Jul 11-12, 2020
Rev. Simon Lee, Senior Pastor RCAC

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

It has been 4 months since the lockdown due to the pandemic. During this time, every week I sit down literally at the Pastor’s Desk, which now is my study desk at home, and wonder what I can say from my heart that would be of any encouragement to our brothers and sisters at RCAC.  Now four months after, to be honest, I am starting to feel dry at times and wonder whether there is anything more to say during this difficult time that has not already been said. This is in contrast to the beginning of this period when I return to more writing and felt I really had something to say and was able to reclaim writing (from my professorial days) as my form of ministry to you all. Those around me and I also notice that at times I may be repeating myself, which surely are signs that I am running out of things to say. I confess to my team regularly I am learning to be a pastor like a rooky all over again. Let me hasten to add this does not mean God has nothing more to say, and it is more an admission of how inadequate I feel right now, and that I and all our pastors need your prayer support too. Let’s support each other in prayer.

Almost every day we hear Dr. Bonnie Henry say, “Be kind, be calm and be safe” at the end of her updates on the pandemic, and it is indeed good and simple wisdom that we should heed. We have looked at what it means to “be kind” and “be calm” and they are attitudes we should have in facing the current pandemic. Having these attitudes enables us to take critical actions to “stay safe.”

• How to “stay safe”?

To “stay safe” means that we try our best to not get sick by staying away from the danger of coming into contact with, and being infected (and affected) by the coronavirus which is actively present everywhere.

By now we all now know that washing our hands frequently, not touching our face (eyes, nose and mouth), clean different surfaces regularly with disinfectant, wearing masks when in close contact with others, maintaining physical distancing (1-2 metres), avoid crowds and other similar preventive measures all help to lower the risk of infection. Also, keeping ourselves healthy with healthy diet and exercises (physically active) help us to be less vulnerable. Physical distancing and lowering the numbers of contacts with people (avoiding big gatherings) also help us and others from getting sick. If we have symptoms, we should stay home.

But to “stay safe” is more than being vigilant and alert on our own when we are facing a threat; it is to habitually live a life that is ready to face any attacks (e.g. COVID) as our preventive behaviour is already second nature to us. Dr. Bonnie Henry has written a book in 2009 and reissued in 2020 called, Soap and Water & Common Sense, where she documented her lifelong interest in public health and preventive medicine, and where she gives us a guide to staying healthy in a germ-filled world. Dr. Henry says, “I often call it ‘uncommon sense,’” believing that ‘common sense’ (conventional wisdom) like frequent handwashing often does work and we should practice it regularly. Prevention is better than cure. Maybe it is better to think of it as “staying safe” (habitually) rather than just “stay safe” in times of danger.

• To “stay safe” is to live a full, healthy and holistic life

I like to add also “to stay safe” is to recognize that each human being is a physical-psycho-socio-spiritual whole, and therefore our physical health is intimately tied to our psycho-socio-spiritual well-being. Our mental health, our healthy networks of support and our spiritual resources all contribute to maintaining physical health. Psychologically, we need cognitively and emotionally to come to terms with our current reality and stay healthy. If we are stable in our personal psychological well-being (be calm), then we will be able to relate lovingly with our neighbours (be kind), as everyone is suffering the effects of the pandemic.  When anxiety and pain becomes unbearable and there is no solution in sight, we need spiritual resources that lift us up and give us a transcendent perspective. All these things help to cut down the pressure we experience and lower our health risk so that we can feel and be more secure (stay safe).

During this pandemic, I have been struck by how the vast majority of people are gravely concerned about our physical health and not wanting to get sick. When we finally realized that we are in a deadly pandemic due to COVID-19, most people have taken it seriously, and some even have been taken over by panic and anxiety, especially when tens of thousands of people around the world are dying each day as a result of the Coronavirus. When western medicine has yet to come up with a cure and when the vaccine has yet to be developed, suddenly folk remedies and alternate medicine become rampant, all promising miraculous cure or prevention, and they do not lack people who believe in them. We all want to have a miracle drug to keep us healthy physically, the sooner the better.

However, somehow we all, to varying degrees, resist the public health and preventive measures that have been suggested as we do not put much weight to the psychological and social factors and dimensions of our health, not to mention the spiritual. As said, we are psycho-social beings living in a society together, and any outbreak can start with one person or a small pocket of people. So personal health must be maintained communally through public health. This is one other reason why the church our faith community is so important as we can practice “staying safe” together (“staying together by staying apart”) and be of mutual encouragement to each other, and learn to “be kind” and “be calm.”  The Church should be a place where our spirituality is awakened and where we together can draw strength from the power of God.

• The safest place on earth

The safest place on earth; where people connect and are forever changed is a book by Christian psychologist, Larry Crabb, published in 1999. The book talks about how the church, rather than being a place for people to display their goodness and hide their failures in fear of censure, it should be open, supportive, and compassionate in dealing with our weaknesses. The pandemic has brought out much of our weaknesses, but we can together accept each other in the Christian community and make the church “the safest place on earth.” Due to the pandemic, people who suffer losses in personal health, even deaths within the family, loss of job and security…, should be able to find the Church community a place where they can find peace, compassion, support and comfort. Is RCAC such a church?

In the New Normal, we have already observed that a new anxiety has crept into our lives, the anxiety of wanting to go back to the old normal quickly, and the impatience with the slow and cautious reopening that we are going through even as we enter Phase 3 of the reopening in our Province of BC.  We need to continue to stay vigilant and not let down our guard lest we trigger a second outbreak of the Coronavirus, like what is already happening in a few countries around the world. Therefore we may need to continue for a while the way we have been “doing Church.” We need to keep staying safe. May we find that safety in our home and family, as well as in our Church community.

In August, we are planning to resume in a safe way some of our activities (including the summer children events) within our church building, I urge you all to follow the protocol we have set up so that we can “be kind, be calm and be safe,” by being the Church that displays the character of Christ, kind, calm and loving.

In facing the pandemic, we have considered carefully the instruction of Dr. Henry to “be kind, be calm and be safe”, from a health perspective as well as a Christian perspective. I would like to conclude this series with the words of Paul: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7) Amen.

Your servant in Christ

Rev. Dr. Simon Lee

Senior Pastor

Jul 11-12, 2020
李耀全牧師

列宣家親愛的弟兄姊妹,

自疫情蔓延以來，至今已封鎖了四個月。每週我也真正地坐在牧者的辦公桌前(From the Pastor ’s Desk)，而現時已轉移至家中工作間的書桌前，不斷思索著如何透過文字事奉，把心中的肺腑之言(教牧心聲)和教會的兄弟姊妹分享，藉以作為鼓勵，為大家打氣。現已是足四個月了，感謝主！數月前開始每週撰寫「教牧心聲」時，心中實在有無窮無盡的話(有若過往擔任教席時寫作的生涯) 。現時老實說，自己總覺要講的話大致上已講盡，在寫作事奉方面，有時也會有點需要搜索枯腸，已江郎才盡，有難以下筆之感。如身邊的人所指出而我也有所覺察，我的寫作未免偶現重複冗贅。同時我常向我的同工團隊表白，我好像初哥新手一般，正在重新學習做好這份牧職。這絕非表示沒有神的話語可傳，而是我在承認自己的不足，為此，我和我們所有的教牧同工也需要您的祈禱支持，我們要彼此服侍。

邦妮·亨利醫生在每天更新疫情報告時，我們均可聽到她以：“保持友善，冷靜和安全”作為結束，我們實在應聽取她那精簡優良的智慧。於此之前我們已分別探討了“友善”和“冷靜”的含義，這是對病毒蔓延當前應持守的態度，以讓我們能採取關鍵行動來“保持安全”。

• 如何“保持安全”？

“保持安全”是指我們盡最大努力去避免染病，盡量遠離與無處不在的活躍冠狀病毒接觸並受到感染的風險。
我們現在都知道，必須經常洗手，勿觸摸臉部 (包括眼睛，鼻子和嘴巴)，時常用消毒劑清潔不同的表面，與他人緊密接觸時要戴上口罩，保持身體距離1至2米，避免人群及其他類似的預防措施皆有助於減低感染的風險。此外，通過健康的飲食和鍛煉身體以保持健康，有助於我們增強免疫力(減少脆弱性)。保持人與人之間的距離和減少與人的接觸次數 (避免大形聚集)也有助於我們和他人免於受病毒感染。若有病癥便需留在家中。

可是，“保持安全”不只是在我們面臨威脅時須保持警覺和警惕。而是在生活上養成習慣，且準備面對任何攻擊侵襲（例如冠狀病毒），讓預防行為自然地成為我們的第二天性。邦妮·亨利醫生於2009年撰寫了一本書，並於2020年再版，名為《肥皂和水與常識Soap and Water & Common Sense》，書中記錄了她一生對公共衛生和預防醫學的興趣，並為我們提供了在充滿細菌的世界中保持健康的指南。亨利醫生提到：我經常稱其為  “另類常識” (uncommon sense)，她認為像經常洗手一般的“常識”(屬於傳統智慧) 經常奏效，我們應該時常這樣做。預防遠勝於治療。也許最好的是養成“保持安全”習慣，而不是僅在發生危險時才“保持安全”。

• “保持安全”就是過充實，健康及整全的生活

我還想補充的是，“保持安全”是要認識到每個人都是生理-心理-社會-靈性的整體，因此我們的身體健康與我們的心理-社會-靈性方面，全人是緊密關連的。我們的心理健康，健康的支持網絡和靈性方面皆與維持身體健康息息相關。從心理方面來說，我們需要在認知和情感上適應當前的現實以保持健康。如果我們在個人心理健康上能保持穩定（保持鎮定），那麼我們就能夠與其他人進行友善的聯繫（保持友善），因為每個人都在遭受疫情大流行的影響。當焦慮和痛苦變得難以忍受並且看不到解決之方時，我們需要靈性資源來使我們振作起來並提昇我們超越的視角。所有這各方面也有助於減輕我們承受的壓力並降低患病風險，從而使我們能夠感到並更為安穩（保持安全）。

在這疫情大流行期間，我為著絕大多數人如何極度關注自身的健康免受感染而感到震驚。當我們最終意識到現正處於致命的疫症蔓延中時，大多數人也會認真地面對，有些人因知道冠狀病毒帶來每天在世界各地有成千上萬的人因而喪生時，引致恐慌和焦慮。當西方醫藥尚未找到治愈方法，疫苗尚未開發時，民間偏方和另類療法突然變得如雨後春筍般湧現。相信這些藥物會帶來奇蹟性治愈或預防能力的，大有人在。我們也期待著可確保健康的有效應藥物能及早面世。

然而，大抵由於我們各自也在心理和社會因素，健康情況等方面有某程度上的差異，在靈性方面的差異更不在話下，我們也會在不同程度上會抗拒或忽視公共衛生和預防措施的建議。如前所述，我們是共同生活在一個社群中的心理社會個體，任何病發都可能始於一個人或一小撮的人。因此，必須通過公共衛生來共同維護個人健康。這也是為什麼我們的教會作為信仰群體是如此重要，以至我們需要共同實行“保持安全”（“藉彼此隔離以保持維繫”）並藉相互鼓勵，以學習和體現如何保持“友善”和“鎮靜。”教會應該成為喚醒靈性之處，並成為我們可以一起從神的力量源頭中汲取力量的地方。

• 世上最安全的地方  

基督教心理學家克萊布（Larry Crabb）在1999年所著的一本書： “世上最安全的地方；人與人彼此聯繫和永遠被改變的所在” (The safest place on earth; where people connect and are forever changed)。該書談論的是，教會不是一個讓人們因著害怕受到譴責而展示自己的善良和隱藏失敗的地方，而是應該在處理我們的弱點時保持坦誠開放，得到支持和同情。病毒大流行顯示出許多人的弱點，但我們可以在教會群體中相互接納，使教會成為“世上最安全的地方”。由於疫情所致，那些個人健康受損，甚至遭遇家人喪失，失去工作和安全感……的人，應該能夠從教會大家庭中找到一個可以得著平安，同情，支持和安慰之所在。我們列宣家教會可會如此？

在新常態中，本省正以緩慢而謹慎的步伐進入第三階段的重新開放，我們已觀覺到新的焦慮–希望能快速回復舊常態的焦慮與不耐煩，已經滲透於我們的生活之中。我們需要繼續保持警惕，不要放鬆警戒，以免引發冠狀病毒的第二輪爆發，就像一些其他國家已經發生的情況一樣。因此，我們可能仍需要以“現時的教會形式”繼續下去一些時間。我們需要能保持安全。願我們能在家，在家庭中以及在教會群體中找到安全。

我們正計劃在8月，以確保安全的方式續漸恢復於教會建築物內進行的一些活動（包括兒童夏令活動），我促請大家遵循教會制定的協議，以便我們能保持“友善，冷靜”。作為教會，可以展現出基督的品格，友善，鎮定和愛心。

在面對病毒大流行之際，讓我們從健康角度及基督教的觀點，仔細考慮按照亨利醫生的“善良，冷靜和安全”的指示。我想引述保羅的話來作本系列文章的結語：“應當毫無憂慮，只要凡事藉著禱告祈求，帶著感恩的心，把你們所要的告訴神，這樣，神所賜超過人能了解的平安，必在基督耶穌裡，保守你們的心思意念。”（腓4：6-7 -新譯本）阿們！

主僕

李耀全牧師
主任牧師

Jul 04-05, 2020
Rev. Simon Lee, Senior Pastor RCAC

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

We started the year 2020 with the theme of “Launch Out into the Deep,” by examining “our identity, stand and mission as a C&MA Church” in the first quarter. The Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our plan and by the second quarter we switched to the subtheme of “Jesus calms the storms in our lives /Restore us to Yourself, O Lord.” Now in the New Normal, in the third quarter we are going back to Biblical history and examine the rise and fall of the kings of Israel and Judah, so as to discover lessons for us today for our personal lives and the growth of the Church. The major lesson that Kings teaches us is that failure to honor the revealed will of God results in ruin and destruction.  The nation of Israel reached the height of its power and prestige in Solomon’s day. It began to decline because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness and failure to honor the Mosaic Covenant.

 Biblical scholars do not know who the author of the Kings was, but the historical period Kings covers totals about 413 years which started with Solomon’s coronation as co-regent with David (973 B.C.) and ended with Jehoiachin’s release from Babylonian exile (561 B.C.). However, most of Kings deals with the period from Solomon’s coronation and to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., a period of 387 years. At the beginning we see the temple built and at the end the temple burnt. I find these quotations from Constable’s notes very helpful:

“. . . 1, 2 Kings present Israel’s history as a series of events that describe how and why the nation fell from the heights of national prosperity to the depths of conquest and exile.”

“More specifically, 1, 2 Kings explain how and why Israel lost the land it fought so hard to win in Joshua and worked so hard to organize in Judges and 1, 2 Samuel.”

“Plot relates the causes and effects in a story. Thus, the story line in 1, 2 Kings may be that Israel went into exile, but the plot is Israel went into exile because of its unfaithfulness to God. To make cause and effect unfold, plots normally have at least two basic aspects: conflict and resolution. A plot’s conflict is the tension in a story that makes it an interesting account, while a plot’s resolution is the way the conflict is settled. How the author develops these two components usually decides the shape and effectiveness of the plot.”

The theme of our new series is “Launch out into the Deep III: Why Kingdoms Rise and Fall (I and II Kings).” As the title suggests we are exploring the reasons for the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Israel. Out purpose is to discover the role of the kings and leaders in that period in the fate of the nation. We hope we can then apply it to our Church as we face the challenge brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic, to reflect on how the lives of our pastors and leaders can directly affect whether we are going to success or fail as a church.

Our preaching schedule in the summer quarter will be as follows:

Dates	Scripture Reading  (ESV)	Sermon Subject
Jul  4/5	1 Kings  1:28-40; 2:1-4, 2:10-12	Solomon 1: The Rise
Jul 11/12	1 Kings  3:5-15	Solomon 2: Wisdom
Jul  18/19	1 Kings  5:1-6:1	Solomon 3: The Temple
Jul  25/26	1 Kings  8:1-21	Solomon 4: The Dedication
Aug 1/ 2	1 Kings  9:1-9	Solomon 5: The Promise
Aug  8/9	1 Kings  11:1-14; 41-43	Solomon 6: The Fall
Aug 15/16	1 Kings  12:1-24	Divided Kingdom 1: Rebellion
Aug 22/23	1 Kings  13:7-32	Divided Kingdom 2: Disobedience
Aug 29/30	1 Kings  14:1-20	Divided Kingdom 3: Deception
Sep 5/6	TBA	Youth/Christian Education Weekend
Sep 12/13	1 Kings  15:1-24	Divided Kingdom 4: Reform
Sep 19/20	TBA	Sacred Music/Mission(P/E) Weekend
Sep 26/27	1 Kings  15:25-16:7	Divided Kingdom 5: Relapse

In the New Normal we do well to remember that God has revealed Himself in the history of Israel. With each sermon, we shall reflect on this history with an eye on how we as a people of God in Christ’s Church at RCAC must not fail in following the teaching of God, lest we FALL like the people of God in this period of history! We shall cover the history up to I Kings 16 in this quarter from July to September and return to the rest of the history at a later date (projected to Winter, January – March, 2021). This is arranged so that we will return to a New Testament study in the fall. Let’s dig into the Word of God together.

Your servant in Christ,

Rev. Simon Lee

Senior Pastor, RCAC

Jul 04-05, 2020
李耀全牧師

親愛的列宣家的弟兄姊妹，

2020年我們以「開到水深之處」為主題，第一季探討「宣道會：身份、立場和使命」。由於冠狀病毒COVID-19大流行打斷了我們的計劃，到第二季度，我們轉換了「耶穌平靜我們生命中的風浪/主啊，求祢更新我們」為分題。現在，將進入第三季度，新常態中，我們將回顧聖經的歷史，查考以色列和猶大諸王的興衰，作為我們今天的生活和教會的成長汲取教訓。列王紀上、下給我們的教訓主要是，不遵行上帝所啟示的旨意會導致敗壞和滅亡。所羅門時代，以色列國達到了權力和威望的最高峰。由於所羅門背叛神和沒有遵行摩西的立約，以色列國漸漸走向滅亡。

聖經學者不知道列王紀上、下經卷的作者是誰，但列王紀內所敘述的歷史時期共約413年，始於大衛立所羅門為王（公元前973年），至約雅斤從巴比倫被擄獲釋（公元前561年）結束。但是，列王紀大多數是記錄從所羅門登基為王到公元前586年耶路撒冷被毀的時期共387年。開始的時候是聖殿被建造，最後是聖殿被燒毀。我發現Constable以下的註釋非常有幫助：

「… 列王紀上、下通過一系列事件描述以色列的歷史，以色列民族如何及為什麼從繁榮盛世淪落到被擄和流亡的深淵。」

「更具體地說，列王紀上、下解釋了以色列民族如何及為什麼失去了他們在約書亞年代艱辛贏得，以及在士師記及撒母耳記上、下年代努力經營的國土。」

「情節將故事中的因果聯繫起來。因此，列王紀上、下的故事線可能是以色列流亡，但情節是以色列民族違背上帝的教導以致亡國被擄。打開故事的因果關係，情節通常至少具有兩個基本層面：衝突和解決。劇情的衝突是故事中的緊張局勢，使故事變得精彩，而劇情的解決則是解決衝突的途徑。作者如何發展這兩個組合通常決定了情節的起伏。」

第三季的講道的主題乃開到水之深之處III：國度興衰、匹夫有責（列王紀上、下經訓）。主題顧名思義是指出以色列國的興衰直接與國王和領袖的行為好壞正邪息息相關。目的是以史為鑑，反思我們在疫情大流行中教會(神的國度在列宣)的興衰也是與教會的牧者與領袖的生命好歹不可分割，而您我作為教會的一份子，教會成敗，匹夫有責！分題安排如下：

日期                    讀經(新譯本)                               講題內容

7月4/5日            王上1:28-40, 2:1-4, 10-12        所羅門(1): 王朝興起

7月11/12日         王上3:5-15                                 所羅門(2): 王的智慧

7月18/19日        王上 5:1-6:1                              所羅門(3): 建造聖殿

7月25/26日       王上8:1-21                                 所羅門(4): 奉獻聖殿

8月1/2日            王上9:1-9                                   所羅門(5): 神的應許

8月8/9日            王上11:1-14, 41-43                   所羅門(6): 王朝衰落

8月15/16日         王上12:1-24                               王國分裂(1): 百姓叛亂

8月22/23日        王上13:7-32                               王國分裂(2): 神僕受誘

8月29/30日        王上14:1-20                               王國分裂(3): 詭詐受罰

9月5/6日             待定                                             青年事工/基教崇拜

9月12/13日          王上15:1-24                                王國分裂(4): 改革復興

9月19/20日         待定                                             聖樂崇拜/差傳

9月26/27日         王上15:25-16:7                          王國分裂(5): 變本加厲

在新常態中，讓我們謹記上帝在以色列歷史上已經彰顯了自己。透過每次的證道，我們將回顧這段歷史，列宣作為神的子民的教會我們著眼於如何跟從上帝的教導，免得我們像這段歷史時期上帝的子民一樣跌倒！我們將在7月至9月的這個季度中涵蓋列王紀上1-16章的歷史，並在稍後的日子（預計在2021年1月至3月的冬季）繼續歷史的其餘部分。這樣我們將能在今年秋季返回研讀新約。讓我們一起探討上帝的話語。

主僕

李耀全牧師

主任牧師

Jun 27-28, 2020
Rev. Simon Lee, Senior Pastor RCAC

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

• Why do we need to be calm?

“Not Cancelled” is a book published recently, putting together 49 inspiring stories from across Canada of people who have acted kindly, calmly and courageously during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst news of people still fearful or not following the guidelines for reopening, and even news of racial discrimination against Asians, I really welcome the book as a breath of fresh air. Yes, we need to encourage each other to be kind, be calm in facing the challenge before us in order to stay safe, as Dr. Bonnie Henry has called us to do repeatedly over the past three months. We need to continue to be vigilant.

From personal experience, I know that I can stay calmer in adverse situations if I know the threat I am facing, and know how to deal with them with the resources I can gather. The more I understand the threats, the more I am prepared to deal with them, and the more I can remain calm. I go into a panic mode when I am caught off guard. As a boy growing up, I was a Boy Scout for many years, and I learned to “Be prepared” and engaged in activities and training to increase my survival skills and ability to respond to difficulties. The more I mastered those skills, the more I felt confident to face different unexpected challenges. So preparedness and availability of resources are keys to staying calm.

The pandemic have come upon us with such speed that we quickly lose our security, stability and equilibrium in life. The threat is greater because the things we are seeing and experiencing are unprecedented and there are so many unknowns. We become restless, nervous, anxious and sleepless, and prolonged anxiety can led to different anxiety disorders. Like SARS in Hong Kong 17 years ago, if anxiety is left unchecked, people can develop Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), that is, become anxious over everything, or even Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), with obsessive thought and compulsive behaviour, as for example, in uncontrolled and repetitive need to wash one’s hands. So the ability to be calm, cool and collected will help prevent us from such anxiety mental disorders.

• What are some psychological perspectives of being calm?

Moving away from the medical model of mental illness, if kindness is regarded as a Character Strength and Virtue (in Positive Psychology) under the category of “humanity,” then where does “being calm” fits in? We find that “calmness” would probably also fit well in the category of “humanity” as an expression of “love, kindness and social intelligence.” However if we see this as a quality required in adversities, then the category of “courage” (valor) which includes virtues like “bravery, perseverance, honesty and zest” will be appropriate as well. “Calmness” in adversities then is an expression of bravery to face adversities (in a gentle way if I may add), the ability to persevere when trials persist, maintaining one’s integrity and vitality, despite ongoing pressure. “Calmness” is a product of the human will backed by different sources of strength from existential meaning and purpose. From this perspective, calmness is part of personal growth in our development of humanity and courage.

From another perspective, if “kindness” can be measured in EQ or Emotional Quotient or Intelligence, then “being calm” can be seen as a crucial element measured in AQ or Adversity Quotient. The term “adversity quotient” is coined by Paul Stoltz in 1997 in his pioneering book Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities. It is commonly known also as the science of resilience. When it comes to dealing with everyday challenges, or even catastrophic one, AQ has been recognized a more powerful coping mechanism than IQ. It is learning not to quit right from the start or half way when the going gets tough. We need to be vigilant and meet challenges with clarity and calmness.

• How does Jesus model for us staying calm in adversities?

We have already looked previously at how Jesus calmed the storm, and learned that in the same way Jesus can calm the storms in our lives. Another picture that comes to mind is the picture of Jesus when His enemies came to arrest him. The Gospel of John stated that Simon Peter impulsively cut off the ear of Malchus, the servant of Caiaphas the High Priest (Jn. 18:10). Luke adds that Jesus instead healed the wound (Lk. 22:51) and in Matthew, Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Mt. 26:52) What a contrast, we can see whereas Peter was “fearless and courageous” (or impulsive?) in his action, Jesus was calm and collected in the whole process, showing an inner peace even when He was betrayed by Judas his disciple with a kiss. How was Jesus able to stay calm in such atrocities?

It is instructive to note that the whole incidence happened after Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, during which the three closest disciples of Jesus including Peter could not stay awake. Jesus’s prayer battle in Gethsemane and His prayer life throughout His days on earth was a source of strength for Jesus, the reason for being able to stay calm when facing the most difficult challenge of His earthly life. Throughout the life of Jesus, he knew exactly why He was on earth, and he was resolute in His determination to go to cross. He was prepared for every step of the road to Calvary, and remained calm throughout the Passion Week in all his trials and tribulations. Jesus could stay calm because He knew that He was following and fulfilling the perfect will of God. So if we know we are walking in the path of God, we too can stay calm in adversities. Walking close to God prayerfully is key to staying calm and serene.

• What does the Bible teach us about staying calm in adversities?

In our favourite Psalm, Ps. 23, David says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” (1,2) The picture is one of calmness, peacefulness, tranquility and serenity. With Jesus as our Good Shepherd, we can be calm. Indeed this psalm has down through the ages brought peace to many Christians in times of need.

From the perspective of courage, in times like these, we are told to “be strong and very courageous,” just as Joshua was told when he faced the daunting task of leading the people of God into Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb had years ago in fact spoken out courageously after they and the rest of the 10 spies returned from their trip of spying out the land of Canaan, but unfortunately they were rejected by the people of the Exodus. Now after almost 40 years they were given the “impossible” task of leading a new generation of Israelites into the Promised Land, claiming it and dividing it among the tribes so as to settle in it. God’s word of encouragement to “be strong and courageous” came to Joshua with the passing of Moses. With these words, Joshua was also instructed to follow closely “the Torah,” with the promise of the blessings of God if he carefully observed this instruction (Joshua 1:1-9).

However I see people who are calm display more than raw courage and strong resilience when faced with danger and threat. There is an inner strength, quiet restfulness and a serene spirit that is the very opposite of impetuousness and toughness. Calmness is not just an outward behaviour when challenged, as it is a reflection of something deeper – the maturity of a person, the inner quality of his/her spirituality. It is heeding God’s calming voice that says “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10)

• How do we practice being calm in the New Normal?

In the model of Soul C.A.R.E.S that I have developed over the years, one of the core competences in pastoral care and counseling is providing spiritual formation and direction that helps a person comes to term with adversities/trauma by nurturing a serene spirit, with the attitude of full surrender to God and His sovereignty. When all fails, we find peace in God because humans are created “with a God-shaped vacuum” (Augustine) that only God can fill, and we will be restless until we find rest in Him. So ultimately, a Biblical way to look at the ability to be calm is to find rest and peace in God. This is achieved by spiritual disciplines through God’s Word and through close communion with God in our daily lives.

In the New Normal, a new anxiety can creep into our lives, the anxiety of wanting to go back to normal quickly, and the impatience with the slow and cautious reopening that we are going through. Be calm means to go in step with the Province and to move cautiously to make sure we do not trigger a second wave of the spread of the Coronavirus. Indeed, let us be kind and be calm.

Your servant in Christ

Rev. Simon Lee
Senior Pastor