Marc Mailloux's Blog

With friends Christian and Joelle at Notre Dame de la Garde overlooking Marseille.                                                 

                                         “Behold I stand at the door and knock…”   

                                                                          Revelations 3:20  

Dear friends,

        Blaise Pascal, the great 17^th century French Christian luminary said there were only two kinds of people one might call reasonable:  Those who know God and serve Him.  And those who don’t yet know Him but are earnestly searching for Him.  As for the others who neither know Him nor seek Him, their indifference in a matter in which their eternal destiny is at stake was a MONSTER to him!  One needs all the charity of the religion they ignore, according to Pascal, not to disdain them.  There are many in modern France, alas,  who seem to fall into this last category, and who are not—Cartesian pretensions notwithstanding— what Pascal would call “reasonable“.  

    We spent part of July and August amongst some of these “monster victims“ in  south Marseille, our old stomping grounds, where the glacial  spiritual temperature contrasted with the stifling summer heat.  We averaged fifteen people at the four “cultes” (worship services) at which I presided (July 27-August 17).  It seems most of the 30-40 or so regulars were on vacation somewhere.  There were others, alas, for whom worship is not a priority. One couple explained their absence telling us they had gone to the beach to escape the heat.  I reminded them that they might have come anyway to publicly acclaim Him who allows them to escape a far worse heat!   They shrugged. Ministry in such a climate of indifference can be discouraging.

       One learns to console himself by admiring the  beauty of the surrounding Provençale countryside, lavender fields, olive trees, vineyards, chirping cicadas, and breathtaking Mediterranean coastline–surely one of the Creator’s masterpieces.  

           In addition to sermon preparation, pastoral visits and counseling sessions (especially for Aline, whose reputation for discretion incites hurting housewives, divorcees, etc.  to confide in her) we enjoyed the company of some old friends with whom we spent many an evening into the wee hours in conversation  around the dinner table where the French are particularly adept at extracting gastronomical sublimity from  the Lord’s terrestrial blessings.    Is there any other culture whose poets have waxed lyrical on the sweet   epicurean delights of various fruits and vegetables?  If the French could only see the Light of Him who put such goodness in peaches and melons! 

       We know too well that there are no magic evangelistic bullets. The most well-planned  missionary efforts are futile until the Lord blesses them. At the present, contemporary France remains about as sympathetic to our Christian faith as the New York Times is to Rush Limbaugh.  On the other hand, the Dalai Lama (in France in August for a twelve-day visit), with his vacuous message, got great press from the French media.  7500 lost souls coughed-up 175 E (ca. $265.) each to listen to the so-called 14^th reincarnation of the bodhisattva  dispense his wisdom at one of the dozens of new Buddhist monasteries recently opened in the land of Calvin.  

        Meanwhile, general ignorance of even the most fundamental Christian truths is breathtaking. That’s partly because incredulity amongst the French often goes back several generations in contrast to the comparatively recent impiety of the United States where there’s still a lot of residual grace from our ancestors.  Ask even an unbelieving American one of the “E.E.” diagnostic questions (“Why should God let one into His heaven…?”)  and he’ll probably  be thinking of the God of the Bible of whom his mother or grandmother spoke.  Conversely, a  typically hardened, biblically illiterate Frenchman will have little or no notion of God’s personal, holy and loving nature.

         Not surprisingly, non biblical religions and superstitions abound.  I spent one afternoon playing pétanque with three Marseille adolescents to whom I offered French copies of the Gospel John with a brief explanation of its contents and the identity of Jesus.   “Nous sommes Musulmans” (“We’re Moslems”),  explained nonchalantly thirteen- year-old Gabriel, manifestly not interested.  “We believe in the Koran.“ 

         Even the French Christians are influenced by an overwhelmingly secular mentality. A French pastor we know lamented his wayward daughter’s plans to forgo  Christian baptism for her son in favor of  a city hall “citizen’s baptism” in the name of the French republic! 

     Tragically, many (most?)  people in France have little or no idea of the claims of Jesus Christ.  Not surprisingly, evangelism amongst the French is like plowing in concrete and necessitates much soil preparation.  One approaches the subject more like Paul speaking to the Athenians, than Peter speaking to the Jews of the Messiah.  It takes time and patience, and most often a long-term commitment.  Discouragement is the real enemy as visible results are meager. There’s a real temptation for French Christians to give up saying:  “What’s the use…?”  But the Lord promises a harvest if we persevere.  We have the only real Good News! 

     As much as Aline and I enjoyed our time in the old country where we hope to return eventually, we appreciate the fact that, for the moment, our work includes discipleship amongst French-speaking folks of the Caribbean who are generally hungry for the Word.   We’re grateful for those of you who make this ministry possible.

                                                                                   In His service,

                                                                               Marc                                                                                  

Praise:

1-For encouraging visits with old friends and brethren in Marseille. 

2-For MTW missionaries the Mitchells, Guildards, and Stephanie Pike at the South Marseille Church, the Wessels (itinerant ministry) and Jan S. (Marseille and N. Africa).

3-For Louisiane, a 55 year old divorcée counseled by Aline who made a profession of faith (Alleluia!)  following our last worship service Aug.17: that she’ll persevere.                                                       

Prayer:

1- Spiritual and professional welfare of son Calix in Marseille; Justin, teaching in a tough school in Pompano Beach; and Anaïs, working and doing her masters (aerospace engineering) in California.         

2-For an outpouring of the Spirit on the land of Calvin.

3-For wisdom in preparing and planning our next teaching trips to the Caribbean, and the future of the program in Martinique, French Guyana etc.