Title: The Bigger Family
bigger family
(Mark 3:31-35)
March 27, 2011 Sunday Worship Word Witness
Choi Soon-nim's sister
As parents who sacrifice for their children, there is no one who can follow the spider. During the breeding season, the female dragonfly spider rolls up leaves to make pouches. Then it sits in the pouch and lays eggs. He sat in such a secure pocket to protect his pups from all danger, but now he can't feed his pups. Desperate mothers give their bodies to their children. Babies who do not know their mother's love grow up eating their mother's flesh. This tale of the spider spider is often used as a metaphor for the extreme sacrifice of parents for their children.
The father's father's love, which is comparable to the maternal love of the spider spider, is also a well-known story to us. It is said that the male thornfishes repeatedly lure females to lay eggs, then drive them out of their nests as soon as the females are ready to lay eggs, and then lure another female to lay eggs. In this way, when enough eggs are accumulated, they raise their young with utmost sincerity by themselves without a mother. To those of us who are only accustomed to the sacrifice of a single mother, this father's love for his children seems very unusual.
No matter how sweet the maternal love of the spider spider and the paternal love of the thornfish, how can they be compared to those of us humans? The stories of mothers who are not surprised or shaken by any ordeal in front of their children and who live a life full of sacrifice are as numerous as the number of people living in the world.
In the text we read today, mothers and brothers come and stand outside the door and call on Jesus. With a very strange look on his face, Jesus said, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” ' and nailing that only those who do God's will are my mothers.
These words always make us very uncomfortable. Yes, because it sounds like a strong denial of parenting and family relationships that we take for granted. It sounds like a denial of our entire lives, including the responsibility for our children and the hard work and dedication of love. But at times, Jesus is not afraid to speak more harshly than this. He even says, “He who loves his father and mother more than me is not worthy of me.” It's definitely not meant to destroy families, but why is it so inconvenient? I thought that the love of man, created in the image of God, is like the love of a stinging spider or a thornfish, as it is a stinging tip about whether we should choose an easy way of living, that is, striving to keep only the narrow frame of family and complacency. Well, where is the difference between living the world hard and living it easy? Easy-going people decide the difference in value very conveniently, right? With an iteration of the formula that always puts mine first between mine and not mine.
Jesus, who transcends all boundaries and breaks down all barriers, is always different from us. By sharing a table with the vagrants, he broke down the class barrier. He designated the Samaritans as God's agents in carrying out God's will. In this way, you broke down the barriers between nations. Jesus, who finally broke down even the religious barriers by proclaiming the Sabbath for man, asks you to change your special love and loyalty to your own family, nation, and religion, into love and loyalty for a wider family. You are telling me not to choose an easy life.
How did you feel when you saw the dedication of the Self-Defense Forces who remained in the village to rescue people to the end despite the danger of radiation exposure, and the Last Fighters who gave their lives to save others in the Fukushima nuclear power plant? Did you not feel like the expanded motherhood of mothers who sacrificed themselves unconditionally for the life entrusted to them?
Whenever we see a tragedy for ourselves or others, we instinctively ask who is to blame. Is it your parents' fault or your fault, because you're Korean? lack of faith? Low education? poor? Are you rich? Have you not wasted your time looking for the cause of the tragedy to be constantly blamed on the outside?
But Jesus doesn't want us to accept our sorrow or despair with that blaming attitude. Rather, he wants you to discern the light of God in that darkness. If it were Jesus, he would probably view even the most tragic events as channels to reveal God's work. We experience countless times throughout our lives that if pain and darkness were theirs today, then tomorrow will be ours.
Last year was really hard for us. Those in power who did not budge even if they appealed to the opposite sex or to the emotions, were increasingly invading our lives, driving us into a more and more desolated life. Due to the great earthquake in Japan, which happened so suddenly, the various terrible events that happened to us last year have actually disappeared from our memories at some point. Another shelling incident occurred in Yeonpyeong Island before the tears of the bereaved families who lost the blue-collar soldiers in the Cheonan incident all at once dried up. Rather than grieving on TV and newspapers every day watching the livestock that had been raised like foot-and-mouth disease struggle and are buried alive, we became lethargic every day. But helplessness was far worse than sadness. I was terrified all last winter, as a gloomy life with no real purpose or excitement will continue to dominate us.
And the stories of mothers of cleaning workers, who are still fighting hard, also keep us from breaking out of that helplessness.
They work 10 hours a day for 4,320 won an hour, living their breakfast and lunch, crouching in the dark under the stairs where mold and mice live. They are even going on strike by demanding that they raise 860 won an hour by only 860 won more. For several months already... There are many Christians in today's society that does not provide them with the same wages as others and even a small resting place to eat and rest for a while. Where are the people who will be their brothers and sisters and mothers? Are you there?
International Women's Day was sparked by an uprising of American workers honoring women who died in fires while working in poor workplaces. It has been 100 years since International Women's Day started, but now, who should I ask about where and how the lives of mothers of cleaning workers in Korea have been enriched? If we try hard to close our eyes to that shabby daily life under the stairs, if we don't go hand in hand so that a humane world that will be as good as our fingernails will come to them too, that means we will close our eyes to the will of God, the owner of a larger family in the world. is it not
I would like to end by introducing the words of Fabre, who liked to compare the world of plants and the world of people. Looking at the outermost scales of the trees, Favre thought of the workers. And it says: “Workers who work so hard to weave other people's clothes, they don't really get to put on that nice, fine fabric. No, not even a single piece of elegantly woven ribbon of their own dexterity can be attached to the hat at will. There are many people in the world who make sacrifices for others. Those who are willing to give themselves up to care for the leaves, those who are willing to be the calyx to protect the flowers, and those who do things that others do not like or do not recognize are mostly humble. However, I do my best with a sense of duty and silently in my work. Because of their hard work and sacrifice, this world can be as green as a leaf and as bright as a flower.”
We will pray.
Lord! To us who are immersed in the love of children and family, on the cross at the last moment, you said to your mother, 'Woman, look at your son, son, look at your mother.' Please help me understand the meaning. Grant us the courage to follow that path! We pray in the name of Jesus who loves us. Amen.