a short break

To all my faithful blog readers,

I will be taking a short 1 week break from blogging as I am currently attending a Summer school course conducted by Lauren Winner. There are lots of reading, lots of writing and of course, lots of thinking.

ks

Why English Language is Hard to Learn.

I am taking a break from the biblical exposition. I find this rather interesting. It has been so widely published that I do not know who to give credit to.

REASONS WHY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS HARD TO LEARN

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) 1 had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth teeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal?

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who are spring chickens or who would actually hurt a fly?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it?

(G) And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

[and Lead Us Not Into Temptation] The 'and' bridges this statement with the previous. After asking for forgiveness, the next thing is to desire to 'sin no more.' It is no use to apologize today, and continue to sin the same ways tomorrow. It mocks the very confession in the first place. It embarasses the one who forgives. It is like dirtying our clothes today in the same patch of mud, when we have been told by our parents not to play with mud again. This is a prayer of confession. Adam & Eve failed miserably. The mighty Samson was defeated because of being victimized by the antics of a cunning Delilah. King David yielded to temptation and suffered dire consequences. Even Jesus was not spared, having led to the dangerous wildernous for forty days and forty nights. Scriptures warn us against temptations. Timothy was urged to flee from temptations. This is a cry for mercy. If God wills, let us not be tempted in any way. We are confessing that we are not strong enough to withstand the full onslaught of temptations. This is a prayer of wisdom. Winning against temptations is not something that we want to trumpet and announce to the world. When we flash out our achievements, we are opening ourselves to other more sinister and insidious forms of temptations. This is a prayer for God's grace. It is a prayer that God will not test our love for him through the channel of temptations. We want to be motivated to love God and be faithful to God on the basis of love, not on the tough path of temptations, like what Job encountered. Let us be ever more eager to love God, and to define a 'temptation' as any attempt to shift our attention from gazing at the cross. The word 'massah' is often translated as temptation. This is a state in which the person fall into moments of discouragement and despair leading to negative heart attitudes like bitterness, scorn and dejection.

The word 'massah' comes from the root word fire, which is used to purify and to refine an object. Like producing pure gold after passing it through a fiery furnace, it tests and it purifies. The Israelites went through waters and fire for the Lord desires to bring their hearts back to him. It was never meant to be something to put them on the road to despair. This prayer is a moment to declare to God, that we do not want to behave like a disobedient Israel of old, but to willingly love and be faithful. God does not need to test us for the purpose of examining our desire to be faithful. Let our life speak. We do not need to rely on temptations to test our faithfulness.

This is a prayer of acknowledgement. All things are under God. God is sovereign. Whatever comes before us, we learn to accept, on the basis that God loves us. It is a statement of faith. It is like telling God, Do whatever it takes to accomplish your purposes of the kingdom, even if it means temptation. But in your mercies, do not choose to let me be tempted for I have already loved you. Spare me.

Remember, Simon Peter who were asked three times whether he loved Jesus. Peter was driven to tears on the third time, even hurt when he feels his love is questioned. Likewise, we do not want the Lord to doubt our desire to love and to be faithful to God. Lord, let us not be tempted in this aspect. Let our love for you be pure and steadfast. Lead us not into temptation.

"Create in me a clean heart, O LORD. And renew a right spirit within me." (Ps 51:10)

καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν,

(F) And Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

[And Forgive Us Our Trespasses ] As far as relationships are concerned, this is paramount. A common question is: "Should we forgive first, or seek forgiveness first?" A possible interpretation is that one must already have forgiven others before seeking forgiveness. Others indicate that it is first a forgiveness from the Lord. Yet it is also possible that this is a concurrent action. My interpretation is that we can only forgive as much as we are able to. What we are not able to forgive, we ask the Lord for help, willingly seeking God to empower us to forgive. This attitude of weakness, of willingness to forgive is a major attribute in prayer. A prayerful person is a forgiving person. A prayerless person often have problems forgiving others.

The word 'forgive' is a consistent verb in many English translations of Matthew 6:12. This verb (ἄφες) points to forgive, while the predicate nouns are translated in many different ways (our sins, our debts, our trespasses). It can be understood, that whatever offence we have done, whether intentional or unintentional, whether by thought, word or deed, we need to acknowledge we are in need of God's mercy. "In Your Mercies, Hear Our Prayers" ought to be a regular liturgical statement. In other words, whether they be sins others did against us, we forgive. Whether they be 'debts', we forgive them. Whether they be trespasses, an intrusion on our goodwill, we must be ready to forgive. The offences can be multidimensional, but the liberation via forgiveness is universal. Many problems, one solution. The complexities of many difficult relationships can be simplified with a simple act of forgiveness.

I believe that this prayer is best prayed by those who have already tried their best to forgive others, and still recognize that their best efforts are below God's standards. There is thus a two dimensional nature of forgiveness. If we have not forgiven others, how will we expect God to do likewise to us? In Matthew 6:13-14, the forgiveness theme is reiterated. Interestingly, this forgiveness is emphasized in both positive and negative terms after Matthew's rendition of the Lord's Prayer. This to me is an indication that any forgiveness or act of forgiveness must be done thoroughly, in mind, in word and in deed.

καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν,

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[As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us] Our desire to want to receive forgiveness must be in step with our acts of forgiveness. To excuse, to pardon, to absolve, to free others from their bonds are all various forms of setting others free from any selfish grip. I remember a story of a monkey, who saw a jar of ripe berries. On reaching the jar, the primate soon learn that the only way to the berries was by opening the closed cap and stretching its hand through it. Suddenly, upon hearing footsteps, the monkey grabs a large handful of berries and with its fingers clenched together tries to pull its hand out. Alas, the neck of the jar was too narrow for a clenched fist to go through. Can the monkey have the berries and escape? Or should the monkey free itself by letting go of the berries? Deciding that the berries were too good to miss out, the monkey continues its futile effort to pull its clenched fist out. Eventually, the monkey was caught, trapped in its own greed. The only way out is to let go of the berries. This letting go of berries is like a person letting go of his debtors. How can anyone rightfully ask for forgiveness, if he himself is not forgiving of others? Isn't it hypocritical?

This analogy is typical of a person wanting to receive mercy from others and is trapped by his own lack of mercy towards others, like the story of the ungrateful servant. The words 'even as' is a good rendition, that implies a connectedness between the two acts. There are at least three characteristics of forgiveness. First, this connection shows us that forgiveness is three-ways: God, ourselves and others. Secondly, forgiveness, as far as we are concerned is not contingent on others forgiving us. We are not responsible for others to forgive us. We can forgive ourselves, and we can ask God to forgive us. However, whether others will forgive us or not, we do not have to be accountable for that. It is their prerogative, it is their initiative. It is their choice and we should not be held responsible if others refuse to forgive us. What we are responsible for, is to clear away the leaves of our own bitterness that camouflages the path to true authentic, forgiven paths of relationships. We must sweep away any pretenses that we are always right. If there is a slightest chance that we can forgive others, we must pounce on it. We should not feel encaged by people who insist on trapping us by not forgiving us. Once we have forgiven others, it is up to them, not us, to reciprocate. Thirdly, forgiveness is to be done daily, as often as we ask for our daily bread. God withholds our knowledge of all our sins so that we are given adequate time to recover from our earlier confessions. Like a person rowing a canoe upstream, the moment we stop praying is like the moment in which we stop paddling. When that happens, the waters of sin will wash our canoe and ourselves plunging down towards the valley of destruction. If on the other hand, we pray daily, not only will the canoe overcome the waters, it will progress a good distance up the river. The arms of the paddler will get strengthened from frequent exercise, the virtuous character of goodness is developed further. Finally, God gets glorified.

Forgiveness Is the mightiest sword
Forgiveness of those you fear, Is the highest reward
When they bruise you with words
When they make you feel small
When it's hardest to take
You must do nothing at all...
-- Jane Eyre.

"Forgiveness is God's invention for coming to terms with a world in which, despite their best intentions, people are unfair to each other and hurt each other deeply. He began by forgiving us. And he invites us all to forgive each other." (Lewis Smedes)

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." (Philip Yancey)

We all need forgiveness, and it is God's grace to us, that we are not fully aware of all the forgiveness that we need at any one time. It can become so utterly humbling that we may feel too discouraged to live on. If we see all of our sins appearing before our eyes at the same time, we may throw up. Mercifully, God allows us to be aware of our sins, according to his mercies, and according to what we can tolerate at any one time. Like peeling an onion, as we peel off layer after layer of our manifold sins and weaknesses, (which we from time to time most greviously have committed,) let our tears of remembrance of our past acts, grieve us to repentance. With tears of beseeching others to forgive us, may we readily do the same. Let our lips be quick to apologize, our hearts be inclined to allow others the benefit of the doubt, and our knees to ask the Lord for mercy. Indeed, contrary to worldly ideas of strong, forgiveness is an act of strength, not weakness. Both the forgiving and being forgiven are to be asserted together, always.

ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν•

(E) Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

[Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread] 'lehem' is also translated as food, but we often read it as bread. This is not surprising as bread is a universal staple for many different ethnic communities worldwide. It sustains life. The Sustainer provides these food to keep us alive. We cannot manufacture such food. Farmers are all aware that they can do all the seeding, all the planting and all the watering. One thing they cannot do is to force the growth. Growth is an expression of grace from God to all creation. When we ask God for grace, we ask with a thankful heart that our God is not a vengeful God, but a constantly forgiving God. Imagine a divine God who faithfully supplies our needs despite the massive idolatry going on in all the world, where people worship other gods and created things rather than the Creator. It amazes me how patient and loving God is.

This prayer is a prayer of a personal need. We recognize we are not all powerful to provide for our own. Even our jobs is an act of grace from others. Think back on those times when we are awaiting our first interview, our first job appointment. In desperate times, when one is prepared to 'do anything' just to get a job, they are fully aware that they are in need of grace. What a contrast, after working for a few years, employees start to exert their 'rights', and become complacent about what they have and they ask for more. They start to design their ideal jobs, and sometimes put their employers at a dilemma by going on strike. It is true that sometimes, employees need to speak out against injustice in the workplace. Likewise, it is unfortunate that some employees tend to take advantage of their jobs, without sufficient regard for changing business conditions and the needs of the company. Our daily bread can also be understood as daily providence for our other needs, not only physical. There is a subtle difference between personal and individual. In prayer, one never enters God's presence as an 'individual' because the angels, the cloud of witnesses are always with him/her. It is personal in the sense that one is allowing his/her personhood to make that request, within the context of a community. This means that one allows his/her unique self and special circumstances to ask, not only for his/her own needs but how by receiving such needs, can one bless the community around. Since God makes everyone personally special, one comes to God in that personal capacity, and be blessed together. A true person has meaning only within an identified community, rather than a hermit lifestyle all the time.

This prayer is a prayer of a corporate kind. We ask for bread, not an individual bun. A loaf of bread is to be shared. We slice bread from a common dough. It is something that is best eaten together as a body. It is an opportunity to eat together so that we can build up relationships around. God is pleased to use food as a channel to bless communities. I am part of a bread pickup community, to collect bread from a bakery on weekends and to help distribute it to the needy on certain weekends for charitable purposes. It is a labour of love, and gratifying to see it as a means to bring some form of joy and happiness to the recipients. Bread has a universal appeal. Interestingly, the range of bread we have makes one feel spoilt for choice.

This prayer is a daily request. It is not simply a one sided request. It is an opportunity for God to hear our needs. It is one thing to give things regularly. It is yet another to hear a request. Imagine giving money to a third world country and receiving no news from them about how they are doing. It is always important to keep in touch as the giving is to people, not machines. It is one thing to throw in a quarter or a dime into a charity box, a faceless entity. It is yet another to give money to a human person. We cannot restrict donations, giving and receiving to merely a transaction. It will render things very impersonal. Relationships are never formed through a one-shot, one time event. It is by regular communion and constant keepingn in touch can it be built up. This prayer reminds us that it must be done regularly.

This prayer refers to 'this day', implying a limited request to a day only (yom). We should not worry too much about the future. Live a day at a time for tomorrow will have their set of worries and problems to take care of. The Lord understands our limitations. In this era of planning and time management techniques, we teach each other that those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Or those who aim at nothing will surely hit at nothing. We may become too paranoid that the planning for the future becomes worrying about the future. This prayer teaches us humility to trust the Lord to provide for us a day at a time, just like how he provides for the Israelites daily manna during their times in the wilderness.

τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον•

(D) Thy Will Be Done, On Earth as it is in Heaven

[Thy Will Be Done] This is a parallel to the earlier verse, Thy Kingdom Come. Sometimes interpreters treat them interchangeably. This is correct. Both means the same thing. That God be glorified through his kingdom and the working out of his will. The coming of the kingdom is his will. In an amazing translation from the Aramaic, Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz translates into English this verse as,

Create your reign of unity now
Your one desire then acts with ours,
As in all light,
So in all forms.

This prayer is a yearning of desiring to conform one's will with God. It spells willingness on the part of the person offering prayers. It pronounces a readiness of heart to accept whatever comes along the way. It speaks a language of openness the all things of God, forsaking everything else save for God alone. Like two hearts beating as one, two persons in a warm embrace, two hands in a firm hand grasp of unity all differences and all disputes are laid aside for the sake of that one will - God's will. When all the earth, and all the heavens and all the earth, kneel before the Lord in submission and obedience, there will be peace as the waters cover the sea. God's will be done, is an affirmation that whether past, present or future, the Lord's purposes will always prevail. Our delight is not in meeting our own needs but in gazing at the fulfilling of God's will both on earth as well as in heaven.

γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου

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[On Earth as it is in Heaven] God's authority, domain, jurisdiction extends throughout the heavens and all the earth. This is a prayer that acknowledges God the Creator has sovereignty over all creation, over time and space. Some say that we must not become so heavenly-minded that we have no earthly good. Others say we should not be too earthly-focused that we have no heavenly use. This prayer brings both extremes together under the Lordship of Christ. Whether we are heavenly-minded or earthly-focused, all comes under the authority of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Too often, we humans have given one another the ultimatum in terms of Either this or that, choose either/or heaven or earth. Some early Christian pilgrims get so disillusioned with the world, that they constantly sing "This world is not my home, I'm just passing through". The existentialists will choose instead to focus on the present reality rather than an invisible future. This prayer brings all of these perspectives together and render them incomplete statements of faith. If our God is sovereign over all, it does not matter whether we are on earth or in heaven. We do not need to wait for the future in order to praise and worship God. We do not need to fret that this present world is so full of imperfections that we refuse to rally our symphony of praise. We can do it now. We will do it in future. For worship of God is not bound by time. In our prayer for God's will to be done, we have proclaimed, that now and forever, God's will is continuing and will be perfectly done both now and in the future.

ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς•

(C) Thy Kingdom Come

[Thy Kingdom Come]. The kingdom is a recurrent theme in the gospels. It is a statement of people in the present, looking towards the future in hope, an eschatological outlook. The things of the present are nothing compared to the things that is to come. "More good days" say some. What is good? Nothing is 'good' if it is not accompanied by the presence of God. In the last days, doomsayers predict a gloom and doom ending. Prophecy in the Bible is interpreted with a pessimistic slant, mostly due to the contextual perception of events that is seen to be turning out for the worse. That is not the point in this prayer.

Instead, this is a prayer of anticipation. We look forward to the future because we know we have a heavenly father who loves us. Remember the first statement, Our Father? It is a recognition that a good loving Father will be with us through thick and thin. What excites believers is not whether good/bad things are going to happen. What keeps us watching out in faith and hope is the knowledge that the end comes with the presence of God, manifested by the coming of the Kingdom in all its glory. Heaven come down to earth. We will have a new heaven and new earth. It is a prayer of expectation, that the kingdom comes with angels and believers will be glad to present the church as a bridegroom in all its spiritual gifts exercised to be ready for Christ. It is a prayer of illumination, for we look to the future, not focused on the things we want, but a heart fully yielded to kingdom goals. Servants loyal to the Lord will be ready for the coming of the kingdom. We pray this prayer with that attitude of readiness that speaks, We are ready to serve and obey. We have done our best. It is what we ought to do. When we pray this prayer, we uproot ourselves from being too involved in worldly affairs, and to transplant our hearts and minds to kingdom values. Nothing earthly can ever match up to kingdom virtues. We pray for the coming of the kingdom in all that we do. We are essentially asking that the kingdom values be present in every part of our lives. We become willing vessels, ready conduits of grace and love to fly the flag of Christ in the castle of our hearts.

We must remember that it is not 'my' but 'thy' kingdom come. Beware of bringing in the church or bringing in the personal desires and goals. We must bring in the kingdom of God, and that is not to be confused with a worldly definition of kingdom. It is a kingdom that the world cannot understand, as long as it does not acknowledge Christ. On the other side, I think God the Father, is like the father figure in the parable of the prodigal son, wanting to run to us to give us a welcome hug, for us to return. The problem is not that God is not ready. We are too busy with trying to satisfy our own gratifications. God is granting us the grace of time to be ready. Hence we pray this line with an eye on one objective: TO BE READY. TO BE PREPARED. When we pray this, we are telling God that we are ready and prepared to do God's will.

ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου•