Contextualization of the Lord's Supper

A missionary in our class shared yesterday how the Indians contextualize the Lord's Supper. As coconut is commonly used in nearly all Hindus religious occasions, so the converted Hindus use coconut as sacrament element in the Eucharist (Holy Communion).

Instead of breaking bread, they break the coconut. They drink the coconut water and eat its flesh in remembrance of the Lord's suffering for the world. This, perhaps, is one of its kinds of contextualization - read into the text for its original meaning vs. bring its meaning into the context.

What is right for me, Lord?

After selecting the right college or university, the next thing was selecting the right major. Some students might not have any problem in deciding what major or degree to pursue, others however took some time to pick a major. This happened to our elder daughter Hannah two years ago. Initially she decided to be a CPA but changed her mind later after few dental visits. She said she finally found out what she wants to do. After committing herself to do dentistry, she miraculously felt at peace, she said.

This time Ariel was in the same situation. Choosing a right major in college was too overwhelming for her. She had many sleepless nights. Each time when she confronted with the question of which major to declare, she would not know what to decide on.

Ariel enjoys drawing and is the most artistic member in the family. She likes designing and at the same time she excels in physics and calculus. Her dream is to become an architect but after much prayer and talks with a number of persons about her future career in architecture, she never received any positive affirmation. Many people suggested engineering instead.

I went over some research with Ariel and encouraged her to talk to few more people in the field of architecture and engineering and prayed fervently together with her seeking God’s divine guidance on this matter. Although, till now, we still don’t have a very clear answer from God as what exactly will be best for her, one thing we know for sure was architecture is not for her. We are thankful anyway for the American university system which permits freshman to enroll undeclared – without declaring a major.

Our second campus visit: University of California, Irvine

UC Irvine has a very large campus but one could hardly get lost during the tour. The university's buildings (undergraduate schools) were built in a circle around a park situated in the center of the campus. If you were lost, just go round the campus and you'd find your way out.

This is the Aldrich Park - the nucleus of the main campus surrounded by all the undergraduate buildings

Part of the view of one of the campus housings

We're very happy with the tour. Our tour guides were really cool, especially the one who led us to see the student housing. We spent nearly an entire afternoon there. I actually hoped that Ariel would satisfy with this university after all UC Irvine provides her with what she needs financially.

But Ariel being Ariel, she'd not simply settle for something which she wasn't really sure. She insisted that I should take her to visit another two universities in Northern California in her spring break before she made a decision. Honestly, I don't mind spending two or three days going up north with her, but the sad thing was I didn't have spring break. I guess spring break is only for schools run on semesters system. My seminary runs on quarters system. Weeks before the public schools had their spring break, we had already enjoyed ours. On the contrary, it was time for me to prepare for my mid-terms. So, how? Lord? She better prayed hard for herself and me.

"Spying" the promised land - our daughters' college

Unlike my daughters, I did not have the opportunity or privilege to tour a few universities before deciding which university would provide me with the best experience for the next four years of education and enlightenment.

In America, most people believe that choosing the right college is the first and most important step toward a good university education. So whenever possible, most concerned parents will no doubt jump at the opportunity of a campus visit. Some might even go out of their way to reschedule their busy appointments and business just so they can make it to the university’s open house tours.

Although reputation and prestige is one of the key factors of a student’s choice in selecting a college, it is not necessarily the decisive factor. Majors, degrees, locations, and campus size matter as well. Some say selecting a college is just like buying a car. If you are a true car lover and know about cars, you don’t just buy for the sake of brand name, you get what you really like.

While all these factors make sense to many of us, our daughters have another main concern before making their decision—whether they could receive financial help from the universities they applied to.

We truly thank God for His love and faithfulness in keeping His promises. Not only have both of our daughters been accepted into their choice of university, they were also awarded with scholarships and financial aids to cover their education needs.

Below are some pictures of the campuses that I visited with my daughters. Our first campus tour was to CSU Northridge: this is the first university which offered Ariel in-state tuition in early March.

 

 

To be honest, I actually like the campus and the people here. The campus and dorms are better than what I expected. People are friendly. Prospective students are warmly welcomed by both student-staff and advisors.

The coming of a King

I gave a talk at my daughter's school Christian club last Friday before the Thanksgiving holidays. Although this wasn't my first time speaking before a crowd, it was my first experience to speak before a group of American teenagers in High School.

I was pretty nervous about this engagement. The first reason was I didn't know any of the students in the Christian club except Ariel. I am the kind of person usually need to know my 'audience' well beforehand in order for me to feel comfortable what to talk about. Secondly, I don't belong to the category of gifted speaker who can talk on and on without looking at his note. The key for me to deliver a good message is hard work and lots of prayers. Someone recently told me about a fundamental truth: "If it is not a gift, then it is a discipline." This speaks a lot about me. So, even if it is just a twenty-minute of preaching, it takes me a great amount of time to prepare for it.

Initially, I'd thought of turning down the invitation to speak at Ariel's school for I am swamped with many course assignments. Currently, I am also doing my ministry internship at a local church. However, knowing that God had placed something in my heart to share with the kids, I felt a little guilty and disobedient if I just pushed it away out of convenient.

Besides, I had my biggest fear too in this case. The church that I am now doing my internship is a Chinese Baptist church, but the group of people I spoke to last week was virtually non-Asian. Ariel is one of a handful of Asian students in her present school and perhaps the only one in the club. I was pretty worried that the group of students might not accept me easily for I speak with a foreign accent. I am truly proud of Ariel that despite being one of the minorities in school, she still shines in her studies. I finally made it to the talk was mainly spurred by a Bible verse in 1 John 4:6 which reads whoever knows God listens to His people, so my concern actually was pointless. I should focus on what God can do with His message rather than what people can do with me. Amen.

I shared with the students a passage on Matthew 2:1-2, hopefully in the coming Christmas season they may choose to emulate the Magi in responding to the news about the coming of a King and not as Herod did. Often time it is easy for us to know Herod as a bad guy who ordered all babies to be killed in Judea for fear that the arrival of a new King would take away his throne. But what about us? How do we respond to the coming of a King? Aren't we also behaving like king Herod - rejecting Jesus to reign as King in our life?

Merry Christmas!!

I've left my God back home

This year I have a number of opportunities to retreat, twice in August and twice in October. The two retreats I had in August were accompanied by family. One was a church camp and the other one was seminary’s community coordinators get together camp.

The two retreats in October however were to do it alone with other seminarians of a spiritual formation class. My experience in these two latter retreats was amazing, especially the one in my first EPC (extended personal communion with God).

I went to the retreat with many questions ready for God. I wanted to take this opportunity to ask Him about many things He promised but had not been happening here in my life.

I felt my life (socially and spiritually) back home was a whole lot more challenging and fulfilling as compared to where I am living now. There is nothing much for me to do here in Southern California.

We don’t have any relative lives here, nor do we have any real close friend to talk to. My spiritual life has been like in a desert for awhile as dry as the California’s weather. Many churches here are dying. It took us about a year to finally settle down at a church in Alhambra. We don't want to consider mega church, as it's too big for us to get to know anyone, and smaller church is usually too small. We need an intergeneration church with ministries for children, youth, and adult. Often time, this turns out just like looking for a needle in a haystack. One usually finds a church either with adults and young children but with no youth, or a church mostly with youths but without the adult and children.

Church services are usually pretty short in mainline churches. Before you get anything (or before the pew get warm), the entire Sunday service is over. I have been grumbling about this ‘lukewarm kind of service” to my wife for quite some time. What is the use of seminary education - staying up late most nights reading an inexhaustible list of books and working on seemingly endless assignments and at the end none of which is preached in church. How can one go deeper into God’s word in such a mini service? How to get people interested in knowing God?

In seminary, it’s hard (for me) to feel God’s presence as readings and assignments usually preoccupied most of our being and mind and in church if I still don’t experience Him, where is my God? This question is exactly the same one when I asked Him in my first EPC during the retreat.

To my amazement, God spoke that day. He assured me again – “I did not leave you and I did not abandon you.” – I am the one who has left my God back home. This whole conversation took place in the first person pronounce “I”, whether it was the part God had spoken, or the part I responded in my mind.

To confirm I really 'heard' what it was just said, I re-paraphrased His saying to what sound like in Scripture. I asked God did you say, "I’ve never forsaken you nor abandoned you.” Immediately, I was being corrected. God’s voice resonated again in my heart “I did not leave you and I did not abandon you.” At that moment, I stopped…..and wept…..I knew God has never left me. I was the one who left God back home!

If we're the body why....???

I found this song--If We're the Body by Casting Crowns--speaks to me a lot about our prejudice against people whom we do not know when I was preparing the study on James 2;1-13 for this coming Sunday School lesson.

I seriously agreed we all ought to think about why......



It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

CHORUS

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way

Money Autobiography

Money Autobiography? Ever heard of it? This is one of the topics discussed in one of my classes. I’ve been trained and worked in the financial field for many years, but I must admit this is the first time I come across money autobiography in my Learning Community class at Fuller.

I was responsible for a company I worked at to do financial planning and cash flow projection up to three years, but none of those could speak something so close to me. I mean who of us is not concerned with money at all? I take care of my financial matter carefully and I manage others prudently as well. This however does not mean I was born to be a good financial manager. It took time to learn and to grow as well.

Sadly, I’ve seen many people who have been living in financial difficulty not because they’ve not had enough but rather the opposite is mostly true. Many incidences in our life sometimes cause our otherwise peaceful and normal living go derail. If financial matter is one of them, then I’d like to ask you to spend a little time to find out what money autobiography is about. Even if you’re fine and financially sound, by catching a glimpse of what is it may turn you to even a better steward than just a ‘money’ manager.

As the name suggests, it is a personal reflection process on the role and influence of money and material possession in our lives. We want to find out in a very honest way about our past attitude, assumption, and value towards money. At the end of the reflection, we realize that it is the material things that posses us more than we posses them. Through this reflection, hopefully it can help us set some priorities and goals in our lives for the future.

You may want to begin by reflecting on your attitude towards money by pondering over few questions like these: What do you like best about money? What do you like least about money? What things in life are worth more than money? Which of the following words best communicate your attitudes and feelings about money? Why? E.g. Money is.....power….leasure.….freedom….security….hope….love….evil…fun….prestige….etc.

As time goes by our reflection questions may change from attitude or value questions to lifestyle or management questions. I find this kind of reflection questions great. It can really help us to see ourselves through a different perspective. I say this because I’ve done some personal reflective writing for this class as well, and it really helps me to examine what kind of a learner I am.