December 14, 2007

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. 
1 Timothy 2:5-6

We have just arrived at Stony Point Center in New York. We left here exactly eleven month ago to start our assignment at Hannam University in Korea. We are now back for a month-long assignment to explore what God has planned for this conference center and for us. We will be able to see John, Sariah, and Kevin during our stay here as an added bonus.

As we celebrate Advent and await the Prince of Peace, we are especially mindful of Jesus as the mediator. Our work in Korea is mostly a ministry of presence rather than getting things done. It does not require skilled time management, eloquent persuasion, and unlimited physical energy. But the ministry requires confidence in God borrowing from his patience and Christ’s spirit and humility. One must find peace with the role given by God and the feeling of going around in circles, not making the progress we all want.

In our weekly Bible study we have been studying the life of Moses, and how God molded him as his representative to the Hebrew nation. We were also invited to relate our role to Moses’ responsibilities and experiences and grow together. At first the members of the study group were uneasy for not having the “correct answer” presented to them, but as the sessions progressed and we learned to trust each other to share our uncertainties and our personal desires that are at variance with what we know to be God’s desire. As we learned to admit our selfishness and began to support each others’ journey to become more compatible with God, we all began our journey of being mediators, Christ’s disciples.

We do not want to review the Exodus in this missive; most of you are already familiar with the story. Moses wanted to be the leader on his own right at age 40 and had to spend 40 more years undoing what he had done. God called him to be his “messenger” to the Hebrew people and to Pharaoh. He only had to obey God, which he did reluctantly. We can also be God’s messengers without genuine concern for the people, like Moses before the Pharaoh, like Jonah to the people of Nineveh. Haejung and I, as missionaries or fellow members of the Church, at one time or another spoke the word of God without the spirit of a mediator but one of a judge. We were calling on the authority of God to support our actions and thoughts. It may have given the appearance of good servants, and it may have helped us to experience the power and love of God ourselves, but did not bring others closer to being in harmony with God.

Then when God’s anger burned against the rebellious people of Israel, Moses uses his close relationship with God to plead for the people, even asking that his own name be stricken from the book of life if God were to refuse to forgive.

Clearly Moses grew in his relationship with God and with the people. We wondered whether there were moments like this in our life as missionaries during the past ten years. Yes, we started as mission co-workers for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on January 1, 1998. Towards the end of the Bible study sessions we began to seek God’s true will rather than bending God’s will to fit ours. We hope this is not just a temporary change, but a new direction for us; being intercessors for the people rather than just messengers to the people.

Our work in Korea requires us to be active peacemakers. We have had no formal training in mediation, bringing people in dispute to a harmonious coexistence. Hannam University is a Christian university, but Christians are a minority in the student body, which is approximately 30 percent Christian, and this is about the same as the Korean population in general. Therefore, distinctive Christian activities such as mandatory chapel services create dissatisfaction and tension among the members of the school community. What is our place in this situation?  How can we help start a dialogue and help develop mutual respect? I have also learned that the consulting work on management issues that I have been doing for our partners over the last few years mostly consists of closing the gaps between our desires and expectations rather than providing technical solutions. The work calls for our genuine concern for the people rather than problem-solving expertise. Why should that have taken ten years for us to learn? I’m not sure, but better later than never.

We will spend Christmas here at Stony Point. We hope to welcome the mediator Jesus into our midst. We learned the Spirit of Christ is the only true bridge that can close the gap between God and us and among us. May you also be a mediator in your own family, church, and the community in the coming year. Most of all, may you welcome the baby Jesus into your lives as the mediator between you and our God.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Haejung and Simon

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, 259