31/10/2019

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”  Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

I have not been in the right frame of mind to write anything since August. When the initial peaceful demonstration in June has gone out of hands, I was able to have much of inner peace soon after I posted my last article, ‘This Present Darkness’ dated 20/08/2019. I am devasted and totally heartbroken when the level of violence has escalated, and it becomes the primetime news around the world. After more than four months of protest, the demand of 5-requests remains, even the extradition bill was officially ‘dead.’

I didn’t elaborate on protesters’ 5-requests in my previous posting because I had the faith that whoever had passed the ‘Critical Thinking 101’ would be able to discern the situation from a logical perspective. Soon, ten-thousands of demonstrators were mobilized by the grace of the social media to march-in and smash some government office buildings, to burn the national flags of China; occupy the Hong Kong International Airport that disrupted over thousands of flights and more.  

The same disruption extent to the Hong Kong MRT, the public subway systems. If the darkest near the dawn, then I thought that being young and restless the young masked protestors would have to go back and attend school when the Summer break was over in September, but that was not the case.  There may have been some ‘fake news,’ conspiracy theories and more, and it is needless for me to say any further if people had been following the latest updates from major news networks or YouTube.

Many countries sent out travel warnings to Hong Kong. It has been the most trying period in Hong Kong since the outbreak of SARS. Is the movement funded? Who’re the mighty black hands behind it? Any speculation wouldn’t help to put the end of this present ill-starred situation. Worst of all, a few of the ring leaders of the movement with their self-indulgent approach and emotional appeal turned to the US and other European countries seeking moral supports for their quests.  Ironically, we can conclude rioters’ sinfulness of moral value when they relentlessly show so much of their violent behaviours. 

It says in the bible that “human hearts are deceitful.” Recently many countries are also in the same chaos. People in countries like Chile, Spain and Indonesia are going onto the street and emulate the Hong Kong tactics to protest against their governments. The gloomiest of all is when a few of church pastors in Hong Kong led his congregation to participate in the demonstration. Don’t they fearful the stricter accountabilities that glue to their divine callings? Even with their selfish reason or weakness in the spirit, it would have made a world of difference if they would point their flocks to God’s word, for example, the Book of Romans chapter 13 that’s to uphold the government, to pray for wisdom to be upon the leader and to show love.

When enough is enough, it’s the time for me to pray with a prayer of relinquishment for the future of Hong Kong. As I prayed for my closing, suddenly, the hymn ‘The Prayer of St Francis” came to my mind. It was many years ago, when we were in Tokyo, the first time for Christmas. We need to find a church service must be in English, and the hotel concierge directed us to attend the Christmas Eve service in one local catholic church. It was the closing hymn for that glorious evening that brought me to tears. I thought that I was done and wanted to post this piece a few times but in vain. This morning I got up very early, and the following message came in for me from Samantha, who is one of my chat group friends.

“HE is the light in our lives!”

“In a moment You turn mourning into dancing. When I praise I can feel the darkness trembling. All my fear is swept away by perfect love. You fan my faith into flame

—

No darkness can stand against this brighter glory. HIS promise is sure, Jesus decides my story

The Prayer of St Francis

Make me a channel of your peace. 
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love. 
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, 
And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.

Verse 2: 
Make me a channel of your peace. 
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope. 
Where there is darkness only light, 
And where there’s sadness ever joy.

Refrain: 
Oh Master, grant that I may never seek 
So much to be consoled as to console. 
To be understood as to understand, 
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Verse 3: 
Make me a channel of your peace. 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 
In giving of ourselves that we receive, 
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.