Sunday, February 28, 2010

"When in Rome" by Mari Evans

I read this poem at the end of my sermon, which is about the alienation experienced by the exiled Jews. My wife anticipate that most would not get it (the poem), but I thought it should be understood by more than half. Turns out my wife is right again. Darn.

Marrie dear

the box is full . . .
take
whatever you like
to eat . . .
(an egg
or soup
. . . there ain't no meat.)

there's endive there
and
cottage cheese . . .
(whew! if I had some
black-eyed peas. . . )

there's sardines
on the shelves
and such . . .
but
don't
get my anchovies. . .
they cost
too much!
(me get the
anchovies indeed!
what she think, she got --
a bird to feed?)

there's plenty in there
o fill you up . . .
(yes'm. just the
sight's
enough!

Hope I lives till I get
home
I'm tired of eatin'
what they eats in Rome . . .)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Paradox of Humanity

I've just finished Anders Loves Maria. A "short" 200+ pages web comic that had recently concluded. It is a bitter-sweet romantic story about Anders and Maria and their moments dealing with their past and immediate future. I highly recommend it though it must be warned that the theme is definitely for mature readers.

One of the biggest criticism and also the biggest praise for this comic is the Swedish setting of the story and the characters. Because it is so adamantly Swedish, one can really feel the reality of story and in many ways, that is how a heart-felt story should be. It stays true to the culture and norms that is most certainly foreign to others who are unfamiliar. This unfortunately is also why there are some who hates it for its differing morality and worldview.

This is where I have come to grapple with this paradox in humanity where we are all so different and yet so much the same. When we look at the decisions and thought processes of others, we would come to the conclusion that we will never know what they are thinking. How can they believe such things? Or to behave in such and such a manner? Yet, we all feel pain. We feel lost. We feel happiness. We are so human and yet so alien.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Wake Sermon / Funeral Message I 说再见的勇气

I usually do not write out the script for wake or funeral. But since I wrote out this one, I would like to share it. Here it is:

主持过不少的守丧礼拜,火葬,土葬,甚至海葬,我总是觉得,面对死亡的课题,我们基督徒有着一个很重要的信念,那就是我们众圣徒总有团聚的一天。对于主耶稣救赎的信心,我们是有的。对于复活的盼望,我们是有的。对于神在X老弟兄生命中所流露的爱,我们知道是有的。不但是我相信,我想X老弟兄的亲人,好友都能够体会到这份爱。所以,面对死亡,我们不是彷徨失措,主耶稣就是道路、真理、生命,我们亲爱的X老弟兄依靠耶稣,已经得着永生。既然有永生,就必然有团聚的一天。但是我能够体会此时此刻,大家因为爱的关系,难免会有离别的哀伤。圣经说:“与喜乐的人要同乐。与哀哭的人要同哭。”既然大家对于真理是明白的,那我也不必在这里加添什么。我们做为一个信徒群体,在这里分担你们所失去的,但我也期盼以后也能分享你们日后团聚的喜悦。此时此刻,虽然伤感,当然我们也拿出说再见的勇气。我希望用X老弟兄的亲人所分享过的诗,来表达安慰。

For my soul there is a season:
A time of bleak darkness:
Cold winter.
When life fills with sadness
And all hope lies dying.
But do not fear
The silence of winter.
For it does not speak of death,
Only of waiting.

诗人表达了生命中的四季。生命中有茂盛的时候,有挣扎求存的时候,有丰收结果的时候。但生命也有寂静的寒冬。有哀伤,有阴暗。但诗人说不是死亡,而是等待的时候。当我读了X老弟兄的生平,他怎么奋斗努力,他怎么爱护家人,他怎么关怀学生,我想这样美好的亲人,要跟他说再见真不容易。但是,来到寒冬的季节,我们要有愿意等待,能够忍受等待的勇气。X老弟兄家人所写的生平最后两句话说,“我们虽然不舍,但坚信他日必在天国再相会。再见了,爸爸!”我在这里看到的是信徒等待的勇气,是等待众圣徒团聚的勇气。叫我们在此刻暂时的离别,对这样美好的亲人,我们仍然能说再见。

Monday, February 22, 2010

Why didn't God made the Bible simple?

One of the most common arguments made against Christianity (that I know of) is "Why is the Bible so hard to understand?". This is usually coupled with some notions of divine omnipotence and inspiration. If God intended for us to understand through the Bible, then why did he allow it to be subjected to multiple interpretations and it takes tons of biblical scholars to resolve some controversial matters.

To that, I now have a new response: Why should it be simple? Seriously, think about it. Nothing in life is really simple. According to Simplexity, only absolute anarchy or absolute totalitarianism is simple. Truly fruitful things are complex because of the countless factors involve that can tilt the situation one way or another. In communication through language, truly meaningful things will never be simple. Like the description of life. Or suffering.

But my main gripe is towards Christians and not others. This expectation that the Bible should be easy to read is an immense fallacy. Sure, God wants us to know him. But I can also say that God also wants us to know the world he created. Yet, we know for a fact that the world takes true hard work and exploration to understand. Physics, Geology, Astronomy, Sociology etc. None of this is simple when you want to go deeper. It is not in the failure of communication. The subject matter is deep and rightfully so. Why some Christians expect God to be simple is just confounding to me. I've been married for more than 7 years. I can't say I can predict everything (if even anything) about my wife. Good luck being simplistic about God.

WoW41: The Bible is not simple because the subject matter is deep. And rightfully so.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Recommendation: Copper

I got this link from the XKCD site. It links to the wonderful world of Copper. There you will find 41 top quality webcomic pages of Copper by Kazu Kibuishi. It is now in print and I hope to find it in Singapore stores one of these days.

This is the description on Amazon:
"Copper is curious, Fred is fearful. And together boy and dog are off on a series of adventures through marvelous worlds, powered by Copper's limitless enthusiasm and imagination.
Each Copper and Fred story in this graphic novel collection is a complete vignette, filled with richly detailed settings and told with a wry sense of humor. These two enormously likable characters build ships and planes to travel to surprising destinations and have a knack for getting into all sorts of odd situations.
Copper's good cheer always smoothes the way---and Fred can usually be won over if there's food involved."

I only needed to click one of the thumbnails to know that this is a highly gifted storyteller. The art is beautiful and each mini-story leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end. I finished all 41 of them at one go. I think you would too.

A good example:
Sometimes it pays to take things slow.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Remembering Vance Havner

There are so few who are truly gifted with words. Vance Havner is one of them. I first came across this name because whenever I am looking for a good quote, his name and quotes would always be among my search. He has the unique ability to encapsulate a thought well, using a memorable line that stays with the listener for a long time. Here are a couple of the biggest influences on me:

On how to preach:
"The preacher is to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable."

On the responsibilities of a Christian:
"If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world."

On researching on his life, I came across a few others that will surely stay with me for a long time:
"We are the salt of the earth, mind you, not the sugar. Our ministry is to truly cleanse and not just to change the taste."

"Too many churches start at eleven o'clock sharp, and end at twelve o'clock dull."

"Plenty of church members are shaky about what they believe, while not many are shaken by what they believe."

"Some preachers ought to put more fire into their sermons, or more sermons into the fire."

"The church is a hospital for sinners, and not a museum for saints."

Some other quotes.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Missing Conan O'Brien

In my college years, I enjoyed watching Letterman. I'm not a big fan of the interviews, but I love the monologues and the special segments. For a long time, I was unable to find any of these late night shows after Channel 5 stopped showing them. About 1 and a half years ago, I discovered that Jon Stewart was available in the News Basic Group on Starhub. So I switched from Discovery to this group. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was only a weekend summary. So in the meantime, I watched Jimmy Kimmel on Starworld and Jon Stewart and Colbert on the web.

It was a happy surprise to find out that Conan O'Brien was available on CNBC during the weekends. And that became my weekend nights routine: watching a 3 hour marathon of Conan. I find him getting better all the time, and I like his comedy. I was sad that he chose to leave the show but I can understand why. Now it is just reruns on the weekend nights, and I'm feeling a little disappointed with the whole NBC debacle. Thankfully, Starworld now runs Letterman on the weekday nights, which I try to watch, but I definitely prefer Conan. I don't mind Jimmy Kimmel or Jimmy Fallon, but I don't know how Starhub chooses its programming. Why wouldn't they get Comedy Central?

I wonder how much Singaporean Conan fans are there. Feels kind of sad to be alone with this loss.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The conflicted soccer fan

The honest truth is that I'm not a soccer fan. I don't watch soccer and I don't play the game. But for many years, I've been a faithful reader of Soccernet. Somehow, I enjoy reading about the news even though I'm barely a fan of the game itself. I also enjoy how talking about the soccer news connects me with many of the soccer fans.

After some years, I decided to adopt a team which I will support: Everton. I've written previously on why I decided on supporting Everton. Simply put, I like how the team is managed. With a tiny budget compared to the rest, it has consistently performed well.

Last week, I was a little unhappy because it lost to Liverpool. It was a physical game that could have gone either way. But today, I was really happy for them because Everton beat Chelsea! As a person who pride myself as rational, I'm ashamed to say that I'm indeed guilty of this indulgence. Simply put, soccer fanship makes no sense. They are totally unrelated to me. My feelings about their wins or losses makes absolutely no difference to what they do. I simply have none of Dave Barry's Concern Rays that can change the outcome of a game.

But I do want them to do well. Somehow now Everton matters to me. I am now a conflicted soccer fan.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

One particular disappointing feedback

My church is currently doing a sermon series on Esther. We have chosen to include the additions to Esther as part of the series, and they cover 7 sermons out of 16 sermons. During these 7 sermons, besides expounding on the message, we will also be talking about different perspectives of scripture like canonization, textual criticism etc.

I had expected certain resistance to these passages, being from a traditional church and all that. People generally reject something out of the unusual. But I am sticking to my beliefs because of 2 reasons.
1. We are doing Esther intensively. I would like to have a complete picture from all angles.
2. It is an once in a lifetime opportunity. We often assume our perspectives of what is scripture is the right one. But we have not really explored what is the common understanding. Speaking from the deutrocanonical passages opened this can of worms for us.

But this one particular feedback makes me rather unhappy:
"There are so much scripture within the canon that we are unfamiliar with. Why are we spending time on these passages outside the canon?"
1. Yes, there are many passages of scripture much neglected. And Esther is one of them! But the pastoral team has not evaded them. No, we resolve to tackle them even though we know they are unfamiliar grounds. And since we are tackling Esther, we have to do it thoroughly, because I doubt we are ever coming back. That's my style. If covering neglected scripture is your concern, then that's why we are doing Esther this time.
2. If you are so concerned about not understanding enough of all that is within the canon, then perhaps you would read up all the sermons online we have within the church website? I'm sure there are some that you missed out. No?
3. I think that ultimately the mentality is this: I don't really care about knowing all that is to know within the canon. But I do know that I don't particularly care for deuterocanonical texts. Therefore, when I do spend time to come to church, I want to know that it is time well spent on a canonical text.
4. But my response is this: You have your concerns. But the church also has its own concerns. Sometimes we match, but sometimes we accommodate one another. I sometimes cover the familiar because I know that is appealing to the masses. They get what they come for. Those times I compromise. But I also think that there should be times where you keep an open heart to listen to the church's agenda. While that may not be immediately beneficial, the church does it faithfully, believing in its rewards in the long run.
5. I've finished Judges, and now tackling Esther, and will struggle with Ezekiel next year because I believe that every forgotten passage has value. Why go over the ritual "God loves you" message when there is also something more in life? I want to broaden your perspective in the scenario one day when you need more than "God loves you". That is what I hope will come in handy one day.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Review: Dreams of My Father

In reviewing this book by American President Obama, I am really late into the show. Dreams of My Father was his first autobiography and he had since written The Audacity of Hope which I am reading now. Let me just say that this is simply the best book I've read on race, I've not read many though. The book is divided into 3 parts, so I shall also present my reflection in that manner.

Origins
Here, Obama talks about his early schooling days. But in reflecting about his Black-White family background, his life experiences in Indonesia, Hawaii and LA, this is actually a search for his own identity. It is a search into what it means for him to be Black. I personally think that this is the best part of the book. It is extremely introspective about life and about humanity. It reviews the historical situations very well, and the thoughts on racism have really germinated a long time with Obama. I really like this part for its brutal honesty and it draws me into a world I've never known before.

The truth is that race is never an issue for me in Singapore. I've not experienced life as a minority (except as a Christian maybe), and I've never harbor racist thoughts (in my opinion). It may well be because I've been well indoctrinated by the Singapore government on the virtues of multi-racialism, and the belief in equality and justice in Christianity. I just find it hard to sympathize with people who look at society through racist lens, whether it is White or Black supremacy. This book truly opened a window for me to peer at that scary world.

In reflecting on this, I count it divine providence that I am better acquainted with that world as I embarked on the sermon series on Esther in Church. I've been taught in Sunday School that Esther is about courage and divine deliverance. It is with the study of commentaries that I realise how much Esther is about Racism. I'm glad that Obama's book has started me to think about such issues at a deeper level.

Chicago
This potion continues the previous themes of race and the search for identity. But it is also a glimpse into what is poverty, social apathy and politics. Obama's life experiences as a community organizer is a very revealing one. As I read his stories fighting against indifference and skepticism, I keep thinking about the battle that I have against certain similar groups in church. I'm listening and I'm trying, but the disappointments can be rather devastating. Self-interest is a reality that every leader has to deal with. Obama's idealism somewhat matches my own. I find it hard to dissociate his struggles in the pages from mine. I like the honesty in this section too, but the plodding incremental change is truly a hard pill to swallow. I guess not every story is like Room to Read.

Kenya
This final potion is so-so for me. The story of Africa is not so unfamiliar for me. Having been exposed to films like Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond and Last King of Scotland, this final potion about Obama's visit back home is really tame in comparison. This main lesson I learned is about family. Family is complicated. And big families complicate matters exponentially. Because of the multiple wives and many children, the relationships had gotten all mixed-up in Obama's case. This really lets me appreciate the beauty and simplicity of the modern family.

Conclusion
I heartily recommend this book. There are reviews that say that there are no other autobiographies like this one and I couldn't agree more. It is the depth in which a search for identity can really take you that is the surprising factor of this book.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The Limits of a Sermon

I am currently reading Obama's first autobiography "Dreams of my Father". It is truly amazingly good, though I've only read about a third of it. The main topic so far is about Obama's search for personal identity as he ponders about issues of racism. It is a difficult journey for him because of his diverse family background, his life experiences around the world and especially because he is able to look so deeply into the realities of people and situations. But the most troubling and rewarding part of his book so far for me, is that it is such a deep reflection, but it also has no answers. This allows for thoughts to slowly germinate and fester. It is also one that rejects easy answers and cheap inspirations.

This is a luxury that a sermon cannot afford. Church members often look for applications and take-home messages every Sunday. They want relevance and understanding. But they don't understand, that is the not the way to really grapple with real issues. That is not the way life works. Certainly not the way God works. A real transformation takes time to mature. It takes time to develop in the mind. I don't want answers. I want a real change that begins with myself. That a sermon, the kind that people wants, can never give.

Monday, February 01, 2010

Knowledge and Love

1 Corinthians 8:1 "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

During my early days as a youth leader, I often heard this verse quoted. My church is one that puts a lot of emphasis on teachings, and some of the youths think that it is a wrong direction. They think that it is just "head knowledge" whereas the good churches are the ones full of love. One of them had actually left Jubilee, preferring a more charismatic church with more emphasis on emotional worship and outreach. He was one of those who quoted this line. I had my own defense based on the commentaries. The "knowledge" in this verse is actually pertaining towards the liberty we have to eat anything we want (including food offered to idols). Love here refers to restricting our freedom for the "weaker brothers".

But yesterday I had a new take on this verse, so I think I'll note it down here. This verse from Paul is not to disparage knowledge over love. Paul is clearly a very knowledgeable man. Why else would he teach so passionately til Eutychus almost died from it (Acts 20:9)? Knowledge is good, and so is Love. But it is important to note that they have different effects. Love is something that strengthens the relationships in a community. That is of course indisputable. But as someone gets more and more knowledgeable, he will also be inflated in his ego. This is bound to happen because he knows how much he knows. He also knows how much others don't know. So, Paul is not speaking about which is right or wrong, but rather about the effects of knowledge and love. Knowing the effects of knowledge is important. I will continue to gain knowledge. But I must also keep my pride in check. Otherwise, I will end up like those knowledgeable people who also judge on the ignorance of others. Now that I have a better knowledge of this verse, notice how I now also begin to judge on those knowledgeable judgmental types?