Title: Feast of Life/Proverbs 8:27-31
Contents Proverbs 8:27-31
“I was there when you set the heavens in their place, and drew a line around the deep sea. When you hung up the cloud-drifting firmament high up there, and made the deep springs gushing out, you set the boundaries of the sea. When he ordained him, did not let the waters go against his command, and laid the foundations of the earth, I became a master of creation by his side, delighting him day by day, and I also rejoiced before him all the time. I rejoice, and I have made my joy in those whom he has made."
Colossians 1:15-16
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. In him all things were created. In him, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, kingship or dominion or power or authority. All things were created through him, and all things were created for him.”
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Today is the first Sunday of Creation Day. At this time when the church year changes, I hope that the content of faith can be viewed from a slightly different perspective. For a long time, we have been entangled in the equation of faith: 'Believe in Jesus and receive salvation'. However, the recent illumination of the Christian faith is that the 'Kingdom of God' contains the essential content in the first words of Jesus' public life, "The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe." is. In other words, the focus of the words of Mark 1:15, that is, the words spoken by Jesus, is the 'Kingdom of God'. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe” is the core of the gospel, but we kept the core far away and only considered other things to be important.
We did a religious pilgrimage while keeping the season of the Son Jesus Christ on the pilgrimage of faith for one year. Until last week, we kept the season of the coming of the Holy Spirit while also increasing our faith in the kingdom of God. As we face the season of God the Father and the season of creation, starting today, we think about how our faith can intersect with the faith of God the Creator, going beyond the reduced equation of 'believe in Jesus and be saved'. Maybe we should consider together what kind of relationship it has with the faith of the 'coming' kingdom of God. And, at the same time, we should seriously consider how we Christians, who have received life as a gift from the God who created life, Jesus Christ, who declared, “I am life, are called to serve the kingdom of God that is coming.” I don't think that's what we should do on the first Sunday of this creation week.
I think the words of today's text are words that can only be understood faintly by the grace of the Lord who makes us realize the mystery of faith beyond our limited human limitations. Today, on the first Sunday of the Creator, we participate in the Lord's Supper, the feast of life. Belief in God's creation would be like the seeds sown by the farmer, which will grow and produce life. A farmer grows wheat and reaps the harvest because of the belief that if you sow, you will reap. Those who plant grapes believe that they grow and bear fruit, so they take the fruit and make wine. As this symbolizes life, Jesus may have said that this bread is my body and this cup is my blood. This doesn't make logical sense. By believing and participating in it, we participate in a life of mystery that begins with God and continues the history of life until the return of Jesus Christ. May we receive God's indescribable feat of abundant life by participating in this mystical festival by faith.