I wonder was it a happy day or a sad day?

11th January was another remarkable day in my life. On this day, I first consecrated the bread and wine for the Holy Communion / Eucharist in my church (Tamil Methodist Church, Sg. Siput – as the Pastor In-charge). I was filled with joy and was greatly honored to do so. I had to read the whole liturgy (in Tamil) and conduct the Holy Communion. I was assisted by the Church Worker assigned to the Church, Pastor Isaac Nathan. It was truly a memorable moment for me. And guess what, I did pretty well. Praise God for this great opportunity to serve Him in this capacity as an ordained minister of the Methodist Church. After the worship service, I also called for the first PPRC (Pastor Parish Relationship Committee) meeting and LCEC (Local Church Executive Committee) to elect their respective Chairpersons.

Every thing was went on well until I got a very disturbing sms from my boss (Rev. Laurence) that one of my church member back in Ipoh died in a tragic road accident. The saddest thing is, we just got him married 35 days ago (6th December 2008). Nanthakumar, an engineer by profession, was born in a Hindu family. He accepted Christ when he was planning for his marriage with Anita (one of our member). We had the privilege to baptize him and later confirmed him into the church membership. We were even conducted his wedding counseling sessions. He was such a lovable and humble guy who loves the Lord. On the 10th January 2009, on his way to meet his wife who was teaching in Bidor, Nantha’s car went out of control and overturned in flames. The doors were jammed, and he was caught in the burning car. He was burned to death. His remains were beyond recognition that the cops had to take a DNA sample from his brother to verify his death. It is tragic…really tragic…..we just got them married 35 days ago….and today, we are about to bury the guy. Last night was the wake service and I was asked to preach. It was the most difficult sermon that I have ever prepared in my life. I really hated the whole episode. I truly pray that no Pastors will ever have to conduct this kind of a funeral. By God’s grace I preached about Job’s suffering and the lost of lives that he experienced. Anyway…whatever said and done….it is a very sad episode…I struggle to face Anita (the wife) as I am speechless and don’t know how to comfort her. I truly pray that I will never be confronted with this kind of painful ministerial experiences anymore in life….it truly hurts.