Bridges

Number 3, 2005

Beyond Damnation

Prepared on behalf of the Czech and American Mission Networks by Joyce Michael.

In recent days, the congregations of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren have faithfully relived the events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, White Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday. Furthermore, the entire denomination is busily preparing for the international, interdenominational “Gathering of Christians” that will be held in Prague the first weekend in June. Thus, I expected that this update would consist of short reports related to those topics. However, some experiences that I had in mid-March seem to be clamoring for expression. Thus, I hope that you will not mind if I adopt a rather reflective tone in this message.

On March 12, I was walking through Jungmannova Square when an elderly man looked directly at me and said, “The adults are going to hell.” I was surprised, both by the words and by the fact that I had understood this unusual Czech sentence without any contextual clues. However, looking about, I saw a group of young adults with several dogs gathered around a bench, playing recorders and engaging in quiet banter. Had the man been referring to these folks who appear to be homeless and who periodically turn up in historic squares throughout the center of the city? Even as that question surfaced, I decided to retrace my steps so that I could wander through the Easter market, which had just been set up in Wenceslas Square.

When I returned to Jungmannova Square a little later, the same man walked by me and said, “Everything! To hell!” I was struck by the force of this word of condemnation, which almost seemed to be addressed to me personally, since the young people had left the square by then.

Being aware of the troubling realities that many people regularly face, I could not easily dismiss the old man’s analysis. Thus, his dark prophecy remained with me for several days, before being counterbalanced by the pre-Easter worship service that the Protestant Theological Faculty held at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Wall on March 15. A few days before that eucharistic gathering, Professor Jakub Trojan had described his sermon to me, so I was well-prepared to hear him remind us that Jesus’ death occurred in an unclean place far from the purity of the temple and beyond the protective walls of the city. However, I was challenged to move beyond my self-centered preoccupations when Professor Trojan declared that we are similarly called to go beyond the protective walls of the church into the secular world where people are hungry, hurting, and seeking.

The emphasis of the evening was on serving—beyond the comforting warmth of the church. Yet, I was touched by the gentle spirit of the Communion service, and by the graceful greetings that were extended to me by Vera Fritzová, Peter Stephens, and Professor Trojan following the service. It seemed to me that the worshipers lingered longer in the sanctuary and just outside of the church than has been the case other years, perhaps because the challenge of the sermon was also an exceptionally graceful reminder that when any of us feel as if we are on the outside of the hope and promise of the church, we may be exactly where the crucified and resurrected One is waiting to extend the gift of unconditional acceptance.

Of course, the emphasis of the worship service at Martin-in-the-Wall was on serving beyond the comforting warmth of the church. Thus, I hardly know what to make of the fact that when a man approached me with what I thought would be a request for money at the tram stop a few minutes later, I moved away without a reply. It was dark, I was alone, and I never know how to best respond to such solicitations. However, leaving those excuses aside, I have concluded that we dare not shy away from engaging the secular world—with its homeless youth and despairing oldsters. Indeed, I am persuaded that such realities must be embraced if the word of damnation that greeted me in Jungmannova Square is to be transformed by a dynamic embodiment of the declaration that “Christ is risen.” It may well be that life’s victory over darkness and death will become a tangible reality on earth only as our neighbors in the world become the recipients of genuine acts of grace and incidences of love. May it be so!

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 177