“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’” - Luke 2:10-11 (NRSV)
 
“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” Christmas is the season for good news of great joy. Our joy grows with love, and the degrees of love are also the degrees of joy. At the very start of our spiritual pilgrimage, our soul experienced the joys of discovering our new self and a new universe.
 
Second Corinthians chapter five verse 17 speaks of the thrills of being initiated in a life of grace. “So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”
 
Since we moved to Ohio, every step has been the joy of discovery. I have shared with the leadership teams in the East and West Ohio Conferences that they are a joy to know and to work with.
 
I first believed in Jesus when I was 16 years-old in Korea. That belief was a cultural shock to my life. The life of Jesus Christ came to me as a powerful light that pushed through the pessimism, the darkness, and the hopelessness I had been wrestling with. It added to my cultural identity. Yes, I was Korean, but I was also becoming a Christian.
 
The story of the wise men, the magi, who went to Bethlehem to worship before the baby Jesus was born has become the central discourse of my life. I have been on a 50-year pilgrimage seeking to live like Christ since converting to Christianity in my youth.
 
“When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” - Matthew 2:9-12 (NRSV)
 
Like the wise men who came to worship with gold, frankincense, and myrrh, I prayed that I would like to give my most precious life to baby Jesus. After reading an article by a spiritualist named John Wu who confessed that he was a Chinese scholar who came to worship with Buddhist balm, Confucian gold, and Taoist myrrh, I began to ask what I would bring to the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Korean Christian, I began to ask how I could worship Jesus with my own Korean-ness.

My grandfather was a Confucian scholar, so I have learned that teaching since childhood. From my grandmother I learned Buddhism and would often accompany her to the nearby Buddhist temple carrying the offering bag of rice. I also learned Shamanism because it was practiced deeply by people in our village.

I decided I would study about Buddhism after seminary to clarify my soul’s journey and offer myself an interfaith theology. For many years I have studied Buddhist Studies while engaging in ministry. It all comes from the stories of the Magi.

Buddhism has persuaded my soul with “meekness, humility, compassion, peace, self-emptying love and interdependence of life.” I have learned from interfaith aspects in my Christian spirituality with the Buddhist matrix.
 
I was blessed to discover who I am and who I will be – and that is the gift I would offer the Christ child in Bethlehem. As I studied, my love for Jesus grew stronger like a fire inside of me, and as the fire grew hotter, my joy and my excitement for ministry grew stronger.

The Christmas story brings us joy because it reminds us that we all have something that we can give to God. Let us rejoice, O my Beloved! Let us enter the love of God and let us see God’s beauty.

When I found what I could be and do, my heart became full of joy and I felt blessed.

My respected siblings, hear these words again from Luke 2:10-11: “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’”

My dear siblings, I am so blessed by each of you, and I look forward to serving with you in ministry in the new year as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

God with us, Emmanuel. May you experience Emmanuel joy! Let us love each other in all we do. Nothing is sweeter than love. Nothing is stronger or more generous. Nothing is higher or more pleasant. And nothing is fuller or better in heaven or on earth than love.
 
Christ Jesus is here with us with love! Merry Christmas!

Amen.