Sunday 31 December 2006

the old is gone, the new has come!

In a few hours time, 2006 would become history for us; 2007 awaits us.
Let me wish you God's Blessings for the new year - blessed in order to bless others.

As to the past and as to what is to come, I am reminded of a good prayer of the Christian Tradition:

Lord,
Grant me the serenity to accept
what I cannot change
Courage to change
what I can
Wisdom to know the difference.

Friday 29 December 2006

when silence is not golden

Troubled by what I have been reading about the intended toll rates raise, I asked myself what else may I possibly do other than pray. I suppose not all of us would not be too affected by the raise - for now, not that we are all terribly rich, perhaps we have not come to the point of experiencing financial crisis. But I think of the majority poor. This is not just one of the 'increases' in their expenses in the year to come, they will have to pay more for the petrol (therefore more for the costs of public transport and other subsistence items) and perhaps more for water too and maybe electricity tarrifs too. Life is only getting tougher than they need to bear. I fear that the circle of the poor may be widening in the days to come at the rate of the happenings.
I decided to give my signature on an online petition against the raise since I would not be able to participate in the peaceful demonstration organised by the NGOs and Opposition Parties on the 31 Dec and 7 Jan. Why have I come to the decision? More than thoughts of the hardship it will cause to a large portion of the people, Elizabeth Wong lets us understand more why we cannot agree to the reason given for the raise and why we need to make our objections known. Check this out:

http://elizabethwong.wordpress.com/2006/12/27/charade/

If I erred I hope I was so for the greater good, justice, integrity and compassion that I hope to see in our government and our society.

Wednesday 27 December 2006

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

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.

Sunday 3 December 2006

When our prayers compel us to action

"Prayer is communication and communion with God." So I shared and taught those in my Bible Study Classes and those in close contact with me. I truly believe this to be a very if not the most important thing in life. Life is naught without a relationship with God, from whom all good things come. In the course of our learning the Bible together, I had the opportunity to share what I read about what others say about prayer. One of which is 'pray in a manner as if only God can help you but also work with all that is within you power as if no one else can help you except you'. Now , does that statement bear contradictory messages? So I think of the prayers of the Hebrew people held as slaves in Egypt; God heard their cries; God called Moses and told him that He heard the cries of the people; Moses was to be answer to the people's cries, part of the answer, of course. I thought of fasting and prayer of the people who faced the threat of total culling and I think of Queen Esther- who became part of the answer to the people's prayer and fasting. I think of Daniel daily prayers and I also think of his making his stand not to partake in the what he believed to be God-betraying activities. These are some examples we read and see the 'connection' between prayer, our decision and action. More than not, we read of prayer to God coupled with our initiative and/or action. This is our faith- trusting God and trusting God to give us the resources to do that which is within our power to do what we believe is God-honouring.

How do we feel about what is happening in our country? The diminishing respect for the laws. The alarming increase of crimes including heinous crimes which suggests connection with those in power (the Mongolian model case); the demolishment of the homes of the people (the Kampung Beremban squatters' plight), the 'how to spend RM600M in 6 weeks'(by the PM, Malaysiakini 29 Nov), the judiciary which has lost its independence, and the list goes on. How may we relate our prayers to what is happening right at our doorstep (apart from what is happening in our designated 'mission fields').

May we consider how on the one hand,we may pray with all our heart as if only God will save our country of the mess of the growing lawlesslness and injustice and on the other, do all that is within our power to do what we can to save our country? Malaysian church is faced with an acute challenge to respond. Our silence sometimes can be so loud, loud with her message of indifference or irrelevance or timidity/fear. What do you think? Perhaps for some of us, our prayer which moves us closer to the heart of God must move us to do something about what we see to be wrong. Perhaps as a church, representative of God's presence in our society, our prayer needs to take the form of our acknowledging the wrongs and injustice in our society. Perhaps for some of us who are in places of influence to teach and make known the truths about the wrongs that we see. Perhaps our prayer needs to take the form of taking the side and helping those who have suffered oppression without fear.

True prayers bring us close to the heart of God, One who hears the cries of the oppressed; One who detests injustice and corruption, thereby, compels us to do something with our attitude towards the oppressed and powerless, compels us to action.