Merdeka

Luther Centre/Red Cross at Night - Aug 2009

At midnight on August 31, 1957 independence (merdeka) came to Malaysia. The Union Jack was lowered and in its place rose the star and crescent and stripes of the Malayan flag. The colonial era had drawn to a close and a newly formed country was left to stand on its own two feet.

Fifty-two years later, a red cross enveloped by a column of light stands out against the encroaching darkness of another tropical night. Below it, the intentionally chaotic façade of Luther Centre pulses with life as the LED lights shift from blue to green to red. Within and without, the Lutheran Church of Malaysia and Singapore celebrates the new headquarters it has raised upon the site of the old mission house.

This is a symbolic declaration of independence, marked by an air of grace and celebration. It elevates not damning Post-Colonial critiques, but heartfelt words of thanksgiving and powerful acts of communal remembering. It commemorates not a violent break with an ideological or ecclesial past, but years of growth and flourishing that trace their roots back to seeds that were planted decades ago.

As these festivities draw to a close, I locate myself in the processional line. Solo, I follow in the footsteps of a large community of former missionaries. And yet I am not alone; on my right, I enter worship walking shoulder to shoulder not with another orang putih (white person) but paired with a local leader of the Malaysian church.

Talk about the shifting center of World Christianity.

Talk about the changing nature of Global Mission.

Talk about accompaniment. . .