Title "Meet in Galilee" (March 30)
Contents
See you in Galilee
(Matthew 28:1-10)
The world is getting tougher these days. It is difficult to leave your children comfortably in the world. A recent book, “Lucifer effect,” written by a social psychologist at Stanford University in the United States, explains how good people become evil by their environment. The book of Deuteronomy asks us to choose one of the “way of death and evil, and the way of life and good” before us. Christians are not those who choose the circumstances of Lucifer (a fallen angel), but those who live their lives by choosing the way of the risen Christ. I hope you find the way of life and grace while drawing the resurrected Lord in your heart.
First, in the Bible, the resurrected Lord said to his disciples, “Let’s meet in Galilee.” Galilee refers to the northwestern part of Palestine and is made up of about 20 small cities. The event of making wine from water at the wedding feast was also in Cana of Galilee, the birthplace of Jesus was in Nazareth in the Galilee region, and the place where most of the 12 disciples were called was also in Galilee. And above all else, Galilee was the place where the gospel of the kingdom was preached centered on Matthew 5-7, that is, the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus' thoughts were deeply revealed. The place where the life and thoughts of Jesus are, that place is Galilee. This Galilee is the church of God for us today. Because in this church, we learn the life and thoughts of Jesus and become disciples of Jesus.
However, if we look at the records of the Bible, the risen Lord appeared to the disciples number 13. Every time he appears, he appears as an unrecognizable person. He is the unknown and anonymous Christ. He appears to some women as a gardener, as a companion to the disciples on their way to Emmaus, and as a counselor for Peter the fisherman on the shores of Tiberias. However, as the disciples listened to the Word and lived according to the Word, they came to recognize Jesus. This experience also happens to us. It is difficult to get to know Jesus well at first. And it is not easy to live according to his life and thoughts. However, when we follow the anonymous Christ and live centered on the Word of God, we will surely believe and follow Jesus. In life without the Word, the realization of Jesus does not occur.
The Bible declares that “There is no other name by which we shall be saved except in the name of Jesus.” Only Jesus Christ is our Savior. However, believing in Jesus alone does not mean that our faith has matured. “Not everyone you say to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of God can enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said. God's will is nothing else, but living with an attitude of life that treats the smallest of people as precious human beings. It's very easy, but very difficult. It is very difficult if we are arrogant because we are not humble. However, it is not difficult if we become true disciples of Jesus. The way of life, the way to receive God's blessing, is to follow the risen Lord and become a neighbor to the poor and needy, to care for the orphans and widows, and to cherish the few.
This is the Christian love. Through this love, we practice God's love. Let's pray that our church members will imitate and put into practice the life and thoughts of the Lord so that our church will become a church with the power to save lives, overflowing with the power of life, and a church overflowing with love. We pray that through the environment of following the risen Lord, our children will grow up to be children of life and light, not children of darkness. Amen.