A Banquet on 18th August

Singapore is going to celebrate her 43rd birthday tomorrow (9th August). “Regrettably”, Singaporeans missed out on the beautiful date 8.8.08 by just one day, an auspicious date to the Chinese and the specially chosen date for China to host her first Olympic Games. Noteworthy, however, is that no matter what the numbers in the date are, it (the date per se) bodes nothing really significant to Christians, non-Chinese and non-superstitious folks. The numbers aside, the events themselves (National Day and Olympics) are of course momentous to the celebrants, bringing them great pride and joy.

It is possible for everyone to enjoy a great event and remember the message of import without being sidetracked by superfluous considerations. For example, as people around the world anticipate the approaching modern Olympics with excitement, they can dwell on the significance and meaning of the Olympic torch, flag, rings, etc., without misplacing their focus on the ancient myths and religious associations that the Games carried. Similarly, as we Singaporeans celebrate our National Day with heartiness, we can dwell on how a young nation came to be, the meaning of the symbols on our National flag, the industry of our forefathers, the foresight and contributions of our leaders, etc. All the good things that we remember appreciatively help us to value the past, draw on the weighty lessons and keep the right bearing now to assure continuing national stability and well-being for future generations. As a Christian, I join my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in appreciating God’s hand in everything and every happening. It is right that we give thanks and praise to God for all the blessings that we are able to enjoy.

It is certainly right for us to thank God. It is right too for us to show our appreciation to our leaders. All this we do in the broad context of remembering both the spiritual and the human sources of our good life (饮水思源). It becomes out of place if, in doing that which is right, we opportunistically go off-tangent to sing our own praises – boasting to other nations (and maybe denigrating their “inferior” leadership), or gratuitously allowing self-accolades to earn the applause of men. We can truly praise God without the praise of men flowing off from it by design. Sometimes, people extol the virtues of great men of the past or great leaders of the present all for the respectable purpose of encouraging the young generation to emulate the good works of their ancestors and elders. This should be done with care, to avoid the unpleasantness of the act being mistaken for self-congratulation.

In connection with our National Day, there will be a special banquet at the Padang on 18th August hosted by a group from several churches “to honor our founding church fathers – those who served God within the nation of Singapore between the years 1959 – 1978. Many of these precious fathers in the Lord are still with us and serving God while some have gone on to be with the Lord. 1959 would mark the year Singapore came under ‘self – government’ and 1978 would mark the occasion when Dr. Billy Graham pronounced a new name over Singapore as the ‘Antioch of Asia’.”

I came to know that the invitation has been sent out by the group “to all pastors of the city to be a part of a prophetic moment in the history of our nation.”

Why is our National Day a prophetic moment? The organizer of the banquet explains it as follows:

“Lev 25:8-10 'Count seven times seven years, a total of forty-nine years. V9. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement, send a man to blow a trumpet throughout the whole land. V10. In this way you shall set the fiftieth year apart and proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants of the land. During this year all property that has been sold shall be restored to the original owner or his descendants, and anyone who has been sold as a slave shall return to his family.' (NIV)

"This year Singapore as a nation completes 'six cycles' ( 7 X 6 = 42 ) and commences her 'seventh' and her last cycle ( 43 – 49 + 1 = 50 ), as she enters into her very 1st Jubilee in August 2015.

" At this very important 'point of transition' ( 42 turning 43 ), we are sensing that God is calling us, as Pastors and Leaders of the Church of Singapore, to receive the "Father's" (Church Fathers Of Our Nations ) blessings at this very important junction / juncture, to take Singapore into her Jubilee blessings over the next seven years ( 2008 – 2015 ).”

A special highlight of the banquet is that “the Minister overseeing all families in Singapore, Dr Vivian will be sharing with us a vision, a vision that concerns the families and the future of our children and our nation.” Apart from the 18th August event, “on 9 July, the Director, Rehabilitation, Protection & Residential Services of MCYS, Mr. Jason Wong, will be joining us to share this vision briefly with us. In particular, he will be sharing the SPIRITUAL significance behind this vision and the blessings that this will add to the churches. Many of us know Jason Wong as the man who spearheaded the nation-wide Yellow Ribbon Project in 2004, whilst he was a Directorate member of the Singapore Prisons Service and the CEO of SCORE.”

The planners of the banquet have good intentions to draw on the festive mood to rejoice and remind people of the blessings enjoyed and, at the same time, give a word of counsel regarding what is to come vis-à-vis the spiritual vision. However, I understand that not all pastors of the city share the fervour about the merit of the banquet by the way that its purpose is articulated. Hence, I expect that only some but not all pastors of the city will enthusiastically turn up on the occasion. Here is one view held, suggesting that the purpose of the banquet is not well stated:

“There are many who like to ‘spiritualise’ things that are not spiritual in nature. I don't know why. Maybe it is better sound bites among Christians. Be careful not to get your hot buttons pressed without thinking. I won't mind if they bill this as an appreciation for the founding leaders of the churches in Singapore. But to make it sound so mystical and spiritualise the event, with special blessings etc. given out sounds very much like the Middle Ages when special dispensation from the Pope was often worded as such. Furthermore it uses scriptures wrongly using a passage on the establishment of the Jubilee in the Jewish calendar to call for special significance for unabashed promotion of their event during this year in the nation's history.”

Different persons are entitled to different views. Personally, I wonder whether the word "vision" is being overused by many people such that it becomes difficult to understand whether this vision is the same as that vision when anything ranging from respectable human foresight to divine revelation, as well as from dream to illusion, has the tendency of being cloaked with an aura of spirituality that the V-word carries. Without doubt, our Church Fathers are worthy of our respect, admiration and emulation for their faith and contribution; but I do not think it is very appropriate to raise them up with human honour on a day "very special". Noting that "Many of these precious fathers in the Lord are still with us and serving God" (as the invitation mentions), the human high praise, especially with public prominence, may be a tad immodest.

I am also puzzled by what I would consider as a tenuous link between the Year of Jubilee (in Leviticus) and our National Day. (Maybe there is similarity I have yet to understand between the deliverance of the Israelites from their oppression under the Egyptians and the liberation of Singapore islanders from Malaysia.) Well, if we were to agree with the Leviticus passage, then we should not restrict ourselves to 25:8-10; we should go through all the instructions in the verses thereafter and make the connections with what we as a nation have to do today to seize the "prophetic moment in the history of our nation".
Of all the tasks that we have to do (by God's instructions in Leviticus), I think gathering for a grand banquet at the Padang with speeches by honorable leaders of the nation and raising praises for men (especially those mingling among us) is not of utmost significance, even if it has some meaning within the celebratory spirit of National Day. Whatever the good intentions, whatever the usefulness, whatever …, it is my view that a celebratory rejoicing with Singapore’s independence and success will be better off if the spiritualizing and prophecy-talk is not overdone.

Incidentally, I am just curious why the 7 x 7 years should count from Independence Day and not Modern Singapore's Founding Day (harking back to Sir Stamford Raffles) or Old Singapore's Founding Day (harking back to Sang Nila Utama) or the day the first inhabitant entered the land? (Rf Lev. 25:2). The Book of Leviticus is basically a set of legal rules about God's covenant with Israel. When we import the holy Word from B.C. (Before Christ) to A.D. (Anno Domini) for our study on their current relevance, Bible scholars would agree that it is not for literal adoption without giving due regard to the "Law fulfilled in Christ" fact!

In conclusion, I humbly beg to differ on the spiritual significance of the banquet planned for 18th August in relation to our National Day. On a non-spiritual perspective, however, a celebration with due recognition for the major contributions of this young nation’s founding leaders is beneficial in contributing some useful historical awareness for the current generation of people enjoying the fruits of our forefathers’ hard work.

John