A little bit of green helps

The view from my hotle balcony in central Yangon

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I was just in Yangon this week for three days and when asked on leaving by an Australian friend in Bangkok for my impressions of the place, I shared that
"I was impressed by the friendly people, wonderful temples, good shopping, cheap food, good beer and its quaint historical setting."

I found my short time in Yangon, even if for meetings and work, to be refreshing.  It was because of all that I just shared but much more.  There was one central life giving aspect to the whole positive experience that I left out of my list that I shared with my Aussie friend.  It was the green of the place.  After a Bangkok with all its concrete structures and massive buildings, the green hits you in the face and is simply a breath of fresh air. 

Yes, Yangon has suffered from a lack of investment over the years due to bad military rule.  Yes, it is somewhat shabby looking and lacking in infrastructure.  Yet it still has so much to offer.  It has a quaintness due to its history and it has its own beauty that you would never want to lose.  It definitely has not suffered from over or bad development as yet.  Hopefully, it never will. 

Yangon with all its lovely parks and lakes and many trees is a picture of green.  It is this little bit of green that stays with me as a lasting impression of Yangon today, even if somewhat congested and in the midst of great development projects.  It is this green that gave me life.  I loved it.  What more can I say?  

Go in Reverse

Christianity, if it is based on the gospel, is meant to turn everything around but so often I sadly just do not see that happening.  Rather what I see in my world is how institutional Church and its leadership so often simply conform with the ways of the world for the sake of the status quo and doing its business.  That is why Pope Francis is such an outstanding and refreshing character in the Catholic Church.  He wants to turn it all round and have the Church stand on its head.  How exciting!  They actually have a term in theology which covers this - "reverse mission".

I follow the Philippines under President Duterte.  The country is full of lovely and talented people and just picturesque, tropical paradise sites.  It should be a prosperous nation but rather I see a society being continually brutalized under the forces of poverty and violence, while now this society is seemingly becoming even more brutal under their new president.  I ask, where is the Church in all this in a country that is so Catholic?  Turning it around?

For the last while, the institution has been sitting at the top over society, telling its people what to do in their lives and focusing too much on the personal over the social issues.  I judge this is a fair comment for an outsider to make.  In doing so, the Church has been presenting itself as a power institution doing battle with its political foes to maintain the status quo and uphold its own position.  Thus it comes to be seen as a powerful and vested interest, a power broker in society, siding with its own among the rich and powerful.  No reverse mission here in this scenario with the result that the opportunity for a whole new and needed order that caters for all in a society where so many miss out is lost.

Going in reverse, we look from the bottom up instead of the top down and we share the power among all not keeping it in the hands of the few who are meant to act for the masses but never do.  Such we live life in unexpected ways, even incorrect ways in the hope of turning it all round on its head for the sake of the common good of all.  Isn't that different?  Isn't that living life in reverse?  Isn't that life giving?

It's as easy as ABC

There was a Jackson Five song way back when called ABC.  It spoke of love as being as easy as ABC, 123, do re mee.  Simple, huh?

Well I was at a conference this week on faith communities and development where I was introduced to a Lutheran Church document dealing with Church in the public sphere.  Its simple formula like the Jackson Five song was that Church engagement with our world is as easy as ABCDE.
Assessing public issues in participatory ways.
Building relationships of trust.
Challenging injustice,
Discovering signs of hope.
Empowering people in need.

Now there is a simple formula for being people of faith in our world.

Wherever you go

Dormition Theotokos

In Thailand, two days celebrating womanhood come together over the next few days- the Queen's Birthday on 12 August and the Assumption of Mary on 15 August.  Both present an ideal for humanity coming from lived reality, and lived reality can sometimes be harsh as I was reminded this past week. 

You see I was asked in my duties to proof read a statement given in a local Church abuse case.  Yes, I only had to reword the English so that the report could be presented in an acceptable way to the proper authorities.  A simple task it would seem but a task that I found had an unplanned and incredible impact on me.  After reading the report, I felt dirty.  It is hard to explain but that was the feeling.  I then also felt the strong urge to clean myself and so I found myself naturally going to the chapel to get clean.  It was an experience that happened within a simple chain of events but it was also a strong and eerie experience.  What was it about this experience? 

Some of the description was quite vivid and upsetting, even revolting.  It showed how evil can co-exist with good in any person's life. I do not want to dwell on this but I do wish to acknowledge that the experience was very real for me and it made me think about life, humanity, good and evil, about me.

Within the context of this one week, I am experiencing how we can act so horribly towards each other but also know that, alongside such harsh realities, there ever remain the ideal and the hope of humanity with our purpose and quest for good ever alive.  We do live in the midst of strong forces for good and evil.  We do live within a paradox that is life but ultimately what is good is the way we choose and go.  We follow the way of those before us, knowing that where Mary has been and gone, there we also shall go and be, and we believe this with hope beyond hope.

Take time to smell the roses

My Monday to Friday routine is to get to my desk early and start working.  I do this to reach where I am going before the traffic becomes unbearable and to allow myself the luxury to finish early - or so this is my rationale.  What this has seemed to have created is a regime of a work routine that is quite unhealthy. 

As I sit at my NCCM desk in Yannawa early Tuesday morning, I look out on my view of Bangkok.  It is quite something but what I notice is that it is all buildings, roads and concrete with so little green.  It might have its own beauty or appeal but restful it is not.  Does this reflect my life in Bangkok? 

They say to take time to smell the roses but where are they or what are they in my life in Bangkok?  I do not see any roses out there as I look around my urban mish-mash as you can see from my photo. 

So where do I go to find my roses?  This is an important question that I realize now I must face for the sake of the holiness of my own life.  This question could lead me down many tracks:
-have a different, more life giving attitude towards every day?
-purposely spend more time relating with significant others in my life?
-go for that walk, take the needed nap or enjoy the important time-out I keep promising myself?
-take that walk or see a movie?
Maybe it is just a mix of all of these plus much more.

What I did do was that on Wednesday I escaped my work place and went to see some good friends, fellow missionaries here, have a chat, then share a soup with Nando, my Italian friend, followed by a nap.  I didn't get in the walk as it started to rain.  Still what was most important was that I tried and I enjoyed.  The walk is later today.

It is important to smell the roses.  We just need to find our own roses and smell them in our own way.  Life is too valuable not to.            

My Bangkok from my NCCM desk.