i spoke about the beloved community last Sunday – and invited folks to think about how each of us participate in that community. Jonathan shared a quote from Charles de Lint on his Facebook that evening – “I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I can’t change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.”
He, with David and Steve, as part of Dirty Hands, went to visit Madam Wong in the neighbourhood.
i invited Jonathan to share his reflections on serving. This is what he wrote:
“Madam Wong is an old lady who stays alone. I am very thankful to FCC for creating the Dirty Hands program, which is a very good platform for me to know her, and learn to take care of the elderly. I used to stay in JB but based in KL right now. Distance never become the barrier for me to step in this program, thanks to the team. I learned to not only share my time and love with Madam Wong, but also benefited a lot from her. English is my second language and also my weakness. Often, it makes me feel inferior in church. But after joining this program, I managed to pick up my confidence by conversing to her in cantonese, which is my primary language. I felt just like back to the childhood time when talking to Madam Wong. She is like my kampong neighbour, and we can share our experiences and opinions during our conversation. I might have unintentionally transferred some of my love and sympathy for her, while extending the company and friendship. Thank God, through this program I also make new friends like Mark, Wang Zi, Adrian, Tian, Nicholas etc. Their passion, patience and confidence is something that i admire and learning from them makes a better me.”
We can feel helpless when we witness the scale of destruction in the many places struck by natural disasters – the typhoon / hurricane season has barely just begun and we see storms wreak havoc all over the world. Wildfires are burning across the west coast of the US, and massive floods are affecting our South Asia neighbours.
Yet to be Christian is not to give in. It is to trust. It is to have faith in God – and to step up to offer what little we have – the five loaves and two fishes – and trust that what little we have can make a difference. It is in this act of participation that God works through us to perform miracles.
i pray that more of us continue to reflect on how we can be part of this beloved community, obeying Jesus’ command to “love each other as I have loved you.”
miak