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Appendix 11 Ecumenical Understanding of Solidarity and Sharing: Limites and Emerging Potentials
On behalf of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), I would like to say that we are very happy to be part of this timely consultation. We have come here to express our profound concern for peace in North East Asia, listen, share, and, above all, to take part in discerning and responding to the many challenges that the churches in North East Asia are currently facing. We believe that one of the biggest obstacles to the full blossoming of peace in the North East Asia sub-region is the continued division of the Korean peninsula. The Asia ecumenical family shares the agony and sufferings of the Korean churches and people brought about by this painful reality. We believe that, as long as the Korean peninsula remains divided, genuine peace -- the wholeness and well-being of peoples, communities, and creation in general -- cannot be realised. We know that the Korean churches and people long for peace and reunification in the peninsula. As long as division persists, we the ecumenical community bears some responsibility for the realisation of reunification and reconciliation. The CCA is particularly aware that 1995 marked the 50th anniversary of the national liberation of Korea and was declared as the Year of Jubilee for Peace and Reunification. The Tenth General Assembly of the CCA, which met in June last year, thus adopted a resolution on peace and reunification in Korea. The resolution affirmed the urgent need for providing a meaningful occasion for Christians on both sides of the Korean peninsula to "manifest their oneness in faith and in the body of Christ, as well as oneness in the vision of peace, through common worship and prayer." The CCA General Assembly resolved to support and accompany our sisters and brothers in Korea through prayer and solidarity, and to support the efforts of the Korean churches towards peace and reunification. The CCA has also taken part in the International Ecumenical Consultation on Peace and Reunification in Korea that was held in Kyoto, Japan in March 1995. There, at the consultation, we all discerned the emergence of a "Jubilee people" imbibed with the biblical spirit of Jubilee. The demands of Jubilee include the restoration of land and resources to their rightful owners in harmony, the cancellation of debts, the liberation of captives. Jubilee includes emancipation and recovery, but also grace and forgiveness; it includes judgment and repentance, but also reconciliation and unity. Jubilee requires courage and commitment, but also gives way to celebration and hope. The international ecumenical community is aware that the "Jubilee spirit" extends beyond Korea to the whole oikoumene. The Statement of the International Ecumenical Consultation on Peace and Reunification in Korea noted painfully that the "hoped for reunification of Korea has not been fulfilled," and called on us "to live in ways that foreshadow the future, relate to one another as a reconciled people" so that "in our own actions of reuniting hearts, of creating conditions of shared life in community, we show forth the promise of the future."
The Jubilee challenge in the Korean context can therefore be seen as two fold. Firstly, it includes the need to work more vigorously towards the realisation of peace and reunification and of envisioning and realising new models of peace and security in North East Asia that are more in tune with the people’s needs and aspirations. Inevitably, this will require working towards the removal of the conditions that cause and actually perpetuate the division of the peninsula. These conditions include the security structures that have been built as part of the protective systems of the two states, the maintenance of which seems to have assumed a self-perpetuating logic of its own. Needless to say, such so-called protective security systems seem to have become by themselves the source of people’s insecurity. The aspiration for a peaceful and unified Korea is very much part of the search for new models of peace and security in North East Asia and in the world today. New constructs of peace and security in North East Asia should be explored and pursued so that the primacy of people’s security over the exclusiveness of national state security is ensured. What new mechanisms and practices can we introduce so that the food security and well-being of people are protected and given priority? We need to locate our search for the answers to these questions amidst the dramatic economic and political changes that have taken place over recent years, that are rapidly taking place, and that are about to take place. What does it mean to us, for example, that the Asian region is being looked at as the new emerging centre of economic power in the world? What does it mean to us, for example, that 1997 -- which is the time when Hong Kong "returns" to China -- would, for many Chinese people, symbolise the final closure of that chapter in their history which was painfully marked by British colonial rule? These transition points open up a new chapter of world history which will surely be marked by major shifts in the shape of international political and economic relations and in the balance and alignment of world power. Indeed we now stand at the threshold of a new century, and we are about to leave behind the century during which time the wars that brought about the division of Korea were fought. While the division of Korea is very much attached and linked to the past, we need to review it in a new light against the context of the new political and economic era that has begun, and give fresh meaning to the vision of peace and reunification. Furthermore, this aspect of the Jubilee challenge also includes the need for transformation, so that reunification does not mean simply going back to the "pre-division" context, but means the renewal of the whole of society. This renewal does not just entail political changes or the reorganisation of the use and distribution of resources, but encompasses the more profound, and sometimes more difficult, renewal of relations among nations, communities and peoples. This brings me to the other aspect of the Jubilee challenge now. While we strive against many odds towards reunification the Jubilee challenge now also means that, even in the present context of division, we as churches must make more manifest our oneness in Christ, our oneness as a reconciled people, our shared life in community. This needs to be expressed through common prayer, worship, and study, through a firm commitment to building mutual trust and understanding, through the sharing of gifts and resources, and through manifesting Christian love and solidarity. What is particularly exciting about this challenge is that, even as forces that are external to us continue to impose and enforce division, we begin to live the Jubilee spirit and celebrate our oneness as a reconciled people in a spirit of anticipation. The imperative to share, however, must be seen as something more than a demand of the "times" or of the prevailing political and economic conditions. More fundamentally, sharing is a demand of the Gospel, for Jesus Christ, who professes infinite and unfailing love for humanity and for all of the groaning creation, has called us to be one Body in Him. It is a calling that is common to us all who profess our faith in Christ -- wherever we are or on whichever side of the human-made walls that divide us we may be. Both aspects of the Jubilee challenge -- firstly the need to work for peace and reunification, and secondly, the imperative for solidarity and sharing -- are inter-related. On one hand, the building of peace and the realisation of reunification in Korea will provide the best environment and the best conditions for the mutual sharing, mutual understanding and reconciliation amongst people and churches. On the other hand, however, without the joint and shared efforts among and between the churches in the peninsula and the entire ecumenical community, peace and reunification in Korea cannot be a reality. Let us then strengthen the ties that bind us and explore new models of solidarity and sharing now.
When I first read the topic, "Ecumenical Understanding of Solidarity and Sharing: Limits and Emerging Potentials," my first reaction was to raise the question, Why begin with limits, rather than potentials? It is true that the barriers that divide us seem immense and insurmountable. Moreover, the division of the Korean peninsula has been brought about by a long and complicated history of political and ideological factors. Perhaps, we can say that, as a Christian body, our limits lie in the fact that political solutions are beyond our reach, or are not, ultimately within our hands. In addition to this, we ourselves have a long way to go in terms of mutual understanding, much less mutual sharing. the political, economic, and ideological factors that divide our societies have affected our histories and relationships as churches and, indeed perhaps, continue to affect us. Moreover, there are vast differences in our cultures and traditions, sometimes in our way of thinking and in our perspectives about church and society, perhaps even in the resources that we have and in our economic capacities. Nevertheless, we are called to live a shared life in community, and share we must. Sharing becomes more meaningful when it arises out of a deep bond of solidarity with one another. Solidarity can be a very profound and powerful relationship. It requires the commitment to listen to one another, to seek to understand one another in the spirit of openness and willingness to learn. It also connotes a compassionate identification with the struggles and sufferings of one another, but also includes the sharing of dreams, hopes, and visions. to be in solidarity with one another means to be in constant touch with one another, to engage in mutual support, to be in partnership in the efforts to realise a vision, to feel responsible for one another, to be assured of a sense of belonging to one inclusive community. Solidarity, therefore, does not happen accidentally, --it is borne out of a conscious decision and intentionally developed. Solidarity does not arise out of ambiguity and vagueness of purpose -- it is directional, it revolves around a shared vision, it moves toward a clear goal. To begin to share with one another -- to share our gifts and resources, to share our stories and experiences, to share our sufferings and hopes -- would be to take the necessary first steps towards building deeper bonds of solidarity. On the other hand, to begin to commit ourselves to be in solidarity with one another would mean we would already be "foreshadowing the future" of peace as a people reconciled in God, and enjoying the abundance of our shared life in community. In the context of political divisions, economic disparities in our societies, and perhaps amidst the vast differences in our cultures and traditions, how can we facilitate and realise mutual learning and understanding encourage the mutual sharing of resources, and deepen the bonds of ecumenical solidarity among ourselves? What have we to share with one another? And around what issues, what dreams, and hopes, can we be in solidarity with one another? We have come here to begin with you the journey of seeking answers to these questions, of expressing commitments wherever each of us can, and, in those where we can’t, of exploring a multitude of possibilities. The experience of our sisters and brothers in Korean and the constant efforts of the churches there to reach out to one another across the walls of division and against all odds never cease to astound and inspire us. The continued division of the Korean peninsula remains to be an obstacle to the full enjoyment of our shared life in community -- but it has challenged Christians all over the world to dig deep into the resources of their faith in order to overcome barriers and limits, and to manifest their oneness through mutual support and steadfast love. Let us build on this determination and commitment, and strengthen our bridges of solidarity across physical boundaries and walls of separation.
We believe that, in the search for peace in North East Asia, there is a place for more visible expressions of Asian ecumenical solidarity. Asian churches and peoples have a shared history and need to be in solidarity with one another towards realising common hopes and dreams. Asian peoples have many stories to share and many valuable lessons to learn from one another. Asian churches, especially, can learn a lot from the experiences of the churches and the people in the Korean peninsula. There is now a growing desire among Asian churches to build stronger bridges with their neighbours in the Korean peninsula as well as the interest in exploring what they can contribute to the efforts for peace in North East Asia. It is my hope that the CCA can play a pivotal role in building bridges among churches in North East Asia, and in strengthening and mobilising Asian ecumenical solidarity for peace. Toward these ends, the CCA hopes to:
We look forward to fruitful discussions in the days ahead, and hope that we can, together, identify common visions and goals. May the Lord give us the courage, commitment, and wisdom to carry forward the spirit of solidarity and sharing in order to make more manifest our shared life in community, as the Lord Jesus Christ has called us to do. THE RT. REV. KENNETH FERNANDO January 30, 1996 |
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