Easter Sunday

Dear Diary,

The world has become warmer and I can feel it on my skin. Yet, by the very same blazing sun, the stained glasses were illuminated with such beauty this morning in church. It is Easter Sunday, the holiest day of the Christian calendar, and the most important day in all of human history. The cathedral was packed to the brim. It was about 2000 years ago when the crucified Christ rose from the grave, breaking the stranglehold of death and bringing redeeming salvation to mankind. Sometimes, I do feel ashamed that although I profess to be Christian… many times, I do make decisions by intellect rather than faith. As many would say that a gauge of your faith is the desire to see those around you receive the gospel. Unless you truly believe in the salvation through Christ Jesus alone, you will not actively share with those who do not yet accept the Christian faith. The Christian faith is admittedly radical in this aspect.

The lighting of the paschal candle on Holy Saturday night during Easter Virgil reminds us of the symbol of light which dispels death (darkness), the risen Christ. It is a light of hope because at long last, there is one person who resurrected from death. It was not just awaking from death but never dying again after resurrection. While Christ Jesus is God, he was fully Man then too. Since the beginning of mankind, Man has always feared the unknown destination known as death. If you believe the bible, Man was not made to die but with sin entering the world, there was no longer any more immortality. So the death of Christ is for the cleansing of sins as the author of the letter to the Hebrews explains, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Heb 9:22). So Jesus Christ was “literally” born to be killed as a sacrifice. That is why there is always such a solemn mood during Maundy Thursday and Good Friday when the paschal candles are extinguished as a symbolic reminder of the period when it “seemed” that Evil has triumphed over the Saviour of the world… at least, temporarily.

Easter Sunday is the very fundamental of the Christian faith which spanned 2000 years. 23 people were baptised in the Cathedral today…. Something to rejoice about. So glad to see a fellow friend whom I knew in the recent Young Adult camp, accepting God in his life. Maybe the character starred by Mandy Moore in the movie “A Walk to Remember” on TV last night, spoke some truth… “Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can feel it.” As a member of the male gender, we always don’t “feel” enough. We want to “see” love. We want concrete, indisputable evidence. It is just so strange that even in the bible, the women believed more readily in the resurrection of Christ, while the very apostles of Christ wanted to see for themselves. Thomas, one of the apostles, even stated that he would not believe unless he saw the nail marks and felt them (John 20:25). Talk about faith. No wonder after Thomas was given the opportunity to see the evidence, Jesus spoke about blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.

I was not surprised that Shane West’s rebellious character fell in love with the Mandy Moore’s character in that movie. Personally, I would have fallen for such a character if she existed around me, haha…. A God-loving, gentle, patient, encouraging and helpful girl… At least, the movie correctly depicted that if there is God in one’s life, there is little fear or hopelessness towards the future because one is assured that God is in control always. If you think I am optimistic… at least, I know one pharmacy junior thought so… haha =P, it is because I know that God ultimately knows what is best for me though my “intellectual” plans and strategies may be in disarray.

We have to be patient and trusting in God. By the way, the most cherished timepiece in my possession is the IWC Schaffhausen Aquatimer – Automatic. I always wonder why people take all the effort to just craft a timepiece. Maybe if you wear something you cherish on your wrist… you will always be reminded to cherish your life, your time and those around you. Whenever you look at the watch, you see the beauty of the creation of time… and unbelievable it may be, the creation of time, space, the universe and everything by God… is for insignificant humans like us. The credit to us is that we are fashioned in His image which was His doing anyway, haha….

May you have a blessed Easter Sunday.

God Bless,

Andrew