Friday 22 August 2008

Peace on earth* - U2

Is that why your father named you 'Mun Onn' - because you are born on Christmas day?

Augustine asked me that question as we sipped drinks at Secret Recipe, catching up with each other for the first time in 3 years! I really like chatting with him. I always feel like i'm really having fellowship with him, not just meaningless chatter.

There were to be many more such occasions when we would chat - and Constance, his wife would also be involved. We'd just chat after dinner and before we know it, it was time to get the kids ready for bed.

Back to his original question - he was asking me that when we were talking about me dad. You see, for those of you who may not know, my name comes from a chinese saying that basically means peace to all men in this land. 'Mun Onn' would just mean peace to men.


My name, high and exalted in Chinatown, London! ;-) It was also high and exalted in Kota Kinabalu - but the pic i took din make it back.

Augustine of course was referring to the song of the angels on that first Christmas day when Jesus was born in a humble manger. The angels sang a refrain that goes "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2v14).

i replied confidently that it was prolly not the intention of my dad. You see, me dad only believed in Jesus very recently. At the time of my birth, i'm pretty sure he had very little knowledge of the Bible and of the true meaning of Christmas. So, i concluded, it must have been a pure coincidence. In any event, i believed that it was prolly me grand mom who coined up my name.

But Augustine persisted, saying that perhaps even in a non-Christian state, God could have still impressed upon me dad to name me so. It was too much of a coincidence.

And i think i agree with him. At the very least, it was interesting food for thought!

*The song was written about the Omagh bombing at Northern Ireland, 1998.

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