{"id":5809,"date":"2020-01-16T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T00:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5809"},"modified":"2021-10-15T11:21:22","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T03:21:22","slug":"240-remembering-william-chong-who-fought-the-good-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5809","title":{"rendered":"240. Remembering William Chong, Who Fought the Good Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

5\u00a0<\/sup>Gracious is the\u00a0Lord, and righteous;<\/span><\/strong>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0our God is merciful.<\/span><\/strong>
\n 6\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord\u00a0protects the simple;<\/span><\/strong>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0when I was brought low, he saved me.<\/span><\/strong>
\n 7\u00a0<\/sup>Return, O my soul, to your rest,<\/span><\/strong>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord\u00a0has dealt bountifully with you.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>Precious in the sight of the\u00a0Lord<\/span><\/strong>
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0is the death of his faithful ones<\/span>.<\/strong> [Psalm 160:5-7, 15<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/p>\n

\"Image\u00a0\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"Image<\/p>\n

William Chong was a man of Christian vision and tenacity. He was an intrinsically good person. His operative code word was endure<\/em> – \u5fcd<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the time his sickness was first diagnosed three years earlier, to the afternoon of 6 January 2020 when he breathed his last, we walked closely with William and Susan, his wife of fifty years. Throughout that time, we had many private morning-coffees together. The couple was known for keeping fit, the regularity of their morning walks putting many of us to shame. Also, for more than fifty years in ministry, the\u00a0energies\u00a0of the indefatigable William knew no bounds. With that background, it was a long and painful process watching William\u2019s strength on the wane, his body dwindling, his energy sapped. For him as for us, this whole thing \u2013 a devastating cancer \u2013 was never acceptable, always \u201cwhy so sudden?\u201d And so, even though we were privately hurting for him as the ravages of sickness took their inevitable toll, we never had the heart to let him sense how hard it was for us to witness the increasingly weakened state of this dear old friend. Privately, we were already going through an extended season of mourning long before the final \u201cend\u201d. But through it all, never was his full stature as the towering Christian that he was in the local faith community ever diminished in the eyes of people like ourselves who had known him well and appreciated the immense contributions he brought to the community. Instead, we were constantly amazed to behold, even after sickness had so severely depleted his body, and his steps occasionally became unsteady, so much was still intact in his spirit. William\u2019s Christian vision, and the tenacious clarity with which he held it, subsisted to the very end.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Christian Vision and Tenacity<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Christianity to William is so simple, at least in theory: we pray according to what we believe, and we act according to what we pray<\/em>. Putting that into practice can be a lot more difficult of course. But William made it all look so easy, so natural. My long association with him tells me that three things, amongst others, motivated him.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, is The Lord\u2019s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13; Lk. 11:2-4). This prayer is both Jesus\u2019 personal way of praying and the prayer he taught his disciples. William\u2019s active services to the faith community suggest that he had long understood the interior consciousness<\/em><\/strong> of the Lord Jesus transmitted to his followers through this prayer. The perspective of that consciousness is on building the kingdom of God<\/em><\/strong>, on earth as it is in heaven<\/em><\/strong>. Jesus\u2019 prayer begins with the consciousness of his communion with God and all creation. He is aware of his solidarity and co-humanity with all (Our), and that he and us all are receiving life from a loving Ultimate Source (Father). In his prayer, Jesus does not begin on earth, and yet his kingdom-mission is on earth. All this clarifies the Christian calling for William and us: we are called to be conscious of Jesus\u2019 consciousness, so that if we cultivate the same heaven-consciousness that Jesus had, it will drive us down to earth with the kingdom agenda of God and Christ<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondly, William had a special fondness for praying what is often referred to as \u201cthe Jesus Prayer\u201d: \u201cLord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d He even had a book on this prayer. It is in substance taken from the prayer of the humble and penitent publican, in contrast to the conceited and self-referential prayer of a Pharisee who had no need of God (Luke 18: 9-14). Of the penitent publican, Jesus spoke approvingly and declared that he went home justified. Saying the Jesus-Prayer often, William stayed conscious of his own inadequacies without God. Like the humble publican, he dialogued from the heart with God, as “a spiritual breathing of the soul”. Likewise, Thomas A Kempis\u2019 Imitation of Christ<\/em> was an all-time favourite of his.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirdly, William was also fond of the image of Mary of Bethany sitting at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39), listening carefully to the Word-made-flesh, interiorising the wisdom of God. Giving priority to that<\/em>, Mary had done the one thing<\/em><\/strong> divinely categorized as necessary<\/em><\/strong> and had, in the approving words of the Lord, chosen the better part.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping in constant touch with the Lord through prayers, maintaining a humble disposition, and opening a listening and welcoming heart for the Word \u2013 all this had crystallized in a deep spirituality in William. The resulting reality was that not only did William keep in touch with God throughout his adult Christian life, thereby seeing God\u2019s will in kingdom-advancement on earth, but he tapped into the mercy, the strength and resources of God for his ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n

As it is with people of deep spirituality, William was enabled to hear, to feel, and to take serious cognizance of the Lord\u2019s agenda. This agenda, declared by Jesus at the synagogue upon his return \u201cin the power of the Spirit\u201d from his baptism and temptations, announced that Jesus\u2019 mission from God was to bring good news to people who are not powerful<\/em><\/strong> in the world. These are the Poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19).<\/span><\/p>\n

People may not know that William lived through serious poverty in early childhood. Had his mother not humbled herself and borrowed money from neighbours to pay the exam fees, William would not have sat his Form Five public examination. I can never forget a \u201csimple\u201d story he told us.<\/span><\/p>\n