Casting Light—Diana Ming Chan
October 26, 2008
At First Chinese Baptist Church where Diana had her membership, she was always casting light. At worship when I invite prayer concerns, Diana would always, without skipping a beat, raise her hand and speak boldly about a prevailing issue of justice that’s facing the world. She was casting some light on this matter for all of us to see. For a very small person, she carried a big flashlight.
We know that Diana was passionate about her art of classical Chinese dance. She was completely in costume so that she was not drawing the spotlight on herself but instead helping her audience to appreciate the richness of Chinese culture. Our church was blessed by her performances especially when we celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year. In her many characters, she was casting light on Chinese culture for us to see and enjoy.
The prophet Isaiah said,
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
And thick darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will arise upon you,
And his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn. (60:1-3)
Diana was very much like Isaiah who was not afraid to point out what is wrong and then challenges you with her stern eyes to strive for righteousness and justice. There may be darkness that covers our world today, but Diana always believed that with God’s help, she could cast some light on the problem. We will miss this prophet who was in our midst.
As a living memorial to Diana Ming Chan’s life, our church is planning to install solar energy panels on top of our roof. In life as well as in her resurrected life with her Lord, Jesus Christ, Diana will continue to cast light in her church. Solar energy will light up our classrooms so that students can continue to learn English. Solar energy will light up our sanctuary where God’s people come to worship and where Diana was always casting another light on another important issue. Solar energy will reduce our use of fossil fuels to help the environment and teach more people about reducing our carbon footprint. With our memory of Diana Ming Chan, we will carry on the task of casting light in the world.
In 1 John 1:7, we read that when we walk in the light as Jesus Christ himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. We thank God for the life of Diana Ming Chan as she has walked in the light of Christ. Let us now cast light in the world as people who walk in the light.