Biggest Blessing Is Sharing My Faith
Bodies press against each other as everyone tries to get a better position in the line outside of Hong Kong’s most famous shrine, Wong Tai Sin Temple. There are hundreds of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, with only a thin rope holding the crowd in place.
We are waiting for the “year of the dragon” to begin.
I look around and realize that I’m the only one not armed with fistfuls of incense sticks. This is my first time experiencing Chinese New Year like this — in my parents’ homeland and with traditions that go back thousands of years. This is the most important festival for more than a quarter of the world’s population. The excitement from the crowd is electric as drums beat out the “count down.”
Finally, the clock strikes 11 p.m. The lunar year starts with a roar from the crowd as the rope drops. The mass of people surge forward, racing into the temple with their incense sticks raised high.
A gray haired man lunges at the altar and his incense stick is the first to touch the stone. Others crash in around him, just milliseconds behind. The man ignores the jostling and pushing around him that almost causes the statue to crash to the ground. He bows three times and closes his eyes in thoughtful prayer. He gained the honor of being the first to bring his offering to Wong Tai Sin, a Chinese deity who grants the power of healing. In exchange for the first offering of the year, he receives a special blessing.
All around me people are in awe of this special blessing, but my heart aches. What I see are people searching for peace and healing from a life filled with pain and struggle. Underneath this New Year’s temple ceremony is a real yearning to be “blessed” by the Giver of all blessings.
I came to Hong Kong to learn about my cultural heritage through the Chinese New Year’s celebration. As a first-generation American, I often live between two worlds.
God is giving me a better perspective when it comes to sharing Truth and love to others through my experiences this week. While the chaotic first minutes of this new year plays out before me, my mind drifts back to another altar I visited earlier today with my extended family:
Family Altar and Offerings
My aunt, Kuen Lai, laid out a whole-boiled chicken, roast pork and garden vegetables before an alter sitting on a worn shelf in her living room. Small wooden monuments marked a spot for each deceased family member: grandma, grandpa and her husband.
T.Y. Po watches his aunt, Kuen Lai, light sticks of incense in a shrine honoring their ancestors. The shrine is a memorial honoring her deceased husband and his parents.
I quietly observed as she placed her offering before them. She explained that she was sending well wishes. In return, she asked for favor this season.
The spirit inside of me moved as I saw her sincerity to resolve feelings of abandonment and pain. I knew these feelings well — that’s what began my search for God.
She placed three incense sticks into a bowl of rice. The sticks represented worship towards heaven, earth and our ancestors. I noticed the ash sat on top of the sticks, like memories from the past, before toppling into the bowl.
“Bring peace to this house and I ask for purpose and goodwill,” my Aunt prayed as part of her search for blessings from our ancestors.
My aunt explained that some families make small fires and burn televisions, Rolexes, cell phones, — even Mercedes Benzes — as an offering to the dead in the spirit world. (Don’t worry, they are all made of paper!) Today, Aunt Lai burned wads of “hell money” which give ancestors in the next life a “little extra spending money.”
Many Chinese believe that ancestors can influence your life for good or bad. So the act of ancestor worship comes down to appeasing the spirits and encouraging them to bring good fortune.
T.Y. Po shares scripture with his aunt, Kuen Lai. He knows the struggles she feels with abandonment and pain — that’s what began his own search for God.
For the longest time, I struggled with how to remember my family’s lineage and build loyalty while staying true to my own faith. Remembering your family lineage is an important part of Chinese culture. I pondered, as I have so many times, “How do I do this now that I’m a Christian?”
I thought about the power of God that I’ve seen in recent years and what I’ve studied in the Bible. This power provides more blessing than any ancestor could offer. There is no way can I turn away from that.
This thought gave me the courage to speak to my aunt about the Giver of the blessing that I’ve come to know — Jesus. His words echoed throughout her cramped apartment as we read from scripture.
She received it openly and responded, “I think I’m becoming more open to what you are telling me. But it will take time.”
My New Year’s Blessing
The chaos and noise of Wong Tai Sin Temple focuses my attention back on the people surrounding me. I take it all in and think, “God deeply cares for the temple worshiper just as much as He cares for my family.”
I can’t imagine starting the “new year” any better — understanding and experiencing my family and culture in a new way and sharing the “blessing” God gave me through His Son.
Pray with me:
You can be an active part of my journey of self-discovery and ministry
during Chinese New Year through your prayers. Pray that:
- Many Chinese will find the Father God, the Giver of blessings.
- Families who are struggling about whether to follow traditions or the path to Jesus.
Next Post (Jan. 24): We conclude our journey by looking back over my time with family. Sign up to get story notices through our RSS feed, Twitter, or Facebook Page.