The Christian Year

I was visiting the Wednesday "suka makan" LiFE Group (hey! actually all BLC LiFe Groups suka makan) - ok .. the one facilitated by Hoong Guit. Melanie adapted the Children's teaching on the Christian Year which I think was FANTASTIC ... please feel free to invite her as your special guest teacher! (So what's all this advent, epiphany, lent, pentecost business huh? what relevance does it have to us? ... )

For me, appreciating the Christian Year helped me in the following ways:
1. I realized that there's a reason and intention for the whole Christian year and the Festivals (so it's not just another holiday but it's "holy" days - i.e. days set apart for specific purposes and creates "space" for me to recall and reflect on Christ and his Word.)

2. I also switch my loyalty as far as how I "see" time, days, weeks and months. We live with so many difference ways of organizing our time - the major one of course is the secular calendar (based on the Gregorian calendar), then for the Chinese we're reminded of the lunar Calendar especially during Chinese New year and other festivals like Mooncake Festival recently, then the recent Hari raya and Deepavali festivals remind us how the Muslims and Hindus organize their lives. So what does this mean for me as a Christian? If Christ is Lord of all - then he's also Lord of my time. Actually, it's his time anyway .. but our way of "calculating" it or giving name to it ... The point is ... that his presence covers all and saturates even my minutes and seconds ... I'm reminded of the little booklet by brother Lawrence the Practicing the Presence of God.

3. So, for the past five years since starting BLC, I've found it most rewarding to actually organize my Scripture Reading, my prayer, my spiritual diciplines etc. around the Christian year and it reminds me again and again ... that though I exist in the world (i.e. we still following the secular calendar) I belong to Jesus first and foremost!

Thanks Hoong Guit and her LiFe Group for a wonderful session. It REALLY blessed my evening until now!

(*note* Hoong Guit's use of the song Child of God to open was truly Spirit inspired!)