Title: Source of Living Water
December 14, 2008 Sunday Sermon
Bible Word: Ezekiel 47:1-12
Sermon Title: The Source of Living Water
If this water flows into the sea, the dead water will come to life. Wherever this river flows, all living things will flourish and live. If this water flows into the Dead Sea, it will also be cleansed, and there will also be a great number of fish. Wherever the river flows, everything will live. … Because the river flows from the sanctuary. (Ezekiel 47:1 12).
<The Bible Story>
Today's Bible verse is the story of the vision that the prophet Ezekiel, who was living in captivity in Babylon, saw almost finally. It is a vision that soon the destroyed Israel will be restored, the destroyed holy temple will be rebuilt, and the ‘holy river’ that flows from the bottom of the Jerusalem temple will become a source of living water that saves Israel.
<The Story of Il-soon Jang>
There was a man named Choi Byung-ha who was close to Jang Il-soon. Byung-ha Choi was running a sawmill in Wonju, and someone borrowed money from him. But the man didn't want to pay the money back. It was to no avail. Choi Byung-ha, who was angry, thought that he had no choice but to deal with the law. I gathered all the documents and went to see Il-soon Jang. It was a step where all you had to do was submit the documents to the institution.
However, after hearing all of Choi Byung-ha's story, Jang Il-soon said this one thing. "Are you going to die without that money?" Without the money, Choi Byung-ha could not afford to die. Choi Byung-ha was running a sawmill at the time. I had to live. “Can’t you live without that money? If you do as you say, the person will die, but if you do that, you will also be unable to sleep with your feet stretched out. How are you going to get that grudge for the rest of your life? Give up.”
It was not a small amount. Jang Il-soon was telling me to give up the money. Jang Il-soon nailed Choi Byung-ha, who was sitting there with a shaky face, because he couldn't accept it right away. "If you can't eat because you don't have the money, I'll pay for the rice, but if you don't, give it up, think it's money you don't have and live comfortably, would you feel comfortable with that person? He probably won't be able to sleep with his legs stretched out."
That night, after thinking about it, Choi Byung-ha burned all the documents related to the incident. When I did that, my obsession with the money broke away and I felt more at ease. I changed my mind and ate it, saying that it would be appreciated if I brought it back later, and that it would be okay if I didn't. When I let it go like that, I was able to sleep comfortably as Rain (from ‘Forcing me to give up a huge amount of money’).
Jang Il-sun, who is nicknamed “Jesus who lived in Wonju,” was such a person. “I wish I had met you while you were alive… “One of those people who feel sorry for me is Jang Il-soon. I have been reading articles about Jang Il-soon for several years with interest, and it warms my heart every time I read it. In particular, whenever I read his writings, my angular heart softens, and my frozen thoughts melt warmly. So I am happy for a while. So it seems that I keep reading stories about Jang Il-soon.
You can be a 'teacher' to someone, you can become a 'person who falls in love after seeing it once', you can be someone's 'eldest brother in a parentless family', and a 'person who wants to travel together' to someone. It was Jang Il-soon who could become a 'father' to someone who does not mix blood, and who could be 'the only teacher' to someone. In the language of today's Bible story, Jang Il-soon was a man who lived the life of a 'source of living water'. That is why I was able to share joy, peace, rest and happiness with everyone who met Il-soon Jang.
<With the Spirit of Compassion>
Then, where did Jang Il-sun's strength to live as a 'source of living water' come from? Of course, I can talk about it in many ways, but what I can tell you in my situation today is probably because Jang Il-soon was a ‘person of compassion’. Jang Il-soon was a man of compassion. He was merciful [矜恤], that is, a person who “looked after pity.” Not only his family, but all his neighbors he meets, street vendors and beggars… In addition, Jang Il-soon had a compassionate spirituality to 'pity' the servants of the dictatorship that tormented him and the lives of all creatures in the world. And that compassionate spirituality made him a source of living water, I think.
There is a saying in Jang Il-soon's sayings: “You need to be very soft. Only soft things, only living things can break through hard ground and blossom... … If you want to change society, you have to value your partner. Opponents change only when they are cherished. If you ignore and hostile, won't you try to come out stronger? If it is important to change, not eliminate, the other person, I hope you don’t view the difference as just an antagonistic relationship.” (from 'a grain of millet'). Jang Il-soon was such a person. It was the Muwidang Jang Il-soon who had a ‘spirit of compassion’ that embraces empathy, compassion, and charity without treating all living beings in vain.
<End of sermon>
Now let's finish the sermon. I took the title of today's sermon 'The Source of Living Water'.
I hope that this time today will be a precious time for all of us to make a promise to live as a 'source of living water'. And with this, all the people we meet, our neighbors, our enemies, our enemies… I hope that you and I will keep in mind that when we have the ‘spirit of compassion’ for living things, we can only become ‘sources of living water’.
Let me pray for a moment.