Psalm 8; John 16:12-15, and Romans 5:1-5
Living in Canada, I continue to learn a lot. I am learning about the shape of the house and the culture of the people who live in it. I also feel differences in interpersonal relationships, social life, and employee hiring culture. Among them, when looking at the hiring culture of employees, in the background where I grew up, tests were a fundamental criterion. Because many people agreed that it was fair. What I experience in Canada is the power of recommendation and the power of trust that comes from human relationships. But strangely enough, in the church world, regardless of whether it is the East or the West, the power and position of the references have a significant influence.
When I was a seminarian candidate in Korea, a retired pastor once explained to me the reason he had called the current senior pastor. The former pastor was impressed by the fact that the invited pastor’s father served a church faithfully as an elder. The elder had a very good character and had the talent to bring peace to places of conflict. He also cooperated well when serving the presbytery as a church representative and played an essential role in promoting various projects positively. So, the emeritus pastor did his best to call the elder’s son as the senior pastor, having seen his faith and character. On the other hand, the senior pastor has been faithfully serving in that church for over 30 years. Now, the son looks forward to retirement, carrying out a ministry that reflects his father’s faith and character.
Today is Trinity Sunday and also Father’s Day. The words of John 16 well express the character of God the Father, who sent the Holy Spirit of truth, Jesus Christ, who revealed God, and the Holy Spirit, who revealed the glory of Jesus Christ. It is the words of verse 13. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” Here we see two roles of the Holy Spirit. One is to guide and the other is to tell what will happen in the future. The Holy Spirit guides us to the truth. God’s guidance for humanity is made clear through Jesus, our way and truth. The Holy Spirit is also our guide and light, illuminating our path. God led the people of Israel to the Promised Land by grace. Likewise, the Holy Spirit guides humanity into the life of Christ. How does the Holy Spirit make this possible? It is through all of us who believed first. The Holy Spirit is with us and guides us, and through us, He continues to guide unbelievers.
Second, the Holy Spirit informs the saints of future events. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, reveals to us our future every day. We can contemplate God’s providence by observing the rising and setting of the sun and the grandeur of nature. I can think about God’s plan for me. And it helps us understand the words of the Bible in the most simple and effective way. It gives us faith and revelation to understand the life of Jesus Christ. Many people in the world read the Bible. Even many religious scholars and believers of other religions read the Bible from time to time. But they do not reach the stage of faith. So we can understand the role of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the Holy Spirit reveals the glory of Jesus Christ. We often see relay races at the Olympics. Or, if after I run hard, the next runner who takes the baton runs very well and crosses the finish line, we are more than happy. Likewise, Jesus carried out the mission God had given him well. Through this, the seeds of the gospel are well planted in this land, and the gospel and the church expand through the apostles and believers. After Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit now takes up the baton. And to this day, we are reaping the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit on this earth. In this way, the work of the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus continues without interruption. Jesus gave glory to God by obeying God’s will until the end of his life. Now the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by revealing the meaning of His ministry to each person’s heart and mind. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us confess Jesus as Lord. So we can all meditate more deeply on Jesus Christ through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
In this way, the Father reveals the Son, the Son reveals the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit reveals the Father. And God invites us all to join in this continuation of God’s work. Dear friends, we are all someone’s precious children. And you are someone’s parent, someone’s grandparent, and a child of God. Right now, through all of us, someone might think of our parents or grandparents. When we visit a farm with over 100 years of history or see the precious records of devotion engraved throughout our Knox church, we are expressing something without saying a word. It is the history of the gospel, a testament to love and dedication. I invite you to live for the next week like our predecessors in faith who were justified by faith. Through that faith, many of our predecessors in the faith received grace and revealed the glory of God. Sometimes we all go through hard times. In the midst of all this, we can persevere with the help of the Holy Spirit. We can finally produce wishes. Let us live in the hope of God. So, may we become people who proudly display God’s glory before the world. Amen.