Job 1:1, 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
I attended two workshops, two pastoral dialogues, and two or three meetings in Red Deer over the past week. The church members and I met with the General Assembly Moderator to examine the modern church’s anxieties, concerns, and crisis factors and seek new alternatives through the comfort and encouragement Jesus gave to his disciples. In addition, we participated with church members in a contemporary mission research course hosted by the Center for Missional Leadership in Vancouver. We had a time of sharing and transforming thoughts related to our local mission.
I also met with local Lutheran and Anglican pastors and enjoyed understanding and fellowship about the local churches. I also met Korean Canadian pastors who immigrated from Korea but did other jobs due to language barriers and financial circumstances. When I think back on the past, like the disciples of Jesus Christ, I have had times of fear and anxiety. On the one hand, seeing our church members confidently talking about the appointment of a new pastor as a solution made me resolve to do better.
In preparing my sermon according to the Weekly Lectionary Readings, I was interested in the following three words: blameless, glory, and holy. “Blameless” appears five times in today’s Job and Psalm. Why did the author of the Bible want to emphasize this “blameless” so much? It is challenging for us to maintain integrity when we sometimes stumble and experience hardships in the world.
What kind of person is Job? The Bible describes him in chapter 1, verse 1: “In the land of Uz, there lived a man named Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” I hope that in the distant future, you and I will be judged by someone like verse 1: The man was blameless. The woman was a Christian and upright. They feared God and shunned evil. What an amazing expression! If we summarize the Christian faith as fearing God and loving one’s neighbor, Job was blameless before God and upright in human relationships. The author wrote it in Hebrew as “Tam.” Significantly, this word was also used to describe the character of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. Some Bible versions translate it as “perfect,” but “blameless” is more appropriate. And I hope we, too, will be blameless before God and the world. I also know very well that this is very challenging. Because we are not perfect. The more I serve in ministry, the more I feel my shortcomings. Of course, some seminarians say that I look brave. They praise me for taking on challenges without hesitation. However, because I know my shortcomings, I must ask God’s help daily. So, when I sit down at my desk, I look at the pictures I took of you, and I pray and ask God to help me and you.
Secondly, I hope you and I can share in the glory and holiness of Christ. Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus Christ: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” The words of chapter 2, verses 10 and 11 are even more precious. “10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.”
Dear brothers and sisters, God sent you and me here and led us to Knox Presbyterian church. Here, we will live with the words of Christ. Sometimes, we will experience things similar to what Jesus Christ did. We can receive various gifts, such as the miracle of five loaves and two fish, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the miracle of healing. We will also create a beautiful community by sharing the love we have received. And God, who sanctified us, called us all into family.
Sometimes we are weak. Economic hardship, few believers, and aging make us too challenged. But, beloved, God sanctifies us. He makes us partakers of the glory of Jesus Christ. He calls us into one family in faith. What more extraordinary grace, what deeper and broader love is there? What can you fear when you have the love of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for you? That love wins. We have to spread that love to the world. You can share it with family, your neighbors, and friends.
Now, let’s reveal our holiness. Let us declare the light of glory. So, let us share and practice the love story of Jesus Christ to our neighbors so that the name of the Lord may fill the whole earth and the heavens with the glory of the Lord. Let us arise with the love of Jesus Christ. That’s sufficient.
Amen.