Some of us might not remember, but East Timor was part of Indonesia. In the summer of 1999, a referendum was held for the people of East Timor to decide whether they want to be independent nation or be part of Indonesia. East Timor chose Independence. The news was announced by one of the speaker to us during OMC 6 in Columbus Ohio.
We all heard about the brutality of the Indonesian army in East Timor since it declared independence in 1976. However, no one would take notice until one British TV station played the Dili massacre footage. The video footage galvanized supports around the world in the form of East Timor Action Network or ETAN. ETAN held rally and lobbied governments around the world to support the independent nation of East Timor. ETAN was eventually successful in pressuring the United Nations and Indonesian government to hold the referendum in 1999.
The image shown in the video of Dili massacre had captivated the hearts even of those who previously did not care about human rights. In OMC 6, we were appalled by the report brought by the speakers about the fall out of May 1998. The speaker reported that not only we were left with ruins after our houses being burnt and our children killed and raped, but also we were leaderless. To be clear, we were not in shortage of opportunistic and selfish leaders, the Indonesian government along with the legislative and the judicative were full of them. However, a servant leader was nowhere to be found at the time. Meanwhile, the church instead of becoming God’s prophet succumbed into the pressure exerted by the government and did not report the human right violations.
In Matthews 9:36, Jesus’ concern was beyond bodily suffering. Jesus concerned that the people were not able to break free from their depraved condition because they did not have the leader. Besides presenting the facts, one of the OMC speakers challenged us to step up saying that Heaven is not our Home. He challenged us, the Indonesian Churches, not to dwell in our suffering and developed victim mentality. He said that God did not make the church to build protective wall separating the world and the saints. Instead, God made the churches to be salt and light in the world.
Not all the report contained bad news. We found that some businesses left unharmed by the mob because they were protected by the local communities. These businesses impacted the local communities that their communities were willing to sacrifice their lives for them. This was good news. It confirmed the bible assertion that the world would respond positively if we showed compassion.
At the end of the OMC 6 and after seeing the reality in Indonesia, we realized that we could not just watch in the sideline. We as a body of Christ have to show compassion to our communities. We have to serve to show them Jesus’ compassion before we could lead and transform Indonesia.