Building a Better World* |
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by Armen GakavianHave you ever watched the evening news with horror and wished you could do something, but felt utterly helpless? I studied at Sydney Uni for 11 years. I walked through Redfern countless times on my way to and from the station and wondered at the injustice of it all. Often times I felt helpless, convinced that I was merely one of many faces who simply peered curiously and fearfully into other peoples' problems, only to walk on. My great grandparents were killed because the world watched and 'walked on'. I suppose that those watching at the time felt helpless just as we do. Or perhaps they were simply unwilling to step out of their comfort zones. Or maybe a combination of both. In the context of World War One, of course, everyone was too busy worrying about the 'enemy', and as a result the Ottoman Turkish government was able to get away with the first genocide of the twentieth century against its Armenian population. Our 'civilised century' has seen millions killed by their own governments in the name of a 'pure society' or 'ethnic cleansing'. In the past 10 years we've watched on our TV screens the unspeakable atrocities in Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia. In Sydney, we have the homeless, a problem which may worsen with the advent of the 2000 Olympics. We have also had successive Australian governments who have played, and continue to play, the role of beneficiary and bystander in the East Timor saga. And we have yet to deal fully and honestly with our own bloodstained history of genocide against indigenous Australians. I have given much thought over the past decade to what my response should be as a Christian to all of this. A few years ago we studied the book of Amos. If there's one thing I remember from that book, it is God's heart for justice. In fact, the words "justice" and "righteousness", I learnt, could actually be translated "justice-righteousness", implying that social equity and personal holiness are two sides of the same coin. Similarly, Jesus continually reinforced the point that 'evangelism' and 'social action' are not separate or contradictory things, but that spiritual, relational, social and political healing are all part and parcel of the gospel. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God was simultaneously one of proclamation and action, as He and His disciples went around Palestine doing good and proclaiming the message of reconciliation with God. Today, there is enough going on to alert me to the problems of the world and to inspire me to be a changemaker, just as Jesus was. And in this age of TV and the internet, ignorance is certainly no excuse. It is easy to do nothing. There is a great personal cost to getting involved. Yet the real question is: what is the cost of not getting involved? In the field of Genocide Studies there is a very dirty word. It is the word 'bystanders', a term used to describe individuals and countries who stand by and watch, do nothing, or plead ignorance when a crime is being committed. I can't help but be reminded of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The two religious men simply walked past and ignored the problem. The 'pagan', on the other hand, used whatever resources he had to bring hope to a tragic situation. On this, the Christian Church has a mixed record. It has had its own share of atrocities, the Crusades being a classic example; and it has acted as a bystander, as did much of the European Church during the Nazi Holocaust. Yet the Church has, in many other instances, been at the forefront of social reform, and the inspiration for countless 'Good Samaritans', both inside and outside Christendom, from the Franciscans through to Russian author Tolstoy, English slavery abolitionist Wilberforce, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, black rights reformer Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and even India's Mahatma Gandhi. In Australia we have our very own Tim Costello, Brian Gore and John Smith, musicians such as Peter Garrett, and an army of quiet achievers including various Christian communities committed to living a life of faith and justice. Our heritage is a powerful one and I feel motivated to roll up my sleeves and get involved. When it comes to Building a Better World, we as believers have all the resources we need. Faith, hope and love are the essence of our faith, and the example of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit are at our disposal. Though things seem hopeless at times, it is my hope that we can be empowered to empathise with the needy and the marginalised, and to demonstrate God's Kingdom to the world around us in practical ways. ________________________
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