World Cup Churches 18. Costa Rica

Continuing a series of blogs heading round the 32 qualifying countries in the 2022 World Cup - I will pick out one church in each one.  I am not going to choose only churches that are to my liking.  This is an exploration not a recommendation! To see all in the series select the label 'World Cup Churches' below.

The Church of the Nazarene, Cabecar Indigenous Region lacks the grandeur of the great Spanish colonial-era cathedrals and municipal churches of Costa Rica.

It is a reminder that 'Church' is many things, and in many parts of the world a dynamic ministry among the poorest of people.  The Cabecar, a large people group forced by colonisation into the southern mountains of Costa Rica, are considered to be the nation's people group with the greatest level of poverty - 94% against a national figure of 20%.

Yet among them Christians have sought to work.  Journeys involving hours of jungle and mountain tracks have been made to run missions and provide welfare and education to improve the lives of the Cabecar people.  Churches have been formed to indigenise the work and in this picture of the baptism of a Cabecar believer as part of the 10-year-old Church of the Nazarene we see the Gospel building churches not with stones but living stones.

Our Church Flags 6. Costa Rica

 

The flag of Costa Rica has two forms.

Other than the Government, a citizen or entity can show only the striped flag and not the coat of arms.  And frankly, like many other red, white and blue flags there is not much to be said - yes, the red is martyrs' blood again.

What makes the Costa Rican flag interesting is its official form, complete with the Coat of Arms.  Not here the heraldic lions rampant or crowns or laurels of a European institution or family; instead a really nice picture that kind of says, "Come and visit us here!".

It has the sun, (the stars to represent 7 provinces), the lush green land between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, two sailing ships that do seem a little, um, outdated (but would we really want two cruise liners?).  There are even some golden coffee beans down the sides.

We all want to go there.  

Although . . .

There are three great mountains too, representing three ranges.  Until just a few years ago the coat of arms was just that.  And then, for reasons my internet searches have not yet discovered, to each mountain was added a puff of smoke.  Now each of these mountains represents a volcano in each of the ranges, so presumably the smoke is there to emphasise this.  It does have quite a deterrent effect on the attraction of visiting though!

And maybe when we present the message of Christianity we are tempted to leave out the reality that is central to it: the cross, human sin, final judgment.  There is a wonderful faith to discover but it is not a tame faith.

World Cup Blogs 6. Costa Rica

Until the time of the last World Cup in 2014 (Costa Rica were in England's group) my knowledge of Costa Rica was limited, to say the least.  Somewhere on the mainland of Central America, probably quite small and revolutionary and possibly something to do with rice.

Though it was the time of the last World Cup, it wasn't the World Cup that changed my view of Costa Rica.  It was that, having moved to London with its international population, I was in a church where one of the members was Costa Rican.  I found myself asking about the country because I had met the person.  I found out about the country and it mattered to me because it was part of someone I now knew.

This is exactly how it often works in things spiritual.  Here is someone who has nothing but a minimal, distant knowledge of the Lord Jesus and the things of heaven.  They will happily die with no such knowledge - or so they believe.  Then they meet someone who belongs to Jesus, who is spiritual but who is also their friend.  And things that once meant nothing to them come to mean very much more.