The monks from the various wats (pagodas) walk the streets of their neighborhoods each day seeking alms of food or money. Click here to see some of the faithful making offerings.
Monks in Cambodia #3
Author: Charles Dittmeier
The Cambodian Cyclist
It’s wood…and more
This is a doctor’s waiting room. Note the heavy wooden furniture! This furniture is the goal of every business operation. Acquiring the 100-pound chairs on the left means you have arrived. You are the real thing, whatever your business is, be it a dentist office, a car wash, a bank, a metal fabrication shop, whatever. The Cambodian culture is obsessed with luxury woods that bestow respect and esteem upon their owners.
Hong Kong, too…
Our Asia superior in Hong Kong reported today that John Clancey was arrested under Hong Kong’s new draconian state security laws. John was a Maryknoll priest in Hong Kong right before I came. He left Maryknoll but stayed on in Hong Kong as a lawyer working for civil and human rights. He must have been doing good work to get Beijing riled up. Hang in there, John!
This is the way the BBC reported his arrest.
Politics and Theology
The incredible events in our nation’s Capitol Building are more than politics. They are also indicative of our theology. Here is a link to an article by Jim Wallis in Sojourners magazine. Read the full article and reflect on how to respond, but for me these were the ideas that struck me the most.
In addition to the political ramifications for our democracy of the attempted coup, there are also theological questions Wallis raised:
1. Truth is a central tenet of Christianity. “Does the truth matter to Christians and Christian leaders who supported Donald Trump?”
2. “[T]he biblical abomination of racism and its ideology of white nationalism…stands at the core of the Trump base…. This is no longer just politics, it is theological heresy, and one that needs to be exorcised from white Christianity in America.”
I encourage you to read the article.
After the magi leave….
Sugarcane
Multi-tasking
On this street corner in Boeung Tum Pun, you can have your phone repaired while you’re at the dentist.
Monks in Cambodia #2
Cambodian monks make rounds every morning, going through a neighborhood to beg for rice and alms for the poor and for themselves. They are very low-key, just standing silently in front of a home or shop to invite the owner to donate. Click here to see some monks on the street.
New Cabinets for a New Year
