Ansprache in der Andacht in der Luce Chapel der Yonsei Universität am 17.03.2016 Prof. Dr. Ro, Hun Park, Ladies and Gentleman, it is an honor for me to speak to you today. It is an honor for me to be invited to this famous university, one of the best schools in Korea, if not the best. As Horace G. Underwood made history by founding Yonsei, this university already has made history and will make history in the future. I will probably not make history but you have the best chances to make history! I am very thankful to God for this opportunity to preach here. I hope that I can meet your expectations - and that I can keep you awake and listening for the next 20 minutes In early America, in the days of the Wild West, in the time of Indians, Cowboys and shoot outs in the middle of the roads of these wrotten dusty towns of Idaho, New Mexico or North Dakota, - you know them from the movies - there was a custom, a rule, that everybody had to lay down his weapan, his revolver, his colt, when entering the saloon, the coffeshop or restaurant of those days. If everybody followed the rule, there was peace inside. In our times we don t carry around pistols but smartphones. So you will probably understand, if I ask you to put down your smartphone now, shut it off or put it in flight mode. You show your respect for me and for the message I deliver. Lee Sedol playing Alpha Go will wait for you Why was I invited? I think, there are 3 reasons: 1. because I am German from a country, which was devided like your country until 1989 and unified in 1990. In Germany the dream of unifications came true. I learned that many of the young people in Korea are nowadays ignorant to the question of unification. It was the same in Germany. Most people didn t expect unification during their life time. Others didn t like the idea at all. It would be too expensive, they said. But be sure unification will come, because the power of freedom in the end is more powerful than any dictatorship. The dream of unification - don t give it up. Your suffering countrymen in North Korea deserve that you keep the vision of a united and free Korea - and work for it. Why was I invited?
2. because, let me say, I was not born as a pastor, but I was educated to be a lawyer. That was the will of my father, and I was an obedient son. My father was a judge at the court of appeals in Hamburg. So I was strongly advised to study Law. And I did. And I passed the exams and opened up a small law firm in Hamburg. So I became a solicitor and a defense lawyer at the criminal court. And I started to earn money. But for a long time I heard the voice of God calling me to do something else, to preach the Gospel and to work for the church. I tell you from my experience, that there is a God. This God intervened in my life and changed it completely. I had no real choice. If you realize that the living God is speaking to you you better should follow. And you want to follow. So I started to study theology at the University of Hamburg, joined the lutheran church for internship and was ordained pastor. After 8 years as a lawyer I sold my law firm. So you see, God s will was more important than my father s. Why I was invited? 3. Because I was a parish pastor in Hamburg and then nearly 5 years as a missionary in Tanzania, East Africa, living in the bush, with the poor, helping the local church to run their schools in order to educate young Africans for a better future. After Africa I served 13 years as a church manager in the church office.- And now I am here. Serving the 2000 Germans who live in Korea in the german speaking protestant congregation. We have Koreans as members as well as korean students, who want to learn the german language. So, if you are interested, welcome! I come from Germany, from the former West Germany. I was raised in Hamburg - that is a big city for Germany, 2,3 million people, for South Korea this may be a small town. I arrived in Seoul in September 2015 and of course: I am still a newcomer, a foreigner, somebody who knows very little about korean culture, history, politics and every day is a day of new encounters, new discoveries, suprises and misunderstandings. - Of course Korean language is not the easiest language... And foreigners like me can make so many mistakes. So may I ask for mercy for my poor korean. Of course I admire you, because here in Korea even the little
children speak korean. (If you think about, whether it is allowed to laugh or smile yes it is!) I think I have understood your metro system. But sometimes I am finally sitting in a train with the correct metro line number and at the next station I have to realize that it was the correct metro line but the wrong direction. I am pastor muksa of the Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. In our tradition and theology we go back to the reformer Martin Luther, who in 1517 protested against some customs and rules of the by that time only one church, the catholic church, which now excists as the Roman-Catholic Church. In 2017 we will celebrate 500 years of the so called Reformation. The Reformation lead to the formation of seperate protestant churches, first lutheran, then others, like reformed, presbyterian, baptist, methodist and pentecostal churches. I know, that perhaps half of this audience will be of christian denominations, others in this room may be Buddhists or followers of other religions and some of you may be ignorant to religion at all. Still my sermon is directed to you all. And I think it is meaningful to you all. My message to you originates in the Bibel, the Holy Book of the Christians, but this story has universal importance. You may call it world heritage or world wisdom. It answers the question of Mankind: Is there a God? And if so: What is the sense of living? What is the meaning of my life, of your life, if not to be rich? The text comes from the Gospel of the apostle Luke, from chapter 12, Verses 13 to 21, and Jesus Christ himself is supposed to have told this story. It is about life, about the true meaning of your life, about the meaning of money and wealth, for me, for you, for us. It poses questions to you as students of one of the best universities in the world - with good chances to be one of the future leaders of your country, one of the most influential managers or CEO s of korean and international companies, one of the 1000 best paid directors of prosperious korean firms - and it is about earning money - more than you need. The questions are: 1. What is the aim of your studies? 2. Do you plan to be rich? 3. How important is it for you to become rich? 4. Do you think, that besides becoming a rich person there are even more important goals in life than marrying a beautiful girl or a handsome young man?
5. Do you think that there are even more valuable goals in life than earning as much money as you can? If you answer these questions as follows, than the story definitely is for you. 1. What is the aim of your studies? Getting a well paid job! 2. Do you plan to become rich? Yes! 3. How important is it for you to be rich? Very important! 4. Do you think, that besides becoming a rich person there are even more important goals in life than marrying a beautiful girl or a handsome young man? No! 5. Do you think that there are even more valuable goals in life than earning as much money as you can? No! Now the text: The Story of the Rich Fool, (Luke, 12, 13-21) 13 Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus. Teacher, he said, tell my brother to divide the family property with me. 14 Jesus replied, Friend, who made me a judge or umpire between you? 15 Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has. 16 Then Jesus told them a story. He said, A certain rich man's land produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, What should I do? I don't have any place to store my crops. 18 Then he said, This is what I'll do. I will tear down my storerooms and build bigger ones. I will store all my grain and my other things in them. 19 I'll say to myself, You have plenty of good things stored away for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and have a good time. 20 But God said to him, You foolish man! This very night I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? 21 That is how it will be for anyone who stores things away for himself but is not rich in God's eyes. A man requests the help of Jesus, so that he might get his share of the inheritance. This request was not unusual at that time. Rabbis used to get requests like that to solve legal conflicts. But Jesus rejects this
request. His goal is not to help people to get money - let s say, his goal is not to support the greed of the people. Jesus uses this request to set an example. With a simple story Jesus shows that money does not help when the life is taken away from a person. Greed bears greed. He who has money wants to have more. He never is satisfied. Jesus comments, that the greedy, the rich, is the looser. The greedy looses himself. The rich man had a different opinion.the good harvest made him rich and successful. He wanted to stay like that. What is wrong about that? And the successful businessman has to invest the money, in order to expand, to grow, and make even more money, more money, more money. That is logic and true until today. What is wrong about that? The danger is, that the rich builds his life solely upon money, upon posession, that is what gives him security and happiness. For him his life makes sense as long as he is rich. He wants to enjoy his wealth for many years, if not forever, only for himself, perhaps for his family, but not for other people. It does not come to his mind, that he might do so-much-good when sharing his wealth with others. How many hungry people he could feed, how many drugs or how many surgeries he could buy and pay, for people who cannot afford them? How many baby orphans he could educate? How many jobless people he could give a job and a future? How many lifes could he save with his money here in Korea or for instance in Tanzania? How many people he could make happy with his money? In God s eyes: The rich man is poor! Jesus calls him a fool, because he just thinks of himself. He has forgotten his neighbors and he has forgotten God. Our posessions here on earth my be useful and convenient for us, but they should serve a better purpose. It is to love other people beyond your family and your friends, because that is easy. Go beyond, love your neighbor! And be faithful to God. One of these days God will call on you. He will not ask you about the money you have or the cars which you own. But he will ask you: How many people did you help? How many people did you make happy? If you used your knowlegde and wealth just for you, Jesus will comment: You are not educated and rich, your are stupid and poor, you are a fool! Because you do not use, what you have, for the benefit of others and for the world. Today, in the globalized world, you as intelligent and educated people have a growing responsibility for the integrity of the creation, that means saving energy and the reduction of CO2 emissions, and you have
a growing responsibility for the fight against poverty, for social justice and peace. The rich bears responsibility for the poor. And the educated, the Master, the Doctor, the Professor bears responsibility for the uneducated. Both bear responsibility for their society and for the world as a whole and before God! As longer as you study and as more as you understand about our world and the challenges of today: Your responsibility before God grows bigger and bigger. John F. Kennedy told his fellow countrymen: Don t think, what your country can do for you, but think, what you can do for your country. And Jesus would say today, Don t think, what your money and your education can do for you, but what you can do to fight injustice and poverty. Change the world, keep the peace, save the climate and be faithful to God! Amen. Rev. Volker Thiedemann, 16.03.2016