Yes, it is Christmas!

Yesterday, I met with a refugee I have been helping for 18 months here in Bangkok. I thought it was time to share a few home truths as I understood his situation. I had my say and then invited him to say whatever he wanted. What he had to say was an eye opener to me. As always, I didn't have the whole picture in focus or rather it was in my focus. It was not that it was completely new stuff but that what he had to share was so real and so full of feeling for him.

Basically, as a refugee who has been in Bangkok five years with his family, he feels abandoned by the UNHCR, an instituion that he had seen five years as an institution that would help him and his family. After five years of going nowhere in Bangkok where life is so tough for ones illegally present in this country, he now sees UNHCR as not wanting or being unable to help him and his family. I could feel by how he spoke, and not just what he said, his frustration, his anger, his very sense of hopelessness. By the end, I was nearly in tears, thinking that life was not meant to be like this for anyone.

After he left, I just sat thinking and praying. My prayer was -
God, what can I do to help these people?
Then I opened my emails and there was one from my mate in Australia. It gave me an answer to my prayer.

Christmas is here; Christmas is real.

Christmas at BRC

Last Friday saw the annual Christmas party at the Bangkok Refugee Centre. This was for the children of urban refugee families. One of the photos I just attached shows the crowd and their faces, their eyes tell it all. They were enthralled and enjoyed the whole morning.

The morning began with a rousing round of Christmas carolling led by the Calvary Baptist Church. I joined in and just loved it. I felt right at home and thought to myself - this is ecumenism at a hands on level. There is s tory behind their being there with us. I was looking for sponsorship for the party so that the children could have Christmas presents. When I contacted the Baptist Church here, they just replied with a "What can we do?" I was so impressed by their spirit and it was a joy to work with them.

After the carolling, the children from the BRC school entertained us with various acts. One was the presentation of the Christmas story. It was an incredible experience as I saw their re-enactment and watched the faces on the crowd. I reflected that the people gathered were of all ages, from many different countries and mainly Muslim and Budhist. Yet they were all mesmerised and so enjoyed the presentation. It told me that here is a human story for all peoples that touches us all and taps into our humanity. It told me that through simple enjoyment we enter into the deeper meaning of life, into our own shared divinity. The divine and the human do go together.

The show finished with food and ice-cream for all. A good time was had by all.

I asked myself - do I believe in Santa Claus? Yes, I do for Christmas is about giving and receiving, about enjoying life and celebrating. So why not let Santa Claus be part of that? If nothing else, Christmas gave all those urban refugees - young and old; Christian, Buddhist and Muslim; ones so vulnerable and so alienated from our world - a welcome relief of some short time just to enjoy a bit of life with others. What a great Christmas gift!

Are we damp logs?

I came across an insight from John of the Cross when looking at Sunday's readings. It was that most of us live lives like damp logs waiting to be thrown into the fire of love, but never get thrown in because we always remain damp. So we just sit there on the wood pile, never achieving our true potential.

How true! What impressed me was the great way of expressing it.

Monday was the King's Birthday - a major day in the Thai Year. I was at a local government celebration for the day. Free food was offered for all. After eating, there followed a ceremony to honour the King. I was very touched by the obvious depth of love and devotion the people show towards their King. There is really something there that can't be denied and must be respected. What was funny is that a ceremony that was so full of reverence and symbolism was followed by the usual local entertainment, featuring yet again the local katoey acting in silly ways. I guess it is their coming together of the sacred and secular.

Unfinished business.

Where was I?

On Sunday 27th November, I experienced a part of Church I have never seen before - the Sovereign Military Or der of Malta. This is a quaint group within the Church. It was founded in 1048 in Jerusalem and goes from there, speaking of a history that begins in the Crusades but moves on into the Middle Ages and a Church of power. It exists today as a lay religious Order that is about standing up for the poor and sick. Its members are highly committed Catholics who, as far as I can see, are all professional and well-educated people. They are part of a group that has all the trappings of a history and tradition that go way back.

I mention this group as last weekend Thailand had its investiture of seven new knights and dames into the Order. This establishes the Knights of Malta here. I wonder what Thais - a Buddhist people of Asia - make of a group that is so Catholic and European with its medieval roots and displays of pageantry.

Its local members are wealthy, hi-so Thais. Thay are of the Catholic and Thai elite. I would think that Thais would see this group within the context of their own culture and society where prestige,status and heirarchy are so important. They were told that they are the elite in helping the poor but as with everything here I see the other side at play.

My boss, Bishop Pibul, was at the cathedral for them. He saw the cathedral community and he saw me there. That gave him a business idea which for him is a Church outreach. I could become more actively pastoral with the community there and that would be a base for fund raising for the local church.

Herein lies the basis for a personally experienced cultural conflict.

I cannot use pastoral outreach as a business venture. That is not me and goes against who I am. Meanwhile, he is expressing what he sees as being good Church from his standpoint and I can appreciate that but it is just not me and I could never do it without endangering my own integrity. Therein lies the business (or cultural or pastoral) conflict. I know what I have to do and what I have to follow. It just is that Bishop P's way is not way and will not be, nor does it have to be.