The Lunar New Year and the Lenten Period!

Dear Diary,

I wish a blessed Chinese New Year to all Chinese and a prayerful season of Lent for all Christians! ;-) Just came back from visiting two grannies and it was with great joy that I met up with some uncles, aunties and cousins! I love Chinese New Year because I get to meet up with these very people who coloured my childhood when then we re-enacted wrestling stunts (ok, we should not be doing that), played arcade games in my Dad’s recreational club, played at the playground, badminton, table-tennis and a whole load of other sports! Those were the days! Now we just chatted, shook hands, laughed, posed for photos… However, at least for me, nothing really changed. They may look older and have their own lives now but I remember them as my relatives, my cousins and people whom I share a history with. Also, gone were those days when I looked forward to goodies, tidbits or even ang pows (red packets)! In fact, for 3 consecutive Chinese New Years, I have broken the tradition and gave ang pows to my parents and my two grannies although I am not married! I just wanna have that opportunity to shake their hands, give them my blessings and thank them for everything. Mum and Dad did not spare me today. They told me that they really hope I get a girlfriend this year! How? Where to find? Haha… Are my criteria too high? I have to change my priorities a little this year. I fully understand their advice and concerns though. Sigh…

Yesterday was Chinese New Year eve and Ash Wednesday (The first day of the 40-day Lent period). I reached the area near my work at 10.25am, thinking that I could possibly sneak into a nearby bookstore to read some books. However, I noticed that the crowd was very huge. People were doing their last-minute purchases and for a moment, I was wondering…. Hmmm… maybe pharmacy services should start earlier that day as there were so many shoppers. Then…. Aaackkkkkkkk…. I ran towards the pharmacy. My work was supposed to start at 10.30am! Not the usual 11am! I forgot all about it, haha… but I wasn’t late. This is because I am always almost ½ hour earlier every work day and will just spent time reading in a bookstore or just eat a cone of good ice-cream nearby! ;-)

By evening yesterday, my family came in the car and picked me up at 5.10pm. We left for a restaurant for reunion dinner over steamboat buffet. Had a really nice time chatting with my sisters and parents. Considered attending church for Ash Wednesday but realised we don’t know what time was the service. Later we realised that it started at 6pm and we could not have made it anyway. The period of Lent is here and for forty days, we await Easter Sunday. There is always that anticipation for each major event in the church calendar. I told a cousin that he must remember God and return to faith… hope he listens to me. Then again, faith is to believe in what you do not see, as stated in the book of Hebrews. I am struggling to understand why I can accept the possibility of truth in doctrines like transubstantiation, the sacraments, mysteries and apostolic succession of the Church or even sola verbum dei but yet find it very hard to comprehend the validity of doctrines such as devotion to Virgin Mary, veneration of saints, indulgences etc. Wonder if I will ever decipher the mystery of this Truth!

Anyway, dropped an email to a Baptist friend a couple of weeks back to defend the importance of infant baptism and my perception of being “born again”. Share with you guys the excerpt of that email below in italics.

The excerpt:

In Colossians 2: 11 - 13,
We can see that circumcision done by the hands of men (old covenant) is explained as parallel to baptism in Christ (new covenant) and that both are for the forgiveness of sins (v.13). Since circumcision is done on an infant, this few verses implicitly tell me that infant baptism is practised during the period of the Acts of the Apostles.

In tradition,
St Augustine in the 4th century has pretty harsh words (if you ask me...), "Who is so wicked as to want to exclude infants from the kingdom of heaven by prohibiting their being baptised and born again in Christ?"

As for the definition of "Born Again"... it is to be born of water and spirit as Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3:5). God always usually starts new things with water and spirit.

1. The first creation came from the earth which was covered with WATER and the SPIRIT hovered over the waters and from the water emerged land and man and God's first creation (Genesis 1:1-2).

2. A new humanity was started with Noah through WATER and SPIRIT. The ark went through the water and a dove (representing the Spirit) hovered overhead with an olive branch. Peter said this represents baptism which "now saves us" (1 Peter 3:18-21).

3. The nation of Israel was created through the WATER of the Red Sea (baptism) with the cloud and fire of the Holy SPIRIT overhead. (Exodus 14)

4. Ezekiel then describes what the New Covenant will look like and he said we will be sprinkled with clean WATER and his SPIRIT will be placed in us (Ezekiel 36:25).

5. Then Jesus, right before saying you must be born of “water and the Spirit” had just gone down into the WATER of the Jordan and the SPIRIT came down and landed on his head. (Matthew 3:16, John 1:29)

6. Jesus's disciples baptised people with WATER. (John 4: 1 - 2)

7. “Repent, and be baptized (WATER) every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy SPIRIT“ (Acts 2:38). Peter said that.

8. Paul is told “Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16), and Paul writes that we are saved “by the washing of regeneration (WATER) and renewal in the Holy SPIRIT“ (Titus 3:5).

The bible teaches us that Water Baptism is more than a public declaration of faith of membership into a church. It is a one-time administered sacrament for the forgiveness of sins (as confirmed in the traditional apostle's creed).

That’s about it. Hope you guys have a wonderful Chinese New Year and a great fruitful God-led year ahead! ;-)

God Bless,

Andrew