FIRST ASIAN MISSION CONGRESS
Vol. XVIII x No. 6
JULY 2006
A story born in Asia
Telling the story of Jesus starts with His birth. And He was born in Asia. Almost at once, Christianity began to grow in the continent.
By Frans-Josef Eilers, SVD
FABC Executive Secretary
At the continental synod for Asia – in 1989, during the preparation for the Holy Year in Rome – a proposal was made not to start the document of this assembly with Ecclesia in... (Church in...) but rather with Natus in Asia (Born in Asia), something which no other continent of the world could claim. This proposal is still somehow reflected in the final document of the synod, where it says that Jesus′ birth took place in a definite historical and geographical context: "Because Jesus was born, lived, died and rose from the dead in the Holy Land, that small portion of western Asia became a land of promise and hope for all mankind. Jesus knew and loved this land. He made His own the history, the sufferings and hopes of its peoples..."
The story of the growth of Christian faith as reflected in the Acts of the Apostles, and especially the journeys and activities of the apostle Paul, points to "Asia Minor" as the special field of proclamation. The Indian Christians are convinced that already the apostle Thomas was the one who brought Christianity to the continent in the year 52, which was much earlier than any other development of Christianity in Central Europe and beyond the Mediterranean. Just recently (March 17, 2006), the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India declared the San Tome Cathedral in Chennai (Madras) – that according to tradition was built over the tomb of St. Thomas – a "national shrine." "It is one of the three basilicas in the world," Archbishop Chinnapa of the archdiocese said, "which is built over the tombs of Christ′s disciples."
Syrians and Franciscans
In 635, the missionaries from Syria were the ones who told the story of Jesus in China, long before the reign of Charlemagne in Europe (800). They were followed later, in a second wave, by the Franciscan missionaries, soon after the time of St. Francis of Assisi. In the beginning of the 14th century, Johannes de Montecorvino (1246-1328), was one of their outstanding pioneers, becoming the first archbishop of Beijing – then a community of several thousand Christians. This happened at a time when no modern way of communication was available to cross the long distances from the birthplace of Christianity to the outmost bounds of the earth.
A
further wave of missionaries telling and living the story of Jesus in China
followed in the 16th century, with pioneers like the Jesuits Mateo Ricci
(1552-1610), Miguel Ruggieri (1543-1607) and, later, Johann Adam Schall
(1591-1666), who not only met but also influenced the Emperor of China. St.
Francis Xavier, an outstanding example of a "teller of Jesus′ story" died on
his way to China, in 1552.
From China to Korea
It was from the royal court of China that the Christian faith found its way to Korea. Some Korean lay people in Beijing who learned about the Christian faith, were baptized and thus became the first Korean Christians. They returned to their homeland to bring the Bible, the books of the stories of Jesus and our redemption. In their country, they founded the first Christian communities, even without a priest. The power of the Word and the story of Jesus itself were sufficient to convince Koreans to be baptized.
Ordained in China in 1845, the very first local Korean priest, Andrew Kim, was beheaded in his native country only one year after for witnessing to his faith. From the 93 canonized Korean martyrs, only three were foreign missionaries; all the rest were local people who concluded their story of Jesus by giving up their lives.
The Jesuit Alexander de Rhodes (1593-1660) became the "Apostle of Vietnam", when his dream to go to Japan failed. He not only used the spoken word in the local language but also wrote his famous "Catechismus", where he included local proverbs and sayings to inculturate the story of Jesus into the lives of the people. It became the first book printed in the new Romanized script of the country.
In many other parts of Asia, the missionaries from outside were the first to tell Jesus' story, but, gradually, the local people followed and became a part of the group. It is not without meaning that many other Asian martyrs, who gave their lives for Christ, were mostly local people themselves. The big number of Japanese (158), Vietnamese (96) and Chinese (105) martyrs was witness of the convincing power of Jesus' story in Asia.
Up to our own days, Jesus′ life and redemption inspire people in different countries of Asia. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is only one example of what might be considered the "tip of an iceberg" of Christian witnesses.
The Bishop who said "No"
The Church in the Philippines started with the telling of the story of Jesus by missionaries from Mexico and Spain, but the task was taken over by the local people. The result: A merging of Christian faith and the existing traditions of story telling and drama, theater and song, a process that is still going on today.
People like Bishop William Finnemann, SVD, a naturalized Filipino citizen, former auxiliary bishop of Manila and first Apostolic Prefect of Calapan, Mindoro, are modern examples of living the story of Jesus in their lives. As bishop of Calapan, Finnemann refused to let girls and women be abused by Japanese soldiers. He also refused converting Catholic schools and convents into brothels for the soldiers. Thus, he was imprisoned and finally thrown alive into the sea between Calapan and Batangas on October 26, 1942: "Along the way in the waters between Verde Island and Batangas, the soldiers bound his hands and feet, tied his body on a huge rock and dropped him overboard into the depths of the sea."
He was 60 years old. Until today, the people of Mindoro honor Bishop Finneman. Every year on October 26, they would sail out to the sea, between Calapan and Batangas, to offer prayers and flowers to the pastor who laid down his life upholding their dignity – a gesture that is a symbol and a big part of telling today Jesus′ story in Asia. <WM
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