Where I found Church this past week

Last Friday, I was at farewell drinks for a British couple who had been here in Bangkok for 15 months to work with refugees.  They are husband and wife, a great couple.  One is a lawyer and the other a social worker.  They give their lives to help the desperate populations in our world, choosing not to use their skills just to make big money.  Simply, they are two committed citizens who go out to help the little people of our world. 

There were some 20 people present enjoying Friday's farewell drinks.  They were all individuals like my two friends, young professionals dedicating their lives and skills at least for now to helping humanity.  Our friends were now to head off to Cairo to work with refugees there. 

One guy at the night heads an international coordinating NGO for NGOs and bodies working for refugees in Asia Pacific.  He is totally committed to human rights and works purely to benefit oppressed and low class people.  He does great work.  He shared that he did not believe in God.  I asked him how this fitted in with his commitment and work.  He simply replied:
"This is my life.  I don't need there to be anything after I die.  This is it." 

Then I was speaking with a young Australian lawyer who has been here for a time advocating for refugees.  She told me that she was now off to Ethiopia to do the same work there.  I thought "Wow!"

I could theorize about this experience.  Instead I will simply say that in people like this I have the privilege to meet Church today.  They are not necessarily Catholics nor do they even believe in God but they are committed to good and to humanity and live out their commitment at great cost.  Is that not what Church is about? 

Then in this same week, I meet a local bishop, lovley guy.  He talks of his diocese.  It has a total population of 5.2 million people, of whom 5,500 are Catholics.  He has 28 priests and two seminarians.  And his big issue?  Vocations!  How to get more men to be priests?

  It strikes me how his reality in Church is so different from the reality of my friends and colleagues at the farewell drinks.  While I can understand the bishop's position and lay no judgement on a good man (after all the bishop's agenda is set for him by his role in the Church), his reality and concerns are so narrow.  The reality and concerns of my friends and colleagues seem much more real, much more just purely committed to humanity. 

Where is Church to be found today?

The Catholic church is on track to become a shrinking cult | National Catholic Reporter

The Catholic church is on track to become a shrinking cult | National Catholic Reporter

This article came to me through my online subscription to NCR.  I read it and thought - Wow!  I thought this because only last week I got an email from a good friend, a priest in Rome.  He was reflecting on the Church in Europe, saying:

"We see the problems of our religious congregations and of the Church.  In fact, it is much deeper and is a profound moral morass and if they're not careful they'll be overtaken by more powerful and focused groups.  It might be a caliphate.  It might be China.  But unless they wake up, they'll sink."

I thought my friend a bit dramatic but then his thoughts are reflected in some way by this article which independently came my way at the same time.  This is no coincidence.

The Church is losing its way.  In the west, I would name it as the Church has lost touch with its own grassroots.  Where I live now, the Church has its issues but they appear to be different from ours back home. 

I named my growing up in Church as like belonging to a ghetto.  Everyone and everything I knew - family, friends, school, the scouts, sporting groups - all were Catholic or else they did not own up to being anything else.  The Church was just there, a part of my life as a boy and a teenager.  The first time I ever confronted non-Catholics was when I went to work after finishing school and ones there were making fun of me being Catholic.  The Church provided me a family and a school, a place to belong and grow.  Such a Church no longer exists.  You can no longer belong to a ghetto.  That is a good thing but for this argument that is by the way, as is the fact that the Church today also has many strengths.      

What worries me the most is that the Church of a Cardinal Pell blames us, blames our society and world for what has happened.  I would turn it around and ask where has the Church lost the plot and missed opportunities?   Where the Church finds herself today has a lot to do with her decisions and actions, or lack of them, and how she presents herself. 

Then along comes good Pope Francis and he is calling us to be a Church of the poor, a Church of the people and telling us to get our priorities right, not always just focusing on people's sexual dilemmas or personal proclivities.  Pope Francis is calling us to be Church in a fresh and renewed way.  A Church caught up in its own life and focusing on select issues; a Church that is hypocritical and unfeeling in the midst of scandal is running the risk of becoming a cult and being overtaken.  Francis challenges us to be out there amidst the action and not hide in some cave where we would just become a forgotten or strange cult.  He can see this and name it for us. 

Good Pope Francis!

Nantavisal

Okay, I am not a cow.  So don't get smart. 

A long time ago when animals could communicate with humans, there was a poor farmer living in a village.  He owned one cow, Nantavisal.  He took good care of the cow, which he treated like his own child. 

One day, Nantavisal wanted to reciprocate the kind treatment and told the farmer, "Boss, do you know my secret?  I can pull 100 carts laden with goods.  I don't think many people realize how strong I am.  Why don't you go and bet with the rich man in the village.  He loves gambling."

The farmer was surprised, but he took Nantavisal's advice and approached the rich man, who agreed to make a bet.  On the day of the wager, there were lots of people in the village to witness the event.  Nantavisal started to pull the 100 carts.  It took a while, but the cart moved slowly. 

The farmer was a bit nervous and thought that Nantavisal might not be able to do what he had promised.  He angrily shouted at Nantavisal, "You are a lazy cow, pull harder.  I have wasted a lot of food feeding you."  Nantavisal was so upset that he shed the ropes that tied him to the carts and ran away. 

In the evening, Nantavisal trudged back to the farm.  He saw the farmer crying over the lost bet.  Nantavisal felt guilty and wanted to make amends.  He told the farmer to make another bet.  "This time double the amount," said Nantavisal.  "But one thing I beg of you: please do not say any rude words to me; let me handle the work."

Filled with hope, the farmer replied in a quivering voice. "I will, I will, my son."

The rich man was more than willing to make a new bet.  The next day, there was a bigger crowd than for the first event.  A minute before the cow was to start pulling the carts, the farmer whispered to him, "Nantavisal, my dear son, please put all your effort into pulling these carts.  I pin my hopes on you." 

Nantavisal had been prepared not to expect any insults, but had not been expecting these kind words.  They gave him additional strength. 

With all his effort, he pulled the carts, starting slowly, for the required distance. 

The farmer got his money back and more. 

This story from Thai folklore has had a real message for me this week as I face issues at the workplace and have had to deal with Thai staff.  The message it shares is so true.  It is not that I am angry but I have to be aware that I can't even sound angry to the Thais when dealing with them on work issues.  Otherwise, if I do , I may lose them. 

My week's focus has been a refreshing one.

This has been a different week, a good week, an energizing week as I have had a change in pace, a change I have enjoyed.  It has been because my focus has been on a three day consultation regarding refugee rights held here in Bangkok.  Its participants came from many different countries.  We may have come from many places but we were all bound together by our work and passion for helping refugees throughout the Asia-Pacific region.  I could feel the shared energy and passion of these three days and I found it refreshing.  


Yes, the topic is harsh as it touches on not nice things in life.  It is about a basic human quest by ones dispossessed, persecuted and unwanted in our world to find a corner in the world where they can live their lives in safety and with dignity.  They are doing what any of us would do if life has become too dangerous or intolerable - look for other options.  Maybe that is too simple, but why complicate matters? 

The three days dealt with serious matters around human security and dignity.  A message I hold central is that no matter the level of human misery or desperation, hope has to remain.  Otherwise, what have you got left? 

In the midst of our serious work and of our genuine concern for desperate people, the smiles, the humor, the friendship, the common human bonds among us were also obvious.  It was good to be there even with ones who are suffering so much loss and are living in the midst of such fear and uncertainty.  This reflects the nature of life for any of us.  The truth is that we are all vulnerable and that we all know the plethora of life's stories and experiences, the nice and the not so nice.

Then I take hope when I hear a Congolese man talk about his journey of fleeing danger in the Congo. He finally found a place he could call home where he could establish a life for him and his family.  It took him over 10 years to do so but he did it.  And you know what?  While he loves where he is and is grateful for what he now enjoys, he looks forward to the day when his country is transformed and he can return to the place that he still truly calls home.  He is the eternal optimist.  When  we hear such stories, why wouldn't we hang onto hope and keep sharing that smile and passion for life no matter what we face?