Courage to Mediate

(Exodus 32:11-14; Matthew 22:14; Philippians 4:1-9)

Rev. Dr. Eunyoung Choi (Secretary General of the Korea Association of Women Theologians)

May the Lord's peace be with those who are here and to all who worship through video. COVID-19 has started and two seasons have passed, spring and summer, and it is autumn. In particular, we celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday. What kind of fruit can we give to God? It may have been a difficult time keeping one's body safe under the influence of the long coronavirus pandemic in the fast passage of time. Nevertheless, I hope that this time will be a worship service where we confess that God the Holy Spirit is with us and that Jesus is our mediator and give our gratitude.

What is the biggest challenge for us now? I wonder if it is the coronavirus pandemic. I learned that the service as a Christian, the church gathered to worship, is doing more harm and death than saving our neighbors’ lives. The entire planet is experiencing the dangers of invisible viruses. I see people chasing something more convenient than confessing human selfishness in front of natural disasters that occur everywhere. In a situation where we can't meet each other, we are more ignoring the pain of my neighbors.

Courage is required at these times. It is also the courage to mediate. The scripture we read together follows the church unity movement, lectionary on the ecumenical spirit. This is my first sermon after being ordained as a pastor personally. As we meditate on the texts of the Bible you have given us, I would like to share them with the title 'courage to mediate.‘

The text of Exodus 32 is well known as the "Aron's Golden calf Incident." I'm sure you've read the text of the book of the Bible. This happened while a small Israeli nation, liberated from the oppression of the empire of Egypt, was moving to the land promised by God. You will notice that the case of making a golden calf violated the second commandment of the Ten Commandments, and you will hear and know that you must repent and go back to God. But I'm going to look at it from a different perspective today. In other words, when God was furious at the actions of the people of Israel, Moses stopped them and mediated them. It's Moses' courage. Here are two things I'd like to focus on. Historically, it is a role of mediation by women beyond the mediation of male Moses, renewing the meaning of the calf incident.

Who is the nation of Israel? They were God's people in Egypt before the Exodus, but they were devastating slaves. Moses appeared as a leader and experienced 10 disasters, and survived not only from various natural disasters, but also the plagues of the firstborn and eldest son of Egypt dying. They saw the miracle of the Red Sea, and in the midst of it, they saw the death of the soldiers of the empire who had oppressed them happily, confirming the omnipotent power of God. They were able to escape from her oppression, but they were still anxious and slave-minded.

When Moses went to the mountain and did not return soon, the people asked his brother Aaron for a golden calf. Cows are very useful animals for farmers. That doesn't mean we worship cattle. However, in the ancient Middle East, cows were a form of god linked to fertility and abundance. So Aaron had to firmly restrain it against the Israelites who demanded a golden calf. He had to persuade the people to stop saying these words again. This is even more so because Aaron was a priest of the Levite family. However, he couldn't.

Aaron asked the people for gold. The second verse refers to your wife, son, and daughters, so the people are male only. All the people in the community offered Aaron all the gold that would not have been much in their home without any doubt or defiance. These gold coins were collected, melted in a hot fire, and placed in a mold to create a golden calf statue. There is no detailed description in the development, so it feels like I made it overnight. Verse 4, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” they shout. If you look at it closely, it seems that the people get comfort from the sight of the golden calf rather than from the invisible God.

Aaron urges us to observe the Lord's feasts and also offers two sacrifices, burnt offerings and peace offerings with the whole people the next day. God and the golden calf are not separated. It seems as if the church today becomes a god and is connected with the idea of some Christians that you cannot worship without going to church. Perhaps, as you thought that the church is the only place to meet God, you may think that you made a golden calf as such a place. A similar story appears in 1 Kings 12. In other words, it is the “Golden Calf Statue” in the era of Jeroboam, when Israel was divided into North and South and established northern Israel. King Jeroboam must have been worried for the northern Israelites who had been worshiping at the Jerusalem Temple in South Judah.

It was the golden calf award that was made as a result of that agony. In other words, they made a statue in Dan at the northern end and Bethel at the southern end to worship God. In the same way as in Exodus, 1 Kings 12:28 "After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”" Jeroboam says. However, it received considerable criticism. From the perspective of the South Judah, it must have been a matter of course from the standpoint of the author of Deuteronomy. In 1st and 2nd Kings, it was recorded that he did not depart from Jeroboam's sin, Jeroboam's road nearly thirty times, and it is also considered the cause of the destruction of northern Israel.

Historically, there are many scholars who regard the statue of the golden calf as an ark, like the ark, as if it was linked to the meaning of God's presence there. Therefore, the people of northern Israel, who did not have the ark of Jerusalem, would have wanted to experience God's presence through the calf table corresponding to the ark. Just as the Israelites who escaped from Egypt made sacrifices by identifying God and the calf.

However, in Exodus, it is said that God knew this before Moses and that he was very angry. God appears in the text as a person who is jealous of the Israelites making other images and cannot stand anger. Moses, who knows nothing, listens to him and takes the courage to move God's heart. It is different from Moses' appearance in Exodus 4, who even after experiencing God's power, saying, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”(verse 13) when God calls him.

Without meeting the golden calf or the people, Moses pleaded with God. He eagerly requested. Moses, who had previously taken off his shoes and covered his face in fear before the holy God, is not like this here. He gets his courage up here. He mediated between God and the people of Israel with courage before God destroying them. Moses then persuaded him with reasonable words that he would consider what the Egyptians would think of God, saying they would think that God eventually brought the Israelites into the wilderness and killed them. Moses brings up Abraham, Isaac, and even Israel. He reminds God of the Word of God that promised a lot of offspring. Eventually, God's heart changed. Verse 14 says, “The Lord has turned his will and reaped the plague that He would bring upon His people.” What do you think? Can you see only the heroic leader, Moses?

I see Miriam, his older sister, beyond the image of Moses, who is well over 80, interceding before a fearful God. It was when the baby Moses was put in a reed box and was floating in the river and was found in the eyes of an Egyptian princess. It's Miriam who walks up to the princess and asks if she needs the child's nanny without looking at the situation. Miriam, who was only a slave girl, acted very boldly and courageously. Princess probably knew that the baby was from Israel, and that his father Pharaoh had a policy to kill the Hebrew baby boy. However, she accepted Moses as an adopted child, the prince of Egypt, and had her mother as a nanny, receiving a fair wage in the royal palace and raising Moses. Without the mother Jochebed and the older sister Miriam, without the stepmother Princess Pharaoh, without the wife Zipporah, would Moses now be possible? In this way, we must remember the merits behind the great figure of one Moses.

Like Miriam, a Korean woman, a teenager, a student, a local (Byeongcheon, Chungnam) native, a non-mainstream Christian who made up 1.3% of the population at the time, do you know who was one person on the outskirts? Yes. She is Yu Gwan-soon. As you may know, the courageous actions of Yu Gwan-soon created a great wave of independence. It was a non-violent resistance movement calling for independence, and its authenticity shows that it was not a return to the feudal system as a revolt against imperialism, which was unprecedented in the world, and that it did not depend only on male-centered leadership. The gender ratio of independence activists is 98% to 2%, which is significantly less than that of men. In fact, for a male independence activist, the dedication of his family, including his mother, wife, and daughter, and the various contributions of women are buried.

Jesus tells the kingdom of God and tells the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22. A king asked for a guest at his son's wedding, and each refused for a reason. It is said that some people have to go to the field and go to business. It is difficult to understand that he refused the king's request, but ahead of the grand feast, the king gives up new courage. I had to call anyone to fill the spot. Everyone was invited to the prince's wedding feast. Perhaps it could be said that it was the accusation of the mainstream culture at the time, the culture of each other. Today, regular and non-regular workers, handicapped and non-disabled people, migrants and indigenous peoples, and people with political confrontation cross borders. It was an event that broke the custom at the time. In the last verse of the parable in chapter 22, the words, ‘for many are invited, but few are chosen.’ Doesn’t it mean that we should be courageous in breaking such practices and building justice?

In Philippians 4, the names of two women appear. This is Euodia and Syntyche. These would have been the chosen ones. Their presence in the Philippian Church seems to have been clear. Paul introduces them as 'people who worked with me in preaching the gospel.' Conflict arose among them, and it became a problem for the Philippian church, so Paul says, 'have the same heart in the Lord.' It is no longer known whether Paul's mediation like this led to the reconciliation between Euodia and Syntyche. However, we can find the courage to mediate them by mentioning Paul even in public letters. Paul says: Let’s read Philippians 4:9 together. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” That's why the Philippian church members must have had the courage to practice what they learned, received, and heard from Paul.

One of them, Lydia, built the Philippian Church and gave her home to practice. It's great courage. In Acts 16, Lydia appears, a seller of purple, but today she can be said to be the CEO of the textile industry. She did not show off her own wealth or oppress others, but provided a place for people to gather and worship. Were not Christians like this one who did not pursue the interests of the world, broke customs, and looked forward to the new day?

If so, I hope you look back at us this time. We are the chosen people, driven by God's call. As the chosen one, we must be courageous. We can't do it ourselves. There is already Jesus Christ who has taken courage to become the mediator between us and God. Like Moses, like Miriam, and like Paul, there are seniors of faith who have the courage to mediate. We have to continue the beautiful story. I hope that you and I take that courage from where you belong. Even if it is inconvenient and difficult, please be happy with the process and wait for God to help you. I bless and pray that those who were weak and powerless with the courage of all who worship here or in their own places will become a more comfortable and life-worthy church and society.

Thank you, God for calling and choosing Yonsei University Church. I hope that you give us the courage to mediate in various circumstances. At this time of turmoil, we desperately want to be used as an instrument for your justice and peace, discerning what is true and right, and pray in the name of Jesus. Amen