Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, and Romans 8:12-25
It’s a bit of a funny story. I once had a friend who said this: “I want to be the person who pays the most tithes in our church.” Of course, when it comes to offerings, one contributes well when they have ample cash and sound faith. I am telling you this because I was able to verify the budget established by the presbytery treasurer last month. Among them, our church’s contribution caught my eye. Our church contributed the fourth largest amount. Some people may feel that the money paid to the presbytery or national office like this is like a tax. However, I would like our church to reach a level where it contributes the most to the presbytery. On the contrary, I say this based on our church’s solid financial stability and our desire to support the seminary and ministries in need worldwide.
It is my wish, but today we can also examine the Lectionary from the perspective of hope. From the perspective of faith, hope is invisible. This is Romans verse 24. “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all.” The fact that I am saved is not visible. Theologians have developed various doctrines regarding this salvation over the past two thousand years. It goes beyond the doctrine that one is saved simply by believing. That is the beginning, and the process of sanctification must accompany it. Therefore, throughout the process of conversion, faith, discipline, and sanctification, we always continually hope. We renew our faith and live trusting in God’s faithful promises. That is why hope begins in this entire process. Only when we have hope for the Kingdom of God can we carry out God’s work in the world without getting weary.
Beloved, the most important value as a person of faith is living according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that when we are led by the Holy Spirit and live, we become children of God. Throughout our lives, we have received various experiences, values, and education, but our guide must be the Holy Spirit. This is because the Holy Spirit is our guarantor and is the wisest. The Holy Spirit tells us what ought to be done. He also gives the Spirit of God as a gift. By receiving this, we have been adopted as children of God. God has called me, an unworthy person, as His child through the Holy Spirit. There is no greater grace and glory in the world than this. Therefore, let us live according to the Holy Spirit. Let us meditate on what the Holy Spirit desires. Then the Spirit of wisdom will show us ways that go beyond our knowledge. Overcoming the temptation to make decisions based on how I have lived and my own wisdom is a challenge. However, continually praying for what God desires is the way to cast off our old self. There is nothing as difficult to change as a person’s personality and temperament. We must resolve to change and live according to the Holy Spirit. We must ask ourselves if this is truly what God wants.
Someone heard my wife and me preaching and told us that we live a truly hopeful life. Of course, I haven’t heard my wife’s sermon either, so I don’t really know her sermon. The important thing is that I wasn’t originally that kind of person. Since coming to Knox, I have come to sing more of hope and try to see the positive side more.
I want to show you two photos here. On the left is the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul, Türkiye. It was built as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and is now used as a mosque. It was a Greek Orthodox church from 537 to 1453, and was used as a Roman Catholic church from 1204 to 1261 after being occupied by the Latin Empire. Afterwards, it was used as a mosque from 1453, when the Ottoman Empire occupied Constantinople, until 1931, and then reopened as a museum in 1935. In 2020, it was converted back from a museum to a mosque by order of the President of Türkiye and is now known as the ‘Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque’.
The photo on the right shows two figures who are occasionally mentioned in the news these days. This is a photo of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who reached the World Cup final, washing Spain’s forward Lamine Yamal. Yamal was born in 2007 in Roca Fonda, a slum 30 km away from Barcelona, Spain. More than half of the residents were poor. Both of Yamal’s parents were poor immigrants. However, after showing talent in soccer, he honed his skills with the support of the FC Barcelona youth academy.
Argentina’s Messi had exceptional soccer talent, but he barely grew taller after around age 10. He was diagnosed with ‘growth hormone deficiency’ at the hospital. It was a rare disease where growth stopped because growth hormone was not secreted sufficiently, and the only treatment was to receive growth hormone injections costing over $1,000 every day. The medical expenses are at a level that an ordinary working-class family in Argentina cannot afford. Messi’s father thought that finding a wealthy European club would be a breakthrough for his son, so when Messi was 13, they went to Spain for a trial with FC Barcelona. With the club’s technical director vouching for his skills, Messi began receiving support for his treatment and overall life. He had a rare disease that prevented him from growing tall, but with consistent growth hormone injections, he reached a height of 170 cm.
This photo was taken in 2007, when Messi, then 20 years old, posed for a UNICEF charity calendar as a promising FC Barcelona player. He staged a scene where he bathed a baby born in a slum, and that very baby would later face him in the World Cup final. For reference, Messi is a Catholic and Yamal is a Muslim. The important fact is that we must see, create, and coexist with hope within God’s love. Instead of hostilely pushing away other religions, we must show them through our lives that our Jesus Christ is hope and salvation.
We all continue to live seeking the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then God confirms us as His children. Glory and freedom that will unfold in the future are prepared for us. Therefore, Beloved, let us pray with hope. Let us live by keeping our distance from those who sow weeds in our hearts and lives, and drawing closer to the Holy Spirit, who is our hope. Amen.