Daily prayer in the Kingdom Season: 14, Thursday 14 November 2024

‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed … in fact, the kingdom of God is among you’ (Luke 17: 20-21) … a November setting sun at Burano in the Venetian Lagoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in the Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints and Advent, and this week began with the Third Sunday before Advent, which was also Remembrance Sunday.

The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today (14 November) remembers Samuel Seabury (1729-1796), the first Anglican Bishop in North America.

I am hoping to go for a swim later this morning in the Marian, the boutique hotel on Wayang Street where we stayed during our first week in Kuching last month. Before today begins, however, before having breakfast or that swim, I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day’ (Luke 17: 24) … lightning on the Parthenon in Athens (Photograph: courtesy Tripadvisor)

Luke 17: 20-25 (NRSVA):

20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

22 Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation.’

The chapel in Magdalen College, Oxford … waiting for the son of God? John Betjeman was an undergraduate, and CS Lewis was his tutor (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Today’s reflection:

The English Poet Laureate John Betjeman loved to tell the story of a Japanese prince who arrived at Magdalen College, Oxford, as an undergraduate in 1925, the same year as Betjeman came up.

The President of Magdalen, Sir Thomas Herbert Warren (1853-1930), was known as a poet too, albeit a bad poet although he was Professor of Poetry at Oxford. He was also an insufferable snob, and Jeremy Paxman says he ‘was perhaps the greatest snob in England.’

When Prince Chichibu arrived at Magdalen in 1925, Warren hoped he would soon be followed by his elder brother, the future Emperor Hirohito. The prince told Warren he was a direct descendant of the sun goddess Ametarasu, and let him know: ‘At home I am called the son of God.’

Warren took a deep breath, coughed and put the prince in his place: ‘You will find, your highness, that we have the sons of many famous fathers here.’

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Luke 17: 20-25) is one of the stories about preparing for the kingdom of God and the arrival of the Son of God on earth, not only as the incarnate Christ Child at Christmas in nativity story or in a decorative crib, but also as Christ the King.

As we prepare for the Feast of Christ the King in ten days’ time (Sunday 24 November) and for Advent, we should expect many of our readings to have apocalyptic themes, looking forward to that Coming of Christ the King at his second coming.

The apocalyptic images in today’s reading anticipate some of these themes. But, perhaps surprisingly, today’s reading cautions us against looking for too many portents or for inappropriate signs, telling us instead to live in the real world: ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed … For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you’ (Luke 17: 20-21).

But, as we prepare for the coming of Christ, are we trapped?

Are we trapped in the commercialism of Christmas?

There are 12 days of Christmas. But not one of them is in November. Yet for many weeks now, we have been inundated with Christmas catalogues and advertising. Already, here in Kuching, the Christmas trees are up and lit in the main shopping centres and many of the shops are displaying bright Christmas decorations.

Does the decoration of our shops, even of our churches, lead our eyes to the coming Christ or away from him?

To return to John Betjeman: he spent time in Dublin during World War II as the British press attaché, and was an active parishioner in Saint John’s, Clondalkin. In a lecture to Church of Ireland clergy in 1943, he said the ‘fabric of the church is very much concerned with worship. The decoration of a church can lead the eye to God or away from him.’

Betjeman’s poems are often humorous, with a wry, comic verse often marked by satire. He is one of the most significant literary figures of our time and was a practising Anglican, and his beliefs and piety inform many of his poems.

It is appropriate then, this morning, to re-read Betjeman’s poem ‘Christmas.’ In the first few verses, he describes the frivolous ways we prepare for Christmas:

The bells of waiting Advent ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.

The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that the villagers can say
‘The church looks nice’ on Christmas Day.

Provincial Public Houses blaze,
Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze,
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says ‘Merry Christmas to you all’.

And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children’s hearts are glad.
And Christmas-morning bells say ‘Come!’
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And then, In the last three stanzas of this poem, Betjeman proclaims the wonder of Christ’s birth in the form of a question: ‘And is it true …?’

And is it true, This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?

And is it true? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare –
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.

‘God was man in Palestine / And lives today in Bread and Wine’ (John Betjeman) … communion vessels at the Eucharist (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 14 November 2024):

Samuel Seabury, who is remembered in the church calendar in Common Worship today (14 November), was born in Connecticut in 1729 and, after graduating from Yale, was ordained priest in England and assigned by SPG (the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, now USPG) to a church in New Brunswick, in New Jersey.

During the American War of Independence, he was a chaplain in the British army. After the war, at a meeting of the clergy in Connecticut, he was chosen to seek consecration as bishop. However, after a year of fruitless negotiations with the Church of England, he was ordained bishop by the nonjuring bishops in the Scottish Episcopal Church 240 years ago, on 14 November 1784.

Returning to America, he held his first Convention in Connecticut in August 1785 and the first General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1789. The church adopted a version of the Scottish Eucharist. Samuel Seabury died on 25 February 1796.

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘A Look at Education in the Church of the Province of Myanmar’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Nadia Sanchez, Regional Programme Coordinator, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 14 November 2024) invites us to pray:

Lord, we commit to you, programmes across the world that seek to educate and support children so that they can stay in school instead of having to work.

The Collect:

Almighty Father,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Post Communion Prayer:

God of peace,
whose Son Jesus Christ proclaimed the kingdom
and restored the broken to wholeness of life:
look with compassion on the anguish of the world,
and by your healing power
make whole both people and nations;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Additional Collect:

God, our refuge and strength,
bring near the day when wars shall cease
and poverty and pain shall end,
that earth may know the peace of heaven
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

Samuel Seabury in a stained-glass window in Saint Giles Church, Cambridge … he is remembered in Common Worship on 14 November (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Stepping back in time in Siniawan Old Town, the ‘Cowboy Town’ with its night market

Siniawan, 20 km outside Kuching, is known for the weathered, ageing wooden buildings, its night markets and its street music(Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

Last weekend, we spent an evening in Siniawan, a small town in the Bau district, about 20 km outside Kuching. It is known for the weathered, ageing wooden buildings lining the Main Street, its night markets selling street food, and its street music.

The Main Street is lined with old wooden townhouses, and Chinese lanterns light up the street making it a beautiful place to spend an evening dining out.

During the day, Siniawan is a serene place, reminiscent of a bygone age. Weathered, ageing wooden buildings are living artefacts, telling tales of a time when they provided shelter and space for commerce and for leisure.

As the sun sets, Siniawan undergoes a transformation, turning into a vibrant night market that draws locals and visitors alike. Red lanterns strung across the streets light up the town, casting a warm glow over the bustling market and creating a lively, festive atmosphere. The Siniawan Night Market every Friday, Saturday and Sunday adds to the atmosphere.

During the day, Siniawan is a serene place, reminiscent of a bygone age (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Siniawan is in the heart of the Bau district, just 40-minutes from Kuching. Visiting Siniawan, with its century-old charm and well-preserved traditional wooden shophouses, is a step back in time.

The main street is made up of two rows of double-storey rustic-looking shops, with vertical wooden panels and unpainted fronts. Because of its resemblance to the Old ‘Wild West’ in cowboy films, Siniawan has been nicknamed ‘Cowboy Town’.

Siniawan has a population of about 3,600 people: most are Bidayuh (750 families) or Chinese (700 families), and there are 100 Malay families. The Chinese people there are mostly descended from people who came from Guangdong Province, and the common dialect is Hopoh Hakka.

On the edge of town is the Shui Yue Gong temple, with a century-old statue of the deity Guanyin depicted in a cross-legged posture. Mount Serumbu is just 2.7 km away.

The Shui Yue Gong temple on the edge of town has a century-old statue of Guanyin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Siniawan grew up on the banks of the Sarawak River (Sungai Sarawak Kanan) 200 years ago, when a small group of Hakka Chinese settlers made their home along the side of the river in the early 1820s. It was a strategic location at the high point of the Sarawak River, as few boats could travel much further up, and a bustling trading settlement quickly grew up.

But nothing significant happened until James Brooke, arrived in Sarawak in 1839. As part of brokering a peace deal between the Sultan of Brunei, who then ruled Sarawak, and the rebel Malay and Bidayuh tribes, Brooke agreed to protect the local people from the Iban or ‘Sea Dayak’ people who raided their homes and killed their people.

Brooke became the White Rajah of Sarawak in 1841 and built his first fort in Sarawak at Fort Berlidah, just few hundred metres downriver from Siniawan. Fuelled by the gold rush in nearby Bau and with the protection offered by Brooke, Siniawan grew quickly. The population was boosted by Hakka Chinese traders and miners who came across from the Sambas district in Dutch Borneo, now West Kalimantan, and the community began to thrive.

After building Fort Berlidah, Brooke built a bungalow on the summit of Mount Serembu, naming it the ‘Peninjau’ or ‘lookout’. He was visited at the bungalow by the future British Consul in Brunei, Sir Spenser St John, in 1851. By then Siniawan had about 300 Chinese shopkeepers and traders. St John marvelled at the lively Siniawan market, and noticed both the inter-action between different ethnic groups and the influx of Chinese and Malay gold miners.

Brooke invited Alfred Russell Wallace, a prominent anthropologist, to stay at the bungalow in 1854. Wallace and worked alongside Charles Darwin in developing the theory of evolution by natural selection, and came to Borneo to research primates, especially the orangutan, and other animals.

Siniawan grew up on the banks of the Sarawak River 200 years ago (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

However, this period of peace was short-lived. When Brooke introduced taxes on gold and opium, he was resisted by the Hakka Chinese of the Bau goldfields, led by Liu Shan Bang. On 18 February 1857, Liu Shan Bang led a force of 600 Chinese miners down the Sarawak River, through Siniawan, to attack the Brooke government in Kuching. They attacked the Astana, Brooke’s residence, and burned down many buildings in Kuching.

Brooke narrowly escaped the onslaught and survived, most Europeans found shelter in the grounds of Saint Thomas’s Anglican Church, but five Europeans and many local people were killed, properties were burnt and the town was left in disarray.

On 23 February 1857, Brooke’s nephew Charles Brooke, led a force of Ibans to join the local Bidayuh tribes in retaliation. They pursued the Chinese up the Sarawak River and a series of bloody battles were fought in the Siniawan area. Bodies lay scattered along the river and some of the places were given names such as Buso (‘stinking’) and Bau (‘smelly’). Liu Shan Bang finally fell at Jugan Hill outside Siniawan on 24 February 1857.

Many of the wooden houses lining the Main Street of Siniawan were built in the 1910s (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Many of the wooden houses lining the Main Street of Siniawan were built at the height of the town’s glory days in the 1910s. Unlike Sino-Portuguese buildings in West Malaysia, with their typically colourful façades and elaborate decorations, the architecture in Siniawan is Javanese, as it was easier to get carpenters from there through Singapore.

During the boom times of the 1920s, the single main street of Siniawan included an hotel, a Chinese theatre, a casino, a brothel and an opium den.

The town suffered during the Japanese occupation in 1941-1945, with economic decline, migration and environmental challenges. A period of stability but eventual decline followed the end of World War II.

The Brooke dynasty finally ceded Sarawak to Britain, and by the time Sarawak became part of the new Malaysia, the gold fields were spent and Siniawan had settled down to an ordinary and peaceful existence.

Two serious incidents of monsoon flooding on the river forced many residents to move from Siniawan for safety and to build new houses. In addition, a new road network and bridges at Batu Kitang and Batu Kawa reduced reliance on the Sarawak River for transportation and by-passed Siniawan, leaving the little town isolated and almost forgotten.

Red lanterns light up the town at night, casting a warm glow over the bustling market and creating a lively, festive atmosphere (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The timber-built shophouses still stand today, with their original façades. Local people started to name the rustic town ‘Cowboy Town’ because of its resemblance to the frontier towns of the Old Wild West.

The Siniawan Heritage Conservation Committee was formed in 2009 to rekindle local pride in the town’s heritage and history. The initiative led to the opening of the Night Market on weekend evenings, selling street food and drink and creating a lively atmosphere with karaoke and music.

The first Siniawan Fiesta was held in 2016, with local Country Music bands and crowds descending on the ‘Cowboy Town’. In the years that have followed, the crowds grew and the programmes included ethnic cultural music and a week-long Siniawan Heritage Country Music Fest was staged.

The festival has become a major event, with over a week of festivities and up to 30,000 people dancing their way up and down the High Street. Siniawan is no longer a sleepy town but has been turned into a vibrant street. Yet it can seem untouched by time and unspoiled by progress.

Siniawan is a vibrant place but can seem untouched by time and unspoiled by progress (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)