“You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
Mark 7:8
Dear members and friends,
When I was in my early twenties, Daoism appealed deeply to my mind for a couple of reasons. In Daoistic teachings, I found these two principles especially fascinating: 1. there is no God who I must please, thus no heaven or hell; 2. Life is not about improving myself, but about being useful as I am. Daoism came to me after I was deeply disappointed by the narrow interpretation of the Christian God and heaven, and by the incomprehensible explanation of the Karmic system and reincarnation in Buddhism. In a way, I just wanted my existence to be useful and necessary in the world.
After studying the Bible intently for many years, I realized that what the Bible teaches is not far away from Daoistic teachings. The Bible portrays a religious experience based on specifically-defined realities of life and one’s relationship with God. Thus, when reading the Bible, we might want to keep in mind a few principles: 1. God is always good for humans, thus being near or united with God is the optimal way of living for humans; 2. God does not push people away, but based on the choices people make, they could be moved away from God’s presence; 3. The Bible was written by humans based on their comprehension of the world at their time. Both Yahweh in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament express objections to man-made traditions that are essentially obstacles to humans’ union with God. Thus, the traditions are harmful to humans. This is explained in Daoism as when humans put obstacles into the flow of Dao by proclaiming their own interpretations and understanding of Dao. In other words, humans have a tendency to insist their own reasoning as truth instead of seeking and finding the real truth descending from high above.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment of prayer this week. Find a quiet place and calm your mind first. Then, send a gentle invitation to God for the Divine presence. The more you empty yourself, the more real the Divine will become to your mind.
Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee