BROADCAST ON FRIDAY MARCH 3rd, 2000 ON RADIO 2CBA FM.

Napoleon once described China as the “sleeping giant of Asia”. Indonesia could be described as the “sleeping giant of South East Asia”.

Today is the World Day of Prayer. This annual event began in 1887 when women in the Presbyterian Church of the USA initiated a national day of prayer to focus on the plight of immigrants and the aftermath of slavery in their country. This annual event gathered international momentum. The first service in Sydney was held in 1929.

The World Day of Prayer is held on the first Friday of March each year. Services are being held around the world today in 180 countries. They began on the international dateline and will finish on a little island off the coast of Alaska. I was the preacher at the Service held at St Columba Uniting Church at Woollahra here in Sydney.

There is one set of readings for each service each year. This means that no matter where the participants may be in the world, our thoughts and prayers have a common focus.

The theme for this year was selected by the Christian women of Indonesia and is based on Mark 5: 35-43, in which Jesus heals the daughter of Jairus, the administrator of the synagogue. Jesus says to the daughter: “Talitha Cum”: “Young woman, stand up!”

There are four implications of Jesus’ statement for today. First, as the Rev Augustina Lumentut points out in her commentary for today: “We all need to rise from our powerlessness that sometimes constrains us very much like a dead person. Talitha Cum is the only hope, that is, if we are empowered to constantly be alive, to become new and effective persons. We need Jesus’s touch to make us whole and worthy for our family, society and nation.”

Second, that applies to Indonesia today. This is the sleeping giant of South East Asia. It is the fourth most populous country in the world and now the world’s third largest democracy (only behind India and the US). But it is far from realizing its potential.

Third, Indonesia is also an example of the one of the most important developments of the 20th century: the end of European colonization. Five centuries ago, Europeans set out to conquer the world. Colonization was a fixed factor in global affairs. But in the last half century, almost all those empires have been wound up - with Portugal the first to arrive in Asia and the last to leave: it is now out of Macau and East Timor.

Finally, there have also been some steps towards ending sexism. But much more remains to be done. The World Day of Prayer began as a response to the plight of the underprivileged in the US. That remains our challenge today.

Jesus set an example. He did not say to Jairus: “Don’t worry about your dead daughter. She’s only a female and so a second class citizen”. Instead, Jesus went and healed her. All humans were precious to Jesus. But if you look at the national health and education budgets of many countries, you will see that girls and women are still second citizens. The challenge of Jesus to look after the health of girls and women remains.