2022.05.21/22

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Jason Cheung

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Growing up I don’t remember saying much at all at the dinner table.  One night, soon after the end of my first year of university, my father showed his curiosity about my meanderings.  “What’s your plan?  What are you going to study?”

I knew this question was coming, and I had prepared for some time to give an answer.  It felt right, because I grew to love the direction no matter how unpredictable the future would be. “I want to study film.  I want to be a film director.”

The movie theatre was where I grew up, most impacted.  I recall fondly the double-bills of Hong Kong films in Chinatown – I learned to read English through subtitles (and also Cantonese slang).  It was the only regular time our whole family went out, and we did so to receive art.

As a 19 year old I had grown drawn to stories through film that expressed things my heart could not articulate or understand.  And I loved the medium of sight and sound, angles and music, script and acting – and the beautiful medley of it all.  Love and laughter, sin and suffering, truths and the human struggle to grapple truth, carefully crafted on screen for me to receive and consider.

My dad responded (I recall this vividly):  “It’s going to be hard to find a job.”

His response was no surprise to me, but my dream deflated at that very moment.

God is good and his plans are greater than mine.  My love for film has not diminished (though the number of hours I spend watching has plummeted!).  As a pastor, like a filmmaker, I get to tell a story – but in a different way.  My imagination is grounded in the revelation of God, in the Word, and my vocation is to ignite the vision of Jesus to people.  A painter or a poet does the same, generally, cultivating an imagination prompted to stir wonder on truth, goodness and beauty within the beholder.

A question I have grappled with in recent years:  Is art helpful to faith?  Might it even be essential?

We often, I think, unhelpfully divide people into one of two camps:  those who are “artsy” and those who are not.  But here’s what I’ve learned.  As we are created in the image of God, and as God himself is a designer and all-world Creator, we share a little of this with Him, in this call to create.  Just as we are made to love and be loved (like our loving God), so we are also made to create (like our creator God).

To be clear, we’re not all called to be artists (vocationally).  But I do think art in our world exists more than just as a hobby.  Art can point us–whether we make it or receive it– to the Great Designer and Maker of this world.

I enjoy films.  I also love exploring new music, even while I have my playlists of old favourites.  Within the last two years, in this pandemic, I have discovered the silent strength of poetry for my soul.

You may have unique interests: short or long fiction, graphic design or architecture, landscaping or the complex design of cities. Or paintings.

Whatever art you enjoy, or however you engage with it, your faith can be strengthened with art.  What I have found helpful is to listen to artists and the reasons they do what they do.   I also read and learn how others view and experience art – their reflections and critiques, but mostly to see what they see.  Art helps me understand points of view I would not be able to consider by myself.

The Purpose of Art?

When I was 19, my dad had a specific concern for me: How would I earn a living?  He determined a vocation in the arts would not be promising.  Though I disagreed, I am grateful for his guidance.

I do think, still, one of the reasons we engage so little with art is because it seems impractical.  This begs the question: If the net result of engaging with art is mostly an interior benefit, is that enough?  I emphatically say, yes!  As followers of Jesus, we serve a Lord who rescues us and transforms us spiritually; we are a people being changed from the inside-out.  Put another way: Can the Spirit use art to help us see, know and respond to the Triune God?  Absolutely.

One of the ways the Spirit has helped me through art is to learn to grieve.  When my grandfather died when I was young, I knew nothing about death.  For years, I was a mess inside and I didn’t even know it.   Eventually, as I took in movies and read stories that touched the topic of grief – I found myself unusually moved.  Why was I weeping in the theatre?  These stories told with care helped me see a person struggling with loss.  That was my experience too.  And I learned art can serve us well by providing emotional grips to journey through the inevitable valleys of life.  When I observe a face, a tone, a lyric or a rhyme – I sense the Spirit moving me to see what he sees.

Heaven and Earth:  “A Hidden Life” Screenshot

Those hands, with the heavens as backdrop, belong to a wife and husband.  The husband is Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who would not fight with the Nazis during WWII.  This is a true story: he was beheaded for his “conscientious objection.”

This film by Terence Malick is more a meditation on Jägerstätter’s struggle – including a difficult emotional struggle with his wife.  She loves him dearly, supports him even in his objection, but the cost is clear before them.  Their dilemma: Fight in a cause their faith does not align with, or risk losing their way of life, their family, one another?

Malick is an atypical director, choosing long shots with few words and selective music.  And this scene, with husband and wife lying free in the alps in embrace and belonging, also reflects the aching strain of Jägerstätter’s decision.  Lives together, embracing both beauty and brokenness, grasping for heaven to be on earth.

Art and Your Faith?

How many of you are artists?  I want to know who you are, and encourage you.  Too long, I believe, artists among us are used more than celebrated.  Artists need to be encouraged, even nurtured.  There is so much that artists in our community can add to our spiritual life together.  Reflection.  Challenge.  Questions.  And, similar to preachers, pointing to Christ all in all.

Who wants to explore how art helps us to be more human, and one with God?

I have rummaged through these questions for some time, and I’m curious if any of you have as well.  Let me know.

For now, I encourage you to be curious, pause and to take note of how art – any art – might be leading you to hear the Spirit’s voice, reverberating Scripture and highlighting Christ.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Jason Cheung

2022.05.21/22

列宣家親愛的兄弟姊妹：

在我大學一年級結束後不久的一個晚上，我父親問我：“你有什麼計劃？打算讀什麼？”我回答說：“我想學電影，我想當電影導演。”我記得很清楚我父親回答：“會很困難找工作”。他的回應我一點也不覺得意外，但我的夢想在那一刻破滅了。

電影院是我成長的地方。我很喜歡到唐人街看香港電影，透過字幕我學會了閱讀英語以及廣東話俚語。舉家出外看電影是我們唯一的家庭活動，也因此讓我接觸了藝術。我19 歲的時候，我開始被電影中的故事所吸引，我會去思考。這些故事表達了我內心無法表達或理解的事物。我喜歡那些視聽效果和演員精湛的演繹。愛與笑、罪惡與苦難、真理和為真理掙扎求全，都一一呈現在屏幕前。

上帝是美善的，祂的計劃大過我的。我對電影的熱愛並沒有減少。作為一個牧者，就像電影製作人一樣，只不過是以不同的方式去講述故事。我的想像力植根於上帝的啟示和話語，我的使命是向人們點燃耶穌的異象。

近年，我一直努力思考一個問題：藝術有助信仰嗎？甚至可能是不可或缺的？

一般人會被劃分為兩伙：“懂藝術”和不懂。但我所領悟到的是，我們都是按照上帝的形像被造的，而上帝本身是一位設計師和創造萬物的創造者，因此我們也分享了上帝的一點特質。就像我們慈愛的上帝一樣，我們被造去愛和被愛；又像我們的創造者上帝，我們也被造去創造。雖然不是每一個人都要成為藝術家，但我確實認為藝術不僅是一種愛好，藝術可以帶我們指向那偉大的設計者和創造者。

我喜歡電影，我也喜歡探索新音樂。在這場疫症大流行裡，我發現詩歌是我靈魂的無聲力量。無論您喜歡或如何參與藝術，藝術可以強化您的信仰。藝術幫助我理解我自己察看不到的觀點與角度。

藝術的目的？

當我19 歲的時候，父親尤其關心我將來如何謀生？他認定藝術職業不會有前途。我雖不認同，但我很感謝他的指導。

的而且確，很少人投入藝術行業的原因之一是因為它似乎不切實際。但另一方面，我確信藝術足夠給予人內在的益處！作為耶穌的跟隨者，我們侍奉那一位拯救我們並在靈性上更新我們的主；我們是一個裡外更新的人。換句話說：聖靈絕對能透過藝術幫助我們看見、認識和回應三一神。

此外，聖靈藉著藝術幫助我學會哀傷。我祖父在我年輕的時候去世，當時我對死亡一無所知。後來，讀到悲傷話題的文章和電影，我會異常感動，我會在電影院哭泣，感受到失去摯親的哀痛。我了解到藝術可以幫助我們在情感上，穿越人生的高山低谷。一張臉、一個音調、一首歌詞、一個韻律－我感覺到聖靈在觸動我，讓我看到他所看到的。(中文簡譯、全文參閱網上英語原文)

主僕
張志成牧師

May 7/8, 2022

From the Pastor’s Desk: Pastor Alex Poon

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Have you ever been on a long drive? It’s wonderful, of course for those of us who aren’t affected by motion sickness.

Going on long drives reminds me of James’ exhortation for the Church. “Be doers of the Word, and not just hearers only” (James 1:22).

How do we become doers of the Word? First, it involves the deep and consistent work of understanding the Word of God. Before we may respond to Scriptures, our minds must first comprehend the Scriptures.

And to do this, long journeys in a car remind me of three similarities between a road trip and meditating on God’s Word to us.

Both, ask us to (1) slow down to soak in the scenery, (2) be intelligent to understand the task at hand, (3) grow in patience, so we may find joy.

Slow down and soak in the scenery.

Slow down on your road trip so you may shift your gaze from not only what is in front of you – but all around you. Like a drive through the deep forest – did you see that birds nest way up high? Did you notice the bright sun in how its light hit the treetops?

Slow down as you receive the Word of God. Scriptures doesn’t only give us words of comfort, or the words we are longing to hear… it gives us an argument, a reasoning, a logic – how can we understand the train of thought when we don’t take time to ponder?

Did you notice the nuance of the Biblical authors, in how they used the most descriptive expressions to call attention to this one specific aspect of our glorious Creator? Did you see the fine-tuned word that is written to tune our hearts to His? Did you pace yourself – just enough – to see the majestic detail hidden in the author’s language?

Did you give yourself time to admire, to be mesmerized, so that your heart may be moved?

Be intelligent to understand the task at hand.

The pathway towards worship in our hearts begins first with our minds.

On the Emmaus Road, when Jesus finally revealed himself to those he was walking with, the men asked each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us?” (Luke 24:32). Every disciple of Jesus wants to feel something with God. And to light their hearts ablaze; Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, interpreting it all for them. Their touched hearts started first with their minds.

So, follow the logic behind each thought. Bring your intelligence into the task of reading Scriptures, and let the reason evoke your mind.

Grow in patience so we may find joy.

Patience is a virtue we all need. When we prayerfully and thoughtfully take lingering step after step towards the heart of God, we will know what He says to us, and how He says it.

And with the aiding of the indwelling Spirit who proclaims the truth of God to us, we will feel His presence so near to us, and joy in worship will arise.

His Servant
Pastor Alex Poon