Theology and Diakonia Faith in Action One World Theology (Volume 3)

THEOLOGY AND DIAKONIA FAITH IN ACTION One World Theology (Volume 3) One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 1 1/9/14 9:26 AM One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 2 1/9/14 9:26 AM Theology and Diakonia Faith in Action 3 Edited by Klaus Krämer and Klaus Vellguth CLARETIAN PUBLICATIONS Quezon City, Philippines One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 3 1/9/14 9:26 AM THEOLOGY AND DIAKONIA FAITH IN ACTION (One World Theology, Volume 3) Copyright © 2014 by Verlag Herder GmbH, Freiburg im Breisgau Printed by Claretian Publications A division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman 1101 Quezon City, Philippines Tel.: (02) 921-3984 • Fax: (02) 921-6205 [email protected] • [email protected] www.claretianpublications.com Claretian Publications is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. It aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowearment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today. It is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Macau, Madrid, Manila and São Paolo. Cover design by Jayson Elvin E. Guevara Layout design by Ma. Myreen Q. Gayos All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. ISBN: 978-971-9952-74-9 One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 4 1/9/14 9:26 AM Contents Preface ...................................................................................... ix Diakonia as the Discipleship of Jesus Discipleship as Service Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu .......................................................... 3 Do Whatever He Tells You! – Selfless Action in the Bhagavad Gita and Christian Charity Francis X. D’Sa ..................................................................... 15 Tracing the Footsteps of Jesus The origins of religiously motivated charity and an experience of encountering Christ Klaus Vellguth ........................................................................ 27 Diakonia as the Discipleship of Jesus – Thoughts on interculturalism and liberation in the neo-colonial context of Abya Yala Carlos María Pagano Fernández .............................................. 43 Diakonia and the Mission of the Church The Paradox of the Church as Political and Universal: Challenges to the Theology of the One World David Kaulem ......................................................................... 59 Diakonia: The Main Mission of the Church Andrew G. Recepcion ............................................................. 71 v One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 5 1/9/14 9:26 AM vi Theology and Diakonia Faith in Action Diakonia: The Universal Summons to Serve God in the Service of Mankind – Theological reflections in light of the dramatic situation along the border with the USA Mauricio Urrea Carrillo ............................................................ 83 The Missionary Dimension of Diaconal Activity Klaus Krämer ......................................................................... 93 Diakonia Seen through the Eyes of Local Churches Diakonia in the Documents of the Asian Church Edmund Kee-Fook Chia .......................................................... 103 “A Simple Church, Seed of the Kingdom”: Diakonia in the Re-launch of the Base Ecclesial Communities in Latin America Socorro Martínez and Pablo Mella ............................................ 115 The Programme of Jesus: A Heart which Sees – Charity in current Church documents Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki ................................................... 131 Year of Faith: Challenges for the Church in Africa Patrick C. Chibuko .................................................................. 141 Connecting Diakonia with the Liturgy and Catechesis The Connection of Diaconia and Liturgy in the Church George Ehusani ..................................................................... 153 A Paradigm Shift in the Liturgical Ministry of the Church Paul Puthanangady ................................................................ 165 Liturgy and Servant Catechesis Víctor Hernández Hernández ................................................... 175 Leitourgía: Serving God and Serving One’s Neighbour – On the connection between liturgy and charitable work Cardinal Joachim Meisner ....................................................... 189 One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 6 1/9/14 9:26 AM Contents vii Vision of a Diaconal Church A Diaconal Church – A Vision of the Future Raymond Bernard Goudjo ....................................................... 201 The Vision of a Diaconal Church Judette Gallares ..................................................................... 213 Visions of a Diaconal Church Olga Consuelo Vélez Caro ...................................................... 229 For a Church with a Future Peter Neher ........................................................................... 243 Appendix Index of Authors ................................................................... 255 Index of Translators ............................................................. 259 One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 7 1/9/14 9:26 AM One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 8 1/9/14 9:26 AM Preface This third volume in the One World Theology edition examines the importance of diakonia for Christian theology. In keeping with the overall objective of the edition its purpose is to provide a platform for an exchange of views within the universal Church. For that reason theo- logians from different countries have been invited to investigate the relationship between charity and theology from their specific regional perspectives. On the one hand, the articles are juxtaposed and may be mutually contradictory. On the other hand, they complement each other and encourage readers to compare and contrast their own theological ideas with seemingly alien concepts, thereby offering the prospect of enrichment through engagement with the views of others. What might seem disconcerting at first can thus become a source of increased knowledge and enable theology to develop its catholic breadth. This volume has five chapters, the first of which is concerned with “Charitable Work as the Discipleship of Jesus Christ.” Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu, addressing the subject from an African viewpoint, examines the extent to which diaconal ministry is at the heart of the discipleship of Jesus Christ. Bridging the gap between soteriology and charity, she demonstrates that charity and mission are insep- arably linked. In the following article Francis D’Sa examines the relationship between charity and spirituality, or action and contemplation, from an Indian perspective. He contrasts Christian theology with the tradition of the Bhagavad Gita and formulates the thesis that acts of healing, as seen from a mystical standpoint, are only possible if people are open to a spiritual view of things. The article by Klaus Vellguth entitled “Tracing the Footsteps of Jesus” investigates the extent to which religiously motivated works of charity existed in the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. It reveals that such works were a manifestation of Judeo-Christian thought, there being an inseparable link between the contemplative and the active spiritual ix One World Theology - Vol.3 (274pp).indd 9 1/9/14 9:26 AM x Theology and Diakonia Faith in Action dimension. Pro-social behaviour and care for the needy without any selfish agenda becomes “a mystical place where a person can meet Christ or God.” In the next article, written from a Latin American perspective and a liberation theology standpoint, Carlos Maria Pagano Fernández presents his thoughts on charity work as the discipleship of Jesus, illustrating the forms that prophetic diakonia can take when confronted with neo-liberal economic structures and threats to the environment. The articles in the second chapter focus on “Charity and the Evangelising Mission of the Church.” David Kaulem considers this issue against the background of a globalising world and the call for a “Theology of the One World”. He examines the tension between contextuality and universality from an African vantage point and establishes that “In this sense, the theology of the one world seems to be ‘deeper social understanding’ that is in fact ahead of its time. It gives us a vision of what the world could be.” In his remarks on the (partly politically influenced) diaconal dimension of Church activities he stresses the importance of subsidiarity, solidarity and good gov- ernance, which are the cornerstones of Christian social teaching. Andrew G. Recepcion deals with the relationship between diakonia and mission, which he identifies as key concepts in both the New Testament and the Second Vatican Council. He connects the diaconal with the missionary dimension of the Church and sees compassionate love as one of the main challenges of this mission. Mauricio Urrea Carrillo adopts a contextual approach in setting out his thoughts on diakonia, first examining the diaconal dimension in the biblical context and then transferring the diaconal consequences to a specific Latin American context: the suffering endured by people living along the northern Mexican border with the United States. Carrillo illustrates the forces impacting on the lives of people in this region and

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