A New Beginning

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=12&day=31&year=06 

"As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him"

Amen.

Recent Events

As some of you may have heard, an earthquake with an epicentre just off the coast of Southern Taiwan two days ago has crippled telecommunication in Southeast Asia.

From the CBC World News, "Asia Recovering from Earthquake Telecom Blackout" Thurs Dec 28th:

Online gamers across Hong Kong also complained about the damaged undersea cables cutting into their entertainment.

"Most online games are routed through Taiwan, and now I can't play any of them," said gamer Daniel Lee, 28. "I can't contact a lot of people because my e-mail is down. It's a hassle and it's depressing, but I can't do anything about it."

(From: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/12/28/quake-internet-061228.html)

Depressing? Technology was meant to serve us, we have now been made its slave... (See post "Understanding the Times...)

The Purpose of Christmas

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matt 1:21)

Tis a season where we get lost in much theology, pseudo-theology and, perhaps, false theology about the meaning of Christmas. Before you groan, I'm not going to propose a new "true meaning" of Christmas - but rather, the purpose of Christmas.

In this 21st verse of the very first chapter of Matthew's account, he lays out the purpose of Christmas and in essence, he lays out the purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of which the whole account of Matthew stems from.

The angel appears to Joseph with the following instructions, "... you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins". That was the purpose of Christmas. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, a truncated form of "YAHWEH saves" (From DA Carson's sermon, '4 Ironies of the Cross'). The child to be born of Mary was to be given that name, because, the angel explains, he will save his people from their sins. That purpose, that goal, that foundation had been laid out very clearly.

Through those lens, and only through those lens, we can understand the rest of Matthew's account. His Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5, his daring claim to forgive the paralytic in chapter 7, his instillation of the new covenant in his blood, chapter 26... all these only make sense if we keep in mind that Jesus' mission was to save his people from their sins. Much of liberal theology has forgotten that Purpose, and erred from that point.

And this is the same point where people back then went astray. Let's jump to Easter, Matt 27:41 onward, "In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!" As Carson points out in the "4 Ironies of the Cross", they had the same problem.
Here, Jesus is hanging by two nails, one through each forearm, just below his wrists and they mock him. The statement drips with irony, listen to their words - "He saved others, but he can't save himself". They were right, if he was to save himself, he wouldn't have been able to save us. He had to choose between himself or us from the time he became man. And he chose us.

And that purpose, initiated at Eden, announced to Joseph and completed at Calvary - that was the purpose of Christmas. That was what he choose. And he was able to cry victoriously on the cross that "It is finished", the purpose had been fulfilled.

Merry Christmas!

(ps. if you want a copy of Carson's message, lemme know)

Understanding the Times...

"a generation that listen with their eyes, and think with their emotions - Ravi Zacharias"

(the following is a excert that took place a few days ago on MSN Messenger, used with permission under the condition of anonymity)

*** says:
do u have faceboook?
Jon <>< says:
nope and i don't plan on it
*** says:
why not?
Jon <>< says:
i prefer to participate in communities of real people and not what they want others to see
*** says:
...........
*person* says:
just say u want to be different
Jon <>< says:
yeah, that's another answer, i dont' feel the need to conform...

Parent used to tell kids to stay home, thinking they'll be safe, protected from the world at large. That has changed. The world is at our fingertips, a click of a mouse can take us anywhere from the comfort of our homes. Bill Gates said, "We have access to virtually unlimited information at our fingertips, global supply chains, international markets that operate 24 hours a day and communication tools that enable us to move data around the world instantly...". Its a global village, vastly diminishing the classical "six degrees of separation" to just 8-bits of binary code; intergrated, wired and connected.

This connectivity is the trademark, the distinguishing feature from the past era. To be in touch with everyone-and-anyone, anytime-and-all-the-time, here-or-wherever, right now -- this is what is valued in our culture. Perhaps, as many put forth, it is to do with significance and self-worth - to give an identity. As I alluded to in the MSN conversation, these identities in cyberspace are hardly carry the traits of a human relationship, lacking in true character and falsely portraying us, giving us the chance to hide our "ugly" attributes. We can be who we want to be, not accepting or maybe just not knowing who we are. However, I'm not going down that path this time. I want to examine our longing to stay connected as an indication of something deeper. It is just the tip of an iceberg.

Connectivity. The theocentric view prior to the Enlightenment era stated "He is, therefore I am". Because the supernatural sustains me, I exist. In the age of Reason, Descartes put forth a new worldview "I think, therefore I am". The supernatural is out of the equation, Man is now at centre stage, on the throne. William Henley's words, spoken at many graduations, reflect it well, "I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul". Individualism has taken over individuality. Now, in the post-modern age, the slogan has become "We are, therefore I am". Because of our connectiveness, because of our mutual sense of belonging, I am secure.
This need to stay connected is a peer-acceptance factor. Along with a glimmer of instant gratification, peer-acceptance is plaguing this generation. From a recent study by Valarie Reyna, professor of human development at Cornell, published in the Sept issue of the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest: "Teens smoke, take drugs, have unprotected sex and ride with drunk drivers, not because they think they are invulnerable or haven't thought about the risks... In fact, they are more likely to ponder the risks, take longer weighing the pros and cons of engaging in high-risk behavior than adults -- and actually overestimate the risks. It's just that they often decide the benefits -- the immediate gratification or peer acceptance -- outweigh the risks" (scienceblog.com). Not that people don't think anymore, their value system finds that the so-called benefits outweight the risks! When the youth of our day have a value shift such as this, something is wrong. Alfred N. Whitehead, a mathematician and philosopher onces said, "The deepest definition of youth is life as yet untouched by tragedy." Sadly, following that logic, youth are no longer youth. Tragedy has hit them. Peer-acceptance, the desire to stay in circles, the hunger to be connected is what we value over clearly harmful substance abuse, sexual contact and general risky behaviour. "We are, therefore I am".

This culture's yearning for connectivity as an end goal means we don't need to "do", we just need to connect. Being in touch, knowing what's going on - that's the end goal. There is no doing, no action required. THIS, this is why we speak of phrases like complacency and lack of urgency in life, or the so-called missing unity in churches. Paraphrase Hugh Hewitt, best-selling author, in "Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World", it is not information, but information on getting information that matters. As long as that that is in our grasp, we just sit back - no active living required. If connectivity is the tip of the iceberg, passivity is the hidden chunk beneath.

However, this passivity cannot exist on its own. We are still alive, our minds will not allow us to just enter a state of sub-consciousness. To be able to support our passivity, yet not contradict life itself, this generation has picked up another trait. We are an addicted generation. Be it Yahoo games, Korean dramas, PSPs, YouTube, or pornography, we are an addicted society. Psychologist separate addictions into two categories, substance and process addictions. We are designed to live, not just exist. This clashes with our culture of passivity and to resolve it, we indulge in these process addictions. We go through these processes in an attempt to satisfy our minds, our emotions, and our souls. Guys are still playing video games way past their age, too afraid to compete and deal with conflict in real life. Our dramas and movies give us the emotional ride we aren't getting from life cuz we're too dull (see Aug 23rd 06 post). Sometimes, as brother reminded me, we just refuse to turn off the TV, fully knowing there's nothing worthwhile on. We just want to exist passively and being an addicted society shuts out our conscience and takes reality off our minds.

Our generation embraces connectivity in our passive lifestyles. Our passivity requires addictions to cover our conscience. These are the times we live in. The next question is, how do we respond? Can we be like "men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chron 12:32)? Or are we ones who look at mirrors, and go away, forgetting what we look like (Jam 1:23-24)?

(note: The ideas of passivity and addiction as hallmarks of the 21st century was addressed by Dr. Hans Spurky (sp?) as quoted by Dr. Philemon Choi - if anyone can find anything on this fellow, let me know!)

ps. some irony:
So as I asked and explained to the individual in that MSN convo if I could use post our talk, the person brought up a good point - that by posting this on xanga, I'm participating in this aspect of culture which I'm identifying as a danger. I thought about it and yes - I hope you and I don't just "ahuh" with these ideas passively and move on in life, that's exactly what the problem is. I'm not here to create my own 'culture' of that sort while scrutinizing mainstream culture.

Something I've Learnt about Teaching and Learning

There are two problems that all teachers face: forgetfulness and familiarity. The purpose of a good education is to overcome these; the forgetfulness of the student by repetition and the bored "yup - I've heard that before" attitude by different descriptions and examples. This naturally extends to pastors, Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders especially. Many church-goers and Bible study 'audiences', once hearing the Christianese, tune-out the familiar and much of the remaining is just forgotten.
The whole Bible is to convey concepts so simple a child can understand, repeated and illustrated time and time again for our sinful, 'instant-gratified or else we get bored' minds and culture.
When will we learn?