Title: Prophet with Power
It is a very honest and bold testimony of what the people who followed Jesus were thinking about him at the time of Jesus. This testimony is clear and unambiguous and free of complex theology. There is no mention of Jesus as the Son of God or as one of the Trinity. Jesus was a righteous prophet in front of God and the people, a prophet with power in his actions and words. At that time, those who held religious power delivered him and sentenced him to death, and he did an absurd thing to punish atrocious criminals and the death penalty on the cross. . So the hope that he had in him that he was the one who would save Israel was shattered.
The Gospel of Luke ends with the Lord of the Resurrection appearing to the two disciples who were leaving Jerusalem on their way to Emmaus, and they were commanded to return to Jerusalem and become witnesses of the resurrection together with the other disciples.
Resurrection became an opportunity to reunite the disciples who were disappointing and scattered along with the execution of Jesus, and to continue the movement for the kingdom of heaven that Jesus did with courage and hope. God did not forsake his righteous prophet Jesus, who died unfairly, but took up the dead Jesus and gave him a new life, a life of resurrection. If the disciples had not had such faith in the resurrection, the Jesus movement would have ended with the crucifixion, there would have been no 2000 years of Christian history, and we would not be here today.
Resurrection is God's work, and God did not leave his righteous prophet Jesus, who died unfairly while doing his work, but took it into his bosom. The essence of Christian faith is that this event is not an event that only happened to Jesus, but is a universal truth for all of us. Together with Jesus, the children of God who are doing the movement in the kingdom of heaven to pursue God's justice and peace will not end in vain in death, but on the day the Lord's kingdom is realized on this earth with the resurrected Jesus' second coming. It is the simple faith of the early church that we will enjoy the glory of the resurrection together.
The resurrection is not just a future blessing for Christians. The resurrection of Jesus is a sign that a new age, which he testified with his words and demonstrated with his deeds, is approaching us. In this sense, the Resurrection is an 'Apocalyptic Event'. This end does not mean the end of time. It is the end in the sense that life as we know it up to now will end and a completely new life will begin. The resurrection of Jesus was the signal that marked the end of the history of death, a history of endless greed, oppression, and violence, and the beginning of a new order, a new life, completely different from the order of this world. The resurrection of Jesus was a sure sign and proof that this new age had arrived.
That is why the early church was always able to live a life of joy and joy in spite of great hardship and adversity. The hope of the future became the joy of the present, making it possible to “live a life of rejoicing, giving thanks in all circumstances, and praying without ceasing”. And with courage and hope, he was able to continue the work of Jesus, the movement for the kingdom of heaven, which he sacrificed his life for.
The Apostle Paul is saying that the glory of Christ's suffering on the cross and resurrection is not just an event of Jesus, but our own event of dying to the world through baptism and being reborn as new beings with his resurrection. We Christians are people who participate in his cross and resurrection through baptism, remembering the unjust death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross.
We also experience and encounter the presence of the risen Christ through the sacraments. A community that participates in his eternal life by sharing his blood and flesh.
In today's verse, the two disciples on their way to Emmaus did not recognize the risen Lord until their spiritual eyes were opened to see the resurrected Jesus. It is said that when they sat face to face with Jesus, took bread, blessed and broke it, their eyes were opened and they recognized him. In other words, it implies that only those who participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus through the Lord's Supper can know the Lord of the Resurrection. Through Baptism and the Lord's Supper, we receive the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Resurrection, and the Spirit of new life, giving us the strength to live as Christians.
However, the church rites such as baptism and the Lord's Supper are important for us to meet the Lord of the Resurrection today, but above all, it is the practical life of following Jesus as a disciple of Jesus. In this way, we live a righteous life that participates in the movement for the kingdom of heaven. It is a practical life of participating in the new work of establishing God's justice and peace in a world where injustice is rampant and the righteous are bound to suffer. It is about not overturning the corrupt history and creating a righteous one.
Now, in our country's political circle, everyone is working hard to erase the past that committed injustice and establish a new order. We are at a crossroads between repeating the hopeless politics of the past or adopting a new hopeful politics. Politics is only politics, and through politics, we can never achieve the kingdom of God we desire. But we cannot pray for the will to be done on earth as it is in heaven by turning away from politics. We want to see a sign of hope that the politicians will be reborn in this election. It is hoped that the sign of the resurrection that conforms even a little closer to God's will, God's righteousness, will be evident in our politics as well.
The Bible testifies that the resurrection is the work of God who is the source of life. It means that God raised him from the unjust death and brought him back into his bosom. Resurrection is the work of the Spirit of life, the Spirit of Resurrection. When we follow Jesus who “was a powerful prophet before God and the people” in this world and live righteously and share in the suffering of the righteous on the cross, the God who raised Jesus from the dead will never forsake us, but give us to his eternal life. will get you involved. This is the simplest and most original meaning of the resurrection, and it is still a word of strength, comfort, and hope to the millions of people who still live righteously in the world today.
I pray that the joy, comfort, hope, and courage of this resurrection will be with the families of Saegil Church brothers and sisters who have decided to live a righteous life by following Jesus in the face of the temptations and hardships of the world, and in everything you do.
Today, in order to share this hope and joy of resurrection with us, the choir has prepared a special program after a long preparation. As we reflect on the meaning of the resurrection, I hope that you will enjoy the hope and comfort of the resurrection that will be given to us, and the joy of the vibrating new life of Christ, which has already been given to us by grace through baptism and the Lord's Supper. *