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Sermon
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| WORLD DAY OF PRAYER 2007
Before I begin, I should like to acknowledge that the
Wurundjeri people are the traditional owners of this
place.
The women of Paraguay have chosen the title United Under God’s Tent to represent the theme of ‘Unity in Diversity’. A most apt and meaningful topic for them and for us! They have asked us to think about the fascinating story of Sarah’s laughter. This is a story which cannot be understood without acknowledging the patriarchal social framework of the time. You will notice that Sarah is never seen and the messengers never talk to her. She remains in the kitchen the whole time. Only God talks to her. This is a rare, but always significant, event. What makes this story astounding is that God has a conversation with Sarah. Let’s see what happens if we tease out Sarah’s part and look at her story. It goes something like this. Sarah prepares a meal for the messengers from God who say that she will bear a child, even though she and Abraham are old. She laughs at the thought of pleasure (this is not part of Abraham’s version). God says, “Why did you laugh?” She tries to cover up her laughter and says, “I didn’t laugh!” And God says, [laughing] “Oh, yes you did!” It’s pretty obvious that there is much more going on here than meets the eye. There is an underlying conversation. Sarah is embarrassed at her emotions being revealed. God says, “I understand. You do not have to cover up your feelings!” Sarah is being affirmed in the most amazing way. Not just for what she can do; but for who she is. She is being told to honour herself. To passionately commit to what she loves. It is an acknowledgment that there is a personal power that is not the result of position or authority from someone else. It is not power over another; it is the power from within that enables her to be fully herself. It is to tap into the sacred, deep within her, which is the source of all life and creativity. “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” As far as I can ascertain, the ‘World Day of Prayer’ has always been about fellowship and understanding and action. About sharing and drawing on the strength of others; about understanding others and their needs; and about being inspired to make a difference. Sarah’s story is exactly what this is all about. It says very clearly, find what you love, what you really care about, and commit passionately to it. Take what time you are able to give and use whatever talents you have to their utmost. Passionate commitment always has its rewards – it can even mean going among those who feel they have a barren future.
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And now we come to the theme of ‘unity in diversity’. I want to mention three Australian examples of diversity which are crying out for acceptance. And then I will say a little about our Paraguyan hosts. 1. Welcoming the stranger This story of Sarah is the first time in the Hebrew texts that hospitality to the stranger is demonstrated as a way of behaviour. And that is for a very good reason! Hospitality is about openness which is intimately connected to heeding the authentic voice within. Whenever strangers come to the tent in peace, they are to be respected and their needs provided for. After all, one can never be sure if a stranger is a messenger from God – as in Sarah’s story. This hospitality rule is universal throughout the Middle East. To invite the stranger in to partake of a meal and conversation is to come to know and to understand each other. It is a mutual sharing. To lift the tent flap and say ‘welcome’ requires trust and openness. Once again, we find ourselves confronted by those seeking asylum in this country. I don’t want to talk about that now; although some of you may feel passionately about it. Rather, let me mention those who have already been granted temporary visas in Australia and desperately need help. This is just one recent example from here in Melbourne. Anissa, a 17-year-old Eritrean girl, arrived in Australia as an unaccompanied minor. She was affected by the 45 day rule, and without income struggled to meet her basic living needs. Highly isolated, Anissa was not aware of the Asylum Seeker Assistance program and did not know how to access food banks. Anissa was hospitalized for malnutrition. After initially being refused by the Refugee Tribunal, Anissa lived on charity, with her overall health and well-being suffering. This lasted for more than 3 years before her case was re-examined and she was found to be a refugee. Many church groups and organisations are stepping in to help these and other refugees build new lives. 2. Building bridges of understanding Those who regularly take part in ecumenical events know that any differences we might have are insignificant compared with what we share in common. It is a strange and wonderful blessing that there are so many occasions when the more we discover what we have in common with others, the more we come to respect our differences. Our experience has taught us this in the Christian family. But it is also true across faiths as well. External events have placed a considerable strain on Islamic communities in Australia. Some Muslims are feeling increasingly alienated or even fearful. This is particularly true for women who wear the hijab. There is a real need to do all we can to build bridges between our communities. This is an area where it can be done most easily by women. You may have read the recent ‘Faith’ segment in ‘The Sunday Age’ by Rachel Woodlock. She tells of the inaugural women’s residential conference of the Jewish Christian Muslim Association. She says this: I had been expecting – half worrying – that political discussions would eventually impede the discussions. After all, there is much pain and angst between these communities – whether it comes from the conflict in the Holy Land or the histories of how one faith has treated another as a minority. But it is much easier to cast anger at a faceless group of Jews, Christians or Muslims than [at] the warm, smiling woman kissing your cheeks hello in the morning. It is for this reason that interfaith meetings hold a hope for the future. The Islamic Community in Melbourne is reaching out to other faith groups. Maybe there are some here who took up the invitation of women from the local Community to meet together. You may also recall that six months ago Muslim families in Melbourne made an open invitation to other families to share a meal with them at their home. I wonder how many of these people took the next step and became friends. I also wonder how many local groups of Christians have initiated such action. At the international level, The World Council of Churches will this year set up a women’s project between Iranian women and WCC women. 3. Standing with others In Paraguay, many indigenous Guarani Indians have real problems with land and they are more likely to experience poverty than any other group. This strikes a chord with our own indigenous people. Aboriginal poverty is of great concern. Aboriginal health is gradually improving in some areas but life expectancy is still 17 years below the rest of Australia. It is a real tragedy that the issue of Reconciliation has almost completely dropped out of sight. Our nation has not yet fully come to terms with the ‘stolen generations’ as described in the Bringing Them Home Report. We have just seen overwhelming support for Jan O’Herne’s call for a formal apology from Japan for the sexual slavery of the so-called ‘comfort women’ of the Imperial Japanese Forces in World War II. But when it comes to our own history – there is abject silence. It is extremely difficult for Aborigines if there is a refusal from the Australian Government to say ‘sorry’ because this amounts to a denial of what actually happened. The attitude now seems to be to forget the past and to deal with current health and social problems. There is not even an acknowledgment that these things are connected. Wendy Hermeston writing in the 2005 Australian Journal of Medicine said this: When families have been torn apart and parenting and familial roles undermined, damage is done and lives continue to be interrupted. Aboriginal people can grow up with emotional scars and cultural identity issues, leading to deep and highly visible “practical” problems such as family violence, social and emotional wellbeing issues, and substance and alcohol abuse problems. Many people affected have shown great resilience to overcome such problems and emerge with their families safe and intact, but many more have not and are still trying. Sometimes the issue is dismissed as merely “arguing about symbols”. To argue about cultural symbols is to totally misunderstand the power of the symbol in the lives of human beings. Symbols are invested with great power. It is almost as if they have a power of their own. And as far as culture goes – culture is not what we make, it is who we are. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of that wonderful book, The Little Prince, wrote, “We live not on things, but on the meaning of things.” 4. United under God’s Tent Finally I want to turn to Paraguay – a country that has had centuries of war and oppression. The blackest time in living memory was General Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship (1954-1989). Before 1992, when there were constitutional reforms, married women could not work outside the home, travel, or dispose of their own property without the consent of their spouses. Paraguay was the last Latin American nation to grant women the right to vote in 1961. In the last fifteen years the nation has been desperately trying to build its democracy. Today, despite the attempts by the government, poverty, crime, corruption and lack of social services still exist. The last UN Report on Human Rights in Paraguay was compiled in 2004. Here are some of the things they mentioned. There was praise for the abolition of the death penalty and the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Statute of the International Criminal Court; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. But it raised major concerns, that despite all of these, many human rights abuses still occur. A Secretariat for Women has been set up but discrimination against women persists in practice – especially in the workplace. Although there is an Act against domestic violence, domestic violence, including sexual abuse, is still a recurrent practice, and that the aggressors go unpunished. The persistent trafficking of women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation continues unchecked in some areas. This is part of the reality of Paraguay today. The churches and women’s groups are in the forefront of those supporting basic human rights and providing services to those on the margins. The women who designed this service have used the term ‘Tent of God’. This is a most important term in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was the term given to the ‘tabernacle’ – a tent where people met to discuss and to worship. It was divided by a curtain, behind which was the ‘Holy of Holies’ where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This was where the spirit of God resided. To use this term is to be reminded, in the strongest possible way, of the presence of God always with us. The women of Paraguay have listened to their hearts and placed their faith in God to reach out to the people of the world, trusting that the world will hear. What they have done is to focus the attention of the world on their lives far more effectively than any report – indeed, far more effectively than any news item – might do. Worldwide, thousands and thousands of people in 170 countries have one of their service booklets. In countries everywhere, some of these booklets will be seen, not as a view of Paraguay, but as a call to the heart; not as a message from Paraguay, but as a messenger from God seeking passionate commitment. In the 24 hours of this day, people all over the world are reaching out to the women of Paraguay – supporting and upholding them - united with them under God’s Tent, in a wave of prayer that right now is encompassing the earth with love. “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” ___________________________________________________
An address presented by Robert Sanderson at St Aidan's
Uniting Church, North Balwyn, for the World Day of Prayer, on 2nd March, 2007 IT MAY BE REPRODUCED WITH ACKNOWLEDGMENT. |
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Page updated 05/03/07