A friend forwarded this e-mail to me today, from one of her managers, which I thought was hilarious.

"I have the honour (for the first time) of organising the Reach Out dinner.  I must admit, I am not sure what that means - but Juliet does, and she will work with you on the details … thanks in advance for your help."

I have never cried while preparing for a sermon before.  For this one, I cried twice. 

It wasn’t really a "touched by God" cry.  Maybe I’ve been reading too much Jeremiah, but it was more of a Jeremiah 20 "God you deceived me" (v 7) and "why was I even born" (v 18) cry, with the responsibility of having to speak (v 9).

What surprised me was the divine non-answer which I received in response to my cry.  But for that, I would either have been driven to despair, or I would have shared some lifeless platitudes.

I recall that when I first started to prepare for this sermon, the first point I wanted to make was that God allows us to make and suffer from our mistakes because He intends that we should learn from them.  That principle is still true and relevant (Hebrews 12 : 5 - 11).  But in the face of my divine non-answer, I could only say "I surrender".

Someone pointed out after the sermon that I did not draw any deeper theological lesson from Luke 15, like maybe redemption, or sanctification.  On hindsight, I appear to have unintentionally done so.  But maybe that was just what I perrsonally needed - to understand and speak of how God relates to us at a purely emotional level.  Maybe this sermon was more of a lesson for me, than for whoever had heard it or would read this.

Interestingly, while listening to The Fray’s How to Save a Life yesterday - and I qualify the following by stating that while rock music (although I discovered only yesterday that the band has a background of Christian influence) not always approximates gospel truth - that song reminded me that many times what we long for is to be heard, before we are ready to be told (what to do). 

And that is where the father met the Prodigal Son again, along the road while the Prodigal Son was slowly making his timid way home, with a hug and unconditional welcome, without any questions or lecturing.  That is where Jesus would meet us too, when we are ready to make our way home.

On the whole, I think my delivery was pretty unsatisfactory.  That said, some people told me that they found the sermon meaningful.  It is enough for me, to know that God uses even the blunt and broken instruments to achieve His purposes.

*** ***

This would have been the text of the sermon, had I delivered it according to plan -

If someone were to come up to you now and ask you to describe God, what would you tell him ?  Would you say that He is like …
 … Santa Claus ?
 … Superman ?
 … Judge ?
 … ATM ?
 … Policeman ?
 … I don’t know but that’s what he looks like in pictures ?

None of us can describe God adequately because He is greater than what any of us can think of or imagine.  However, the Bible frequently uses two types of human relationships to describe God and our relationship with God.

One is marriage in which God is compared to a loving and personal husband to His people.

The second is a parent, in which God is compared to a loving and personal Father to His children.

We’re going to look at God the Father today.  Let’s pray.

[ Opening Prayer ]

The picture which you see up there was painted by Rembrandt, a famous Dutch artist in the 1600s.  It was inspired from one of Jesus’ parables in the Bible, the Return of the Prodigal Son.  The parable speaks about how a disobedient son is forgiven and welcomed home by the father.  That father represents God our Father.  Let’s turn our Bibles to Luke 15 : 11.

11 There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the family property.’ So he divided his property between them. 
13 Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there wasted his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the food that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.

(I)         Come to the Point of Surrender

Even without us having to ask God, we have each been given, from birth and at various times in our lives, certain properties, abilities, talents and opportunities.  But are we like the Prodigal Son, in how we have used what God has given us ?

The passage says that the Prodigal Son “wasted his wealth on wild living”.  Some of us, like the Prodigal Son, have been foolish in how we have wasted what God has given us.

Maybe it was a chance to study hard and do well in school, which you wasted by doing the opposite.  Maybe it was a chance to settle in a good job, which you resigned from on impulse.  Maybe it was a very important relationship with a parent or sibling or friend, which you blew because of some rash words which you said.

The passage also says that the Prodigal Son suffered not only because he wasted his money, but because of circumstances beyond his control – there was a “severe famine” – a shortage of food throughout the country.  Similarly, some of us have had bad things happen not because we did something silly, but because of events beyond our control.

Maybe you’ve worked hard but the boss just doesn’t like you, so you were fired.  Maybe it was an investment which went bad, or you were cheated by a friend.

One of the lessons we can learn from the Prodigal Son is this – you don’t have to go through this alone.  It is not God’s intention that you should go through this alone.  The fault of the Prodigal Son was not only in spending his wealth unwisely.  It was also his disobedience in wanting to live and spend his life apart and away from his father.  So when he came to his senses, he realized that he could achieve a fulfilling life only together with his father.

How many of us here today are like this ?  Do you spend a Sunday in church but for the rest of the week, struggle on your own ?  And when we get hit by something bad – sometimes because of a bad decision, sometimes for reasons not within our control – it is so easy to get disheartened, bitter, tired, lost, to lose hope.

God is telling those of us who struggle alone, that you don’t have to be alone.  Like the Prodigal Son, come to the point of surrender, and realize the fullness of life by living with God our Father, every single day of your life.

(II)        Come Home to the Father’s Unconditional Love

Let’s continue reading Luke 15.

20 So he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.’

If you had done something stupid and had to go back to your parents to beg for forgiveness or for help, what would your feelings be as you walk up to knock on their door ?  And how would your parents react ?

I think I would feel very scared.  Will I get a good scolding or wacking ?  Will they help me but nag me about this for the rest of my life ?  Will my parents say “no”, you don’t have my support, or I don’t care, you have to solve your own problems ?  Will my parents just ignore me because of all the hurt which I have caused ?

I have a friend who has not spoken to his father in almost 20 years, ever since they had a quarrel over what he should study when he was in junior college.

I don’t know what your experience with your parents have been.  What I recall is that when I was a kid, we stayed in a HDB flat next to the expressway, and every night the headlights of cars on the expressway would flash on the ceiling of my room, and I was scared.  And I would go and sit at the door of my parents room hoping that they would open it and let me in.  But no one did.  Eventually I would be so tired that I would go back to my room and fall asleep on my own.

During the recent seventh month we had put Josh, my younger son, to sleep in his room.  After I thought he was asleep I went back to my room, closed the door, and started working at my computer desk.  Not long after that the room door, which was just next to my desk, pushed itself open.  I closed the door.  And again the door pushed itself open.  This happened a few times and I was about to freak out.  I’ve had a few supernatural encounters before, but this was the first of its kind.  But I decided that before calling Pastor Chong Yew, I should open the door and take a good look.  And there, sitting at the foot of the door, with eyes full of tears, was Josh.  He wanted to come in and sleep with us.  We gave him and hug and let him in.

I don’t know what your experience with your father has been.  What I do know from the parable of the Prodigal Son, is that you don’t have to sit and wait outside your heavenly Father’s house, for a door which does not open.  You don’t have to sit and wait outside your heavenly Father’s house for a long time, before He discovers you outside while He’s taking out the rubbish.  You don’t have to fear punishment or rejection.

As in the parable, our Father is waiting, looking out for our return, day after day.  We don’t get to arrive His doorstep.  Long before we even close to home, the Father runs up to us, gives us a hug and says “I love you very much.  I have been looking out every day, for you to come back home.  We will bring out the best food, to celebrate your return”.

So friends, first come to the point of surrender to God, then come home to the Father’s love.

(III)       Move on with your new identity in Christ

Let’s turn to the final part of Luke 15.

25 Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’

When the Father welcomed the Prodigal Son home, that did not change what the older son thought about his brother.  The passage says that the older son “became angry and refused to go in”.  And if that is what the older son thought about his brother, you can be sure that the relatives, friends and household servants would have the same thoughts.  Outwardly friends and relatives may have politely attended the celebrations, but inwardly and between themselves, they would be thinking and gossiping about how scandalous this is.

In the same way, our surrender and God’s unconditional love and acceptance of us, does not always reverse the consequences of our mistakes.  If you have not been studying, you can’t expect to do well in school, and you can’t expect people to respect you for that.  If you have not been doing your share of the work, and your boss scolds you, you can’t expect to be respected for your work.  If you have said something hurtful and rash, your relative or friend may not immediately forgive you.  If you have done something foolish or wrong, especially in a society like ours, you can’t expect the people around you not to talk about it.

But I want to encourage you with two things. 

The first is that when God welcomes you home, He does not do so reluctantly.  He does not smuggle you through some back door, and hide you in the attic because you are a disgrace.  He does not treat you as a second class family member, like maybe a servant or an illegitimate child.  He welcomes you back as a son.  He cooks the best food, gives you the best clothes, and throws the best party for everyone to attend, to publicly celebrate your return.  The Father gives you a new identity as a son of God.

A few weeks ago I was watching a Korean comedy.  South Korea, like Singapore, has compulsory military service for men.  One of the scenes was about how a soldier, the son of a very rich and important man, was being bullied (“tekaned”) by his army commander.  I’m unable to describe it adequately over the pulpit, but it was hilarious how the army commander did not believe the soldier, when he told the commander who his father was.  Instead the commander repeatedly said “do you think I really believe you are the son of an important man” and “do you think you would be here if you were really the son of an important man”, and tekaned him even more. 

Did the fact of being the son of someone important save the soldier from being bullied ?  Not really.  Did all this really bother the soldier ?  Certainly, it was tough when he was undergoing training, but at the same time the son was secure in his identity as the son of someone important.  When training ended, he would go back to his father and the security of his home.  The rest of the comedy explores how this soldier subsequently becomes a CEO of the company which his former army commander works in.

In the same way, we know that regardless of what life throws at us, we can look forward to a home we can go to, where we are the sons and daughters of God.

My first encouragement is our new identity is sons and daughters of God.  My second encouragement is that, as a church and a family of Christ, all of us stand in the same shoes as sinners before a righteous God.  I am in church today not because I am better than you or anyone else outside of the church.  I am in church because I am as broken and as sinful as you are.

So when the Father pleaded with the older son to come home and accept his brother, it is also God’s plea to us to love, forgive, accept and feel compassion for our fellow believers, just as God has loved each and every one of us despite our imperfections.

Taken together, what this means is that regardless of what we have done in the past, regardless of our failures or mistakes, regardless of what other people may think or say about us, we are secure in our identity as sons and daughters or God, and we have the love of fellow Christians to support us in our sometimes difficult but temporary journey of life.

Closing

Come to the point of surrender, come home to the Father’s unconditional love, and move on in your new identity in Christ.  Before we close today, I want to touch on one final part of Luke 15.  That is the context in which Jesus told this parable.

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.  2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  3 Then Jesus told them this parable …

Jesus did not tell parables for the sake of telling parables.  He had an important message to share.  And in this case, the Pharisees – the religious authorities – had crashed one of Jesus’ meetings and questioned why a righteous man like Jesus, was spending time with bad people in society.

In this church, and in every church which is meeting today, Jesus is present.  Imagine the police storming in the same way as the Pharisees did.  They stand around and stare fiercely, ready to arrest anyone who makes trouble.  The chief investigator walks up to Jesus and asks, “Jesus, do you know who is sitting in your church today ?  There is a prostitute in here !”

Do you know what Jesus will do ?  He will look at the investigator calmly in the eye and say –

“I know.  There is not just one prostitute, there are three.  And seated here today is also a man who broke up his family because he was unfaithful, a woman who lost all her money from gambling, a son dying from AIDS, a daughter who ran away from home and got pregnant.  There is also have a man who was jailed for beating people up, a woman who was fired for stealing, a boy who lost both parents in an accident, and a young woman who has been trying to but cannot have children.

These people have come to Me; they no longer want to struggle alone.  I love them unconditionally.  I have welcomed them as they are, and have given them a new identity and hope in My Name. 

Do you also struggle with life and sin ?  If you do, I welcome you to be loved by the Father, and to love others in return.”

Shall we pray ?

A casual lunch two days ago where I would typically make shallow conversation took on a serious tone at one point and that was when, more or less, I received a divine non-answer to some of the issues I’ve been grappling with recently.

The answer was divine because the last thing I expected to do was discuss my issues, and to get an authentic and sympathetic response to the difficult questions in return.

The answer was a non-answer because I did not get a "yes"/"no", "right"/"wrong" or "do this" or "do that" type response.  Rather, as in the case of Job, Habakkuk and Paul, the response was that we don’t and may probably never fully understand why things are the way they are, and that we just have to cling to the fact that God is loving, sovereign and in control nonetheless.  While uncomfortable with the uncertainty which the non-answer presents, I think I accept that, like Job, Habakkuk and Paul, non-answers are not reasons to live or love any less passionately as Christians.

Two quotes today brought a smile to my face.  The first was on a decal which I spotted on a car :

"I’m fat, but you’re ugly, and I can diet".

The second was a response from a colleague upon hearing the first quote, an insult apparently uttered by Winston Churchill to a lady who accused him of being drunk :

"I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober but you will still be ugly".

I’ve been in a melancholy mood lately, or to put it positively (which I find difficult to persuade myself to believe in as a pessimist), reflective.  And a couple of days ago this melancholy melody kept playing in my mind, the whole day, over and over again.  Drove me nuts.

Green Day - When September Ends

 

A chance meeting and a request that I share a message in church two Sundays from now has forced me to reflect on the eight (or four, depending on how I count) years (and counting) of trying to pull a Jonah on God, and certain fundamental perspectives which I have held on life.

The challenge, as always, is to avoid mouthing platititudes, being authentic without sounding depressed, speaking of faith and hope without pretending there would be no pain, and trying to reconcile all that internally with how I have lived (or more likely, not lived) my life.

In some ways, like pulling a pipe cleaner through my life and finding that there is no end to the dirt.

Having discovered very early on that the innocent can never last, I wish but am not hopeful to have resolved all these by September end. 

So the two things I cling to are the promise that there will always be grace sufficient to meet every challenge (2 Corinthians 12 : 9), and that every (positive or) negative experience in life has a purpose in moulding me into a better person (Hebrews 12).

I had a company charity race today.  This is the online conversation which ensued yesterday, after one of my female colleagues said that she was ill, and would not be able to turn up for the race.  (A, B and C are male.)

A : We now need a [ female ] substitute runner [ for the team ].
B : You’ll not get anyone from here up at 7.30 am on a Saturday to go and run.  Go and exercise your considerable charms on some unsuspecting person.
A : Now what - how do I react? Pray tell.
C : Fine. I’ll just go in drag …
D : I ask that you pls first shave.
C : That’s asking for too much!
D : Fine, shock the world tomorrow.
A : I’m still working on my charm.  Will revert.
C : Hope your charm works - I’m .. quite sure I’ll ruin the sports bra if I had to try and squeeze into it.
A : OK we have [ found ] a substitute … no need for cross dressing.

IM chat which followed after an e-mail I sent -

X : … so still ok to go ahead, cos not easy to raise allegation against …
Me : not so easy
Me : I’m not sure about "not easy"
X : LOL. Lawyer’s talking here!
Me : yeah
Me : not easy = difficult
Me : not so easy = less than easy
X : hahaha ok
Me : Sorry I’m not God, I don’t have all the answers
X : ok! totally understand

Over lunch on Monday, a friend - a new Christian - asked why the Old Testament appeared so brutal in contrast to present day society. People were stoned to death for wrongdoing, entire cities were destroyed, and then there is the odd account here and there of really dubious relationships such as the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters. (If sex titillates you, there are no lack of scandals in the Bible).

There was only enough time for me to give a partial answer which was that, in my opinion, the Bible does not say very much about politics or how societies ought to be organised politically.  Hence the Old Testament partly reflects the harsh realities of life as it was then; it was not and it was not intended to be a precursor to the universal declaration of human rights.  And while the first five books of the Old Testament in particular (ie. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) contain laws and instructions for the Israelite people, it does not — interestingly — go further to prescribe a system of Government.  So there were no instructions on whether to set up a democracy, monarchy or theocracy, and definitely nothing on whether a Republican- or Democrat-style Government is more ideal.

I think this is because the focus of "Government" in the Old Testament was not the person holding political power, whether that was the prophet, priest or king; it was on God.  So when the Israelites demanded a monarchy to replace the ad hoc leadership of priests and prophets in 1 Samuel 8, the offence did not lay in the demand for a change in the political system.  The offence lay in the underlying rejection of God.

"It is not you [ Samuel the prophet ] they have rejected," God tells the leader Samuel in verse 7, "but they have rejected me as king".

The Bible is not a manual on Government, and Jesus was not a politician.  The Bible is about a relationship with God.  Consistently through the Old to New Testament, I believe that the Bible is primarily about the relationship between people and God, and about God’s unconditional love for people, and in particular concern for the marginalised in society.  God’s plan was for society to be transformed from within — Christians gain a capacity to change society for the better when they have a deep and genuine understanding of God’s love for them and for others who may not believe in God — rather than from without through political systems. Such change which comes from within is abiding.

On the other hand, change which is "forced" upon society by Government policy will be more limited in duration in effect. Communism failed, not because it’s ideals were bad, but because it is impossible to force people to become good. So vices such as prostitution which were absent when severe Communist laws were strictly enforced in China, quickly returned when the laws were liberalised to encourage capitalist enterprise.

******

Singapore recently went through two elections — one for Parliament and a second one for it’s President — and the public sentiment has been that the Government needs to do more to help the lower income groups and other underprivileged.  However, the Bible does not give instructions (reduce GST and raise corporate taxes, or the reverse ?) on how to acheive specific social purposes, or the form of Government (a single dominant party Parliament ?  a two-party Parliament ?  a multi-party Parliament ?  a US-style Presidential Government ?) which would best achieve this social purpose.

What is clear to me is that the Bible’s deep concern for the underprivileged is seen in God exhorting not only kings (ie. governments), but also individuals, to act justly and with compassion.

Therefore, the challenge for Christians in Singapore (and elsewhere) goes beyond voting and pressing Government to pursue certain social objectives.  It is an individual call to examine ourselves to see if we truly understand what it means to be unconditionally loved by God, and then to demonstrate the same love to those around us to effect real and lasting change in society. We are able to love, writes John in 1 John 4 : 19, "because He first loved us".  As part of this exercise, we need to ask :

- what is our attitude towards wealth and giving ?

- what is our attitude to those who are less successful or less popular than us ?

- what is our attitude to the poor, the elderly and children ?

- what is our attitude towards other people are marginalised ?

In my self-examination, I confess to have found myself less than compassionate on, or more dismissive of, certain people and social issues than I ought to be.

******

A final and related question which intrigues me, is whether we have been internally disingenuous in expressing unhappiness at how the authorities have failed to look after the needs of poorer people in Singapore, or have acted with bias against opposition politicians, when we have happily failed or refused to exercise our "vote" as consumers against allegedly oppressive practices (or omissions) by companies like Apple, by refusing to buy their products. It was not too long ago that the contractor which manufactures Apple products — Foxconn — was embroiled in a controversy regarding the appalling work conditions in its China factories. Apple has also exercised the full extent of its patent rights — you could argue "oppressively" — to exclude Samsung smartphones from a large part of the Europe market. Despite this, we happily continue worship Apple products without a twinge of remorse, and news of Steve Jobs resignation was greeted was as much grief as Michael Jackson’s death, both of which I found disproportionately extravagant.

(For the record, I do not own any Apple products though there are several belonging to my family members at home. It is probable, nonetheless, that some of the other items which I own were manufactured in sweatshop conditions).

(No offence intended to my American friends)

A : Mel! Bring your kids on an SQ flight soon.  They are giving Monopoly Deal to kids.  Damn nice I saw the pics !
Me : No money
A : When you next travel for biz you can pretend to be a kid then
Me : I think that is going to be a challenge
Me : When I buy food in foodcourt sometimes the auntie will call me "xiao di", but when travelling I’m usually mistaken for a Nepalese, Thai, Vietnamese or Malaysian terrorist or drug trafficker
B : Will try to defend you during our US trip by explaining that you are a peranakan
B : But you know the americans.  They will think you are from Pakistan. Because they suaku.