Wonderfully Hopeful
Delivered by Rev. Jonathan Oh on Sunday, November 2, 2025.
英語のテキストの後に日本語訳があります。こちらはChatGPTによる機械翻訳であり、文法的な誤りが含まれている可能性があります。基本的な正確さを確認しております。
Passages:
Isaiah 1:10-18 (NRSV)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more;
13 bringing offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation—
I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me,
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
Ephesians 1:11-23 (NRSV)
11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Paul’s Prayer
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Sermon Text:
Illustration: I have the wonderful privilege of having two young daughters. I absolutely love my kids, but every parent at some point hits the timeline that we have arrived at… the time when our toddlers and toddlers to be are trying to figure out their world - and end up frustrating us parents to where our hairs turn gray with their kids’ names on them. Sometimes the kids “go through the motions” of slowly getting ready in the morning, and it is really hard because their hearts aren’t in it. Why does it take an hour for my child to eat their breakfast? Why is it easy for them to find some fallen hair on the floor but take 15 minutes trying to find their pajamas? I still love my kids, but it definitely tests my patience in the mornings when we’re trying to head off to nursery and make sure to get there on time.
Isaiah Passage: Our first Scripture passage seems to show some similarities to the idea of “going through the motions” and the frustration that comes from that. Isaiah was a prophet during some of the last few kings of Judah. God called Isaiah to speak truth to a nation who had turned their back completely against God. When we look at today’s passage, God compares the leaders of Judah to those of Sodom and and the people of Judah to the city of Gomorrah - cities during Abraham’s time which were destroyed in fiery judgment because of their immorality and their inhospitality. The people of Judah were simply going through the motions of bringing sacrifices to God, and God was sick of it. He was not at all interested in receiving sacrifices that were meaningless - from a people who continued to commit sin and injustice. God was disgusted by them and rather wanted them to not be giving sacrifices and showing up at the temple with them. They have become - God’s words - “a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them” (v. 14). It’s interesting how the God of the universe depicts His attitude as being exhausted by the people, but the frustrations of a faithless people truly grieved God. He follows up by saying that even if they were praying to God, God would hide His eyes from them and not listen to their many prayers (v. 15).
Yet: However, even as God made very clear that He was frustrated with the people, the Lord still provided yet another opportunity for the nation of Judah to consider their actions as a nation and granted them an opportunity to repent and to change. He called them to wash themselves and make themselves clean, removing and stopping their evil actions and instead doing what was right and just. This is what God wanted from the people of Judah.
History: Yet when we look at the history of Judah, it tells us what ultimately happened - exile. The people did not repent. Change did not come. Nor should we have seen that coming. The ultimate issue was that we people cannot deal with issues of our heart on our own. God cares about what it is in our hearts more than anything else because it impacts how we worship God and how we love and serve others. In the end, the people of Judah did not worship God with all of their hearts, and the people did not love their neighbors. That is where injustice abounded. That is why God described their hands as full of blood. We see these types of problems continuing today - the information that we hear about these problems abound, the failure to love our neighbors and to extend justice and hospitality to those who need it. How can we as people deal with these problems that continue among us and in our world today?
God’s Faithfulness: God is the One who has to resolve our problem of sin, and thankfully, God is wonderfully faithful. After describing the issues that He had with Judah, God said through Isaiah that though their sins were like scarlett, they will be white as snow, and sins as red as crimson will be white as wool. It means that God had a plan in place. The book of Isaiah makes a connection between the present need for a Savior and the future promise of the One to come. Through Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, and our sins are atoned for. Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness, and Christ’s work is in full power within us. Simply put, the reasons why the Lord found the people of Judah frustrating - and our inability to serve and worship God perfectly, is because we needed a Savior. Because God made this path forward, we who are saved by Christ are called children of God. God showed that His love is greater than our sins, and that His mercy is more effective beyond the just punishment that we truly deserve. He would cure us of our fallen, broken hearts. No longer will God need to be frustrated with His wayward children, for through Christ, they will be restored and purified.
Hope: But God’s promise to purify and forgive us has a deeper implication than just solving our current situation. It also means that because we have a Savior, we are given real hope, true hope, guaranteed hope. In our second Scripture reading in the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul writes about how we have hope in Christ. We obtain an inheritance because of our Savior, and ultimately, this is done for the glory of God. It is the plan that God had set in place before we even realized that we needed Him. This means that through our imperfections, our sins, and our inability to fully please God, we are able to find hope in the fact that God has already forgiven us through Jesus Christ. We are marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, and therefore, we have the pledge of what is to come in the future. We can live life differently, not as little children who at times focus on what we selfishly want but as redeemed ones who see more of the way God sees. As we were all once children, over time, as we grew, we were able to know what was good and what was not, and as God’s children, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are able to grow in wisdom, and the truth of God’s Word is revealed to us over time. The promise is one given not just for us today but for all of those who come to declare that Jesus is Lord and their personal Savior.
All Saints Sunday: I made reference to this briefly in our Letter to the Congregation this week, but in some parts of the Christian church, the feasts of All Hallows Eve, All Hallows Day (also known as All Saints Day), and All Souls Day are observed from October 31 to November 2. The feasts help us see the big picture of Christ’s church throughout time and space, with particular remembrance on All Souls Day (which is today) of those who have departed into the presence of the Lord. Ultimately, we are reminded that because of Jesus’ triumph over the grave, we too are victors with Christ. We live in this world differently from those who are living without hope. WTUC is one of so many churches that exists visibly throughout the world and declares this Good News - that because our God is wonderfully faithful, we are given salvation from our sins and hope for the life to come. We grieve not as ones that do not have hope, because we are and will be in the presence of our Creator and Savior.
Application: As we are redeemed children of God through Jesus Christ, we are told what it means to be faithful to the Lord. When we look back at our passage in Isaiah, the Lord instructs His people in verses 16-17 to repent, to stop doing evil, to do good, to seek justice, to rescue the oppressed, to defend the orphan, and to plead for the widow. When our lives are rooted in Christ with a view to the future in hope, we are able to find that richness that helps us to do what honors God in the here and now. We are able to live lives that please God - not because we are forced or obligated to do so by just going through the motions - but because that is the desire that comes from our transformed hearts. We seek the welfare of those around us, to show incredible hospitality, and to help those who need to be protected and defended. The Lord calls us to be faithful, just as He is wonderfully faithful. That faithfulness should be evident to those around us, just as Paul described the church in Ephesus.
Conclusion: So WTUC, as we reflect upon God’s incredible love for us wayward people, may we be reminded today of His wonderful faithfulness that gives us hope. Let us declare this hope to those around us in our community here, and may we live with hope each day, honoring God through the lives that we live. Amen.
日本語の翻訳：
たとえ話：
私は二人の小さな娘を持つという、とてもすばらしい特権を与えられています。子どもたちのことが大好きですが、親なら誰でも通る時期があります。そう、それは幼児たちが自分の世界を理解しようとし始める時期です。つまり、親のフラストレーションのせいで親の髪の毛がどんどん白くなる時期です（笑）。
朝の支度のときなど、子どもたちはただ「形だけ」やっているような時があります。心がこもっていないのです。なぜ朝ごはんを食べるのに一時間もかかるのか？なぜ床の上の髪の毛はすぐ見つけられるのに、パジャマを探すのに15分もかかるのか？
もちろん私は子どもたちを愛していますが、朝、保育園に間に合うように出かけようとしているときには、正直言って忍耐が試されます。
イザヤ書の箇所：
今日の聖書箇所（イザヤ書）には、この「形だけやっている」という話と少し似た部分があります。イザヤは、ユダ王国の最後のいくつかの王の時代に活動した預言者です。神さまは、イザヤに、神に背を向けた国に真実を語るように命じました。
今日の箇所で神さまは、ユダの指導者たちをソドムの人々に、ユダの国の民をゴモラの町の人々にたとえています。ソドムとゴモラは、アブラハムの時代に不道徳と冷たさのために炎の裁きを受けて滅びた町でした。
ユダの人々も同じように、神にいけにえをささげる「形」だけを続けていました。神さまはそんな彼らにうんざりしていました。罪や不正をやめようとしないままささげるいけにえは、意味がないからです。神さまは彼らのことを、「わたしの重荷となり、わたしはそれを担うのに疲れ果てた」と言われました（イザヤ1章14節）。
宇宙を造られた神さまが、「疲れた」と言われるのはすごいことです。それほどまでに、信仰のない民の姿は神さまを悲しませたのです。神さまはこうも言われました。「たとえ彼らが祈っても、わたしは目を覆い、その祈りを聞かない」（15節）。
それでも：
しかし、神さまは怒りや失望の中でも、ユダの民にもう一度チャンスを与えました。神さまは「自分を洗い、きよくせよ。悪い行いをやめ、正しいこと、公正なことを行いなさい」と呼びかけました。神さまが本当に求めておられたのは、心からの正しさと行動の変化だったのです。
歴史から見て：
けれども歴史が示すように、ユダの民は悔い改めませんでした。その結果、国は滅び、民はバビロンに捕らわれていきました。
でも実際のところ、私たちはそれを予想できたかもしれません。なぜなら、人間の心の問題は、自分の力だけでは解決できないからです。
神さまは、私たちの心の中を何よりも大切にされます。なぜなら、心が私たちの礼拝のあり方や、人を愛する行動に深く関わっているからです。ユダの民は、心から神を礼拝せず、隣人を愛しませんでした。そのため不正がはびこり、「あなたがたの手は血で満ちている」と言われたのです。
そして同じような問題は、今の時代にもあります。ニュースを見れば、弱い人を助けず、正義や思いやりを欠いた出来事がたくさん報じられています。では、私たちはどうすればこの問題に向き合えるのでしょうか？
神の真実さ：
答えは、神さまご自身にあります。神さまこそ、私たちの罪の問題を解決できるお方です。そして感謝なことに、神さまはとても誠実で、あわれみ深い方です。
神さまはイザヤを通してこう言われました。
「たとえあなたがたの罪が緋のように赤くても、雪のように白くなる。たとえ紅のように赤くても、羊の毛のように白くなる」（イザヤ1章18節）。
これは、神さまがすでに救いの計画を立てておられたことを意味します。イザヤ書では、「今の救いの必要」と「将来来られる救い主」の約束がつながっています。その救い主こそ、イエス・キリストです。
イエス・キリストによって、私たちの罪は赦され、きよめられます。キリストの正しさが、私たちの正しさとなり、キリストの力が私たちの中で働くのです。
言い換えれば、神さまがユダの民に感じた「もどかしさ」や、私たちが神を完全に礼拝できない理由は、私たちが救い主を必要としていたからです。
キリストによって救われた私たちは、神の子どもと呼ばれる者となりました。神の愛は私たちの罪よりも大きく、神のあわれみは、私たちが受けるはずだった罰よりもはるかに深いのです。神さまは私たちの壊れた心をいやしてくださいます。
もはや神さまは、迷う子どもたちに対して失望する必要がありません。キリストによって、私たちは新しくされ、きよめられるのです。
希望（Hope）：
けれども、神さまが私たちをきよめ、赦してくださるという約束には、今の問題を解決する以上の深い意味があります。
それは、「救い主がいる」ということによって、私たちが本当の希望を与えられているということです。確かな、消えない希望です。
新約聖書のエペソ人への手紙の中で、パウロは「私たちはキリストにあって希望を持つ」と書いています。私たちは救い主によって受け継ぐべきもの（相続）を与えられ、それはすべて神の栄光のためになされるのです。しかもそれは、私たちが神を必要としていることに気づく前から、神さまがすでに計画してくださっていたことなのです。
つまり、私たちが不完全で、罪を犯し、神さまを完全に喜ばせることができなくても、イエス・キリストによってすでに赦されているという事実の中に、希望を見いだすことができるのです。
私たちは「約束の聖霊によって印を押された者」として、これから与えられる未来の祝福を約束されています。
だから、私たちは今を違う生き方で生きることができます。自分の欲しいものだけを求める小さな子どものようではなく、神さまの目で世界を見る、贖われた者として生きるのです。
子どものころ、少しずつ「何が良くて何が悪いか」を学んだように、私たちは神の子として、聖霊の導きによって知恵を得、神の言葉の真理を少しずつ理解していきます。
この神の約束は、今の私たちだけのためではなく、これから「イエスは主です」と告白するすべての人たちに与えられるものです。
諸聖徒の日（All Saints Sunday）：
今週の教会のおたよりにも少し書きましたが、キリスト教の伝統の一部では、10月31日から11月2日にかけて、三つの記念日が続きます。
10月31日は**「万聖節前夜（All Hallows’ Eve）」、11月1日は「万聖節（All Saints’ Day）」、そして11月2日は「すべての死者の日（All Souls’ Day）」**です。
この三つの日は、時代や国を越えて続くキリストの教会の大きなつながりを思い起こさせます。特に「すべての死者の日」（今日）は、すでに主のもとに帰った人たちを覚える日です。
けれども最終的に私たちが思い出すべきことは、イエスが死に打ち勝たれたという事実です。そしてその勝利によって、私たちもキリストと共に勝利者とされたのです。
だから、私たちは希望のない人々とは違って、この世を生きることができます。
私たちの教会（WTUC）は、世界中にある多くの教会のひとつとして、次の良い知らせを伝え続けています。
**「神さまは誠実なお方であり、私たちは罪から救われ、永遠の希望を与えられている」**ということです。
私たちは悲しむときでも、希望のない者のようには悲しみません。なぜなら、私たちは今も、そして永遠に、創造主であり救い主である神さまのもとにいるからです。
実践（Application）：
イエス・キリストによって神の子とされた私たちは、どのように主に忠実に生きるかを示されています。
イザヤ書の1章16～17節で、神さまはこう命じています。
「悪をやめ、善を行い、公正を求め、虐げられている人を救い、みなしごを守り、やもめを助けなさい。」
つまり、希望に満ちた将来を見つめながらキリストに根ざして生きるとき、今の人生の中でも神さまを喜ばせる生き方ができるということです。
それは「仕方なく」や「義務的に」行うのではありません。心が変えられたからこそ、「神さまを喜ばせたい」という思いから自然と出てくる行動なのです。
私たちは周りの人々の幸せを願い、思いやりを持ってもてなし、守られるべき人を助けます。
神さまが誠実であられるように、私たちも誠実に生きるようにと呼ばれています。
その誠実さが私たちのまわりの人にも見えるように——ちょうどパウロがエペソの教会をほめたように——そう生きることが、信仰の証しなのです。
結び（Conclusion）：
ですから、WTUCの皆さん。
私たちのように道を外れがちな者にも注がれる、神さまの驚くべき愛と誠実さを、今日もう一度思い出しましょう。
その誠実さが私たちに希望を与えています。
この希望を、私たちのまわりの人たちにも伝えていきましょう。
そして、毎日の生活の中で神さまをあがめながら、希望をもって生きていきましょう。
アーメン。