Christmas Peace
At a Christmas gathering with a group of elderly teachers, we sang the hymn ‘Because He Lives’. It was comforting to know we gathered not just to reminisce but also to love and honour God.
The words reminded me that the generations past and present have a life that is worth the living because God sent His son to love, heal and forgive, to live and die for our sins. Christmas speaks to me of the solidarity of love, hope and faith, so that we may face tomorrow and the future, no matter the uncertainty.
As we broach this time of year, ruminating on the months that have so swiftly passed, it feels like the last few years have all but rolled into one whose dust is just beginning to settle, before it stirs.
The year-end brings us to a pause of what may seem to be a series of elated and sombre events, which soon resets with hopes of a pristine year ahead that brims with peace, joy and cheer.
The recent sermons at HVMC, on fear and hope, have struck a chord with many of us witnessing these torrid times, lives taken by war and strife, families robbed of their loved ones by a pandemic cruel. As we take a year-end breather with our families and friends, let us remember to hold on to those who may be weary with fear, and reach out to one another, with gentle hands of love and unwavering faith.
It’s habitual of us to be stripped of time, drowned by daily demands, excuses lined with empty promises of tomorrow. But expressing just an ounce of genuine love and hope to another in need, vanquishes the fear, for when one’s heart is fearless, it is content and comforted by God’s touch.
As life returns to normalcy, let us keep the faith and not cower in the fear of what lies ahead, but walk in the path of God’s guiding light. May we each weave strands of hope in unison this Christmas and spin a fabric of unyielding love, hope and faith, to start the year anew with a fearless heart.
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
(Isaiah 9:2)
Shan Ko
