Before our China years we had little close
connection with any Roman Catholics. We did –at times- have R.C. neighbors and
colleagues, but when it came to church or faith, there typically was no
communication or sense of unity. Both, they and we, ‘knew’ that we belonged to
the true church, and is seemed that nothing could shake each other’s
denominational commitment.
While we were teaching in China, we did
have some Christian colleagues, from a variety of church backgrounds. Some
years there were two or three of them who would regularly join our group in
Sunday worship. At one time there was a group of serious young women from
Mennonite background, but they preferred to do weekly Bible study meetings with
each other. For a lot of young colleagues (even if they had been faithful in
attending worship ‘at home’) the temptations were too great, and so they spent
the weekends with their friends traveling or visiting Hong Kong.
Then there was N. During the first few
years, at our first location, she was quite regular, although often she was too
busy. At that time she seemed to have an eating disorder, and she was always dressed
in black. She was from R.C. background and she loved Jesus, but she was quite
skeptical about the Old Testament. During the last couple of years she
returned, even though it involved more travel since our meetings were now in a
different location. Sister N became a very faithful attendant, and she had
changed in obvious ways. She was clearly happier than before, and she was never
dressed in black. She seemed quite agreeable with all the teaching, although
she never participated in the Communion.
There was also Sister A, an older Irish
lady, also from R.C. background. She had been in a small evangelical prayer
group and worked fairly closely with Marioka, and prior to her hip operation
she used to go to the city on Sundays for worship at the cathedral. Marioka had
suggested to her to join us in worship, but Sister A required (and appreciated)
a little stronger encouragement to do so. So, this last year, A regularly came
to attend our meetings. She was already fairly
critical about certain things in the R.C. tradition, so she had little problems
to adjust to our worship and the teaching. She often remarked how the teaching
and fellowship helped her to live closer to Christ.
Last, but not least, there was our new
(elementary) art teacher, Ms. T. She was
a young woman from R.C. tradition, who recently had come to know Christ as her
Lord and Savior. Although the catholic traditions felt friendly familiar to
her, she was fairly critical about some of the teaching, and she loved to
worship with us.
All of these three ladies were present the
day we were visited by the police. After this event it took some time for
everybody to reconsider the alternatives and priorities. First I continued to
prepare the messages, and while our Chinese friends would meet at their new
address, we would meet with other foreigners in our home. So, here we were:
having worship with three Catholic sisters!
In the teaching, I would not seek to stress
the differences in teachings in various church directions. Yet, when it was
appropriate for the topic, I did not hesitate to explain the differences between
Reformed-Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic teachings. So,
we dealt with topics such as gifts of the Spirit, like speaking in tongues, the
practice of infant baptism, the meaning of the Lord Supper, and the use of the
crucifix. I always made a point to try to give a fair and balanced explanation
of the different views before listing possible concerns about each side. Then I
would explain our point of view. In my teaching, I typically followed the
teaching of The Gospel Coalition (as expressed by Tim Keller, Don Carson, and
John Piper), yet our church looked like a ‘Charismatic Reformed Baptist church
with some Lutheran tendencies’.
Naturally, not all teachers from R.C.
background were interested in weekly worship or in active evangelism. Regular
readers of our updates know that for almost seven years we have worked with
Mary’s students in a nearby Chinese high school. In the first years Brother Andrew, who taught
at the same school, assisted us; in the recent years some colleagues would come
with us. The last year, our ‘Catholic Sisters’ A and T worked with us in this
ministry.
A few years ago yet, we tried to keep this
work ‘under the radar’. The school principal, Mr. Li, had warned me years
before not to get involved with local church work, and he had labeled me ‘a
religious fanatic’. Mary’s department head, however, loved the work that we
were doing. He was convinced that it would benefit the students’ English
skills, and he was excited that we did it ‘Pro Deo’!
Last Fall, however, there was a change.
Finally, this school had found a way to offer a program through which they
could grant Canadian high school diplomas. And they would do so in close
cooperation with a Catholic School Board in Southern Ontario! To boost their English program, they had to
hire a number of Ontario teachers. So, suddenly Mr. Li thought it a wonderful
idea that students would read the Bible in the English language!
Sister Mary, the coordinating teacher for
our program, had great hopes to get the cooperation of the new Catholic
teachers from Ontario. Together with them, we could perhaps expand the program
to include all senior classes! Although she made several attempts, the new
teachers always were too busy or too tired to get involved at all. Mary was
disappointed and surprised how Christian teachers could have so little interest
to bring the Good News to the Chinese young people who had never heard it.
Things are always changing, especially in
China. Only a few months ago Mary told us that the whole school program was
going to change, and –as a result- it might be impossible to continue the Bible
reading program (that she had first started as an extra-curricular activity
seven-and-a-half years ago, after she was just baptized. Yet, she was already
creatively looking at new formats to continue with the work. May the Lord
continue to keep her, to guide her, and to use her for the Kingdom.
As the Spirit had connected us with
Catholics, there was an interesting extension, even during our journey ‘home’.
Here we are on our way from China to Canada: on a German container ship,
chartered by a Korean company, with a crew that is mostly of (Philippine)
Catholic background. The Chief Engineer is Polish, also from Catholic
background, and he liked our idea to host a worship service on Sunday
afternoon. So, a few days ago we gathered in the officers’ mess. Outside a few
officers on duty (on the bridge and engine room), almost everybody came to our
meeting. We had been busy selecting songs (lyrics and music in mp-3 format),
preparing the message (on The Prodigal Son), and working out the logistics.
Near the end of the service I briefly explained the (real) meaning of the
Lord’s Supper and the conditions for participation; most of them gladly
participated. It was a wonderful time together, and this time of worship was
certainly one of the highlights of the 12-day journey across the Pacific!
No comments:
Post a Comment