John 17:20-26, Psalm 97, and Acts 16:16-34
I would like to share with you a missionary story that took place in a small rural area in Asia approximately 130 years ago. Missionary William Leander Swallen (1865-1954), a graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, visited Korea during that time. He came to the Seoul Mission Station with his wife, Sallie W. Swallen, as a missionary of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. After learning Korean there, Swallen was appointed as a pioneer missionary to Pyongyang and the western provinces in January 1893, along with Samuel A. Maffett and Graham Lee (1861-1916). Sometimes they went on missions to the east with the Reverend James Scarth Gale, whom the Presbyterian Church in Canada sent.
One day, he and his wife, Sallie, were diligently preaching the gospel in An-ak County, below Pyongyang. Sallie handed out posters of the Bible Conference Movement at the market. William preached revival conferences and baptized many people. At that time, a very famous gangster in the area received the advertisement that Sallie had delivered. He blew his nose as soon as he received it. She warned him, “You’re going to get a sore nose” for carelessly handling the piece of paper with the Bible on it. Strangely, the fearless young man took her words very seriously. Then he attended a revival conference with Pastor William Swallen, and that day, his life changed. He repented, graduated from Joseon’s first seminary, and became a student minister. His name is Ik-du Kim.
After that, when Ik-du Kim was passing through various villages to preach the gospel, a drunk man beat the pastor for no reason. But Pastor Kim, who was a famous gangster and was still strong and tall, did not move and was hit. Then he said, “I believe in Jesus, but you received the blessing. Later, he became a famous revivalist, and the man who had beaten him became an elder of that church. Through the efforts of Presbyterian missionaries from Canada, the United States, and Australia, Korea has become a country where many Presbyterians practice their faith.
Today’s Acts 16 concisely shows us the many experiences that believers have. Saul, who persecuted those who believed in Jesus, became Paul. He casts out demons and performs many miracles, but is persecuted by others. Sometimes they are severely beaten and suffer hardships. He was also imprisoned. But Paul was a man who could not be beaten for no reason. As a Roman citizen, he could not be imprisoned without a trial. Nevertheless, he obediently waited for God’s guidance. He waits in anticipation for what God will do, and we see the results in verses 25 and 26. “25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”
But Paul and Silas didn’t run away. Instead, he stopped the jailer from committing suicide because of this incident. Because of this, the jailer accepted the gospel and was saved. Not only that, but Paul and Silas invited everyone to their home, including their family, and they heard the gospel and were baptized.
The work of preaching the gospel can be challenging at times. Results may not appear immediately. When we preach the gospel, they persecute us. We may be persecuted like Paul and Silas. There are many upsetting moments, such as when Sallie W. Swallen first met a gangster named Ik-doo Kim and shared the gospel with him. We may experience rejection again. And yet, God works. The Lord saved prisoners and their families through the ministry of Paul and Silas. God transformed gangsters into pastors through the Swallen couple. And he preached the gospel to tens of thousands of people. Through the above two episodes, I see the image of God in me, and I am in God.
Next, John 17 is about Jesus praying before he was arrested. Before parting with his disciples, he asks God for help in the many hardships they will face. Every single phrase is a very precious and touching prayer. “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” This is a lovely Lord’s Prayer.
In fact, how anxious must Jesus have been towards his disciples? I find this hard to imagine. When I first came to Canada, I was very nervous about sending my two children to school and daycare, even though they didn’t know the alphabet. However, I suppose Jesus was much more concerned than I was. But we all know. We know that God is in us and loves us very much. Though the world does not know God, we know the Creator, and they know that we are Christians. So we will continue to make God known so that the love God has for us may be in them and that we may be in them.”
Dear beloved, the Lord reigns over this world, and all peoples see the glory. Let us rejoice in the Lord. When we proclaim His name and glorify Her to the world, God rejoices. When we are united in love, the Holy Spirit within us will work in every place we walk. May you be blessed in the love of the Lord this week. Amen.