Nov 14-15, 2020
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon LeeDear brothers and sisters in RCAC,

Alex Trebek, host of ‘Jeopardy!,’ since 1984, passed away peacefully on November 8, 2020 from pancreatic cancer, surrounded by friends and family. He was 80 years old. Some of you may know that the Canadian-born host revealed publicly he was suffering from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer on March 6, 2019. This is what he said, “Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he said. “Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working.  And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers, also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”

These were not actually his final words, but certainly can be regarded as the beginning of his final words to millions of his fans. As one, who since the mid-70 have followed his career off and on till now with fascination, beginning with Reach For the Top, his departure signals for me the end of a generation of enduring promoters of wholesome, entertaining and educational TV, at least for my generation.

At least two things strike me, first, that there are so many people who are suffering from pancreatic cancer, and two, how he vowed to fight on, “with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your (the fans’) prayers.”  The fact that so many are battling this disease of course reminds me that I have recently lost two very good friends and colleagues, one who was a friend and missionary from Calgary, and another who was my classmate at Regent and a fellow worker in theological education.  Also the other fact is that like Alex, they left fighting, with the staunch support and prayers of their family and friends around them.  May we remember to support those who are right now also fighting the same or other terminal illnesses.

For Paul, his frequent use of “finally” carries with them always a sense of finality and grave importance, even though they may not be the ultimate “final” words. But the theme is the same as it is always in his heart. Paul says, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”(3:1) From the letter to the Philippians, we know that Paul was in prison in Rome and was aware that he could depart any time from this world. Yet in such a critical time, Paul was always joyful, and kept urging the Christians in Philippi to “rejoice,” and he repeated that about 11 times in this letter! In fact, he stated that the one thing that could make his joy incomplete would be if the Christians were not united in Christ. (2:1, 2) He then used Christ’s humble servanthood as our model par excellence – “(Christ) though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.” (2:6) There is joy in serving Jesus with humility like Him and be in unity with one another.

Paul then seems to have departed from the theme of joy to urge the Christians to “work out(live out, katergauzesthe) your own salvation with fear and trembling.  Surely he is not preaching “salvation by work”!  Paul however is quick to clarify and point out “for it is God who works (bringing forth, energon) in you, both to will and to work (effort, energein) his good pleasure. It is God who brings about both our intention and ability to do that which pleases Him. When they do that and shine, then Paul says he can then say he has not run in vain, and he can rejoice with them again and again (2:16-18). This is also my prayer.

When Paul urged the Christians in Philippi to “rejoice,” his heart was actually heavy with burden, for he knew the Philippians were troubled by heretics (Judaizers) that taught they had to follow certain formalities and ways of doing things  (following strictly the Old Testament laws such as circumcision) in order to be saved. Also, as we have seen earlier, there were also people who served with impure motives, not out of love but out of selfish ambitions, seeking to bring pain and not joy. Paul explains in unmistakable terms that the antidote for him to such conflicts was his total dedication to live and serve “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ my Lord,” so he can count all other things as “rubbish.” Apart from knowing Christ, Paul also talks about “knowing the power of his resurrection” which gives him not only a sense of purpose, but also the source of strength to stay joyful in adversities.

Now eight months since we officially are in the pandemic, we are seeing in BC another surge in the number of positive cases of people getting the Coronavirus, numbering around 600 every day. These are hard times for a lot of businesses and people who have lost their jobs, and also for people who are further shut-in because of the lockdown and restrictions in social gatherings. I know it has been hard for all who are in RCAC. But can we find joy in our Christian community because we follow the model of Christ as lived out by Paul, in loving and serving one another in unity.  May Paul’s “final words” remind all of us to “Rejoice in the Lord.”

Your Servant in Christ,

Rev. Dr. Simon Lee