A letter from Bernie and Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta on home assignment from Indonesia
Fall 2013
Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,
Polarizations and difference cause problems in many countries. A major distinction in Indonesia is between Muslims (the majority) and Christians (a minority). Some Indonesian Muslims and Christians seem to hate each other. But usually they live in peace, respecting their differences. Many Muslim and Christian families count family members from both religions as brothers and sisters. Sometimes this requires stretching our categories to include “the other.”
When Farsijana told our Muslim neighbors that we were going to the USA for a whole year, they asked if that was a little like the “Haj” (pilgrimage to Mecca). Well, not exactly. We were going to Louisville, the center of the Presbyterian Church, but most Presbyterians do not consider Louisville more holy than other places. We explained that we would be traveling around the USA, speaking in churches, universities and mosques, telling people what was happening in Indonesia. Our neighbors thought that was a great idea. They said they would pray for us. In their eyes, we were going on a holy pilgrimage.
Some years ago I taught a graduate course with an Indonesian Christian colleague whom I considered "liberal" because of his views of the Trinity and the Scriptures. When he invited me to a party to celebrate his daughter’s recovery from sickness and graduation from high school, I was amazed when his “party” turned out to be a worship service, with Scripture readings, two sermons and many prayers, thanking God for blessing us all, and especially his daughter. My friend may have been “liberal” in some things, but the supernatural world and the blessings of God were real to him.
We like to categorize people into the “Good Guys” and the “Bad Guys”--those who are right and those who are wrong. In his story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18), Jesus suggests that the “Good Guys” (Pharisees) may be headed straight to hell, while the “Bad Guys” (Tax Collectors) may be candidates for redemption. The difference is not about who is “right,” but rather who is repentant for their many sins. Those who “trust in their own righteousness” are in for a nasty surprise. While those who cry out, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” are justified by God.
Flannery O’Connor’s story “Revelation” tells about Mrs. Turpin, the quintessential good person. Mrs. Turpin is shocked into a reevaluation of her own goodness when a crazy girl attacks her, screaming, “Go back to hell, where you came from, you old wart hog!” Mrs. Turpin begins to wonder if she is as good as she thought she was. She then has a vision of a great multitude of people moving towards a crack that leads into heaven. The multitude is “led by white trash, clean for the first time in their lives, and battalions of freaks and lunatics shouting and clapping and leaping like frogs.” These are the poor in spirit, coming into their inheritance. In the rear come the righteous, the organized, the scrupulous, marching with great dignity… yet Mrs. Turpin could see from their faces that even their virtues were being burned away.
There is an intimate connection between “trusting in your own righteousness” and “viewing others with contempt.” We want to believe we are the good guys, and our confidence in our own goodness is strengthened when we view others the contempt. “Thank God we are not like them…” But the real world is not so easily divided into the good guys and the bad guys. None of us really deserves forgiveness. God forgives anyway, but not according to our criteria.
In Indonesia, Farsijana and I are honored to teach in Muslim universities. We are privileged to share our hope with many Muslim students and honored to learn from them how they see the world. Some Americans think that America is the center of freedom, democracy, human rights and all that is good in human civilization. In contrast they see the Muslim world as a place of violence, oppression, war and injustice. Some Muslims see the world in an opposite light. America is seen as the prime source of capitalism, exploitation, domination, destruction of the environment, violence, moral decadence and injustice, while Islam provides all the answers to the problems of the world.
For better or worse, neither picture is helpful. The world is not black and white. There is enough sin and guilt that sticks to all of us. Stanley Fish suggests that there is a toxic poison running through our political veins. We teach ourselves to fear and hate those who are different. 9/11 led some of us to ask if we were as good as we thought we were. But for others it was just a confirmation that the world is divided into the Good and the Evil. And of course “we” are the Good (trusting in our own righteousness) and “they” are the Evil whom we regard with contempt.
Only God knows the relative goods and evils that exist in all countries of the world. As Presbyterian Mission Co-Workers, our goal is not to defend the values of America over against the values of Muslim Indonesia. Rather, we joyfully witness to the love of God for all people, both East and West. If you have not yet joined in this ministry, we invite you to participate through your prayers, correspondence and financial gifts. Our work is only possible because of your prayers and generous support. Thank you for your participation in our work in Indonesia.
Warm regards,
Bernie and Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta
baryogya@gmail.com
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 199
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