A cycle of action and contemplation
Having worked in the NGO ministry (action oriented ministry) for 12 years, my thirst was always for more reflection, for more time for prayer and contemplation: to be still, to be silent, and simply to stop. Having worked in an academic institution (reflection oriented ministry) for the past 4 years, I was always hungry for more action in the world: to be relevant, to be responsive and to be useful.
Through my experiences and the experiences of others whom I have observed, I have learned that action and contemplation seldom come together simultaneously. For so many years in the past I had felt guilty for not striking a balance between action and contemplation, resentment for having too much of one or too little of the other. I finally came to reconcile with myself about this: Action and contemplation come in seasons and are rather cyclical. Wisdom lies in knowing when to do what.
For the past four trips to Fukushima, every time I came back to Vancouver, I had the privilege of having friends who are theologians be willing to listen to my encounters, my questions and my limitations and offer their prayers. Some offered their places on Galiano island where I could get away and rest in God and in his beautiful creation on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima. That’s how I have been cared for by my friends. The cycle of action and reflection continued throughout the intense year since 3/11.
Jonathan Wilson is one of such friends for me in Vancouver. He is a theologian who teaches theology and ethics and is closely connected with an evangelical renewal movement in North America called the New Monasticism (click here). Because of my involvement in community development among the poor around the world, I keep a keen interest in innovative models of community building and the New Monasticism movement is one that I’ve mentioned to people in Fukushima often.
In my reflection on contemporary missional praxis, I made observations that we evangelicals lack a comprehensive theology of creation in our approaches to mission. Dealing with the unprecedented triple-disasters of Fukushima, I concluded my year-long cycle of action and contemplation with the insight that ‘loving God and loving neighbor’ must include our role in restoring God’s good creation. It is simply put in Scripture as the reconciliation of all things to God through Christ (Col 1:15-20). My other observation is that the cycle of knowledge development in theological education and mission is not fast enough to deal with challenging realities like Fukushima (I won’t argue why or how it is so in this blog). My conversations with Jonathan often ended with my question to him, “So, when is your new book coming out?” This time, rather than handing me his new book, Jonathan decided to join me in Fukushima as a co-listener and co-learner.
A circle of listening: a place of restoration
18 months have passed since the 3/11 disasters and my Japanese colleagues decided to offer space for a group listening time for pastors in Fukushima after a similar gathering they offered a year ago. Just six months after the disaster, last year’s gathering was focused on creating a space to stop, rest, and listen to God collectively. As a result of collective rest and reflection, they wrote a declaration together (click here) and formed a local entity called the Fukushima Christian Cooperation, to live up to the name of Fukushima, the Land of Gospel for the first time in history (read the story here).
This time the gathering was created to offer a small ‘stopping point’ in the midst of busy routines of post-disaster life everyday. We met at a local church in Koriyama for an extended period of lunch and sharing. We set in circle with the beautifully presented Japanese traditional lunch boxes, “Bento.”
Dr. Kanda asked two questions, and one by one Japanese pastors shared their stories.
- How has the level of radiation changed since the 3/11 disaster and what have you been doing so far?
- During this time, how has God been speaking to you?
With Midori’s translation, Jonathan took lots of notes, as his task was to provide a theological commentary on what he heard. (What unconventional things my Japanese friends always come up with: This was a completely upside-down-theological-conference!)
Everyone was pre-assigned to read Jonathan’s short essay on God’s Good World (a summary of his upcoming book) before they could register to come today. Their lives for the past 18 months have been reflected through a new lens of theology of creation below to look at themselves, their life and work in Fukushima:
- that this is God’s good world,
- that the goodness of this world is grounded in the life of the One God: Father, Son, and Spirit,
- that the life of this One God has been given to redeem the world,
- that the purpose God has given to creation—its destiny—is new creation,
- that the worst possible event in the universe has occurred—the death of the Son of God,
- that the death of the Son of God did not bring an end to the universe,
- instead, the death of the Son of God is overcome in resurrection, which guarantees the ultimate redemption and healing of the universe in New Creation.
We went around the circle and listened to each one’s story intently (I will summarize the stories another day), but this one phrase a pastor saw on a sticker on someone's bumper summed up everything:
WE LIVE IN FUKUSHIMA. WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES.
Life is full of surprises and often these surprises have more to do with suffering than with excitement. In those dark times of suffering, it is not easy to listen to other people’s advice (especially in Fukushima where so much deception, lies and rumors about radiation have affected innocent lives).
Good listening is not only a service, but a necessity of community life, as Bonhoeffer said to his beloved community under the dark regime of Nazi Germany. Listening to one another and listening to God. That’s how we can make the best sense of a world that is so uncertain, so chaotic and so fragile as ours is today, especially in a place like Fukushima. In my humble opinion, that is how a good solid theology develops in dialogue with life in suffering, life with Easter Hope.
The circle of listening we offered today was an act of God restoring his good creation, touching our hearts through the stories we heard.
No comments:
Post a Comment