October 30, 2009

Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Year

Dear Friends,

One of the words that theologians often use is “eschatology,” which refers to the doctrine of the last things. The term is often used in reference to the second coming of Christ, the final judgment, and the blessed hope. It has traditionally been understood as relating to the future. For us, however, the term “last things” has taken on quite a different meaning, for it refers to the present.

Dan and Carol with PC(USA) mission co-workers Sook Hee and K.J. Bae

In February, as we sat with faculty colleagues in full academic regalia, we realized that this would be our last graduation ceremony at Hanil University. Each day as we enter the classroom we know that this will be our last full semester of teaching at Hanil University. During the summer, as we worked with our international students on their master’s theses, we knew that they were the last graduate students for whom we would be thesis advisors. In April, as Dan’s latest book, Between Heaven and Earth, rolled off the press, we were aware that this would be the last book of ours to be published by Hanil University Press. Recently, while leading an international group of professors and diplomats on a cultural tour for the Royal Asiatic Society, we realized that this would be last time that we stayed at the venerable Hotel California in Andong. As we look out our window at the autumn leaves and the colorful persimmon trees, we sense that this will be our last autumn in Jeonju. These last things have become a poignant reality for us as we end 36 years of mission service in Taiwan and Korea and look toward retirement in 2010,

We look back, however, not with regret over missed opportunities, but rather with thanksgiving for opportunities seized, for challenges met, and for the students we have nurtured who are now serving churches, teaching in theological schools and colleges, working as missionaries, and proclaiming the Christian gospel in word and deed both in Asia and around the world. We have been blessed to teach at Taiwan Theological College in Taipei, Taiwan, for five years and at Hanil University in Jeonju, Korea, for thirty years. It has been a joy to give special lectures at theological colleges through Asia. We will retire with a sense of accomplishment, gratitude, and blessing.

Yes, there are the last things, but there are also the future things. In a sense, we see the future in our students, but there is also a future for us as well. The shepherds sensed this as they gazed upon the newborn Jesus. The wise men sensed it as they brought their gifts to the Christ child. And we sense it too, even as we will celebrate our last Christmas in Korea. In Jesus the Christ there is a future for us and for the world. After retirement, perhaps we will continue to visit Asia from time to time and lecture in theological colleges. Or maybe we will serve as volunteers in Christian work within the United States. There may be opportunities to continue research and writing in specialized journals. Christian service opportunities abound, and we are certain that God will lead us to positions where our gifts can be used, health permitting and God willing.

Carol with students on a class outing to the mountains.

Therefore we face the New Year, 2010, and its transition from being professors to becoming retired professors, with confidence. It will be a year unlike any other in our lives. It will mean “goodbye Asia” and “hello America.” It will mean finding our own place to live after spending our entire married life in manses, mission-owned housing, and temporary missionary furlough housing. It will mean looking for a church home, perhaps in a city where we have never lived before. It will mean going from being a professor in the classroom to becoming a senior citizen with no formal academic affiliation. And it will mean getting up in the morning with no responsibilities at Hanil University. No classes, no faculty meetings, no publication deadlines, and no morning commute in Korean traffic. It will mean the beginning of a whole new way of life. Indeed it will be somewhat like our lives 38 years ago after graduation from seminary. The future was open; all we had to do was answer God’s call.

As we return home following the General Assembly in Minneapolis in mid-2010, we will say as Isaiah did those many centuries ago, “Here am I Lord. Send me.” The future is open; all we have to do is answer God’s call. We are certain that God will call us to new opportunities for mission and service.

At this season of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, may God grant each of you grace, blessing, and peace as you too answer God’s call.

Faithfully in mission,

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 120