2003.1.12. Rev. Young Jin Cho

Comfort My People

Isaiah 40:1-5

The memorial service for my mother-in-law was concluded under God's grace in Santa Barbara, Cal. on January 2. My wife and I sincerely thank you for thinking of us and praying for us. Last Sunday we got on the night flight in LA in order to make the 3rd Service. But due to a cargo door problem, the departure was delayed by 2 hours, and we missed the connecting flight at Minneapolis, and due to Washington snow, the arrival was further delayed. And thus we could not attend the service. Although it was beyond our control, we still feel sorry.

During 2003, we plan to dedicate the theme of 'Comfort my people' at our church. It may not strike a chord to those who have no special problems. But for most of us life presents some degree of problems. When we had a retreat with the pastoral staff to prepare for the New Year back in last September, a long discussion dwelled on the problems, pain and difficulties our church members are enduring now. Thus, the theme 'Comfort my people' emerged in order to bring together the effort to spread comfort and encouragements during the current year.

1.

Today's text, Isaiah 40 is well known for its connection to John the Baptist's mission. The biblical scholars presented 2 sides of Isaiah. For the 1st group of scholars, one writer, Prophet Isaiah, wrote the entire 66 chapters of Isaiah during 8 century BC in the southern Kingdom. Another author, an unknown prophet by considering the historical circumstances and the sentence structures, wrote the chapters between 40 and 66. Thus, this part is called as the 2nd Isaiah. I don't intend to dwell on the details of such biblical research this morning.

Whatever position we take, there is a clear message for us. That is: "God commanded us to declare the message of comfort to God's people who are in hardship and adversities. In today's text, God repeated twice: "Comfort, comfort my people." It is not: "it would be nice to comfort," or "try to comfort," God commanded His called servants. God commanded to comfort my people. He commanded us to cry out this message of comfort to those facing hardship, adversities, despair and setback. Especially if you understand this as the words given to the people of Judea during their captive lives in Babylon, you can understand its meaning more vividly. Now the people of Judea lost their nation and lived as captives in Babylon. Having left the beloved homeland and friends, they led hard lives in an alien land. The prophet cried out to the people of Judea who lived day-to-day hoping to return to their beloved homeland. "Her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for." The days of hardship were to end. They expected God would establish a new history among them. This was indeed a message of comfort. It was a message of joy that restores the life worth living.

II.

Let me say more concretely. The words of God commanding comfort to my people have the following messages for us this morning:

(1) First, God is our never-changing comforter today. God who commanded to comfort my people is still comforting us at this hour though the Holy Spirit. True comfort can be understood and experienced within God, God of amazing love. God's work of comfort was realized decisively in Christ. Jesus came to us and gave us a true work of comfort. He restored broken hearts, healed the sick lives, helped the wondering lives, raised the despaired lives. And although he returned to his Father, he promised to send us the Holy Spirit as our comforter. The book of John describes the Holy Spirit as the Counselor. It has two meanings: one is helper, and the other is comforter. The Holy Spirit Jesus promised came to us decisively during the Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is giving use comfort today at this hour. God who commanded to comfort my people is giving us comfort through the Holy Spirit. God is indeed today's comforter.

(2) Second, today's scripture commanded to comfort my people. Here, my people means his promised people of Israel. For God's people, its gathering was an assembly for comfort. It was a collective body to taste the God's comfort, share the comfort, and provide the comfort of the Holy Spirit. It is the same with our own church today. Our church, KUMC, also received the commandment: "Comfort my people." Our church is an assembly that shares the comfort given by God. It is an association of sharing God's comfort, which is different from the comfort derived from the world. God, through our church, provides comfort through the Holy Spirit. He entrusted us with the mission of comfort. My dear Congregation! How glad were you about coming to the church today? Is there anyone who came here as if a mule was led to the water? While leading the life of faith in our church, do you taste the God's comfort? How much do you participate in comforting my people? Church is the place to receive comfort and share comfort. God established church in order to have us taste and share this amazing grace, love and comfort. He established our church and commanded to comfort my people.

Today he commands to realize God's command to comfort. The task of comforting people is not limited to the pastors. This task is given to our church. It is given to all of us. Therefore, we are the people who live the life of sharing the comfort. After experiencing as God's people, we are ordered to share our experience. I experienced once more the importance of this mission of the church from my mother-in-law's memorial service. It was a small church of about 100 people. The love and comfort of the congregation for my mother-in-law's suffering from the pain of cancer was overwhelming. It congregation, with sincere heart, shared sorrow and gave words of comfort. Of my mother-in-law, who started to believe in Jesus rather later in life, I was thinking myself: "what if there were no church. How would she have lived? How would she have faced death? I am truly grateful for the church being there. Today I reconfirmed the importance of the church in comforting God's people.

(3) Third, as for God's command of comforting my people, we have to extend our sight further. We cannot limit the comforting mission only to our church. This message must be witnessed beyond the fence of our church. The comfort and giant current must flow to the center of the world. The meaning of my people must be understood in a wider sense. My congregation! Are the Christians only the God's people? When God says my people, doesn't He mean all the people He had himself made? He must feel love and satisfaction with those people who saw the light and returned to him. But, He must feel frustration with those who do not see the light and wonder even though everyone is part of the people God has created. God tells us today. Comfort them: those who do not believe in God and believe only in themselves. Our Lord tells us while looking at those who live only with the hope of possession. He commands: "comfort them." The church is called to spread comfort to the world. We are called to comfort those outside of the church, who are living the lonely immigrant lives. We were called to spread comfort to those who are in despair and setback. Church was established to spread comfort to this world. It is not the comfort from material and possession. We are called to spread comfort - the true and permanent comfort that was given by God. God is telling us this morning - to spread this comfort.

III.

We opened year 2003 with the theme of 'comfort my people.' Throughout this year, through our worship services, other program s and plans, we will proselytize the comforting God. We will obey His command to comfort my people. We will taste and share the spirit of comfort amongst us, raise our spirit, and will proselytize this news of joy -this news of comfort to the people outside of the church. This is not something you feel like doing or not doing. This is God's command. God commanded His servants to comfort. Yes, He is telling us today. Therefore, this mission is definitely not an option. It is not a matter for selection. It is mandatory and must. It is God's command to be obeyed.

There was a missionary, a Kim Bok Nam, who worked at the hospital of Yon Sei University. She was working as an instrument of God to comfort and raise those who are in despair. Her book, "Morning is always dazzling" has the following story:

Her husband was a professor at an Agricultural college and led a life of sincere faith. In his forties, he developed rectal cancer, had operations and treatments. But he had remissions and was facing death soon. And her husband loved many patients. Because he was under constant, he loved much those brothers in similar pain. Grief is best pleased with grief's company. Six months before his death, her husband one day suggested. "Darling, rather than going to this and that prayer meeting or to receive ordination from this or that person just to save my life, before I die I must preach. While dying preaching, I will be considered as martyred. The missionary laughed. "You go for preaching?" It's possible when you are healthy. How do you propose to preach with that body of yours? Anyone can see you are a dying cancer patient. How can you preach with your skeleton-like thin body?

For me with little faith, my husband's suggestion sounded preposterous. Rather, my husband appeared to be pitiful. "When you are cured of cancer, then go to every corner of the country and preach. But, don't go with that body of yours. Rather, you will hide God's glory. How will you respond if people ask you? - Why don't you get cured when you believe in Jesus and pray? How can you proselytize when you can hardly walk? Darling, let go and proselytize in every corner of the country when your cancer is cured in God's grace. Until then, preaching is not possible." The missionary's words may sound logical. And her husband's faith transcended logic. "Is proselytizing possible because I can? Proselytizing is not possible from my power only. God will use me as I am, though sick." Her husband insisted to take him to a nearby hospital, situated in GalHyun-Dong. It was the hospital with many auto-accident patients. Since he insisted so strongly, I had to comply.

In front of the patients, my husband stood there with the body he could hardly control. "Hello, I am Deacon Lee Han Tae at Oon Kwang Church, Bulkwang-Dong. 3 operations and 40 radiation treatments did not help. I stopped medical treatment and am concentrating on praying. I am wearing diaper. At this very hour, I am under unbearable pain. With this pain, I live in peace, because I believe in Jesus." Her husband started then to tell why he believes in Jesus. The patients showed puzzled look at him who was telling them to believe in Jesus. The deacons and exhorters at his church and myself who accompanied him were standing at the corner silently. We felt ashamed. It was fruitless.

Few days later, my husband asked me to take him there again. Remembering the facial expressions of the audience, I told him, "no." But I could not bend his will. So I went to the hospital again along with a deacon. My husband went to the same hospital room and started the similar story as last time. Again there was no response. I was so upset that I said to myself that I would never bring him back again no matter how much he insisted. But, after three days, he insisted again. He begged to take him to the same hospital room one more time but for the last time! Because of his persistence, I relented and took him again, thinking that it is absolutely the last time. And an amazing miracle happened. After his last proselytizing, as we were leaving the hospital room, one patient came along and said: "you said you were Mr. Lee. Don't come here any more. I will believe in Jesus." He had tears in his eyes. Jesus, who you preach, is a real Jesus. I have seen many who preached Jesus. I have seen preaching in the streets, subways and in the neighborhoods. I heard that one would receive blessing from believing in Jesus. I even heard that if you believe in Jesus, you would be cured of cancer. But none was as honest as you were. No one! For the first time, I saw a person proselytizing while suffering from cancer. Jesus, the object of your proselytizing, while you are sick, is worth believing. Jesus you believe is Jesus I will believe! From now, it is no longer true that only when cancer is cured, we can give glory to God and proselytize. Even though he was dying from cancer when he was proselytizing God's comfort and sharing his comfort, God shared his Holy Spirit to save other souls as well.

After my husband passed away, his parents asked: "where is Jesus whom you believed in, saying Jesus, Jesus?" Whatever others said, the missionary could not live without Jesus, Jesus was her hope, her life and her way. But his family could not understand why she still believed in Jesus when her husband who believed in Jesus died of cancer. But four years after her husband's death, one day she received telephone call from her in-laws. Her mother-in-law had been unresponsive to any proselytizing when her husband was alive. But now she called and said: " when your husband died, I did not feel the need for believing in Jesus. But when I see your life with children, I see God is really alive. After his death your church members helped you, let you pursue pastoral studies, came to your house, cooked and cleaned the house. I concluded that Christians are really different. I also will believe in Jesus." Starting from her mother-in-law, all her brothers- and sisters-in-laws came to believe in Jesus.

God is today comforting us through the Holy Spirit. God's comfort is greater, deeper and richer than our pain. God of comfort is telling us today. Yes, He is commanding us. "To comfort our people." The church is where we experience this amazing comfort. It is the place to share this comfort. This amazing comfort must be witnessed outside of the church as well. For God, the people of this world are also his people. They are the ones who need comfort. Come forward to this amazing God's comfort. Share this amazing God's comfort. And send the words of comfort. Our Lord tells us today to comfort my people!