Datuk Bolly Lapok
IN Sarawak, we take pride in the fact that the Church commands a large majority of the state’s population. We serve with a certain confidence marked by significant audibility and visibility, albeit fledging, amidst mounting challenges.
In Peninsular Malaysia, although the Church is a tiny minority, her witness has been remarkable, for which we – Sarawakians and Sabahans – have not ceased to admire and from which we are drawing much inspiration.
Penang is among the very few which are in a league of their own. Rarely a day goes by without the media commenting on its engagement in matters that affect the national life. You are not unfamiliar with the fast lane culture where anything less than sensational does not capture the imagination.
The battles that you have fought and the journey that took you to this moment of time have conditioned you, perhaps without your knowing it, to cruise on a perpetual combatant or militant mode. May I respectfully warn of the danger as such a posture could get the better of us to become impatient with muhibbah – that much vaunted value which is the hallmark of the Malaysian culture.
In a dog-eat-dog world, the Master sends His disciples to serve with the commands: Love God and love your neighbours. There is profound dynamism in the commandments as the candle is to light the room, salt is to give taste and prevent decay, and yeast to leaven the dough. Therefore, it would be a sad dereliction of vocation if the Church is not concerned with what is happening around it.
Over the millennia, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church has grown and found the customs of Church festivals to be vital for survival and growth, not as a separate creation but for her strengthening as part of the Body of Christ and her complete dependence on Him. “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The legend of St George
The most enduring image that has attached itself to St George is the legend which emerged in the 12th century of George as the triumphant knight; George the dragon slayer who delivered English from its reign of terror.
Legends like this flourished during the medieval age, when the mingling of reality with fantasy and romanticism was the popular culture. Perhaps society then intentionally went into it to camouflage the harsh reality of the savagery and violence of the crusades. Whatever the motive, it was the time when soldiers on every side were inspired, encouraged and strengthened by such legends – stories of good overcoming evil.
The legend of St George is a powerful image because it touches something in us that knows about struggle, battle and fighting for what is good and just.
St George’s Church is so rich and so loaded with symbolisms for good. Apart from the fact that it is a functional building, its name reminds all and sundry of an ongoing battle and of the need to be ever vigilant or the dragon would have its dominion of terror over us.
At a personal level, the dragon will be different for each one of us. It could be an illness; for some a phobia; for others an addiction. In our fight against our own dragons or demons, think of St George who prevailed over his. Ask God for the same courage and wisdom and strength as we contend against ours.
On the national scene, is it a fight for moderation, truth, justice, freedom, tolerance, harmony, peace?
Is it a struggle to accept our rich diversity as God’s gift and blessing? If so, then it is sacred, to be preserved and protected.
Is it a battle against corruption, discrimination, racism, extremism, bigotry?
Deception is one of the enemy’s favourite weapons. How much of these are imaginary or a distraction from the country’s most pressing issues of which the economy is one? Imaginary or not, much of the national time and energy and money have been spent to fight them.
Economy means food on the table, shelter above your head and clothing for your nakedness. A deprivation of any one of these would dehumanise a person. Ultimately the battle is about defending our humanity. So be on the watch, for the dragon is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may deceive.
The true George
Historically the George we honour was not English, neither was he a dragon-slayer nor a crusader. In fact George lived much earlier. He was an innocuous Roman foot-soldier; a Turkish national by origin serving in the Roman army in England. He became Christian and was martyred for his faith.
Apparently he was converted as a result of his constant witnessing of Christians being senselessly bullied, persecuted and even killed for their faith.
The Roman emperor of the time ruled with an iron fist. To sustain peace in the empire, his army ensured that the law was enforced with ruthless efficiency. In the process never had history witnessed worse atrocities than the Romans’.
Despite all that, George felt compelled to break rank from his legion. What he saw was a barbaric tyranny and an agent of destruction not a guardian of peace, neither a harbinger of civilisation; these drove him to align himself with the hapless victims and that cost him his life. In his making that decision, George met his real dragon/demon.
When I first stumbled upon the fact that the Patron Saint of England did not belong to any of the indigenous tribes of England, I couldn’t believe it. England has more than her fair share of national hubris and all things English yet she embraced a meritocracy even when it meant adopting a foreigner for her Patron Saint! That is extraordinary.
In some countries, however heroic a non-Bumi was, he would not be allowed to occupy such a supreme prominence. Every attempt would be made to downplay his part in the national history.
May God deliver us from such mean spirit and grant us grace to acknowledge and give credit to whoever and whenever it is due.
Blaming the bogeyman
St George’s Church represents a Colonial era and has always been perceived as a symbol of foreign domination and an enclave of British power in a sovereign nation. It is not surprising it has received mixed reactions: while Anglicans look at it as a blessing, others tolerate it and many find it an unwelcome presence, a source of resentment, suspicion and distrust.
For those burdened with an inflated opinion of themselves yet suffering from excessive siege mentality, whenever a crisis arises and things often get wrong, the tendency is to blame a bogeyman for it.
Too frequently the Church and all things even remotely associated with her including Santa Claus, Valentine’s and poco-poco have been denounced. Could this be a symptom of a deep resentment for the past colonialisms?
This is what I mean by identity deficit. This is another dragon which the Church must vanquish. The Church is partly to be blamed for failing to convince the world as to her true identity.
While we are thankful for the efforts that brought the Gospel here, the Church is not and never has been an extension of England or Rome or the United States of America. The Church is not a vessel of any nation. Christians are Christ’s flock of the place. So let no one question our patriotism.
Living faithfully
Let us also honour the suffering Church that converted St George. They were simple ordinary folk whose life and faith were attracting and appealing; whose unwavering love for God and for one another melted the hardness of George’s heart and caused the Gospel to flourish. Like George, they too had fought their own dragons and prevailed.
Amidst the ongoing battle in the spiritual realm they, simple folk like you and I, faithfully lived their faith in the Risen Lord by proclaiming in words and deeds the Kingdom values. This has been how the Church spread from the beginning and this is how it must be for the Church everywhere, every time. Against such a Church, no gates of hell shall prevail.
Condensed from the sermon of the Most Reverend Datuk Bolly Lapok during the 197th anniversary of St George’s Church, Penang on April 19.