President's Message

TRAC office staff were visiting at the hospital bedside of a retired pastor two days before Christmas. He had a tube attached to his nostril through which he is fed liquid food. He has been in hospital for over a month now, and this will be his first Christmas spent in a hospital bed.

One might say that illness and a weakening body have cast a shadow of darkness over his life. But in his face we saw God's light shining in that darkness. We offered to sing a Christmas carol to cheer him up- he suggested "Joy to the world".

As we sang softly - not wanting to distribute too much the other patients in the ward - he just sang heartlity and loudly. The words were not well articulated - it is tough to articulate when you have a tube stuck up your nose - but the sprint of God's light and hope was bright and clear with every word he sang: Joy to the world,the Lord has come.

I asked him if there was anything in particular he would like me to share with his pastroral colleagues for prayer. He said, "I pray God's blessing upon all of them and their families this christmas."

I had expected a prayer request for his healing and comfort. But his first thought was to pray for others to experience blessing.

This is Christmas "light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).

We may be people "living in a time of darkness". The shadow of death or disease is over us, but it will not overcome the light of Christ that shines in the darkness.

This is the Christmas message and it is also our Christmas mission - To not only be grateful for the light if God which shines in our darkness. But also to let that light shine through our darkness to bring hope and joy into the lives of others.

We don't have to wait till we are confined to a hospital bed before God light can shine through us.

Maybe a simple but science greeting, or gift that you give someone who may be feeling unappreciated or even depressed can bring God's light.

This is one way to celebrate the birth of Christ in our lives: by thinking of something beautiful that we might do, to bring a bit God's Christmas light into the life of say, a domestic helper or office colleague, or in law ?

May the light, Love and Peace of Christmas surround us all as we seek to stay

On TRAC Together for God's Word, Worship, Welcome, Witness and Wonder

Rev Dr Gordon Wong
TRAC President