Luke 19:46

Kum Yan is to be a house of prayer for ALL nations.

Dear KY family,
We celebrated our nation’s 60th birthday yesterday. Every National Day, my wider family has a tradition of gathering at my Aunty’s house for dinner and to watch the National Day Parade on her big-screen TV together. We usually take the opportunity to also commemorate family milestones. Two younger cousins’ birthdays in August, and later on, my wedding anniversary, are celebrated too along with our nation’s independence.
This year, my family’s National Day dinner gathering has been called off primarily due to my Aunty suffering an injury. But because of this break in tradition, there is speculation that from this year, National Day family dinners may not happen anymore. My two younger cousins got married last year and may wish to celebrate their own birthdays in another way.

“It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” (Lk 19:46)

Tradition is defined as the transmission of customs from generation to generation. But while most traditions start out well, some may get tainted along the way if not passed down well. At the end of Luke 19, Jesus enters the temple courts and begins to overthrow the tables of the moneychangers and dove-sellers. He explains the reason for His anger, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Luke 19:46) In the bible passage just before this, Scripture tells us that Jesus wept over Jerusalem for they did not know “the things that make for your peace” (19:42).
In essence, Jesus’ accusation against the Jews was that they took the letter of the Law but did not understand the spirit of the Law (2 Cor 3:6). They took the traditions that were passed down from generation to generation but without understanding, and as a result, turned those traditions into barriers for entry into the Kingdom of God. The house of prayer for all nations became a house of business and commerce.
As I reflect on the traditions of Kum Yan as the newest pastor to join this spiritual family, I recall that Kum Yan is to be a house of prayer for ALL nations. Our prayer life individually and corporately must be revived, and our missional calling needs to be awakened once again. Even though we have ended the 40.Day prayer and fast organised by LoveSingapore, I ask you as Kum Yan Methodist Church to continue to pray fervently for our church, for the nation, and for the nations beyond. It is through prayer that God will revive us, equip us, and send us forth. So that in all things, the name of Jesus be praised!