A Christmas Witness
From 26 December
A votive candle was burning brightly near the entrance to the house next door, its flickering light dancing across the carved red and gold surface of the family shrine. Children's faces were pressed against the security grill, trying to get a look at the visiting group of strangers visiting their neighbor. The scent of joss sticks and incense lingered faintly in the night air.
Dressed semi-formally in dark pants, white shirts, and ties, we arrived in a small convoy of vehicles. With (almost) military precision, we entered our host's compound and took up formation. With the strum of a guitar and a "1-2-3 . . ." we began to sing.
This is how the BCCM-Sandakan English congregation goes a-caroling. Over the course of three nights in mid-December, the homes of nearly sixty of church members, friends, and neighbors all across the city are visited. To accomplish this remarkable feat, the carolers are split into two teams of 15-20 people making about ten house-calls each night.
At each stop, the carolers sing of Angels and Shepherds and of a Savior born Away in a Manger and prayers are spoken for the family and its members. At each house the carolers are received hospitably - sometimes with a handshake and a smile, sometimes with a veritable feast.
In each of these acts, public expressions of Christian Faith and Hope and Love are shared with one another and with the neighbors who, like the children next door, press their face to the grill yearning to hear more.
This is no accident.
In a country where Christians make up less than 10% of the national population, their voice is often hard to hear in the midst of Malaysia's multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-racial national dialogue.
As the celebration of Christmas captures the nation's imagination, Church leaders here understand the holiday as an opportunity to share the Good News with those who have not yet seen and have not yet heard it - those who stand just beyond the proverbial gate.
In Sabah, especially, it is a message one sees in displays like the Gaya Street Christmas Celebration, one hears in Christmas Eve sermons and one sings about in the city streets.
For many in the U.S., myself included, Christmas is celebrated 'privately' with extended family, close friends, and returning home for the holidays. For our brothers and sisters in places like East Malaysia, it is a very 'public' affair - an opportunity for the Christian Community to step into the spotlight and for the Gospel to shine.
And shine it does in ways that are bright and colourful and beautiful and bold.
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| A Christmas Carol in Sandakan - Dec 2011 |
Dressed semi-formally in dark pants, white shirts, and ties, we arrived in a small convoy of vehicles. With (almost) military precision, we entered our host's compound and took up formation. With the strum of a guitar and a "1-2-3 . . ." we began to sing.
This is how the BCCM-Sandakan English congregation goes a-caroling. Over the course of three nights in mid-December, the homes of nearly sixty of church members, friends, and neighbors all across the city are visited. To accomplish this remarkable feat, the carolers are split into two teams of 15-20 people making about ten house-calls each night.
At each stop, the carolers sing of Angels and Shepherds and of a Savior born Away in a Manger and prayers are spoken for the family and its members. At each house the carolers are received hospitably - sometimes with a handshake and a smile, sometimes with a veritable feast.
In each of these acts, public expressions of Christian Faith and Hope and Love are shared with one another and with the neighbors who, like the children next door, press their face to the grill yearning to hear more.
This is no accident.
In a country where Christians make up less than 10% of the national population, their voice is often hard to hear in the midst of Malaysia's multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-racial national dialogue.
As the celebration of Christmas captures the nation's imagination, Church leaders here understand the holiday as an opportunity to share the Good News with those who have not yet seen and have not yet heard it - those who stand just beyond the proverbial gate.
In Sabah, especially, it is a message one sees in displays like the Gaya Street Christmas Celebration, one hears in Christmas Eve sermons and one sings about in the city streets.
For many in the U.S., myself included, Christmas is celebrated 'privately' with extended family, close friends, and returning home for the holidays. For our brothers and sisters in places like East Malaysia, it is a very 'public' affair - an opportunity for the Christian Community to step into the spotlight and for the Gospel to shine.
And shine it does in ways that are bright and colourful and beautiful and bold.
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