Rev. Woo Jae Im, wife Kyeong-Mee Oh, and son SangHyeok Im
Sermon: "The Power We Rely On" Rev. Dr. Woojae
Im
Text: Isaiah 49:8-18; Matthew 6:24-34
Date: May 25, 2008
Religious goal of Buddhism is to achieve enlightenment. It is only possible when a practitioner get rid of 108 worries by empting one's mind and obtaining the state of absolute peace of mind. In order to get rid of those worries, Buddhists and monks practice bowing 108 times a day and purify their burdened mind by cutting off all the human relationship. Problem is only handful of people can reach such mindful state resulting from enlightenment.
As long as we live on the earth, we are accompanied with all kinds of worries that never leave us. When we are teens, we worry about our uncharted future. In twenties and thirties, we are concerned with jobs, marriage and housing. Raising kids also bring many worries. As we grow old, issues in relation with health take central piece in our worry list. As if we don't have enough to worry about all by ourselves, our television sets daily, even hourly, suggest other worries and stresses. Rising gas price and unemployment rate of economic market greatly contribute to increasing level of worries.
Psychologically, worries stem from uncertainty. Whenever decision is not made yet and there are possible scenarios before us, we feel worrying. Whenever we sense that something is happening or coming or about to break out and we are not sure if ready for it, we get scared. We don't know for sure and something is coming. That's the soil of worry, which is uncertainty. If it does make sense to all of us, we will never be freed from it because we are living with uncertainty. We never know what tomorrow bring. Thus, worries will be generic and chronic as long as we live on the earth. No worry-free life is possible. Don't think about being released from all kinds of worries because it's the reality of life.
But, living with worries is not the same with living under worries. Discerning worries is so different from being governed by them. When those worries have power over us, we are no longer dealing with them. Rather, compulsive worry easily becomes our owner. We are enslaved to the power of worries.
Due to the fact that worries are based on uncertainty as their roots, it is pretty natural that we as human beings grasp something we believe to provide certainty. One of such alternative for certainty is money. Money seems certain. It seems tangible, powerful, and credible to most people. Money seems very promising to resolve many life-threatening issues. People take money as a powerful tool that gets rid of all the uncertain situations. They believe they manage their property and assets but somehow they put themselves under its overwhelming power.
We have so many worries emerging from uncertain reality of life and searching for something to rely on. This very nature of human reality addresses our striving for security. Israelites in the wilderness made a golden statue as an alternative god as Moses left them to meet God on the Mt. Sinai. They need a god in the absence of their leader. They need a tangible and powerful god in the wilderness where things are uncertain. They took gold and worship its statue.
In our baptisms we were called out of such ownership.
"No one can serve two owners" said Jesus. It is when we serve
God that we discover our freedom. God alone is certain. In our text, Jesus
is saying this: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness."
"and all these things shall be yours as well." In other words,
"get some focus, folks." Don't strive to do everything and don't
get make the superficial matters your priorities. Strive to be involved
with matters of justice and mercy, the things of God, first and foremost.
If you do, Jesus assures, you will have set things in balance in the world
and your personal needs will be met as well. For this reason, we need to
hear the Good News that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God
has spoken to us in words of forgiveness and acceptance, assuring us that
there is now no condemnation for those who receive their life from Christ
Jesus. This affirmation makes it unnecessary for Christians to strive for
acceptance of any kind and frees them to love God and serve their neighbor.
Or to use Jesus own words, Christians are freed to focus on mercy and justice
because God's love empowers them to make such priorities first in their
live.
Don't let concerns and worries dominate your lives. We are not children
of those. Don't submit yourself to the false ownership of idols. God alone
is certain and not changing everlastingly. Rely on God who take care of
their children and who is faithful not to forget us. We are neither lilies
nor birds in the air. We are more than those. We belong to God. We are God's
own. Trust your God in everything.
If you would like to know more about the Kingdom
of God or what it means to be a Christian please give us a call at
(320) 982-6325. Or you can E-mail us at: milacaumc@milaca.net
Last modified, 31 May 2008
Maintained by milacaumc@milaca.net.
This web page was created using "Web-It" by Serious Developments,
and modified using Adobe Page Mill Version 2.0