2008. 5. 4 Rev. Kim, Young Bong

The Gospel According to John Sermon Series
“The Gospel of Life (96)”
“Life Is Worth Living No Matter What”
--John 20:19-21

1.

Sometime in life we may feel so frustrated that being dead may be less painful than being alive. We tend to have such a feeling when we look at a person caught in so tragic a situation, and we find no meaning in such a state of life. This feeling, although not being desirable, will pose us no real danger as long as we do not go beyond that feeling. The problem is that we are overwhelmed by the same feeling when we are in the same situation. Once we are caught and think, “This is worse than being dead,” the thought does not stay as a feeling of the mind, but develops into an action of taking one’s own life. Thus, it is so dangerous.

We need to keep in mind the truth that, whether it is my situation or other’s, “Life is worth living no matter what.” I would like to keep saying these words over and over throughout today’s sermon. I would be happy if this truth could be engraved deeply in our hearts by doing so. Thus, I would like you to be able to acknowledge the incomparable value of life and treat them as a noble human being when you see a person in a miserable situation. Or, I want you to overcome the temporary temptation in your life when you face the difficulty that drives you into the thought that being dead may not be worse than being alive. It is because that is an everlasting truth.

As Jesus told us, it is inevitable for us to face with troubles and temptations during the life time in this world full of sins, dominated by evils, contaminated and distorted. Our believers’ obligations may be fulfilled by overcoming the troubles and temptations rather than by avoiding them. The peace the resurrected Jesus promised to His disciples was just this power to overcome these troubles and temptations. By relying upon this power of peace, we may have the courage and strength to face the troubles and temptations. And finally we can win over the troubles and temptations. Jesus’ words, “I have overcome the world” (16:33) means that He overcame these troubles and temptations.

Without the peace Jesus gave us, we are apt to be overwhelmed by the waves of troubles and temptations, and our hearts become distraught and frustrated with fear. Our spirits greatly sink when we are in anxiety and fear. When the hardships continue, by keeping them inside without opening them to someone else, one will end up going beyond the irreversible stage. Suicide sometimes happens by a temporary decision; however, more cases are the results of accumulation of prolonged frustration, anguish, and unresolved questions. It begins by questioning, “Would death be better than this?” and it develops to conceding, “It probably is better to die!” then it finally reaches the conclusion of “Yes, death is better!”

2.

While we are on the topic, I must mention one belief related to suicide that is widely believed by many. It is the belief that someone who commits suicide can never be saved. In the Catholic Church, this belief is taught as doctrine. And that’s why, in the Catholic Church, a funeral mass is not held for those who commit suicide. Any formal act on their behalf is forbidden by the church. Not only that, but burial in the church cemetery is also forbidden. The only thing allowed is personal prayers for the salvation of the person who has passed away. Maybe, because of these reasons, these beliefs can be found even among Protestants.

Nowhere in the Bible is the teaching that “a person who commits suicide shall never be saved” or that “a person who commits suicide shall go to hell.” This doctrine from the Catholic Church originated from the teachings of Augustine, bishop and theologian, and Thomas Aquinas, the father of Catholic theology. Augustine reasoned that suicide was a sin that broke the 6th Commandment of “Thou shall not kill.” Thomas Aquinas, who laid the framework of Catholic doctrine, determined suicide to be an unforgivable sin for three reasons. First, suicide goes against the natural law of self-preservation. Second, suicide reflects a relinquishing of one’s social responsibility. Third, suicide is a misuse of our God-given rights. Aquinas also mentioned that, because suicide prevents one from repenting one’s sins, it is the most fatal sin.

The Protestant Church has no objection to the belief that suicide is certainly a serious sin. However, it doesn’t begin with the premise that a person who commits suicide cannot be saved. Although there can be differences among denominations and among pastors, the Protestant Church believes that suicide is a grave mistake, something a person should never commit. At the same time, God’s grace and mercy are still open to those who commit suicide. The question of a person’s salvation is up to God to decide, and not for us to measure with a doctrinal measuring stick. Therefore, in the Protestant Church, we offer funeral services with all our hearts. We do all that we can because we believe in God’s merciful disposition.

Because of these misunderstandings, family members who have lost a loved one to suicide have to go through double suffering. Beside the pain of losing a loved one tragically, they must suffer the thought of that beloved suffering in the fires of hell. Although the thought that “one who commits suicide cannot be saved” may be a powerful deterrent to those planning to commit suicide, to those who have already lost a loved one, it can be a difficult yoke to bear. If that were true, there would be nothing to be done; however, it cannot be completely accepted since it is a human-made doctrine.

In truth, there are many kinds of suicide. Stories of suicide appear even in the Bible. The quintessential example is that of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. In that case, anyone would declare it’s a sin for which it’s impossible to receive forgiveness. However, if someone with psychological or mental problems makes a wrong choice, in a moment of lapsed judgment, it would be wrong to apply the same standards. To be evil is a sin; to be weak is not. Just as physical illness is not a sin; it’s not a sin to have psychological problems. When that choice has been made due to one’s psychological problems, we cannot use doctrine to declare, “no matter what, you cannot receive salvation.”

That is precisely like confusing God with someone who has no tears or no blood, who is heartless, intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded, and dogmatic. The God that Jesus shows us is full of tears and full-blooded. We were made in the image of God, but God also has a human face. In God’s generous arms, I believe there is room for those who, in a moment of lapsed judgment, gave up the opportunities of their precious lives. I hope those of you who have been separated from your loved one because of a tragedy find comfort and courage in these words.

3.

I’d like to tell you that there is room for salvation even for those who chose to commit suicide, and also I’d like to emphasize again the fact that “Life is worth living no matter what.” Committing suicide is the most fatal mistake we can commit, and we should keep in mind that it is the most hurtful sin to the Lord’s heart. Our lives are still worth living in any situation, and our lives can still be satisfying and pleasing enough in any miserable circumstances. For that reason, we must be grateful for, celebrate for, and take joy in the lives God gave us, until He takes those lives back. No matter what the circumstances are.

There are several reasons why we are more depressed psychologically when we are in difficult situations. One of the reasons is the thought that, “I am the only one who is in hardship.” Whatever the hardship is, whether it is an illness, accident, or a problem with relationships, when we confront hard situations, we often plunge into questions like, “Why am I the only one who is in this trouble?” We easily get into an emotion that “Everyone else seems happy with blessed lives, but only miserable things happen to me.” We wonder why we are like this, while everyone who comes to church seems to be happy and everyone who comes to cell group meetings looks happy.
We are being deceived. As I said last week, our emotion is probably either a very skillful deceiver or a ridiculous fool. Everybody has their own pains, troubles, or miseries. When I visit the homes of our church members and look inside their lives, I often realize that. When I meet them at church, everyone seems to be happy, without any anguish; however, when I meet and converse with them privately, they usually pour out their hidden pains and anguishes. More often than not, I am very surprised with their self-possessed attitude, being able to live with such composure, holding such pain and anguish in their hearts. Once, I’ve seen their pain and anguish, those people look more precious and beautiful to me.

We should remember that everybody has different difficulties in his or her own way -- only the kinds and degrees of these difficulties are different. Among the immigrants, how many of them cannot even fulfill the basic needs for living! There are so many husbands and wives who live as if they don’t know each other, because they don’t have any elbow room in their lives. Compared to these husbands and wives, some people seem to be living with everything, but even those people have pain and misery, in their own ways. There is an old saying, “There are anxieties even in the wedding carriage.” Actually, come to think of it, the new bride in the wedding carriage is supposed to be the one with the most anxiety, isn’t she? What looks nice on the outside may have much more miserable elements inside. On the other hand, the misfortune shown on the outside may be much lighter and the anxiety is shallower than one expects.

When the delusion that we are the only ones who are suffering oppresses our minds, we must think to ourselves, “Ah, I am being deceived again,” and try to get rid of the deceiver. Everybody experiences different types of pain, misery, and anxiety -- we all have them. Even I, preaching to you with a full-toned voice standing grandly in front of you, also have certain pains and anxieties. It is the same for President Bush in the White House and President Lee Myong Bak in the Blue House. Reverend Joel Osteen, who delivers sugary messages of hope to tens of thousands of believers, who is more like a movie star in appearance than a real movie star, also has anguish or anxieties. Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, too, may have some misery of his own; so does Warrant Buffett and Donald Trump.

4.

In times of hardship, another reason for feeling overwhelmed is that the problem we’re facing seems as if it has become everything about my life. It makes us feel there’s no meaning in life without that problem. When we face a problem related to our children, we are preoccupied with that problem and feel that problem alone is everything. When we face a health problem, we feel our life is totally ruined. When we face financial problems, we feel as if we can no longer live. Academic failure makes us feel our life is over. We feel as if the problem we face at the moment will engulf us. However, that is not true. Beyond the thing that we need to give up at that moment, we can find joy and happiness in many other aspects of our life. When we pursue those aspects of our life, we can be happy and joyful as we can be.

A few days ago, I read an internet news article about singer Sang Woo Lee. He was a famous singer and actor. He shared his pain, which he had kept hidden for so long, in a TV program called <In Kan Guk Jang> on KBS. I’ve heard he revealed his pain in a program, <Sae Rob Ge Ha So Soe> on CBS. He went public about his 14-year old son, who has a developmental disability.

Seung Hoon, who was born three years into their marriage, was diagnosed that he was born with development disability, when he and his wife became curious about their son’s slow language development. After hearing about the diagnosis, he thought his life was totally ruined, and kept on drinking for three months. Fortunately, he came out of his drinking habit through the inspiration of his wife, who was living courageously, accepting life as it was.

During the course of regaining his life back to normal, his wife was in despair for a month. He was told later that, during the time she showed courage, his wife believed that her son would become normal after all. However, when she realized that her son’s disability would not be cured no matter how hard she tried, she became hopeless. However, through faith, the couple overcame their despair and is searching for happiness by dedicating their lives to their son. They answered to the reporter who asked why they shared their story, “We’d like to show people that we can be happy even by raising a son with a disability.”

“We are seeing the world through Seung Hoon. We learned to thank what others take for granted. We were so happy even when Seung Hoon pronounced one word correctly. The moment we were so excited was when he lied to us. Other parents might be very upset when their kids lie. But we were so thrilled, enough to cry, when he told us he brushed his teeth, when he didn’t. Now, my son knows how to lie. His condition has improved so! (Choson Daily, April 25, 2008)

My beloved church members! What makes you say “it would be better to die than live like this”? There is no reason. There is no such problem, burden, or pain to justify giving up one’s life. So long as we breathe, we have reasons to live, our life is worth it, and there is happiness in it. Sometimes unhappiness seems greater than anything else, but if we look toward the opposite direction, we can find joy and happiness much greater than the problem that causes unhappiness.

5.

Our faith provides us with peace and courage, allowing us to face temptations and troubles. As long as the God who brought Jesus Christ back from his death is with us, we can face those threatening temptations and troubles with a faith that will not falter even in death. With such faith, we can find happiness within unhappiness and shift our focus from sadness. Even if our eyes are filled with tears, we will find reasons to smile in our hearts. Even if we lay in a sickbed, we can embrace hope in our hearts. With such faith, no matter what difficulties we must face, we will live to our last day with gratitude that we were given the chance to live and with appreciation for the preciousness of life.

Today, I would like to end the sermon with a story of a father and son, Dick and Rick Hoyt, also known as “Team Hoyt”. Rick suffered cerebral palsy as a result of his umbilical cord tangling around his neck at birth. Doctors and family relatives recommended that Rick be sent to an institution. But Rick’s parents, Dick and Liz Hoyt, decided otherwise and dedicated themselves to raise Rick as any other normal child. When Rick was in high school, he learned that there was an event, a five-mile run for the disabled. Rick asked his father if he would run with him. The father ran while pushing his son on a wheelchair and completed the run. The father had never seen his son so happy in his 17 years of life, as at the moment when they reached the finish line. His son relished the freedom he felt and forgot all about his disability while running in a wheelchair pushed by his father.

Since then, the father and son have run over 950 events, completed 60 full marathons, and have even participated in triathlons six times! Now the father is 67 years old. The son graduated from Boston University, and currently he is in the field of Special Education. Like the renowned physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking, Rick communicates through a special computer using head switches.

The father was asked in an interview exactly what makes him and his son run without giving up. He answered: “I don’t push my son. My son pulls me.” In their circumstances, what could only be described as tragic, Rick and his family confess that they could not be any happier.

Now, you will watch video clips about “Team Hoyt”. These clips include scenes from raising Rick as a handicapped child, as well as scenes from the events where father and son ran. As you watch these scenes, with the beautiful gospel music “I Can Only Imagine,” in the background, I hope you will “feel” that there is no life worse than death. I hope you will “feel” that no matter how difficult the circumstances maybe, life is worth living and has a purpose. Just knowing this truth is not enough; instead, we must feel this truth to our very core. That is why I have included these clips.

Each one of us lives under a different set of circumstances, but like Rick and Dick, who overcame their tragedies by running together, I hope all of us will find reasons for living. As you will hear in the background music, we can only imagine what could happen to us when we take our life’s journey with our resurrected Lord, Jesus. When we take life’s journey with Jesus, the most unimaginable things will happen to us. As you will see in the clips, just as Rick wrote using his computer with his head switches, we can do it within the grace of God. Yes, We CAN!

So let us not worry or be afraid. Let us courageously accept the life’s journey that is given to us. Let us do it together within the grace of God! Amen.

YouTube Clips <Can: World’s Strongest Dad>