At youth service today at church, a video was screened at
the start of the service featuring this really dramatic musical skit. It starts
off with a woman standing still, who is animated by being given the ‘breath of
life’ by God as played by this Jesus look-a-like character. And the Jesus
character was dancing with her and presenting to her the beauty of creation. But
she was then seduced by this other man, a Cassanova type character, who pushed
the Jesus character away and started tangoing with her. In the meanwhile, the
Jesus character is seen at the sides trying to call out attention to the woman.
Next, a character wielding cash in his hands comes along, baiting her with the
money in his hands. And then a woman in sexy outfit comes along, dancing in
front of her. Finally, a dark hooded character presented her with a knife,
teaching her to cut herself, and then placing a gun in her hand to shoot
herself in the head. She finally came to
her senses, repeatedly trying to get back to the Jesus character while she is
violently pulled back by those other ‘bad’ characters. Then comes the climax of the music, and the
Jesus character steps into the fray, stretching out his arms to prevent those
characters from touching the girl while taking the beating. And then the Jesus
character overpowers all those bad characters and finally reunites with the
girl.
I am quite a sucker for such emotional film. I can feel
my eyes crack a tear. It is a powerful reminder of the things that one can get
caught up in while living, and the negative influences that the world bring
into one’s life. I am an advocate for Christian values in practical living, and
I try to live by it. It can be hard sometimes because Singapore can be a very
status-conscious and materialistic society. And the way people talk about such
things can get to you and make you evaluate yourself based on such values as
well. And there is the notion of coolness in order to gain social acceptance.
The pastor gave the sermon on John 20:19-31 where Jesus
met his disciples after resurrection. The pastor was talking about how the
disciples were feeling ashamed of themselves for abandoning their master, Jesus,
when he was crucified at the cross and were afraid of meeting him. But Jesus
allayed their fears with his words, “Peace be with you” to show that he did not
hold any fault against them.
The pastor made one interesting point about how doubt may
creep into our belief, and one factor being that of being absent from the
community of believers. He hypothesized that this may be a reason for why
Thomas doubted that Jesus resurrection, because he had not been with the other
disciples. It is quite true that being in community helps one to quell doubts. I
like participating in Christian-related functions and activities because being
placed in a community of like-minded people reaffirms my faith. I find myself
speaking in the language of social conservatism whenever I talk with my
Christian friends. I wouldn’t necessarily call this faith building process a
supernatural one. It could simply be a case of group mentality, and this
applies too for atheists and agnostics who affirm one another with their
disbelief.
The youth ministry leader asked me yesterday whether I
would like to be a service leader for youth service. I thought I would give it
some consideration, but I decided that I would decline such a role in the end.
I don’t socialize well with the worship team, and I don’t see myself in that
capacity of a spiritual leader to lead prayers for the worship team before the
service. That is a role that I associate with someone more mature than me. But
I would be comfortable leading discipleship group on Saturdays since my
discipleship group leader is leaving ministry. I guess it would be an avenue to
build up my sense of self-confidence.
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