My Spiritual Journal

Prayer in Old Age

2011-09-18T19:15:00.002+08:00

Prayer of a nun from the 17th century

"Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am getting older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind from the recital of endless details - give me the wings to come to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old woman is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and the talents in unexpected people. And give me the grace to tell them so."

Shaped by God

2011-09-18T18:58:00.004+08:00

"I used to imagine it was our job to make ourselves holy. I've slowly realized that we often seek for ourselves our own satisfactions and complacency-- even in the most apparently unselfish efforts. God shaped us, not we ourselves. Through life, in ways we would never have planned, God strips us of our ego, prepares us for Godself. For an active person, the hardest penance is to be unable to act. For Jesus at the height of his powers and vigor, the cross meant being passive, nailed down, speechless, helpless. We could not and would not plan these experiences for ourselves. Jesus begged for the chalice to pass from him.

Who would ask for Alzhemier's as a way to go? But if we believe in God's Providence-- and that is not easy-- that must be what he was doing to Moira, who had given him an enthusiastic life. The real achievement of that life was not in her creative efforts or sleepless nights at the service of others, but in her recognition of God's hand in the suffering which accompanied her to the grave."

-- Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2011

John Stott

2011-07-28T18:34:00.003+08:00

"We are called to double listening: listening to the Word, listening to the world."

- John Stott (27 April 1921 to 27 July 2011)

Prayer and our heart

2011-07-18T18:51:00.000+08:00

"Prayer can bring the truths of faith and life from the head to the heart;
prayer opens the heart not only to God, but to all we meet."

- Sacred Space: the Prayer Book 2011

Trop est avare á qui Dieu ne suffit

2011-07-14T21:14:00.001+08:00

"It is remarkable how much self-emptying we all experience as we grow older... Saint John of the Cross, writing the Dark Night of the Soul, saw God's action in all this: as ego recede, God can fill our hearts.

Trop est avare á qui Dieu ne suffit. (You're too greedy if God is not enough for you.)"

- Sacred Space: the Prayer Book 2011

Illusions of fulfillment

2011-07-03T21:13:00.001+08:00

"Everything has the potential to draw forth from me a fuller love and life.
Yet my desires are often fixed, caught, on illusions of fulfillment. I ask that God, through my freedom, may orchestrate my desires in a vibrant loving melody rich in harmony."

- Sacred Space: the Prayer Book 2011

New Eyes

2011-07-03T12:23:00.003+08:00

"Being a Christian doesn't mean having big ideas, but new eyes."
"It is our wounds that gives us our credentials, not our degrees."

- Shane Claiborne from Dirty Theology
Sermon in Duke University Chapel (4 March 2011)

Listen to the sermon on youtube

The Clarity of Faith

2011-04-11T13:04:00.003+08:00

"Not that there are no clarities in the life of faith... But these clarities develop from within... Faith invades the muddle; it does not eliminate it. Peace develops in the midst of chaos... Such clarities come from adventuring deep into the mysteries of God's will and love, not by cautiously managing and moralizing in ways that minimize risk and guarantee self-importance."

- Eugene Peterson, Run with the Horses

Faith

2011-03-21T13:26:00.002+08:00

"For faith is not a leap out of the everyday but a plunge into its depths."
- Eugene Peterson, Run with the Horses

Darkness

2011-03-21T12:57:00.003+08:00

Heard this Taize chant for the first time in a prayer meeting for Japan last Friday.

"Our darkness is never darkness in your sight: the deepest night is as clear as daylight."

Thoughts on Christmas

2010-12-26T16:54:00.002+08:00

Christmas used to be the holiday I loved the most. I remember as a kid, I eagerly waited for Christmas every year, dreaming about a tall Christmas tree at home with lots of gifts underneath. As a teenager, I was disappointed because I could not go out to have fun during the Christmas holidays. As a university student, I went out for Christmas carolling and Christmas countdown... I even chose to be baptised in the Christmas service, simply because I love Christmas.

Christmas was still my favourite time of the year until not long ago. I didn't even know when I stopped feeling like that.

I don't think it was when I realised a lot of people went to carolling for a Christmasy feel, something seemingly meaningful to do in the Christmas time before going off to the celebrations for fun. I don't think it was when I realised how I contributed to the global environmental pollution by doing all those "gift exchanges" during parties. I don't think it was when I realised Christmas has become a ploy for merchants to get us to buy things "for our loved ones and for ourselves".

I don't know when the change happened, only that it did. And all the reasons above have contributed to it. And now Christmas is no more than a few days of leave for me.

(Before some of you may start scolding me for forgetting the fact that this is the BIG day of Jesus' birth and then I launch into this long discussion of how this was not THE day and how 2 of the 4 Gospels did not even mentioned Jesus' birth, I am going to tell you please read on and that I think Easter is much more meaningful. If I could choose again, I would have chosen to be baptised in Easter instead.)

Christmas is hijacked even among Christians by the world (Easter as well, but much less so), we have adopted all these Christmas celebrations without thinking. Why do we need to buy gifts for each other in Christmas? If we need to give someone something, shouldn't that someone be Jesus/God? Why do we need to have Christmas parties? The list goes on...

I didn't quite get it before when I heard some Christians saying Christmas should be called Winterval instead, because it has become a mere festival for most. A few days ago, I read this article on how Christmas should be re-named: Kenotic (Emptying/Humbling) festival. (The original article is in Chinese, and the original author used the term "降卑節", just in case my less than adequate translation caused any misunderstanding.) This was when Jesus humbled himself to become a human in order to save us.

He did not save us so that we can indulge ourselves and have fun (oh yes, sometimes we use the term "joy" instead to represent the same thing) during his "birthday". If only we can celebrate his "birthday" by serving others, and experiencing the life of the poor and the deprived, his "birthday" would become a much more meaningful event for all.

The way Christmas has departed from its original meaning is also an indication of how the church has followed the world down the consumerist and hedonistic path. Yes, we do criticize shopping arcades for putting Santa Claus and reindeers up as decorations instead of the Nativity Scene, but we shop and celebrate and consume just like every other non-Christian in the Christmas season, AFTER going to the Christmas/Christmas Eve service. Is that the only difference we have as Christians, that we celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday instead of just a festive holiday?

印度扶貧體驗分享

2010-05-02T11:57:00.007+08:00

當我的朋友聽到我要去印度時，都問我是不是去短宣。我都回答說我不是。因為根據一般的理解，我這個旅程完全不算是短宣。

不過到底宣教是什麼？是不是當我們去了另一個國家，對那裡的人宣講「信耶穌，得永生」就等於宣教，就是傳福音？Bosch在《更新變化的宣教：宣教神學的典範變遷》一書中，提出宣教的宣教典範包括了尋求公義，在盼望中行動等，這些是我們華人福音派教會很少想到的宣教層面。

在耶穌傳道旅程開始的時候，他在會堂裡說：「主的靈在我身上，因為他用膏膏我，叫我傳福音給貧窮的人；差遣我報告：被擄的得釋放，瞎眼的得看見，叫那受壓制的得自由，報告神悅納人的禧年。」〈路四18-19）這句話代表了耶穌所作的，耶穌特別關注貧窮人，祂關心的不止是在他們靈魂上的得救，也包括全人的救贖。

近幾年，我在不斷思考著自己怎能實踐出整全使命(Integral Mission)這個問題。彌迦網絡(Micah Network)在「整全使命」宣言提到：「整全使命…是福音的宣講和實踐…我們的社會參與亦帶著傳福音果效…公義與因信稱義、敬拜與政治行動、屬靈與屬物質、個人改變與架構轉變，合成整體，而耶穌一生─祂的生命、祂的作為和祂的說話，正是我們整全事工的核心。」這次印度之旅，神就擴闊了我的眼界，讓我看到整全使命的實踐。

貧窮卻富足

印度是四大文明古國之一，當我們走到街上，不難看到一些擁有悠久歷史的建築物。不過令人難過的是，帳棚和垃圾在印度都是隨處可見。除了一些比較繁華的街道和高尚的地區外，滿街都是從鄉下移居到城市的人所棲身的帳棚，晚上這些居住在帳棚的人就在路邊煮他們的晚餐。另外，有不少人更是連遮蔭擋雨的帳棚都沒有，就只能露宿街頭。我也去過不少比較貧窮的地方，可是我卻從未遇見這樣的情況。

我在這次旅程中探訪了幾個貧民窟。當中的機構都會透過教育、技能訓練、儲蓄互助組織幫助那裡的居民改善生活，此外他們也會關注小孩營養和婦女健康。儲蓄互助組織目的是幫助那裡的婦女儲蓄，以及透過借貸提供她們生活所需，甚至幫助她們脫貧。透過居民的社區參與，除了能建立可持續的社區發展外，也讓居民明白到自己的能力和權利，藉此達到全人的改變。

貧民窟的生活環境很差，有些甚至是沒有食水供應，也沒有排污設施。走在巷子裡，到處都是蒼蠅，還記得我在一次探訪時，就有一隻蒼蠅降落在我的嘴巴上！縱然如此，你在那裡還是可以見到兒童們天真爛漫的笑臉。雖然和當地的居民有著言語溝通的障礙，但仍可以感受到他們的熱情。我們去印度短短八天的時間，能幫助他們，了解他們，或能帶給他們的真的不多，可是他們讓我們看到的，卻是意想不到的豐足。

正如台灣學者孫大川談到貧窮人不是「一群等待救援的社會殘渣，我們也不再是公正或自以為是的救世者。我們必需學習『聆聽』，從那些受苦的貧窮人身上更深地瞭解人性，並和他們共同鉤畫人類的遠景，讓他們來改變我們…貧窮人才是人性的真正導師，他們使我們能從實存的意義上瞭解生命！我深信，在人類追尋一更合乎人性之社會的道路上，貧窮人將永遠佔著一積極、重要的角色。」

他們的缺乏

我們在一個已建立了的社區中遇到了一群少年人，他們透過這機構的同工認識信仰，卻因為家人的反對，不能參與教會的聚會。而同工在建立了可持續發展的社區以後，亦已經離開了那地區，到別的地區工作，不會常常回去探望他們。這一群少年人雖然有聚集在一起查經，不過他們希望有人可以帶領他們查經。因為那一區附近的牧師已經有很多的工作，根本不可能抽空到他們那裡去。我們總是嚷著沒有空去學習聖經，可是他們卻是想學也沒有機會。同工的缺乏讓他們屬靈生命的成長遇到困難。

印度的愛滋病問題非常嚴重，愛滋病患者在社會上會受到極大的歧視，所以很多愛滋病患者得病以後，往往不敢告訴他們的家人和朋友。在這次的行程裏，我們探訪了一個關懷愛滋病患者的機構，他們和教會合作，開辦了孤兒院給愛滋病患者的遺孤，並且舉辦了一些互助組織讓愛滋病患者參與。另外，他們亦會開辦一些關於價值觀的教育課程，讓學生們建立健康的自我形象，教導他們好好珍惜自己的身體，從而減少感染愛滋病或其他性病的機會。我也去了其中一家孤兒院，探訪了一群因父母的關係而染病的小孩。不管是學習知識，還是在待人接物上，他們都接受了良好的教育，更重要的是這個家讓他們感受到自己是深深地被愛著的，從教會和他們的養父母身上，他們認識到主耶穌的愛。因著這份愛，他們立志將來要回饋社會，服侍社會上那些貧乏的人，這令我們非常感動。不過將來他們的路仍是非常的難走，因為他們在社會上所受到的歧視實在很大。我們也探訪了一群患有愛滋病的成年人，他們都不敢告訴家人和朋友自己的病，甚至連生病去醫院也沒人陪。我還記得其中有一位女士，樣貌看起來好像只有十多歲，身體瘦骨嶙峋，看在眼裏，心裡真的替她感到非常傷心難過。他們都缺乏了來自社會的接納和包容。

此外，我們也在另一個機構，聽他們分享在別的省份的工作。那裡的耕地因氣候轉變，只有百分之四還是可以灌溉的。不管是世界氣候的暖化，抑或是社會上的歧視，貧窮其實是牽涉到社會和國際政策的種種問題。「行公義、好憐憫」，不可以單單限於金錢上的援助，這些貧窮人需要更多先知的聲音為他們在社會和世界上發聲。印度這片土地和在上面生活的人都需要我們的禱告。

存謙卑的心與神同行

在這個旅程裡，我遇到了很多不同的團友和當地機構的同工，每個人都是非常不同。從每個人身上，我都學習到不一樣的東西，也見到神用不同的人，在不同的地方成就他的事工。在這個旅程中，真實地見到「行公義，好憐憫，存謙卑的心與神同行」中最後一句的重要性，也讓我重新思考我怎樣可以存著謙卑的心和不一樣的人同工、跟貧窮人同行。

整全使命

這次旅程中最特別的是在印度看到兩間實踐著整全使命的教會。他們會關心在貧民窟生活的居民、妓女、愛滋病患者以及孤兒。他們以耶穌關心貧乏人的心，去愛那些有需要的人，他們關心的不只是這些人的靈命，發展重點也不放在教會人數的增長上，只是專注於服侍這群被社會遺棄和忽略的貧乏人。

我問那位牧師，他教會裡面的會眾是否都像香港一般，有很多中產人士，而他們會否成為教會推行關心這些和他們有距離的人的阻力？他說當初那些街童走進他們的教會，吵吵鬧鬧的，而且還令教會裡充斥著臭味，這確實令他有點猶疑。但隨著這些年日的過去，那些不喜歡他們工作的，或是和他們異象不一樣的弟兄姐妹，均已離開了教會。荷蘭神學家Coenraad Boerma曾經說過：「教會裡充滿了罪人，你卻不常見到有乞丐。」（The Church is full of sinners, but you don’t often see beggars there.）我們在推動大使命的同時，又有沒有忽略了大誡命？

當我們祈求神的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上的時候，我們個人和教會到底怎能讓神的旨意行在這世界上？

耶穌一生走進了貧窮人裡面服侍，在軟弱中體驗著苦難。他在十字架上受死，三天後復活。這世上的貧窮人可能正在經驗著他們的受難日，和看不到出路的星期六。「既然藉著他在十字架上所流的血、成就了和平、便藉著他叫萬有、無論是地上的、天上的、都與自己和好了。」（歌羅西書一20）耶穌所帶來的救贖，其實是包括了地上和天上的一切，而不是限於人從罪中得贖。我們怎樣才可以把耶穌復活的希望和救贖，帶到有這群有需要的人的生活當中？

完成於2010年復活節

A quote in the chapter on Trinity

2010-04-10T22:05:00.001+08:00

If Christianity were something we were making up, of course we could make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete in simplicity with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with Fact. Of course anyone can be simple if he has no facts to bother about.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Temper

2010-02-23T12:25:00.002+08:00

I have a really bad temper. It's been my new year/summer camp resolution every year in the past to change that, now it disappeared, coz I stopped trying... That "wait from a count from 1 to 10 thing" doesn't work for me at all.

In the class of Growth and Personal Relationship that I'm taking now, I have to read two books. And there were some very insightful reminders from one of them. (I still haven't started the other one yet.)

"If you find that you can control your temper at work, but not with people whom you are close to, that doesn't mean your family is more easily bullied, that means YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR TEMPER."

And another good suggestion is that next time when you're angry, ask yourself why you are angry. I have tried this for a few days and found that it works sometimes, and sometimes the answer on why I'm angry is actually because the other person is right...

Vanness Wu

2010-02-20T18:31:00.000+08:00

So amazing, I was just watching TV, and then through this addiction to Autumn's concerto, God actually talked to me and encouraged me through Vanness' story.

Just found this interview of his on youtube.

I don't usually like reading/watching personal testimony, if not for this addiction to Autumn's concerto, I'd never start watching these testimonies of his. haha

Through his changes (the most obvious of all, his promise of abstinence), one can see God's PRESENCE.

I remembered his story during the filming of the Autumn's concerto, he realised how his pride and preoccupation with his own album have been affecting his performance. And he changed his attitude with God's help, and then the director noted a marked improvement in his acting in the drama.

His problems and God's help have been good reminders for me, because I have been suffering from similar problems myself.

And there is recent incident of his employee being arrested for using marijuana, his response with Titus 2:6-8 (this is the first time I have ever opened the Bible because of something an artiste said, hahaha) was a very good reminder to me as well. We should strive to be a good role model, by showing integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech. I should probably shut my mouth up more.

And every day he spends one hour in prayer in the morning... I'm really feeling bad about spending too little time with God...

Retreat Camp

2010-02-11T17:41:00.006+08:00

I have been to a retreat camp in January for my spiritual formation class, but I've been too busy doing other "mo liu" things, rather than writing about it after I got back.

Before I have even arrived at the camp site on that day, my headphone broke because it got caught in the entrance gate of the Star Ferry... so then I thought God must really want me to enjoy the quiet time... with absolutely no distractions at all... :P

Well, it was the first ever retreat camp I have been to that has almost no program at all! Almost all the time is reserved for meditation and prayer. It's a challenge for me, I'm really bad in being quiet, with nothing to do. I'm a multi-task person...

We had a walk in silence the first night, I didn't get much that night, but that experience was something new to me.

I slept rather poorly in that room, so I was quite sleepy on the next day. My roommate and I went to the small chapel in the camp, we could kneel down in the chapel, and I prayed and then read the Bible and then fell asleep on the benches, what a good experience, haha, rest is important!

When I prayed with a Walter Brueggemann prayer book- Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth on that day in that chapel, looking at Jesus on a cross with blood dropping from his hands (it was a Catholic chapel)
"Draw us from the wretchedness we know
to his scarred, bloody wretchedness
that is your odd entry of newness into our life"

I was so touched by God on that day, I was feeling unhappy for something. I looked at Jesus' blood on the cross, and prayed that He could draw me from my wretchedness and into his SCARRED BLOODY wretchedness, that is the really odd way to put newness into my life, but that is how special the God that I believed in is. And how much more wretched He was on the cross (compared to me), and He must know how I felt.

It is difficult to see the blood from Jesus, unless I enlarge the photo, so u can just click on the photo and zoom in to see clearly if you want to.

Christmas Reflections 2009

2009-12-26T13:46:00.003+08:00

This year, I have decided to do something different.

I went without internet for the Christmas Day :) (It is a very special thing for an internet/Facebook/email addict like me... haha!) I remember a couple of months ago, I read this article about taking a Sabbath on the internet. After thinking about it for some time, I have decided to do it on Christmas Day.

I just took a rest, watched some TV (what? watch TV?? I seldom really sit down and watch TV, usually I surf the net while the TV is on...) and read BOOKS!! haha! I really love reading, but now most of the stuff I read is from the internet browser... :P or ebook reader...

As a result, I had a lot of catching up to do today, so many emails/ news/messages from Facebook/Google Reader/Plurk/Fan Forums...

Read a lot of Christmas related posts today from the blogs I'm following. I have been telling different people to separate consumerism from Festival Celebrations. (Not just Christmas actually... it's such an unhealthy thing to do for ourselves and the earth itself. I know it's hard to resist, because of the various sales promotion... I bought something in Christmas as well...)

Some people suggested we should separate Christ from Christmas. (Don't get crazy when you read this sentence, I think their logic is pretty sound.)

John Stackhouse: Happy Holidays will do nicely
安於沒有聖誕的聖誕節

And some thinks we should rethink Christmas. It's not a celebration of the birthday of baby Jesus. I agree.

Once Again: Christmas is NOT Jesus’ Birthday

In case you miss the point in the article above, here's a quote from the article itself.

"The theological and spiritual dangers of trivializing and sentimentalizing the incarnation—and Jesus—are far greater than any supposed benefits of further including children and making them feel part of the celebration."

What is Christmas for you? Whether you are a Christian or not, I think it's sad if it's merely a shopping season for you. If you are not a Christian, it should be a time for being with family and friends, showing your love, instead of just about shopping for Christmas gifts.

紀念日 (A non-Christian related Christmas post)
聖誕節送大禮

I didn't even go Christmas carolling this year, many people asked me why. I'm beginning to wonder, whether Christians really go Christmas carolling to spread the good news (even if I disregard the fact that good news is very much distorted these days...), or if they go because of the need to feel the festivities without feeling guilty about it (by celebrating in some non-Christian ways)??

And for me (like some others), Christmas is not as peaceful as it is often portrayed. With so many disasters (human and non-human), Christmas represents Jesus' coming into this world, and our hope for God's intervention in the world, His justice and will on earth as it is in heaven.
不安夜
《十月圍城》

Christmas

2009-12-09T22:45:00.003+08:00

I found THE best Christmas post I have ever read, I think...

This is what I think we should do to tell people about the Gospel. And also what we should not do.

Basically the whole thing is good, I don't want to copy everything here.

"In the Christian family itself, the prosperity gospel makes a mockery of the very savior it claims to proclaim. Western Christians plunge into the pagan celebration, spending thousands on themselves and their children. We spend enough on our lights to save thousands upon thousands of lives. But those lives are in the darkness of Advent’s waiting. Our “lights” are nothing more than an extension of that darkness. They have nothing to do with the true light that comes to the world...

Ironically, after 2,000 years of offering our Savior to others, we- Christians- need one more than ever. When we mark ourselves has “having” Christ more than “needing” Christ, we miss the Spirit of the Advent season."

Read the whole article to find out how we're missing the true Spirit of Advent.

Really need time to reflect on this in this Christmas.

Calling

2009-12-09T22:41:00.002+08:00

Read this here on iQuest today

「召命（calling）就是你最深情的喜悅與世界最深切的需要交會之處，這交會處有一個精彩的故事。」

Sounds so good, prompted me to think about it for about 5 seconds, about my own calling...

Then suddenly remember what I heard in today's class of Old Testament Theology (last class today, this course is great and I have a lot of questions in my mind now, but no time to think about it, because I still haven't finished my homework, and the upcoming exam yet, anyway, back to the point)--> our true calling doesn't necessarily make us happy, just look at Jeremiah

The Prayer of Oscar Romero (1917-80)

2009-11-13T22:54:00.002+08:00

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
Of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about,
we plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
In realizing that. This enables us to do something,
And to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
But it is a beginning, a step along the way,
An opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
Between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

7 Nov 2009

2009-11-07T11:46:00.003+08:00

From one of the sharings from the morning assembly from CGST, the teacher talked about what being a fan is like. You'll go and share his work with people and admire his work (even though everyone looks at the same thing, you see them differently.) hahaha!! :) For a crazy fan like me, I hope one day I'll feel the same towards the Gospel. However, during this week I do think God uses me in different and unexpected ways, even through my addiction, hahahahaha!!

Psalms 4:4
When you are disturbed (or angry), do no sin, ponder it on your beds, and be silent.

God, help me remember this.

From the book Sacred Rhythm,
Intercessory prayer is not primarily about believing we know what someone else needs
and then trying to tell God what the answer is. It is not about wrestling some result from God. Intercessory prayer is more about recognising that we do not know how to pray for others-- or ourselves for that matter-- but the Holy Spirit knows.

Be not righteous overmuch

2009-11-04T23:03:00.004+08:00

Ecclesiastes Chapter 7
[15]In my vain life I have seen everything; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil-doing.
[16] Be not righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should you destroy yourself?
[17] Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool; why should you die before your time?
[18] It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand; for he who fears God shall come forth from them all.

Where is the line drawn in being righteous overmuch?? I think if there is such a line, I may have crossed it sometimes...

When should I insist that something should/should not be done...

Gospel without boundaries

2009-10-30T07:57:00.005+08:00

A few months ago I went to South America, and I was partly stunned and also admired the ingenuity of Jesuit missionaries in fusing traditional Incan religion with Catholicism. Throughout the whole trip, I thought about what is acceptable in spreading Christianity, where the line should be drawn in mixing “pagan” religious customs with Christianity. (I am well aware that our own brand of “Christianity” is already a mixture of multiple pagan traditions, just that most of us don’t even realize it.)

We often set boundaries on what is or is not acceptable in Christians. Last night during the missions class, the example the teacher shared was about a polygamist in Africa. He was not accepted in church because he was a polygamist. He refused to disobey Jesus (by divorcing his wives) to become a member of the church. His argument was that polygamy was not explicitly forbidden by Jesus, but divorce was.

Rather than the boundaries we have presumed, we should do it by a “centred” approach, not looking at things through the actions themselves, but by the purpose of the actions, or where the direction of the action is centred. (I seemed to explain it inadequately without the diagram from the lecture notes.)

The Spirit safeguards the universalism in God, where Jesus represents the uniqueness of God. And the work of the Spirit precedes evangelism.

Salvation analogy exist in many cultures, they may represent revelation of God in some of the traditional customs or folklore, an example the teacher used was a tribe that was waiting for their "saviour" which was just like the missionaries who came.

Mission is not only to evangelize, but also to know God better, in the ways through which He reveals himself.

We should open our minds to observe and listen, and recognize the local traditions/customs that direct people towards Christ’s particularity. The church can also broaden its knowledge on God in the process, and we can recognize the universality in revelation.

Apart from people from another culture, she also talked about different people in our own community.

If there were no young people in church, we would have done a lot to recruit more, but then how come we don’t ask why there are no/few disabled people in our church? Is it really because there are none in our district? Or because of the physical constraints that they cannot come?

The concept of the disabled God has been proposed, Jesus still carried the marks from the crucifixion after resurrection. Hence, despite the impairment, the disabled are still made in God’s image. The cause of their suffering may be due to isolation or exclusion rather than the physical disability itself. Rather than healing the physical problem, the church should heal their social dysfunction. (She gave an example of a charismatic church that had no idea what to do about a disabled kid, after failing to "heal" her after repeated prayers.)

And we are interdependent with the disabled, they are not subjects of our assistance/pity alone.

Apart from the physically disabled, what about ex-drug addicts, and those suffering from mental illness?

Recognise our calling in our own community, and do not just focus in spreading the Gospel in our own social circle.

(Since this is derived from my notes, so may be a bit brief and difficult to understand... hmm...)

Notes on Sermon about Psalms Chapter 1

2009-10-29T22:25:00.004+08:00

Ps.1
[1] Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
[3] He is like a tree
planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
[4] The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
[6] for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

v1 walk-> stand -> sit
This is an unconscious process (to sin/to become wicked)

counsel/plan: isolated
way: life direction
seat= assembly: become one of them

v2 "in the Lord's law delight, in the Lord's law meditates"
This is written in contrast within "not in" for v1
The time is day and nite!

v3 In Palestinian wilderness, trees grow only next to streams. Growing of fruit takes time.

Computer/TV (vs Bible/sermon) make us experts in wasting time, they also make us more self-centred, just do according to what one likes (e.g. remotes control)
Now we tend to receive the messages that we like, rather than according to whether they are true or not.
Efficiency becomes the utmost important.
However, we forget a lot of things need time: our 修養, relationships

The time we give to others are usually less than what we require of ourselves.
Jesus' parable on 70x7 time, it's about the one who is doing the forgiving.

What we reap depends on what we invest.

v4 The ungodly are like chaff. Chaff and tree--> both plants, but tree has life and roots.
We don't usually see the roots of the trees, but they are very important.
Chaff moves, only because it was moved, not because it has life.

Time, investment, where you’re immersed in--> what you reaps
Everything needs time, but the world tell us: we have no time to wait for the fruits.

Learning the lesson--> I'm way too addicted to the computer world.

We are Ready to Listen

2009-08-23T22:33:00.001+08:00

Healing, sovereign God,
overmatch our resistant ears
with your transforming speech.
Penetrate our jadeness and fatigue.
Touch our yearnings by your words.
Through your out-loudness, draw us closer to you.
We are ready to listen.
Amen.

Walter Brueggemann, from Awed to Heaven, Rooted to Earth