Love's sweetest mark

Caught up with Alvin and Huey Fern who are back from Vancouver for Christmas and the new year. Had a great lunch at Sri Melaka and naturally, among other things, our conversation turned to food. Malaysians abroad miss local food most, so everyone agrees. Alvin’s currently into patristic writings and counts his visits to monasteries to be among his most memorable this year. I hope we’ll have time to talk some more before they head back to Canada.

Christmas is almost upon us as I write. As a kind of resolution early this year I told myself not to use the word ‘busy’, ever, so while there’s been a lot to do, God has been faithful (my occasional bad mood notwithstanding) . There’s a pleasant kind of stimulation, a sort of buzz, sweet and tingly. I love Christmas and I don’t mind at all the many things that tend to converge during the season. The family meets tomorrow evening and there’ll be much to rejoice and thank God for when we all come together – brothers, sisters, our children, Mom and Dad – all twenty-one of us.

Here’s a poem by Robert Southwell (1561 ~ 1595) that I first came across in the Lion Book of Christian Poetry. Bought the book in 1985, and Southwell's poem is easily one of my favourites (this compilation did not feature the full poem though but I’ve got the complete version below).

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

A CHILD MY CHOICE

Let folly praise that fancy loves, I praise and love that Child,
Whose heart no thought, whose tongue no word, whose hand no deed defiled.
I praise Him most, I love Him best, all praise and love are His;
While Him I love, in Him I live, and cannot live amiss.
Love's sweetest mark, laud's highest theme, man's most desired light,
To love Him life, to leave Him death, to live in Him delight.
He mine by gift, I His by debt, thus each to other due.
First friend He was, best friend He is, all times will try Him true.

Though young yet wise, though small yet strong; though man yet God He is;
As wise He knows, as strong He can, as God He loves to bless.
His knowledge rules, His strength defends, His love doth cherish all;
His birth our joy, His life our light, His death our end of thrall.
Alas! He weeps, He sighs, He pants, yet do His angels sing;
Out of His tears, His sighs and throbs, doth bud a joyful spring.
Almighty Babe, whose tender arms can force all foes to fly,
Correct my faults, protect my life, direct me when I die!

Merry Xmas 2

Now it seems the 'informal ban' is nothing but a big misunderstanding:

Following talk of an "informal ban" on Christian symbols and hymns at the open house, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim today said no such restrictions were placed on the organisers.

"There is no ban issued officially or unofficially. I am personally overseeing the whole event," said Rais who will be at the full rehearsal on Dec 23.

"There is nothing wrong in singing songs such as Silent Night and Merry Christmas. These are joyous songs sang for the festival," he said in an interview. [More]

Merry Xmas

It’s the silly season, and it kicked off with this bit of news from down under:

The lord mayor of Australia's largest city was under fire Friday over a decision to limit spending on Christmas celebrations, a move some critics see as an attempt to avoid offending non-Christian immigrant communities.

Christians have decried the trend to play down the importance of the season as anything other than a time of consumerism and overindulgence, with all references to the Christian message removed. [More]

Then this news item about a kindergarten in Oregon caught my eye:

Kindergartners at a public school in Oregon were invited to bring cards to a Christmas party, but a teacher barred one student from distributing his holiday greeting because it mentioned Jesus Christ, prompting a lawsuit filed yesterday.

The Gresham-Barlow district near Portland said Justin Cortez could not distribute the Christmas card because it would violate district policies prohibiting school officials from promoting one religion over another and advocating a particular religious position.

The Virginia-based American Center for Law and Justice filed the case on behalf of 6-year-old Justin and his mother Julie Cortez. [More]

I don't think it's any surprise considering this has been going on for some years. Still, all these hint at more things to come, so it was interesting to know that at least in Arizona the Alliance Defense Fund has a pamphlet that explains a Christian's first amendment rights in the US. It's pretty tragic if you need something like this to tell folks it's okay to say Merry Christmas regardless of legal threats from the ACLU.

But what happens when the marginalisation of Christmas rears its ugly head in KL as reported in this recent news item?

The government has imposed an unofficial ban on all Christian religious symbols and hymns that specifically mention Jesus Christ at a national-level Christmas do slated for Dec 25 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, said several church leaders.

Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God while Islam teaches believers that he is a prophet.

Kuala Lumpur-based Catholic Research Centre director Rev Father OC Lim has lodged a formal complaint with the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), the government’s liaison partner in organising the open house event that is expected to draw a crowd of between 30,000 and 40,000.

In a strongly-worded letter to CFM dated Nov 24, he stated his objections to the organisers’ “explicit and deliberate exclusion and prohibition” to include any Christmas carols bearing the name of Jesus Christ.

“To exclude (such) carols and to use (Christmas) for political gain is outrageous, scandalous and sacrilegious,” he said when met today.

Lim was more upset that church leaders had “condoned and sanctioned” the organisers’ decision despite the Holy Scripture proclaiming Jesus’s name as being “above all other names”. [More]

I’m supposed to be mature enough to understand why it's inevitable without getting hot and bothered, but I am hot and bothered.

It’s one thing to rationalize it away as the PC thing to do in the interest of religious sensitivities, but where do you draw the line? The reality is, Malaysia has ordinances and laws that are used to prosecute those who insult Islam or hurt the sensitivities of Muslims.

In view of this, shouldn't Christians agree to keep their views out of the marketplace and the public square - to the extent of compromise even in public religious gatherings sanctioned by the authorities? 1 Peter 2:17 calls on believers to, "Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." The question is, how do you make sense of of this injunction and give it public expression without selling out your faith?

Foot-in-the-Mouth Quote #1

The government will not investigate a US report which said a man with the same name as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was involved in an oil scam with the former Iraqi regime. In the words of Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar:

“There is no truth in the allegation, so why should we investigate?”

[More]