The Jewish Creed

I think every religion must have a set of statements, a summary of the beliefs of her adherents. I remember not long after I arrived at Shung Tak, Mr. Joseph Ho tested my religious credential. He asked me what Catholics believed. After searching my mind for a while, I answered with the Apostles' Creed. He smiled and walked away. I suppose I have passed the test. In later days, Mr. Ho has been very helpful during my stay in Shung Tak up till now.
The Jews also have their own creed. When they offer a basket of first fruits of the produce of the land to the priest in the Feast of Ingathering Sukkot (or the Feast of Tabernacles), they would recite the following.
A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.
Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression;
and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders;
and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O LORD, hast given me (Deuteronomy 26:5b-10a).
In this creed, the Jews admit that they owe their existence to Yahweh who gave them this piece of land to flourish. Yet, this creed stops short of saying that they are a nation, an empire. It is odd. Without a nation, an administration, who is going to protect this piece of Promised Land from invasions? Naturally, it would be God. That probably was what took place in their early stage of settling in the land. As time moved on, the need of a royal court of administration was felt. With the downfall in succession the Israel and Judah empire, the Jews understand that kingdoms were no guarantee of inheriting a piece of land. Kings come and go. Yahweh alone stays. The Jews have discovered an ingenious way to help them inherit a piece of land, with or without the protection from kings. They turn to Yahweh who is always faithful.
The obsession of possessing the Promised Land is understandable. God has decreed so. The Jews had been driven out of the land and wandering on the surface of the global since 135 A.D. for more than 1900 years before returning. In the meantime, Arabians moved in and settled their to become the nowadays Palestinians. The conflicts we see today on TV news are deep-rooted. But the Jews are truly a resilient people. Since biblical time, they have been subjected to oppressions from the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans Christian states and in the last century, they suffered under Nazi concentration camps and survived. God has chosen well. Israel has never risen to become a Superpower in the global arena. Yet, their presence is hard to ignore.
I moved to Tuen Mun the night I got married. Literally, I was uprooted from the church in which I grew up as a teen and a young adult. I felt like Abraham whom God called to move away from his kindred at the age of 75 (Genesis 12:4). Of course, I was not as old and blessed as Abraham. Moreover, Abraham was a wandering Aramean, as described in Deuteronomy 26. I moved only once after marriage within Tuen Mun! I have spent more than 26 years in Tuen Mun but only 13 in Choi Hung. I am not incline to wandering. Perhaps I should be more adventurous. Had I chosen otherwise, I might have ended up in a better position and situation than today. I should not complain and I am sure God has a plan for me. I have missed a lot of opportunities because sometimes, I did not listen to Him. Now, I really do not have any first fruit to offer Him.

My God and my Father, I have wandered off the course You charted for me. I wish it would not be too late for me to respond to Your call. I put my hands in Yours. My fists are tight. Make them let go. Amen.