Aug 07-08, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

The two-years of pandemic, a year and a half of quarantine, the pervasiveness of the virus, together with the accompanying anxiety and pressure, have made us all anxious and unable to live life as usual.  The picture of the church full of brothers and sisters and its joyous atmosphere are now like a distant memory.  Many of us are longing to return to those days. Yet, when we receive the news that the ban is gradually lifted, we have mixed emotions. While it seems to us that we are at the end of the tunnel, we are reminded that we need to be cautious – planning the reopening of the church with a prudent approach.   This is seemingly more difficult to carry out the work than closing down the church in the past, as we need to take care of the wellbeing of the individuals and family members as recommended by the officials.  Now we are attempting to re-open the church in an orderly manner with one united common approach, which is harder than we can imagine: because we need to take into consideration of individual’s concern and the different needs of each family.  While the church needs to have one approach towards the re-opening of the whole church, we also need to carry out the plan as applied specifically to each congregation.  But one question remains to answer: when can the church be reopened safely?

At the same time, because of the political turmoil in Asia seen in the past few years, especially the political atmosphere in Hong Kong, we have seen another wave of immigrants similar to what we saw before 1997.  Many immigrants have chosen Vancouver as their new home, as the city is one of the popular destinations for Chinese people.  Now, as the pandemic is gradually under control and our church is preparing to reopen in the near future, are we ready to safely open the door of our church, welcome new immigrants, and help them to live well in the new place they called home? I hope that these new immigrants not only will be living well here but also having the opportunity to learn about our Savior Jesus Christ.   Can the church seize the opportunity to live out and share the gospel?

In the early days, the early church started from scratch to fulfill the great commission left by the Lord Jesus before His ascension. It was an unprecedented mission! Before discussing any specific, the believers at the time were facing a “paradigm shift.” The disciples of Jewish religion (known as Judaism today) who had always believed in Jehovah God, had to suffer a great impact in their lives after following Jesus for more than three years.  First of all, we must remember that the backgrounds of the disciples were very diverse. In addition to different career backgrounds (such as fishermen, tax collectors, etc.), there were also people with different political views, such as Simon the Zealots (the activists), and tax collector like Matthew (equivalent to today’s government workers). Moreover, all the Jews at that time were looking forward to a “Messiah” who could save them from the regime, the Roman government. In other words, they were looking for a “savior” who could bring about political reform or revolution.

But Jesus led his disciples more than three years of living a nomadic life. The disciples saw that Jesus had supernatural powers, could heal the sick, casted out demons, calmed the stormy seas, and attracted thousands of followers to listen to his preaching. But what puzzled the disciples was that Jesus’ message was not about “restoration” or “revolution.” After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples for forty more days, but the message continued to be about the Kingdom of God! A earthly kingdom becoming the Kingdom of God (heaven).

Finally, the disciples could not help but ask Jesus, ” Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? ” (Acts 1:6). Jesus answered the “wrong” questions of the disciples by commissioning the disciples with the great commission: ” But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). To fulfill this mission, it is easier said than done. In addition to facing political shocks, they were categorized as “heretics” or “cults” by the Jews and they were forced to be dispersed (became the diaspora)! They were in crisis! Who could claim that “hope is in the future “?!

Today we are facing challenges posted by the pandemic and the influx of new immigrants.  These are new challenges resulting in the new normal.  In facing the new challenges and the new normal, we need to have a paradigm shift.  How are we going to turn challenges to become opportunities?  (To be continued…)

His servant,

Pastor Simon Lee