A post (4)

They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." (Mark 10:37)

There is one thing many Christians are misunderstanding. They feel they have a duty to do something for the Lord. So they are indulging in church activities by putting up with any disadvantage. It’s fine if they can get joy through this but they may feel uncomfortable while they try to fulfill their duty to God. What is more, they may feel emptiness. Despite empty feeling they feel uneasiness if they stop to work. It is a vicious circle.

Jesus says, “"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28) Here ‘burden’ is religious thing. It points the Law in the concrete. The Law was a heavy burden for the people in those days like us today. Jesus would like to give people rest. Yes. Faith means basically rest, that is, repose.

We should not misunderstand that we are working for the Lord. We cannot work for the Lord. We are unable to do anything for the Lord. Keeping still is the best way for us. The Lord is working for us. The work that Jesus is giving us is a true rest.

Does the above explanation sound ideally? Or does the Bible verses to work hard for the Lord recur in your mind? I cannot deal this topic any longer in this short meditation. I just summarize the matter with Doctrine of Justification.

What need to Christian now is faith. Through faith we are made justice. This indicates two things. First, man is not able to do righteous activity. Second, faith is courage to be. Apostle Paul’s statement, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” also precisely indicates this fact. Do concentrate on looking at God’s salvation rule.

★ ‘courage to be’: ‘to be’ here means not a character of existing a person but indicates ‘being’ itself. According to the idea of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu in China, it may say ‘Tao’(way or path). It means that man can be justified by God not through doing something for God but concentrating on keeping relationship with God. It makes people uneasy. They can get self-satisfaction only through doing something. True courage is required to get over such uneasiness. ‘courage to be’ is understood in this sense.

A post (3)

They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." (Mark 10:37)

I told you yesterday the believers were dead tired from serving heavy work in the church. The third party cannot say anything for doing hard work with strong desire but it is very clear that such attitude results to damage their own spirituality. Some of you may think why does it to render devoted services with joy of salvation become a damage of spirituality? It is misunderstanding. People are broken in such way. Those who have entered in the center of spirituality, knows the testy of it. They minimize their works as much as they can. They don’t have much room beside concentrating on God’s salvation rule and waiting on it. A Man basically cannot do two important things at the same time.

A fatal decease of pastors in Korean church is a work toxicosis. If there is a term called ‘workolic’ it is exactly fit to them. There are many people who only are satisfied with indulging church work even till to get ill. A pastor published a book named ‘Laziness’. He says in his book that laziness is sin. In my point of view he is saying directly opposite to Christian spirituality. I don’t have any word to say for such book became a bestseller. A pastor addicts himself to work and the believers force a pastor to do like that. They censure their pastor for his laziness if he is reading, meditating and having his hobby life. So the pastors pose as a hard worker in the church works.

The most urgent work in the Korean church is to minimize the works of the entire church members both believers and pastors. Including the mission association of man and woman, all organization should be minimized. Church program also should be reduced. Instead doing all these work, invest your life into the world. The place you have to do your best is not a church but the world. A church is a mere place to give religious motivation to the believers to do their best in the world. Then there will be no chance to be hurt in a church due to ‘a post’.

A post (2)

They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." (Mark 10:37)

Considering the last paragraph of yesterday’s meditation regarding handing over a post to others for the purpose of spiritual discipline, some might think that it is too ideal and unrealistic. Despite the importance of religious discipline, they may insist that with the advancement of age, holding a suitable post in a church is necessary to maintain one’s honor. Such idea usually invites a dogfight in a church as they try to get a position of elder of the church. It is abnormal. What the Korean churches is where abnormal takes the place of normal?

The above reality is caused by ignorance of the centre of Christian faith and inexperience about this. If a church is a friendly society then such discord can be arisen. However, the church is not a friendly society. A church is purely an eschatological Messianic community. In other word, it is a community to enter into the mystery of the cross. To take a post means to take up a bigger cross and greater spiritual responsibility. Then does it have a sense to compete with others in taking greater cross?

If I am a lay Christian then I will do my best effort to live in a piety life not taking any role in a church if possible. I will regularly attend a traditional liturgical worship service and read the Bible or theological books at fixed hours. What more else is needed to me? I will define a church activity at a minimum. I do not want to spend my time doing unimportant matters.

Today the believers of Korean church are dedicating their entire life to the church activity almost mechanically. They are handled by the church activity. It is obviously a self-torment. Despite doing this they do not recognize the seriousness of the situation. Can their lingering desire for the position in a church be brought to an equal footing with the idea that such vigorous activity in a church is the manifestation of a faithful life?

A post(1)

They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."(Mark 10:37)

James and John asked Jesus plainly, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” What will be the reaction of other disciples if the important posts were occupied by them? We can assume that the news of the brothers’ request would inflame the anger of the other disciples. The root cause of the tussle was the scrambling for a post.

People normally give high level of concern to a post for they regard it something that determines the position of a person. So the lower posted people try to their best to take a higher post. Once a person occupies a high post tries to retain it by any means. Those who are not reluctant to give up their positions are really the matured people. All these facts reveal how hard it is to give up one’s position.

However, the matter of post should be considered meaningless in the community faith. In several occasions quarrel erupt in the church due to the scramble for a post. How can we deal with this matter wisely? There can be two spheres. One side is a sphere of understanding and the other system.

The sphere of understanding means that all the contents of religious life should be concentrated on a spiritual identification with Jesus only. The sphere of system means that an individual should not monopolize the posts.

I would like to give an additional explanation on sphere of understanding. If we are true believers and followers of Jesus we do not try to take any post as much as we can. Taking a post means to stand in the position of helper so that others may concentrate on Jesus. It may naturally cause damage to the spirituality of post holders. In matter of spirituality and faith, we need not be too selfish. Let us hand over such uncomfortable ‘posts’ to others.