for Jesus and the disciples to prepare his death! While the disciples did not give up the idea of Davidic Kingdom on earth, they could not, or would not, accept the universal salvation of the humanity by God. When Jesus said that the woman prepared his burial, Judas Iscariot could not stand it anymore. What he wanted, and many disciples wanted, was not the death on the Cross but their taking over the kingdom on earth!

Jesus told the disciples, “Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Even though she looked like wasting expensive perfume, actually she was the one who understand the mission of Jesus and accept it with faith!

Now my brothers and sisters! Let us examine our hearts! We can tell all we have done this year with pride. However, let us be quiet in front of God. God will show us why we have done all the things we have done. The only one question that we need to ask ourselves is this: Have we done all these out of love or not?

We could have made mistakes from the point of view of others. We could have done better job as parents and we should have done better ministry as God’s children. However, my friends, if they are done from the love of God and love of neighbors, what you have done will be remembered and told by God!

1. What are the things that you wish to have been done differently?
2. If you have done those out of love, God has already forgiven you! Free yourself from regrets and move on! If you have done with other motives, repent and move on! We have the second chance!

We are still waiting for the coming of the Lord. Today is the third Sunday of Advent. While we are waiting for the Lord, (1) we have invited others to church and (2) we have read the Bible, prayed for ourselves and others, and practiced God’s love in practical ways. Waiting time has not been a passive quiet time! It has been an active working time!

Today’s Bible passage also confirms the fact that we have to work while we are waiting for the master. The master is on a journey. He is coming back! While the master is away we have to use our talents and bring the results to the master!  One talent is worth for 20 years’ salary for an average worker at that time. In today’s wage, it is almost half million! It demonstrates us that everybody has some talents.

When God created us, God gave us many talents and expected us to use them both for us and for others. As long as we are doing something with our talents, God is with us and we will see the fruit of the mission and ministry.  If we have used five, we will have five more. If we have used two, we will have two more. The more we use our talents for God, the more talents we will have.

This was the problem as far as the lazy servant was concerned. He figured it out! If he worked hard and got another talent, he would be given more talents! If he keeps working, he would have more work and fruits! This is how God works and the lazy servant puts it in this ways: “Master, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.” God starts with one talent but God’s kingdom grows every day! We started our mid-week program with 4 children and now they are more than 10. It would mean more work for us. If we are lazy, it would be a disaster! So, lazy servants would not start working at all! They are afraid of growth!

God replied to the lazy servant. “Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.” Who are the bankers here? They are the churches and ministers who are willing to invest and work hard. Sometimes our situation does not allow us to work. In that case, we can at least support others who are willing to work through our prayer and offering. If we are not able to invite people to church, at least we can “pay” or “pray” for the invitational ministry! One of our church members who are homebound mailed us a check of a sizable amount for our Mid-Week program. She put her talents into a bank! God will earn interest!

It all starts from one talent! Are you willing to use your one talent now for the Lord?

1. What is the one talent that you have now?
2. Where do you want to invest it while you are waiting for the coming of the Master?

Tonight, we have come to see the King! Like the three wise men, everybody brought gifts to Jesus. Some brought gold, some frankincense, and some myrrh. Those three gifts symbolized what Jesus’ life would mean to us. Gold means that Jesus is the King of kings, who rules over our lives. Frankincense means Jesus is our High Priest, who prays for the restoration of relationship between God and us. Myrrh means that Jesus is the sacrifice to be offered to God for the forgiveness of our sins. Because of Jesus, we have been forgiven and restored to the relationship with God. We have come here with the great hope, faith, and love.

Tonight, however, Jesus also has come to see us. He comes to us with one simple question. What have you done for these people: The hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, and the prisoners? Are you ready to see the King? Great!  Let me ask you to stand up when I call you!

All of those who served this year

at the homeless shelter, for the meals on wheels, for Toys for Tots, for Winter Nights, for blanket Sunday, the homebound, the prisoners, the detention center clients, hospital patients, and the lost souls!

Please stand up and listen to what the King says!

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”(Matthew 25:34-36)

Your gifts and services are as meaningful as gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Actually, your services are matching gifts to the gifts that Jesus has given to us, the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of relationship with God, and the eternal life! Now we know what would be the question that Jesus would ask to us! We can prepare the right answer for the next year and the years following! When we are doing these ministries faithfully, we are ready to meet the King anytime anywhere. Are you ready to see the King? Yes? If so, please, shout Amen! God bless you! God bless you all!

1. What are the ministries that you are now currently involved in?
2. What are the ministries that you want to participate in next year?

     We love sharing. We share our Gospel and we share our resources with those who are less fortunate. However, there are things that we cannot share.  Some things have to be done individually. For example, I cannot eat foods for the hungry people. I can share foods with them but they are the ones who have to eat them.  I cannot do exercise for others.  If other people want to have muscles, they have to work out. I cannot study for others. They have to study for themselves. Even though we are God’s people there are things that we cannot share.

     One of the things that we cannot share is “oil” for the lamp that Jesus is talking about in today’s Bible passage. The “lamp” and “oil” are used as analogies for the Kingdom of God, God’s reign. So, the meaning of those two items should be understood in the light of God’s Kingdom, where God is honored and obeyed as the King!

     Then what is the “lamp” in the Bible? Bible says our eyes are the lamp of our body. “Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, and your body is full of darkness.” (Luke 11:34) Now we know that the right “oil” for this lamp is the biblical “view-point.” If we do not cultivate biblical view point about self, suffering, history, money, world, universe, we are not ready to meet the groom on that day!

    In the Old Testament, sometimes God’s commandment is called a lamp. “For a commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light; and reproving discipline is the way of life.” (Proverbs 6:23). In this case, diligent meditation and practice of God’s commandment is “oil.” Without that oil, the lamp will not have any light. We should prepare our way by meditating and practicing God’s commandments. 

     The Bible also calls our soul is the “lamp.” “A man’s soul is the lamp of God, which searches the chambers of one’s innards.” (Proverbs 20:27) In this case, fellowship with God should be “oil” for the lamp. Without that fellowship with God, chambers of our inner self would not be found. We do not know who we really are and whose we are. Our inner self would stay in darkness!

     Now we know why the wise five women could not share their oil! It is not sharable! Everybody has to cultivate their own oil. We have to meditate the Bible day and night to have biblical value, view-point, and vision. We have to have constant fellowship with God to know God’s will in our lives. We have to keep practicing God’s love in our lives to train our spiritual muscles to do God’s works. Those “oils” cannot be nurtured within a day or two. They are not to be purchased with money, either. Such oil has to be produced in ourselves. May this time of waiting be the time to produce pure and holy oil in our soul!

1. What are the spiritual discipline that I have to nurture my biblical value, view-point, and vision?
2. What are the things that I do to practice God’s love in practical ways in my daily life?

God wants us to be happy. God is willing and able to give us abundant life. God would do anything to give us joy and peace to us. God is even willing to come down in human form and die for us. We are that much important to God. We matter to God. It is like every child matters to the parents.

It is really painful for God to watch us to suffer unnecessary sufferings. We have unnecessary shame, guilty feelings, desires, and wounds. Why? Because we do not have this new identity as God’s beloved children, we measure our worth based on the comments that others make. We struggle to get the better impression from others. We are frustrated when we fail. We try to get a position, degree, or different body, look, hair-style to be accepted by others. We are not free! The Bible calls our efforts for this “Sin.” We try to cover up our insecurity with all those wrapping papers.

Let me be clear. We have all the right to go to the hair-stylist when we want to. We can go to gym and work out when we love to. We can wear pink or red or purple to look wonderful. All these efforts are not sins. We have the God-given right to pursue our happiness! We are free to do that! We know who we are and we want to express our confidence in many different ways!

We have two choices. We can have a life of joy or a life of fear. We can live as princes and princesses in beggars outfit or as beggars in the royal outfit. When the time comes, princes and princesses love to reveal their identities and the beggars hate to be uncovered. Jesus warns us in today’s Bible passage that the time will surely come. Nobody knows when it will be.

However, we do not worry about the exact time as long as we are doing the right thing. What is the right thing to do when we wait for the time? We can find the answer in this question: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” (Matthew 24:45). We are all servants who have been called to do this right job!

We should share our food with others! There are so many God’s children who suffer from spiritual hunger. They are starved to death. Our calling is to bring them to Jesus, who is willing and able to give them Himself, bread from heaven! Jesus would give them new identities. Jesus would call them God’s children and they will find themselves as precious children of God! Once they find their true identities as children of God, they do not need to eat such garbage on the streets! We can live as we are! We can live in any condition! There will be tribulations and turmoil in the world. We will hear the news of disasters and wars. These things will happen in God’s time and we can endure all these with expectations for the final victory because we know whose we are. Our calling is to share this conviction with as many people as possible. We should give them the necessary food at the proper time! In this end time, this is the only one worthwhile thing for us to do! Are you willing to share this Good News with others and bring them to Jesus?

1. Who is the one that you are going to bring to church on Christmas Sunday?

2. What is your story of salvation that you are going to share with others?