I absolutely abhor the fact that the places of worship belonging to the Christian community in Malaysia are being violated. It is hurtful and painful, not to mention harmful to the harmony of society. And as a Christian myself, I feel fear when I leave my house. That fear is real.

Inasmuch as the Christian community claims that the word "Allah" has been used by the Arabic Christians even prior to the existence of Islam, I can, to a certain limited extent also understand the fear that sets in among our Muslim neighbours of how the use of God's name by both religions may pose a threat to the purity of their respectable religion. Whether or not the fear on their part is founded on reality and whether the threat is a true possibility or a mere imaginary perception, that fear is real.

Fear begets violence; violence in speech and action. It makes us threaten the dignity, even the lives, of people; an inherent dignity our very religions preach about. Fear makes us want to eradicate the perceived sources of threat. It makes us want to thicken the lines of our boundaries and appear brutal so the perceived source of threat will stay way beyond those boundaries we have established for our safety and significance. So yes, some of them explode our churches to intimidate us, while we speak, condemn, and "pray against" them.

I swear some Christians are praying not because they think God is really going to help them through these trying times; they're praying in defiance, to show the perpetrators that they can have their churches violated but that they cannot have their faith taken away. It is a demonstration of sorts, a silently violent one; a demonstration not of good faith, but of bad faith against those who have harmed them.

We are still in the Christmas season, but the Christ-child is already beckoning us to embrace his passion experience. After all, his own persecution began at his very birth, when his parents had to flee to Egypt because their own king was on a headhunt for this baby. It is that very dimension of Christmas we are challenged to internalise as a People of God at this time of our history.

In times like these, it is difficult to love. It is difficult to uphold the greatest virtue taught in the very religion we seek to protect. But these are precisely the times when we must begin to talk about love. How hard it must be. How necessary it is, that we may preserve the integrity of the Jesus for whom we stand during these difficult times.

"'You have heard how it was said: eye for eye and tooth for tooth... You have heard how it was said, you will love your neighbour and hate your enemy... But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."

~ Jesus, Son of God ~