This is a belated "Blessed and Merrry Christmas" for those who believe Christmas to be on the 25th December. A Blessed and Merry Christmas for those who subscribe to Christmas being over 12 days from the 25th December.
When we celebrate Christmas, we are reminded that the year is winding up and a new year is dawning. The different and various pre-Christmas gatherings and Christmas gatherings remind me of the much needed peace in many different parts of the world, close to my heart - The unrest in the middle-east, the ongoing suffering of the Dafur people, the victims of flood in the southern part of Malaysia,the growing dissatisfaction over the hiking up on toll rates and petrol price, the victims of earthquake in Taiwan and you will add to the list I have begun. At the micro level, I am reminded of those suffering in silence and aloneness over loss of loved ones, failed relationships, betrayal, failed or failing career and enterprise, uncertainty of the future due to the political and economical instability of our country. As a Malaysian, i do view the year to come not to be one which holds out much hope and promises especially for the poor and the marginalised. Yes, i may sound rather negative but let the unfolding of the reality judge.
Be that as it may, i think of the spirit of Christmas and asked, how i may respond to the reality of the dawning year that is faced us.
The word "Peace" was repeated in so many carols/songs and prayers said and heard over Christmas but I like the song most which says, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."
Peace to you this Christmas and the year to come.
Wednesday 27 December 2006
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I heard a S’pore priest once shared in his pre-Christmas homily, that he has this little Christmas tree on his office table throughout the year. To him, everyday is Christmas!
Dim and stark as the coming year may seem to hold, I’d still want to hang on to the fact that there is hope. And I think He’d always hold out something for the ‘hopefuls’ (like me) or as the world might taunt the ‘hopefools’, if we are willingly persevering to hang on in there, with Him as our strength. Isn’t He a God of surprises? All may seem lost, like when He obeyed to the end on that cross … yet, He triumphs. Was Paul foolish to say, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”? May God have mercy and grant us that grace.
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