Living by Dying

 

4 generations of the Underwood family

04.19.26

<The Garlic that Braved the Winter>

Dear, sisters and brothers in Christ. Do you know what this is? This isn’t just your average grocery store garlic; this is a "Winter Survivor." Every year, my family and our After-School kids plant garlic before the snow hits. A few years ago, our dear Paula gave a children’s sermon about planting garlic in late autumn to harvest in the summer. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first. I thought, "Planting this in the frozen Maine ground? Is that a gardening plan or a test of faith?" But we planted it anyway, tucking each clove into the earth with our hopes and even our hardships, praying they would grow strong. For six months, those cloves slept under a heavy blanket of snow and bitingly cold winds. But when spring arrived, I saw it—tiny green faces peeking through the straw! By summer, we harvested garlic with a fragrance and flavor that was out of this world. One single clove "died" in the winter to bring forth a whole head of fruit.

Now, we do this every year. The one I have here was actually grown in a pot on my windowsill. My family and I have already "harvested" the leaves for dinner four or five times this winter! This little plant reminds me of people who live truly fragrant lives—those who find true life through "dying" and through hardship.

 

Faith: The companion of suffering

When we talk about someone who "died to self" to bear fruit through suffering, we have to talk about the Apostle Paul. Today, through his letters—Timothy, Titus, and Philemon—we see the paradox of "Living by Dying." Paul met young Timothy in Lystra. Timothy had a great spiritual foundation from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). Paul became his spiritual father and they traveled together for nine years. Later Timothy became a bishop. When false teachers began spreading "fake news" about the Gospel in Ephesus, Paul sent Timothy to fix it. In his first letter, Paul tells Timothy exactly how to handle the stress: Pray. Especially when politics and society get messy, he says:

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority... I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing." (1 Timothy 2:1-2, 8)

Now, we look at suffering in many ways. Sometimes, we think of it as a consequence of mistakes, like in Deuteronomy. But Job and the Psalms teach us that suffering is often a mystery—a process of refinement. Jesus and Paul saw it as the "glory of participating in the sufferings of Christ" (Colossians 1:24). It’s not a punishment; it’s an invitation to carry our own cross.

                                Prayer Meeting on April 16th

Last Thursday, I couldn't be here in the prayer meeting, but I heard you all gathered to pray. That moved me so much! Our monthly prayer meetings every Third Thursday for our nation and our church are exactly how we "survive the winter" together.

 

Legacy: Faith That Outlives Death

2 Timothy is Paul’s "emotional goodbye." He is in a cold prison, knowing his death is near. In this letter, he shows us how "dying" starts a new generation of life:

"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)

Look at the Four Generations here:

1. Paul (the teacher),
2. Timothy (the student/leader),
3. Reliable People (the workers),
4. Others (the future).

Paul was like that single clove of garlic. He "died" in the hard soil of Roman persecution, but because of him, a whole garden of "fragrant garlics"—like Timothy and like us—began to grow.

 

Mr. & Mrs. Underwood

Giving Birth Faith

Think of 1885, when missionaries like Underwood and Appenzeller first arrived in Korea. They saw nothing but poverty. Yet, 1,500 missionaries went there to be "buried" as seeds. Because of them, Korea is now a spiritual powerhouse!

Missionary Underwood’s family stayed for four generations. His son stayed even after losing his wife to violence by the communists; his grandson fought in the Korean War; his great-grandson taught at my alma mater, Yonsei University. Their Korean love lasted 120 years. Three generations are buried in Korean soil. They didn't just visit; they died there so that we could live.

The Underwood family is the root of my faith. Their sacrifice helped me survive the loneliness of being an immigrant in a place with no other Koreans. Like a lonely clove of garlic in a Maine winter, I stood my ground.

 

Yesterday, at the Community Potluck, I shared how this town supported me. I told them that our family was once just a "side dish," a humble Namul. But because you welcomed us and loved us, we became part of the "Main Menu"—the Houlton Bibimbap. I told them how blessed we were to have church members who were our pediatricians, dentists, and surgeons. Dr. Woods kept seven sets of teeth cavity-free for 12 years with Sheila! Even the Walmart staff and the librarians knew our kids. When I accidentally left my printed photos at Walmart, an unknown kind neighbor found them and tucked them safely in our mailbox. That is the spirit of Houlton.

Because of this love, we were able to serve together—feeding 100 kids through the Backpack program, helping 200 families through the food pantry, and connecting our youth with nursing home residents as pen pals. The seeds planted by American missionaries 140 years ago in Korea have grown in our hearts, and now we are sharing those seeds back with you.

 

My Winter survivor seed

Finally, we see this spirit in Philemon. Paul writes about Onesimus, a runaway slave. Paul calls him his "faithful and dear brother." He sends him back to his owner, Philemon, with a challenge that makes no worldly sense: "Forgive him. Accept him not as a slave, but as a brother." (Philemon 1:15-17)

For Philemon, this was a "winter." He had to give up his rights as a master. He had to "die" to his pride and his legal rights. But Paul invited him into this hardship, asking him to be a "clove of garlic" that dies to self to create a new kind of community.

Today, God gives us the same invitation. What is the "winter" you are facing? What is the area where you need to "die" like a clove of garlic? Jesus said, "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

Lately, many of you have shared your stories with me. Some are reading the Bible cover-to-cover for the first time; some are finding God’s love while caring for sick family members. You are the garlic that is braving the winter! Let us not fear the cold. Let us trust that by "dying" to our own pride and our own schedules, we are giving birth to new life. May we be the "fragrant garlic" of Houlton, bringing a beautiful aroma to the world.

Think of Abraham. He became a single clove of garlic, offering his entire life to the Lord in faith. He died without seeing the full harvest, holding onto nothing but God's promise. But today, we are his harvest. Christians all over the world, from every race and nation, have become the children of Abraham through faith. God’s promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky has been fulfilled in us!

Like Abraham, we may not see the full fruit of our labor in our lifetime. This year, I will not be here to see the harvest of the garlic we planted together. I will not taste the fruit of the seeds we tucked into the Maine soil last autumn.

But I believe. I believe those cloves will grow. I believe they will be harvested and shared with our children and their families. I believe that fruit will eventually bear even more fruit. And most importantly, I believe that through these little cloves of garlic, our children will learn to conquer their own winters with hope. They will grow up to be 'cloves of garlic' themselves—walking the same path that Jesus, Paul, and our ancestors of faith once walked.

So today, I bless you. May each of us become a single clove of garlic that braves the winter, trusts the promise, and gives birth to a beautiful new life in Christ. Amen.