July 28, 2007

Martharization

It has been a while, hasn’t it? We kept putting off the letter, waiting for an events worth a letter to happen, but nothing came up. During the past three months our days were occupied with mostly routine things that demand our time and attention. We completed out first semester at Hannam University without major incident and Haejung is getting to know more students.

Kevin and Sariah came to visit us as their delayed honeymoon and a market survey for Sariah’s fashion line. Did we tell you that Sariah is an up-and-coming fashion designer who has her own label? It was a joy to see her designs on display at high fashion houses in Tokyo.

While Kevin and Sariah enjoyed their time in Korea with Haejung, Simon accompanied a team of administrative staff at Hannam on their study trip to the States. They took a few days of their trip to do volunteer services with the South Louisiana Presbytery's “Project Homecoming,” the Church’s Katrina recovery effort.

The unskilled team of nine could not do much practical work in three days, but the message of solidarity was powerfully delivered across the Pacific. It was a moving and meaningful experience for the people of Louisiana and the visiting team alike. On his way back from New Orleans, Simon joined the rest of the family in Tokyo and spent a week touring Japan.

Simon with Japanese children at the Hiroshima atomic bomb explosion site.

Among other historic and scenic sites, we visited Hiroshima, the city where the first atomic bomb was exploded in August 1945. We spent a day at the site of the explosion and the museum among many primary and middle school students on their school field trip. Our prayer is that the children would learn to denounce violence and mass killing under any circumstances and renounce hatred and revenge. We will never forget the images of destruction and suffering, and we pray that these images will push us towards God’s grace and peace in moments of crucial decision.

Since last week, all Korea is in shock at the taking of 23 members of a “short-term mission” group from a Korean church by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The subsequent cold-blooded slaying of the group’s leader increased the already hot emotions of the Koreans, especially the Korean Christians. The hostage situation has brought to the surface the strong undercurrent of a negative attitude towards the Christians on the part of the non-Christian population (70 percent), which borders on overt hatred. While we are not comfortable with the “occupying force” aggressiveness of Korean Christians in world mission, we are saddened to see the video footage of the sacrilegious activities towards another religion and culture. The overwhelming majority of the postings on the discussion boards on the Internet puts the blame squarely on the hostages and the church who sent them as well as the lager Christian community.

How have the Korean churches, well known for their devotion and zeal, who send more missionaries overseas than any country other than the United States, come to be despised and ridiculed by so many? We certainly do not have insights into the causes of the current situation. Last Sunday's lectionary readings (Luke 10: 38- 42) spoke to our hearts and at least partly addressed the question. In a well-known story, Martha invites Jesus and his followers into her house for a meal and goes to prepare a meal.

While working hard in the kitchen, she finds that her sister Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus and neglecting the work in the kitchen. Being resentful, Martha complaints to Jesus that Mary is not helping. Instead, Jesus rebukes Martha for being distracted and praises Mary for finding the important thing. Jesus probably knew that Martha was seeking “recognition” from Jesus for her dedication to him, but he warns against the “works” running ahead of the “relationship.” We cannot purchase the close relationship with Jesus with our works no matter how eager and capable we are. Jesus tells us to keep our focus on a solid relationship with Jesus, and draw energy from that relationship, not vice versa. We believe some of the Korean Christians run ahead of their energy supply line due to their desire to “serve Christ”; Simon calls this syndrome “Martharization.”

The miraculous growth of the Korean churches during the last 50 years parallels the economic miracle of the country.  Simon remembers a lecture he gave about 20 years ago to a group of seminary students. The economic miracle of Korea was like instead of waiting for a baby to mature in the mother's womb over nine months, the leaders are asking nine women to produce a baby in one month. The miracle is that it was happening.

As many of us know now, the miracle did not happen according to the natural law of economics, but relied on a few large corporations to lead the export drive of products and human resources. The distribution of benefits was not fair, and many in power fell victim to the temptations of converting the public wealth to personal gains. About ten years ago, the country went through a painful correction at a cost of many ruined lives. To this day, the enmity between the haves and have-nots pains the society.

In the same way, the growth of Korean churches gave birth to many powerful megachurches, and they led the “export drive” of Korean Christianity to new markets, and many of these new markets were majority-Muslim countries. This export strategy became a growth path for local congregations and a sign that they have “arrived.” We do not suggest that this is all bad, and we note that not all churches are doing this. But this growth pattern is easily recognizable, and it’s often associated with a kind of mission that pays no regard to churches that Jesus Christ has already planted in the mission field. Even within Korea, establishing a satellite congregation of a megachurch in a community leads to closure of many smaller congregations in that community, for the brand name of the megachurch draws members from smaller churches rather than reaching the unchurched. Small-town merchants facing the encroachment of megastores understand this situation well.

During our short missionary career we’ve learned that we should never go into a mission field with the attitude that we are "bringing God" into the darkness, for God has been there since the beginning, is there now, and will be there long after we are gone. Those who think that they are “bringing God” can often act like God themselves.

We pray for the family of the victim and the remaining 22 in Afghanistan. We also pray that this be the seminal event that brings all of us believers on our knees and helps us to become mature in our relationships with Jesus and other children of God, avoiding Martharization. We ask you to pray for the grieving and also for the Korean churches.

From Korea,

Haejung and Simon
Mission Co-Workers
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, 259