3. Some Personal Reflections from Discussions at AMCU IV
Much was discussed during the AMCU IV seminar. Here are some personal reflections I emerged with throughout the discussions. I shared some of these thoughts with the participants during the discussions too.

a. On Life Stories. It was nice to hear the life stories of prominent ecclesiastical leaders - priests, bishops, archbishops, metropolitans - being told from their own verbal testimonies. Listening to how their life experiences had eventually led them to where they stand today in their faith journeys and ecclesiastical statures. Their life stories strip them of the coldness of their titles and the grandeur of their attires.

This reminds me that anything perceived from a distance - including other religious convictions - breeds and perpetuates suspicion and hostility. But when personalities are attached to these convictions, layers of bias are shed. In Martin Buber's language, the endeavour to know "the other" opens windows to a true(r) knowing of "the Other".

b. On Listening. Now more than ever, I'm convinced of the importance of listening. We are often quick to argue and present our case and points of argument, but much of what others have to say in a dialogue is deemed irrelevant, or at best, boring. Basically, only what we have to say is deemed necessary. When others share their stories, we walk away from potential boredom without realising what we are missing.

We lose out because we drown in our own spiritual poverty. We lose out because we remain dull and deaf to the world's cry for a visible embodiment of humility. We lose out because we remain blind to the need for more listeners in a world which has a story - many stories - to tell, in a world which is itself a story.

I'm not talking about agreeing. I'm talking about listening. When will we learn that there is a difference between agreeing and listening? How authentic and genuine (and legitimate) are our disagreements if these disagreements are based on our not having first listened? For many Christians, there is something about listening that intimidates them; that perhaps if they listened, they would be obliged to agree. But that isn't the point of listening.

c. On the Church's Indifference. When a church does not engage in the issues arising from her own socio-political contexts, the church becomes a stranger in her own country. It is not an issue of doctrines and orthodoxy of beliefs; it is an issue of contributing to the life of a suffering community. If she fails to walk this journey, she becomes a stranger to her own community.