Do Roman Catholics Worship Mary?

Friend: I cannot accept Roman Catholicism, it is so different from Christianity la.

Daniel: Err... I think what you mean by 'Christianity' is Protestantism cos' Roman Catholicism is one stream of Christianity.
Friend: Ya mer?
Daniel: Ya la. So, what is it about Roman Catholicism that you cannot accept?
Friend: Iyoh, they worship Mary lor...How could they treat Mary as God? I cannot accept that la. You can mer?
Daniel: *Explanation mode*
--
I have many (and I mean many) ill-informed Protestant friends, even pastors, who are repulsive towards Roman Catholicism because they think that the Roman Catholics worship Mary. What is rather frustrating is that some of them would not accept the explanation and insist irrationally on their view.

Those who are not sure whether Roman Catholics worship Mary, you might want to read here and here.

Perhaps we should really get our facts right before we start acting foolishly in criticising other Christian traditions and religions.

Ripples of Change

This is the day. The 50th Anniversary of Malaysia marks the official launching of R.O.H, an effort recently inaugurated for the purpose of writing local theologies for the Malaysian context.


A MANIFESTO FOR A REVOLUTION OF HOPE (R.O.H)
Roh is a Malay word which means “spirit” and yet phonetically sounds like ruach, the Hebrew word for God’s Creative Spirit hovering over the world, and through the Incarnation is now in us, amongst us and through the Resurrection is all in all.

1. BACKGROUND
We live in a world that is being dominated by neo-liberal globalisation which has at the same time imperialised the rest of the world, including erasing national boundaries and local traditional cultures. Now, a timely moment has arisen (kairos) when the Kin-dom movement summons the emergence of a countercultural movement of believers in religion. This calls for Christian believers, especially intellectuals (in the sense of critical thinkers with professional and academic qualifications) to band together and think more concertedly within our Malaysian context so that we may imagine more globally while we act more locally. This comes in the light of the Asian understanding of knowledge and the local cultural wisdom of our people in Asia-Malaysia, not to mention the untold sufferings inflicted on the marginal communities in our midst (the many poor of the various religions and cultures).

To begin the ripple effect of a countercultural movement, a sizable group of Christian activists-strategists needs to come together on a platform that enables theological reflection (emergent contextual theologies). This is to encourage a critical interface between faith (religion) and society, fostering a rich interaction between theology and the social sciences with the clear goal of analysing pertinent issues affecting our nation/society. And thereafter, these thinkers need to articulate a theological response so that critical thinking Christians are guided (as a church emerging) in their lives. Such a theological response would have a societal impact on public policies, mindsets, worldviews and values of fellow Malaysians in their workplaces and neighbourhood.

Such critical analyses and theological responses must be “translatable” into effective and concrete efforts that command the attention of diverse stakeholders in our nation. “Stakeholders” here refers to the government with its multiple ministries and other agencies in civil society; so that together we move our nation forward in a manner that is Kin-dom-centred. This is aimed towards the greater good of all in Malaysia, especially the marginal communities.[1]

Such interdisciplinary, intercultural and inter-religious efforts can be seen as our cooperation with God in transforming our nation into the “playground” where Malaysia becomes a more harmonious society wherein all in Malaysia begin to live more and more as equal disciples and equal persons before God.

Ultimately, R.O.H’s hallmark is its sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit and its capacity to be the dynamism, the sap, the force within that sustains an emergent Malaysia. Out of R.O.H, there emerges too a host of theologies borne of a Gospel Faith that speaks together with the social sciences so that the Church emerging is seen and heard to be speaking into the joys and sorrows of fellow Malaysians and the wider society.


2. RESPONSE
a. Level-One Response (The Core Team)
The team devoted to this effort we call R.O.H comprises six people. Our primary goal in the configuration of this team is to reflect an adequate representation of both genders, both the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, and both the social-scientific and theological disciplines in interaction with each other. We have come to participate in this effort propelled by various collective motivations and reasons:

• Learning from people working with real socio-political issues to feed into theology;
  
• Finding like-minded people to write together and form theologies together (writing theology can be a lonely journey);
  
• Tying in faith and life together;
  
• Translating words into action on the ground, ensuring people at the grassroots level are defended;
  
• Western-driven theology that has caused us to think about the need for an Asian-driven theology, a local contextual theology;
  
• Disillusionment with Western-centric theology;
  
• Growth into self-identity;
  
• Creating a tradition for the future generations.

The R.O.H Team consists of the following personnel:

Tricia Yeoh Su-Wern
BBusComm Econometrics and Marketing (Monash, Malaysia);
MSc in Research Methods in Psychology (Warwick, UK).

Tricia is currently Senior Research Analyst at the Centre for Public Policy Studies, at which she engages in national socio-economic issues through research, analysis and fostering policy dialogue. This covers a wide range of issues, dealing for example, with inter-faith dialogue and economic policies. Her work involves interacting closely with the country's socio-political environment. She hopes to work constructively toward a matured and united Malaysia, and envisions faith and vocation as one, as we seek common goals and platforms in the long-term nation-building process.

Veronica Anne Retnam
BSc in Resource Economics (UPM, Malaysia);
MEd in Educational Psychology (Cardiff, Wales).

Veronica started off with working with out-of-school youth and was then responsible for the formation of Catholic undergraduates in Malaysia. Then for nearly 18 years she was an economics lecturer at UiTM (previously Institut Technologi MARA). Her concerns are about reaching out effectively to poor communities and working with them in empowering partnerships. Her interest is also developmental psychology with a focus on research for policy change. She is currently starting off with training and development for low income communities through her own business enterprise.

Rachel Samuel
BSocSc in Development Studies (USM, Malaysia);
MSocSc in Development Studies (USM, Malaysia);
PhD candidate in Management (USM, Malaysia).

Rachel worked with the Consumers Association of Penang for three years on issues pertaining to the rural sector and health and safety issues. She took up the Bukit Merah people's case against the radioactive company and worked closely with them throughout the period of their legal struggle. She has also worked among drug dependents (women and HIV carriers) and been involved with the AIDS Hotline, the Community Clinic and the One Stop Crisis Centre. Rachel co-authored Women and Drugs, Domestic Violence in Penang, and Shame, Secrecy and Silence: A Study on Rape. She is currently involved with Women In Action in Melaka, Education and Research Association in Kuala Lumpur, the Melaka-Johor Office of Human Development, and the Counselling Ministry of the Melaka-Johor Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church.

Jojo M. Fung, SJ
MA in Theology (LST, Manila);
MA in Social Anthropology (London, UK);
STL (Berkeley);
Doctorate in Contextual Theology (CTU, Chicago).

The Reverend Father Jojo Fung is an ordained priest in the Society of Jesus, an order of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Director of the Campus Ministry, the Orang Asli Ministry, and the Ministry of Eumenism and Interreligious Dialogue in the Diocese of Melaka-Johore. He is also the Coordinator of I.N.T.R.Asia and Co-editor of the Arrupe Papers. Father Jojo is a prolific writer on issues pertaining to the gospel as it relates to local contextual issues.

Sivin Kit
BTh (STM, Malaysia);
MTheo candidate (SEAGST).

The Reverend Sivin Kit is a minister of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (LCMS) and pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church. Sivin is primarily concerned about ecclesiastical interactions with local social-political realities and desires to see the emergence of more contextual responses towards these realities. He brings with him a wealth of pastoral and missional perspectives in contribution to this conversation so as to ensure that our constructions are based on realistic observations.

Sherman Y.L. Kuek, OSL
BSc Management (Bradford, UK);
MDiv (Trinity, Singapore);
DTh candidate in Contextual Theology (Trinity, Singapore).

Sherman is an Adjunct Lecturer in Systematic and Contextual Theology at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. His primary areas of interest are contextual theological methodologies and the recovery of the Great Tradition in the theological thought of the Christian community. It is therefore natural that Sherman also has a concern for ecumenics. He is presently completing his doctoral thesis on a theological critique of modernity in Asia.

The direction of the R.O.H. Team is guided by several individual Patrons who have kindly agreed to endorse our effort and be our guiding wisdom:

Revd Dr Hwa Yung
Bishop, Methodist Church of Malaysia

Among his various other involvements besides being Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Bishop Hwa Yung is the Honorary Secretary of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) and the Chairman of the STM Council. On the international scene Bishop Hwa Yung is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), Oxford; the Vice-Chairman of the Asian Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (ALCWE); a member of the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council and an Executive Committee Member of the International Association of Mission Studies (IAMS).

Rt Revd Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing, SJ
The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Melaka-Johor
The Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

Besides having been the Bishop of the Melaka-Johor Diocese since May 2003, Bishop Paul is the Chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) and the Vice-Chairman of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism (MCCBCHST).

Revd Dr Simon Chan
Ernest Lau Professor of Systematic Theology,
Trinity Theological College Singapore

Dr Simon Chan is a renowned Asian theologian. He is the author of Liturgical Theology; Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life; Man and Sin; and Pentecostal Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition. He is also an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God in Singapore.

b. Level-Two Response (Friends)
The effort also seeks to be a platform for the coming together of other like-minded Christians in Malaysia to share in the dream together. It will simultaneously create a voice for other scattered Christians who in their individual capacities have begun to, or desire to, make a change in Malaysian society. This is akin to causing minute but significant ripples.

Therefore, the next layer of involvement in this R.O.H effort consists of others who may be equally interested in this initiative and committed to its cause. We seek to draw upon their experiences and resources, and will endeavour to receive their contributions seriously, through personal conversations, writings, and organised gatherings. Where appropriate, their concerns will find their way into our constructive efforts.


3. OUR COMMITMENTS
a. Our Commitment to the Neighbourology Principle
The neighbourology principle expresses the deepest motivation for our contextual engagements with the local contexts. It is important to begin with how we see people in our nation firstly as neighbours, and what this involves. Authentic love for the neighbour involves a “kin-dom” mentality (based on an idea of “kinship”, which is very consistent with the Asian paradigm of societal life).

Two crucial features of the neighbourology principle are:

• that we must ensure our ultimate goal is for the long term. Critiques although necessary will be driven purely for the sake of achieving desirable results for the nation in the long run. Loving the country necessitates honest criticism at times. And we critique the country because we believe she is worth critiquing.
  
• the objective of building bridges. This involves healing wounds between different races, religions and any other factors that have since divided the Malaysian society.
  

b. Our Linguistic Commitment to the Target Audience
While we intend for our audience to be largely urban and educated in nature, this necessitates an inclusivity of experiences from the bottom up, including the marginalised and grassroot communities. Formal English will be used but care will be given to ensure it is not necessarily academic or technical to ensure laymen comprehension.

Because the Malaysian church has a long way to be exposed to such local contextual theologies, we will be targeting the church primarily and only at a later stage speak to society at large. In other words, our primary concern relates to what it means to be “the church in the world”.

In regard to our use of language for the communication of our theological constructions, we will make it a point to employ the language of social scientists and other relevant disciplines in the midst of our theological articulations. This is to ensure that our articulations are not found dislocated from a proactive interaction with the language of other disciplines. Yet, our articulations should also reflect the language of the intended audience as afore described. Whilst social-scientific and theological jargon may be an inevitable, the employment of such jargon has to be unpacked and written in a manner understood by our readers.


c. Our Commitment to Holistic Reflections
We are not in favour of our articulations constituting knee-jerk reactions towards unexpected occurrences in the life of the nation. Much of the Christian community’s statements and positions on socio-political issues in Malaysia is reactionary in nature. These statements and positions are issued only upon an urgent need to do so, and are seldom undertaken with sufficient theological reflection given to the purpose. It is hoped that we will provide holistic reflections upon local Malaysian issues, as opposed to the mere knee-jerk reactions in response to perceived external threats.


d. Our Commitment to Basic Governing Principles
There are generally five key principles that the group considers essential in governing our local theological constructions:

• Socio-Political Context. This will include crucial issues which will be identified in our subsequent meetings to develop a proper contextual framework for our theological reflections. It is important that this framework must include a concern for marginal communities.
  
  
• Social-Scientific Disciplines. Our theologies will be dislocated from reality if we do not seriously engage the findings and analyses of the social-scientific disciplines in our society. The role of the social-scientific thinkers in our team is therefore crucial.
  
  
• Local Cultural Wisdom. The cultural paradigmatic realities of the society in which our theology is entrenched must be accounted for in our theological constructions. This is also known as the principle of inculturation, wherein local epistemologies are taken seriously.
  
  
• Christian Tradition. The approach we are taking herein is an ecumenical one. Our joint concern is for the wellbeing of our neighbours, our nation, and not the disagreement on our respective distinctives. In fact, in deep appreciation of how our distinctive traditions may contribute positively to this conversation, we take the guiding voice of the Great Tradition as a non-negotiable in our constructions.
  
  
• The Gospel. This principle is not necessarily separate from the fourth, but accentuates a point of importance. Our theology must come to terms with the heart of the gospel, which essentially speaks of the ultimate and full establishment of God’s reign in the world.
  

e. Our Commitment to Various Levels of Socio-political Involvement
There are three possible levels of socio-political involvement by the Christian community: i) writing, ii) helping immediate needs (e.g., helping the poor and alleviating immediate suffering), and iii) effecting structural change. Historically, Christians in the Protestant Malaysian Church have been active within the first layer but little else has been done in either of the other two. It is noted that the situation is not very far different for the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia.

The objectives and strategies of R.O.H. will be in attempting to achieve all layers of socio-political involvement. This however is an incremental and dynamic cultivation and change, as the process is subject to growth and alterations in time.


f. Our Commitment to the Dissemination of Our Ideas
We are committed to the dissemination of our social scientific analyses together with the accompanying theological constructions in various forms of publications. This may involve web publications, books and monographs, journal articles, and sporadic articles in newsletter.

In time to come, there is also a great possibility that we may organise events involving relatively small clusters of young thinkers who share in our concerns and who would be keen to participate in conversations pertaining to these concerns.

The R.O.H. Team
31 August 2007
Malaysia’s 50th Anniversary


Endnotes
[1] These marginal communities include the poor, the Orang Asli, women, persons with disabilities, plantation and factory workers, migrants and refugees, and children at risk, among others.

Log onto the R.O.H Malaysia Blog. Click here.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (7)

Special 'Add'ition: HOLISTIC SALVATION

Recognizing herself as the agent of reconciliation between God and the human race, the Church generously channels much of her resources into evangelistic efforts. However, the same cannot be said of the Church's efforts in elevating the people (of the wider society) from their social, political and economical struggles. Even when the Church occasionally engages herself in such physical concerns, these efforts are sporadic and short-termed and the conversion of sinners is often the hidden agenda behind the efforts.

The Church's overemphasis on evangelism is perhaps the result of her perception that salvation is a matter of the soul. Efforts to redeem the physical aspects of the human person is at best a mean to the end: redemption of the soul. Such an understanding has made the Church guilty of being apathetic towards the daily struggles of the common people.

Salvation is holistic. It is not merely redemption of the soul, but also includes the redemption of the human person from the aforementioned physical struggles in the daily living. Therefore, the Church must actively engaged in the physical struggles of the people, striving constantly to elevate them from all forms of oppression and suffering. Such elevation must be seen as salvation, or more accurately, one of the many dimensions of holistic salvation, and not a mere mean to the redemption of the person's soul.

However, even if we see such elevation as part of salvation, we would certainly desire to lead the person to the redemption of his soul, as this is also another dimension of salvation. However, to elevate the people from their physical struggles in order to lead them to the redemption of their souls is to go against the ethos of Christ, for he never objectifies anyone but treats each as an equal.

The difficult question will then be, "How can we bring a person to Christ and lead him to the redemption of his soul if no hidden agenda can be included in our elevating efforts? The best way perhaps, is for us to embody Christ to them. In their encounter with us while we engage in their struggles, let us be aware that they are experiencing and relating to Christ. As they experience the Message in us and through us, they may then come to inquire about him from the messenger, then and only then, we must be ready to give an answer.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Jesus Christ

No Trespassing!

We tend to dichotomize our lives into the private and the public. Regardless of the time we spent in the public, we guard our private lives fiercely, for it is only in our private time and space can we let down our defenses and be our real selves. However, such privatization also includes our private rights and private possessions as well. We demand our right to make our choices, we claim sole ownership to our possessions. We may be part of a religious community, but in reality, we embrace a personal faith and an individualistic lifestyle.

However, Christianity is never a personal faith, but a communal one, simply because we are the images of a trinitarian God. Within the one Godhead, each person of the Trinity lives in constant fellowship with the other two, doing, thinking and speaking nothing apart from the other two. The three persons dance together in such perfect oneness that they are but one God. Therefore, in order to be the images of God, our lives must be lived within the context of a community, a community that strives to dance towards that perfect oneness.

However, nothing comes without a cost, and the cost of this dance is high. In order for a community to journey towards perichoresis, where each life is so intertwined with the rest; everyone within the community can no longer demand a private life but must strive to live in constant fellowship with the rest. One can no longer demand private rights but to let the community decide what is best for the community. One can no longer hang on to private possessions but to relinquish them for the common good of the community. Such was the ideal that the Early Church once pursued but failed. Are we willing to pick up from where they left and dance together towards that ideal one more time? If not the ideal, what else?

To Hell You Go

Jonathan Edwards is widely known as one of the greatest and most profound of American theologians and revivalists. His famous fire and brimstone sermon, "Sinners in the hand of an angry God" is characteristic of the Protestant understanding of a wrathful God who sends those he condemns to a fiery place called hell, where they will be forever tormented and severed from God and his kingdom. Such a view has caused many Protestants (good intentions they may have) to present the gospel in a blunt and offensive manner to people of other faiths.

Thus, looking into older traditions of Christianity, which have different views of hell, might be helpful towards our understanding and presentation of the gospel. In Roman Catholicism, as stated by Pope John Paul II, hell is not a place but rather "a state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." Whereas in Protestantism, it is the fury God who sends sinners into hell to be tormented, Roman Catholicism teaches that it is the sinner who in his own freedom of choice chooses to separate himself from God. Such condition of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God is called "hell."

Eastern Orthodoxy agrees with Roman Catholicism that hell is not a place but rather a condition that we choose to be in, but it goes on to state that hell is not a state of separation from God, for heaven and hell both exist in the presence of God (which is consistent with our belief that God is omnipresent). How then can a person experience hell and another experience heaven in the presence of God? Consider a person who hates God and is only concern of his self-centered desires. For this person to spend eternity in the presence of God is a tormenting and hellish condition/experience. But for another who loves God and is only concern of the desires of God, to spend eternity in the presence of God is a heavenly condition/experience.

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox understanding of hell are certainly more consistent with the loving nature of God. Perhaps such an understanding of hell (especially Eastern Orthodoxy) will challenge our fire and brimstone methodology of evangelism, and compels us to reexamine our "pulling people out of hell into heaven" mentality.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (6)

THE KINGDOMIC CHURCH

We often assume that if we do not preach the message to others verbally, we are not preaching at all. However, since the Message is a person, it is better for 'the other' to experience him relationally (through us), rather than propositionally (through our words). Also, as we have read in the previous posts of this series, we are often guilty of exploiting relationships by seeing friends and strangers as objects for conversion. We assume that the primary concern of the Church is evangelism and conversion of 'non-Christians', even when relationships are sacrificed or damaged in the process. However, is this justifiable? And more fundamentally, what should be the primary concern of the Church?

The Church is the icon or image of God to the world, so that through the life of the Church, the world can see God. But to be an image that reflects God, we need to know who God is. God is a trinitarian God, consisting of three persons in one Godhead, dancing perichoretically in perfect oneness in a perfect community. Thus, as the image of God, it is the goal of the Church to constantly strive towards this perfect oneness in our relationship with others, starting from within the Church herself.

However, the dream of God is greater than reconciliation between human beings. It is his dream (which will be fulfilled at the end of time) for reconciliation to also take place between God and man and between man and the rest of creation. Therefore, the Church must participate in this dream of God and be an agent of reconciliation in these three dimensions. Sadly, our sole emphasis (at least for the Protestant Church) on evangelism, which covers only one dimension of reconciliation (between God and man) had cause us to often sacrifice another dimension (between human beings, especially Christians and 'non-Christians'). Furthermore, the other dimension (between man and the rest of creation) is seldom heard of in the Church. How often do we hear issues of environmental and animal concern being addressed in the Church?

Therefore, the primary concern of the Church is relationship (not evangelism). The kingdomic Church is a community of relational messengers who dance together perichoretically towards perfect oneness with God, with one another (including people of other faiths) and with the rest of creation. When the Church participates in this Great Dance, the world will turn their eyes upon the Dance, and perhaps desire to participate in this Dance as well.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Jesus Christ

THE END

No to Numbers

Not very long ago, I commented about Protestants' obsession with numbers and the negative implications this obsession has brought upon the Church and the Gospel. Perhaps the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Most Reverend Murphy Pakiam (Auxiliary Bishop at the time of publication of this news article) could give us some wisdom regarding this matter. I took the piece of news from here:

MALAYSIA CATHOLICS SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH FAITH WITNESSING, DIALOGUE, NOT NUMBERS

KUALA LUMPUR (UCAN) -- Catholics in Malaysia should not be concerned about their small number, but with how to witness their faith and to dialogue with other religions, a Church leader says.

"It is not our great concern to increase the number of Catholics in peninsular Malaysia," but to emphasize witnessing of faith and interreligious dialogue, Auxiliary Bishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur said.

According to government census figures and the 2002 Catholic Directory and Ordo of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, Catholics make up a little over 1 percent of the 18.5 million population in peninsular Malaysia.

Despite this low percentage, the Catholic Church is in no hurry to go on an evangelizing spree to increase the number of its flock, Bishop Pakiam said in an interview with local Catholic media.

The bishop emphasized that evangelization in the country should not be "pulling people into the Church," but of Catholics becoming witnesses of the faith by their way of life, and letting God do the rest.

However, Bishop Pakiam stressed the need for the local Church "to dialogue with other religions, to build up relationships with people of other faiths and to see God's love extend to other people."

"Despite being multiracial, multicultural, and different from each other, we can still be united with our bonds of friendship. All these are binding us together. This is the beautiful sign what God can do for us," he added.

The auxiliary bishop noted that God's mission is to create greater love and unity. "That's why in our churches, we have Masses in different languages. It makes us Catholics realize that we are different, but we can be open and appreciative of each other," he said.

"We can rejoice about our cultural diversity and welcome it positively to express our oneness as children of our Father in heaven," he explained.

Catholics can be proud of their faith through worship, he said. "Faith is not only instructions in sermons, but also in coming together as a community to pray -- during Sunday Mass, in penitential service, charismatic prayer groups or retreats," he added.

The Catholic faith is "a communitarian faith," he said, adding that "because we have experienced faith, we are open to people of different religions and culture."

Among the three dioceses of peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur archdiocese has 92,660 Catholics, the largest number. It is followed by Penang diocese with 65,837 Catholics. Melaka-Johor diocese has the smallest number, with about 36,000 Catholics.

Pitfalls of Evangelism (5)

EMBODYING THE MESSAGE

Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words.

St Francis of Assisi

Like persistent salesmen suffering from verbal diarrhea, we snatch every opportunity that we can find to preach the message verbally to others. However, since our pursuit of numbers has inevitably led to the lack of development in our character, people are unimpressed by our radical message when they see us living secular lives, bearing no difference from theirs. We are like salesman suffering from bad breath due to the lack of use of toothpaste, yet going around selling toothpaste to others who face the same problem. Using the words of Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message," others will not buy our product not because the toothpaste is ineffective, but because our bad breath causes them to conclude that the toothpaste is ineffective. Therefore, shouldn't we first tackle our bad breath before we help others to do likewise? Shouldn't we first nurture our being before we focus on our doing?

Other than that, are we not aware that the message is actually the Message, who is a person? As messengers, how do we help others to come to know the Message? Do we describe to others in propositional form (evangelism) our knowledge of the Message, or do we strive to embody the Message in our lives, so that when others relate with us, they may experience the Message personally through us?

One may say, "But if we do not preach verbally, others will not know the Message." This is precisely because we are not embodying the Message, that we need to use words to bring out the Message. It is certainly an easier path to take in preaching verbally, persuading others not to look at our lives but at the truth claims of the Message. By doing so, we can still keep on living a secular life under a religious cloak. However, if we want to embody the Message so that others can experience him, we are forced to come out from our religious cloaks, challenging ourselves constantly to give up our secular values and possessions in order to be that embodiment of the Message to others.

When we truly become the embodiment of the Message and allow others to experience the Message through us, I believe many will be interested to know this Message. Perhaps then, we as messengers can start opening our mouths.

To be continued...

Pitfalls of Evangelism (4)

FLIRTING WITH NUMBERS

It is an accepted rule (at least among Protestant churches) that the primary (sometimes, sole) yardstick in gauging the success of a church is its numerical growth. Hence, we often find statements such as this: "To reach xx members by the end of the year" appearing in the vision statement of many Protestant churches.

Churches are motivated and directed by numerical goals. Evangelistic programs, which are the primary activities of churches, are aimed at achieving the numerical goal. Take away these evangelistic programs, and churches will find themselves having nothing much to do. Take away the numerical goal, and churches will find themselves lost and unmotivated. (We need numbers to motivate us? How sad!)

Church members are busy involving themselves in evangelistic programs throughout the year. Such busyness in doing gives them a false sense of being good Christians. As the church members bring in new converts into the church, the converts are immediately forced to join the bandwagon and find themselves busy involving in evangelistic programs as well. Even though it may not be our original intention, but in reality we are actually bringing in more people into the church to become additional labour to bring more people into the church, and the cycle goes on and on.

We focus so much on outward actions in the form of evangelism and have often overlooked the more important aspect of our lives, our inner being. We are experts in evangelism but novices in the Christian way of life. Or perhaps, we naively assume that evangelism is THE Christian way of life, thinking that once we become Christians, our ultimate goal is to bring more people into the faith.

Such singlemindedness in evangelism has cause many to become disillusioned with the Church and with the Christian faith (and unfortunately with Christ), as if there is nothing else to the Christian life other than the endless pursuit of numbers. No deepening of the depth of the soul, no moulding of the character. Nothing but numbers. Shallow.

Is there more to our Christian life than numbers?

To be continued...

Pitfalls of Evangelism (3)

ABOUT STREET EVANGELISM

A salesman goes around hunting for potential customers, promoting his product to strangers, hoping that some out of the many will be attracted to the product. The primary concern of the salesman is not the stranger (as he does not know the person at all), but that the product can be sold to the stranger. Thus, the salesman uses his marketing tactics and verbal skills to entice the person to buy the product without the person first trying out the product. There will be some who would eventually buy the product, not because they had experienced the benefit of the product, but because they believed in the words of the salesman. However, for those who initially reject the offer, the salesman will continue to exercise his determination in persuading them. Inevitably, there will be those who would be irritated by the person, and perhaps, of the product as well.

Think about it: What kind of response will this person give if on another day, he meets another salesman who promotes the same product to him?

A Christian who conducts street evangelism goes around hunting for potential converts, sharing his gospel to strangers, hoping that some out of the many will be attracted to the gospel. The primary concern of the Christian is not the stranger (as he does not know the person at all), but that the gospel can be accepted by the person. Thus, the Christian uses his marketing tactics and verbal skills to entice the person to accept the gospel without the person first experiencing the gospel. There will be some who would eventually accept the gospel not because they had experienced the benefit of the gospel, but because they believed in the words of the Christian. However, for those who initially reject the gospel, the Christian will continue to exercise his determination in persuading them. Inevitably, there will be those who would be irritated by the person, and perhaps, of the gospel as well.

Think about it: What kind of response will this person give if on another day, he meets another Christian who shares the same gospel to him?

To be continued…

Pitfalls of Evangelism (2)

ABOUT PERSONAL EVANGELISM

Sometimes when we engage in conversations with our friends, we wander (unintentionally or intentionally) into discussions of faith and religion. When we see our friends showing no sign of rejection towards such discussions, we get excited (without showing it) because we know that it is a precious opportunity for us to bring the person into our faith. However, when we engage in such discussions, it becomes clear that we do not have any interest in the faiths of our friends, and we are only interested in spitting out all that we know about Christianity in order that our friends might understand and believe. The discussion inevitably evolves into an imperialistic monologue.

Such an outcome is perhaps the result of our view of our friends. We often overlook the fact that they are just like us, adherents of a specific faith. We simply view them as non-Christians who are lost and are in dire need for salvation lest they face the fiery flames of hell. Furthermore, we think that since our faith is the only true faith that can bring others to heaven, there is no need for us to know anything about their faiths, which are rendered false and truth-less.

Our lack of interest in the faiths of our friends inevitably cause many to feel that we are arrogant, assuming that only we have something to offer to others to learn, and not vice versa. (Sounds imperialistic?) Perhaps Justin Martyr’s logos spermatikos can enlighten us in our view of other faiths, for what if there are truths to be found in other faiths as well, which can further refine or reinforce our understanding of the Christian faith? In my journey in exploring other faiths, I often find this to be true.

If we are so consumed by the mission to bring the person to Christ, we may eventually treat the person not as a friend, not as an equal; but simply as an object for conversion. Inevitably, our friends will no longer be willing to discuss faith or religion with us anymore, for they have come to realize that it will never be a discussion, but a monologue. Are we so naïve to think that others will want to continue to listen to us when we ourselves are not willing to listen to them?

Perhaps if we treat other faiths and religions with more respect, perhaps if we are willing to learn from their faiths through dialogues, perhaps if we treat our friends as mutual subjects in our journeys to God; our friends might then be able to see Christ in us.

Street evangelism! You are next!

To be continued…

Respecting Other Faiths

I managed to unearth this reflection paper from my data bank which I wrote last year for my Christian theology reflection paper. Hopefully it can provide us with some helpful insights in the way we view other faiths and religions:

When a Buddhist friend invites us to attend a Buddhism learning class this coming weekend, it is more likely that we will decline his invitation without any hesitation. When a Muslim friend approaches us and intends to share with us the teachings from the Al-Quran, it is very unlikely that we will offer him a listening ear. Why do we respond so negatively to other religions?

The way we respond to other religions very much depends on the way we view and understand other religions. Very often, many Christians have this assumption that all the other religions and philosophies are created by the Devil and are intended to lure people away from Christ. Therefore, they are evil and contain no truth at all. As a result, consciously or unconsciously, we disrespect or worse still, despise other religions and try our very best to avoid having any contact with them. Because we assume that these religions are evil, we see no purpose in wasting our time to explore and understand their teachings. Therefore, when our friends of other religions try to share with us about their faith, we become insensitive and disrespectful towards them. We tend to change the topic of conversation every time they start sharing about their faith. When we attempt to share our faith with them, we are surprised and get offended by their rude response, but in fact, we are the ones who first give them this same response.

What should be our attitude and response when we approach other religions and their adherents? Perhaps Justin Martyr's Logos Spermatikos could provide us with some crucial insight into the kind of attitude that we should possess in approaching other religions and their adherents. Logos Spermatikos refers to the divine Word that bears seeds of revelation throughout human history. Through these seeds, the Word has made himself known to the pagans (through philosophers) as well as to the Jews (through prophets and writers of the Old Testament books in the Scripture) before his advent. Yet, these seeds of revelation are incomplete and are incapable of providing human beings an adequate understanding of the Word. But now, the Word has appeared incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. Through Christ, human beings are given the privilege to have a sufficient understanding of the Word.

This concept provides us with an understanding that God’s revelation is not confined within Christianity, but is revealed in other religions and philosophies as well. Thus, it challenges our attitude towards other religions and philosophies. Since God has used other religions and philosophies to reveal himself, we should not view them as evil and contain no truth in them. On the contrary, we should possess an attitude of humility and respect when we approach other religions and their adherents. Imagine how disrespectful we will be in the eyes of our friends of other faiths if we try to impose our faith on them and persuade them to embrace our faith when we ourselves do not even know the kind of faith they are embracing. Therefore, let us first seek to understand their faith before we even start sharing our faith with them. When our non-Christian friends notice that we are respectful towards their religion and have a good understanding of their beliefs, they too will be respectful towards our religion and offer a listening ear when we share our faith with them.

Other than that, in the process of exploring other religions and philosophies, we may even be able to discover the revelation of God in them, which could serve as an entry point to introduce the Word in the person of Jesus Christ to the adherents of these religions. For example in Taoism, the word “Tao” can be used as an entry point to engage in inter-religious conversations with adherents of Taoism. “Tao” in Taoism is defined as an impersonal creative principle, whereas “Tao” in Christianity refers to a personal Creator. Using the definition of “Tao” of Taoism as a starting point, we can point our friends towards the definition of “Tao” of Christianity, thus showing him this “Tao” that leads to eternal life. In Hinduism, we find similarities in the doctrine of the Trinity. Christian trinity consists of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit which are three persons in one Godhead. The Hindu trinity consists of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver) and Siva (Destroyer) and they are different manifestations of the same Supreme Iswara, who is also known as Saguna Brahman. Perhaps by using the Hindu trinity as an entry point, we may lead our Hindu friends to the understanding of the Christian trinity. As we continue to explore the teachings of other religions and engage in healthy inter-religious conversations with our friends, we will realize that there are actually many similarities between Christianity and other religions. Perhaps this further affirms the explanation that God truly sows his seeds of revelation in other religions and philosophies as well.

Furthermore, exploring and learning from other religions not only help us to engage in healthy inter-religious conversations, it can also further enhance and complete our understanding of the Word. Throughout the history of the Church, Christian theologians and philosophers have appealed to other religions and philosophies in helping them to understand the Word in a clearer and better way. For example, Augustine of Hippo appealed to many Platonic concepts in finding solutions to major problems in his formulation of the Christian doctrines. Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian during the era of Scholasticism, recognized how Aristotelian intellectualism was of great help to the study of philosophy and theology. We need to rediscover the spirit of humility and generosity as exemplified by these theologians to be willing to explore other religions and philosophies in helping us to better understand the Word.

Humility and respect towards other religions and philosophies are virtues that are dying in the Christian community. We need to once again challenge our attitude and approach towards other religions and their adherents. Only by doing so, I believe, will be we able to enjoy healthy inter-religious conversations with our friends of other religions, and also will we be able to understand the Word in a better and clearer way.

The Price of Diversity

In my recent post, I wrote that the Church must take the initiative to break the boundaries of race, language and culture by bringing people of such differences together into one faith community. Amusingly, it only dawned upon me on last Thursday that this is actually happening right here in my seminary!

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, students of different races, languages, cultures and nationalities gather here as one faith community to worship the same God. The services are conducted bilingually, either two of English, Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia. Although the services are conducted bilingually, the languages that are being used are not alien to me. Thus, I never felt impatient for having to listen to the message and the interpretation, because the interpretation was beneficial in reinforcing my understanding of the message.

Yet, it was not until last Thursday that I finally felt the inconvenience of diversity. The speaker, who was from Hong Kong, spoke in Cantonese (a Chinese dialect), a language that was unintelligible to me. Each time after the speaker said something, I had to wait for the interpreter to finish her sentence before I could understand what was being preached. It was a test of patience and concentration for me as it was naturally frustrating to listen to a language that I could not understand. This experience also gave me a foretaste of the inconveniences that will emerge within a diverse faith community. Although this was a rare experience for me, such is not the case for many other students who could only understand English or Mandarin. My Thursday experience helped me to realize that they are constantly paying the price of diversity each time they attend these bilingual services.

Other than that, it is noteworthy that during that Thursday service, there were students who could not understand both Cantonese and English (e.g. Indonesian Chinese). Thus, the message that was being preached was totally unintelligible to them. How beautiful it would have been if there was not only one, but two interpreters to interpret the Cantonese message into English and Mandarin. The service would have been much longer, but it would have been a beautiful picture of the Kingdom, where the whole community is willing to sit through the lengthy service, appreciating the languages and cultures of one another in spite of their inability to understand.

Having said that, is the Church willing to pay this hefty price of diversity, bringing people of such differences together into one faith community, thus reflecting the borderless Kingdom of God?

Pitfalls of Evangelism (1)

The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it.

William Tyndale
16th century Protestant Reformer

As Protestants, we are constantly preoccupied with the salvation of those outside the Church. We spend much of our resources in organizing evangelistic programs, creating endless opportunities and platforms to bring non-believers to our faith. On a personal level, we are often taught, sometimes commanded, to grab hold of every possible opportunity to share the gospel verbally to our friends who have not embraced the faith, yet.

It is of no wonder why we hear messages such as this coming from the pulpit, “How many people have you brought to Christ this year? This month? This week? When you go to heaven, won't it be great to see people whom you have brought to Christ lining up to thank you for bringing them to Christ? How pathetic it will be if there is no one in heaven waiting to welcome and thank you when you arrive there?”

Why are we so preoccupied with evangelism and the salvation of others? This is very much affected by our understanding of the eschaton. In our understanding, when Christ returns, he will bring the Church to heaven. On the contrary, those who are outside the Church will be banished into the eternal flames. Based on our heaven-hell eschatology, our primary mission in the world is to pull as many people as we can out of hell and into heaven before time runs out. We do so by grabbing every opportunity to verbally share the gospel to as many as possible, hoping that some out of the many will accept the gospel, say the sinner's prayer and receive the assurance of eternal life in heaven.

Unfortunately, our single-mindedness in evangelism has caused us to overlook the unChristian-ness of many of our evangelistic methods. Let us take a closer look at evangelistic rallies. Let's say Daniel, a Christian, wants to invite his friend to an evangelistic rally, how does he convey his message? Can he say, "Sam, I want to invite you to an activity in my church this coming Saturday night. We have invited a famous Christian to come and share about our God. I hope that after listening to his sharing, you will be more interested to know about our God"? Certainly not! Such an unwise approach would definitely put him off. So what should Daniel say? "Sam, this Saturday night I want to invite you to my church, got free dinner, some more can meet new friends le! Come la!" If Sam were to ask Daniel what will be going on on that night, he will answer, "Nothing one la, just sing some songs and listen to some nice stories lo." Although some may say that Daniel is being misleading, many others will say that he is just being tactful, and it is not wrong as long as his intention is good.

Therefore, on that fateful night, Sam followed Daniel to his church, thinking that he was just attending a social dinner. Everything seemed to be fine throughout the whole night until a person started giving a long speech. Sam began to smell something fishy because the speaker kept on promoting and bragging about the Christian God. When he came to the end of his speech, the speaker said, "Anyone of you would like to accept this God as your saviour and Lord, please raise your hand." By now, Sam had come to know the whole truth, but he was unaware that the worst is yet to come. The speaker continued, "Those who have brought your friends here, do talk to them and encourage them." Before he could find an opportunity to escape to the washroom, Sam was already surrounded by Daniel and a few other men who were well-dressed with tags labeled "USHER" clipped on their shirt pockets. They spent about fifteen minutes talking, explaining, encouraging and persuading him to accept their God. Angry Sam refused to give in, and they had no choice but to give up their mission...

Certainly, in most evangelistic events, there will be those who will respond to the altar call and receive Christ. Not only will they not blame us for misinforming them, but will thank us for inviting them instead. Yet, how about the many others, who like Sam, felt cheated and betrayed? After this event, what will they think about Christians and the Christian God? What will be their response if we were to invite them to another Christian event, even if it is not an evangelistic event? More importantly, what will become of the relationship between Daniel and Sam?

Perhaps in our eager attempts to bring others to Christ, we have brought them to a distorted Christ and further lead them away from the true Christ.

How about personal evangelism and street evangelism?

To be continued...

The Great Pretenders

They had been standing at the same spot for some time now. Behaving like amateur thieves, they were nervously waiting for the right moment to execute the perfect manoeuvre. While waiting for the right time to act, the thinner one, who acted as the "watchman" of the duo, stealthily looked to and fro at the direction of the table where the rest of the group were seated. After being sure that the coast was clear, he swiftly signaled to his accomplice to act. After receiving the signal, his accomplice, who was the "executioner", quickly approached the target and accomplished his task.

The two youths succeeded in acquiring a few sticks of cigarettes without the knowledge of the rest. Well, at least that was what they thought. Unfortunately for them, several youths within the group, including the youth leader, witnessed the whole scene without the knowledge of the secretive duo. When the two returned to their seats, the youth leader put on an oblivious look and asked, "Where did you go?" Before the "executioner" could open his mouth, the "watchman", who was clearly the mastermind, rushed to answer, "We just went for a walk lah," obviously fearful that his accomplice might say the right wrong words. These young bloods must have thought that they had pulled it through. Little did they know that their secret act had already been exposed...

It does not take the brain of a genius for you to discover that the youth leader in the story is none other than yours truly. Time and time again, as I experienced similar scenarios such as the aforementioned story, I feel amused yet irritated by the fact that these youths could be so ignorant to think that I would be stupid enough to believe their blatant lies.

However, these encounters with the youths led me unexpectedly to an embarrassing but valuable realization: "Don't we treat God in the same way too?"

Throughout the week, we, who call ourselves Christians, adopt a secular lifestyle and readily replace Christian principles with secular values and secular wisdom once those principles become unrealistic and impractical. We specialize in offering silly excuses and lies to God in attempting to justify our wrongdoings. We willingly offer our God-given resources to the three gods of the world: Money, Sex and Power. At the end of the week, we dressed nicely in our religious cloaks and gather with other Christians in participating in the religious rituals of the institutional church, assuming that all our wrongdoings have gone unnoticed (even by God) for yet another week. The next day, we happily return to our secular lifestyle, and the endless cycle goes on.

Above all these, we constantly affirm ourselves that we are already saved (in the Protestant understanding): the obtainment of eternal life in heaven.

Who are we really fooling: God or ourselves?

True Unity is Visible

Tourists who have visited Malaysia are often impressed by the constant harmony and peace that is maintained in a society that comprises of many races. Yet any Malaysian will tell you in a cynical tone that beneath the superficial layers of peace and unity lies a spirit of enmity and suspicion between people of different races. People of the same race would form their own communities and segregate themselves from people of other races that form their own communities as well. Thus, perhaps it could be say that people of different races in Malaysia are merely co-existing in the same geographical location.

Unfortunately, churches in Malaysia are not contributing to the solution, but to the problem itself. Chinese, Indians and East Malaysian Christians normally group among their own races to form their own faith community.

Even though sharing the same culture and language makes it easier for the members within a faith community to relate to and live among one another, even though having a monolingual service (rather than a bilingual or multi-lingual service) avoid time wasting; yet such a scenario further perpetuates the problem of segregation that is already prevalent in the society. If the Church is not willing to take the bold step of breaking the boundaries of race, language and culture and bring people of such differences together into one faith community; then the Church is not truly (and is not willing to work towards) reflecting the Kingdom of God which transcends all boundaries.

Gladly, the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia has taken up the challenge to become the antithesis of racial segregation in the society. Masses in many (if not all) Catholic churches in Malaysia which are previously conducted monolingually are now conducted multi-lingually.

Read this excerpt which is taken from here under the heading "Apostolic Delegate Impressed with Multi-Lingual Mass":

Archbishop Pakiam said that the Church in Malaysia represents all the four major language groups, thus the Mass should be celebrated in all the languages as it is a reflection of reality. Through the multi-lingual Masses, the Catholic Church has shown that it is possible for the different races to come together. Even though most of the parishioners do not understand all the language, they always sit patiently and respectfully listening to the Word of God and participating in the prayers where they can and appreciating the songs in the different languages.

He is right. It is possible and it is a must for believers of different races to come together as one Church, one Community, for true unity of the Body of Christ must be seen visibly, and not merely spiritual and invisible (which is the kind of unity that many Protestants are satisfied with).

Friendship of the Kingdom

The story continues...

Recently, Saw Woo was diagnosed with a serious health problem and had to return to his homeland to receive immediate medical attention. Before he left, Clement and David brought Saw Woo out for a farewell dinner.

As always, joy and laughter were shared over the dinner table. Yet, there were moments during the conversation when Saw Woo was looking down on the floor. Obviously, he was trying his best to withstand the gushing waters that were pressing hard against the dam of his eyes. Finally, he looked up to Clement and David and revealed to them that he was very touched by their unconditional love and concern for him and his Burmese friends, and he said he will never forget them even after he returns to Myanmar.

Before they left the dinner table, Clement and David insisted that Saw Woo must write to them even after he goes back to his homeland so that they can continue to keep in touch with one another. They even promised Saw Woo that they will travel to Myanmar to visit him in the near future...

This is a true story of a beautiful forged friendship, friendship that transcends all barriers of difference (e.g. social status, race, nationality and language etc.), friendship that truly belongs to the Kingdom of God.

In the eyes of Clement and David, Saw Woo is not an object of their care and concern (as is common in ministries), but is an equal subject that they truly respect and love, simply because he is their...friend.

Rich at Your Own Risk!

Sherman and Ben are busy engaging in a rescue mission - sewing a fallen button on Ben's jacket...

Exasperated after several failed attempts to thread a needle, Sherman moans, "Wah, I am really getting old!" Several more failed attempts and he started "preaching", "Now I know what Jesus meant when he says, 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.'" After a while, he continues in a cheeky tone, "It means that there is no hope for the rich!"

I did not ask Sherman whether he was just joking or was serious about what he said. Nevertheless, Jesus did make the comparison to highlight the extreme difficulty for the rich to enter his kingdom. Furthermore, the account of the rich young man who rejected Jesus' invitation into his kingdom because of the man's love for wealth should serve as a clear warning to the rich and the rich wannabes.

Prosperity gospel, a teaching that advocates the pursuit of material wealth based on the belief that God wants all his people to be financially wealthy, has been well accepted in many affluent countries. It is a gospel that is easily accepted by the listeners as it demands no radical change in the lifestyle of the wealth-craving people. Worse still, it gives them the license to feed on their insatiable greed.

One of my friends is a proponent of the prosperity gospel. I know that he has compassion for the poor and he argues that the prosperity gospel is beneficial to the poor. This is his theory: If more people embrace the prosperity gospel, more people will strive to become rich. When they become rich, they can meet the needs of the poor. If we do not encourage Christians to be rich and all remain poor, who is going to meet the needs of the poor?

His argument sounds reasonable and noble, but when we encourage others to strive to be rich, we are also inviting them to embark on a much riskier path, as Jesus has warned us that it is very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom. Like the rich young man, once we taste the sweetness of wealth, we may not be willing to let it go for the sake of God's kingdom.

Furthermore, when God grants us more wealth, he is also entrusting greater responsibility upon us. If we do not use the wealth with care, as we often use the wealth to satisfy our wants rather than the needs of others, we may become irresponsible stewards in the eyes of God.

Therefore, before we encourage ourselves and others to pursue wealth for whatever cause, think again. We may be pushing ourselves and others out of God's kingdom.

Thinking about Him (Epilogue)

ICONS OF GOD

Icon, from the Greek word 'eikon' meaning image, is a kind of Christian art that is indispensable to the Orthodox tradition. Just as songs are capable of engaging the audio senses of the listeners, icons are capable of engaging the visual senses of the viewers, inviting the viewers to worship the person that is being imaged (if Christ is the subject) or to imitate the life of the person (if saints are the subjects).

The understanding of icon is crucial to our self-identity as well. Since we are created in the image of God, we are living icons of God. Thus, we must realize that we are responsible of engaging the visual senses of our viewers, so that when they observe our lives, they are automatically directed to the person (God) that we image.

When others see us, may they be able to see God.

Thinking about Him (6)

LOOK TO THE SON

Was it an easy decision for the Son when he accepted the earthly mission from the Father? Was there no struggle within him as he was consciously and constantly aware that the mission is all about sacrifice and suffering? Perhaps we have been paying too much attention to his divine nature, his power and his majesty; that we have been guilty of overlooking his human nature and the struggles that he had to endure throughout his time on earth. The Son revealed the tremendous struggle that he was battling within him when he told the Father, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." He struggled, he suffered, and in the end he died. Such was the cost he was willing to pay in order to fulfill the will of God. Such was also the cost he was willing to pay in order to show us what total obedience to God is like. Now, he invites us to walk the path that he once walked, the path of self-denial and suffering.

Therefore, let the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "When Jesus calls a man, he bid him come and die" be our constant reminder. Let us remember the cost that we have to pay to walk this path, lest we give up along the journey. Struggle we will, suffer we may, but let us look to the Son who showed us the perfect human example, so that we may learn to live the life that he once lived.

Look to him, for he will inspire you to live on.