Human & Divine

The inhuman rape and murder of the Indian medical student and the senseless massacre of innocent children in the Sandy Hooks Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut are grim reminders of the depravity inherent in our human nature. The sex scandals that rocked our tiny nation this year are but a reflection of how important our sexual desires can be. But before we cast the first stone we need to recognise that there is both a saint and a devil in each one of us.

As human beings we are all living in the prisons of our fears, anger, guilt, greed, lust and pride. We are not living the life that God wants us to live but we are living in the fallen world with quiet and resigned desperation. It is so easy to miss the real message of the Advent season – a time to remember and celebrate how Jesus came into the world to help us understand our human nature and to fulfill God’s promise that we can be both human and divine and be freed from the corruption of our sinful desires. The good news is that God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour (2 Peter 1:2-3).

Jesus came to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 61:1-2 which he proclaimed at the beginning of his ministry in Nazareth:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.” (Luke 4:18-19)

The best and most wonderful gift of God is the gift of the Holy Spirit. But like our Christmas gifts, we tend to focus on the gifts rather than the Giver. We forget that the Holy Spirit is given to us, not to ensure that we will have health and wealth, but to search our hearts and to test us - so that we can understand our anxious thoughts and recognize anything that is offensive to God in our lives (Psalm 139:23-24).

We have been set free from the prison of our egos but that does not mean everything is permissible for us. We have been set free from our sinful nature so that our divine nature may grow in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. The good news of Christmas is the revelation of the spark of divinity that is present in our humanity. We are to remember that it only takes a spark to get a fire going. Instead of allowing our tongues to set our lives on fire we can seek to make our hearts an altar for God’s fire of love so that our lives will be a living sacrifice of praise to Him.

As we enter into a brand new year, let us use God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to delight in His Word and to turn our prayers into times of joy and wonder as we rest in His unfailing love and grace. Let us seek our Lord by feeding on the written Word to develop our divine nature which Christ came to give us. Let us surrender our sinful desires to the Lord through the spirit of repentance so that we may live out the wonderful truth of Psalm 37:4 in the new year of 2013:

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

May the Lord fill our hearts with the love of God and our minds with the hope of our inheritance as children of God to that we will grow to be more humane and more divine in the New Year. (Romans 5:5, 8:23-25)

When Up There Came Down Here

Christmas is a time of love, joy and peace – a time when we celebrate the greatest news of all time that Love came down from heaven to earth. But this good news in 2012 is marred by the tragic and senseless massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, USA. It is a grim reminder of the reality of evil. It brings to mind the slaughter of all boys two years old and younger in Bethlehem by King Herod on the first Christmas more than two thousand years ago.

In such times it may be very difficult to proclaim "Joy to the world! The Lord has come!" Some may wonder where is God in all this. But this is the greatest mystery that we share with the world – that God came down from heaven to transform the hellish conditions of our earth. The message of Christmas is that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can experience the reality of God with us.

Jesus taught us to pray for God's Kingdom to come, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. He died on the cross to answer his prayer that God's will be done. He came to show us how to make the world a better place by bringing a piece of heaven down to earth. Christmas is a time when we celebrate the greatest and most wonderful news of “When Up There Came Down Here.” When we truly have God with us, what more do we want or need?

The world celebrates Christmas with songs wishing one another a Merry Christmas. But the Christmas carols reminds us of a deeper spiritual reality of a silent and holy night; of the stillness that we need in order to experience the wonder of Christmas; of sharing our joy with the world for our Lord has come; and to tune our hearts and minds to the angelic voices in the heavenly realm.

In the Upper Room Daily Reflection on 22^nd December 2012, Beth A. Richardson shares the following insight:

“GOD COMES to the woman who feels in exile in her own marriage, for the man who grieves the loss of life dreams.

God comes to the child who lives on the street, for the parents who struggle to feed and clothe their children.

God comes to the one whose loneliness or depression intensifies every Christmas. …

Emmanuel – God-with-Us – is coming to us, to meet us wherever we are – happy or sad, joyous or grieving. God comes to stand with us, whatever our condition. And we thank God for that promised gift of presence.”

The bad news we read every day is that the world is in a mess with an unpredictable future. Our hearts are filled with fear for what the future holds. But the good news is that perfect Love will cast out all fear. Jesus came to open the way for us to draw close to God as our Heavenly Father – to relate to Him out of love rather than out of fear. A secular writer made the following observation:

"Every moment of your life, you are offered the opportunity to choose - love or fear - to tread the earth, or to soar the heavens. Fear would walk you on a narrow path, promising to take you where you want to go. Love says, 'Open your arms and fly with me.'＂

Because of Christmas, we can choose love over fear. We can live by faith that God is with us because of the birth of Jesus Christ some two thousand years ago. What is more important is how this Christmas will make a difference to the rest of our lives in the years to come.

May this Christmas awaken us to look for God's movement in the world. Let us pray that each one of us will be a part of God's work in redeeming the world. Let us reflect this Christmas on what it means to live a life of compassion so that we can bring love, joy and peace to those who are suffering and in need of God's agape love.

Where Have All Our Morals Gone?

Where have all our morals gone? High flyers straying!

Where have all our morals gone? So many lusting.

Where have all our morals gone? Something is missing!

When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?

The year 2012 has been described as "a year of lust." Singaporeans have been entertained with R rated news this year with the juicy sex scandals involving a MP, high ranking civil servants, teachers and sadly, most recently, even our Speaker of Parliament. This is not a time for self -righteous condemnation but a time for deep reflection and self-examination for all Singaporeans. It is a time to recognise that we may be living in material prosperity but there is a famine of true love in our nation. We are in a deep spiritual poverty. It is time to understand that we need more than meritocracy in our nation – we need the spirit of compassion.

The loss of honour, status and power by those involved is heart-breaking, not only for those involved, but also for their families, friends, colleagues and even our nation at large. It is the price they have to pay for their indiscretion. We cannot condone their actions and turn their fall from grace into a badge of honour. It is foolish to think that one’s conduct in one’s personal affairs will not have an impact on one’s public service.  If one is not trustworthy in the little things of one’s personal life, how can one be trusted with the bigger responsibilities of public office?

It is critical to recognise the reality of evil forces that seek to deprive us of the goodness of life. This is the message of movies such as the Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. In our common humanity, we all desire pleasure and seek to avoid suffering. Those who fear suffering and death will seek comfort and solace from religion. But those who have been through suffering and who have to face death often find themselves, together with their families and friends on the narrow path of spirituality. This is the journey to live beyond ourselves and to recognise and relate to a transcendent Higher Power.

Viktor Frankl noted that the world is in a bad state, but everything will become worse unless each of us do our best. But more important than doing our best, is being our best. We can make the world a better place not by what we do or achieved but by who we have become. The most important and meaningful goal of life is to be a channel of love to those around us. Barbara De Angelis has described Love as the magician of the Universe. She noted that “love infuses life with meaning. It performs magic and miracles. It brings light where there is darkness and hope where there was despair. It is our greatest teacher and most constant blessing.”

The good news of the Christmas season is that Love came down at Christmas. But to receive the gift of the real and unconditional Love that so many of us are yearning for, we need the spirit of repentance. There has been much talk about honesty, transparency and governance. What is perhaps lacking is a spirit of repentance in our nation. This is not a feeling of remorse but a coming to our senses. It is sad that many confuse the counterfeits of love with true and unconditional Love – the Love that does not seek to get what it can from others but to give what it can to others, the Love that seeks the welfare of others even at the cost of one’s own.

The fruit of the spirit of repentance will then be seen in our increased sensitivity to the needs of others, a commitment to justice and equality and a responsible use of power. We will be set free from a culture of blame. We will be empowered to live in a culture of gratitude and forgiveness which will make it safe for anyone to confess their greed, lust, pride and other failings that keep them from living a life of love, joy and peace.

True love is more than a feeling. It is the power that overcomes our fears and gives us strength in times of adversity. Christmas is more than a season of merrymaking and parties. May the problems of our messy world drive us to find the true meaning of Christmas. As the following Christmas carol reminds us:

Christmas isn't Christmas, till it happens in your heart.

Somewhere deep inside you is where Christmas really starts

So give your heart to Jesus and you’ll find that it is really true,

That it’s Christmas, really Christmas, for you.