Yonsei University Church (2022.6.19.)

Why Are You Bothering Me?

(Isaiah 65:1-6, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39)

Dear brothers and sisters, nice to meet you. Are you at peace in the time of the Corona Pandemic? May God's grace and protection be with you, your family, and your workplace always.

Now we are living in an age where ghosts are rampant. This is because there are quite a few people who do not live with the right spirit of man, but live wickedly because they are instigated by evil spirits and demons. They worship money and power like a moth. If it is for his family, he will do anything. If it's about gaining your own interest, it's face confiscated. They say injustice is fairness, injustice is justice, and lies are truth. He turns away from his own beam and makes a noise in the dust of others. They change their words and actions at any time, using the advantages and disadvantages of themselves and their groups as the basis for their words and actions. Now, our history and society are regressing because of people possessed by demons, and many good citizens are suffering under the torture of life caused by demons. Therefore, it can be said that defeating demons is a prerequisite for living our lives properly.

Today's scriptures and the words of the Gospel of Luke show the three characteristics of a person possessed by demons, regardless of age.

First, the man possessed by a demon knew more about Jesus than anyone else. He called Jesus “Jesus, the Son of the Most High God.” This happened before Peter confessed of Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” The demon already knew the identity and mission of Jesus, which even the disciples did not know. He knew that God sent Jesus for us, that he came to invite us into the kingdom of God, that we must change the way we live our lives in order to enter the kingdom of God. The Korean phrase “knowing like a ghost” seems to have come from that. The characteristic of a person possessed by a demon is that he knows Jesus more intellectually than anyone else.

Second, the possessed man knew who Jesus was, but he said, “Jesus, what have you to do with me?” As said, he lived independently of the life or teachings of Jesus. He lived in the graveyard without clothes. He was as hopeless as those buried in the cemetery, and could not find purpose or meaning in his life. He was outwardly alive, but in reality he was as good as dead. The crux of the matter is that he knew about Jesus intellectually, but never reached a personal, sympathetic relationship. Even if we know the background facts about a celebrity, it's like we don't know or interact with him directly. The characteristic of a person possessed by a demon like this is that he knows Jesus well, but he does not know Jesus personally and communicate with him personally.

Thirdly, the person who was possessed could not bear Jesus' prohibition of violence against the people around him. When Jesus ordered the demon to go out of him, he begged, saying, "Please don't bother me." He was chained by his family and villagers, but he was too strong to be controlled by it. The reason why his family and villagers neglected him was because of his violent power. How powerful was his violent power that the demon himself introduced as "legion." He didn't feel much naked shame, and he didn't hesitate to pose violence and threaten the villagers. The characteristic of such a haunted person is that he or she does not care about shameful behavior and lives by violence.

If you look at the history of our Korean church, there were not a few genuine churches and Christians who became little Jesus and devoted themselves to their neighbors and society without name and without light in the spirit of Jesus. We are proud to still have beautiful churches and adored Christians everywhere. However, it is also undeniable that many Korean churches and Christians today are possessed by demons. They know that Jesus is the head of the church, and that they are members of the church. They confess with their mouth that Jesus is our Lord over us. They say that God is with us anytime, anywhere. They do not neglect worship and Bible study in order to get to know Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, and the church knowledgeably. But that's it. This is because they do not advance to the level of personal communion with Jesus and live as a little Jesus.

The Korean churches and Christians possessed by demons seem to think that they can be saved if they only know a piece of knowledge related to faith. So they evangelize like this one-on-one. “We are sinners. As sinners, we have no way to a holy God. Jesus, who died on the cross, became a bridge for us to come to God. So Jesus is our savior. Now believe and confess him as his own savior. In that moment we are saved. Heaven is 100% guaranteed to us who have been saved.” That's why they are evangelizing with the simple slogan, 'Jesus Heaven and Hell of Unbelief'. They focus only on the confession of Jesus on the lips, and they are not interested in the life of following Jesus. They cry out, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but they are not interested in living in obedience to God’s will. They speak of God with their lips, but as if God does not exist, they do not care about God at all and are living their lives as they please.

That is why the people of the world point their fingers at the Korean churches and Christians who are possessed by demons. They only want to live well in this world, but Korean churches and Christians are double egoists who want to live well in this world and go to heaven in the other world as well. Even if they don't talk about Jesus, they live on a common-sense level, but Korean churches and Christians ignore even the common-sense level in the name of grace. They live without hiding their desire for money and power, but Korean churches and Christians are hiding the fact while serving God and money, two masters. In reality, there is no difference between their interests and the interests of Korean churches and Christians. There is no difference between going to church on Sunday and speaking with your lips about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If you look at the Korean churches and Christians, it seems that they think that living like Jesus is foolishness or loss, and they are rather avoiding living as a little Jesus while communicating with Jesus.

Now, Korean churches and Christians must cast out demons that are possessing them, in the name of Jesus. “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I command you to get out of the evil spirits that oppose the will of God.” “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I command you to rise above your common sense and walk proudly.” “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I command you not to turn away from God, but to live honestly and humble in the fear of God before God.” Korean churches and Christians should look only to Jesus Christ, follow his life, and live his upright spirit in their hearts. Jesus showed us where the way to God is. Jesus taught us what God's will is for us to obey. Jesus challenges us to live in abundance. We must recognize that faith that does not follow the life and teachings of Jesus cannot be true faith.

Today, we must see and know Jesus properly, know and follow Jesus properly, and become little Jesus by following Him properly.

First we must see that Jesus went to the region of Gerasa, a place on the eastern (Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee. The place of Jesus' life was usually in Galilee. Galilee was the place of life for the poor people. It was a very different place from Jerusalem, with its splendid palaces and temples. Moreover, it can be said that Jesus expanded into Gerasa, a pagan region outside Galilee, as a new place of life. This is because Jews, full of ethnic pride believing that they are the people chosen by God, considered it unclean to even pass through a foreign country. Our churches and Christians also need to put the people's lives in the place of priority. The lives of those who monopolize the wealth, those who seize power, those who enjoy all the privileges, those who wield the law for their own sake, those who are oppressed of their liberties, deprived of even the smallest of possessions, and forced to suffer. This is because it is a place of life where we should suffer together and be in solidarity.

We must see that Jesus met a demon-possessed man, not another man, in the region of Gerasa. A man possessed by a demon, he had been abandoned by the tomb. He was neglected because no one was interested in his life. He was neglected because he had nothing to contribute to the social community. He said he wasn't a person and he didn't want to meet anyone. He was a stranger and possessed by a demon, and there seemed to be no possibility of change in him. He didn't seem to have anything to draw anyone's attention to. Looking at his situation, he found no hope. But Jesus went to a man possessed by a demon in the land of the Gerasenes and gave him his attention. Jesus thought that he should live as a dignified human being created in the image of God. Our churches and Christians should also pay attention to the socially disadvantaged. Starving and naked people, people suffering from all kinds of diseases, people who wander because they have no place to live, people who tremble in loneliness due to loneliness and indifference, etc. The very small and insignificant socially disadvantaged are the people who give us a chance to enter heaven.

We should see that Jesus cast out the ‘legion’ without question from the demon-possessed man. All the troubles of the man at the tomb stem from being possessed by the legion. Before being possessed by a military ghost, he would have lived at home with his family for about sixty years. He would have lived with the approval of those around him in society. He would have lived a life of hope, dressed neatly and planning for tomorrow in his own way. But after being possessed by a powerful legion, his life changed 180 degrees. As soon as Jesus identified the problem with the demon-possessed, he immediately addressed the root of the problem. Because he knew that casting out legion was the only way to fundamentally restore him. Our churches and Christians must also take the lead in dismantling the false spirits and values possessed by demons. This is because we are people who do not follow or imitate the way of the world, but must renew our minds and receive changes, discerning what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God and live our lives.

On the one hand, we should see that when Jesus cast out the demons, the villagers of the Gerasene region feared rather than rejoiced and celebrated the demon-possessed man and made him leave. The villagers did not celebrate with rejoicing that the haunted man had been made whole, that his body and spirit had been restored, and that he had returned to the community of his life. It was even more pitiful that a large herd of pigs kept at the foot of the mountain ran down the slope and drowned in the lake. Because they saw greater economic loss from the death of a herd than a whole human life. But Jesus was not at all discouraged, and he demanded that the demon-possessed man preach to the people what God had done. Our churches and Christians also need to discern what is more important and what is more needed from the perspective of Jesus. Thus, we must proudly preach that life is more important than material things, and that the kingdom of God is more important than greed.

Brothers and sisters, we must now face the reality of our faith properly. Aren't we living in the possession of demons now? Are we not following the trends of this age, such as lies and injustice, greed and selfishness, division and violence, and mammonism? If we are not now possessed by the demons of this age, that would be very fortunate. But do we not live in ignorance of those possessed by demons? We know something about Jesus. That, too, is something to be grateful for. But are we not living apart from Jesus? Although we have a confession of faith, are we not ignoring the life of the little Jesus who follows Jesus in the world?

Now we must go to Galilee and Gerasa, the places of life for suffering people. Where are the regions of Galilee and Gerasa to us? It is a groaning Korean Peninsula with North and South Korea divided, and it is a demilitarized zone where tensions do not stop. It is the northern land that does not enjoy even the minimum of human rights, and Honam and Yeongnam, and Gangbuk and Gangnam, which are in conflict with regionalism. Now we have to give priority to those who get nobody's attention. They are young people who are desperate because they can't find a job, and old people who struggle with loneliness in poverty. They are North Korean defectors who came to South Korea in search of freedom, and foreign workers who work patiently in the 3D industry in the Korean dream. Also, they are multicultural families who are discriminated against just because they are not pure-blood, and they are disabled people who have to endure inconvenience because they are not even guaranteed the right to move.

Above all, we must resolutely reject the current trend that distorts our religious life. Materialism is the problem. Sexual depravity to enjoy freely is the problem. Family-centered selfishness is the problem. Now we must clearly set the standard for our lives. Our ultimate goal should be the kingdom of God of love, justice, and peace. The standard of our words and actions should be the truth in accordance with God's will to clarify yes and no. Our standard for others should be a life in which we can enjoy abundant life together with eternal life. I earnestly pray in the name of our Lord Jesus, that each and every one of my beloved university students will know Jesus properly and live as a little Jesus according to the life and teachings of Jesus. Amen.