A reflection

Few days ago, someone from my church warned me again about my blog. She asked, “Aiyor…Lilian, aren’t you afraid? Better don’t blog lah.” Heh.

A fellow blogger also asked me. Well, I told them, “If even I can get into trouble for whatever I mentioned on my blog, don’t you think there are more people who would get into trouble before me? If even I can get into trouble, do you think justice still exists? If even I can get into trouble, it means that none of us are allowed to think or say anything anymore. Is that the kind of country you want? Do you want to live in fears all your life?”

I don’t know lah….I think each of us have to have opinions of our own. We are all supposed to like or dislike something. We are supposed to have the wisdom to know what is fair and what is unfair. Whom we respect and whom we don’t. Moreover, if we call ourselves Christians, all the more we have to be “be not afraid”. Aren’t we all supposed to stand for truth, justice, fairness, equality, respect, freedom, love and all embracing of our fellow brothers and sisters?

I don’t know why some people still can peel off the layers to find who ‘belongs’ to them. If we believe in the creation (of Adam and Eve, Adam dan Hawa) and believe that God created us in His own image, then, we have to embrace all and not just be selective of our ‘own kind’.

Like for example, someone asked a shocking question like, “Can we give alms to those monks at the market? Isn’t doing that sort of support their beliefs which are against ours?” I tell you, when I heard that question, I was like, “WTF?” I was very sad that there are people like that. If she thinks that the monks are conmen (which they usually are as they are not genuine monks), she could just not give them anything because they are conmen. But if she thinks it is wrong for a Christian to help a Buddhist, then, I think she seriously need to go back and reflect on what Jesus really taught her. I was greatly disillusioned when I know that people still think that way.

But then, that’s what many of us are. We always stick to the same race, same faith, same financial background, same class, same clique. It is so hard for many people to see beyond all the poverty, colours, manners, ugliness (by their own definition) and other ‘weird things’ (by their own definition) to see that we are all the same. We are all one. Whether we believe in God or not, we are all the same.

No wonder, week after week, our p.p. needs to remind us again and again. F.F. sent his reflection and I think it is alright for me to share with all who wish to read :

STAYING AWAKE

Most of us have the desire and the potential to bring about change, but we lack confidence in our capacity to do so and the stamina to sustain our efforts. Thus we tend to put things off and leave them as they are. This is especially so when such matters do not impact on us directly. We accept the status quo because it usually is inconvenient or perhaps seemingly futile to do otherwise. It is this disposition of ‘omission’ that has allowed the perpetuation of injustices. Laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA) which blatantly violate human rights have been allowed to remain in force for so long due to our complacency, so much so that they have become part of the institution. What is even more confounding is that there are some amongst us who even believe that such a law is necessary for the maintenance of peace.

Proponents of the ISA believe that the rights of an individual must be subordinated to the general good of the majority – but the merits of this ideology must not blind us to the innate right of the individual to defend himself. That is why the ISA is morally wrong as it does not give those arrested the avenue for self defence.

So how is it that we have reached this stage? – It must be that we did not act when we should have, made a difference when we could have.

We then look at various other evils in our society – an instance would be the abductions, torture and violation of innocent children and the most tragic deaths that come as an end to their precious lives. Do we sustain the outrage we feel every time such tragedies hit the headlines, or do we allow time to abate our feelings and our resolve that such horrific crimes must never happen again?

Why are we like this – what is it that will make us come out of this slumber?

“Stay awake, be ready, have your lamps lit”….these were some of the instructions Jesus gave his disciples directly or through parables. This does not narrowly mean that we need to be prepared only when death knocks at our door. To stay awake, to be ready includes a vigilant faithfulness of living the gospel message and constantly responding to the signs of the times.

We have to keep our focus on what Jesus would want us to do in all occasions.

‘Christ asks us to guard the truth because, as he promised us: “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” We must guard the truth that is the authentic condition of freedom, the truth that allows freedom to be fulfilled in goodness. We must guard the deposit of divine truth handed down to us in the Church, especially in view of the challenges posed by a materialistic culture and by a permissive society that reduces freedom to license.’ (John Paul II, Homily in Baltimore, nn. 7-8)

I know I am super preachy but I watched the 8 pm news earlier and our Home Minister, in a very angry and assertive tone, said over the national news watched by millions that the Hindraf group is ‘militant and extremist’. I wish they have proof of them and charged them, instead of telling us over the prime time news watched by the ignorant millions who will actually believed what the Home Minister has said over national news. Can you imagine what kind of hostilities will erupt from both sides of our Malays/Chinese citizens and the Indians? Doesn’t our Home Minister and the national TV have some responsibilities that such things cannot be uttered without concrete proof? If indeed what he said is true, show us, charge them and give us the faith that justice and law still exists in our country.

Terima kasih for reading till the end.

Have a good long weekend!