| The Asia Lutheran Webmaster |
| ASIA LUTHERAN HOME |
previousarticle |
 next article |
|
|
| |
As we move into the year 2000, the Church needs a vision. The task at hand, however, is not to create a new vision, but to interpret anew the Vision which Christ laid 2,000 years ago. Our vision is to be
|
To love the world is to be involved in the world. And to the eyes and heart of the world our commitment and concern shows the commitment and the concern of God. We cannot separate the world into the spiritual and the secular. To love the world for Christ's sake is to be involved and show solidarity with the world for the sake of Christ.
To proclaim the love of God is to preach Jesus Christ, because the Good News of Salvation transforms lives. To a world whose concept of God and his ways lie everywhere between ignorance and agnosticism, the Church is called to address the reality of destructive trends within and outside the Church--indifference, materialism and idolatry. It is necessary to clarify the theoretical frameworks of the nature of being human. Theology also includes the dire need to explain the Love and Solidarity of God with humanity. It has to grapple with the small and large problems of the world and interpret it in the light of God's purpose as revealed in Christ.
To die is to live with Christ. Not all are called to martyrdom, but all are called to lay down their lives for their friends. To die is to live in Christ--and live for no other purpose than for Christ alone. Such a commitment is utterly necessary for the Church!
Looking ahead
Next year will be a new millennium...the beginning of another thousand years. Some churches began thinking and doing something about their millennial direction even as early as 1962 (Vatican II). Some just sat down last month and planned for the next year as if it were no different from other years. But in mind of the world, there is a groundswell of expectation and anticipation of something new. And to this world, the Church must act as a relevant and yet sobering reminder that the focus of the world's attention, is sin. It is the Church's duty, then, to bring today's complex problems into focus, pointing humanity to God and bringing glory to Him.
I n the past century, on one hand, we saw a century of frenzied scientific and technological advancement, and fantastic discoveries and explorations. On the other hand, we saw appalling wars and atrocities, and unimaginable environmental and human degradation. Nevertheless, the world wants material progress. Hope shines so bright that many can no longer see that mankind without God is a vain existence that leads to insane lust after false religions and ultimately to self-destruction. Perhaps it is the Church's responsibility to witness to the world that the "indomitable spirit" of man is ultimately the first sin of mankind...the desire to be like God.
The economic and political activities of nations very often leave the Church baffled. The recent Asian turmoil is still very much a mystery to most of us. We are simply unable to comprehend the immensity of wealth that nations lose or individuals gain. We are astounded by the violence and the monstrosity of official corruption. The Church cannot say it is not concerned about economic issues because these issues lead directly or indirectly to untold human suffering in terms of environmental pollution, global warming, labor exploitation, development of slum-cities and disintegration of social norms. But the Church need not be baffled. In fact it can go back to basics and help the world define what it is to be wealthy; and reaffirm that ownership of wealth carries with it responsibility to the community, environment and God.
Issues challenging the Church in the 21st Century
Changing Family Values
Sometimes I wonder whether our family values have changed so fundamentally that divorce is no longer shocking news? The Church is faced with a breakdown of the family institution. Along with this phenomenon is the problem of children and youth who are unable to adjust to parental authority and who, in turn, develop into inapt parents themselves. Juvenile delinquency has reached alarming proportions in the developed nations, and we cannot pretend it is unrelated to those families who are unable to cope with the daily problems of living. Children and society at large are often the victims of such broken families.
One aspect of this that has come to the forefront is the issue of women's emancipation. In the past, the inter-play of male and female roles created a stability of social and sexual norms. Since the basic condition of women (sexual freedom and equal rights) has changed dramatically, so has the condition of the male segment of society. Men's sense of paternity and sexual-esteem, instinct for work and material possession, to save, to care and to make sacrifice for their off-springs were important elements of his own self-understanding. This is changing fast, and this should cause us to reconsider the paradigm of women's emancipation. Should the Church champion women's empowerment so as to achieve better parental authority and better families? Better human and Christian values for the community?
Along with this issue at home, the living and working environment in modern societies has become highly competitive and stressful. Some of the results of this are problems such as poor health, badly managed family life, substance abuse, etc., all of which themselves lead to greater stress. Communal leisure time was the basis for the development of arts and culture, but today's demand for privacy, to escape such stress, has changed that. We have a multitude of diversions which can be broadcast directly into our homes, making it possible for us to cut ourselves off from friends and loved ones and at the same time feel fulfilled. The inability of such diversions to meet an individual's real need for a caring community to live in, can be seen in the rise of all the above-mentioned ill effects of stress...not to mention that often the first victim of one's inability to cope is marriage.
Demand for economic development has led to disintegration of traditional morals and community support, and to the rise of nuclear, anonymous and amoral family units, having a devastating effect on the traditional family. This also has an effect on the way we relate to one another in church. Our traditional liturgy emphasizes communal worship and uses "we," "us," and "our" heavily, but the demand for privacy and our inability to handle social situations makes us want to worship in aloofness...which is no worship at all. Also, the values we teach and uphold in the family and in the church are no longer those reflected in the community in which we live.
The world has changed irrevocably. What, then, is the church to do? Some churches have abandoned the community-ness in favor of anonymity and individualism. Traditional worship imputes a responsibility towards the faith of others that some see as an intrusion into their privacy. The Church in the coming century has to ask itself, "when does a congregation cease to be a community?" The Church will have to ask itself how it may be an instrument for the recovery of family values.
Public Health
Public Health has always been a vital concern for the Church, especially for those churches involved in mission. A healthy community is productive and builds the individual, the family, the nation, the church and the faith. Although the Church hospital or clinic is still the friend of the poor, this passing century saw governments and large commercial corporations taking over a large measure of that responsibility. The trend in the Church in many parts of the world is towards less and less active interest in the health of the community. This may have to change in the coming century. Public health has become an extremely urgent concern.
The scourge of syphilis, gonorrhea and other diseases were not only rooted in the growth of industries that required a high mobility of large numbers of people; but also in the failure to instill proper family values in the community. And in the end of this last century, a new specter, AIDS, has emerged. The world is hoping for a miracle cure, and although the Church shouts for a return to family values, it seems to be a little too late, now. In some countries, entire villages have been wiped out.
What is the answer? Although the Church cannot stop advocating the sanctity of marriage and family, it needs to address the question of AIDS in other quarters as well. For one, the Church has to recognize the political nature of how different nations handle the disease. The issues of allocation of public funds--"will we be forced to spend a large percentage of our budget on it?"--fear of economic repercussions in their prostitution industry, and embarrassment over failed religious or social efforts to cure the problem. The problem of denial or suppression of information is a sign of a weak political will to deal with the problem. Since this mindset is found in nations most affected by AIDS, we can anticipate the scourge to go on well into the 21st century. The Church has to speak up for a political will and actively teach the public, as well as help the dying to repent and turn to God, and comfort the victims left behind--orphans and widows, many of whom are themselves infected.
Inter-religious Relations
The 21st century will see the Church continuing to be in the forefront of inter-religious dialogue. The scholarly traditions that we have created have in turn become a resource of human understanding of religion, and that is good. Although we continue to throw mud on our face by our own carelessness, Christian chauvinism has been checked largely by the reaction of the people of other faiths. We also have benefited from our understanding of religion and its political capacities. There are new challenges ahead--coming from a number of new players, namely, Hinduism, the Bahai Faith and emerging organizations that seem to exhibit religious characteristics such as the Falun Gong in China. Hinduism in particular has become an international phenomenon and its bewildering character has not been properly understood by most of the Churches which come in contact with those who profess it. Recent experiences in India, especially, demonstrate our failure to make pertinent contact with the Hindu community, and perhaps a failure to appreciate Hindu existential reaction to life.
On the other hand, some of the new religions are strongly missionary in character and speak messages which challenge not just the authority of the Church, but also faith itself. The Church is familiar with cults and does possess some degree of know-how in dealing with them. But there are emerging movements, such as Falun Gong, which by their sheer immensity command political power. Are these religions, or are they political movements? How should the Church deal with such a phenomenon--would the Church be interfering in the politics of a nation or speaking up to protect the freedom of people to choose their own faith?
Ecclesiology
The Church needs to address the stormy problems blowing hard around it; and the Church needs to continuously examine itself for change. A Church that exhibits confidence and dynamism internally...without losing itself to the world, is the church most effective in dealing with the society around it. We have to rediscover our true tradition in Christ and relive the Call and the Vision, in order to be the true ambassadors of heaven on earth. Following are two issues of deep concern for the Church universal.
One of the greatest challenges to our Faith is not other religions, but indifference to religion and God. Such indifference is often found in the realms of science and the pursuit of materialism. One of our weaknesses is rooted in the fact that the historical Church was the cradle of the scientific tradition of the West. As a result, the church is slow to counter the scholarly disdain for the spiritual. In some circles, Christians are embarrassed about the spiritual dimension of their faith. But the Holy Spirit is real. The spiritual gifts are real. Evil spirits and demons are real; and human authority over them is real. God's angels are real. And the pronouncement of blessings and curses are real in effect. Prayers are real. One of the doctrinal challenges to the Church is the recovery of a Christian world-view informed by both Scripture and science.
Ever since the Schism of 1054, the understanding of ekklesia has been pondered and argued from many points of view. After the idea of papal authority had been rejected, the source of authority in the Church came into question. The past century has seen a proliferation of "micro-denominations" where the traditional understandings of authority have been challenged. This sends a challenge to the "traditional" churches to re-think their understanding and the theological clarity of the position of ecclesial authority.
One problem of this break in ecclesial authority is an indifference to the accumulated theological tradition of the Church. This means that the wheel has to be re-invented: old heresies have to be re-encountered and disposed of. Perhaps this will lead to a theology more easily understood by the modern mind, so as to re-establish the authority of the Church in the hearts of all Christians.
On the other hand, much has been accomplished in ecumenical relationships and that work will continue. However, steps need to be taken beyond good-will and respect to greater co-operation in mission and evangelism.
The proliferation of independent churches is perhaps a symptom of our failure to make our doctrinal truth clear to the ordinary people--to take out the theological jargon and sophistication. Perhaps we should ask ourselves some difficult questions that might address the challenge: What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the doctrine of justification after all? How are we to understand "grace"?
In a world full of conflicting claims to truth itself, the Church may have to re-evaluate what ekklesia means, so as to heal the tattered Body of Christ and to provide a legitimate means of reconciling with the Apostolic tradition.
The year 2000 opens a vista in the minds and hearts of people all over the planet. We can die making a difference for God's glory. Or we die by our indifferent silence. 
| Next Article:Asian Church Leader's Conference |
