The Servants' Song

No one seems to be updating, so I thought I’d post another thought to keep this place “alive”.

You know, sometimes I look at the efforts of other people in trying to convert people to Christianity (any of the various denominations), and I think to myself, “Is this what Jesus has really called us to do?”

I’m sure many of you have seen people like that – the ones who try very hard to “sell” Christianity to you, constantly prying into your personal life in an attempt to “point you in the right direction”. I mean, I remember hearing from my friends in secondary school (er, I think the equivalent is junior high/middle school) that one of our classmates told them that if they didn’t convert to Christianity immediately, they’d burn in hell. At that time, I thought, “Wow, what a way to get people to convert.”

Though there is a small element of truth in the above sentence (after all, if you choose not to believe right to the end you’ll probably end up there), I don’t believe that Christ has called us to impose our views on others through such hardselling techniques and at times I feel some people are too hung up on trying to impose their beliefs on others. Yes, we are all called to evangelise and spread the Gospel, but do we really have to pressure others into believing that God is alive in all of us? I believe that our God is a God of love, who gives freely and is always there for us. How, then, can such a God be seen as one who’d promote the use of threats and strong language to spread His Word? I don’t know if this is the case with many of you, but if someone were to approach me on the streets and start hounding me with questions and bible verses, my initial reaction would be to run away as quickly as possible. How then will that help us to bring Christ to the other people around us?

I’m not really sure if I’m right, since these are mostly just my thoughts, but I think that the best way to influence a person into believing that God exists is to show him/her of this beautiful fact through our daily lives. As we go about our work, our actions will speak loudly to others on the importance of Christ in our lives. Others who see us will know that with God in our lives, we’re content. They will then want to seek God in their lives as well! It is at that moment that we then introduce, albeit slowly, our friends who are “non-believers” to the wonder that is God’s love. It is at that moment that we help them with the questions they may have, and introduce them to the various programmes that will allow them to better understand Christianity (like RCIA). It is through all these that one day, perhaps, these same people we have brought close to God can themselves bring others into our family.

So to me, it is definitely more pertinent, and more effective, to use our lives as a testament to God’s love for us as compared to toting bible verses and telling others of the horrors of hell. As St Paul puts it aptly, “Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.” Even if we’ve memorised the bible from cover to cover, all this knowledge is worthless if we do not extend God’s love to our brothers and sisters who have not yet experienced it.

Hey guys

Just a small update from me. I’ve been thinking about something for the past 2-3 weeks (yes, I’ve been busy so I haven’t had the time to post this here).

I read a letter in the Catholic News where someone wrote in to say that kids/babies should be not be allowed to make noise in church. I couldn’t DISagree with it more. I would understand if the guy was talking about teenagers who like to talk incessantly during mass, but here he was specifically looking at toddlers who probably cannot even form a complete sentence.

I think it speaks a lot about the values some of us hold on to. Yes, mass is the highest form of worship and we should maintain the utmost level of respect during mass by keeping quiet, paying great attention to the priest and focusing on God. However, how do you tell a toddler to do that? I can just imagine how weird (for lack of a better word) it’d be to see a parent telling his 1 year old kid to maintain silence in the presence of God. The kid would probably just carry on crying/making funny noises.

I can’t imagine not bringing a child to mass. From the way things look now, it already is a challenge to have teenagers come for Sunday mass. If we do not cultivate such a habit from young, how then can we expect them to return in the future? How can we convince those around us that mass is an obligation for us when we say, “oh, it’s ok for my kid not to come for mass”? Yes, it may well be that mass will be a little noisy because of these little ones, but we do have to remember that Jesus said that in order to go to Him, to enter the kingdom of heaven, we have to try to emulate the innocence of these little children; and all these laughing and crying is just a physical manifestation of their innocence.

(For your info, someone actually replied to the letter I originally read in the next Catholic News, along these same lines.)

- E

As we all know, we have our own cross to bear.

But surprisingly, that doesn’t apply only to spiritual cross. There are literal, biomolecular crosses inside of us!

These guys are major proteins called laminins. According to Wikipedia, they are “… major proteins in the basal lamina also called the basement membrane, which is a protein network foundation for most cells and organs. The laminins are an important and biologically active part of the basal lamina, influencing cell differentiation, migration, adhesion as well as phenotype and survival.”

In short… these crosses take hold and sustain our cellular life, and consequently, holds our whole body together.

How do they look, you ask? Click on the following image to enlarge them and get your answer.

Quite neat, no?

Do watch the following clip from YouTube. The speaker, Louie Giglio, shares on how fearfully and wonderfully we are made.

You can’t possibly be not awestricken, now realizing that something so microscopic has a significant function which may be related to the One who died on the then-lowly wooden frame.

Have we offered our life to Jesus Christ, who sustains and nurtures it?

“…by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

~ Col 1 : 16

Shared by: Shermaine Tham

Last Wednesday, 19th ExCos of CSA are commissioned in a mass celebrated by Archbishop of Singapore, His Grace Nicholas Chia.

One of the ExCo, Aerin, gave the others a stalk of rose to celebrate this very special event. It was purposed to make us feel more special in the commissioning day. Because of this, I named it “The Servant Rose”, quite a catchy moniker.

To preserve the freshness of the rose, I put it in a bottle filled with water. It rested in my room, on the wall cabinet, streaking a beautiful hue of red and green to my room of monotonous white, grey, and blue.

In two days, the petals started to open…

But in less than four days, the stalk weakened. It looked like the petals were bowing down.

Just now I realized something.

The stalk weakened because water doesn’t contain the minerals found inside the earth necessary for growth and health of the flower. It could be analogous to nutrition deficiency in us humans: inadequate intake of necessary nutrients will eventually cause sickness, disease, and death.

What does it have to do with us?

I think that we are just like that rose. Although the rose is watered (water being the source and sustainer of life), there are not enough nutrients in it, and eventually it will wilt away. The same goes for us: if we live our life (are watered) without taking into mind inputs (nutrients) from other people / things… we will be, both literally and figuratively, barren.

Let us think of not consuming nutrients, the three basic ones being carbohydrate, protein, and vitamin. Lack of carbohydrate makes us tire fast and disables the brain to work properly (under normal circumstances, the brain only takes carbohydrate as energy source). Lack of protein leads to mental retardation and kwashiorkor. Lack of vitamin renders us vulnerable to numerous diseases and illnesses. Carbohydrate, protein, and vitamin are among our biochemical nutrients without which we can’t possibly be healthy and immune to countless maladies.

Let us think of not having friends. Although we may live, we do so in perfect, complete solitude of mind and soul. We are social creatures; how can we survive, psychologically, with nobody else? We may feel depressed, deprived of companionship, stressed, freaked out, unstable, anxious, sad, bored, whatever. Friends are among our sociological, emotional, and psychological nutrients without which we can’t possibly grow and survive.

Let us think of not remembering the One who gave all good gifts around us. Say that we are unaware of His presence and workings through us. We will never be thankful for the chance we have got, for the friends we have met, for the day we have gone through, for the food we have eaten, for any experiences we have come across. Eventually we will just take them for granted. That’s the worst possible thing to happen; we know neither where all of these gifts are from, nor why they are given. Thankfulness and gratitude to the Creator are among our spiritual and religious nutrients without which we can’t possibly believe in the goodness of the Lord, be holy, and faithful to Him.

So we are just like the rose. Although our life is sustained, without nutrients, we will not be fulfilled.

And as I finish this note, my Servant Rose gives its last bow to me, saying goodbye before it wilts away, and whispers “happy serving” weakly through the air…

Thanks, my rose. In turn, thanks, Aerin. You have inspired this writing.

I will do my best in my service.

Shared by: Abhyasa Naradhipa

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back, he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and he grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in a pile of wood, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen,” then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked whether the children wanted to go fishing, but Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Whatever it is in your past, whatever you do… if the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.), you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life… He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved. Go ahead and make a difference in someone’s life today. Share this with a friend and always remember that God is always at the window.

When Jesus died on the cross, He was thinking of us.

Shared by: Atika Ardianti Hadi

Hi everyone! This is the 19th ExCo. =)

If you are wondering, this blog is intended to share our thoughts and reflections on concrete situations, certain happenings, and our daily life. Why do we want to share? It’s because we feel blessed by what we have experienced, and we want you to feel the same way!

If any of you wants your own thoughts to be posted here, just contact one of the ExCo, and we’ll make sure that it’s up in just a moment. Basically everybody is open to share, since we are family. And should family members be hesitant or closed to each other? … quite a rhetorical question, isn’t it?

Well, without further ado, this blog—The Servants’ Song—is officialy up!

May God bless our journey together in faith, hope, and love. =)