Bahan di bawah ini merupakan kuliah terbuka yang disampaikan Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, Sekretaris Umum dari Dewan Gereja-gereja se-Dunia (DGD). Kuliah terbuka ini diadakan dalam rangka Asian Ecumenical Course (AEC) di STT Jakarta pada tanggal 17 Mei 2013. Bahan diambil dari Forum Teologi dan Biblika di Grup Facebook, postingan dari Bung Novel Matindas.
1.
Rice is life
Rice is
Life – you all know this in this beautiful country of Indonesia with its many
thousands of islands with ancient rice terraces and paddy fields. Rice is the
most important staple food for people here and, indeed, for more than half of
the world’s population.
When there
is enough rice, families can be happy and children can laugh. But when prices
for rice triple like in 2008, millions of people are pushed into poverty and
despair.
Rice is one
of the wondrous gifts of God’s creation.
It is to be grown, cultivated and made available for all so that nobody
remains hungry in the community. The
gift of life needs to be nurtured, cultivated and shared so that life is
flourishing and people can live in communities of justice and peace. A bowl of sticky rice can be a symbol of
family and community holding on to each other.
When the
community of life, however, is breaking apart, people and creation suffer. Also
this we can see when we open our eyes and notice that far too many are left in
poverty, communities are fighting for the resources they need, forests are
burned and life is destroyed by climate change and other consequences of
affluent life styles.
The same was wondfully
expressed in the Sago bowl in the church in Papua, representing the gift of
life and the word of life at the same time. Only when the gift and the word is
shared to give life, to share life with others, it is a truly received. The
same is the sign of the bread - which Christ himself made the symbol of his
life given for us. To receive the sign of life is always also a call to share
life, and to care for life.
We read in
Paul’s letter to the Romans, that creation waits with eager longing for the
revealing of the children of God (Romans 8:19). When Christ died on the cross
to reconcile humanity with God and his side was pierced by the Roman soldier
with a spear so that blood and water poured on the earth (John 19:34), this meant
also the liberation of all of God’s creation from the bondage of sin. Life and
not death is the promise that we receive in Christ (John 10:10) - not only for Christians, but for all humanity
and all creatures on earth.
2.
The emergence of the
assembly theme
“God of
Life, lead us to justice and peace” – the theme of the forthcoming tenth
assembly of the WCC is a message of hope wherever life is threatened. It is a
message of justice where communities area being destroyed by oppression and
marginalization of others. It is a message of peace and reconciliation where
people are divided and even fighting each other.
The
assembly theme is both a wakeup call to the world, affirming that life is God’s
gift for all, and a prayer that God may lead us to justice and peace so that
life is no longer threatened and destroyed.
Justice and peace are the hallmarks of God’s reign to come. Directing
ourselves to receive the gift of life from God, we must begin a pilgrimage of
justice and peace.
When the
assembly planning committee proposed this theme and the central committee voted
for it, they responded deliberately to proposals coming from Asia. Let me
briefly recall how the theme was identified in drawing on a summary that was
shared by our Asia regional executive, Dong Sung Kim.
“Now Choose
Life”
One of the
earliest suggestions for an assembly theme came from the Korean churches in
2010. They proposed “Now Choose Life”, based on Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse
19. The focus on life would remain throughout the process. It reflected the
Korean churches memory of the struggle with the breakdown of the traditional
Korean feudal society that was followed by the aggressive Japanese occupation
and colonial rule. Though they could
liberate themselves of the Japanese oppression, soon the horrors of war ravaged
the country and whole families were wiped out or lost their relatives. As a
result, the land was divided in two countries that stood against each other on
different sides. “Now Choose Life”, reflected the concern of the period as the
tensions on the Korean peninsula heightened and conflict accompanied by death
and destruction dominated. But it also responded to the reality of other
countries in Asia that suffered like the Korean people because of ideology,
military dictatorship, economic growth and the ensuing disparity between rich
and poor, violations against human rights, and the ecological crisis.
The Korean churches
considered the 10th Assembly of the WCC in Busan as an opportunity
to not only analyse the various challenges facing the churches today but also
for determining how they should respond. The decisive step to be taken and the
direction to go were given with the call taken from Deuteronomy chapter 30 and
verse 19, “Now Choose Life”.
The choice
of this theme was an attempt to reflect the critical nature of this particular
point in time when not only humankind but the whole of creation is “groaning as
in the pains of childbirth”. (Romans 8:22) The time to respond, and the time to
act is now, and now is the time for us to choose life. The theme proposal also
reflected the responsibility that we as Christians have. We must choose. We
must respond either answering yes or no through our actions.
“Living
Together in God’s Justice and Peace”
Another
proposal was made by participants in a consultation organized through the
partnership of the WCC Asia Desk, the Christian Conference of Asia and the
Korean churches in 2010 to prepare an Asian proposal for a theme to the first
meeting of the WCC assembly planning committee.
The
consultation noted that traditionally, the societies in Asia have had a long
heritage of diversity. And while the peoples of Asia possess rich, timeless and
complex histories of living cultures and spiritualities, Asia is also the place
where justice is all too frequently denied, peace under constant threat, and
life systematically abused and destroyed. Many countries in Asia continue to
struggle in the midst of the challenges of political authoritarianism, poverty,
social discrimination and human rights violations, as well as of the
consequences of global warming, natural disasters and ecological crisis. In the
midst of this painful reality the people of Asia are yearning for a new social
order based on the principles of justice, reconciliation and peace. Indeed,
this yearning is not only of the Asian people but many others around the globe.
The
consultation identified justice as the outstanding aspiration of people of Asia
and other continents. The particular emphasis on justice by the churches in
Asia was based on the understanding of God’s justice, zedakah, as the foundation of the created order of all living
beings, and the basis for God’s covenant with humanity and other forms of life.
God’s justice is what ordains right relationships with all living beings. It is
different from all other notions of justice which tend to be limited in scope.
Rather, God’s justice is holistic, inclusive and transformative. It renders
justice to the offended and transforms the offender. It is based on love and
compassion, especially for the last and the least. It seeks transformation at
all levels.
Similarly,
God’s peace, shalom/salaam, is also
different. It is grounded in justice and the ability to be just and to do
justice, not only among ourselves as human beings but also in our attitudes
towards the whole realm of life. Peace is a gift of God. We cannot build peace
nor make peace without seeking justice for there is a fundamental
interconnectedness between justice and peace. Peace is real when we nurture and
safeguard justice. To that extent, God’s peace is more than an absence of war,
it is rather the absence of the causes of war and injustice, the gift of
freedom and a celebration of the interconnectedness of life. Many Asian
traditions testify to this understanding of the web of life and the human
responsibility to safeguard it.
Many Asian
cultures and spiritual traditions emphasize human togetherness and the
interconnectedness of life. In the context of manifold threats to the
eco-system, this epistemology and notion of inter-relatedness, togetherness and
reciprocity would certainly be helpful in perceiving the whole creation. It
helps to overcome the dualism that creates a wedge between human community and
non-human community.
Reflecting
this specific Asian worldview, the proposal of “Living together in God’s
justice and peace” was proposed as a possible assembly theme. With its emphasis
on shared life, this proposal also reflected the fact that Christians are a
minority in many Asian countries, living together with people of other
religions with whom they share the aspirations for life marked by justice and
peace.
The trio of
life, justice and peace was to remain. During the course of discussions and
deliberations at the assembly planning committee and the central committee,
however, the theme was re-phrased and took its present shape of “God of life,
lead us to justice and peace”. Surely,
it became more theological speaking of the God of life and more liturgical
being phrased as a prayer, but it did not become triumphalist and
self-righteous regarding the context of religious plurality. It underlines that
Christian faith is faith in the God of life who cares for all living beings and
not just for some. Because the salvation of the whole of creation lies in the
Triune God, Christians are called to witness to God’s reconciling and redeeming
grace and the coming of God’s reign which is marked by justice and peace.
3. New Delhi and
Hiroshima
No image and no words are
totally neutral. The concept of life can be used as a concept if darwinistic
acceptance of the right of the strongest. We have seen this throughout history.
In my Norwegian and European context I have learned how the liberation from the
Nazi regime and occupation was a liberation from the project "Lebensraum"
- "more space for life". The prayer to God of life is our way of
confirming that we will not give the concept of life to those who are
destroying the respect and dignity of life. It has to be qualified by other
concepts and reflections, and practices. The same can be said about the
concepts of justice, peace, and "just peace". All these beautiful
words need to be defined from the perspective of the Word of God, and therefore
from the perspective of the option for the poor and the marginalized. We have
to define the meaning of these concepts as Christian churches, properly
responding to the reality of our
contexts, and to share them in our life together.
It is worthwhile to recall that the first time
that the WCC strongly and clearly expressed that the unity of the
church is to be a prophetic sign for the unity of all humankind and, indeed, of
the whole creation, was during the time of the first assembly that was
held in Asia in 1961 in New Delhi. Referring to Col 1: 15-20 that speaks of
Christ as the firstborn of all creation, the American theologian Joseph Sittler
reminded the assembly that the crucified and risen Christ has overcome the
powers of destruction and death and has already established his reign together
with God the creator and the Holy Spirit.
In this
context, it is important for us to recall that Sittler confronts the theme of
the New Delhi assembly “Jesus Christ – the light of the World” with the memory
of the brutal flash when the nuclear bomb exploded over Hiroshima in 1945.
Since 1945, so Sittler, the metaphor of light is no more innocent. The total
destruction of Hiroshima was a clear signal for a completely new situation.
From now on, humankind could alter and even destroy life as we know it.
Korean,
Japanese and many other Asian friends remind us that the danger of nuclear
destruction is still real and cannot be forgotten when we refer to other
threats of life. Sittler does not shy away from this fact, but rather shows how
this situation reveals a much deeper meaning of the apocalyptic tradition and
the notion of the cosmic Christ. We begin to understand what it really means
that Christ has overcome the powers that are and all divisions. We see more
clearly what God’s grace really means for the future of life.
Against
this background, we understand even better why the theme of the tenth assembly
of the WCC in Busan is a liberating message in a time when parts of humankind
has acquired the means to destroy all life within seconds through the use of
nuclear bombs, over decades through global warming and climate change and every
day through violence and war and through poverty and hunger that kill millions
of people every year. Over against the scandalous consequences of sin and
unjust structures, the assembly theme dares to announce that all life is held
and liberated in God – the God of life who created the world with all living
beings and endowed us with dignity and freedom, who identified himself with the
suffering of this world and overcame it in the cross and resurrection of Jesus
Christ once and for all, and who sustains and renews life in the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Pointing to
the God of life and the celebration of life in the Eucharist, the church brings
good news to all who are disempowered and impoverished, marginalized and
excluded. Doing so, the church needs the
discernment and guidance which justice and peace require to protect fragile
life and to celebrate that it lasts and blossoms despite all threats.
During my
travels and encounters with people and churches in different parts of the world
and with religious and political leaders of many nations, I have discovered
again and again the deep meaning and relevance of this theme not only for
Christians, but for all human beings caring for each other and the future of
life on planet earth.
Talking
about God as the giver and source of life, we look at life as a whole.
The unity we strive for – unity for the churches serving the unity of humankind
– is God’s gift, keeping the diverse expressions of life together. The gift of
life is to be received and not to be torn apart and destroyed in the race for
individual gains that reflects human greed. The great Mahatma Gandhi was clear:
Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s needs, but for everyone’s greed.”
We affirm
through the theme that all life is held and sustained by God, all healed and
reconciled through the death and resurrection of Christ. As much as the cross
of Golgotha is a reminder of the torture and painful death of Christ, it is a
sign of God’s deep solidarity with any suffering and God’s will for life marked
by justice and peace for everyone. In the solidarity of the cross, we are
called as Christ’s disciples to bring signs of new life into the midst of
suffering and signs of hope into the midst of despair.
Some have
said that 20th century ecumenism was focusing on ecclesial unity and
that 21st century ecumenism will have to focus on anthropology and
the dignity of human beings, underlining common horizons also with people of
other faith communities and ideologies. Looking at the history of the
ecumenical movement, I am convinced that the concerns for justice and peace and
mission and unity always were held together in close relationship with each
other. There is, however, some truth in this observation as it draws our attention
to the fact that anthropology and the concern for the dignity of the human
person have moved up on the agenda: both are closely related to divisive
ethical issues on the one hand and offer a common perspective in the pursuit of
justice and peace on the other. Human dignity is the focus of all initiatives
for human rights and is accepted as shared ground for inter-religious dialogue
and cooperation. Life in dignity in just and sustainable communities is a
yardstick for common witness and action that is inspired and guided by the
assembly theme. We will support those decisions, initiatives and processes that
foster life in dignity, justice and peace and will expose and challenge all
those that undermine it.
4. Being churches together in today’s world
Focusing on
life, justice and peace, the assembly theme offers us a motivating and
inspiring perspective to look in a fresh way at the different dimensions of
being church that were identified by the APC already at its first meeting: koinonia, martyria, diakonia,
education and the inter-religious dimension of the churches’ common witness.
These dimensions of being church are foundational to what the church is.
Therefore, the classical streams of the ecumenical movement of Faith and Order,
Mission, Life and Work, Education and Ecumenical Diakonia reflect them. And
although the streams have changed in outlook and content to be addressed, these
dimensions of being church can still be identified as inter-related but
distinguishable spheres of reflection and common action by the churches
together.
Seen in the
perspective of the assembly theme, unity, mission, justice and peace all refer
to God’s gift of life that continues to transform the world and requires the
human response of faithful discipleship. The unity of the Triune God, God’s
justice and God’s peace (shalom/salaam) all call
for the churches response and participation in the transformation of the life
of human communities and the world. Unity, mission, justice and peace are
closely interrelated dimensions of faithful discipleship that contributes to
nurturing life in the midst of death, struggling for justice in the midst of
greed and building peace in the midst of violence and war.
In the
context of the assembly preparations, these dimensions of being church are
responsive to the ecclesial nature of the ecumenical movement, the undergirding
ethos of fellowship and consensus, and the witness of the churches not only of
one, but of many traditions.
For me,
they are also central building blocks for the post-assembly programme structure
of the WCC with unity and mission and diakonia and public witness as two
pillars of the work and ecumenical education and inter-religious dialogue and
cooperation as cross-cutting concerns. We do have the opportunity to develop an
integrated agenda of transformation with clear priorities. I expect that the
assembly will identify clear priorities together with recommendations for
action
- for the
fellowship of member churches which is the WCC,
- for
cooperation among partners in the ecumenical movement, and
- for the
secretariat of the WCC.
5.
Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace
We have a momentum now, focusing on the ecumenical
contributions to justice and peace, also to the concept of just peace. How
shall we build on this? Interest in a
pilgrimage on justice and peace was first indicated by some participants at the
IEPC in Jamaica in 2011. The idea was brought through the programme committee
to the Central Committee which met in Crete in August/September 2012. When
commenting on the document Economy of
Life: Justice and Peace for All and the recommendation “Peace and justice
in the context of climate change” (EKD), the programme committee report
strongly affirmed the call to action as the result of a six-year process of
consultations and regional studies connecting the areas of poverty, wealth and
ecology.
The report says in part: “During the discussion the necessity
of a holistic approach was underlined. The analysis of the different crises
(global financial, socio-economic, ecological) should be perceived as
intertwined. The WCC should offer a spiritual approach arising from the
alternative visions and powerful language of our faith.
We also recognized a need to be attentive to a variety of
perspectives in this work: voices from people of the margins and victims of
different crises; people seeking justice in different contexts; and churches
which are interested and would be willing to work in these areas be asked to do
so on behalf of the WCC.”
Two of the recommendations from the
programme committee were relevant to the pilgrimage of justice and peace. These
were:
b. That the World Council of Churches launch a
pilgrimage of justice and peace based on the basic parameters found in the
“Economy of Life, Justice and Peace for All” (GEN Pro 06), Commitments and
Call, para. 21-26 at the assembly in Busan (until the 11th assembly) for and of
the churches to focus on faith commitments to economic justice (poverty and
wealth), ecological justice (climate change, etc.), and peace building. The WCC
should “set the table” for the churches (as well as other organizations and
communities including the Christian world communions, specialized ministries,
interfaith organizations and social movements) to share spirituality and
practice developed in their search for transformation for justice and
sustainability.
That the World Council of Churches
initiates a broad theological study process of the issues related to the
pilgrimage of justice and peace in order to connect to the theological work on
ecclesiology (undertaken by Faith and Order), unity, mission (CWME) and others
within the member churches.’
Let me at this stage in the process of
developing this concept share the following:
The strategic plan of the WCC that we
are to develop needs to facilitate these ideas. It should be the overall
perspective to the whole plan. All programmes and projects in the matrix to be
developed between core areas and work and crosscutting perspectives need to
define themselves according to this overall perspective. This should be
possible in the light of what I have said about changes of paradigms and
perspectives in our work. This is for me not to leave the call to unity, but to
find our particular contributions to move towards visible unity in the next
years. This can be done in different ways, as you might see from other
presentations here in this meeting.
The image of pilgrimage corresponds
better to the identity of the WCC than decades, and can also better fit into
the eight year cycles of the assemblies. It should be a fully integrated
perspective in our programmes, not something besides it.
As I have strongly emphasized, the
image of a pilgrimage as the framework for many of our projects for justice and
peace offers a link between spirituality and work that is urgently needed.
Furthermore, it conveys a spirituality defined neither by triumphalism nor
fatalism. We are on the way, with one another, with the God of life, with a
clear purpose: To be a foretaste of the kingdom of God and to serve humanity
and the whole of creation. The humility of being pilgrims together is also our
strength.
The task of the assembly is to fill
this plan for a pilgrimage with ideas, visions, directions and inspiration. The
task of making this into concrete plans and budgets belongs to the staff and
the governing bodies of the WCC immediately after the assembly. The task to
make sure that this is feasible, realistic, helpful and filled with substance
is ours now in the preparations of the assembly. Together with other
pre-assemblies around the world we should now develop ideas and commitments to
this pilgrimage, what to do and what to focus on.
I believe that we need to discuss
particularly our advocacy work, our commitment to gender justice, the
involvement of younger people, the work for economic justice, the continuation
of the work on ecology, the contributions to peace processes and more. I have
already touched significant dimensions of our work.
Being together means also finding the
way together. We are who we are, in our different roles, we are here and able
to do something together if we are committed to do so.
We are moving, only if walking, not
sitting still. Different routes are possible. But we will find our way to
cooperation, to share our tasks, our resources and our dreams if we are focused
on the objectives, not ourselves (which might be a temptation for tired
pilgrims).
May the God
of life grant us vision to see and strength to go forward!
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