The altar servers had a short retreat last year. Since then, duties and engagements in the parish have rendered us unable to hold any official activities for the boys during the school holidays.
After much consideration by the leaders of the Ministry, it was decided that an activity should be organised for the servers during the December 2007 holidays. And the result was "Gethsemaus 07".
How "Gethsemaus" came about...
Gethsemaus is a combination of two events that can be found in sacred scriptures: the event of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26), and the event of the disciples on the journey to Emmaus (see Luke 24).
In these two events, the characters went through fear, discouragement and immense difficulties in continuing with their respective journeys.
In the garden, Jesus was sorrowful and troubled. In these final hours, he knew what was going to happen to him. He was going to suffer greatly and die. It would not be wrong to say that back then, Jesus was filled with a certain amount of fear!
Let us look at his disciples. Jesus urged them to pray, but each time he came back to check on them, they were fast asleep!
On the road the Emmaus, the two journeying disciples were feeling downcast for the Jesus whom they loved dearly, had been taken away from them and put to death. Overnight, they seemed to have lost their pillar of guidance, the Rabbi who taught them many precious lessons of the Kingdom of God. They then encountered a man who was also on the same journey who did not seem to have heard about the death of their beloved teacher.
Never did the two disciples know in their wildest dreams that they had actually encountered Jesus, who opened their hearts once again. They only saw him when Jesus took the bread and broke it.
From these two events, we can see that the people back then were already experiencing issues about the faith in their lives. The frailties that imprison them and bog them down; the blindness to reject God's invitation of prayer to avert and overcome temptations; the lack of faith in God, in trusting in his ways.
Two thousand years later, these problems still exist. The beauties and pleasures of this secular world invite us to turn a blind eye to God. This blindness separates us from God, and hence we sin. We lose track of how to live our lives fully and how to pursue the one true happiness; the water from the fountain of life that will never make us thirst again. We learn to seek and trust in false pleasures. In times of difficulty, we blame God first rather than turning to Him for comfort and strength.
Why is there an "07"?
The digits "07" imply that despite God sending his son many many years ago, sin still exists today, in the year 2007.
Finally...
After consultation with the priests, it was decided that this camp would also be open to the many young boys and men of the parish. It is an invitation for them come journey with the altar servers, deepen their faith and know that service in the Church is not restricted to adults only. Young people have a big role to play, and DO have their place in the Church!
Published by Jacob Soo
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