20-22 Covid-19 Daily Reflections

  Sometimes I am ticked off by cyclists who don't observe traffic laws and then get ticked at me because I almost hit them. Some of these folks seem to disregard any rules and believe that it is my job to keep them safe at all times. I ride my bike downtown to work sometimes, and I am aware of the risks involved in doing so. I watch out for cars as much as they need to watch out for me. It is interesting how fast we can consider our privilege as our right. Not too long ago, we hardly had any special lanes for bikes in Calgary. Now we have one of the most comprehensive bike path networks for big cities in Canada. It is a special privilege. Yet, some people treat it as if that is their God-given right. Gratitude is absent here. A society without gratitude is one that is in decline. A group of people who doesn't demonstrate any gratitude is one with tons of human strife and struggles. A church without gratitude is one that lives in slavery to its version of the gospel. A nation t...

  Another day another sorrow as I read about President Biden's decision to fund abortion abroad. My feeling is based on my conviction that human beings at conception. Life has more than a physical dimension to its existence and meaning. Science has no moral authority to decide on how human life begins. There are metaphysical, psychological, theological, and philosophical dimensions to the meaning of life. I also understand that there are exemptions needed for having abortions in some circumstances. However, when the exception becomes the norm, the norm becomes the exception. My hope is to fight for the right of unborn people. Some people seem to think that we have the right and the privilege to classify them as non-human. We always run a risk of conducting genocide when that happens in human history. Governments are now trying to fight hard against the Coronavirus around the world, and it looks like we are also trying to find a healthy balance. Some of us hope that the vaccine migh...

Nothing can be more horrid than learning about a homeless died inside a Porta Potty in Montreal after the provincial government instituted the curfew. Some people have asked the Quebec government to make an exception for homeless folks when enforcing curfew violations. The government says it won't do it because others might pretend to be homeless people to violate the curfew. I am not interested in the politics and the stupidity of either argument. I just try to imagine what was going through that man's mind when he was about to die. The entire life of oneself confined to a portable bathroom without anyone around. What is the humanity in this story? It saddens my heart when I think about it. The only comfort I have is to believe that God was with him at that moment because God knows him long before he existed in his mother's womb. Loneliness is the worst form of human suffering. I sat and listened to a young man who is a new immigrant in Canada. He talked about how much he...

    Some people are still working through the post-election saga in the US. I cannot recall a presidential election that divided the country, agonized many communities and split families like this past election. Some say that it is the outcome of having the last president who purposely divided the nation to manipulate. Others might say that he spoke on their behalf and expressed their sentiment toward the ruling elites. Regardless of where we stand politically, the US needs to be strong and healthy for it to provide leadership and hope to a very fast-changing world. If we continue to bicker, we will reap the worst political and economic harvest that we have not yet seen. So what does healing look like for a very broken America? Creating a new context so together we can build trust: the context we have now is unhealthy and untrustworthy. People are struggling with trusting or the lack of it. No one seems to be able to command that trust at the moment. The press has lost its mor...

  Have you ever been asked to come to someone's house and help them to clean up their dwelling because they need the help? What would we do when we enter the place and find out the person suffers from an addiction. He cannot help himself with simple tasks of healthy living. Frankly, it can be filthy, unkempt, and unfit for the kids if he has any. What would be our right response? Say nothing at all because we are concerned about offending that person? Have you ever talked to a young person only to discover that suicide is not an exception in her life? It is in her family history, not just in one generation, but many generations before hers. Have you ever known someone who has no hope and sees no future for herself? Life is one complete journey into darkness. Have you seen a young person wasting her talents because she has been listening to lies about herself? Many people live like that and believe that God made a mistake in creating them. What would be our right response? Is it hel...

  I have learned to accept that everything I do affects and brings some damage to the environment. When I turn my light on, I use electricity produced by coal or fossil oil. When I drive, I use petroleum. When I have meat for my diet, I am contributing to the increase of my carbon footprint. When I travel, I am using a lot of gas and water. When I flush my toilet, I flush down my environmental consciousness. When I heat my place, the world is also getting hotter. We talk a lot about the oil and gas industry as a significant contributor to environmental problems. We have heard environmentalists talk about the elimination of big oil producers. The problem I have with these folks is they might use more oil and gas to protest than an average person uses to live. The best way to shut down anything we don't see that fits our moral convictions is to stop using it personally. I have tried my best to control my carbon footprint. I try not to drive when I don't need to. Until some smart ...

  I have come across more studies about the impact of isolation among teens due to the pandemic. Many teens have started to communicate how they are affected by the lack of sports activities, school clubs, and other social interactions. Some don't talk about their feelings because they don't know how. "Disconnected", "Hopeless", "Unmotivated" are some of the descriptions we have heard from teens. Being relational is one of the truths about us created in the image of God. God is a relational being. We use words like "Love", "Compassion", "Forgiveness", "Kind", "Being There" and more to describe the nature of God. We want to experience that in our relationships with others as well. That is why it hard not to be with other people in person. We want to feel love, a sense of belonging, enjoyment, and companionship with others. It is a God-given gift that we are yearning for these feelings. I have friends...

  This past Monday was Martin Luther King Jr day. Many Americans celebrated and remembered him. Dr. King was a civil rights leader in the US. He fought for Black American Basic Rights.  He is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He is one of the most quotable persons for preachers. It might be a good idea to look at some of his quotes. Allow me to amuse you with some of my thoughts as well. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Intelligence helps us to exercise our thinking process. Character guides and applies our thoughts as we seek to find truth in our relationships with one another and harmony within ourselves. When we overlook the essence of education and only train our young people what to do, we miss the chance to bring about real progress in our society. We have more university graduates than ever before, and our nations are not getting any ...

  Many of us have known about the well-known picture of Senator Bernie Sanders at the inauguration this week. I even got one with him sitting in front of my house. I thought it was funny at first. However, it was not funny as I thought more about it. I struggle with the humor. He was obviously cold and uncomfortable by the weather. He just wanted to keep warm. Sitting alone due to social distancing didn't help either. He looked a bit pouty as well. Here is my question: "Would we treat Senator Sanders with the same sense of humor if he is young, non-white, and not male? Many seniors died in 2020 due to Covit-19, and many of them were living under atrocious conditions even before the pandemic. The real systemic discrimination is our society's treatment of seniors. Senator Sanders is not known for his flashiness of fashion either. I thought it was quite admirable that he wore a pair of homemade mitts to that occasion. I don't share the same political convictions with hi...

  As my wife and I were walking to our car after leaving a Vietnamese grocery store when a man approached us for money. We told him we don't give money, but we would love to buy him some food. He told us he needed a jug of milk. My wife asked me to stay with him when she went to get it.  He is not homeless. He has a place to stay, but he spends much of his social assistance funding on his rent. He mentioned his inability to keep a job because of his anger. His doctor told him that he suffers from a form of mental illness. He has no family, and he doesn't keep in touch with his siblings. After my wife returned with the milk, he asked us for our names. He said that he would like to pray for us whenever he gives thanks to God for his care. We prayed for him before saying goodbye.  I was thankful for the encounter with this fellow. God uses it to remind me that I need to be aware of the least of these instead of being so preoccupied with things that I have no control over. Af...

    Each one of us might be able to write our version of The Agony and The Ecstasy after witnessing what is happening in the US in recent months. Some people I know have become so obsessed with current events in the US, and that describes how they feel. Yesterday was another important chapter of that play. The curtain has been lifted. Now let us sit back and experience what we are anticipating from different viewpoints and perspectives. For the time being, let these actors perform their play. In some ways, I think the early disciples went through some similar experiences with Jesus. Their lives were touched and impacted. They heard his teachings and witnessed his miracles. They saw how unconventional he was in his dealing with others. They were amazed by he confronted the self-righteous religious leaders of the day. They didn't fully understand why he spent time with the Samaritan woman and ate with a tax collector. His teaching about his death baffled them. They were afraid d...

  We should begin this day with prayers. Pray for a peaceful heart so we won't be lead astray by the external circumstances of life. Let us not be controlled by our earthly sense of righteousness and fail to acknowledge God with humility and godliness. We pray that the righteousness of God will overshadow the pompousness of those who think that they own the destiny of humanity. Nothing will mean much when the shallowness of those who don't lead with godly character and reverence is exposed. Let us be prayerful and discerning as we listen to discover what we hear. The powers of this world will rise and disappear. The love and the mercy of God will continue to be present in the lives of those who fear God. We soon discover that the only way to overcome the destruction of the world is to immerse ourselves with the promise of God's grace and forgiveness. It is more than just doing the right things. It is about setting our heart right with God. So I am confident about where God ...

  Should we ask a university to cancel some people's degrees because they happen to have different political views? Or demand to strip the gold medals of Olympic athletes because they supposedly commit a crime? Is it right for us to think that we have the right to eliminate people because we believe that we are right? In a democracy, people have the right to engage in discourses that sometimes show disagreements. People also need to have their day in court to defend their actions.  Somehow we as a society can't live with tensions that exist among ourselves. Looking for utopia is a fallacy by itself. Believing that humanity can create our own sense of utopia might be the worst assumption about who we are and what we can do. Righteousness does not rest with us. We don't call for the cancellation of TV shows that we don't appreciate. We don't go about abolishing music that doesn't reflect our beliefs and morality. We don't condemn cuisines that use spices that ...

We need to learn true humility at this moment in our history. Boasting and revenge are not the solutions we need while seeking healing for a broken nation. Maybe we have allowed pride to be the main driven force in how we relate to one another. We can see deception from both the left and the right. Let us learned from our desert fathers so we might come in touch with our needs for God. "Humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all." -  Andrew Murray We have seen a total contrast in the world today. We have witnessed leaders who continually stress how important and how special they are to the people they lead. When we focus on the self, we might end up seeing nothing at all. When leaders fail to take themselves out of the picture so that people can seek God earnestly, they will bring destruction. "Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you." -  Andrew Murray Pride is the worst form of self-conceit. When it is the gu...

  Praying is good therapy when we are under stress. Praying over what we read helps us to discover deeper meanings. Praying is acknowledging that God is with us and not indifferent to our human experiences. Praying is how we extend ourselves to others with God. Praying brings us closer to God and one another.  Here a few more gems from Teresa of Avila and my reflection. I hope that you find them helpful. "The closer one approaches God, the simpler one becomes." Simplicity, therefore, is our oneness with God. When that happens, we don't need to be so entrenched with this world and make our life complicated. "Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul." Nothing changes the condition of our human soul than the love of God itself. So if we claim that we live for God, our love will heal the souls of many. "Always look at yourself as everyone's servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone, and you will then h...

  Sometimes I need to get away from contemporary noises and revisit some of the old writings of men and women of faith. Teresa of Avila is one of my favourites. I am going to share with you my reflections on some of her thoughts. "Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything." The idea that God is constant is hard to fathom at times. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. There has been a lot of noise in our culture(s) that tells us that God is not there, and if He is there, He doesn't care. Some even proclaim that He is irrelevant. Many recent events have bothered us. They attack the core of our human decency and undermine our commitment to integrity. We become afraid because we feel as we are losing control and have no certainty for the future. We need to learn to have patience in believing that in God's timing, all will pass. Yes, we will suffer while doing so. "Truth suffers, but ne...

  We are now just a few days away from the change of presidency in the US. The house, with the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, has voted to impeach President Trump. The country has never this divided, and we can sense the sentiment of another civil war is in the air. It is not a good time for America and the world.  I remember these words of Socrates: "The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new" There is some wisdom in this statement for this present time. Now is the time we need to ask ourselves: "what would be the new and hopeful things for life?". There is no hope that we are now witnessing Pelosism taking over Trumpism. Their conducts tell us that they might as well be cut from the same cloth despite their political differences. There is nothing new here.  As I listen to the news, I hear words like "right", "left", "liberal", "conservative"...I become uncertain about w...

  As Covid-19 continues to spread globally, more and more people have to live in isolation. That has contributed to the significant number of people who have suffered through various conditions of mental health. Some people have shared with me about their inadequacy in helping their kids, spouses, and friends who struggle with mental health issues. Yes, we need to depend on professional people to provide proper care for people with mental health. However, that doesn't mean there is nothing we can do to help. Bell Canada proposes five ideas in its campaign to fight against mental health. Let us look at that and then look at Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman in John Gospel.  (John 4: 1-26) Language Matters: we can appear to be insensitive and unloving toward people who suffer from mental health if we are not careful in our language. Do not use languages that create stigma. Jesus had to overcome that when the Samaritan woman thought he was just a Jew who wanted to look ...

A young person told me recently that she enjoys acting because it provides venues for her to discover different aspects of herself. She is quiet and reserved, but she is different on stage. She can portray the character she plays very well. She told me that she would read a play and then allow herself some time to be utterly immersed in the role she hopes to play. When she was a young little girl, she lived in her own created world with a specific personality. Some teachers thought that she had problems paying attention in class. If a teacher used a story in her or his lesson, my young friend could always tell me what she learned. Otherwise, it was a hard-pressed attempt to recall it. She is not as linear as I am. That doesn't mean that she doesn't know how to put her thoughts together. It is just different. When I understand her ways of seeing things, I realize that I have learned a lot from her. She can become so alive and animated while telling me her ideas.  Why am I tellin...

  Watching the National College Football Championship has been one of my interests in watching sports. That is one of the few times we can see Americans for a moment leaving their politics behind and cheering for their teams. We saw players from both teams praying before the game begun. I told my wife that it is tough to be God. It doesn't matter who wins, some fans will be disappointed by the final score of the game. Some people I know have been disappointed by the result of the election. They wonder what God is doing because they believe that God is behind the current president. Some others have a completely different reaction to the very same result. They thank God for the change of presidency. So the question we ask ourselves is whether we pray to the same God? I believe that regardless of the outcome of any political event, God tells us that we have made our choice, and we then have to work with him with these choices. We cannot do that if we continue to have a very divisive a...

We need to learn how to use our words carefully and respectfully. We should not allow ourselves the privilege to use words to vilify and destroy others. However, we will continue to run into situations that we disagree with one another, and sometimes we can trigger negative responses with our words regardless of our true intentions. I have been asked by some people about the difference between free speech and hate speech. One of the most significant freedoms I have as a Christian is the freedom to love. So what does that mean? I am going back to the text that I used last year about love in 1 Corinthians 13 . This passage tells us that we are nothing, and we will gain nothing if we do not love. So what does it mean to love one another? Patience: learning to suffer with one another and on each other's behalf. Kindness: giving to others' needs before being asked. Walk away from envy: enjoy one another as God's gift. Stop boasting: humility is the key to influen...

    When a group of demonstrators swamped Capitol Hill on Wednesday violently, they showed disregard for what is American democracy. One of the significant aspects of the American democratic system is free speech. So it is interesting to see people, who condemn the attack on Capitol Hill, remain silent over Twitter, Facebook, and other Social Media outlets' decision to terminate people's accounts without due process. So now we have powerfully unaccountable businesses who play both roles of judge and jury. They by themselves make the final decisions of what they see fit and unfit. We have been very keen on protecting our environment, for example. We have put in place various legal requirements, technical systems, and social standards. That is how we keep some industries accountable in dealing with the environment. A new form of pollution is formed by the lack of accountability from these Internet and Social Media outlets. It destroys transparency and honesty. It is chipping aw...