Teaching and research

In the past, anxiety builds up whenever I think of the opportunity cost of teaching as the lack of time to do research. This past trimester of school has taught me to put away the dichotomy in the categories of "teaching" and "research". I would have been worse off in terms of my academic reach if I had not taught the book of Daniel this term. No doubt, teaching is so time-consuming that one finds little time to revise a PhD thesis with the aim of publication or to write anything proper, such as an article length paper. To accomplish either is to sacrifice sleep and possibly health.
But I had a pleasant surprise at what I had accomplished this trimester with the book of Daniel. My understanding of the message of the book, the meaning of its prophecies and the context for its composition had grown tremedously, starting from scratch! Though I have studied the book of Revelation, I had not paid much attention to Daniel, apologetically because it rests in a totally different era and situation of composition. I see the common beastly images and the three and half years applied in Revelation, not neccesarily to mean the same thing as in Daniel.
But having done research on Revelation facilitates my understanding of Daniel. Both share the characteristics of the apocalyptic genre, albeit separated by time and space. There is a certain familarity with the tools to interprete Daniel and its compositional context.
As it is my first serious encounter with the book of Daniel, I just like to note some preliminary observations for further thought:
1. The context of Antiochus Epiphanes becomes increasingly prominent from chapter seven of the book. There is undeniable correlation between these parts and the the first and second books of the Maccabees, to the extent that even the temporal intrigues of the half seven years, 1290 and 1335 can perhaps take the cue from the timeline of the events narrated in First and Second Maccabees, despite discrepancies between the two books. There is clear equivalence between the "abomination that causes desolation" in Daniel and in the Maccabees, and the contexts of the persecution of observing Jews by the little horn in Daniel.
2. A difficulty in Daniel lies in pinpointing the exact context for its composition. What situation has prompted the redactor-author to put together the prophecies Daniel received? I opt for a late date for the composition of the whole work: the prominence of the second century BCE context, which sums up the book--is too striking to be disregarded. (But this does not mean that I see the visions Daniel received as ex-eventu. They were received as dated in the book of Daniel, but were simply collated by a much later redactor for his purposes.) So could the perseuction of the Jews in Judaea by Antiochus Epiphanes have been the reason for the admonishment to remain steadfast until the end of 1335 days? How is one to understand the countdown in 12:12?
3. The other difficulty is the interpretation of the various time frames spelt out in the seventy sevens of  9.24-27. Other visions/dreams  have been quite well interpreted by commentators.

a Maundy Thursday reflection

I planned a Maundy Thursday program, and yesterday night we had a quiet time of meditation and reflection on Jesus --his life and his death, and our response to him.
The music consisted of a number of budding soloists in our church, who through their hardwork, delivered their heartfelt rendition of the music and a number of pieces put together from various CD for meditation during the candle lighting and the holy communion. The PA people ran like clockwork. I was impressed by their precision despite the complicated parts needed to be operated on the machines. A particular clip in the Barabbas movie showing the stripes of Jesus and the setting free of Barabbas was particularly moving. When Barrabas emerged as a free man into the light from his underground cellar, he caught sight of the purple robed Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. Jesus was later put under the weight of his cross. The cross that Barabbas could have borne himself! 

Barabbas became the symbol representing the congregation in the script. Fictionally, his prayer in response in awe of his salvation through the cross of Jesus was meant to represent the congregation-- who likewise brought with oursleves our own bondage, hurts and troubles. In our place, it was Jesus on the cross who had borne it all, as Isaiah 53:4-5 writes in prophecy: 

"Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

The session closed with a prayer said as a response representing the congregation. Upon request, I tried to pen from memory when I reached home:

"Tonight, Lord Jesus, we bring our brokenness to you. Through your wholeness, you could make us whole, through your strength, our weaknesses are swallowed up in your strength. Heal us, bear our burdens and reorder our lives. We need you, as individuals and as a church community. Break down bondages, so that as a whole community we can be renewed and saved. As you rise on the third day, you bring your powerful resurrection to our midst. We thank you for living in suffering out of love -- a love that chose to die so that we may live."

year end report

It is year end, and it is time to take stock of God's grace in our lives. Three reflection pieces/updates doing just that stirred up something latent in me as I read them. To a sister and a brother in church who shared of their life experiences and thanksgiving to God, I wrote back in response:

"...It is so good to have such warm memories, and even better that we take time to savour them. Let us not be pressed into the mould of today's society, in which many things are so mechanical and routine, that people can function like machines passing through life without savouring the experience. Let us instead be sensitive to God's working in our life and his manifold blessings, however ordinary they may seem to be."

"...it gives a glimspe to your reflection on life incidents. It is always good to be connected with things happening in life, and not live life in oblivion, or in total haste. Few people have time to reflect nowadays." 

My two responses speak of a real threat of oblivion -- of which we can find ourselves in when we are too busy to think, to feel and to experience.

The yearly update of a former supervisor stirred up something deeper within me. Indeed so, because I was there prior to two years back, and there were some common memories... To see how things finally turned out testifies to God's faithfulness -- indeed God is faithful to those who persevere in Him. But the Christmas update also led me to reflect on my progresses these two years. The saddest notion came upon the realization that I have gradually lost touch with what drives me along, and had gradually grow to be contented with the present situation. I realise that there is still a research dream latent in me, now buried evermore deeply in the layers of my heart. I thus mulled in response to his sharing:

 "For me teaching in Singapore was enjoyable in the sense that it was like a continuation of PhD research! Preparing lessons was like doing some piecemeal research, and revisiting things I should have learnt during PhD days! Of course, days were hectic and quite lack of rest during term time. I miss the long stretch of time to concentrate on one project, and also the excellent library facilities in UK. So I have been giving pressure to the librarian and my dean to stock up the library here! [forgive me here...]  The researcher in me did not die after PhD ended... As for my attempts to publish, they were very modest, and quite slow compared to some of my other PhD mates...! But I have not given up hope of doing it, as I still believe what I have in my thesis is really a step forward in the understanding of the book of Revelation."

It is up to me to make this work. I am given a chance to revise my thesis for a second assessment of its suitablity for publication in a particular series. But next week, a new teaching term starts.

Seminar on Leadership Tensions 领导的张力讲座

There will be a Chinese seminar on the 15th November （11月15日） at TCA College (Singapore) on the topic of tensions in leadership. The two speakers will be approach the topic differently, one from the situation of the first century, the other from the situation today.

Dr Leong will analyze the conflicts or tensions between leaders and activists in the early church of the first century, namely the tensions/conflicts between Apostle Paul, Peter, James (the Just), and fanatics of the Jewish law. One may perhaps find fresh perspectives for looking at similar situations today. Dr Koh will speak on a model for transforming conflicting visions into impetus for growth. This may be helpful to resolving conflicts in today's churches.

More detials/讲座细节

A small Thece gathering in Singapore

Today our precious friends who share a common Edinburgh memory gathered at my place to celebrate the visit of Simon from Taiwan. It is good to get connected and be updated of how each of us has progressed since graduation. I tried to cook up something for them. It is a happy occasion.