A book expressing the beauty of Advent, a time of waiting for the Lord

As we light the candles one by one during the Advent season, we must pray that the darkness that has been engulfing us will recede.
We must shed some light on the darkness that dwells in our hearts, the darkness that has fallen upon our society, and the darkness that has descended upon this one and only Earth.
That is true waiting.
This is a collection of sermons written by Pastor Kim Ki-seok, in which he conveys his thoughts on true waiting every year during the Advent season, as he has realized it.

This book is a collection of Advent and Christmas sermons given at Cheongpa Church over a period of four years.
I hope that readers can feel the author's footsteps and breath that have passed through his soul.
I am grateful to all my friends at Cheongpa Church who are struggling together and seeking a true life.
I am grateful to those who shine the light of Christ throughout the world, even if it is as small as a firefly.
We thank the Lord for coming into this world through us today.

How should we wait for the Lord? Anyone who has ever waited for something or someone will know.
Waiting brings joy and excitement, but it also brings impatience, fear, and even loneliness.
You can't leave the place while you're waiting.
Because the lengths must not be different.
In a sense, waiting takes away our freedom.
But it's not that I only hate that lack of freedom.
Because the object of waiting brings joy and happiness.
---From "Those Who Wait for the Lord"

I agree with the saying, “Progress is the expansion of the ability to embrace.”
Welcoming strangers and giving them a place to belong, respecting differences, and cherishing the lives of the vulnerable is the right path we should take.
Jeremy Rifkin describes history as a process of expanding empathy.

But reality seems to betray our expectations.
The lives of the socially vulnerable are at risk, and hatred and loathing toward refugees are running rampant.
There are too many zombies who are alive in body but seem to have had their souls taken away.
People who can't control their anger, people who live with sharp claws, and people who are insensitive to the suffering of others walk the streets.
It's a dangerous world.
---From “Waiting is the culmination of spiritual sensitivity”

Habakkuk begins by asking why God does not punish the injustice in the world but instead stands by and does nothing.
Jewish society in Habakkuk's time was in complete disarray.
Injustice, plunder, violence, strife and disputes continued unabated, the law was neglected and justice was not administered.
The wicked threaten the righteous, and justice is destroyed (1:2-4).


God tells Habakkuk that he will use the Chaldeans as a scourge to judge Judah.
But the prophet could not understand God's will.
So he grumbles and asks questions.
The question is, is it right for God to judge Judah by citing a nation that is more wicked and immoral than his people, a nation that worships its own power as its god, even though his people have sinned?
Why does God, who cannot stand to see evil, allow those who oppress others with force to remain silent?
---From "That Day Will Definitely Come"

It's a dreamlike story.
In today's world, where news of war and terrorism is constant, does this prophetic dream hold true? Foolish as it may seem, those who believe must cling to this dream and live by it.
We must prove through our lives that the power to love is greater than the power to hate.
We must show that love, care, and understanding are more powerful than swords and spears.
A war to eliminate an opponent only invites another war.


Micah speaks of a coming world where people will sit under their own vines and fig trees and live in peace, a world free from all threats.
It is not a fantasy born within an individual named Micah.
It is a dream given by God.
If there is anything we must do, it is to remove the roughness and sharpness within us to create such a world.


Poet Kim Jun-tae painfully sings of hope in “Gukbap and Hope.”
The poet says that he calms his mind by eating warm soup in a reality that seems completely hopeless.

---From "Hope Begins in the Borderlands"