Alex Tang’s Advent Reflections – Blessed Hope
Dr Alex Tang, an adjunct faculty of EAST, is a man who wears many hats as a Senior Consultant Paediatrician at Johor Specialist Hospital, Associate Professor of Monash University School of Medicine in Malaysia, a member of many professional bodies, Chairman of the Johor Branch of the Malaysian Paediatric Association, founder of Spiritual Formation Institute at Holy Light Church in Johor Bahru and an elder at that church. He has recently penned an Advent Reflection for the upcoming Advent Season below.
Advent is my favourite season of the year. As the year draws to a close with numerous moments of drama, joy, and pain, I look forward to December, my designated Sabbath month: time for reflection, contemplation, and prayers. This is also the season of Advent, which always reminds me of hope. The first advent culminated in the birth of God incarnate to a young girl, and hope became flesh.
Advent, originating from ‘adventus,’ the Latin term for ‘coming,’ is a multifaceted season in the Christian calendar that transcends the mere anticipation of Christmas. It is a sacred period of spiritual introspection, a time for us to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the historical birth of Jesus Christ and contemplate His promised return. This dual nature of Advent imbues it with a depth and richness that is both reflective and forward-looking.
Reflection on recent elections
It has been just a week since Singapore held its General Elections and the dust of who won and lost in the various constituencies are slowly settling down. A local Christian website, Salt & Light, has a blog post which serves to remind us of our Christian civic duty to reflect, confess and repent in view of all that has been done and said. The author of the article said, “We do not put our trust in political systems, parties or personalities … Our charge is to honour the authorities (Romans 13:1-8)” and to “teach the next generation how to make sense of the topics of passion of their day through the lens of Scripture.”
Have a good read of today’s #SaturdayGoodRead and a blessed weekend!
The author, Ng Zhiwen, “is a connector. His passion is to see the Church united for the mission of God.” Read the article here.
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