The Better Thing

The Better Thing

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NIV.

Here’s another look at this familiar passage.

Jesus had stopped by at the town of Bethany - which was east of Jerusalem - where the sisters, Mary and Martha had stayed. When we remember that Jesus public ministry was only three years, and that this encounter with Mary and Martha must have been towards the later part of his ministry, it must have been quite close to the end of his time on earth.

His heart must have been filled with many thoughts about his impending death. He must have wanted to spend some of his last moments with those that were dear and close to him. His heart was heavy and perhaps he wanted to share what was on his heart in a small and close fellowship setting.

We see here two contrasting pictures of the two sisters, Martha busy around the kitchen attending to a quick fix meal and never had the time to spend with the Lord. Mary on the other hand, was a picture of serenity, “Mary… who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” Martha’s attention was directed at what seemed important, but was in fact not as important as spending time with Jesus during his last weeks on earth.

We are always faced with the choice between what seems good and seems better. Sometimes we may be confronted with a situation where the ones we love may have a limited time with us due to some critical illness. We struggle between the priorities of what is needful. We get worried and upset maybe because things don't seem to be working out well. What do we do? I think sometimes they would want us to lay aside all our busyness and spend some quiet moments with them, talking, communing and just having good fellowship. In the midst of attending to their medical needs and physical needs, we need to realize the importance of spending as much time with them as possible.

What can be worst than to die alone or die a lonely person? It is most comforting to them when they have their loved ones around them as much as possible in the last days, weeks or months before they leave us for eternity. I hope we do not miss out on the one thing that is important, ‘to choose that which is better”.

I am glad that we managed to spend much time with Kathryn in the last year before she left us. We laid aside the trivial things and focused on the things that were important to her. We spent much time praying and fellowshiping together as a family even as we took care of her medical and physical needs. She would wait eagerly every evening for me to return home from work and eat together with her and the children. We used to enjoy simple activities such as playing word puzzle games like Scramble or Upwords on the iPhone together when her physical mobility became a bit more restricted. We spent much time together when we took her around for her medical consultation at the hospitals.

In her final weeks, everyone came around to be with her. And more importantly, we were there with her when she left us. When she finally left us for heaven’s glory, we were there with our family and close friends to bid her farewell. She was surrounded by those whom she loved and those who loved her deeply. In the midst of a difficult situation, I’m glad we chose ‘the better’.

MT
24 February 2011

When Death Becomes Birth

Here is an interesting article by Max Lucado on living and dying :

Week of February 4

When Death Becomes Birth
by Max Lucado

You, as all God's children, live one final breath from your own funeral. Which, from God's perspective, is nothing to grieve. He responds to these grave facts with this great news: "The day you die is better than the day you are born" (Eccles. 7:1). Now there is a twist. Heaven enjoys a maternity-ward reaction to funerals. Angels watch body burials the same way grandparents monitor delivery-room doors. "He'll be coming through any minute!" They can't wait to see the new arrival. While we're driving hearses and wearing black, they're hanging pink and blue streamers and passing out cigars. We don't grieve when babies enter the world. The hosts of heaven don't weep when we leave it.

Oh, but many of us weep at the thought of death. Do you? Do you dread your death?

Is your fear of dying robbing your joy of living? Jesus came to "deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying" (Heb. 2:15).

If Scripture boasted a list of the famous dead, Lazarus would be near the top. He lived in Bethany, a sleepy hamlet that sat a short walk from Jerusalem. Jesus spent a lot of time there. Maybe he liked the kitchen of Martha or the devotion of Mary. One thing is for sure: he considered Lazarus a friend. News of Lazarus's death prompts Jesus to say, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up" (John 11:11).

And now, four days after the funeral, Jesus has come calling. Literally calling, "Lazarus, come out!" Can we try to picture Lazarus as he hears those words? Heaven-sent Lazarus. Heaven-happy Lazarus. Four days into his measureless days. By now he's forming fast friendships with other saints. King David shows him the harps. Moses invites him over for tea and manna. Elijah and Elisha take him for a spin in the fiery chariot. Daniel has promised him a lion of a Bible story. He's on his way to hear it when a voice booms through the celestial city.

"Lazarus, come out!"

Everybody knows that voice. No one wonders, Who was that?Angels stop. Hosts of holy-city dwellers turn toward the boy from Bethany, and someone says, "Looks like you're going back for another tour of duty."

Lazarus doesn't question the call. Perfect understanding comes with a heavenly passport. He doesn't object. But had he done so, who could have faulted him? His heavenly body knows no fever. His future no fear. He indwells a city that is void of padlocks, prisons, and Prozac. With sin and death nonexistent, preachers, doctors, and lawyers are free to worship. Would anyone blame Lazarus for saying, "Do I have to go back?"

But he doesn't second-guess the command. Nor does anyone else. Return trips have been frequent of late. The daughter of the synagogue ruler. The boy from Nain. Now Lazarus from Bethany. Lazarus turns toward the rarely used exit door. The very one, I suppose, Jesus used some thirty earth years earlier. With a wave and within a wink, he's reunited with his body and waking up on a cold slab in a wall-hewn grave. The rock to the entrance has been moved, and Lazarus attempts to do the same. Mummy-wrapped, he stiffly sits up and walks out of the tomb with the grace of Frankenstein's monster.

People stare and wonder.

We read and may ask, "Why did Jesus let him die only to call him back?"

To show who runs the show. To trump the cemetery card. To display the unsquashable strength of the One who danced the Watusi on the neck of the devil, who stood face to clammy face with death and declared, "You call that a dead end? I call it an escalator."

"Lazarus, come out!"

Those words, incidentally, were only a warmup for the big day. He's preparing a worldwide grave evacuation. "Joe, come out!" "Maria, come out!" "Giuseppe, come out!" "Jacob, come out!" Grave after grave will empty. What happened to Lazarus will happen to us. Only our spirit-body reunion will occur in heaven, not Bethany Memorial Cemetery.

When this happens—when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true:
"Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
(1 Cor. 15:54-55)

With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth.

From
Come Thirsty
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2004) Max Lucado

MT
16 February 2011

Chinese New Year Revisited

Chinese New Year Revisited

Chinese New Year. This year we gathered around for the reunion lunches and dinners that we usually have at this festive season together with the tradition of ang pows to be given out. As most of our families are all nearby, the reunion dinners are minus the fanfare and the excitement of the ‘balik kampung’ rush. And since we see each other quite often, the main thing that distinguishes these meals from the normal ones is the variety of New Year dishes that make their appearance once a year.



The first two days are normally given to visiting my side of the family and Kathryn's side of the family while the third day onwards would be for visiting friends. Each year, it has become customary for us to have a family picture taken for each family in the morning before proceeding to visiting relatives through the day. In that way, we have a collection of family photos showing the changes in the family each year including new ones being added.

For us as a family, I would normally give out ang pows to my children and Kathryn on the morning of the first day of the New Year. The giving of ang pows is accompanied with some wishes for each of the children followed by a prayer for them. Kathryn and I would also exchange ang pows and whisper a prayer for each other. There would be much to rejoice and you could hear the sounds of much laughter in the house. We would then take our family pictures before we leave home to join the rest of our siblings and their families at our parents' homes.

Last year Kathryn was not well enough to join the rest of the family members in the reunion meal as she was very sick. We had the reunion lunch at our home instead of at her parent's home. Some of the cell members and friends were also kind enough to come around to have a meal with us seeing that she was unable to do the normal visitations.

This year as it was last year, there is an empty place in the extended family photos where she would normally be. This year, there is also an empty place in our hearts where she has been and where she will always be. There are sounds of laughter as in the past, but the sound of one laughter is missing. We do miss her so much.

I would like to share some photo clips from the last two years' CNY.

Chinese New Year 2009 and 2010

MT
5 February 2011