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Holy Trinity Church Blog
Joseph Kim Apr 07, 2012
Day 40 Saturday, April 07, 2012 Matthew 27:62-66 "I will rise." (v.63) My father died several years ago from an accident. He had challenges in his life and he was not perfect. But he was my dad and I love him. I was unable to be there when he passed in the hospital room. I heard the whole thing over the phone. It was surreal. It was terrible. I lost my father.
My son was born several years ago. I married later in life and I was eagerly anticipating holding him in my arms. My wife was busy with work and pregnant; she could not travel with me to see my father in intensive care because of she was near full term. While back home on my emergency trip, she called me to say that she had fallen on the ice. She was OK. Was my preborn son OK? How could I care for my dying father and be concerned about my pregnant wife and our child?
I lost my father and became a father within two weeks several ...
Joseph Kim Apr 06, 2012
Day 39 Friday, April 6, 2012 Matthew 27:45-56 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (v.46) I have always thought that the strongest argument against the Gospel was the problem of pain. That God would allow suffering—especially that which seems inexplicably unwarranted is both the most profound and most emotional issue one can ponder. There's a sense of thinking about such matters in an other-wordly sense, Why?, far above our pay grade. But, at the same time, there is a sense that the problem of pain is absolutely concrete and deeply personal. Is there any other intersection with such ferocity?
I can't ignore the pain—both global and widespread, regional, and, of course, personal. Platitudes, theologizing, and a clinical examination of the Scriptural text will not bring resolution. Jesus had and was the key to life itself. He actually knew the right interpretation of the text. He had a deep intimacy with the ...
Joseph Kim Apr 05, 2012
Day 38Thursday, April 05, 2012Mark 14:66-72“he broke down and wept” (v.72)Denial. There are many things we can deny in life; losing the game, taxes, aging, even death. But denying someone you love and loves you is a black hole of anguish that is hard to escape. Peter’s denial of Jesus after his arrest was such darkness that led to bitter weeping. He had followed Jesus, loved him, tripped over his own foot caught in his mouth—and Jesus loved and disciple him with grace to be his primus inter pares upon his departure. The denial is all too real for me. How many times have I been Peter and denied my Lord? How many times have I hid in shame? How many times have I not boldly proclaimed my association with him? How many times have I acted like he made no difference in my life? How many times? Probably, at least three. Peter’s denial was bitter because his defensiveness ...
Joseph Kim Apr 04, 2012
Day 37Wednesday, April 04, 2012John 13:1-17“Do you understand what I have done to you?” (v.12)Maybe it was the racism or maybe it was moving neighborhoods every 2-3 years. But, growing up, I’ve always had a wariness of new groups of people in new situations. Not a paralyzing fear—from the outside you wouldn’t have been able to tell—but, rather, a sense of self-protectiveness just to be able to adapt in not so friendly environments. It’s a subtle, internal thing. You’re less transparent, you’re less yourself, you’re more sensitive in some ways, less in others. And, you’re more eager to belong. Nothing traumatic here—everyone has some level of self-protectiveness in their bones, I see it all the time manifest from shyness to bravado. Everyone has vulnerability inside—no one is exempt, no not one. To grow in maturity in the New Kingdom, it seems to me, is grow in ...
Joseph Kim Apr 03, 2012
Day 36Tuesday, April 03, 2012Luke 19:45-48“My house shall be a house of prayer”There are plenty of things I get angry about. I don’t like traffic; it’s a waste of time and one of the reasons I don’t have a car. I don’t like bullying; ever since my son was born, this particular indignation has hit the roof for me. I don’t like prejudice, especially the kind that is self-unaware. I don’t like snobbery. I don’t like making bad decisions. I can respond in numerous ways—raise my voice, write a letter, stew inside, complain to my wife, go for a walk, watch television, and, when it is desperate, pray. Whatever the case, what makes you angry probably says something about my heart, and how I respond to it probably says something about you as well. When Jesus was angry about the way that the Temple in Jerusalem was become a platform for money changing/pigeon selling apps, he ...
Joseph Kim Apr 02, 2012
Day 35Monday, April 02, 2012Matthew 21:1-11“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (v.9)Today commences Holy Week. I reflect upon the final week in the life of Jesus leading up to his Passion. Today, he enters into Jerusalem on a donkey to the accolades of crowds of people crying, “Hosanna!” laying down palm branches in welcoming him to the city. His transportation to this energetic reception is a donkey. A humble beast of burden. My initial thought on this scene is one of incredible humility. That is, the kind of humility that is passive, genteel, and quiet. In an odd way, what I initially perceive as the posture and the animal of choice belies the feverish red carpet reception. Let’s be honest, would crowds be cheering if the approach to the city was cute and genteel? Wouldn’t it have seemed to have made more sense if Jesus rode in on a regal white horse?As much as a ...
Joseph Kim Mar 31, 2012
Day 34
Saturday, March 31, 2012John 15:1-17“I am the true vine.”I consider myself a thought product of the West. Having emigrated to Canada as a toddler, my young mind was developed from the start line as every class cohort I’ve ever been with throughout schooling. I also grew up on TV, and the cultural stories that allow me to participate in Trivial Pursuit. It wasn’t until the past decade or so that I come to appreciate how much that growing up in the West has influenced a certain aspect of my faith. I think I have appreciated the sense of individual expression and opinion. I try to develop my own reflections on most everything—from the sublime to the mundane—and perhaps not always in a way that is to my benefit. Nevertheless, I’m thankful for the climate to be able to think for myself, as an individual. As it relates to my faith, it means that it’s personal and I try to understand God in ...
Joseph Kim Mar 30, 2012
Day 33Friday, March 30, 2012John 14:5-14"I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (v. 6)I wonder at times if we've heard what Jesus actually says about himself. For all the spiritual platitudes of him being a great teacher--or even the savior of some sorts--we seem to selectively tune out something that doesn't mesh with your preconceived ideas. For all who believe that biblical Christianity is inhumanly exclusive and that all ways lead to the divine after-life--what do you do with a cosmic self-assertion about the way to live, the key to life itself, and the summation of life itself? There is no wiggle room in who gets to define life. If I believe that I am tolerant that I dismiss or even hate a sense of Christian exclusivity, then I would be the one who gets to define life. Who calls the shots, really, about what is the way to God? Should I? Should you? Should we? Or, should God?So, then, why do we live like we know ...
Joseph Kim Mar 29, 2012
Day 32Thursday, March 29, 2012John 11:1-44“I am the resurrection and the life.” (v.25)I watched my grandfather die before me. He had been in a coma with no genuine chance of recovery and his life drained out of him after the machines were turned off. My family and I—along with our pastor—stood in silent weeping as we watched him die. It was as peaceful a scene as one might have it—albeit in a hospital room—but, he had lived a full life surrounded by his family. But it was also a terrible scene. No matter the surroundings and the process, death itself is always sad. In some respects, ours is a society that is in a state of denial about death. Many patients like my grandfather are kept alive for long periods, perhaps not out of a hope of recovery, but out of a determination not to have a loved one perish. Regardless of the politics, it’s a reality that an enormous percentage of health care ...
Joseph Kim Mar 28, 2012
Day 31Wednesday, March 28, 2012John 10:11-21“I am the good shepherd.” (v.11)I imagine shepherding to be a hard way to make a living. Early days, on-call nights, environmental exposure, seasonality, solitude, unrequited devotion from your constituency, cyclical markets, scarce resources, unsanitary responsibilities, and a spotty WiFi signal. It is honest, selfless, and unglamorous work. It’s little surprise that Jesus chooses this image to frequently describe his relationship with his people. He puts the needs of the flock at peril of his own life. Counterfeit shepherds are not ultimately in it for the sheep; they vamoose when a wolf approaches. And the sheep are left vulnerable to a ravenous predator. I remember a number of years ago when there were wolves around me. I was camping in northern Ontario at an interior site. On one chilly night during the pitch of a black night, my friends and I were sitting ...
