wushubear's Xanga

So Thankful for Resurrection. No Hope Without It

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:09:14 GMT

My Grandma (Nai Nai, as we would call her) was a tough and energetic lady who dearly loved her grandkids. She used to knit sweaters for us (very useful growing up in Canada). In public, she would always enthusiastically run up to people, whether friends at church or complete strangers in the mall, to proudly declare "this is my grandson!" (in Chinese of course, regardless of whether the other party knew any Chinese). She left this world Saturday, Aug 29, 2009 shortly after lunch, at the age of 97. Now Jesus has robed her in greater splendor than any earthly wool. He will not be ashamed to declare "this is my beloved daughter" before the world. This funeral sermon, based on 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 was delivered in Chinese and English on Friday, Sept 4, 2009 before family and friends.

Hope is word we use in a couple different ways. Sometimes, we say, “hope,” meaning wishful thinking, like, “I hope it will rain tomorrow.” But the Bible means something else. In the Bible, hope is confidence in something we don’t yet see. Now resurrection, eternal life, that sort of thing sounds good, but what is the evidence? It’s not our daily experience to see people rising from the dead. There’s no scientific law for it. The proof is 2000 years ago on Easter day when Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave.

This is what 1 Corinthians is getting at. Some people were saying that there is no resurrection of the dead. But if there isn’t, then what is the point? Does Christianity solve your problems and give you “Your Best Life Now”™? I don’t think that Christianity “simply works” for the hundreds of thousands who have and still do suffer, are tortured, are murdered because of the name of Christ. And even if it did, what good is that to Grandma now? What good will it be to you when you lie cold in the grave? What good is faith, if it is just a fairy tale? What good is hope if death has the last word? What good is love if it is not forever? What good are all our accomplishments; what good is even forgiveness of sins? Vs 17-19: “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life, we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”

If we’re honest, there’s a lot of misery in life, and being Christian doesn’t make us any more immune. But in Christ, we have a better hope. Better than respect and status. Better than lots of children. Better than health and wealth. Better than universal health coverage and economic prosperity. Because in vs. 20, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” There’s a lot God is telling us from this verse and the next few. But we need to hear two things from this. First, this world, filled with brokenness and misery and death, is not the way things should be. Second, the resurrection of Jesus means that he will make all things the way they ought to be.

First, things are not the way they should be. The Bible tells us that God made this world good. The world did not start from a cosmic conflict, but it began at peace. The Bible doesn’t find the world’s foundations in cold logic, but in love and joy. God made us in his image. We were not designed to die; we were designed to live forever, to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. But the Bible tells us, (vs 21-22), that in Adam, all die. Sin and rebellion against God changed the way the world works. For once, our gut instinct in this case is more fundamentally correct than the scientific facts. Death of a human being is unnatural. It tells us that something is desperately wrong with the world. Death is not a universal fact. It is a historical intruder and an enemy. And the history of redemption shows that God is pretty good at dealing with his enemies.

And this brings us to the second point: the resurrection of Jesus means that he will make all things the way they ought to be. You see our brokenness isn’t just a “fact of life” but had historical beginnings with a person, Adam. In the same way, God’s solution doesn’t come in some universal law, philosophical law, or even a spiritual law. The solution comes in a person in history – Jesus Christ. Again, vs. 21-22: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” So Adam’s sin changed the world for the worse; Jesus’ death and resurrection shows a much better change. Change you can believe in. Salvation is more than personal fire insurance or a ticket to Disney. Everything will change. In one sense, the change is already here. It is Jesus, risen from the dead, in a body that cannot be touched by death. That’s what it’s going to be; that’s what it means that Jesus is the firstfruits. But in another sense, the world change is not yet. We don’t see it with our eyes.

But through God’s word, the Bible, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we do see Jesus. We see Jesus crucified on the cross for our sins. We see the Lord of Life himself succumbing under the power of death. And in death’s domain, Jesus turns the tables. He smacks death in the mouth, leaving death without a single tooth. He is risen. He is risen!

Death is still an enemy. But in the midst of sorrow, resurrection plants a seed of laughter. Grandma lives right now. She’s away from her body, away from us for the time being. But she’s with Jesus now, more peaceful and happy than ever. And when Jesus comes back to gather all who belong to him, he’s going to stop by this place. He’s going to open this crypt and bring Grandma out. She’s not going to need her glasses or hearing aid; she’s going to see her Savior and hear the voice of the Shepherd perfectly well. She’s not going to need dentures, but will eat at the wedding feast of the Lamb with her full set of teeth. She won’t need to look for pretty clothes to wear because Jesus will clothe her more beautifully and gloriously than ever known.

Death will get a taste of his own bitter medicine and die once and for all. And all sin, brokenness, loneliness, sorrow, fear, pain will be put to an end. It’s because resurrection isn’t just coming back to life to face more of the same. Resurrection is life in the full presence of God and a world where everything is made as it ought to be, forever. And it’ll be a great party. The saints of God from the beginning of time from around the world will be there. I look forward to hanging out with some of my favorites: St. Paul, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, and, of course, St. Grandma.

As joyful as that will be, the greatest joy will be in seeing one face in particular: the face of the one who died for us and rose again – Jesus Christ, Savior and God, Redeemer and Friend.

May as well jump on the bandwagon...

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:58:53 GMT

... and make a blog post of it since it only happens once: Happy 500th birthday, John Calvin. Did I do anything to commemorate? Sleep in. Eat Cheeseboard pizza. Get groceries at Safeway. Consider ordering a new book on Calvin. Decide I have too many other unread books at the moment. Read blogs. Write dumb comments. Begin rereading Witsius. Practice Wushu. Think about posting a cool Calvin quote. Shrug and post this instead.

Does Death Deserve Better?

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:59:21 GMT

In the aftermath (or midst?) of a string of tragic high-profile deaths this year, I wonder if our internet/media culture has replaced the traditional somber silence with busy racket.

I guess it's scary when I find myself thinking like Carl Trueman:
Jacko: A Very English Death Scene

Making Exhibitions of Ourselves

And The Number 3 World-Changing Idea is...

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:20:17 GMT

A friend sent me a link to Time Magazine's "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now." I don't know if it's in any particular order, but clocking in at number 3 is the New Calvinism (click here for the link). Putting aside for now the obvious American-centric selection of ideas that Time chose to herald as world-changing, I find it a little curious why of all (American) religious movements, neo-Calvinism would be singled out. Aren't the post-modern emergents and the neo-pagan gurus far more prevalent in the culture? At least they seem to sell more books. And when everything these days seems to have a "post-" or "neo-" prefixed, perhaps it says something about our times.

Perhaps the warm-fuzzy mysticism that emergent Christians and neo-pagans have in common is no longer seen as world-changing because that's what the world (American world?) has become. Or arguably, it is how the world always has been, to one degree or another (especially if we drop the "warm-fuzzy "part). Or maybe neo-Calvinism happens to be the idea most likely to get a rise out of someone. But is neo-Calvinism really so world-changing? R. S. Clark, in Recovering the Reformed Confession, compellingly identifies some of the past heroes of neo-Calvinism such as Jonathan Edwards and Martyn Lloyd-Jones with what he calls QIRC and QIRE (quests for illegitimate religious certainty/experience, from the perspective of the historic confessions of the Protestant Reformation), meaning there are certain affinities with today's dominant spiritual and religious landscape. One might then wonder whether neo-Calvinism's world-changing stock is sufficiently different. Movements come and go, and at the end of the day, Ecclesiastes is vindicated when it says, "there is nothing new under the sun."

One thing I appreciate about many self-proclaimed paleo-Calvinists (with whom I tend to identify more) is the lack of pretension or triumphalism that often comes with world-changers. Or is the more appropriate label, neo-paleo-Calvinists? Something about being busy trying to speak a Gospel of life in a messy, repetitious world filled with tentative, double-edged solutions. It doesn't have to be dour, but can be as fun and full of smart-alecs as any world-changing idea or movement, as demonstrated by the folk over at the Nicotine Theological Journal.

Always Trust a Brit to Rain on your Parade

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:59:45 GMT

Carl Truman on the Virtue of Spoiling Ballot Papers

----------------

Churches fare no better, particularly as I repeatedly encounter on the blogosphere comments that attempt to be fair-minded, yet end up labeling one side or another as "the enemy." Sure Jesus speaks of loving and praying for your enemy. But since it seems to me a fairly major stretch to claim that our political leaders are out to get us, whether it be Obama, McCain, or Bush, isn't it more fair-minded to invoke the category of "neighbor"? It's perfectly okay to disagree with your neighbor without turning him into your enemy.

When the churches confuse the earthly kingdom for the heavenly kingdom, good advice for good news, the law's commands (imperatives) for the gospel's promises (indicative), and a personal Jesus (i.e. imaginary friend) for the Jewish carpenter from Galilee who was crucified, risen and ascended in real time and space, it becomes no surprise that we look no different from your run-of-the-mill power-hungry, entertainment-obsessed worldly institution.

Whether it takes the form of Falwell's fire and brimstone, or Osteen's smiley platitudes, "do more" and "try harder" sets a bar for people who measure up and people who don't. Sucks for those who don't. Christ, on the other hand, levels all of us as those needing rescue and not just propping up. Someone once described Christ as the most inclusive of all exclusive truth claims because it's not about how good or bad we are; it's about an external word that kills the old self, and makes alive a new self. Acceptance and forgiveness has nothing to do with how we measure up, but is due to Christ who measured up on our behalf. Maybe it's we ourselves who are really our own worst enemies.

And if can stop identifying one set of politics as being the gospel, and another as being anti-Christ, maybe the actual gospel of Christ and what he has done could get a better hearing. As Michael Horton writes in Christless Christianity, "They may not like our message anyway, but at least they might be relieved that we have stopped holding ourselves up as the way, the truth, and the life."

I found this affecting...

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:59:25 GMT

... I haven't even listened to any of SCC's music in almost a decade. But for whatever reason, this story has stayed on my mind all day.

The Internet: Messin' with my Brain?

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:57:19 GMT

The blog of one of my former professors led me to a fascinating article by Nicholas Carr in the May/June issue of The Atlantic. All the more provocative since I too get the sinking feeling that I'm less able to sit down with a book and read and digest it cover-to-cover now than I was a few years ago. There's a lot of parallels with what Neil Postman was saying in Amusing Ourselves to Death.

The full article can be found here:
Is Google Making Us Stupid?

And some excerpts to whet your appetite:

When the Net absorbs a medium, that medium is re-created in the Net’s image. It injects the medium’s content with hyperlinks, blinking ads, and other digital gewgaws, and it surrounds the content with the content of all the other media it has absorbed. A new e-mail message, for instance, may announce its arrival as we’re glancing over the latest headlines at a newspaper’s site. The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration....

...Never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today. Yet, for all that’s been written about the Net, there’s been little consideration of how, exactly, it’s reprogramming us. The Net’s intellectual ethic remains obscure.

Oh Yeah... I have a Blog....

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:36:58 GMT

Despite discovering that I'm capable of churning out 100 pages of research in a semester, whipping up one or two 10 page sermons a week, and grinding out 50 pages of talk in 3 days, I'm not a particularly prolific writer. Writing is usually something I have to just sit down and force myself to do. When I was in early grade school, I recall being required by the teacher to write regular journal entries, something I had obstinately refused to do. Back then, I didn't feel like I had anything I wanted to write about. But now that I have plenty of thoughts, ideas, random musings ... I guess some habits just persist.

The Joys of Civic Service
This week, I just finished serving on the jury of a 10 day civil lawsuit. We spent two days in deliberations. I get tired just thinking about it. The court did buy us lunch during deliberation days though -- our tax dollars put to good use, I guess. A little funny how they chaperoned us to the restaurants, to make sure we weren't talking about the case outside of the deliberations room.

I agreed with our verdicts, but still kinda question if the damages we awarded to the plaintiff were a bit too high. The problem is, everyone has a different intuition for how someone ought to be financially compensated for non-economic damages (basically the emotional harm), and even the law that we were given admits there are no guidelines for figuring it out. While I'm not against the concept of non-economic compensation per se, this experience has not inspired much confidence in the competence of juries to decide. But at least we all agreed that the plaintiff's lawyer was asking way too much. Even the most ardently pro-plaintiff among us were blinking their eyes in disbelief when the attorney suggested that the non-economic award be 100x the economic damages.

One more benefit of jury service was that I managed to finish reading another two books during the waiting that occurred throughout the trial. That's not exactly something you can do while working in a research lab.

Back to the Lab
So one of the first things I accomplish back in the lab is that I fry my laptop. I set it to firewire drive mode in order to transfer files to another computer, but without thinking, I plugged in the cable while both computers were still on. *snap, crackle, pop* and the smell of solder fumes filled the air. The good news is that my laptop actually still functions. But now half the ports are dead. I guess now it's kinda like having a Macbook Air ... except 8 years older and over twice the weight.

These days, I hook up electrodes to people's heads and record the signals from their brains (this is called electroencephalography or EEG for short), while flashing images for them to stare at. Yeah, visual neurology is something of a change from laser physics. Although both involve recording lots of dubious data in a dark room. Except this time humans are the subject of experimentation. So yes, we have to go through ethics training (which involves reading a few pages on the web and taking online multiple-choice quizzes that you can retake as often as you like). But that still doesn't stop us from giving instructions such as, "Relax, but don't move; keep focusing at the center of the screen and try not to blink." Try doing that for several hours at a time, while sitting on an office chair that constantly wants to roll away. We may be reintroducing the MTV generation to something akin to Chinese water torture.

So is the MDiv Being Put to Use?
As for my licensure with the OPC, that's been delayed again, so at the earliest, I won't finish until this fall's stated meeting of presbytery. I took my first exams in August last year. How long does it usually take to go through licensure exams? A year seems a little much.

While having no regular position, a lot of weekends are spent filling empty pulpits. In mid July, I actually have a speaking engagement for a retreat in St. John's, Newfoundland, at the church I was a part of ... back in the days when my grade school teachers were trying to get me to write in my journal.

Oh, and speaking of writing, I have a short article published in a student-launched journal at UC Berkeley, intended to be something of a Christian forum. You can find the whole issue at unknowngodjournal.com. Finally read Tim Keller's The Reason for God (a recommended read, btw), and found a lot of parallels between my article and his book, particularly with the last chapter. Is it a good thing or a scary thing to think like Keller?

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:05:39 GMT

Happier Things... Like Wushu!
So I've been rebuked for posting recently only about disasters and tragedies. Well, now for something entirely different. Cal Wushu has just held tryouts tonight for collegiate team placement. Back in the day when I was still competing, there were no limits on how many teams (of 6) each school could send. There was one year when Cal fielded 5 teams. Although we would clearly stack 2 of the teams quite intentionally, the others would represent a good mix of beginners with more experienced people. They would be a great avenue for team bonding, and motivation for people of all skill levels to push their wushu to the next level, and to help each other at it.

Well, those days are over. Stanford, who's hosting this academic year's collegiate wushu tournament has changed the rules, capping each school at a maxiumum of 2 teams. Thus the need to hold tryouts. Instead of matching up bright-eyed eager beginners with club veterans, the poor beginners get to look on longingly from the sidelines while only those of qualified rank are allowed to strive to represent. So much for the days when collegiates was one of the few beginner-friendly tournaments around.

But I must say I'm proud of everyone who braved the floor, under the scrutinizing eye of unsmiling judges (at least I was trying not to smile too much... have to simulate actual tournament conditions). For some of you, it was apparently your first time under the competition spotlight; a few of you, visibly flustered, made mistakes which never occured during practice. But it's good that you discover this reaction to the stress now than at the actual tournament. You'll be better prepared for the real thing. And don't worry. I'm encouraged to see your progression, and we have a few more months to progress further.

I don't know how many wushu people actually read my blog, but just a few general comments for those of you who do. These are consolidated from the notes I took on your forms.

Stancework: low and solid. It seemed quite often that many of you were hoping our attention would be so distracted by your weapon that we'd neglect to notice your feet. Stances are no less foundational to weapon forms as they are for empty-hand forms. Keep them low, even with a sword in hand. And when entering a stance, it must prove firm. I know our floor is slippery, but try to avoid wobbles and bobbles. Falling over is right out. And for the bow stance, your back foot must be solidly planted on the floor. I saw many a sole of a shoe during bow stances. I dunno about you, but I feel the stress on my knee if I do that. It also shows that the power is not driving from the stance through the waist, but it's the upper body moving and dragging the lower with it.

Upper body: extension! This is longfist (well, for most of us), and this is your time to look cool and dynamic just like your favorite comic book heroes. Reach with your strikes -- usually this means at the end of the punch or spearhand or backfist, the elbow is not going to be bent. The power comes from your stances through the waist, not from your shoulders and arms. Be relaxed when you move and stop your motions with a snap -- every part of your body at once -- a strong "one-time finish." Don't start off fast, then gradually slow down a movement to its conclusion. Often that will lead to unfinished moves which are no longer clean or distinct.

Eyes: focus! I'm not sure what's so interesting on the floor, but many of you seemed fascinated by it. The eyes have to lead your movement to demonstrate your strength and intent. Eyes on target. Staring at the floor will only get you pounded in combat. As a demonstration sport, wushu must simulate that. The strong eyes part... not the getting pounded part. Similarly, head turns are not lackadaisical, but must be quick and in harmony with the action of the rest of your body.

Stepping: Some of you look like you're strolling; some look like you're hopping; some look like you're tip-toeing. Xin bu is none of these. It needs to be a very deliberate and quick step from heel to toe, knees slightly bent.

Endurance: Some of you started off really clean and strong! And then somewhere in the middle, it kinda fell apart. It's not good enough to have really good technique, but be unable to sustain it beyond 20 seconds. Quite often, the highest scores end up going to those who are the most consistent.

More can be said, but this is an earful (eyeful?) already. This wasn't meant to discourage anyone, but I hope it's helpful guidance. You guys have been working hard. Keep up the good work! Jia You!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:16:25 GMT

San Diego Burning
Wow, it's scary seeing San Diego go up in smoke for the second time in 4 years. Not that I'm around anymore to experience it firsthand. Back in Berkeley now, teaching wushu, filling pulpits on Sundays, and about to start working for a lab on campus, sticking electrodes on people's heads (no mind control... this is Berkeley after all). But four years ago -- as one of my first xanga entries testifies -- I was researching papers at Westminster Seminary as the fires burned just a couple miles away. Wouldn't have been able to do that this time, since the fires were burning in Westminster's back yard. Literally.

So far, the report is that the seminary and most of the neighborhood survived the first round. Trees on the perimeter of campus are singed as testimony to how close the fires came. But they're not out of the woods yet as the fires still threaten Escondido. Apparently, even the Wild Animal Park has suffered minor damage.

Looking through the readers' comments to CNN's stories on the fires, I'm a little amazed at the occasional inappropriate post amongst the general outpouring of sympathy and prayer. There's the comments that suggest that government policies are to blame, one way or another, for this disaster. I'm dying to hear of the perfect fire-proof policy these guys have in mind as an alternative. Even stranger are those who express no sympathy, suggesting that Californians themselves are to blame for their own loss for living in a location vulnerable to natural disaster. We'll have to remember that the next time one of these guys loses all his worldly possessions to the meteor that hits his house. Tough luck dude: it's your fault for living on planet Earth.