John 18:33-37, Psalm 93, and Revelation 1:4b-8
Who is Jesus to you? Among the two biggest pillars of the Christian church calendar, Easter and Advent, we are approaching Advent. At this time, I meditate on who Jesus is to me. Last week, when white snow fell beautifully, I thought of Jesus as I swept the snow in front of my house and the yard in front of the church. One day, I saw a homeless person covering himself with his clothes on the corner of the west side of the church building and another day, I thought of Jesus when I saw a church member coming to church. Last week, while driving to visit church members, I imagined church members driving this road and coming to church. Thinking about the dedication of those who attended church with their parents or served the current Knox Presbyterian Church alone, I feel joyful and grateful. Church, the body of Christ. It is the holy church of God and a forward base for missions on this earth. To become that church, we gather at Knox Presbyterian Church, and we all live as one church.
Today’s Gospel of John introduces us to who Jesus is and to what country Jesus belongs. In verse 36, Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. But now my kingdom is from another place.” The kingdom of God is not of the world. Among theologians, some argued for the two kingdoms theory regarding this passage. At times, some fundamentalists misinterpreted this and avoided responsibility for the world we live in, focusing only on their religious life and the church. But we do know. The gospel of God’s kingdom leads us to live with the eyes and values of Jesus Christ. So, we live with our feet on this earth, but our eyes and values are set on the kingdom of God. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we live in the world, but we do not belong to the world. It is very paradoxical, but if we understand this mysterious principle, we can experience a different level of freedom. We can still be grateful even if we don’t live in a ten-million-dollar house. Even if we don’t have much money, we can still donate a toonie or $5 to the Salvation Army’s kettle. Christians who have the time to look after their neighbors can experience heaven on earth.
So we can welcome the coming season of Advent with joy. Just as we decorate the Christmas tree here, we now await the birth of Jesus Christ, the King of Truth. Through the Bible and prayer, we hear the voice of the Lord, who comes to testify the truth. So we can belong to the truth and listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, as verse 37 says.
So, what additional changes will there be when the King, Lord, comes to this earth? When we live our faith and confess Jesus Christ as our Lord, we can experience the following changes. As Revelation verse 5 says, “he has freed us from our sins by his blood.” Jesus obeyed God’s plan for my salvation. He makes us free. And John prophesies that He will come on a cloud. While driving, I am sometimes amazed by the beautiful sky, clouds, and plains. So, with a bit of a joke, I predict that Jesus will come to Alberta, which has a lot of nice clouds, before any other place.
However, the mysterious fact is that when Jesus Christ comes again, it will not simply be the end of the world because the new heaven and new earth will open through the second coming of Christ. Even when the history of the universe ends, and the Earth is destroyed, God will move us to His new concept of space. So we can live with fear and trembling on the one hand and confidence on the other. We can live with the faith that He has saved us and with the confidence that He will guide us.
Dearly beloved, God exists beyond the human concept of time from creation to the end. God had the apostle John write the Book of Revelation through a vision. This means that God, who exists forever, even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, continues to accept humans as His people and children. We who come to this earth to live for a while can meditate on our role here and worship God. All we have to do is fulfill our responsibilities to care for our neighbors and preserve creation.
When we are in pain or difficult, we conflict with God. Sometimes, we always use His love as a weapon to force Him.
“If you deeply love me, why don’t you do what I want?”
“You say you love me? Prove it to me right now!”
People in difficulties always rely on God’s love and expect His power to be revealed. But God’s answer is this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16)
He did not give us ‘power’ because He loves us, but He gave us His ‘only Son’ because He loves us. This is God’s love. He sometimes gives us the power we need in our situations, and sometimes He doesn’t. We should not doubt God’s love because of that. God’s love is proven through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is sufficient. Jesus is coming soon. Let’s welcome him.
Amen.