Title: Leaving All Hate behind
Contents
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Leviticus 19
13. Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, nor plunder thy neighbour, nor leave thy servant's wages all night until morning.
14. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put an obstacle before the blind, and you shall fear your God; I am the LORD.
15. When you judge, do not do injustice, do not take sides with the poor, do not be proud of the mighty, but judge people with justice.
16. Go among your people, and do not judge people, and do not oppose your neighbor to the point of death; I am the LORD.
17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in heart, and be sure to rebuke him, lest he suffer sin because of his neighbour.
18. Do not take revenge, do not grumble against your fellow men, love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
1st John
13. Do not be surprised, brothers, when the world hates you.
14. We know that we have passed from death into life because we love our brother; but he who does not love abides in death.
15. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that whoever murders does not live in him
16. By this we know love, for he laid down his life for us, and we ought also to lay down our lives for our brethren.
17. If someone has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need and blocks his heart to help, how can the love of God dwell in him?
18. Children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth.
Content
Subject: Leave All Hate behind
Text: Lev 19:13-18, 1 John 3:13-18,
‘Not the last station from the south, but the first station toward the north’. This is the writing on the wall in the waiting room at Dorasan Station. There were also signs showing 56km to Seoul and 205km to Pyongyang. It is said that the opening ceremony of the two railroads will be held now. The site of national division (demilitarized zone), which I visited with the church elders, made me feel sad and hopeful. This is a prayer offered in the waiting room of Dorasan Station. ‘God! Have mercy on this land. Bless them so that these efforts will eventually bring peace without war. I pray to God, who is the master of history.’ Although these are still minor changes, it also made me think about the struggle for national survival. I also felt the chaos I had to go through during the transition period. And there were words floating around my lips.
It was the saying, ‘If only I could put all the hatred behind me?’ There seemed to be hope. The hope of national survival. National prosperity was also drawn. It was vague, but peaceful unification was also drawn. It seemed like it should be. Considering how devastating the result of the confrontation between extreme ideologies that destroyed even the homogeneity of the nation and the people, it seemed that the damage should not be continued or repeated any longer. The sculpture at the entrance of the 3rd tunnel seemed to say this too. The costumes of the people holding the globe split in half and pushing it together were reminiscent of the South and the North. It was reminiscent of the prophecy of the reunification of the Israelites shown to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:15-17). It is a model of two pairs becoming one.
The problem seems to depend on whether we follow God's will. God's will for the chosen people of Israel was their holiness (Leviticus 19:2). That holiness was not an abstract concept, but a virtue achieved through concrete life (Leviticus 19:3-12). Today's Old Testament text (Leviticus 19:13-18) was also a command for this. These are concrete practices of brotherly love. He forbade hatred in his heart. Regarding the sins of the brothers, he does not condone the unfavorable consequences foreseeable, but tells them to ‘make sure to correct them.’ It means 'Do not slander your neighbor's sins too much, but share his sins and exhort them'. It is forbidden to take revenge or resent one's fellow men. The measure of love for your neighbor is, “Be as thyself.” Finally, he revealed the absoluteness of the command. It means ‘I am the Lord’.
Today's New Testament text (1 John 3:13-18) is like a continuation of the Old Testament text. Brotherly love is the proof of discipleship of Jesus (John 13:34-5). It is the evidence of gaining eternal life (1 John 3:14). He defines hatred of a brother as murder. It is impossible to kill with eternal life in your heart. It is impossible to hate our brothers as we have received eternal life (1 John 3:15). He speaks of more active brotherly love. Like Jesus, he commands us to lay down our lives for brotherly love. “By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). He tells us that the riches we have in the world should also be instruments of brotherly love (1 John 3:17). It tells us not to block our hearts to help our brothers when they see their needs. Our inter-Korean relations also require love through words and tongues. This is because it will be a way to erase the distrust and hatred that have been accumulated for half a century (1 John 3:18).