Easter

I was a little apprehensive to attend church this morning, only because the usual English service was going to merge with the larger Korean one. I knew that I wouldn't be able to comprehend what was said and I had this idea that because the church is more formal that I wouldn't be able to relate. I was wrong.

I got there slightly early (this is a first for me - I'm always running late to church) and had some awkward conversations with some sweet Korean women. It wouldn't have been awkward, except that one lady I was trying to communicate with didn't know how to answer in English (and obviously I know very little Korean) so the third girl that we were talking with was translating our conversation. But they were sweet, none the less.

During the service, I sat with all the foreigners, in a spot designated for us. I received a little ear piece from Myoung, who would be translating the message. He's Korean but grew up in Germany and knows English. Such a smart guy. So I got to hear a Korean sermon in a German accent this morning!

I was able to follow along with some of the songs as they either had the lyrics in English as well as Korean, or the songs were familiar enough that I could remember them and sing against the syllables of the opposite language. The topic of the sermon was not the normal "Jesus died, was buried and rose again, hallelujah, etc, etc," which can be wonderful but since I grew up going to church, I've heard that sermon for about two decades now. The reading was from Luke 24:13-34. The gist of the story was this: Jesus had already risen and appeared before the women, while the men were disbelieving and quite forlorn. The men were returning home, downcast and defeated. How was it, that these disciples, the ones that had followed Jesus for a couple of years during his life, were now giving up, only three days after his death? In verse 15-17:

"As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, 'What are you discussing together as you walk along?' They stood still, their faces downcast."

Cleopas, one of the men there, looked right at Jesus, spoke to him and didn't know that he was the Christ and alive. WHAT. Why are they so dense??!

But this is a perfect parallel to our lives. WE are so dense. We fail to see Jesus right in front of us, calling to us and showing us the pathway of peace. The disciples were so distracted with the "failure" of Jesus' life, believing it was all over, that they couldn't see their living, breathing Messiah. In verse 31, after having a meal with Jesus, their eyes were opened and they were amazed. We need to having "burning hearts," (v. 32) for the Lord and know that we are blessed  and victorious, even when life seems impossible.

After the service, we were roped into decorating Easter eggs and then going out to the streets and evangelizing, passing out the decorated eggs. Now, I've never been one to dig going up to a random stranger and saying, "Hey, have ya heard about this guy named Jesus?" I find it so impersonal. You're striking up a conversation with someone you don't know (not wholly bad, in my mind. I enjoy meeting new people.) but then immediately delving into the dark crevices of their heart. That's so invasive for not knowing the person. I'd much prefer getting to know that person, investing in them, letting them know that they are loved, and SHOWING them God's love, rather than telling. After all, an ounce of action is worth a pound of words.

That said, this didn't frighten me too much, because we volunteered a couple of weeks ago to witness to foreigners outside the World Cup Stadium. My wonderful friend, Carolyn-from-South-Africa and I, make a nice evangelist team - we're both outgoing and pretty good with chit-chat which makes it easy to strike up a conversation with strangers. This time, as were scouting for fresh sinful meat, we happened upon some of the same foreigners that we had connected with on our last outreach. It was cool to see how God put them there and us there at the same time to build a relationship. We didn't talk about Jesus the whole time. We mentioned him, yeah, but mostly asked about them, their lives, their interests, and Jesus happened to be thrown in when they asked questions in return. I appreciate how God orchestrated it - and humbled that I could be used by him. I hope more good things come out of the what we're laying a foundation for.