OK. So it's the last Christmas of the Millennium. Are any miraculous revelations about to spring themselves onto Malaysian Christians? Is there a hidden message lurking around waiting to be deciphered?

Sometimes one wonders, if it was a prominent pastor who was beaten black and blue by the highest police officer in the land, if he is to be convicted based on the court testimony of a driver (now a company director), and if a deacon was shaved bald, stripped naked and told to imitate sexual positions (as Dr Munawar Anees was) by police interrogators to force a "confession" of sodomy, what would the reaction of Malaysian Christians be?

For years, we Christians have bemoaned the "injustice" of not being allowed to preach about the greatness of God's love to Muslims. Yet now, when a majority of them have voted for issues of justice, fair play and an end to corruption, we are still on the sidelines, perhaps with our built-in racial prejudices barely concealed below the surface.

How does that make our Muslim "neighbours" feel about the people who claim to follow an all-loving God? Are we "new creations" in Christ or just plain old apathetic, unconcerned, "tidak apa" Malaysians?

The issue is not about street demonstrations to so-called "save one man". It's about whether Christians care enough about this country to improve the lot of the ordinary man-in-the-street.

Whether we should be pushing for good public health-care, affordable housing and better government schools, or pushing our way through the New Year's Eve crowds in worshipful admiration of the world's tallest Twin Jagungs.

The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) has revealed that - in this age of "smart schools" - some 1,200 rural schools don't even have electricity, while many others have leaking roofs. In the once respected teaching profession, salaries are so poor that they are sufficient only to attract the likes of SPM third graders. These are the people in charge of our children's education - and the nation's real future.

Our public health "service" lacks money for kidney dialysis patients who have to go begging in the newspapers every now and then - or face death simply because they cannot afford treatment. What about those patients who didn't make it to the newspapers?

Low-cost homes are built as little sardine boxes and we in "decent" society beat our breasts wondering why children prefer to "lepak" in shopping complexes instead of studying at home.

Yet, our national priorities are to spend hundreds of millions in the Formula One race and the Commonwealth Games (both lost money) to show off to the world what an "advanced" country we are.

Advanced for whom? Perhaps for the guys who got the contracts to build these white elephants. Remember the "Six Million Dollar Man" of Umno? That's what it takes to buy one's way into a mere division leader's post (what about bigger fish?) This was admitted by the party itself during their General Assembly two or three years ago. How are such "investments" recovered?

It says something about the state of the country that leaders like Rafidah Aziz do not even have to bother responding to Anwar's detailed allegations of her corruption (giving hundreds of thousands of shares to her son-in-law), even though documentary proof has been given to the police. And, without batting an eyelid, she's back to being a Minister.

True meaning

OK. Now you're thinking, "Whoops, this is politics and Christians should have nothing to do with that. We just want to focus on faith and evangelisation. That's the true meaning of Christmas."

Is that true? Well the book of James says: "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go I wish you well, keep warm and well-fed' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? Faith without works is dead."

But beyond just charity, should Christians go further? John Stott in his book "Issues Facing Christians Today" (check it out at the Evangel and Salvation book stores) notes that sometimes charity is just not good enough.

"While harshness to slaves could be relieved by charity, the very institution of slavery had to be abolished. To go on just with relief work might even be condoning the situation which causes them," he writes.

"If travellers on the Jerusalem-Jericho road were habitually beaten up, and habitually cared for by Good Samaritans, the need for better laws to eliminate armed robbery might well be overlooked. It is always good to feed the hungry; it is better, if possible, to eradicate the causes of

hunger."

Direct charity is fantastic, but honestly, how much money, time and effort can Christians give? Can we be at every hospital and every school to provide assistance? Can we assist every struggling rubber smallholder? But if we can influence government policy for the better, we will have given indirect charity to many, many more people. Let's not forget who we are actually helping.

"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink ...I was sick and you looked after me ... Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me," said Jesus, as recorded in Matthew.

Have Christians come to the point where they feel that discussing Umno's political sins is something vaguely sinful? In that case the greatest sinners of the 20th century must have been Bishop Desmond Tutu, who spoke out against apartheid, and Rev Martin Luther King, who organised "reformasi" demonstrations demanding equal rights for blacks! (the difference with our local reformasi fellas was to fight back when beaten by the police instead of "turning the other cheek").

Green Tide fear

Nobody is saying that Christians should rush out and embrace the opposition on Jan 1, 2000. But arguably, we should be concerned enough about the country to actively discuss politics as much as we talk about the latest consumer fashions and Cantonese serials.

After all, if it had been say a prominent pastor such as Rev Prince Gunaratnam, who had been treated like Anwar, would every Christian not be checking up Internet sites detailing government injustices? Would they not be downloading and printing out copies for distribution in church?

Yet now when our Muslim brothers and sisters have done just that, we fear the so-called Green Tide. The media has made us think that politics is all about a "Yes" or "No" to an Islamic state when in fact it is also about Dr Mahathir's good friend Eric Chia losing RM5 billion in Perwaja Steel and having the losses written off.

What if Christians began to think of politics as a form of service? Where they can pressure the government to spend just RM500 million to set up day-care creches in every office building?

Rather than having our children grow up, home alone, with foreign maids, how about well-paid, trained and educated personnel taking care of our children in these nurseries?

Isn't this more like the kind of country that Christians should try to promote, where mothers (and fathers too!) can drop in at the office creche during lunchtime to spend some quality time with their children? Or better yet, if financial pressures were not so great due to sky-high housing prices (and sky-high corruption), one spouse could afford to stay at home.

Are we Christians more worried about the Gross National Product of big tycoons and big politicians (till today, no one has been held accountable for the Highland Towers tragedy of 1993) or do we want to focus on the Gross National Happiness of ordinary Malaysians?

More pertinently, when non-Christians see us actively involved in bread and butter issues involving their welfare, do not such actions speak louder than a thousand flowery words on the greatness of Christ's love? Is evangelisation just about inviting people to sweet smiley smiley choir presentations?

If only Malaysian Christians could infuse earthly politics with a little more honour and dignity, to be a light and salt unto this world, now THAT would be a revelation. Perhaps that's the message of the last Christmas of the Millennium.