MISSIONARIES OF CHRIST A Textbook of Missiology
Paul Vadakumpadan SDB
Vendrame Institute Publications Sacred Heart Theological College Shillong 2006 Published by Vendrame Institute, Sacred Heart Theological College Shillong 793 008 India www.shtc.org Email [email protected] [email protected]
ISBN 81-85408-00-35
Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: 4 Missionaries of Christ A Textbook of Missiology by Paul Vadakumpadan Missiology, Pastoral Theology
Typeset : Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong Layout and Printing : TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abbreviations Introduction
1. What is Missiology? 2. The World: our Mission Field 3. Mission Semantics 4. The Theological and Canonical Dimensions of Mission 5 5. The Catholic Understanding of Mission, 1911-1962 6. The Missionary Question in India Today 7. Missionary Motivation 8. Mission Documents 9. Protestant Missiology 10. Orthodox Missions and Missiology 6 11. Mission Theology in Scripture 12. Evolution of the Term Evangelisation 13. The Global Concept of Evangelisation 14. Christian Witness 7 15. Proclamation of the Good News 8 16. Celebration of the Sacraments 17. Liberation in Evangelisation 18. The Nature of Christian Liberation 19. The Specific Contribution of the Church to Liberation 9 20. Gospel–Culture Encounter 10 21. Evangelisation in the Context of Non-Christian Religions
Select Bibliography for the study of Missiology
ABBREVIATIONS
AG Vatican Council II, Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, Ad Gentes. CT John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Catechesi Tradendae. DH Vatican Council II, Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae. DV Vatican Council II, Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum. EA John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Asia. EN Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi. IBMR International Bulletin of Missionary Research. LG Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. NA Vatican Council II, Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non- Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate. RH John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Redemptor Hominis. RM John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris Missio. SC Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. Introduction
The emergence of mission as a key concept in the life of the Church in the modern world is to be wholeheartedly welcomed. The early Church understood herself as a missionary movement. The Church today is challenged to focus on that model as she tries to make herself relevant in her context. In this regard the need for mission studies in the training programme not only of priests and religious but also of all those committed to the cause of Christ becomes crucial.
Missionaries of Christ is offered as a basic course in Missiology to all those interested in such a programme. Though basic, it includes all major themes in Missiology today. I have been studying and teaching this challenging subject for over two decades and feel a volume like this would be of immense help to students as well as teachers.
The book is written in the Catholic context but ecumenical considerations are by no means ignored. There is considerable emphasis on Church teaching. I frequently quote mission documents. Most of these documents do not come just from a particular authority. Instead, being the result of much consultation, the entire Church has contributed to their formulation. They represent in good measure the thinking of the universal Church, a point that needs to be emphasised.
I would like to point out one mission document in particular, Evangelii Nuntiandi of Pope Paul VI. Though over thirty years have passed since its promulgation, it still remains fresh and appealing. I have used this document as a framework in developing the mission theology contained in this book. My earlier work Evangelisation Today (1989), now out of print, had focused entirely on this document. Sections from my earlier book are contained in the present one in a modified and updated form. This also explains the numerous references to Evangelii Nuntiandi in this volume.
The language used is not gender-specific. Thus man is used for all human beings, men as well as women. This is because an appropriate vocabulary in this regard is still evolving in the English language as used in India.
I am based in North-east India. Here during the past hundred and fifty years, flourishing and numerically large Churches, Catholic or Protestant, have emerged, thanks in good measure to the dedicated service of many missionaries, who have gone before us. Following the enriching example of these pioneers, I hope all disciples of Christ will commit themselves to witnessing to our Saviour, through their genuine Christian life, service and proclamation. While the context changes, zeal and determination ought to remain unchanged. Missionaries of Christ is my humble contribution to the realisation of that goal.
Paul Vadakumpadan SDB Chapter 1 What is Missiology?
Mission is an oft repeated word today. It is enough to look at modern religious literature. One sees in it a constant reference to this reality. In present day Christian Theology, particularly in the Theology of the Church, there has been a rediscovery of this theme. Traditionally, mission was always seen as part of the Church. Today the Church is seen as part of mission. Many used to think of the Church as carrying out several activities, mission being one of them. Instead, it is mission that brings the Church into existence. If Missiology was seen as part of Theology, today we may think of mission as giving rise to the very idea of theologising.
The Church is Missionary by Nature “ The Church on earth is by its very nature missionary…”1 This was, indeed, a path breaking statement of Vatican II. Jesus sent the apostles as his witnesses. The Church was born as a missionary movement, in a constant process of being sent. She is essentially missionary. This teaching serves as the starting point of our study of the nature of the Church. Separating Church and mission is like separating the two sides of the same coin. Mission is crucial in understanding the Church. She is either a missionary Church or not a Church at all. Once and for all, we need to bury the idea of a Church that carries out many activities, one of which is called mission. Worse still, such activity is carried out only in a far away place. The expression “He/she is going to the missions”, though said with good intentions, runs the risk of undervaluing the remarkable teaching of Vatican II that the Church is essentially missionary.
God’s loving plan for us was realised historically in the person of Jesus Christ. The Church is now sent by her Master to continue that process. Thus the Church follows Christ in mission. As the obedient servant of the Lord, she obeys his word and lives to witness to his love. She not only proclaims his good news but witnesses to it in daily life. The good news thus becomes an existential reality. The great missionary challenge is to manifest constantly this salvific message in word and deed, through life witness and through all means of communication. The Church is the universal sacrament of salvation and light to the nations. She becomes salt of the earth and light of the world.
This one mission of the Church is lived in many ways. One such way is mission ad gentes. We may even designate it with the plural missions or mission in a restricted sense. These are “usually those particular undertakings by which the heralds of the gospel, sent out by the Church and going forth into the whole world, carry out the task of preaching the gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not believe in Christ. These undertakings are brought to completion by missionary activity and are mostly exercised in certain territories recognised by the Holy See.”2
Missiology: The Study of Mission
1 AG 2. 2 AG 6. Missiology may be defined as the scientific study of the missionary reality of the Church.3 As a theological discipline, it is very young, not even a century old. Initially, it was understood only in terms of the restricted sense of mission ad gentes.
Several other names had been suggested for this particular theological discipline. The great missiologist Gustav Warneck had suggested the term Theory of Missions. Other terms suggested were Theology of the Apostolate, Science of the Missions, Missionary Science, etc. The most preferred term, however, is Missiology and it has come to stay. It has the great advantage of being used interdenominationally and internationally. It is derived from the Latin missio and Greek logos. Names of several other disciplines too follow a similar pattern.
Traditionally we defined Missiology as the science of the missions. However, mission here was understood as missio ad gentes. Now that we understand mission more comprehensively, it is to be understood as the study of the mission (singular) of the Church. It is a scientific and critical reflection on the various aspects and dimensions of this fundamental reality of the Church. Understandably, in this endeavour, the study of that particular form of mission, called missio ad gentes, will also have its legitimate place. This broadening of concept also explains how in countries like India, theological thinking tends to focus on the mission of the Church. In other words all Theology becomes Missiology. This is a positive development and should be welcomed.
If the conciliar teaching Church is missionary by nature is understood and appreciated, every theological discipline will have a missiological dimension to it. More than having a particular specialisation called theology of mission, we shall speak of all theology as infused by mission. A missionary Church will have also a missionary theology. Everything about it will be missionary. That is the Church Jesus wants.
Early Studies on Mission Already in the first half of the fourth century, Eusebius of Cesarea wrote his “Ecclesiastical History”. In the writings of St. John Chrysostom and of the great St. Augustine, we have much that is of missionary significance. About the same time, we have a treatise entitled “On the Vocation of all Peoples”. It is attributed to Prospero d’Aquitania who lived in the fifth century. It is the first Christian writing on the salvation of non-Christians. The directives of Pope Gregory the Great given to the missionaries he sent to England in 597 contain valuable ideas on missionary methods. These missionaries were specifically instructed not to destroy pagan temples. Innocent pagan rites were to be adopted for Christian feasts.
Later we have the history books of Isidore of Seville (560-636) and Bede the Venerable (672-735). Missionary considerations are also found in the book “De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei” of Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141).
3 Cf. Karl Mueller, “Missiology: An Introduction” in S. Karotemprel et al. (ed.,) Following Christ in Mission (Bombay: Pauline Publications, 1995) 21. In the period from 13th to 15th century, we see missionary topics in the “Summa Theologica” of Thomas Aquinas. He wrote also “Summa contra Gentiles” a synthesis of Catholic truth, probably for the use of Dominican missionaries in Spain. It was completed in 1264. An interesting figure we meet at this time is Ramon Llull (1232-1316). He was born on the island of Majorca. A married person, at the age of 30 he underwent a process of conversion and became deeply conscious of his missionary vocation. He wanted to establish contacts with Muslims. He wanted to prepare missionaries with knowledge of Arabic and Islamic religious culture. His writings were full of missionary concerns. Moreover, he insisted that oriental languages and Islamic religious culture be taught at academic centres in Christian countries. Among his works are Ars inventive veritatis, Tractatus de modo convertendi infidels, Petitio Raymundi, and Liber de acquisitione Terrae Sanctae.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the period of the great geographic discoveries, we have several missionary publications. Worthy of special mention are those of Josè de Acosta SJ (1540-1600), Thomas a Jesu OCD (1564-1627), Phillippus Rovenius, Angelo Maria Verricelli, and Cardinal Brancati di Laurea. Chapter 2 The World: our Mission Field 11 12 The council document Gaudium et Spes begins with a significant missionary statement, “The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. For theirs is a community composed of men who…are bearers of a message of salvation intended for all men. That is why Christians cherish a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history.”4 The missionary commitment of the Church is one way of living out this deep solidarity. The Church is also part of the world and she serves God precisely by serving her brothers and sisters in this world. The context of our world then will influence considerably the way she carries out her mission of love and service. A look at the various continents of the world today will help understand better this context.
Africa: The Context of First Proclamation and Inculturation Christianity has been growing in recent times at a phenomenal rate in Africa. The Christian population of the continent today stands at 389,304,000 and is likely to rise to 595,821,000 in 2025.5 If the early Church in North Africa was wiped out, in good measure for lack of missionary zeal, that problem has certainly been overcome. But just as failure brings in problems, so does success. The growing Churches in Africa are now facing what we may call problems of success. Numerical growth is certainly an aspect of success, but just one. Qualitative growth, evangelisation of culture, commitment to a more just and fraternal society etc. are also pressing concerns.
Evangelisation and colonisation were somewhat contemporaneous in Africa. In the eyes of some people, Christianity looked like a religion tied to colonialism. Now that such a period has passed into history, the Christian message must truly find a home in Africa. This poses the serious challenge of inculturation. The Gospel-culture encounter is not static. The fact that numerous Africans have become Christians should make this process ever more dynamic and effective.
At the same time, the general picture one gets of Africa is that of a continent suffering from widespread poverty, violence, sickness and underdevelopment. Moreover, the frequent outbursts of ethnic conflict, sometimes with shocking violence, present new challenges to the Church in mission. A growing and maturing Church will find in this situation immense possibilities to respond to the commands of the Lord: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world… Blessed are the peacemakers… By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” All these ought to be seen as missionary commands of the Lord. 4 GS 1. 5 David Barret et al., “Missiometrics 2005: A Global Survey of World Mission” in IBMR 29 (2005). Latin America: The Context of Liberation Here is a society that is Christian, predominantly Catholic that is marked by considerable injustice, by a dramatic temptation to violence and at the same time by legitimate aspirations for liberation, peace, justice, solidarity and fraternal communion. The Medellin conference had already prophetically affirmed in 1968 that the vocation of the Latin American Church today is to be “an authentically poor Church, missionary and paschal, free from all earthly power and courageously active in the liberation of the whole man and all men.”6 The traditional structures of an established Church and the numerous means that these offer can be used effectively for a new evangelisation that emphasises justice and sharing.
Evangelisation is directly linked to human progress and integral liberation. This relationship is to be found in the historic dimension of the Word of God, in the concrete need of the Christian faith, in the Gospel response to the legitimate aspirations for integral salvation of all people. The Gospel is a call to personal and social conversion. It has the power to transform society. Justice and freedom are fundamental evangelical values. Evangelisation, which by itself is addressed to conversion and salvation through the proclamation of the Word of God and the interior action of the Holy Spirit, is often linked in Latin America to the biblical terminology of integral salvation and total liberation.
Never in the history of the world has there been so much possibility as there is today of providing all people with the means necessary for leading a fully human life with dignity. But the shocking realisation that despite such possibility, it is this same world of ours that is marked by the most glaring forms of oppression and monstrous injustice in political, economic, social, cultural, moral and even religious fields puts us to shame. Statistics are staggering. The most evident form of such oppression and injustice, though not necessarily the most serious, is seen in the economic field. Poverty and plenty flourish side by side not only among nations, but also among fellow-men of the same country. Deprived of basic means of human survival, millions of human beings, created in the image of God endure a subhuman existence that is a mockery to their divine maker.
In the face of such a vicious reality one is tempted to wonder what has happened to the freedom of the children of God that Christ came to give us. Latin America is not the worst example. But the fact that it is a Christian continent makes one emphasise that in proclaiming the Good News of Christ, which is a message of freedom and joy, one cannot be oblivious to the outrageous scandals of our day. Evangelisation by definition includes liberation.
Europe and North America: The Context of Secularisation The materially rich and developed countries of the world, mostly in Western Europe and North America experience the reality of deep secularisation. It is more so in the former than in the latter. It is surprising that in several countries of ancient Christian civilisation there are substantial sections of society who are indifferent to their traditional
6 ET 40. Christian religion both in public and in private. However, this fact must not be exaggerated. There are also groups of people, perhaps a minority, for whom the Christian faith is a lived reality. Moreover, the general acceptance of certain values, basically Christian, shows that religion, at least some aspects of it, is still a powerful force, perhaps in a way different from the past. In any case, there is no denying the fact that abandonment of religious practice and of many elements of Christian ethics is widespread.
Secularization then is the context in which the Church is challenged to proclaim the Gospel. Atheism too is no more a rare fact. It would appear that for many people the modern welfare state and economic-scientific progress have effectively taken the place of God. In the past, the Christian faith and European culture were intimately linked. Now under dominant secularisation, the freshness and novelty of the Gospel tend to be lost. As a result this is a context in which evangelisation becomes more difficult than in all others.
The goal of evangelisation is to lead people to Christ. The sacraments are crucial here. As sacramental life is increasingly abandoned, this aspect of evangelisation becomes more difficult. The example of committed Christians, though few in number, can be an effective way of witnessing to Christ. The faith also calls for a renewed understanding in order that its evangelical vigour may be felt more forcefully. As traditional forms of missionary service in religious consecration and priesthood may suffer, the possibility of other forms and ways for an effective fulfilment of mission cannot be ruled out.
Asia: The Context of non-Christian Religions While several Christian countries are experiencing the problem of secularisation, Hindu and Muslim countries are, instead, experiencing considerable religious revival, even fundamentalism and violence. Ayatollah Khoemini’s Iran, Taleban Afghanistan and the India as wanted by right wing Hindu nationalists7 are all indications of growing self- assertion as well as intolerance. What makes it more alarming is that this extremism thrives along with mass poverty. Parts of South Asia, an area of the world with huge numbers of very poor people, are also the breeding ground for religious extremism. Poverty and extremism are both cause and effect of each other. Hindu and Buddhist societies were often seen as peaceful. The same could not be said about Islamic ones. The recent developments in India are also alarming. The so-called war on terror makes one realise how delicate the situation is.
Despite these developments, the religious atmosphere one notices in several parts of Asia is commendable. People in these parts recognise easily a genuine man of God. Prayer and contemplation are of great value in such context. These are also great Christian values and so can be used powerfully in the fulfilment of mission. Dialogue with cultures and religions, as well as the struggle against injustice and oppression become privileged areas of the Church’s evangelising mission. Instead if Gospel proclamation is perceived as arrogant and threatening, the effect may be counter-
7 Sangh Parivar organisations as of 2005 include: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bajrang Dal (BD), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and Swadeshi Jagran Manch. productive. Even language and terminology assume crucial importance in this regard. It is not enough to say the right thing, but one must be perceived as saying it rightly.8
Conclusion The Church fulfils her mission of witnessing to Christ to the men and women of our day in very precise contexts and existential situations. While the mission remains the same, these contexts and situations change constantly, from time to time and from place to place. Methods may vary. Emphasis should be on effectiveness. Under all circumstances and in every situation she remains missionary.
8 See P. Vadakumpadan, “Christian Response to Harassment and Atrocities” in Mission Today V (2003) 236-245. Chapter 3
Mission Semantics
Words and phrases not merely express an idea, but in some sense they also shape that idea. Certain words have become so replete with meaning, that a thorough study of the words as words will be needed to grasp the reality that they stand for. Words, used originally in one context, have over the ages become commonplace in other contexts. This is particularly so with regard to words and terms expressing the missionary reality of the Church. The very word mission appears so constantly in secular publications, including the daily newspaper, that there could be readers who may be surprised to learn that it is a word originally with a religious or Christian meaning. This chapter focuses on mission semantics. In Scripture, the term mission is used in a deeply theological sense. It can be understood only in the context of salvation history. That in fact is the thread running through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. This reality of mission is present both in the Old and New Testaments.
Mission Terminology in the Old Testament Mission in the Old Testament is expressed by salah in Hebrew and Aramaic, apostello in the Septuagint, and mitto in the Latin vulgate. When God sends, the sent one (saliah, apostolos, missus) receives a special assignment. It consists in collaborating in the history of salvation in God’s name and by his authority.
We have several examples of individuals being sent by God with a specific work to do. Moses was sent as a prophet (Deut 18:18). Samuel was sent as a leader and prophet (1Sam 15:1). Scripture graphically describes Isaiah’s calling and his obedience to the call (Is: 6:6-9). So too was the calling of Jeremiah (1:7, 4:6) and Ezechiel (2:2-4). Zechariah was sent to the gentiles in what may be seen as a sign of universalism (2:8-11, 4:9).
We could draw several conclusions from the O.T. regarding missio (sending). God takes the initiative. It is his decision. He may call anyone. The one who is called must collaborate with God in realizing the divine salvific plan. God not only calls, but also acts through him. The missus no more speaks or acts in his own name. He has to be totally obedient to the Master. He is God’s servant, fully available to him. Thanks to the call he is filled with trust and courage. Thus he is empowered to undertake even difficult tasks for the one who called him. The call is so important that without it, he is a false prophet. The missus in entrusted in particular with the responsibility of proclaiming God’s word. His proclamation is efficacious and signs accompany his mission. The sending of the prophet and his word are accompanied by a pouring forth of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, missio has also the mark of universality.
Mission Terminology in the New Testament The New Testament terms for missio are mitto, apostello and pempo. Pempo occurs eighty times in the New Testament. It means to send and the accent is on the sender. It refers to sending without reference to time. God’s initiative is emphasised. So also the fact that the words and deeds of the one who is sent belong to the sender.
Apostello occurs 175 times in the New Testament, almost always in the Gospels. It also means to send, with the stress on the one who is sent. It denotes the concrete mission, in space and time. Apostolos was at first used only for the twelve. Later it was extended to all those who were sent.
In the New Testament, sending refers in particular to John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the apostles. Characteristics of the sending in the Old Testament and the New Testament are the same. The missio the apostles receive through Christ has its origin in the Father. There is identity between the sender and the sent. They are sent to proclaim the good news. The words they speak are not theirs, but of the one who sent them. They hand down the Gospel and with it the mission they have received. A sense of submission, obedience and service mark their life. They are empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit in their life. Lastly, miracles accompany their missio.
Other Relevant Terms Euangelizomai means “I proclaim the good news, a message of joy”. It is not merely speaking and preaching but proclaiming with authority and power. Such proclamation is accompanied by signs and wonders. Euangelion means the living, spoken word of Christ’s saving message, the good news, the Gospel. It is full of power. Euangelistes is the one who proclaims the good news. It is used only thrice in the New Testament (Acts 21:8, Eph 4:11, 2 Tim 4:5). Kerysso means to preach, to proclaim publicly, to present the Christian message with the authority of the one who sends. It is synonymous with euangelizomai and occurs 61 times in the N.T. Kerygma is preaching, but with the emphasis more on the content than on the act itself. It is the earliest form of the proclamation of the Christian mystery. Keryx is the herald or preacher. It is used sparingly because the true herald is Jesus Christ and the human preacher must remain in the background. Didasko (I teach, instruct) is used 95 times in the N.T. The Gospels present Jesus in the function of teaching. Didaskalos is rabbi, master or teacher. Jesus was often called teacher. Martyro means to witness, Martyria and Martyrion mean witnessing, Martys is a witness. These words occur 167 times in the N.T. Luke and John stress witnessing to Christ. The twelve are commissioned to witness to Christ. They did so by proclamation, by signs and wonders, and by suffering. Chapter 4
The Theological and Canonical Dimensions of Mission
The semantic study of mission has enabled us to understand how the term is used in Scripture. The reality of mission was lived in the Church much before it became an object of study. Mission, while being faithful down the centuries to the original reality, was obviously influenced by several other factors. The reality that we are challenged to live today is the result of centuries of growth in understanding and experience. This experience helps us to grasp better the various dimensions of mission, which in turn enriches the way it is lived in daily Christian life.
The Theological Dimension of Mission Mission was often spoken of as an act of the Church. The missionary command of Christ was accepted as the reason for undertaking mission. Vatican II, instead, situated mission in the heart of the Holy Trinity. The Church is by nature missionary “since according to the plan of the Father, it has its origin in the mission of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”9 This plan flows from the infinite love of God the Father. “As the principle without principle from whom the Son is generated and from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds through the Son, God in his great and merciful kindness freely creates us and moreover, graciously calls us to share in his life and glory.”10 Mission is to be seen in this gratuitous and loving call of the Father, addressed to all people to share in his life.
Eternally and invisibly, the Son proceeds from the Father and the Spirit from the Father and the Son. Visibly, in space and time the Son is sent by the Father and the Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son. The divine missions make visible what is already within the Trinity. This visible mission is perpetuated in the Church, the mystical body of Christ. From the Church are sent missionaries, in other words, all Christians with the task of making visible the loving design of God.
God’s loving plan for our salvation was realised in a concrete and definite manner when he sent his Son into the world as our saviour. The Son of God became one of us so that we may become sharers in God’s own life. The good news of salvation that he proclaimed and fulfilled in himself must be made available to all people everywhere and at all times. To do this the risen Lord sent the Holy Spirit from the Father. With the coming of the Spirit, the Church becomes fully missionary. The magnificent display of Catholicity that the new born Church witnessed on Pentecost day is a powerful manifestation of her identity as the family of God, open to all people everywhere. The Spirit continues to empower the followers of Christ so that they became effective witnesses of God’s love in Christ.
The Canonical Dimension of Mission
9 AG 2. 10 Idem. The canonical aspect of mission consists in the sending of the missionary by the legitimate authority in the Church. The ultimate authority, of course, is God himself. The human authority in the Church is only his servant. In our human condition, such a human authority, always at the service of God’s will, is relevant and useful. “And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?”11 St. Augustine sees in this the necessity of the canonical mission. Unfortunately, this aspect was later exaggerated. In the sixteenth century it became the most important character, as it were, of mission. It was as if the service of authority wanted to be as prominent as the source of authority itself.
Vatican II places this canonical mission in the right perspective calling it a diakonia, service or ministry.12 The missionary who is sent and the legitimate authority in the Church that sends him are always under the supreme authority of God’s will. The goal of all sending is that God’s kingdom may come. The canonical dimension of mission ought not to be seen as being parallel to or independent of the God-centred reality of mission.
In the second part of the sixteenth and early part of the seventeenth centuries, the word mission was specially enriched thanks to the Jesuits and the Carmelites. St. Ignatius wanted the members of his society to take a vow of the missions. By virtue of it, members could be sent anywhere on mission. The word mission soon came to mean a) the sending of the missionary, b) the territory to which he was sent, and c) the task to be performed at one’s destination. Among the Carmelites, the word mission signified the following: A journey to infidels or heretics to set up the Church, the territories where missionary activity was carried on, and the area declared by the Church as mission territory.
11 Rom 10:15. 12 LG 24. Chapter 5 13 14 The Catholic Understanding of Mission, 1911-1962
The prominence of mission in Theology today is a positive development. It is this thinking that has found a powerful expression in the words of Vatican II, “The Church is missionary by nature”. The post-conciliar thinking has amply developed this thought. The fact of so much missiological literature is an indication of the growth of Missiology in the present day Church. The 2004 issue of Bibliografia Missionaria alone contains 2985 entries. All these go to show that we are living in a golden age of Missiology. Considering that as a theological discipline in the Catholic Church, it is hardly hundred years old, this is a matter of great satisfaction. A look at the short history of Missiology will help locate this development in context. I limit myself to the Catholic field.13 Protestant Missiology started much earlier. The first Chair of Missiology was established in 1867 at Edinburgh. A Chair of Missiology was established at Halle in 1896. It was held by G. Warneck.
Robert Streit OMI (1875-1930) Surprisingly, Robert Streit, an archivist and librarian, not a theologian, was the pioneer of contemporary Catholic Missiology. He began by publishing articles on missionary topics in the review “Maria Immaculata” of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which he edited from 1905 to 1910. He started a movement for the scientific investigation of the missionary apostolate. In 1907, the Catholic periodical of Paderborn Katholischen Seelsorger published his guiding principles for a modern Missiology. He wanted missionary problems to be dealt with dogmatically, scripturally, historically and juridically. In 1910 he published “Die Mission in Exegese und Patrologie”.
In 1909 the Catholic German Congress was held at Breslau, under the chairmanship of Prince Loewenstein. He repeatedly spoke of the missionary question, which was then highly topical among the Protestants. Together with friends of the missions and heads of missionary institutions, he formed a missionary commission. Robert Streit was a member of it. The commission met at Berlin in 1910. Streit presented a paper on the relation between science and missions. He proposed that in seminaries and universities, more importance must be given to missionary subjects, experts in Missiology be prepared, and a Chair of Missiology be created in a Catholic University. In another communication to significant people, he suggested the compilation of a bibliography and the publication of a scientific missionary review. In 1916 he published the first volume of his missionary bibliography. Later he was appointed secretary of the Pontifical Missionary Library. He edited the Bibliotheca Missionum. He had published seven volumes by the time of his death in 1930.
13 Cf. Georg Evers, Storia e Salvezza (Bologna: EMI, 1976) 17-62. Joseph Schmidlin (1876-1944) Schmidlin began as a Church History professor but is considered the founder of Catholic Missiology. In 1911 he founded the review Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft. It was edited by him till 1937. He also began the University Missionary Movement. In 1914 he became the first ordinary professor of Missiology at Münster. Among his more significant works are Einführung in die Missionswissenschaft, Katholische Missionsgeschichte, and Katholische Missionslehre im Grundriss. At Münster, he taught the “General Introduction” and the “History of the Missions”. Other subjects taught at the university were exegesis of the missionary texts of Holy Scripture, Missionary Canon Law, Science of Religions, and Oriental Sciences.
The New Catholic Encyclopaedia pays glowing tributes to him: “Besides his scientific work, Schmidlin directed the extraordinarily fruitful and effective Catholic missionary organisation that he founded in Germany. A man of outstanding intelligence, brilliant creativity and unbounded idealism, Schmidlin had all the qualities necessary to become the pioneer in the new field of Missiology.”14
We may wonder who the founder of Catholic Missiology is, Streit or Schmidlin. Both have a claim, each in his own field and with his own orientation. Streit was a librarian. He was peaceful and prudent, an optimist, the careful initiator of Missiology. Schmidlin was a teacher and a historian. He was impulsive and energetic, a spirited activist and a writer. He tended to become controversial and, in fact, died in a Nazi camp in 1944.
Schmidlin considered the non-Christian world as the object of mission. This missiological school was termed “the school of Münster” or the “theory of conversion”. Missionary action consists in proclamation, instruction, individual conversion and salvation of souls. Through baptism non-Christians are received into the Church and thus small communities are formed which are then organised into autonomous Churches. While he does emphasise conversion, he does not ignore the establishment of the Church. In keeping with the theology of his time, he identifies the visibly organised Catholic Church with the Kingdom of God. He thought non-Christian religions were disintegrating and wanted that Christianity must be introduced along with modern culture. He considered European countries as bearers of culture which promotes the progress of primitive peoples. He paid no attention to political and liberation movements. In this regard his thinking was very much in keeping with the concept of colonial mission. Such a phase in the history of mission has long since been abandoned.
The Belgian School According to this school of thought, the specific purpose of the missions, in the words of St. Thomas, is to found the Church. Many ecclesiastical documents speak of establishing the Church. Pierre Charles uses the term to plant the Church and Andrè Seumois to implant the Church. Making conversions is not seen as the specific purpose of 14 New Catholic Encyclopedia. Second Edition (New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003), vol. 12, pp.1139. the missions. The Church is the adequate means of salvation. This standpoint was proposed by R. Lange SJ of Louvain in 1924, elaborated by Pierre Charles SJ, championed by the OMIs, SJs, the French review Spiritus, the Dutch missiologists in general, and the recent Popes.
The theory is not without criticism. Planting the Church is not to be found in Scripture and the Fathers. The Protestants dislike it because it is a static concept. Congar points out that it overlooks the command of Christ. It bypasses the problem of the salvation of non-Christians. It conforms to the nineteenth century concept of the Church. However, plantatio ecclesiae became the common patrimony of the Catholic Theology of Mission. P. Charles defined missionary activity in such a way as to distinguish it from other pastoral activities. Thus through mission the Church is established among peoples and in places where she does not as yet exist. In this perspective, formation of a local clergy and episcopate is of great importance. Once a local church is established, conversion of the remaining non-Christians is the responsibility of that new Church. The strictly missionary phase is over.
J. Masson shows that plantatio ecclesiae does not exclude conversion and salvation of souls. But these are not the specificity of missionary action. E. Loffeld speaks of the ethnic incarnation of the Church. A. Seumois holds the scope of missionary activity as the territorial expansion of the visible Church, spatial catholicity. Such language sounds somewhat strange to us today.
The French School For the French missiologists the fundamental problem is the salvation of non- Christians. Glorieux affirms that missions are ordained to give them the fullness of life. Durand sees missions as the normal means of salvation for non-Christians, but not absolutely indispensable. For De Lubac missions are not just a function of the Church, but belong to her very essence. Missions build up the Church to which all non-Christians are ordained.
The Spanish School The missions are the activity of the Church as the mystical body of Christ. Christ’s body grows and spreads incorporating the nations in itself (Eph 4:11-13, Col 2:9).This is done by assimilation as well as expansion.
Missionary Encyclicals of the Popes The great missionary encyclicals of the last century offer rich insights in understanding the mission theology of the time. More than scholarly documents, they are meant as response and orientation to missionary praxis and problems. These key documents were the following:15
Maximum Illud (1919)
15 The English text of these documents are available in J. Puthenpurakal, Mission in the Documents of the Catholic Church (Shillong: VIP,1997). Maximum Illud of Pope Benedict XV focuses on the founding of young Churches. World War 1 had just ended. The Pope wants to revive the missions from the wreckage caused by that catastrophe. The heads of mission are reminded of their duty to be fatherly and gentle. They are to attach great importance to the formation of the local clergy. It is when the local clergy is adequate in number and training that the Church is really established. The Pope laments the lack of local clergy in many countries despite the passage of time. Missionaries are to avoid nationalism, lead a holy life, and prepare themselves with suitable study, also of languages. People in traditionally Christian countries are encouraged to be missionary minded. Missionary work is understood as diffusion of the kingdom of God. It noted that despite much missionary success, over a billion people were still to be reached. The letter concludes with an invitation to the entire Church to come to the aid of the missions through prayer, personnel and funds. The approach to non-Christian religions is somewhat negative. There is also no awareness of the social situation in mission territories.
As a result of this encyclical, Missiology courses were started at the Propaganda Fide College in Rome. Giovanni Tragella (1885-1968) was the first teacher of Missiology here, appointed in 1919 by Benedict XV.
Rerum Ecclesiae (1926) Pius XI in this encyclical focuses on the formation of the local clergy. Local vocations are to be prepared for priesthood and religious life and not to be mere assistants. Seminaries are to be set up for this purpose. Contemplative life too must be fostered. There is the need to train catechists as well. The Pope feels the pressing and urgent need to bring to the Church the numerous people still outside it. The method of winning the hearts of people is through charity, especially towards the sick and children. Schools, dispensaries and hospitals are a must. The Pope underlines the importance of prayer for the success of the missions. The missionary union of the clergy as well as the various organisations to aid mission work are recommended as being of great importance.
Missionary motivation is to be seen in love of God, the Church and one’s neighbour. This document has had great influence on theologians regarding the fundamental scope of mission. Evangelisation is clearly understood as spreading the faith, establishing the Church and thus saving all people. The Pope also speaks of work that is not strictly spiritual, like medical care. The document speaks of Christian culture and civilisation, apparently not bothering to distinguish between faith and culture, and Christian faith and European culture.
Evangelii Praecones (1951) Pope Pius XII wrote this encyclical to commemorate the silver jubilee of Rerum Ecclesiae. He extols the greatness and sublimity of the missionary vocation. He exhorts missionaries to love the country to which they are sent to proclaim the Gospel. They need to learn languages, medicine, agriculture, ethnography, history and geography. They are to foster education, the good press, social service, health care and the cause of justice. Missionary work also leads nations to increased social prosperity. The Church’s dedication to education is significant in this respect. Lay people are to participate in missionary activity.
Missionary preaching makes for fellowship among all people. The object of missionary activity is “to bring the light of the Gospel to new races and to form new Christians” and its ultimate goal is “to establish the Church on sound foundations among non-Christian peoples and place it under its own native hierarchy.” Statistical and quantitative aspects of progress in missionary work are considered significant. The encounter between Gospel and culture is another delicate but important aspect. There is a remarkable change from his predecessors in the way Pius XII refers to non-Christians and their religions. Respect for everything that is good in cultures is a must. “Let not the Gospel, on being introduced into any new land, destroy or extinguish whatever its people possess that is naturally good, just or beautiful.”
Fidei Donum (1957) In this encyclical Pope Pius XII speaks of the urgent missionary needs of Africa. It is an appeal to the universal Church for cooperation in the missionary endeavour on that vast continent. Africa is undergoing rapid social, economic and political changes which greatly affect society. Any delay would be harmful, perhaps irreparably. Christian communities all over the world must be genuinely interested in the universal Church. Isolation and all forms of collective egoism are harmful. Besides, missionary zeal is a source of Christian renewal for the local community itself.
Though intended to meet a particular need, it is rich in valid missiological principles. Missionary work is aimed at the establishment of the Church. The geographical extension of the Church is stressed and is virtually synonymous with her catholicity.
Princeps Pastorum (1959) This missionary encyclical of Pope John XXIII marked the fortieth anniversary of Maximum Illud. The Pontiff points out the need for fraternal collaboration between the local clergy and missionaries from other places. Need for seminaries in the local environment is stressed. In speaking of the training to be imparted to the clergy, the Pope speaks at length of its various aspects, spiritual, intellectual, missiological etc. It is through sanctity of life that the Gospel is most effectively preached. The call to holiness is addressed to all, clergy and laity alike. Influencing the educated classes through appropriate study centres is a challenge. The local clergy must be taught to be earnestly involved in the life of the universal Church. Spreading the faith to every corner of the earth is an obligation. Quality must be stressed along with quantity. “The profession of the Christian faith has nothing to do with statistics. It is the creation of the new man.” Personal and community witness through committed Christian living is of maximum importance. Winds of Change After the Second World War, great changes were in the offing. These profoundly affected the Church. One area where this influence was particularly felt was that of mission. Aware of the fast changing situation, a group of missiologists, around the review Parole et Mission tried to define mission anew, on the basis of an analysis of the prevalent social situation. The rigid distinction between mission land and Christian land as a pre-established geographical concept was abandoned. Non-Christian territory, they argued, now needs to be understood more in the sociological sense and not in the geographic.
In 1943, H. Godin and Y.Daniel in Paris published the book La France pays de mission? It caused a commotion. The authors wrote that in France there were mission areas. They distinguished three contexts within a group of people : a) the context in which Christians fulfil their duties, b) the context with Christian culture, but without ecclesial practice, c) the context in which not only is ecclesial practice absent, but so is every influence of Christianity. Mission is to be understood in a determined sociological milieu, which is not territorial but sociological. For example, one such milieu would be the French workers. The ordinary apostolate was not sufficient to plant the Church again in their midst. It was a truly missionary situation. This thinking gave rise to the “Mission de France” with a formation centre at Pontigny. It was a society of worker priests, founded by Cardinal Suhard, archbishop of Paris, soon after the Second World War. The traditional parish was more in the form of a closed group and as such it was not sufficiently missionary to address the new situation. It was not merely a question of getting back the working classes who have gone away from the Church. They were never really part of it.
N. Dunas pointed out that it was now impossible to distinguish between Christian and non-Christian nations on the basis of plantatio ecclesiae. Wherever there is religious indifference, we have a situation of mission. A.M. Henry observes that today belief and non-belief exist side by side. Mission is proclamation of the Gospel to non-believers wherever they are found. There is need of missionary preaching within the Church because even among the baptised, there are many who are not yet converted.
A New Situation In the changed situation, planting the Church was no more considered as belonging specifically to the foreign missions. The traditional understanding of pastoral work among Christians and missionary work among non-Christians was looking increasingly unrealistic and even simplistic. This in turn affected what was known as the specificity of the missionary vocation. Moreover, missionary vocations too fell off. At the same time, not every one accepted this emerging concept of mission. J. Frisque in Belgium, J. Peters in Germany, Paventi in Italy, De Lubac and Feltin in France expressed their apprehension.
The period of decolonisation set in towards the middle of the twentieth century. New problems too arose. Because of its association with colonialism, several people found the word mission unpleasant. Resurgence of nationalism in many newly independent countries made the situation even more problematic. Obviously new thinking was the need of the hour.
Towards Vatican II The differences among these various positions are not in most cases fundamental. Often it is a matter of priority, accent and orientation. They tend to converge. That is what happened in Vatican II and in post-conciliar missiological thinking. A general weakness of these various positions is insufficient attention to the context in which mission is carried out. That may also explain partly the failures we have had. Modern Missiology has tried to address this problem. Vatican II marked a new openness in the Church. Nowhere was it clearer than in her relationship with the wider world. This openness has profoundly affected the way she understands and carries out her mission.
Again, because of the earlier confrontational relation with Protestant Theology, the Catholic position tended to emphasise the hierarchical-institutional elements. This also prevented enriching ecumenical contacts. Another weakness was the materialisation and territorialisation of the Kingdom of God. As a result, the ecclesiocentric understanding of mission was all too prominent. A great merit of modern mission theology, at least as pursued by mainline Churches, is that we have moved towards an integral and comprehensive understanding of mission. Chapter 6 The Missionary Question in India Today
The past twenty years have witnessed a great change in the Indian socio-political- religious field. Issues that were thought to have been settled have suddenly become live. Topics of discussion within the Church have now become part of the agenda of political parties. Indian secularism that was the envy of the world is increasingly under attack from destructive communalism. The splendid idea of the founding fathers of the Indian republic of a nation united in diversity is being challenged by the trend of forced homogenisation that smacks of fascism.
On the other hand we have certain sects, particularly the Pentecostal variety, with their fundamentalist interpretation of scripture. For them quantitative growth is a matter of priority. It appears that it may be done in any way: sheep stealing, inducements and so on. Even people committed to the values of genuine religious freedom and secularism see this as an abuse. Most unfortunately the term that is heard often in this increasingly divisive discussion is missionary. A beautiful word has suddenly become ugly for many. In this context, several issues call for urgent consideration. Many of them could be grouped together under the question “What do we understand by evangelisation and how do we carry it out in India today?” The following points clarify the question and can aid in reflection.
1. What is the role played by non-Christian religions in the economy of salvation? In this context, is the Church’s missionary outreach still necessary? 2. How do we understand inter-religious dialogue? Is it an aspect of evangelisation or is it only indirectly related to it? 3. Does the proclamation of Jesus as the universal Saviour sound arrogant in a multi- religious context? Is silence on this truth consonant with our Christian faith? 4. What is the significance of contemplation in a missionary Church? 5. How can the Church project the image of a religious body and not just a well organised social service structure? 6. How do we become salt of the earth and light of the world in our context? Is there emphasis on qualitative growth and continual faith formation? 7. How do we understand the Gospel-culture encounter in our context? 8. What is the relationship between evangelisation and socio-economic development? 9. Is development a consequence of evangelisation, a preparation for it or a dimension of it? Are they to be carried out side by side or one after the other? 10. In serving the poor and downtrodden, what means are available to us in the struggle for justice and for improving the quality of life? 11. Given our limited resources, which group of people do we address as our priority? Hindus, Muslims, Dalits, Tribals? 12. How could the laity be empowered to play a greater role in evangelisation? 13. Are we aware of the need for an over-all plan of evangelisation at various levels? Is there a felt need to pool resources to make our missionary work more effective? 14. How do we deal with divisive forces like caste system within the Church and society? 15. Has the Church in India limited her service to education and health care? What about other fields like media, social involvement, struggle for justice and the like? 16. How should we respond to the phenomenon of Hindutva? How do we respond to the fact of increasing harassment and even some forms of persecution of minority communities in India? 17. What aspects need special attention in preparing missionaries for service in modern India? 18. In the context of a growing tendency to divide people on the basis of religion, caste, culture, and ethnicity what would the catholicity of the Church imply? How does a missionary Church give priority to the challenge of communion? Chapter 7 Missionary Motivation
Many missionaries in the field today can think of their years in initial formation, as marked by remarkable missionary emphasis. Missionary zeal was the in thing. No one ever questioned it. The question was only on how, never on why or what. The situation has now undergone a radical change. The why of mission, even the what of mission, have come to the fore. Several factors have contributed to it. It also appears we have not reached a satisfactory synthesis. So the questioning continues.
Reasons for Questioning The fact of religious identity coming to the fore in the modern world was something unexpected. Religion is once again occupying centre stage as it did once. The only exception to this development seems to be parts of Europe, the western part due to secularisation and the eastern part due to the communist atheistic influence of the recent past. In most other parts of the world, especially in Hindu and Muslim areas, it is a different story. More than religion, it is religious nationalism that is becoming a major player. In this context, missionary work meets with enormous difficulties. The opposition is not only harassment and even some cases of persecution. There is also a frontal intellectual attack on the very concept of mission. Accusations of arrogance, neo- colonialism, cultural aggrandisement etc. are constantly hurled at the evangeliser. This seriously affects the missionary, to the extent that he/she also begins to wonder about the what and why of mission. Considering the problem solely from a spiritual point of view may not be enough, although the value of such reflection cannot be ignored.
Despite centuries of dedicated missionary work, the non-Christian percentage of the world population is not growing smaller. In 1900 the Christian population of the world was 34.5%. In 2005 it was 33.1%.16 The colossal task of evangelising such a world appears formidable.
The increasing realisation of the possibility of salvation even outside the Church also deprives mission of its urgency. Examples of goodness and virtue in non-Christian religions are sometimes used to show their value and significance in God’s plan for the world. Along with this is the fear of disturbing other people’s conscience. It they are already comfortable in their religious convictions, which are also challenging and positive, why bring in something else!
In the context of reduced motivation and increasing problems, the question of sacrifice becomes another issue. Self-sacrifice, the supreme symbol of which is the crucified Christ, is something that many admire but are reluctant to accept as a programme of life. A weakening of faith makes it even rarer.
Another factor that affects motivation is the fact of scandals. It is not that this is new. But the wide publicity given to failures on the part of religious persons is certainly
16 David Barret et al., “Missiometrics 2005: A Global Survey of World Mission” in IBMR 29(2005). new. The media gloats over it. Whereas in the past such bad examples were swept under the carpet, today they receive enormous publicity. This also affects the morale of committed men and women. Coupled with this is the oft repeated question, “Why make new Christians when there is such great need of making the present ones better?” The point is also unnecessarily, but repeatedly, played up especially by some film makers in India who cast Christians in a bad light in their productions.
Some assert that in such a context silent witness is better than open proclamation. Nay, such open proclamation may even look preposterous. The witness of service to the needy, regardless of caste and creed, is presented as the most appropriate form of doing mission. The enormous esteem for the work of Mother Teresa proves the point.
Inter-religious dialogue and concerted action for improving the quality of human life are also increasingly emphasised as the ways of doing mission. Understood as means, there should be no problem. But when they are contrasted with proclamation of the Good News, there could arise the possibility of misunderstanding.
Missionary Motivation What then is our missionary motivation? I find it in the following passages of scripture: “We declare to you…what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us – we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”17
When the apostles were produced before the magistrate in Jerusalem and accused of religious preaching, their reply was terse, “We cannot but proclaim…”
Mission is the expression of an experience. The experience is Christian discipleship. A person who experiences God in Christ cannot but become missionary wherever he is and whatever he does. It is not something that is added to one’s identity. If it is added, it may be optional. In that case, it can also be removed. The sun spreads its powerful rays, simply by being sun. Even a simple electric light, when it is switched on cannot but throw its light around. A flower cannot but spread its fragrance. It does so always and everywhere. It will offer that fragrance in equal measure even to the person who comes to cut it off. And if it is dumped in a bin, it will still spread its scent there till it is destroyed.
The motivation for mission is not primarily from outside. It is from within the person. It is intrinsically linked with his own Christian vocation. The question whether a Christian should be a missionary is like asking whether a Christian should be a Christian. It is absurd.
17 1Jn 1:1-3. St. Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus. The resulting transformation was not just that a practising Jew became a practising Christian. Instead, a determined persecutor became an ardent propagator. He became a disciple and an apostle, a Christian and a missionary at the same moment and thanks to the same event.
Once a person has tasted the reality of discipleship and surrendered himself to the Master as St. Paul did, he needs no further explanation on the why and what of mission. Only the how of it remains a matter of constant reflection, study, research etc. The life that flows from Christ to his disciples enriches all those who come into contact with them.18 Once this basic reality is understood, the rest becomes easy to explain.
Thus the Church’s mission is intimately linked to the will of God. He “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is only one mediator between God and mankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all…For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”19 The missionary is one, who like Paul, feels strongly this divine calling and responds to it in life. In fact, every disciple of Christ feels a similar urge, the depth and dynamism of which are proportionate to the quality of one’s discipleship.
Mission is also an act of obedience to the command of Christ, more precisely, the commands of Christ. The final so-called great commission is an emphatic repetition and summary of whatever the Lord taught his followers earlier: You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, love one another, love your enemies, forgive… The Lord sent his apostles to witness to and proclaim whatever he taught through word and deed. That witness and proclamation will lead to the formation of new disciples. Thus the kingdom of God and his glory are spread among all people.20
The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of mission. He precedes the missionary. In fact, he who is already present among all peoples and in their cultures and religions beckons the missionary to share with them the boundless riches of Christ.21 Finally it is the Spirit who leads people to Christ. The missionary is simply an instrument in his hands in this process.
The example of Christ and the apostles is paradigmatic. The Christ of the Gospels is the missionary par excellence. “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives…”22 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me…” The public life of Jesus is what we would call today an active missionary life. The apostles followed the master. The New Testament gives us in particular the story of Paul’s missionary endeavours. Here was a man who had truly tasted the joy of discipleship. That experience was expressed in
18 Eph 4:16, AG 5. 19 1 Tim 2:4-7, LG 17. 20 AG 7. 21 Eph 3:8. 22 Lk 4:18; Jn 4:34. indefatigable zeal in constant missionary outreach. He lived to make known “the boundless riches of Christ.” “For the love of Christ urges us on”.23
The catholicity of the Church is another motivating factor. Spreading to various parts of the world is not territorial expansion, imperialism or multinationalism. It is simply an innermost requirement of the Church’s catholicity. She grows and expands spontaneously, driven by her internal dynamics. In this process, imposition of any type is not only unlawful, but unnecessary. Seen in this perspective forcing a person to be a missionary or obliging people in whatever way to enter the Church does violence to God’s plan and the genuine catholicity of his family on earth. Instead, through missionary witness, the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation becomes available “to a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.”24 The deepest aspirations of individuals and groups will be fulfilled in Christ, not just because here is another teacher with a better message and another religion with a better organisation. Instead, here is God coming among men to lead them to him. The Church as well as the individual missionary is only an instrument in the hands of God in realising this universal and comprehensive plan of his.
23 2 Cor 5:14. 24 Rev 7:9. Chapter 8 Mission Documents
The documents of the Church dealing with the theme of mission are, in fact, milestones in her missionary consciousness. They trace the gradual development in the understanding and practice of this essential dimension of the Church. A systematic and analytical study of these documents themselves constitutes a fundamental course in Missiology. In chapter V we had studied the main pre-conciliar mission documents. Since they were written at significant moments in the modern history of the Church, they also help us to understand how these events contributed to a clarification of the main missionary themes. Now we shall look at the conciliar and post-conciliar documents.
Ad Gentes Several documents of Vatican II could be called mission documents. Lumen Gentium, Nostra Aetate, and Gaudium et Spes are all remarkable for their missionary slant. However, Ad Gentes Divinitus deserves special attention, as it is the specifically missionary document of the Council. It deals exclusively with the missionary activity of the Church, which is described as that activity whereby “the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and teaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace. Its aim is to open up for all men a free and sure path to full participation in the mystery of Christ. The ultimate aim is the implantation of the Church.”25 The document begins by underlining the Trinitarian foundation of mission. After dealing with doctrinal principles, the decree goes on to treat at length missionary work itself and its fruit, the particular Churches. Attention is drawn next to missionaries, their life, formation etc. The last two chapters deal with the organisation of missionary activity and cooperation in missionary work. While Ad Gentes situates mission in the heart of the Church and characterises her as a missionary Church, it emphasises also the geographical and juridical notions contained in traditional missionary thinking and practice. It also distinguishes clearly missionary activity from ecumenical and pastoral work: “The special undertakings in which preachers of the Gospel, sent by the Church, and going into the whole world, carry out the work of preaching the Gospel and implanting the Church among people who do not yet believe in Christ, are generally called missions. Such undertakings are accomplished by missionary activity …”26
Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975) The apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi of Pope Paul VI is considered as one of the most important Church documents in the post-conciliar era. Thoroughly pastoral and at the same time theologically rich, it is a remarkable presentation of the way in which the Church understands and ought to fulfil her mission today. This papal
25 AG 5. 26 AG 6. document is very much a fruit of the 1974 synod of Bishops on the theme of evangelisation in the modern world. The pre-eminent themes of the document are Christian witness, Gospel proclamation, celebration of the sacraments, Gospel-culture encounter, and Gospel and liberation.
The exhortation breaks new ground. Unlike in the documents studied so far, here we have the concept of evangelisation understood in a broad and global sense.27 The global nature of evangelisation is seen also in the fact that it is addressed to all people. Whether it is addressed to non-Christians or Christians, it is the same mission that is fulfilled. There is a crying need for an effective and urgent proclamation of the Gospel message all over the world. It is only that salvific word that can liberate man from every evil. Such an integral and global understanding makes the evangelising mission of the Church most relevant to modern society. It is the Church’s vocation and she exists to evangelise.28 This also explains why the term is so popular today. It expresses convincingly and without bias the essential mission of the Church. However, in so doing, it does not in any way contradict considerations traditionally employed in describing the Church’s mission. Instead, it describes it more comprehensively and is thus better understood and more easily accepted.
Missionary activity, understood in the Ad Gentes sense of the Second Vatican Council, is not the primary consideration of EN. But it does have a place in the apostolic exhortation. It is understood as one of the many aspects of the evangelising activity of the Church. In Ad Gentes, evangelisation and implanting of the Church are the special end of missionary activity. We now have a curious inversion. While in AG evangelisation is part of missionary activity, in EN missionary activity is part of evangelisation.
Redemptoris Missio (1990) The remarkable mission documents of the twentieth century, beginning with Maximum Illud, climaxed in the encyclical Redemptoris Missio of John Paul II.29 The period after the Council was marked by considerable tension in missiological thinking and missionary praxis. For some it was confusion, for others a healthy process of reflection and maturation in keeping with the times.
As the twentieth century was drawing to a close, the Church and society were facing remarkable changes and enormous challenges. Increasing secularisation in materially prosperous countries and growing religious nationalism in poorer countries threw up new problems as well as possibilities for the Church in mission. However, missionary dynamism was not always in prominence. While fringe groups and sects of the evangelical-Pentecostal variety manifested considerable dynamism, mainline Churches seemed to be more negatively affected by the changes underway. Not only the 27 See chapter 13 for further explanation. 28 EN 14. 29 See Indian Missiological Review 14(1992); Mission Today 3(2001). relevance of missionary proclamation, but even the centrality of Jesus the Saviour in this proclamation was being questioned.
Redemptoris Missio is an answer to these problems. The subtitle itself is significant. It is a reflection on the permanent validity of the Church’s missionary mandate. It tries to answer how topical issues like inter-religious dialogue, human development, respect for conscience and freedom can be harmonised with this mandate.
The first part of the document reasserts the centrality of Jesus Christ in God’s plan of salvation for the world. It is this centrality that is at the root of the Church’s mission. Hence it is not something optional. The kingdom of God that he came to proclaim is manifested precisely in his person. The Church is the community of those who accept Christ. Thus Christ, kingdom and the Church are intimately related. The Holy Spirit dynamically active in the Church and society today leads people to Christ. The mission of the Redeemer and the mission of the Spirit are closely related.
The diversity of activities in the fulfilment of the Church’s one mission arises from the variety of circumstances. There are peoples, groups and socio-cultural contexts that call for proclamation of Jesus the Saviour. In some of these, the good news is unknown, elsewhere there is fervent Christian living, and an intermediate situation where even the baptised have lost a living sense of the Gospel. Accordingly we may speak of mission ad gentes, pastoral care and new or re-evangelisation. Of particular significance are the cultural sectors: the world of communications, of scientific research, of international relations etc. The paths of mission takes us to Christian witness, explicit proclamation, conversion of the heart, formation of community, ecumenism, inculturation, dialogue, and human promotion through formation of consciences. The soul of all missionary activity is love. It is the driving force of mission.
While the entire Church is responsible for mission, each one does it in accordance with one’s personal vocation. Leaders of the Church as well as the faithful are constantly challenged to witness to the Good News. Bishops, missionary and religious institutes, diocesan priests, the laity, especially catechists, all are asked to contribute their share. The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and Episcopal conferences have a special role in directing and coordinating missionary activity. All the members of the Church co-operate in witnessing effectively to Christ. Spiritual cooperation through prayer, sacrifice and the radiant example of a lived Christian life has the pride of place. While the universal missionary vocation can never be overemphasised, particular missionary vocations too need to be promoted, whereby committed Christians offer themselves in a full and lifelong commitment to the work of the missions. Parents have a special role to play in encouraging young people to respond generously to such a call. Cooperation is also necessary to meet the material and financial needs of the missions. The pontifical mission societies play a leading role in promoting cooperation. The last part of the encyclical is a meditation on missionary spirituality. Such spirituality consists in docility to the Spirit, intimate communion with Christ, self- emptying, apostolic charity, concern, tenderness, compassion, openness, availability and interest in people’s problems. The true missionary is a saint and a universal brother.
Ecclesia in Asia In preparation for the jubilee of the redemption in the year 2000, several continental synods were held. Such a synod with its focus on Asia was held in Rome in 1998. Following it, the Pope issued the apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Asia in New Delhi in 1999. The document is primarily a reflection on the mission of the Church, at this moment in history, in the largest continent of the world. It is, indeed, a missionary document.
Most religious traditions of humanity were born in Asia : Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Sikhism and Shintoism. The Church has the deepest respect for them and wishes to engage in sincere dialogue with their followers. Dialogue is not simply a strategy, but an essential part of the Church’s mission. At the same time, the document states that the religious values these teach await their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. The document affirms the uniqueness and universality of salvation in Jesus Christ. However, it is aware that the absence of an appropriate adaptation to local cultures and a lack of preparedness to encounter the great religions of Asia have harmed the Church in the past.
The Holy Spirit sows the seeds of truth among all peoples, their religions, cultures and philosophies. The universal presence of the Spirit is, in fact, an invitation to proclaim Jesus Christ, who is the Good News for all people in their search for the meaning of life. On the other hand, sectarian impulse, the spirit of proselytism or any sense of superiority should not prompt such proclamation. It is necessary to evangelise in a way that appeals to the sensibilities of Asian peoples. Rediscovering the Asian countenance of Jesus becomes a great challenge in this regard. This calls for genuine inculturation in theological reflection, liturgy, the formation of evangelisers, catechesis and spirituality.
Genuine Christian witness, works of charity and human solidarity will make proclamation more convincing. Mission is contemplative action and active contemplation. Prayer, asceticism, detachment, humility, simplicity and silence, all great values in Asian religions, show us how we are to evangelise. It is holy men and women who will make Jesus known and loved, above all through the example of their lives. Closely related to the theme of holiness is that of communion. The Church is a sacrament of communion, communion with the divine and among human beings. In a divided world, the Church is called upon to render a service of unity and reconciliation. A believing, praying and loving community, more than anything else, makes evangelisation bear fruit. Creation of a more just society and commitment to the poorer sections are born of this love. Conclusion This list of mission documents is not exhaustive. However, I consider these as the most significant ones. There are others too that could be of great help in understanding the Church’s mission in the modern world. In 1984, the Secretariat for Non-Christians (later renamed Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue) published The Attitude of the Church toward the Followers of Other Religions: Reflections and Orientations on Dialogue and Mission (known as Dialogue and Mission). In 1991, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue together with the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, published Dialogue and Proclamation. In the year 2000, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith published Dominus Jesus. These and others of like nature provide us an enriching source of mission thinking in the Church today. Not all of them fit into the same category as far as excellence of thinking is considered. Points of emphasis are different, in some cases considerably so. Yet taken together, they give us a comprehensive view of the Church’s thinking, as it grows and develops. Chapter 9 Protestant Missiology
It is interesting to note that Missiology was accepted as a theological discipline among the Protestants about half a century earlier than among the Catholics. This is a pleasant surprise, considering that during the first two centuries of the Reformation, there was very little missionary activity among the Protestant Churches. What were the reasons for this low mission profile?30 One could think of several reasons. Quarrels with the Catholic Church left them little time for spreading the Gospel abroad. Similarly all available resources were used in the fight for religious independence and they had no means left to finance missions. Lack of religious meant also lack of personnel to undertake missionary activity. Moreover, their contact with non-Christian areas of the world was limited. There were some theological reasons too. The concept of predestination was not conducive to missionary outreach. The concept of the Church was national and non-universal. Their biblical exegesis considered Christ’s missionary mandate as directed to the twelve only. Finally, their emphasis was on reforming, not on spreading.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) There is disagreement on whether he was missionary minded. Probably he was not. He believed that Christ’s missionary mandate was meant only for the twelve. The Church was invisible. So planting one abroad made no sense. The mission of the Church for him was pastoral care of the faithful. He believed the end of the world was imminent. Human nature is corrupt and incorrigible. The pagans were under the power of the devil. He went to the extent of holding missionary societies as evil. Finally, based on Rom 10:18, he believed that the Gospel had already been preached all over the world.
At the same time, the positive elements in Lutheranism could have paved the way for missionary activity: The theological concept of the word of God, the belief that the Holy Spirit does not work alone, and the stress on kerygmatic theology. In fact, he is credited to have said “Nobody should hear the Gospel for himself only, but everyone should tell those who do not know it.”
John Calvin (1505-1564) Calvin’s theological thinking does not seem to foster missionary activity. Some are saved, others are rejected by God. The pagans are massa damnata. The Gospel has not been preached to them because, they are reprobate. Finally, Jesus’ missionary command was meant only for the twelve. On the other hand, he believed in Christo-cracy or the reign of Christ over all men and things. He also centred his theology on the ministry of the word. These thoughts of his could have had a positive impact on missionary activity.
Adrian Saravia (1531-1613)
30 K.S. Latourette, History of the Expansion of Christianity, III, 24. He was a Calvinist pastor who later became an Anglican. He taught that the Protestant Churches had the obligation to preach the Gospel to all peoples. The bishops as successors of the apostles had the duty to spread the Gospel.
Gisbert Voetius (1589-1676)
He was a Calvinist and put forward the theory of planting the Church. He also pointed out the different methods of reaching out to Muslims, Jews and others. He also dealt with the basis of missionary activity and the organisation of missionary personnel.
Other Calvinists who wrote on missionary topics included Anthony de Wale (1575-1639) and R. Ribbes (died 1635). Similarly among the Lutherans, there were Christian Scriber (died 1693), Justinian Von Welz (1621-1678), and some adherents of the Pietist Movement.
Protestant Missionary Awakening By the end of the eighteenth century, the British and Dutch companies had replaced the Portuguese and Spanish control over distant parts of the world. Thus the Protestant Churches came into contact in a big way with non-Christian peoples of the East and the Americas. The initiative in Gospel proclamation was taken by individual Christians. While reading the Bible, they were moved to zeal in mission. One may speak of an evolution in their motivation. First, it was the fear of God. God was seen as vengeful and non-Christians as sinners. Then, it was the love of God. God was seen as Father and non-Christians as our younger brothers. Later, it was love of man. Non- Christians were seen as poor people who needed help. After the two world wars, the motive was fear of man that is communism, which was perceived as highly dangerous. Motivation, of course, is not so easily classified. It is, after all, a mixed bag. All these must have been there in their missionary motivation. Historical circumstances could have led to emphasis on one or another aspect. Some individuals stand out in this missionary awakening.
William Carey (1761-1834) William Carey was born on 17 August 1761 at Paulerspury in England. In 1779, he underwent an experience of personal conversion. Four years later, he joined the Baptists. In 1792, he wrote a remarkable little book “An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen.” He was convinced of the need of human contribution to the conversion of the nations. Preaching on Is 54:2-3, he said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” This prepared the way for the foundation of the “Particular Baptist Society for propagating the Gospel among the Heathen.” In 1793 he left for Bengal. He worked as a planter for five years and learnt Bengali well. He set a remarkable example, translating or revising the Bible fully or in part, in Bengali, Sanskrit, Marathi, and thirty-four other Indian or East Asian languages. He settled in the Danish settlement of Serampore, where he was free to pursue his missionary work. Two other enthusiastic missionaries joined him, J. Marshman a Chinese language scholar and W. Ward, a printer and preacher. Their missionary principles and methodology were remarkably modern. They insisted on a thorough study of Indian languages, the Hindu religion, and the customs of the people. The Gospel must be preached in all towns and villages. The Bible must be translated into Indian languages. They wanted the establishment of the Church on Baptist principles. In 1819, they started the Serampore College, which exists to this day. Carey insisted on the community dimension of the missionary way of life. He wanted an international missionary conference every ten years. He advocated a profound encounter between the Gospel and Indian culture. Carey was a professor of Bengali and Sanskrit and used his income to support the mission. He wanted that missionaries ought to be financially independent. He was also a botanist and had a garden that was very much admired. He campaigned against the practice of sati.
Karl Graul (1814-1864) He was a German Lutheran theologian and the first director of the Leipzig missionary society. He undertook a journey to Palestine, Egypt and India. Returning home after his five-year journey, he wrote a monograph on his experiences. He had a gift for languages. He mastered the Tamil language. He published a series of translations Bibliotheca Tamulica (4 vols. 1854-65) and an Outline of Tamil Grammar (1855). He studied also the caste problem but had a milder opinion on it than the British and American missionaries. He was ahead of his time, in stating that missionaries must have a scientific preparation, good knowledge of ethnology, history of the missions and of religions. He wanted that the Church must become indigenous. The first academic course in Missiology was started at the University of Erlangen in 1864. He was appointed the first professor but died before he could take up his appointment. “He laid the foundations for a solid science of the missionary enterprise.”31
Alexander Duff (1806-1878) He was the first overseas missionary of the Church of Scotland and reached Calcutta in 1829, after being shipwrecked twice. Responding to a felt need of many Indians, he opened a school in Calcutta in 1830, now the Scottish Church College. The school offered western science and literature, together with Christian teaching. The then government of India attached much weight to his opinion on matters of education. He was also involved in the establishment of the first Indian universities and of the grant-in- aid system. He was even asked to be Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, but declined the offer. He also promoted the introduction of modern medical studies. He edited The Calcutta Review. Duff toured widely and influenced Christian thinking in various parts of the world. Whether in India or Scotland, he was at the forefront of mission thinking. Apart from his sterling qualities as a preacher, teacher and statesman, he pioneered the close relationship between education and mission. His initiative has powerfully influenced mission methodology up to our own day. The heavy involvement of the Churches in education in various parts of India today is an eloquent testimony to his vision. He strongly believed in the Church’s missionary nature and that the missions were her primary end. 31 Stephen Neil et al. ed., Concise Dictionary of the Christian World Mission (London, 1970) 235. Gustav Warneck (1834-1910) A German Lutheran, he is considered the father of modern Protestant Missiology. He founded in 1874 the Allgemeine Missionszeitschrift for the objective and scientific discussion of missionary topics. Five years later he founded the Mission Conference of Saxony. He published a systematic scientific treatise on missionary science in five volumes, entitled Evangelische Missionslehre. From 1896 to 1908, he served as the Professor of the science of mission at the University of Halle. For him Missiology was a practical science. He defined missions as activities of Christendom in order to plant and organise the Church among non-Christians. The objective is not only conversion of individuals, but of entire peoples. The movement is from particular Church to particular Church. The vision of a universal Church remains in the background. He thought that evangelisation would also help develop materially non-Christian nations.
Unfortunately, he failed to consult Catholic sources. He was never in the missions. He associated too strongly religion and culture and had a nationalistic concept of Church.
Hendrik Kraemer (1888-1965) A Dutch layman, Kraemar, had considerable influence on Protestant missionary thinking from 1930 to 1960. In 1922, he went to Indonesia in the service of the Netherlands Bible Society. There he studied the relation of the Christian faith with other religions. His best book was The Christian Message in a non-Christian World, published in 1938, in preparation for the Tambaram World Missionary Conference. He was a realist and believed that we must learn from practice. He pointed out that we have to observe facts and study religions as they are.
Christ is unique, exclusive and once for all. Our attitude towards non-Christian religions is to be one of love and dialogue. However, they are not ways that lead to Christ, but mere human efforts. Neither is Christianity their fulfilment. Conversion is not denationalisation, but a conscious commitment to Christ. It implies a radical break. Mission is the coming of the kingdom of God. Schools and hospitals are not necessary. Missionary motivation is our obligation to witness to Christ and his Kingdom, as well as obedience and gratitude to God. Witnessing is done through kerygma.
J.C. Hoekendijk (1912-1975) Among his various assignments, he was professor at Utrecht and later at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. He looked at mission from the point of view of the world. Rightly does G. Coffele title his book on Hoekendijk “From a Theology of Mission to a Missionary Theology.”32 Missionary motive is obedience to God and the
32 G. Coffele, Johannes Christian Hoekendijk: da una Teologia della Missione ad una Teologia Missionaria, (Roma: Università Gregoriana Editrice, 1976). Gospel. The power of mission is not human, but God’s. He distinguished neatly the world and Church. The Church must go to the world and evangelise it. He rejected an ecclesiocentric vision of mission. Oikoumene is the whole world for which Christ died. It is saved by the preaching of the Gospel. In this scheme, the Church as an organised society, has no place. It is an event, an act of Christ. It exists in so far as the Gospel is preached in it. The scope of mission is to set up the sign of God’s kingdom, namely shalom (peace). Kerygma is the presentation of shalom. Koinonia is the communitarian participation of shalom. Diakonia is the demonstration of shalom. Hoekendijk has been criticised for being one-sided, and for restricting the mission of the Church to preaching of the word.
From Mission to Ecumenism It is a matter of great joy that the missionary movement has led to ecumenism. World Missionary Conferences were held at Liverpool (1860), London (1888), and New York (1900). The one at Edinburgh (1910) was a watershed. It marked the beginning of the organised ecumenical movement. Henceforward, not only cooperation, but unity was to be aimed at. Mission must be not only non-denominational but also inter- denominational. It strongly encouraged Church union in Asia and Africa and cooperation in the West. The Conference created the Continuation Committee to carry out internationally what had already been begun. By 1921 that body evolved into the International Missionary Council (IMC). A fruit of this Conference was the International Review of Missions, since 1969 called International Review of Mission.
231 members of the IMC met at Jerusalem in 1928. Though small in number, it was a globally representative assembly of non-Catholic Christians. It symbolised the reality of a world Christian Community. The only distinction was between younger and older Churches. Relevance of the Gospel for the life of man in its various aspects was emphasised. The meeting also appreciated the fact that there are elements of truth in other major religions. The Second Vatican Council would make similar statements 35 years later.
The IMC next met at Tambaram, Madras in 1938 with 500 delegates from 69 countries. The focus was on the meaning of the Church’s mission for mankind. A feature of the meeting was the Kraemer-Hocking debate. The former stressed the Gospel’s discontinuity from other religions, while the latter was appreciative of other religions. The Whitby (Canada) meeting of the IMC in 1947 was attended by 112 delegates from 40 countries. Worldwide evangelism was accepted as the central task of the Church. Supranationality was emphasised. One’s primary loyalty is to Christ and his Church.
The IMC conference at Willingen (Germany) in 1952 was attended by 190 delegates. It examined the theological foundations of mission. It emphasised the Trinitarian roots of mission. The next meeting in 1958, held at Ghana in Africa, was the least. It accepted the integration of the IMC and the World Council of Churches (WCC). The New Delhi assembly of the WCC in 1961 approved the integration. The IMC became the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) within the WCC. The members of the CWME meet every five years to establish policies.
The World Council of Churches The WCC is a fellowship of Churches, not a legislative body. The inaugural assembly took place in 1948 at Amsterdam. The initial basis for membership was “Churches which accept Our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour.” In 1961 it was further clarified as “Churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The principal authority in the Council is the Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. Seats are allocated according to numerical size, confessional representation and geographical distribution. In the first assembly held in 1948 at Amsterdam, 147 Churches were represented by 351 delegates. The Council has witnessed a continual geographical and confessional expansion. Presently 342 Churches, from 120 countries are on the Council. The staff is headed by a general secretary. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the Council, but works cooperatively with the WCC. There is a regular exchange of official observers at important meetings. In 1965 the Vatican and the WCC agreed to set up a joint working group which meets regularly to discuss common concerns. Chapter 10 Orthodox Missions and Missiology
There are about 300 million Orthodox Christians in the world today. It is the biggest Christian block after the Catholic Church, but is somewhat unknown to us. Some knowledge of their missions will be helpful in understanding better their Missiology.
The Orthodox Missions At an early date, we see the Church present in Persia, Armenia, India, Georgia and Ethiopia. In later centuries, proclamation reached Central Asia and China. Northward it reached the Slav peoples. After the fall of Constantinople, the Church of Byzantium became defensive. The Nestorians of Persia flourished even during the Mongol period. But following the forced conversions to Islam, imposed by Tamerlane (1336-1405), only small groups survived.
Russia entered the field of evangelisation through settlers, traders and monks. Colonisation, Christianisation, and Russification went together, obviously not without danger. St. Stephen of Perm (1340-1396) was a model Orthodox missionary. He was the apostle of the Zyrjan people, who inhabited the western edge of the Ural Mountains. He translated the Bible and the liturgical books into the local language. From 1552 missionary work was undertaken also in Siberia with considerable success over the centuries. Innokenti Veniaminov (1797-1879) was a great missionary to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and Siberia. Nicolai Kasatkin (died 1912) was a noted Orthodox missionary to Japan. He insisted on an intensive study of the local language, preaching in homes, not in public, not using polemics against other religions, participation of Japanese Christians in evangelisation, and rejected the imposition of foreign ways and culture. When he died he left behind a community of 33,000 Christians.
The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 killed much of missionary activity. Now with the collapse of communism, hopefully Russia will be able to recapture its earlier missionary spirit. In 1961 an International Orthodox Missionary Centre was established at Athens. Vast areas of the Orthodox world were submerged in a hostile Muslim milieu. This made them inward looking and passive. Moreover, the fact of the Orthodox Church being composed of many autonomous Churches and a monasticism that aimed primarily at individual perfection did not contribute to progress in missionary work. The ecumenical movement has made a change. Patriarch Athenagoras 1 of Constantinople said in 1952 that they must share their spirituality with the WCC and be in turn enriched by a dynamic missionary concept.
Orthodox Missiology Mission is to preach the glory of God. It is theocentric. Accent is on the love of God. The Orthodox hold an eschatological theology. The history of salvation is the revelation of God’s glory. It is this kabod, doxa that has been communicated in Israel, in Christ, in the Church and lastly in the Parousia. It is the manifestation of God’s salvific will. Man responds by glorifying God.
The purpose of mission is man’s participation in God’s glory. Key passages in understanding this concept would be: “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory”33; “Sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory”34, “God called you to eternal glory in Christ.”35 This participation takes place in incorporation into Christ.36
The specific end of mission is evangelisation in terms of and for God’s glory. The Church is to be planted where God is glorified.37 The Orthodox method of evangelisation lays stress on kenosis, that is, humiliation and renunciation. “If you can have a share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when His glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you.”38
33 Is 66:18. 34 Rom 8:17. 35 1Pet 5:10. 36 Rom 8:30, 2 Cor 3:18, Col 1:27. 37 2 Thess 2:14, Eph 3:21. 38 1 Pet 4:13-14. 15 Chapter 11 16 17 Mission Theology in Scripture
Mission Theology or even Missionary Theology would be a better term than Theology of Mission. The term Theology of Mission runs the risk of setting aside mission as a category of its own. It sounds like the Church extension commission of old. In this case there is a full-fledged Church, with an additional work called mission. So too Theology of Mission becomes one more of several entries on a list of theologies. Instead, if the Church is missionary by nature, every aspect of her faith and life will have a missionary dimension. So the whole of theology itself will have a missionary character. This is so fundamental that without it theology ceases to be theology. Witness and communication are fundamental to any reflection on the Good News of Jesus Christ. Without such witness, it becomes sterile and unproductive, even dispensable. We now turn to Scripture to see how God forms a missionary people, to witness to his love. The witness par excellence, the supreme witness is the person of Jesus Christ. The Church continues that witness and thus becomes a prolongation of Christ himself.
The Old Testament At first sight, the missionary dimension does not seem to be clear in the history of Israel. But a deeper study indicates otherwise. The message of Israel is universal, meant for all nations. The very first part of the book of Genesis makes this obvious. God creates all men in Adam. God enters into a covenant with all men. All nations will be blessed in Abraham. By choosing Israel God does not reject the other nations. Instead, she is chosen precisely to be a model and example for others. Israel is to be a prophet and priest to all nations. In other words, she is a missionary, a witness. She is commissioned to be a channel of salvation for all people.
She can fulfil this mission centripetally or centrifugally. In the first, she does it by drawing all nations to Israel. This is inward looking. In the second, she does it by going out to the various peoples. This is outward looking. This universal dimension of Israel’s existence is clearly seen in Isaiah chapters 40-55, especially in the four songs of the servant of Yahweh. Some of the expressions are very moving: “He will bring forth justice to the nations” (42:1), “All the ends of the earth” (45:22), “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (49:6), “The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous” (53:11).
The book of Jonah is another excellent example of the missionary nature of Israel. However, in the Old Testament, mission is mostly centripetal. Actual missionary activity was not undertaken till the post-exilic period. Here we find Israel, also centrifugally missionary. This is strengthened by the diaspora, the translation of the Septuagint, the Wisdom literature of the Bible, and the loss of political freedom that makes them more spiritual. They began to proselytise. In the Mediterranean basin, the Jews grew in number, reaching over four million, about six per cent of the population of the Roman Empire. God prepared Israel progressively for universal mission. They were to be a symbol of God’s love and lead all people to him. Unfortunately, Israel was not faithful to this missionary vocation. Instead, they considered their calling to be a privilege and a sign of superiority over others. They wanted the nations to come to them, to Jerusalem and to the temple. In other words, they wanted mission, except during the pos-exilic period, to be centripetal.
The New Testament In the missionary concept, the New Testament not only fulfils the Old Testament, but goes beyond. Emphasis is on the centrifugal. “Go” becomes the watchword. At the same time, the universality of the post-Easter missionary commission stands in some opposition to the attitude of pre-Easter Jesus. The public ministry of Jesus shows few encounters with gentiles. Often enough it is they who approach Jesus, not he them. He devotes his ministry mainly to the Jews. Some of his statements are surprising and even point against any sort of reaching out to the non-Jewish world.39 Jesus has a poor opinion of the proselytising activity of the Jews. However, statements which show a universalist attitude are not totally wanting.
Although in his life time, Jesus did not seem to have openly favoured the gentile mission, he in a different way laid its foundation. “…Jesus did not inaugurate a programmatic universal mission, but his own person, his teaching, and his actions would become an irrepressible catalyst for and shaper of the Church’s sense of mission.” 40 His constant emphasis on God as a loving Father, who cares for all his children, his promptness in breaking down narrow sectarian traditions, his willingness to reinterpret the law in accordance with the message he proclaims, his criticism of the guardians of Jewish orthodoxy coupled with his exaltation of the poor, the emarginated, the Samaritans and the outcasts, all tend to show that Jesus’ teaching contained a powerful force for universality. The resurrection was the vindication of it and Pentecost marked the bursting open of this catalystic force. His preparation of the twelve to continue his work is significant in this regard. Eventually their role was crucial in realising the universal implications of Jesus’ mission. The apostolic Church did remain a Jewish sect for some time. The actualisation of the universal mission was a progressive movement.
However, this universalist thrust was not only geographical. “By projecting the image of total mobility and availability, Jesus and his disciples embody in their life the Gospel of freedom, of the liberation from the laws of man-made standards, from any form of particularism, familial, geographical, cultural, material. In this way Jesus stands for a universalism which is not only geographical but qualitative.”41
The Missionary Command The command of the risen Christ to his disciples to go to the whole world and preach the Gospel, commonly referred to in Protestant circles as the great commission, is essential to any understanding of the evangelising mission of the Church and her constant 39 Mt 10:5. 40 D. Senior and C. Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundation for Mission (London: 1983), 151. 41 L. Legrand et al., Good News and Witness: The New Testament Understanding of Evangelisation (Bangalore, 1973) 37. preoccupation to preach Jesus Christ. All the four Gospels and the Acts contain this missionary command.
Mt 28: 18-20: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mk 16: 15-16: And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.”
Lk 24: 45-48: Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
Jn 20:21: Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Acts 1:8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The command to communicate the message received from Christ is the essence of the missionary commission. Matthew and Mark speak of preaching and teaching, while Luke emphasises the witness that the disciples are asked to render to Christ. This communication of the Good News is to be carried out all over the world. The universality of the Christian mission is stressed in all the pericopes.
The result of the proclamation is discipleship, faith, baptism, forgiveness – in one word salvation. Matthew emphasises discipleship and explains it further as observing the teachings of Jesus. In the Lucan emphasis on witness, preaching and discipleship are included. However, there is added stress on praxis. The message of Christ is primarily one to be lived. Belief in Jesus must transform life. It is “a call to a life of missionary discipleship. Such a life calls for a radical detachment from possessions and family ties, for a radical trust in God, and a radical fidelity to Jesus in all the conflicts and persecutions which following him in mission will bring.”42
The missionary command articulates in unambiguous language a fundamental conviction of the early Church, namely that her very nature is missionary. It is only in this dynamic perspective that the Church becomes meaningful. She is at the service of the
42 George Soares-Prabhu, Biblical Themes for a Contextual Theology Today (Pune: Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth Theology Series, 1999) 40. Gospel. Proclamation was the hallmark of the N.T. Church.43 Paul appears as its foremost expression. He manifests a near obsessive desire to proclaim the Good News.44 However, the apostle of the gentiles can be seen as but a representative of the early Church. Paul himself mentions several other missionaries like himself.
It was logical that the apostles should start their preaching immediately on receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost day. The new life infused by the Spirit spontaneously leads to transmission of the same. The person who has been evangelised in turn becomes an evangeliser.
However, this command of Christ is not to be seen in isolation from the many other commands of Christ. Jesus wants his disciples to be salt of the earth, light of the world. So, it is an invitation to follow Christ in mission. In other words, it is a call to discipleship, marked by a genuine missionary outreach. If it is taken in isolation, there is danger of an aggressive salesmanship type of Gospel proclamation, as practised by Pentecostal and evangelical sects. Instead, when seen as an integrated whole, it becomes truly the logical expression of a genuine life-touching experience. The question then is not on over-emphasis on mission, but under-emphasis on life experience of which it is born and to which it remains always intimately attached. In fact, it is one, more than two realities.
The Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles is a record of missionary activity of the early Church. It even sets down solutions to what could be called missionary problems. The entire book of the Acts breathes missionary dynamism. Under the power of the Spirit the early Christians will be challenged to reach out to the ends of the earth.45 Paul is the embodiment of this thrust. This is not part of any aggressive proselytising. The disciples were powerful witnesses of the Lord in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and beyond. The conversion of Cornelius (Ch. 10) and the decisions made by the council of Jerusalem (Ch. 15) are crucial in this unfolding missionary saga.46
The impressive growth of the community in Jerusalem is testimony to the fact that the community carried out the Lord’s command. The death of Stephen and the ensuing persecution occasion the reach out to Judea and Samaria. The arrival of Paul marks the third stage. With his remarkable missionary dynamism, the good news reaches Asia, Greece and Rome, indeed, the ends of the earth. However, this has not been always a glorious march. There was initial objection to the gentile mission from within the Church. But slowly under the impulse of the Spirit, that idea was overcome. Again, the cross was an ever present reality in the life of the disciples. They too were asked to walk the way of the Master in fulfilling the mission entrusted to them. Walking in his footsteps, their work bore fruit as did his.
43 Cf. D. Senior and C. Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundation for Mission, 333. 44 Cf. Rom 1:15, 1 Cor 1:23, 9:14, 11:26, 15:14, 2 Cor 4:5, Eph 3:8, 1 Tim 2:7, 2 Tim 1:11, 4:2 etc. 45 Acts 1:8. 46 Cf. D. Senior and C. Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundation for Mission, 270. The Letters A study of the letters of Paul and the others in the New Testament offers enriching reflections on mission. They even contain excellent tips on missionary and pastoral methodology. The following sketch will aid in personal study and reflection: Rom 1:1-7 The mission of the apostles 2:12-16 Gentile openness in doing what is right 8: 29-30 The divine plan of salvation 1 Cor 2 Preach the mystery of the cross by the power of God 12.13 The mystical body of Christ 2 Cor 4-6 The apostolic ministry Eph 1:3-14 The mystery of salvation in Christ 2:11-22 The gentiles are no more aliens but citizens 3 The gentiles belong to the one people and share in the same inheritance 1.5 Growth of the Church and salvation of the world Phil 2 The mission of Christ, dead and risen, in saving the gentiles Col 1-2:4 The plan of God and the supremacy of Christ; Paul’s labours 1.3 Christ the beginning of creation, redemption and unification 2-3 Christ the head of all 1 Tim 1:12-17 The apostle was saved to save others 3:14-16 The mystery of spiritual life 2 Tim 4:1-5 Proclaim the message; welcome or unwelcome, insist on it 1 Jn 1 The apostle is the witness to Christ 5:7-13 Faith, love and witness Chapter 12 Evolution of the Term Evangelisation
In missionary theology and praxis today, one term that comes up frequently is evangelisation. In fact, many tend to present the mission of the Church simply as evangelisation. More precisely, if mission is the nature of the Church, evangelisation is the activity whereby that is translated into life. The missionary Church exists to evangelise.
In the Protestant world The term, evangelisation, was not in frequent use till post-conciliar times. If used at all, it signified the first announcement of the good news. In the first few centuries of Christianity, evangelisation meant the first announcement of Christ to those who had not heard about him. A person who had already received this announcement was next offered catechesis.
The modern rediscovery of the term took place in Protestant circles. At the Ecumenical Missionary Conference in New York in 1900, several speakers described evangelisation in their interventions. Robert E. Speer, secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A said, “…the aim of missions is the evangelisation of the world, or to preach the gospel to the world…to make Jesus Christ known to the world.”47 John R. Mott, general secretary of the World Student Christian Federation spoke thus: “What is meant by the evangelisation of the world in this generation? It means to give every person an adequate opportunity to know Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and Lord…The evangelisation of the world in this generation should not be regarded as an end in itself. The Church will not have fulfilled her task when the gospel has been preached to all men. Such evangelisation must be followed by baptism of the converts, by their organisation into Churches by building them up in knowledge, faith, and character, and training them for service. The great objective should be always kept in mind, namely, the planting and developing in all non-Christian lands of self- supporting, self-directing and self-propagating Churches.”48 These interventions make clear that evangelisation was understood as the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ by Christian missionaries to non-Christians with a view to their conversion and the formation of a Church. The Protestants seem to have moved on further in terminology from evangelisation to evangelism.
In Catholic Thinking In the Catholic field, P. Liege observed in 1956 that the term evangelisation was significant in contemporary thinking.49 In 1961 D. Grasso suggested that the term be restricted to missionary preaching or first announcement of Christ to non-Christians.50 The transmission of the Christian message in its dynamism assumes three forms: a)
47 Ecumenical Missionary Conference (New York 1990), p.76. 48 Idem, 95. 49 ET p.10, footnote 42. kerygma or missionary preaching, b) catechesis or preaching of Christian initiation, c) homily or liturgical preaching
However, the distinction is not absolute. It is a matter of differing emphasis. One cannot be considered independently of the others. In a certain sense, all the three are constant elements in Christian preaching. This fact has become very relevant in the modern world.
Vatican II The term evangelisation appears about thirty times in the Council documents.51 It does not, however, always have the same meaning.
In Lumen Gentium it signifies the preaching of the gospel through word and testimony of life, to all those who either do not know Christ or need to be instructed in the faith. Thus the whole ministry of the word is implied, not only missionary preaching. However article 17 uses the term in the traditional sense. Article 35 speaks of the role of the laity in fulfilling the prophetic office of Jesus. Joining profession of faith to a life of faith the laity become powerful heralds of the good news. This is what the document means by evangelisation.
Evangelisation is used more frequently in Ad Gentes than in any other. We can distinguish here two concepts, intimately related but distinguishable. Article 6 sees evangelisation as missionary preaching. The latter part of the document sees it as the entire missionary activity of the Church. Article 17 seems to make a clear distinction between evangelisation and pastoral ministry when it says “in our days when there are so few clerics to evangelise such great multitudes and to carry out the pastoral ministry, the role of catechists is of the highest importance.” Institutes devoted to the missionary apostolate are referred to as those “who take on the duty of evangelisation.”52 The whole of chapter 6 uses the term evangelisation to describe missionary activity. Gospel proclamation is the most important aspect of it but not the only one.
Presbyterorum Ordinis, while speaking of priests as ministers of the sacraments, refers to the Eucharist as “the source and the summit of all evangelisation.”53 Here evangelisation is used in a very broad sense. It seems to be used in a similar sense in article 19 where the document speaks of the need priests have for the “study and the more effective learning of methods of evangelisation and the apostolate.”
Gaudium et Spes uses the word evangelisation only once. Article 44 speaks of what the Church receives from the modern world. Among other things, the Church profits
50 D. Grasso, “Evangelizzazione, Catechesi, Omelia. Per una Terminologia della Predicazione” in Gregorianum 42(1961) 263. 51 Cf. AA 6, 26; GS 44; AG 6, 14, 17, 23, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 38-40; PO 5, 19; LG 17, 35; CD 6 etc. 52 AG 23. 53 PO 5. also from the riches hidden in various cultures. Early in her history, the Church tried to express the Christian message in the concepts and languages of different peoples. This was an adaptation aimed at making the gospel intelligible to all people. “Indeed, this kind of adaptation and preaching of the revealed word must ever be the law of all evangelisation.” The accent, evidently, is on the proclamation of the gospel, taking fully into account the culture of the people to whom the proclamation is made.
Post-conciliar Development In the years after the Council, the theme of evangelisation received much attention. Episcopal conferences and theological seminars began using the term more and more.
In 1971 an international theological conference was held at Nagpur, India. The theme of evangelisation was much discussed and studied. The special committee of the conference on evangelisation, dialogue and development defined evangelisation as the “proclamation of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, to men who do not know him in order to bring them to the faith, and to fellowship in him.”54 It is thus the imparting of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, through which men are enabled to share in the spirit of Christ, who reconciles them with God. Proclamation as well as Christian witness is essential to it.
Evangelisation, to be genuine, must be a sharing of the Christian experience. Salvation is the liberation of the whole man and of all men from sin and its consequences and leading them to union with God. Proclamation of the good news is bringing to every man a free gift of God. It is not mere teaching. It consists in words and deeds through which God’s salvific design is made present, whereby humanity is renewed. At the heart of this proclamation is Jesus Christ, the historical person as well as the risen Lord. Christ gives human existence a new meaning. He offers himself for us in total self-gift.
The mystery of Christ is communicated to man today through the Church, which is the communion of those who live in Jesus Christ. Christ continues to proclaim his message of hope and love through the Church. Her mission consists precisely in this, and for that reason it is universal and integral. The Church is God’s instrument in his saving activity. The gospel demands from the hearer a response in faith, which also leads him to the fellowship of believers. In evangelisation, the Spirit is at work in numerous ways through the Church, making her the leaven of society. Interreligious dialogue and involvement in development have an important role in evangelisation. The Nagpur conference shows how the term, evangelisation, was steadily widening in meaning and growing in popularity.
54 “Report of the Special Committee on Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development” in M. Dhavamony (ed.), Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development (Rome 1972), 17. The post-Conciliar years have seen a tendency to broaden considerably the signification of the term, evangelisation. While the aspect of Christian proclamation has remained predominant, various others have been absorbed into it, in a process that will eventually turn it into an ‘umbrella’ concept. Two events which contributed in no small measure to this transformation was the 1974 Synod of Bishops and the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, to which we now turn our attention. Chapter 13 The Global Concept of Evangelisation
Our study so far has shown how the concept of evangelisation has constantly been widening. In fact the process had been underway ever since the Council. In the apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi of Pope Paul VI (1975, henceforth EN), we can speak of the climax of its semantic and theological evolution. One year earlier, in the synod of bishops on evangelisation held in Rome there emerged the global concept of evangelisation, which the Pope makes his own in Evangelii Nuntiandi.
The Global Concept What strikes one most is the complexity of evangelisation today and the danger of one-sidedness. Two passages in EN express the idea succinctly:
EN 17: Any partial and fragmentary definition which attempts to render the reality of evangelisation in all its richness, complexity and dynamism does so only at the risk of impoverishing it and even of distorting it. It is impossible to grasp the concept of evangelisation unless one tries to keep in view all its essential elements.
EN 24: Evangelisation as we have said, is a complex process, made up of varied elements - the renewal of humanity, witness, explicit proclamation, inner adherence, entry into the community, acceptance of signs, apostolic initiative. These elements may appear to be contradictory, indeed mutually exclusive. In fact they are complementary and mutually enriching. Each one must always be seen in relationship with the others. The value of the last synod was to have constantly invited us to relate these elements rather than to place them in opposition one to the other, in order to reach a full understanding of the Church’s evangelising activity. It is this global vision which we now wish to outline…”
I have taken the word global from this passage of EN. I see it as an apt word in describing evangelisation in today’s context. There is only one mission of the Church in the world. It is the mission that she receives from God through Christ. The Father sends the Son with the mission of redemption. Thus God enters salvation history in a new and definitive form. Jesus Christ comes among us as the Father’s missionary. The Church continues in today’s world this mission of Jesus. This demands of the Church absolute fidelity in sharing with all people of good will his salvific message. The Holy Spirit too is sent by the Father. Strengthened by the Spirit and constantly guided by Him, the Church continues to fulfil day by day the mission entrusted to her by Jesus. She is in a state of mission. It is this single mission that the Church must realise in the spiritual, social, cultural and other spheres.55 This process is called evangelisation.
55 Cf. J. Saldanha, “A Fresh Impulse for Evangelisation in our Times” in Indian Missiological Review 1 (1979) 23-43. The underlying concept is evidently one of integral salvation, with a spiritual as well as a secular dimension. It is integral salvation that human beings need today. There is great search today for the meaning of life. Confusion with regard to the basic reality of human existence clouds the minds of many. Added to that is alienation, whether at the personal or community level. The good news of Christ offers light and liberation. Thus in the understanding of EN any activity that aims at producing, supporting and developing faith in Jesus Christ and the service of God would be evangelisation. Only Christ can liberate us from evil. The thought is echoed by John Paul II, “To evangelise is to proclaim the gospel and the gospel is summed up in Jesus Christ, in his words and deeds, the personal significance that he has for us as radical liberation from every form of evil.”56
The global nature of evangelisation is seen also in the fact that it is addressed to all people. Evangelisation of non-Christians is to be distinguished from pastoral action for Christians, but it is not separate from it. It is the same evangelising activity of the Church that is realised in both. The committed believer, surveying the world around him sees the crying need for an effective and urgent proclamation of the gospel message, which alone can totally liberate man from every evil. The words of Jesus, “I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God” are quoted again and again in EN to stress the urgent need of this proclamation in the modern world.
Evangelisation to be genuine must be faithful to the message it proclaims as well as to the person to whom the proclamation is addressed. Awareness of the context in which the gospel is to be proclaimed is crucial if the proclamation is to be effective. Secularism, staggering rich poor difference, and pluralism whether cultural or religious characterise this context. Thus gospel-culture encounter as well as liberation pertain to the reality of evangelisation.
The Various Elements in the Global Concept of Evangelisation While it is difficult to define evangelisation as such, we can describe it as one integral reality consisting of several parts. These various elements must be taken into account for a full understanding of it. Stressing one at the expense of the others gives a distorted vision. EN examines the complexity of evangelising action and in fact devotes an entire section to it.57 The various elements are complementary and mutually enriching and form an articulated whole.
The Church is challenged to bring the gospel message to human beings, taken individually and collectively, and into all spheres of human existence. The aim of this is interior change or conversion, symbolised by baptism and lived in fidelity. The good news has a decisive role in determining man’s values and judgements, thoughts and
56 Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, Vol. II (Vaticano 1979), 401. 57 EN 17-24. actions, in short his very life. It permeates human culture to its very roots, and in all its variety. We may now sum up the various elements which constitute the global concept of evangelisation:
1. Christian witness, which makes present the incipient Kingdom and constitutes a silent but powerful and effective proclamation of the gospel. 2. A clear unequivocal and explicit proclamation of the Lord Jesus. 3. This proclamation reaches its full development when it is accepted and adhered to by the listener, in its individual and community dimensions. Thus he enters the community of believers, the Church and lives her life fully, especially through the sacraments and himself becomes an evangeliser. This implies the establishment of the Church. 4. The Gospel offers integral salvation which is liberation from sin as well as from other evils, so conspicuous in society today, namely misery, exploitation and injustice of every kind. 5. The Gospel permeates human culture and should be at home in every culture. Evangelisation involves a constant gospel-culture encounter. Strictly speaking this is not an element as such, but a modality of realising the above elements.
A great merit of EN is precisely the way it understands evangelisation as a multi- dimensional reality. Such an understanding makes the evangelising mission of the Church relevant to modern society. It is the Church’s vocation and she exists in order to evangelise. This also explains partly why the term is so popular today. It expresses convincingly and without bias the essential mission of the Church. The newness that it brings about does not in any way contradict considerations traditionally employed in describing the Church’s mission. Instead, it describes it more comprehensively and is thus better understood and more easily accepted.
Types of Evangelisation There are no sharp distinctions in the global concept of evangelisation. However, that does not prevent us from looking into it for possible distinctions, to understand better the various types of evangelisation. It will help bring into focus the richness of the modern understanding of the term. One sees today three groups of people to whom the Gospel must be proclaimed: a) those who are not yet Christian, b) Christians who need greater help to preserve their faith because of the difficult situation they are living in, and c) those who have become indifferent to the faith, some to the point of being described as no more Christian. The three groups are evidently sociological but as a matter of fact a territorial element may come in. Today people of all religions or of no religion, Christians, people of other religions, and so-called post-Christians can be found in just about any part of the world. However, the point should not be pressed too far. While statistics do not say everything, they are not to be ignored either. We still have areas in the world (and we mean geographical or territorial ones) where the majority of people have not yet heard about the gospel of Christ. In responding to these three groups, we may speak of the first evangelisation, pastoral evangelisation, and renewed evangelisation.58
The First Evangelisation In the 1974 synod, it was mainly African and Asian bishops who drew attention to the question of the first evangelisation. These two continents, which contain about two- thirds of humanity, contain millions of persons who have not yet come into contact with the gospel message in an existential way. They were aware of the danger of considering the first evangelisation as the vestige of an outdated Ecclesiology or Missiology.
EN articles 50, 51 and 53 speak about the first evangelisation. There is emphasis on missionary spirit and missionary activity. Pope Paul VI frowns upon those who say that the time of the missions is past.59 The temptation to sacrifice first evangelisation in order to re-evangelise a de-christianised world is very real. However, the problem is not new. Writing in 1792, William Carey had already observed, “It has been objected that… we have work enough at home, without going into other countries. That there are thousands in our own land as far from God as possible, I readily grant, and that this ought to excite us to a ten-fold diligence in our work, and in attempts to spread divine knowledge amongst them is a certain fact : but that it ought to supersede all attempts to spread the gospel in foreign parts seems to want proof.”60 The different types of evangelisation are actually interconnected and enrich one another.
The Pastoral Evangelisation The modern secular age poses problems as well as possibilities for the Christian faith. The Christian culture of the past has virtually disappeared even in the so-called Christian countries. Devoid of any cultural support, the Christian faith today has to be made personal by the individual believer. It then calls for a continual decision to live the Christian life. Believers today are exposed more than ever before to a weakening of or in some cases, even a total loss of faith. Herein comes the role of pastoral evangelisation. Earlier, the Christian culture helped in safeguarding the faith of the community and of the individual. The situation has changed now especially in counties that are economically more advanced. Hence the real need of continual evangelisation. Evangelisation could be considered as a process, an on-going one whereby individuals and groups are brought into ever closer harmony with the Gospel. The Church through its constant pastoral evangelisation “seeks to deepen, consolidate, nourish and make ever more mature the faith of those who are already called the faithful or believers in order that they may be so still more.”61
58 See also RM 33. 59 Cf. EN 53. 60 W. Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen (facsimile of the original edition issued in 1792, London 1961). 61 EN 54. This process is similar to what is called catechesis. However, we prefer to use the term pastoral evangelisation to underline the kerygmatic element in it, again necessitated by modern secularism and liberalism. Proclamation of the Gospel always retains certain newness about it and is done in a missionary spirit. Pastoral evangelisation might be called a blend of what used to be called in traditional language kerygma and catechesis.
The Renewed Evangelisation While the challenges offered by secularism could make for a more convinced and personal faith, the perils created by it have, as a matter of fact, resulted in de- christianisation. This phenomenon, though not new, has now become more widespread and is alarming. Generally it is seen in the non-practice of the faith. Formal abandoning of the faith in countries of ancient Christian tradition is not rare. Thus we may speak of the whole world today as a mission territory. Since the term missionary has a very particular connotation in traditional Missiology, we prefer the expression renewed evangelisation.
Non-practice is the result of a profound inconsistency, which a person bears deep within oneself. As such it is an old problem. But today it is closely linked with other factors that militate against the Gospel. Thus for example, non-practice is justified by some in the name of an interior religion and as a symbol of protest against institutionalism. Renewed evangelisation poses particular difficulties. The person to be evangelised has in some sense made a decision, more or less deliberately, against what the Church proclaims. It is not a mere question of ignorance of the Gospel due to a lack of opportunity to hear it. Hence the evangeliser meets with “inertia and the slightly hostile attitude of the person who feels that he is one of the family, who claims to know it all and to have tried it all and who no longer believes it.”62
The integral or global concept of evangelisation has emerged from the context of the Church in the modern world. The Church, essentially one, finds herself in various parts of the world facing different life-situations. But always and everywhere she has the same mission of evangelisation. The 1974 Synod of Bishops and the apostolic exhortation, EN, brought this fact into focus. Evangelisation is a complex reality. It has various aspects and elements, which can be grouped under the following headings: Christian witness, proclamation of the good news, celebration of the sacraments, total liberation of the human person and the Gospel-culture encounter. A study of mission theology today requires that we study in detail these elements. Evangelisation may be the first, the pastoral or the renewed. We have identified the first evangelisation with traditional missionary preaching. Evangelisation, understood in the global sense, and missionary activity in the traditional sense are complementary.
62 EN 56. They should not be set against each other. Mission ad gentes is an integral part of the modern global concept of evangelisation. Chapter 14
Christian Witness
The witness of Christian life, explicit proclamation of the Good News and celebration of the sacraments were traditionally understood as constituting the entire reality of evangelisation. It was thus seen as a tri-dimensional reality. The global concept goes further and presents it as a multi-dimensional reality. However, the traditional three elements are by no means undervalued. They correspond to the reality of Jesus “the way, the truth and the life.” He is the way that must be witnessed to, the truth that must be proclaimed and the life that must be shared.
In evangelisation the Church proclaims the death and resurrection of Christ. She makes available to people today through word and sacrament the mystery of the redemption. This proclamation and celebration must be accompanied by a lived experience or Christian testimony. The Church thus realises her prophetic mission through proclamation, her priestly mission through the sacraments and her royal mission through testimony of life. They are so interlinked that evangelisation can be understood only when due attention is paid to them, not only to each of them taken separately but to all of them taken in a unity as well. They are interdependent and interactive. Thus the word finds its fullness in sacrament and sacrament finds its full significance in the word. And both find the fullness of their significance and fruitfulness in testimony.
Witness as an Element of Evangelisation The witness of life, not merely as a means of evangelisation but as an element of it, has been very much in the belief and practice of the Church right from the beginning of her existence. It has often accompanied her proclamation and exemplified it. In the secular world of today the question of Christian witness becomes crucial. The medium of word, whether it be the spoken or written one is but one means of communicating the Good News. The communication itself is more comprehensive. It is intimately linked with and flowing from a genuine acceptance of the Good News by the communicator. Hence communication involves every aspect of life. Authenticity pertains to the very core of evangelisation. Jesus not only witnesses to the truth but is the truth. The Church will not effectively communicate the truth by merely possessing it or proclaiming it. She must live that truth and find her identity in it. Bearing testimony to Christ even in silence is authentic evangelisation. It is a constitutive part of the Gospel proclamation. Without authenticity it will look like a mere human message which may be rejected by the hearers or worse still, accepted for the wrong reasons and out of purely human considerations. We are using the term witness or testimony to mean full interior and exterior adherence to the Gospel and the way of life it contains, thereby also proclaiming it in a non-verbal way. These two terms have been used, especially in Protestant circles synonymously with missionary proclamation in a more comprehensive sense. I am restricting it here to authenticity of life, leaving the other aspects for consideration elsewhere.
Jesus sent his apostles with an explicit command to be his witnesses.63 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).” The New Testament Christian community attached great importance to an upright and holy life in communicating the Gospel message.64 There is constant emphasis on unity and love in the community. Christians are exhorted to be good citizens and to obey legitimate authority. Much value is attached to apostolic suffering, which is already part of the mission. In the understanding of John, evangelisation consists in communicating the word of Truth, which is Jesus himself. This is best done when the believer has experienced the Lord and his life has been touched by that experience.65
A genuine Christian life resulting from such experience becomes a powerful proclamation. In John, witness is primarily the announcement of something that has captured our hearts, which we in turn share with others. “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us - we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1Jn 1:1-3). However, John refers also to the witness of works and of life. The letters of John emphasise the point. It is this aspect of witness that calls for particular emphasis today.
The Primary Importance of Witness of Life The Gospel message is addressed to the human person in his totality. While proclamation touches the intelligence, it is testimony of life that appeals to the will. The former expresses, the latter impresses. Both are essential. They are two sides of the same coin. Both belong to the core of evangelisation.
63 The Greek texts use the word martus for witness and its cognates. Etymologically martus is one who knows something by recollection and so can tell it. He is then a witness. Marturèo is the activity of the martus, marturia is the bearing of witness and the witness thus borne, marturion is the witness as proof of something. Cf. K. Luke, The Biblical Idea of Marturia (witness), in M.Dhavamony (ed.), Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development (Roma, 1972) 55-64. 64 Cf. S. Senior and C. Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundation for Mission (London, 1983) 335-338. 65 Cf. L. Legrand et al., Good News and Witness. The New Testament Understanding of Evangelisation (Bangalore, 1973) 131. To witness to Christ, one must have an experience of him. This experience must be direct, though not necessarily material. In fact more important than the material experience is the spiritual one in faith. Not everyone who met Jesus in his earthly life experienced him. Simon the Pharisee, Pontius Pilate, the rich young man, all saw Jesus with their physical eyes, but not with the eyes of faith. Paul did not see Jesus in the flesh, but he experienced him in spirit. Thus he could witness to Christ.
Gospel proclamation is to be done primarily by witness of life. Our age has witnessed the birth of numerous ideologies. Many of them cease to be challenging after a while. Then they either die or turn into oppressive structures. But the promise they make to satisfy the heart of man remains empty. The collapse of the Soviet Union is a telling example. The new problems resulting from Western liberalism are another example.
We notice today an amazing paradox. While secular humanism and materialism keep spreading, there is at the same time a perceptible growth in the search for religious experience. Large numbers of young people from Western Europe and North America are flocking to religious centres in the East especially in India, looking for something which astounding material progress has not succeeded in giving them. This situation challenges the followers of Christ to manifest their genuine Christian experience. The perennial values of Christ’s Gospel can and ought to fill the void that many people today experience. On seeing these values incarnated in the lives of the believers, persons of good will cannot but be impressed and be drawn. It stirs up “irresistible questions”.66 A value system is communicated only when there are persons who incarnate those values and live according to them.
Such witness is to be given individually and collectively. The Christian community expresses its life of fellowship with the Holy Trinity by deep communion within itself. However, it does not become a ghetto. It remains open to the society in which it lives. It contributes among other things its own Christian inspiration to the enrichment of that society. The community thus becomes a bearer of the Good News.67 This is part of the sacramental dimension of the Church. “Like the communities of Jerusalem and Antioch, all Christian communities should be question marks and exclamation points for others. Their alternative lifestyles should ask questions and give answers!”68
The essential element in this witness is to show that in his Son God has loved the world and calls everyone to the fullness of life. Our witness consists in living to the full 66 EN 21. 67 Cf. M. Vellanickal, “The Christian Community as Bearer of the Good News: Biblical Foundation and Theological Implication” in Vidyajyoti XLV (1981) 54-71. 68 W. Bühlmann, God’s Chosen Peoples (New York, 1982) 246. the divine sonship Christ has acquired for us. It is the radiation of a supernatural reality, the proclamation that we are children of God. Nothing can testify to it better than an authentically Christian life which consists in self-gift to God and man. It is this self-gift that makes of the evangeliser a sign of God. This self-gift involves much more than formal intellectual adherence to a doctrine. The allergy we notice among people today to doctrines is not so much directed at orthodoxy, but is a reaction to a lack of orthopraxis which turns the former into dry logic, devoid of life-giving power. The God of the biblical revelation is one who is present with his people in their day-to-day life, transforming the human condition and creating it always anew. Such newness demands conversion and correspondence to the divine designs.
The life of the early Christian community is a telling example. The author of the Acts, in fact, puts this witness and the numerical increase of the community together, showing us thereby its great evangelising value. Luke says “All who believed were together and had all things in common…. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts…. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”69 In the sub-apostolic period it would appear that entry into the Church demanded the fulfilment of strict conditions. Yet vast numbers of people in the Roman Empire accepted the Christian faith. It must have been the compelling force of Christian witness that made for such phenomenal growth. Today, “the witness of life has become more than ever an essential condition for real effectiveness in preaching” as the modern world thirsts for authenticity.70
While the witness potential of Christian life is great, the counter witness caused by unfaithfulness is tragic. EN asks all evangelisers, “Do you really believe what you are proclaiming? Do you live what you believe? Do you really preach what you live ?”71 Contradictions between Christian life and Christian message are, perhaps, the greatest obstacle to evangelisation today. Here then is a possibility that can be turned into a great asset or into a disgraceful liability.
The International Congress on Mission held in Manila in 1979 aptly notes in its final message, “Many in our Asian countries have in diverse ways met Christ and his Gospel and have been deeply attracted by them. With sorrow we confess that many have not been equally drawn to the Church because so often they did not see in us, in our institutions and in our lives the image and the realisation of the Good News we proclaim.”72 In the case of the first evangelisation, unless there is powerful Christian witness our very attempt at proclamation may be suspect as cultural imperialism and mere proselytism.
69 Acts 2: 44ss 70 EN 76. 71 Idem. 72 C. Arevalo (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission: The Good News of God’s Kingdom to the Peoples of Asia. International Congress on Mission, 2-7 December 1979 (Manila, 1981), 23. The missionary Church lives the beatitudes under all circumstances. The deep relationship between Christ and the Christian means also that the latter, like his master, not only proclaims the Good News, but is the Good News. Of course, Christ is the Good News in a unique way, but his followers united to him and partaking of his priestly, prophetic and kingly functions, are also made into the Good News in a limited way. They embody the new state of creation, brought about by Jesus the Saviour.
Centuries ago St. John Chrysostom expressed the thought clearly and with some irony, “There would be no need of words if we had deeds to show, no gentile left if we were truly Christian, if we were to observe the commandments of Christ, if we were to suffer injuries and robberies, if we were to bless those who harm us, if we were to return good for evil…. They (pagans) see the unworthy life of many, immersed in earthly things, they see that we love riches like and even more than they, that like them we too are afraid of death, of poverty, of illness, that we have glory and places of honour, that we are restless for wealth, that we exploit situations. How then could they be drawn to the faith? Perhaps, by our life? But it is in a shambles. Perhaps by charity? But there is not even the shadow of it to be seen.”73 The words of the great saint are, perhaps, a little exaggerated and overly negative, but there is a message that is relevant.
Christian witness is a form of evangelisation that can be carried out anywhere and everywhere. This possibility remains even in those parts of the world, where open proclamation of the Gospel message is forbidden. Such an opportunity is particularly available to the laity who find themselves in almost every human group and situation where they can become agents in spreading the Good News through their presence. If every presence of Christians were turned into a genuine Christian presence, the goal of evangelising the whole world would look much more realistic. Lay people, “whose particular vocation places them in the midst of the world and in charge of the most varied temporal tasks, must for this very reason exercise a very special form of evangelisation.”74 In fact, this witness is one way of living their common priesthood. Sharing in the priesthood of Christ, they “should everywhere on earth bear witness to Christ and give an answer to everyone who asks a reason for the hope and eternal life which is theirs.”75 The sacraments confer a newness through grace and along with it an obligation to manifest the same Christian newness.
The Christian community, to be able to carry out its mission of evangelising with effectiveness, needs constantly to evangelise itself. The Church, living in the world, is constantly exposed to dangers. She needs to listen to the Gospel proclamation and accept it continuously. It is a process of continual conversion. Passive and active evangelisation
73 In Ep. Ad Tim. C. 3 homil. 10. 74 EN 70. 75 LG 10. always go together. Only a community that is constantly aware of its own need to be evangelised is fit to share the same message of salvation with others.
The word that the Church teaches is credible because it is the word of God. But since it is God’s word through man’s medium there is the need for credibility also on the part of the Church. While words explain facts, facts too can explain words, especially when it is a word that must touch the very core of human life. We can give intelligibility to the word. The life of the Christian community is the proof of the credibility of the message the Church proclaims. Since men see the Church mainly in the local communities, it is the special obligation of the local community to show by its way of life the credibility of the universal Church.
The Pneumatological Dimension of Evangelisation The prime mover in the work of evangelisation is the Holy Spirit. The salvific plan of the Father is culminated in the Son under the action of the Holy Spirit. It is the same Holy Spirit who continues the mission of Christ in the world today.
In the mystery of the incarnation, the Word of God becomes man, through the action of the Holy Spirit. At his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus is anointed anew by the Spirit and thus begins his public ministry. Endowed with the Spirit, Jesus begins his work as the missionary of the Father. Led by the Spirit he fights against the evil one and overcomes temptations. Christ entrusts to his apostles the mission he has received from the Father. Along with that mission he gives also his Spirit. The constant presence of the Spirit in the Church is the guarantee that the salvific mission, initiated by Christ, is on its way to fulfilment. Traditionally, in the West the accent was placed on the visible, institutional aspect of the Church more than on the pneumatological one which in fact belongs to the very core of her existence and mission. However, the latter was prominent in the tradition of the oriental Churches. Exaggerated emphasis on the institutional can lead to institutionalism. Part of the crisis in the Church today may be caused by this fact.
The Spirit has begun the work of evangelisation. He sustains it and will bring it to completion. Jesus asks his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit before beginning their mission. Thus the Church could not transform herself into a missionary community till she had received the Spirit. She would need his presence to fulfil any activity, to celebrate any rite and especially to preach the Gospel. The Spirit descended upon the community on Pentecost day and invested the disciples with his power. Moved by that power they could preach Christ. The Spirit is the impelling principle of missionary action. “Evangelisation will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spirit.”76 Without him all our techniques and schemes come to nothing.
76 EN 75. The Spirit was at work in the world even before Pentecost. “On the day of Pentecost, however, he came down on the disciples that he might remain with them forever; on that day the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching was begun. Finally, on that day was foreshadowed the union of all peoples in the catholicity of the faith by means of the Church of the new alliance, a Church which speaks every language, understands and embraces all tongues in charity, and thus overcomes the dispersion of Babel.”77
The Jewish Pentecost was a family feast, during which the offering of the first fruits took place. Similarly, the first fruits of the nations following Peter’s preaching are offered to God. The miracle of tongues is a symbol of universalism, the characteristic of the Christian mission. This universalistic thrust under the dynamism imparted by the Holy Spirit is further manifested in setting apart Paul and Barnabas for the mission to the gentiles and in the vision to Cornelius. What Pentecost was for the Church, confirmation is for each Christian. Henceforth he becomes a fellow worker with the Spirit. In evangelisation, there is intimate collaboration between the Spirit and the evangeliser.78 The former is the internal agent and the latter the external one. It is the Spirit that reveals the mystery of Christ. Christ’s message, certainly, is definitive, but the Spirit uncovers for us the most profound truth of that message.
While it is the dynamic presence of the Spirit that enables the evangeliser to proclaim the Gospel message, it is again the Spirit who opens the heart of the listener to receive the word. The Spirit is constantly active in the world. Despite modern secularism, we see in the world today a desire for the spiritual life, for prayer, for service to the needy etc. There is a greater awareness of universal solidarity and of the need for peace and justice. Not rarely do we notice also determined action to realise these goals. We can see in these laudable developments the presence of the Spirit. He is at work also beyond the visible frontiers of the Church. This theme was stressed in the synod especially by the delegates from Asia. The action of the Spirit, however, does not downplay the role of the Church and the evangeliser. The words of J. Lopez-Gay are relevant, “An equivocal, polarising discussion on the Holy Spirit hinders more than helps any progress in thinking on evangelisation. It seems that both the initiative and the efficacy of evangelisation are left to the Holy Spirit, while the Church remains in a state of passive expectation.”79 It is the basis for optimism and at the same time a challenge to greater commitment. Fully confident in his action, the Christian dedicates himself as an instrument in his work. We might call this an attitude of ‘active passivity’. The Spirit guides all people towards the truth. This makes the Gospel proclamation all the more urgent.
77 AG 4. 78 Cf. J. Lopez-Gay, “Trinitarian, Christological and Pneumatological Dimensions of Mission” in AA.VV., Fundamental Correspondence Course for Mission Animators (Rome, n.d.), 21-25. 79 J. Lopez-Gay, “Theological Aspects of the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi” in O.T. XI (1976-77) 167. The interior life of the apostle, considered in the context of the pneumatological reality of evangelisation assumes special importance. He needs to maintain continuous contact with and fidelity to the Spirit, aware that he is a servant of the Spirit who is at work in him.
The Spirit is the principle of communion in the Church. For the Church to exist fully there must be the total gift of the Spirit. He is present in the community as the origin of graces, charisms and ministries. He makes the Church the sacrament of salvation to all.
Motivation for Evangelisation : Love A Christian evangelises because the dynamic force of the Gospel message moves him. He has so wholeheartedly accepted it that communicating the same follows logically. His acceptance of the Gospel radiates itself in his day to day life exerting a magnetic pull on those who come into contact with him.
Evangelisation is a commitment in love and joy. It is the evangeliser’s deep love for God that moves him towards his neighbour to make him share in his joy by offering him the best gift he has received from God, Jesus Christ and his salvific message. Love permeates evangelisation and joy characterises it. St. Paul loved those to whom he preached so much that he wanted to give them not only the Gospel but his very life: “But we were gentile among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us”(I Thess 2:8).
Charity is the internal and unmediated principle of the life of witness.80 Just as divine charity spreads itself everywhere, so does Christian charity. Love must propagate itself as fire propagates itself. If it shuts itself in, it is no more charity. It is the flame of love that makes the Church proclaim the Gospel always and everywhere. More than a set of doctrines, Christian faith is the person of Jesus Christ. To accept a person, there must be a communion of love. The person of the preacher mediates such communion in some measure. He can mediate it in as far as he himself enjoys such communion. The same is true also of the evangelising community.
Apostolic optimism and interior joy are the consequences of such communion in love. This joy is paschal in nature and is the fruit of the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a joy founded on Christ who has conquered the world. To receive it, one has to die and rise with him. Paschal joy is different from the passing joy of the world. It does not depend on psychological dispositions or external circumstances. It confers “an interior enthusiasm that nobody and nothing can quench.”81 It is not a mere ornament but a fundamental element of the Christian vocation. At the birth of Jesus, the angels announced Good News of a great joy which will come to all the people (Lk 2:10).
80 Cf. H. De Lubac, Le Fondament théologique des Missions (Paris, 1946) 22-23. 81 EN 80. The beatitudes, by definition are a message of peace and joy. Jesus compares the Kingdom to a banquet that celebrates a joyful event. The very person of Christ radiates joy. He preaches freedom from all oppression, freedom even from the law. The God he proclaims is a loving Father. Perhaps, this element of joy and optimism has not been very evident in the communication of the Good News. An over-concern with sin and a belittling of earthly reality are not healthy. EN breathes an air of joy and optimism, of consolation and encouragement. The word joy occurs five times in article 80 alone.
The Central Role of Prayer The central role of prayer in the life of the evangeliser follows from what we have said so far. The apostle, communicating a message of love, needs to experience that love in prayer. This constant nurturing of the relationship with God, in turn nurtures one’s endeavour to communicate the same. In prayer, one expresses one’s own acceptance of the saving love of God in Christ and abandons oneself to it. It is this same love that calls one to mission. Only the person who speaks to God can speak about God. Here again the horizontal and the vertical cross each other. Prayer becomes an authentically evangelising act. The apostle is a living instrument of God in diffusing the Good News. The effectiveness of that instrument depends on the strength of its lifeline, namely prayer. He must be like the good shepherd who is constantly in contact with the Father. Apostolic prayer has always a universal perspective, like the prayer of Jesus. This is characteristic of the good shepherd whose attention extends to the whole flock and beyond.
The bishops of Asia emphasised this aspect of evangelisation when they met in Calcutta in 1978 to discuss the theme “Prayer, the life of the Church in Asia”. They stressed the integration of commitment and action with the depth dimension of Christian mission. Any Christian involvement needs prayer-roots to remain Christian. “Missionary activity is not the same as activism, but has besides a deep spiritual dimension and is linked to prayer. The same Spirit that impels us to the mission impels us to prayer.”82 In Asia, so predominantly non-Christian, the term missionary zeal is a common one and refers primarily to the missionary’s untiring work, dedication and efficiency. “But he is hardly seen as the man of God, as a man with a deep experience of God, a man of silence and prayer, as the guru capable of showing other pilgrims the way to their final liberation from a world that is not their ultimate home.”83 As a result, well intentioned and sacrificing work has not seldom been characterised by a certain practical naturalism.
An over reliance on resources, method and activity and virtual negligence of prayer and the interior life distort mission. That is far from God’s plan. Such methods are doomed to failure in the long run, though temporarily they may show signs of success. A kingdom constructed primarily with human hands does not usher in the Kingdom of God, which after all is a gift and is primarily a spiritual reality. What is asked of the evangeliser is nothing less than Christian contemplation. Great missionaries were also great contemplatives.
82 S. Lourdusamy, “The Holy Spirit and the Missionary Action in the Church” in M. Dhavamony (ed.), Prospettive di missiologia oggi (Roma 1982) 50. 83 C. Arevalo (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission. 150. Liturgical prayer, especially the Eucharist, has a particular evangelising value. The nature of the liturgy is missionary. It is enlightening to note the interrelationship between the two last commandments of Jesus: Do this in remembrance of me and Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.84 The command to mission and the command to celebrate the Eucharist are inter-connected. The Eucharist leads to mission and mission finds fulfilment at the table of the Lord. Liturgy may also be seen as a means of evangelisation. The sacraments are the climax of the Church’s evangelising activity. Acceptance of the saving word leads to celebration of the sacraments and thereby that acceptance is further strengthened and sustained.
In popular piety one can find a particular expression of the search for God. While it needs to be well oriented and guarded against deviations, the fact remains that popular piety has a tremendous potential for furthering evangelisation. Community celebration of life events and festivities can be moments of encounter with God. These opportunities ought to be used in spreading the Christian message and in deepening it in the hearts of people.
Thus personal and community prayer, liturgical and non-liturgical prayer and popular piety, all have a profound significance in evangelisation. All those involved in it, the evangeliser as well as the evangelised, individually and in community, find in prayer the deep meaning of their Christian calling. If love motivates evangelisation, prayer sustains it. It is again love and prayer that turn the evangelised into evangeliser.
Importance of the Consecrated Life The consecrated life, which publicly expresses radical Christian commitment, has remarkable witness value in evangelisation. Thus, the Christian who accepts the evangelical values of virginity, poverty and obedience, in loving response to a call from God is a living sign of the credibility of the Gospel. The Good News can touch a person so deeply that it transforms him completely, that he “sells all he has and buys it.” The consecrated life is “a privileged means of effective evangelisation.”85 The Church is called to holiness. Every Christian by virtue of his baptism and confirmation has a vocation to sanctity. Religious consecration, being a deepening of the commitment undertaken at baptism and confirmation, brings the call to sanctity into greater relief.86
Those who live the consecrated life become a challenge both within the Church and outside it, never to waver in realising man’s call to communion with the infinite. Thus with the vow of virginity, one manifests that God has filled one’s heart so completely that one does not need a human partner. With the vow of poverty, he shows his total reliance on the Father in heaven, and thus frees himself from the burden of earthly riches. With the vow of obedience he commits himself in complete availability to the service of the kingdom. This witness of total self-dedication has an effect on people of good will who search for authenticity. Evangelical radicalism is a pointer to the eschatological reality already initiated in baptism and still to reach fulfilment. Thus, it is also an eminent service. Blest with other advantages too, such as availability and
84 Lk 22:19; Mt 28:19. 85 EN 69. 86 See P. Vadakumpadan, “Consecrated Life and Evangelisation” in Indian Missiological Review 16(1994) 5-10). community life, religious have played and are still playing a leading role in evangelisation. They are at the service of the universal Church and have rendered pioneering service in the field of evangelisation for centuries.
The question of inculturating religious life is also relevant to the point under consideration. Vatican II invites religious institutes to establish houses in mission countries, so that living their consecration also in accordance with local religious traditions, they may be able to witness to Christ more effectively. This is of particular significance in the East, where Christian consecrated life comes into contact with contemplative life in the great oriental religions. Even the mere numerical fact, that there are more contemplatives in these religions than in Christianity, should serve as a challenge to us, especially now when our numbers are falling.
Christian contemplative presence among followers of other religions is of immense benefit also in bringing about a genuine dialogue on the mystical level. The lack of a common theological terminology makes a theological dialogue difficult, but the lived experience of contemplation facilitates dialogue on the mystical level. This by itself, with testimony and prayer, is already a genuine contribution to evangelisation.
The Witness of Unity One of the scandals of Christianity today is the division among Christians themselves. This reality is a contradiction that negatively affects the proclamation of the Gospel. “The power of evangelisation will find itself considerably diminished if those who proclaim the Gospel are divided among themselves in all sorts of ways.”87 Differences among Christians on the very core of their preaching will certainly surprise and even scandalize listeners. Jesus himself prayed for unity. Unity among his followers was to be the sign that he came from the Father. Christians have a great responsibility to show the credibility of the Gospel message by their unity. Such unity will be an impulse to many to accept the Good News. It is revealing that the modern ecumenical movement resulted from the modern missionary awareness. Ecumenism is a missionary responsibility too. Restoration of unity among Christians was one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council. The importance of what has been achieved so far cannot be ignored. “Real and important advances” have been made.88 But the road still to be traversed is long. It calls for sincerity, perseverance, humility and courage. Common prayer, theological dialogue and worship in common are all fields that are full of possibilities for ecumenical progress.
The Reality of the Cross In evangelisation, the Church participates in the paschal mystery of Christ. To share in the joy of the resurrection one must pass through the mystery of the passion and accept the reality of the cross. The cross is an ever present reality in the proclamation of the Gospel. In fact, the apostles and the first Christian preachers suffered like the Master himself. The Acts says that they were happy to have been found worthy to suffer for the
87 EN 77. 88 RH 6. name of Christ. The saga of Christian martyrs who testified to the salvific value of the Gospel by shedding their blood for it is a challenge to evangelisers today.89
To human eyes the death of Christ was a failure. But it was precisely thus that the power of God was manifested. “The cross was the ultimate parable of God’s revolution. There at last, the Word was made flesh and the message totally expressed no longer in words of lips but of flesh and blood.”90 It was through the cross that Christ fulfilled his mission. The death of Christ was redeeming. It was precisely by accepting death on the cross that he gave us life. Thus, in the mysterious paradoxical plan of God, life comes from death. On the cross Christ draws all people to himself. A cross, which in itself is an unworthy symbol, becomes the glorious symbol of victory. From that glorious cross, Christ proclaims his Good News. Henceforth, what was so far a despicable sign becomes the sign of salvation and of eternal life. It becomes Good News.
The way of the cross is the way of every evangeliser. Often enough he will feel weak and powerless, fighting a losing battle, in human terms facing sheer defeat. It is then that he turns to the cross and there sees the supreme evangeliser giving his life for the life of the world, accepting an apparent defeat which in fact leads to victory. “… The Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection.”91 The cross is the test of mission. In communicating the Gospel message, under whatever circumstances, the Christian is sustained by the experience of God’s nearness.
The power of God is manifested in weakness. The Son of God came to this world not in glory and splendour but in poverty and humility. This kenosis remains the model of the evangeliser. The Gospel he preaches derives its power from its divine author, not from the human instrument. Such divine power does not need earthly support to make its brilliance felt. The Messiah the Jews expected was very different from the one they saw in Jesus. The temptation can be great for the evangeliser to play up to a certain human messianism. That would convert the Christian message into a mere human ideology, incapable of saving humankind and that would be a perversion of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Besides, suffering is a powerful testimony. It proves the credibility of the Gospel message more powerfully than words. The evangeliser can say with St. Paul, “I am overjoyed in all our affliction.”92 Martyrdom is witness par excellence. It is the most impressive sign of the life giving power of the Good News. This power is so captivating that even death fades into insignificance. Thus the martyr gives supreme witness to his
89 See P.Vadakumpadan, “Christian Response to Harassment and Atrocities” in Mission Today 3(2003) 236-245. 90 L. Legrand et al., Good News and Witness: The New Testament Understanding of Evangelisation (Bangalore, 1973) 43. 91 AG 5. 92 2 Cor 7:4 faith. As a matter of fact, in scriptural language martyrdom means witness.93 AG reminds missionaries that their witness may even demand the sacrifice of their lives.94 Here again, history is replete with examples of men and women who were ready to shed their blood in proclaiming Christ.
The Witness of Detachment One of the most striking evangelical values is detachment. Jesus does not promise a terrestrial paradise to those who wish to follow him. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”95 While sending the twelve to preach, he tells them to be free of material possessions and securities. However, evangelical poverty is not mainly, and not even primarily an absence of possessions. It is also not austerity for the sake of austerity. Instead, it is the result of the incoming kingdom. The kingdom of God is so fulfilling that one needs no other securities and possessions. It is the poor man who receives the kingdom openheartedly. Thus poverty becomes a sign of the new order of reality. It is not to be identified with just material poverty or misery. This is an evil and is to be combated. It is the evangelically poor man who can combat misery and destitution. Many of those who profess to remove poverty have ended up making themselves alone rich. Gospel poverty originates in love and leads to sharing. It is in love and sharing that the evangeliser helps the materially poor to help themselves. By his detachment, the evangeliser enriches himself as well as others.
The practical implications of evangelical detachment should by no means be lost sight of. Otherwise, the so-called spiritual poverty could very well be hypocritical. Christian evangelisers, particularly among the poor and underprivileged, who in any case form the majority of mankind, will have to share their condition in order to be effective in communicating the message of integral salvation. The delicate question of foreign aid for mission work must be studied in this context as well. Bishop Patrick D’Souza has a point when he says, perhaps with a little exaggeration: “the Church in the third world is a Church increasingly alienated from its own people paradoxically through the kindness of Churches in affluent countries. The relatively massive financial help from these countries, whether for developmental or pastoral purposes is making Church institutions, churchmen increasingly independent of the financial support of local believers. Hence there is little relationship in the standard of living of priests and religious and of their people. While in Catholic countries, the churchmen are in prosperous or adverse conditions along with the people, a drought in the third world or a wage freeze affects the people, not institutions or churchmen, who continue to be maintained by funds from abroad. So we have a Church that is alienated from its people. This is the most tragic meaning of a foreign Church.”96
Conclusion: A Spirituality for the Evangeliser
93 Cf. K. Luke, “The Biblical Idea of marturia (witness)” in M. Dhavamony (ed.), Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development, 55-64. 94 Cf. AG 24. 95 Mt 8:20. 96 C. Arevalo (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission, 30-31. Whatever we have said so far on the role of Christian witness in evangelisation could be imperfectly summed up under the title “A Spirituality for the Evangeliser”. The Christian following Christ in mission and more so one involved in the first evangelisation has a typical way of living the faith. In fact, it is one’s very spirituality that is evangelising. Encounter with the spiritual traditions of the great oriental religions makes the task even more urgent and delicate. These traditions set great store by interior experience or even mysticism. While being aware of these traditions and valuing them, the evangeliser should be able to deepen his own Christian experience in an authentic spiritual life. This will enable him to present it as an encounter with and as a filial attitude towards God who is love and who has sent us his Son, Jesus Christ. From this source flows the theological life of faith, hope and charity, which characterizes Christian spirituality.
Without such a life apostolic action ceases to be genuine. It becomes proselytism and the propagation of a mere ideology. One of the reasons why in certain parts of the world, missionary activity is questioned is precisely this. The spiritual reality of the Church does not come into prominence, while its material, sociological, cultural and even political aspects are too evident.
It is the evangeliser’s life of openness to God that opens itself also to his neighbour with the message of salvation. There is no dichotomy between the two. Nor are we faced with two parallel realities. Instead, there ought to prevail perfect unity and integration. Apostolic zeal and generosity are stamped by authenticity of life and union with Christ. As a result of this life-integration one finds joy like Mary, the star of evangelisation. 18 Chapter 15 19 20 Proclamation of the Good News
Proclamation of the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ is central to evangelisation. Its importance is so considerable that some would even identify it with evangelisation or regard everything else as aimed at or resulting from it. It is also an element of great significance in today’s global concept of evangelisation.
Explicit Proclamation Evangelisation aims at bearing testimony to Jesus Christ. It takes the form of witness and word. Witness, though primary, is insufficient without verbal explicitation. They complement each other and are both needed for a faithful communication of the message. While witness alone may be ineffective, word without witness is hypocritical. Jesus condemned it among his contemporaries. This lack of coherence explains in good measure the not so rare failure of evangelisers in finding ready listeners. On the other hand, in many predominantly non-Christian countries today, the Church is much involved in providing a witness of Christian life through diakonia and other means. Such activity no doubt is profoundly Christian. However, its evangelising power is limited if not accompanied by an explanation of our motivation, which is none other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is the danger that the Church may appear merely as a philanthropic association in the eyes of people. “…Even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run if it is not explained, justified….”97
Genuine witness moved by inner dynamism, spontaneously finds expression in words. Words illumine and persuade, action draws. While witness of life makes proclamation credible, proclamation renders witness intelligible. The verbal communication consists in a “clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus.”98 The Church exists in order to evangelise. She finds her identity in it. Since the central element in it is the explicit proclamation of the Lord Jesus, she finds in this same proclamation an indispensable way of carrying out her mission, a task from which she cannot shrink. St. Paul expresses this conviction in forceful language when he says, “…it is a duty that has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it!”99 The Church down the ages, right through her history has been trying to effect this proclamation. Besides the first evangelisation which has remained and still remains a necessity, changes in society and the evolution of cultures demand a renewed proclamation. The evangeliser does it with no apologies. He is only giving the reason for the hope that he has.100 He is expressing in words what he feels deep down in his heart and what his daily life testifies to.
97 EN 22. 98 Idem. 99 1 Cor 9:16. 100 1 Pet 3:15. Some object to open proclamation as a violation of religious liberty. Such an accusation is hollow. The proclamation of the Gospel does not impose anything on the listener. Vatican II clearly stated, “In spreading religious belief and in introducing religious practices everybody must at all times avoid any action which seems to suggest coercion or dishonest or unworthy persuasion especially when dealing with the uneducated or the poor. Such a manner of acting must be considered an abuse of one’s own right and an infringement of the rights of others.”101
The evangeliser’s mission is to propose the salvific message of Jesus, which even those who do not accept it hold in reverence. Hence, we are really honouring the dignity of the human person in bringing this message to his attention. It is up to the listener to respond in full freedom. It is ironic that while modern society lavishly favours freedom in propagating everything, including falsehood and error, debasement and pornography, it should raise the alarm at the spreading of such a noble message as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Others object to explicit proclamation on the grounds that the seeds of the Word are already present in the world and therefore, it is unnecessary to preach the Gospel. EN responds that while God saves human beings as he wishes, the ordinary paths of salvation are revealed to us by the life and teaching of Jesus.102 The exhortation repeatedly affirms that it is our duty to communicate Christ’s message to all people, a message that by God’s grace we ourselves have been privileged to receive.
Proclamation of the Christian message assumes today a special urgency and relevance. Human beings need the light of the Gospel as they desperately try to answer the numerous questions that the human condition raises. The Good News is not primarily a series of doctrines. God’s word is an answer to the fundamental questions of man. It enriches and ennobles human life, in its individual and social dimensions.
The essence of the Good News is the very person of Jesus. It is Jesus whom the evangeliser communicates. Paul VI boldly affirms “there is no true evangelisation if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed.”103 The use of the name, Jesus of Nazareth, is significant. We are proclaiming a historical person and his teaching. This does not undervalue the presence and activity of the risen Lord through his spirit in the Church and in the world today.
The example of Jesus and of the apostles is paradigmatic. The Jesus we see in the Gospels is a preacher. His numerous parables and sermons have the clear aim of communicating a message. Faith which is necessary for salvation comes from hearing which presupposes preaching.104 Preaching aims at arousing faith and invites the listeners to genuine conversion. In the case of first evangelisation, it is precisely thus that new communities are born and Churches constituted.
101 DH 4. 102 EN 53. 103 EN 22. 104 Rom 10:14-17. The power of the word is a constant in scripture. Judaism is a religion of the word. Proclamation of salvation is the leitmotiv of scripture. The expression God said runs through the story of creation as narrated in the first chapter of Genesis. The Word of God is creative. He created the world through his word. The prophet Isaiah describes the dynamism of the Word of God thus, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”105
The word is effective. It achieves something and brings about that which is willed by the speaker. The saving power of a loving God is communicated through his word. Christian proclamation was influenced by this Judaic thinking. The apostle Paul speaks of the word of life.106 James tells his Christians that they were brought forth by the word of truth.107The letter to the Hebrews describes the Word of God thus: “Indeed, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”108 The explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ releases the creative power and force of the word. This dynamism is present in every form of evangelisation. It is the very power of God that is manifested in proclamation. To a de-Christianised society, the power of the word is a challenge to conversion and return to God. To others, it is a challenge to accept the Good News, which answers the deepest aspirations of their being and fulfils and perfects their religious convictions. It is both an invitation and a challenge.
The Content of Christian Proclamation The message which the Church proclaims has primary as well as secondary elements. The primary elements form the core and as such cannot be modified.109 To this essential content belongs witness to the Father’s love in Jesus Christ and salvation through him. This logically leads us to the proclamation of a hereafter, which in a way is already anticipated in this world. To evangelise is to reveal to men the mysteries of the kingdom brought by Christ, and which is identifiable with him. To help grasp the essential content of Christian proclamation, we need to study the preaching of Jesus himself.
Jesus Preaches the Kingdom Jesus is profoundly aware that he is sent to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom. The kingdom message summarises his preaching and the Gospel itself. Mark tells us, “Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the Good News.”110 The time is fulfilled because the kingdom is about to break in. This
105 Is 55:10-11. 106 Phil 2:16. 107 Jas 1:18. 108 Heb 4:12. 109 Cf. EN 25. 110 Mk 1:14-15. approaching kingdom demands repentance which consists precisely in accepting the Gospel. The expression, kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven appears over a hundred times in the Gospels. The preaching of Jesus revolved around it. It is the central theme that runs through the Gospel. The kingdom is absolute. Everything else is to be seen in relation to it. Jesus asks his hearers to seek first the kingdom of God. Everything else will follow. For him evangelisation was primarily the proclamation and realisation of this reality. In parables and similes, miracles and healings he makes known the arrival of the kingdom. While Jesus does not give us a definition as such of it, we can understand it simply from his whole public ministry. His life, deeds and words together tell us what it is.
Perhaps, the term kingdom in modern everyday language not only does not convey the idea of the kingdom of God, but is even misleading. The kingdom of God is a quality of existence, a mode of being. It has no geographical or political connotations whatsoever. Instead it is a thoroughly new order of reality brought about by God. It is a free gift from God whose intervention brings about the new state of things, a new heaven and a new earth. The newness is first and foremost interior, in the hearts of people. This new order is based on the gift of love. The Gospel command of love becomes the sole law of the kingdom. Everything else is subservient. Jesus himself does not hesitate to reinterpret traditional laws in accordance with the newly arrived kingdom.
He presents God as a loving Father who is constantly present in the midst of his children. Compassion and love, mercy and faithfulness mark his dealings with mankind. The question of retribution and punishment for evil recede into the background.111 Such an all embracing, forgiving love on the part of God is a characteristic feature of the new kingdom. In the presence of this overpowering divine love, hatred and evil give way. Wrongs are righted and the heart of man is cleansed. The miracles and healings of Jesus show that God has come as healer. In the kingdom we are cured of all our diseases, internal and external, of the body as well as of the soul. The miracles of Jesus were signs that vindicated his preaching. The crowds were amazed and were drawn to him. They saw in them the proclamation in deed of the new state of things.
The kingdom of God renews reality radically, ushering in a new era of peace, love and justice, where the will of God is respected. That is his reign. It is the “effective, transforming rule of an overwhelmingly compassionate God.”112 Such a profound transformation is a powerful force for change. Before it one cannot remain passive. Either one is for the kingdom or against it. It is a demanding prospect that shakes one up from one’s comfortable status quo. The power of the Gospel affects and even upsets mankind’s criteria of judgement, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life which are in contrast with the Word of God and plan of salvation.113 Here there is a revolutionary change, succinctly expressed in the beatitudes. The kingdom challenges every value that is not in keeping with its own values. It confers an interior joy. It is different from that of the world and may even appear to be opposed
111 Mk 1:38, Jn 3:17. 112 D. Senior and C. Stuhlmüller, The Biblical Foundations for Mission (New York, 1983), 151. 113 EN 19. to worldly happiness. The beatitudes describe the joy of the kingdom.114 It is the joy of knowing God and of being close to him.
The response, which Jesus demands to the kingdom, is repentance and acceptance of his Good News. The hearer is challenged to a deep interior conversion that changes his whole life. To adhere to the kingdom is to adhere to the new world, “to the new state of things, to the new manner of being, of living, of living in community which the Gospel inaugurates.”115 He becomes a new man, a citizen of the kingdom of God. Conversion is a turning away from all that militates against the kingdom and a turning towards all that the kingdom stands for. It is a single process of acceptance and rejection.
The kingdom ministry of Jesus also underlines the fact that evil has its roots in the hearts of people. Cleansing of the heart is necessary for deliverance from evil and entry into the kingdom. The kingdom liberates man especially from the source of all evils, sin. Along with this liberation comes also freedom from all other oppression. The positive movement of conversion, namely acceptance of the Good News, becomes a permanent characteristic of the kingdom citizen and is expressed in faith and discipleship. It is a programme of life that involves one’s whole being. God becomes one’s all. Thus on the one hand the kingdom is offered to everyone, and on the other, each one must accept it and enter it.
This decision in favour of the kingdom can be painful as it demands self-sacrifice. Openness to God becomes openness to neighbour. The absolute submission of self to God makes man spiritually rich. Detached from earthly goods and possessions, he is attached to the treasures of the kingdom. It is significant that Jesus was often in the company of the poor and the marginalised, for they had easy access to the kingdom. Deprived of wealth and power, they could more readily put their trust in God in whom they found their only security. Jesus preached the kingdom untiringly. He spoke with authority. He proclaimed the kingdom to Jews, to the poor, to sinners, and to those who were lost.116
He not only preached the kingdom; he himself was the kingdom. The decisive, eschatological intervention of God came about precisely in the person of Christ. Jesus was the ultimate offer of God’s unconditional love. The scripture was fulfilled in him. This becomes clearer in the post-paschal Christ. The kingdom is fully realised in his redeeming death and resurrection. In fact, early Christian preaching no more centres on the kingdom, but on the very person of Christ. God’s reign is now a reality in Jesus Christ. The Gospels even tend to use the name of Jesus and the term kingdom synonymously.117
114 Cf. EN 8. 115 EN 23. 116 Mt 15:24; Lk 4:18; Mk 2:17; 1 Tim 1:15. 117 Compare Mt 19:29; Mk 10:29 with Lk 18:29. So too Mk 9:1; Lk 9:27 with Mt 16:28. Jesus proclaims that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom is at hand. The Jews have been waiting for a decisive intervention of God in their history. That decisive moment has now come. In fact, the history of salvation as described in the Old Testament was a preparation for this moment. But there is a paradoxical element here. The kingdom, though already present, is still to reach fulfilment. It is both present and to be fully realised in the future. There is some tension between what has been realised and what is still to be realised. It must grow into fullness.
Kingdom of God and the Church The preaching of Jesus brings into existence the first community of believers in him. They accept the Good News he proclaims and want to live by it. Thus the life of this primitive community becomes a continuing realisation of the kingdom. It becomes an effective pointer to the new reality, effective as it is already present, pointer in so far as its full realisation is still to come. Those who accept Jesus gather together in his name “in order to seek together the kingdom, build it up and live it”.118 They do so by evangelising, just as they themselves have been formed by Jesus’ evangelisation.
Thus the Church and kingdom, while not identical cannot be neatly separated either. The Church understands herself as the universal sacrament of salvation. The salvation realised in Jesus Christ is fully available in the Church. She manifests and actualises the mystery of God’s love for humankind. Her reason for existence is to facilitate the full realization of the kingdom. The phrase, Thy kingdom come in the Our Father summarises the scope of the Church. The end of the Church is not within herself. Vatican II says, “The Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is, on earth, the seed and the beginning of that kingdom.”119
The Church then must not only diffuse the kingdom but she herself must be transformed into it. The kingdom is a constant challenge to the children of the Church, to grow into it and make it truly resplendent. Today’s Church is not yet the Church that she is called upon to be. It is important to keep this in mind to avoid a false triumphalistic outlook. On the other hand, too much emphasis should not be placed on her failings, because in her the power that will bring about the definitive kingdom is already effectively present and at work in the world. 120
The Church fulfils this task of spreading the kingdom of God through evangelisation. She finds her identity in it. Evangelisation constitutes her essential mission. She came into existence as the most visible fruit of the evangelising activity of Jesus and of the twelve. She is sent out by her Lord to proclaim the kingdom message as he himself did. She does not substitute him but becomes a privileged place of his activity.
118 EN 13. 119 LG 5. 120 Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops. Puebla: Evangelisation at Present and in the Future of Latin America, (London, 1980) 231. The Church is completely at the service of God’s reign, initiated by Christ. She constantly proclaims and actualises this new order of reality, first of all within herself. Her life of faith, hope and love is to be a constant living preaching.
Christocentrism The Church proclaims the kingdom, manifested in the very person of Jesus Christ. Hence, right from the time of the apostolic preaching, he is the centre of the Church’s proclamation. Proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ is the foundation and centre of evangelisation.
Christocentrism is the test of authenticity in evangelisation. Merely paying lip service to the Christian name and using it to qualify other ideologies and messianisms is a kind of exploitation. The temptations that Jesus faced in the desert are the temptations that present themselves also to the Church today. “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”121 Christ, dead and risen, is the essence of the message we communicate. It is the resurrection and the constant presence of Christ in the Church today through his spirit that gives vitality to Christian life. The mission of the Church is to proclaim this presence and thereby facilitate a profound experience of it through the sacramental life. The apostolic preaching centres on the person of Christ. The sermon of Peter on Pentecost day summarises the essence of Christian preaching over the centuries: God has raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord and Christ and in him salvation is offered to all.
The preaching of the Church today concludes as did the preaching of Peter, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.”122 The various kerygmatic texts in the Acts are clearly Christological.123 The first Christian preaching is a simple and straightforward proclamation that through his death and resurrection Christ has freed man from sin and that salvation is offered to anyone who accepts him in faith and repentance. Paul expresses it thus, “Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”124
Jesus is Lord and his universal salvific power must be realized among all peoples and in all individuals. In evangelisation this universal salvific power is proclaimed and actualised. He is the end of the Church’s evangelising activity. He not only showed us the way and the truth, but is himself the “way, the truth and the life”. He not only preached the Gospel but is himself the Good News. Hence the Church preaches the person of Jesus Christ and draws people to him. The Church desires to lead all to him.
121 1 Cor 1:22-24. 122 Acts 2:38. 123 Cf. Acts 3:12-26, 10:34-48, 16-41. 124 Acts 13:38-39. The Church emphasises Christocentrism also for pastoral reasons. Evangelisers, while proclaiming Christ, are themselves sustained by a deep experience of the risen Lord. This intimate contact belongs to the very core of the proclamation. Communion with the Lord as individuals and as community is what provides vitality to mission and makes it effective. The risen Lord is active today in his followers. They need to treasure more and more this activity and presence. Thus in evangelisation, they not only proclaim the fact of the resurrection but also the reality of the risen Lord’s presence in them.
Fidelity and Cultural Relevance The Church as servant of the truth has a great responsibility to preserve the integrity of the message she proclaims. Fidelity to the Gospel is a constant challenge to the Church. This fidelity is demanded both by obedience to Christ and by the respect due to those being evangelised. The Good News itself demands it. The Christian message must be presented in its original and proper contents. While adapting the presentation to make it intelligible to people, there is no question of sacrificing its content. If we were to do that we would be usurping ownership of the Gospel whereas we are only its servants.
This conviction of the Church as depository of the Good News and the obligation she has of preserving and communicating it appear as a theme very close to the heart of Paul VI as expressed in EN. Fidelity is a running theme in the apostolic exhortation. The following statements show the Pope’s preoccupation in the matter.125
- “…fidelity both to a message whose servants we are and to the people to whom we must transmit it living and intact is the central axis of evangelisation” (EN 4). - The Church sends out preachers “to preach not their own selves or their personal ideas, but a Gospel of which neither she nor they are the absolute masters and owners, to dispose of it as they wish, but a Gospel of which they are the ministers, in order to pass it on with complete fidelity” (EN 16). - “ On us particularly, the pastors of the Church, rests the responsibility for reshaping with boldness and wisdom, but in complete fidelity to the content of evangelisation, the means that are most suitable and effective for communicating the Gospel message to the men and women of our times”(EN 40). - The Pope refers to his grave responsibility, along with the bishops “of preserving unaltered the content of the Catholic faith which the Lord entrusted to the Apostles. While being transplanted into all expressions, this content must be neither impaired nor mutilated. While being clothed… it must remain the content of the Catholic faith just exactly as the ecclesial Magisterium has received it and transmits it” (EN 65). - “The Gospel entrusted to us is also the word of truth… the difficult truth that we seek in the Word of God and of which, we repeat, we are neither the masters nor the owners, but the depositories, the heralds and the servants” (EN 78). - “We are the pastors of the faithful people, and our pastoral service impels us to preserve, defend, and to communicate the truth regardless of the sacrifices that
125 Emphasis ours. See also EN 63. this involves…. The God of truth expects us to be the vigilant defenders and devoted preachers of truth” (EN 78).
While fidelity to God demands that we keep the integrity of the Good News, fidelity to man demands that it be communicated intelligibly. Particularly in a missionary context, the local Churches have a special responsibility in making the Gospel message intelligible to their fellowmen, by expressing it in the categories of their cultural heritage. This task is delicate as two apparently opposed elements are at play, inculturation and fidelity. The apparent contradiction is resolved by ensuring that fidelity is dynamic and inculturation authentic. Sacrificing one in favour of the other only renders the Gospel message either empty or unintelligible. The universality of the Good News makes it necessary that the one Gospel be proclaimed meaningfully in the plurality of human cultures and situations.
Despite the insistence on fidelity to the totality of the Christian message, one understands that it contains essential as well as secondary elements. Among the essential contents, EN mentions the following:126
- To bear witness to God revealed by Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. The gratuitous love of God offers salvation to all men in his incarnate Son, a salvation that is both immanent and transcendent. - The prophetic proclamation of a hereafter, in continuity and discontinuity with the present situation. - God’s love for us and our love for God in turn demand brotherly love and mutual help among men. This is the kernel of the Gospel. - The mystery of evil and the active search for good. - The search for God through prayer as well as through communion with the Church, which is the visible sign of the encounter with God. This communion is further expressed in the sacraments.
There is however, a gradual process of assimilation of the mysteries of Christ. We may speak of a progressive maturity in accepting the Gospel message. This does not detract from its integrity.
The moral demands of Christianity too must not be passed over in silence. In our world, particularly in the so-called post-Christian West, we are unfortunately witnessing a certain ethical bankruptcy. In such a context, there is a danger that in evangelisation we tend to stress those Christian values that appeal to people while ignoring others that are a constant challenge and even a reproach. The Gospel is a demanding message. Its moral norms brook no compromise. The call to conversion is addressed to the individual also in his/her personal life. The kingdom of God is “available to every human being as grace and mercy and yet at the same time each individual must gain them by force - they belong to the violent, says the Lord - through toil and suffering, through a life lived
126 Cf. EN 25-28. according to the Gospel, through abnegation and the cross, through the spirit of the beatitudes.”127
Prophetic Proclamation of a Hereafter The salvation in Jesus Christ that the Church proclaims is at once immanent and transcendent, earthly and eschatological. If the eschatological character was stressed too much in the past, today there is the danger that it may be undervalued and even ignored. Hence evangelisers are called to a “prophetic proclamation of a hereafter”. Salvation that already begins on earth reaches its fulfilment in eternity. That is man’s definitive vocation. The eschatological character of the Christian life is a prominent theme in evangelisation. The Church preaches hope in the promise of Christ. While she builds up this earthly city, she never forgets that her eternal home is in heaven. It is this comprehensive view of human and heavenly reality that the Church announces in the Good News.
The Church Sends out Preachers Evangelisation being the mission of the Church, she has the right and duty of sending out evangelisers to fulfil this task. One evangelises in fulfilment of a mandate. The Church, which has been entrusted with the mission of evangelisation by Christ, bestows this mandate and thus sends out preachers of the Gospel. Vatican II calls the Church, “the spiritual authority appointed by Christ the Lord with the duty imposed by divine command, of going into the whole world and preaching the Gospel to every creature.”128
The Church is inseparable from Christ. It is precisely the abiding presence of Christ in her that makes the Church what she is. The kingdom he proclaimed is found in her imperfectly, but really. She is a sign of the new presence of Jesus, and prolongs and continues him. The Pope deplores all attempts at driving a wedge between Christ and his body, the Church. The separation of Church and Christ is an absurd dichotomy.
Evangelisation is always an ecclesial act. It is not the mere personal initiative of any individual. Relationships on the institutional level and in the order of grace link every evangeliser and his evangelising activity to the universal Church. There is no such thing as a mission parallel to that of the Church and much less in opposition to the Church.
Means of Proclamation Granted that change is, perhaps, the most striking characteristic of our age, it is only logical that time and attention be devoted to finding the right means of evangelising. Verbal proclamation can never be considered out of date. Because there is so much of empty talk in today’s world, we should not lose confidence in verbal proclamation. The homily deserves particular mention in this regard. The homily, especially during Holy Mass, is like breaking the word even as the Bread of Life is broken. When it is truly rich in Gospel content and suitable in language and style, it is a powerful means of
127 EN 10. See also EN 28. 128 DH 13. evangelisation. The ministry of the word evidently calls for adequate preparation, even technical.
Personal contact is another potent means of evangelisation. A message handed on from person to person has a unique efficacy. It shows individual conviction and has an attractive power difficult to match. Personalism is a treasured and highly desired value in our age and as such this means of evangelisation is most relevant. Just as ambiguity and alienation tend to spread in the modern world, the more valuable becomes the person to person approach in evangelisation. A renowned missiologist observes that individual witness to individual is the natural method of Church growth in a non-Christian country.129 This has given birth to mass movements. This form of evangelisation is possible under all circumstances.
Along with these traditional means, the modern technological revolution offers an immense possibility never seen before. The modern image culture and means of social communication must be fully used in spreading God’s word. It is an obligation and a responsibility to employ such means to reach an ever larger audience, in an ever more attractive way. It would be sad if, when others so remarkably use these avenues, evangelisers alone should be deprived of them. Particularly in the case of today’s young people, the audiovisual language is their mother-tongue. Without speaking this language, there is very little possibility of communicating with them or of offering them the Good News of salvation.
Conclusion: Proclamation to all In describing the various elements in the global concept of evangelisation in the previous chapter, we noted that one of these was a clear, unequivocal and explicit proclamation of the Lord Jesus. In this chapter we have tried to analyse this dimension of evangelisation. It is the central element in it. Christian witness is explained by Christian preaching and the latter is substantiated by the former. The content of this explicit preaching is the kingdom of God which Jesus himself preached and is, in fact, identifiable with him. The seed of this kingdom is found in the Church and she is growing into its fullness. The essence of the Church’s preaching is Jesus Christ, dead and risen. In him salvation is offered to all. Christocentrism characterizes the Church’s proclamation.
The Church is born of the evangelising ministry of Jesus. She has been entrusted with this same mission of proclaiming salvation in him. It is her right and duty to send out preachers of the word. Christ, the Church and evangelisation are profoundly linked. The Church’s preaching is directed to all. In the first evangelisation, the Church communicates this saving message to those who have never had the opportunity of hearing it. This is a function that is always valid. The Church also proclaims Christ within herself, in what we have earlier called pastoral and renewed evangelisation. 21
129 Cf. S. Neil et al. (ed.), Concise Dictionary of the Christian World Mission (London, 1971) 200.
22 Chapter 16 23 24 Celebration of the Sacraments
Along with witness of Christian life and explicit proclamation of the word, celebration of the sacraments too is an essential element of evangelisation. The Good News that the Church proclaims bestows life, natural and supernatural. The latter expresses itself in the sacraments. Every sacrament is an encounter with Christ. This encounter is the very goal of evangelisation. Vatican II calls the liturgy “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows.” 130 The seven sacraments are situated within the context of the universal sacrament of salvation, the Church. They are seen in the light of Christ, who is the primordial sacrament of the Father’s love.
Gospel proclamation reaches its fulfilment when it is accepted in faith and translated into life. This calls for adherence to a new programme of life presented by the Gospel, which includes entry into the community initiated by Christ. The sacramental community is of special relevance in a missionary context. In a traditionally Christian society, the sacramental community has the possibility of being concomitant with the larger society. Elsewhere the situation is very different, and the Christian community can experience its union primarily and, perhaps, only in the sacramental community. This community endeavours to live the kingdom and testify to it in a privileged manner through the sacraments. Testimony of life is not possible without an intense sacramental life.
The Church and the Sacraments The reflection on evangelisation and sacraments is based in the wider perspective of the Church, the sacrament of salvation. Christ, through his paschal mystery has established communion with God and among men. The Church is the sign and instrument of this communion. Although it does not as yet include all people, the Council sees the Church as a most sure seed of unity, hope and salvation for the whole human race. Christ has established her as a communion of life, love and truth. He has willed her to be the instrument of salvation for all. The sacramentality of the Church is in strict relation to the sacramentality of Christ. He is the sacrament of the Father and thus the primordial sacrament. He is active in the Church today through his Spirit. We encounter him in the Church.
As the universal sacrament of salvation the Church realises her sacramentality in a special way through the seven sacraments. They are the signs through which Christ lives and acts in the Church. Christ, Church and the sacraments are so interrelated that opting for one without the other is unrealistic if not absurd. It is the will of Christ that the Church be fully associated in the economy of salvation that he has realised. This economy is at work in the Church in a manner profoundly spiritual but accompanied by
130 SC 10. signs, namely the sacraments. In a certain sense, it is the prolongation of the incarnation. Salvation is actualised in a more intense form in the sacraments.
Modern theology uses the idea of personal, symbolic causality to understand the function of the sacraments.131 Thus in the sacraments it is Christ who welcomes us, heals us, feeds us, and pardons us through the mediation of the Church. This explanation underlines the divine initiative in salvation. However, it does not reduce the recipient’s role to that of a passive observer. His personal spiritual participation enables him to unite himself to Christ ever deeper and thus grow in faith, hope and love. The community dimension of the sacraments also needs to be emphasised. There is the danger of a certain self-centred use of the sacraments. Our encounter with Christ takes place in the community. The gift of Christ to us is a gift to be shared.
Moreover, the sacraments enable us to participate in the constant unfolding of salvation history, according to a rhythm adapted to our own individual and social life. At certain significant moments of our life, God offers us his grace through Christ in an ecclesial celebration. The sacramental gesture and the deeper reality signified are for the Christian a truly saving event. God makes his presence felt in a perceptible manner and makes one savour the joy of participating in divine life, of being a guest at the heavenly banquet. It is a remarkable participation in the kingdom life.
Thus in baptism one receives this new life and becomes a child of God. The Father greets his arrival with the bestowal of the theological virtues. He is incorporated into Christ and becomes a member of his body, the Church. The gift of the Spirit at confirmation enables him to witness to the new reality of the world in Christ. The Christian’s union with Christ is celebrated in a unique manner in the Eucharist which also impels him to offer himself to the service of his brethren in need, just as Christ offers himself for humanity. The harm done to one’s friendship with God is restored in the sacrament of reconciliation. In every sacrament, it is God coming to us in love and friendship, making us one with him and thereby realising ever better our redeemed identity. However, sacraments are not to be seen only as events taking place at particular moments. The whole of Christian life could be called an extended sacrament. The seven sacraments are special moments in which Christian life is lived intensely.
Word and Sacrament The Christ we proclaim in evangelisation is word and sacrament. He is word because he is sacrament. Because of his divine-human nature, he is the supreme and primordial sacrament and for this reason he is the supreme word of God. The message he proclaims is realised in him. The kingdom he preaches is identifiable with him.
Faith in him is acceptance of his word as well as encounter with his person in the sacraments, especially in baptism and Eucharist. This is amply evident in early Christian preaching. The Acts of the Apostles says, “Those who welcomed his message were
131 Cf. P. Nemeshegvi, “Evangelisation and the Sacraments” in M. Dhavamony (ed.), Evangelisation (Rome, 1975) 111-140. baptized.”132 The Ethiopian eunuch to whom Philip explained the word and Cornelius to whom Peter preached were baptized immediately on accepting the Good News. To find salvation one must believe and be baptized.133 The early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” It is word and sacrament that gave birth to the Church. It is again word and sacrament that nourished the Church and enabled it to grow.
The word of salvation is not merely announced like any other word but is lived here and now in sacrament. They are to be seen as two aspects of the same salvific process. Through the sacrament the believer is incorporated into Christ and his body, the Church. In that incorporation, what was begun in the kerygma reaches a certain climax. In fact the missionary command of the Lord is “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Not only does the word precede and accompany the sacrament, it also follows it making the new life resulting from the sacramental encounter with Christ even richer. Hence, the intimate connection between word and sacrament. The sacrament thus proclaims as well as realizes what the Father has worked in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. The Eucharist, for example, while celebrating the reality of salvation also proclaims that salvation in a most impressive manner.
Vatican II draws our attention to this intimate connection. The Lord willed that the work of salvation which the apostles preached “should be set in train through the sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire liturgical life revolves.”134 It is through “preaching and the celebration of the sacraments” that missionary activity makes Christ present.135 The Lord sent his disciples to preach the Gospel “that men, having been reborn by the word of God, might, through baptism, be joined to the Church which, as the Body of the Word Incarnate lives and is nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist.”136 The Council emphasises the complementariness of word and sacrament. The constitution on divine revelation asserts that the Church never ceases “particularly in the sacred liturgy, to partake of the bread of life and to offer it to the faithful from the one table of the Word of God and the body of Christ.”137
Evangelisation is not restricted to preaching and teaching. It must touch life, natural and supernatural. The seven sacraments of the Church are a living expression of the supernatural life that evangelisation aims at conferring. Hence, evangelisation “exercises its full capacity when it achieves the most intimate relationship, or better still a permanent and unbroken intercommunication, between the word and the sacraments.”138
A person, who accepts the word, logically expresses that acceptance in the sacraments. This is rendered possible through the process of conversion.
132 Acts 2:41. 133 Mk 16:16. 134 SC 6. 135 AG 9. 136 AG 6. 137 DV 21. 138 EN 47. Conversion Today the word conversion has become a hugely controversial issue in India.139 It will appear strange to a person familiar with the modern global concept of evangelisation. Here the two types of conversion, namely the conversion of a non-Christian to Christ, and the continual conversion of a Christian are hardly distinguished. Continual conversion is a constant in the Christian life. It is a process of configuration with Christ, dying with him to rise anew, a constant participation in the paschal mystery. This is an attitude, more than an act of conversion.
In the case of the conversion of a non-Christian, there is a break with the past. It is so to speak his first conversion. Article 10 of EN speaks of “a total interior renewal which the Gospel calls metanoia …a radical conversion, a profound change of mind and heart.” This can apply to Christians as well as non-Christians. Article 18 speaks of “new persons renewed by baptism,” evidently referring to first conversion. But it immediately adds “…the Church evangelises when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete milieux which are theirs.” This again recalls conversion in a general sense. Article 19 speaks in a similar fashion, using a derivative of the word transformation. Article 36 speaks of conversion of heart in the context of liberation. Again, it is used in a general sense. Thus just as evangelisation is understood in a global sense, so is conversion.
Conversion is total acceptance of Christ with all that it implies. This acceptance makes radical demands.140 The preaching of Jesus himself is marked by this call to conversion. The kingdom that he preaches can be won only through such a process. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” There are two movements in this process, a withdrawal and a going forward. One goes towards the kingdom and of necessity one must leave behind all that is opposed to it. This transformation must affect the whole man. The Gospel is a leaven that affects the human person in his entirety. It touches man at his deepest. It renews him from within. This makes him realise more and more the dignity that is his as a child of God. It is such new persons who can create a new society. A new human society cannot be imposed from without. It grows from within.
Culture too is affected by the transforming power of the Gospel. Culture is the patrimony of a people and given the variety of peoples, there is also a variety of cultures. On the one hand the Gospel can and must be incarnated in every one of them. The universality of the Good News demands it. The history of the Church shows its feasibility. The split between Gospel and culture is a sad sight. Perhaps, this dichotomy is more evident in the West, whereas, in the East, the very intimate link between traditional religion and culture poses delicate questions that the evangeliser has to face with discernment.
139 See Raj Sunder, The Confusion Called Conversion (New Delhi, 1986). 140 In the Indian context, one needs to emphasize constantly that these changes are within the person, not outside, in the way he relates to God and men, not in the way he eats or dresses. Conversion can be considered both in its individual and in its collective dimensions. They are closely interlinked. “There is no new humanity if there are not first of all new persons renewed by baptism and by lives lived according to the Gospel.”141 Conversion of society is the result of the conversion of individuals who constitute society. At the same time, in our secular age when the Christian faith runs the risk of being reduced to a merely private and personal matter, the creation of a new society based on Gospel values is a challenge. The transforming power of the Gospel, realised through profound personal and community conversion, is capable of bringing about such newness.
Continual Conversion One of the ills affecting our society is the loss of the sense of sin. If sin is considered at all, it is taken merely on the horizontal plane, as an offence against man. The evangelising mission of the Church demands that she unceasingly recall to people the need for continual conversion. The task is difficult as the very concept of conversion becomes unintelligible where the sense of sin is lost. The positive aspect of conversion, insertion into the kingdom, becomes unrealistic when the negative aspect of turning away from sin is ignored. The penitential journey of the Christian consists in a continual putting away of the old man and the putting on of Christ. This becomes also a proclamation of the mercy of God, who constantly draws man to himself. In this context, the sacrament of penance assumes considerable significance in evangelisation. The ministry of reconciliation is an essential aspect of the evangelising mission of the Church.
The First Conversion and Baptism We are using the term first conversion to mean conversion as understood in the traditional missionary context where a non-Christian accepts Christ and enters the Church by receiving the sacrament of baptism. This event is marked by interior and exterior changes. A person may face obstacles in taking such a step. It is a fulfilment of his spiritual aspirations. But it is also a dying in order to rise again. While the convert suffers because of that death, he also feels abundant joy in rising with Christ to new life. This conversion implies an abandonment of all that is opposed to the Good News and a positive acceptance of Christ as saviour.
The process of conversion requires time and in fact takes place through the various stages of the catechumenate. Three aspects could be noticed in the process: the theological aspect which consists in faith, the sacramental one which consists in baptism and the moral aspect which is shown in daily life by adherence to the law of Christ. Conversion is the result of God’s action and man’s collaboration. It would be theologically incorrect and psychologically imprudent to measure the success of evangelisation in terms of number of conversions and baptisms. However, the Church being sent to preach and baptise, evangelisation should logically and ideally lead to baptism. Missionaries have over the centuries preached the Good News of salvation with a view to bringing more and more people into visible membership of the Church.
141 EN 18. The sacrament of baptism is at once incorporation into Christ and his body, the Church. It is the visible expression of conversion and signals as well as confers new life. It is the putting on of Christ. With reason has Christian terminology called it a spiritual birth. If it is a birth, it is also a beginning. To be baptised in Christ is to share in his paschal mystery. It brings about an intimate communion with Christ, so that as St. Paul says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the sharing of his sufferings, by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”142 This putting on of Christ takes place in a community of believers, the Church. It is here that one experiences the fellowship which the Lord has created and to which he invites everyone. The new life that baptism confers grows precisely in this fellowship. The individual enriches the fellowship and is enriched by it.
Confirmation, which is also a sacrament of initiation, makes the baptismal incorporation in Christ stronger. On Pentecost day the Spirit descended on the apostles and gave them the power of active witness. Every Christian receives this witness potential in confirmation. Thus lay Christians too are empowered to be missionaries of Christ.
The theme of conversion was a dominant one in Catholic mission theory and practice for a long time. J. Schmidlin, commonly considered the founder of Roman Catholic Missiology taught that the specific end of the missions is to convert non- Christians to the Christian faith. He regarded mission as “equivalent to Christianisation or converting to Christianity… The object of the mission is thus the still unconverted world, that is, the unconverted, non-Christian world….”143 Conversion of the individuals is the first stage and is marked by an interior and exterior change. The former produces a transformation of intellect and heart and the latter is manifested in a change of religion and reception of baptism with a view to saving one’s soul. “Baptism is the exterior or visible step the keystone, as it were which at once crowns and completes the interior process of conversion: it is the culminating point of the Christianising of the individual.”144 Schmidlin does not limit the scope of missionary activity to converting individuals, but includes in it the conversion of groups and the development of an ecclesiastical organisation.
Schmidlin was writing in the heyday of colonialism. The missionary situation has now undergone a sea change. While the concept of conversion, as understood by him is theologically valid, some of his presuppositions are not. In several countries that achieved independence in the last century, the very word conversion, understood as change of religion, has become ugly. Viewing conversion in a wider perspective can provide us a way out of this situation. All need conversion. All need continual conversion. In this perspective, what we have called first conversion becomes more appealing and is devoid of all ethnocentric and cultural connotations. An inner spiritual change, marked by total freedom, is what conversion is all about. Unfortunately these fundamental aspects of
142 Phil 3:10-11. 143 J. Schmidlin, Catholic Mission Theory (Techny, 1931), 36. 144 Idem 260. conversion are often ignored by nationalists opposed to religious conversion. It could also be that such a major transformation is not sufficiently clear among Christians themselves.
There is no such thing as a perfect conversion. The first conversion, visibly expressed in baptism and strengthened in confirmation, has to be sustained through continual conversion and progressive configuration with Christ and openness to the community. Hence, the role of the other sacraments. Evangelisation leads to the sacraments and sacraments become a source of evangelisation. The apostolic activity of the Church is sacramental. Some reflections on the Eucharist make this clear.
The Eucharist Vatican II calls the Eucharist, “the source and the summit of all preaching of the Gospel.”145 All apostolate is directed towards it, because in it is present Christ the Lord. It is the sacrament of the presence of God among us. The Church actualises what she proclaims. The Christian faith is the person of Jesus Christ and in the Eucharist we have his presence. The goal of evangelisation is to lead all people to the Eucharistic table and there, with Christ, priest and victim, offer the only sacrifice of the New Testament. In the Eucharist the word becomes food.
The Christian community expresses most visibly its identity around the Eucharistic table. The koinonia is strengthened and goes forward to proclaim the Gospel with greater dedication. A community that celebrates the Eucharist feels itself sent. The aspect of mutual giving and receiving appears here remarkably. God is communion and there is no better example to show it than the Eucharist. It is this same communion that creates communion among men. It nourishes that charity which is the soul of all evangelisation.
Participation in the body and blood of Christ signifies sharing in his passion and death. Evangelisation too demands participation in the cross of Christ. The body of Christ is given to us so that we, by its strength, can be given to others. The servant Church, sharing the cross of Christ, proclaims the salvific mystery of that cross. The evangelising mission of the Church is accomplished in suffering and in the Eucharist she experiences a sacramental sharing in the cross of the Lord.
The Eucharist is central to the proper understanding of evangelisation. Christian witness and Christian proclamation lead to the celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. “Preaching must in turn make the preacher grow in holiness, which is nourished by prayer and above all by love for the Eucharist.”146
Evangelisation and Sacramentalisation Evangelisation is sometimes contrasted with sacramentalisation. There is no doubt that in a climate of superficiality, sacraments may be reduced to mere magical rites. Without the support of catechesis, sacraments lose much of their effectiveness. This would result in their passive reception. Pope John Paul II in Catechesi Tradendae repeats
145 PO 5. 146 EN 76. this warning: “…sacramental life is impoverished and very soon turns into hollow ritualism if it is not based on serious knowledge of the meaning of the sacraments, and catechesis becomes intellectualised if it fails to come alive in sacramental practice.”147
The purpose of Gospel proclamation and of systematic instruction in the faith is precisely to prepare people to encounter Christ. A powerful way in which he lives and acts in the Church today is through the sacraments. The complementary nature of evangelisation and sacramentalisation must be insisted upon. They are not developed one at the expense of the other. The gift of the sacraments can be abused when received unworthily. However, equally to be condemned is a practical disdain of the sacraments on the part of some resulting from an exclusive stress on faith and orthopraxis.
Sacraments being the summit of proclamation, those also who take part in them share in that proclamation. On the one hand, participation itself becomes proclamation. Moreover, the sacraments equip one for spreading the Good News. The Christian thus by virtue of them becomes an evangeliser. The entire evangelising activity of the Church and of every Christian springs from them. Viewing the sacraments and evangelisation thus closely linked corrects a distorted vision of the Church that sees her only as Church of the sacraments while the Protestant Churches are seen as Churches of the word.
Gospel proclamation leads to sacramental celebration. But this presupposes formation of the community. The word gives birth to the community, which gathers to celebrate the liturgy. The celebration strengthens the koinonia and enables it to render a greater witness to the kingdom. In the context of the first evangelisation, traditional Missiology presented the formation of the believing community in terms of plantatio ecclesiae. The establishment of the Church is the logical result of Gospel proclamation, in order that it may climax in sacramental celebration. At the same time it is needed for the diffusion of the Gospel. While the word creates the Church, it is the Church that proclaims the word and brings about those conditions in which it may be better understood.
The conciliar decree Ad Gentes presents plantatio ecclesiae as one of the goals of missionary activity. “The special end of this missionary activity is the evangelisation and the implanting of the Church among peoples or groups in which it has not yet taken root.”148A footnote to AG 6 refers to several magisterial documents, including the major missionary encyclicals which demonstrate the apostolic duty to implant the Church. AG presents it along with evangelisation as the two-pronged goal of missionary activity.
There are several references in EN which would make us believe that Paul VI presupposes the task of establishing the Church. The following are noteworthy:
“For the fullness of evangelisation, in addition to the preaching of the message, consists in the building up of the Church which has no real existence without that spirit which is the sacramental life culminating in the blessed Eucharist” (EN28).
147 CT 23. 148 AG 6. “…in the regions where the Church has been established for centuries and where she is in the course of becoming established” (EN 48).
“Even persecution, by scattering the apostles, helped to spread the word and to establish the Church in even more distant regions” (EN 49).
“…these ministries are valuable for the establishment, life and growth of the Church…” (EN 73).
“…ministers of the Gospel…who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world” (EN 80).
Thus, though the term plantatio ecclesiae is not used, several other terms have been used (conserere, costituere, condere, instaurare, and the noun aedificatio) all of which could be translated into English with the expression to establish or to build up and approximate plantatio ecclesiae in content. While EN does not specifically state that establishment of the Church is the goal of evangelisation, much less the only goal, it seems to hold that the fullness of evangelisation demands also the establishment of the Church. Though evangelisation has a much more comprehensive significance than missionary activity, the final result of it looks like the very purpose of missionary activity.149 However, while in missionary evangelisation, plantatio ecclesiae would accent the formation of a local clergy and episcopate, in the context of comprehensive evangelisation, establishment of the Church is seen primarily with reference to the sacraments. The chief consideration in the latter is the believing community that celebrates its faith in sacramental worship. Hence, the insistence of the Pope that acceptance of the Gospel message cannot remain abstract, but “reveals itself concretely by entry into a community of believers.”150 Thus evangelisation leads to the Church. This is understood in the first evangelisation as plantatio ecclesiae in its traditional sense. But in renewed and pastoral evangelisation, it is more of a reappraisal of the ecclesial nature of evangelisation and a re-emphasis on the fact that Gospel proclamation reaches its climax when the community gathers to celebrate the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
Conclusion In this chapter we have tried to develop sacramental celebration as an element of the global concept of evangelisation. In the previous two chapters we studied the elements of Christian witness and proclamation. One sees in them a progressive movement, logical but not necessarily chronological. Witness of Christian life leads to explicit proclamation of the Good News, which climaxes in the celebration of the sacraments. Strengthened by the sacraments the community goes out to the world to witness to Christ and to proclaim him. Thus the cycle begins again. In evangelisation the evangelised becomes evangeliser.
149 Cf. P. De Letter, “Mission and Evangelisation” in IMR 1 (1979) 223. 150 Idem. The Christian community is essentially a community for others. Its identity consists in mission. This outreach is the proof of its Christianity. The more Christian it is, the more outgoing it is, and the more outgoing it is, the more Christian it is. Renewal and mission go hand in hand. The Church needs self-evangelisation in order that she may in turn carry out her evangelising mission. This applies to all members of the Church. Passivity in this regard denotes not only lack of zeal but indifference to the gift one has received. While the modality of carrying it out varies, in accordance with the charism each one has received, the basic task remains the same. Different members of the Church, Pope, bishops, priests, religious, the laity, the family, young people all have varying tasks to fulfil. Though different, their tasks are complementary and together they contribute to the richness and efficacy of evangelisation. 25 Chapter 17 Liberation in Evangelisation
The theme of liberation is very prominent in modern theology, especially in Latin America and in the so-called third world in general. It is of particular relevance in modern missiological discussions. Our intention here is not to make a study of the theology or theologies of liberation. Instead in keeping with the scope of our work, we would like to see liberation as part of evangelisation. There is no contrast between the two. Moreover, we would like to show that liberation becomes meaningful precisely in the context of evangelisation and evangelisation becomes fruitful in the context of liberation.
Situating the Problem Never in the history of the world has there been so much possibility as there is today of providing all people with the means necessary for leading a fully human life in dignity. But the shocking realisation that despite such a possibility, it is the same world of ours that is marked by the most glaring forms of oppression and monstrous injustice in political, economic, social, cultural, moral and even religious fields puts us to shame. Statistics are staggering.
The most evident form of such oppression and injustice, though not necessarily the worst, is seen in the economic field. Poverty and plenty flourish side by side not only among nations but also among fellowmen of the same country. Deprived of the basic means of human survival, millions of human beings, created in the image of God endure a subhuman existence that is a mockery to their divine maker. While this is true in most poor countries of the world, other forms of oppression are evident elsewhere. The communist ideology imposes itself by means of the brute force of the state in several countries. Fortunately, in the recent past this wicked system collapsed in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe, but still survives in countries like China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea. An over-riding materialism, secularisation and liberalism, supported by the powerful mass media, give rise to a new form of oppression in richer countries, where the new tyrant is the limitless pursuit of pleasure. Religious fundamentalism makes itself felt as an oppressive force, especially in the Islamic world and since recent times in a limited way even in democratic India. In the face of such a vicious reality one is tempted to wonder what has happened to the freedom of the children of God that Christ came to give us. The Good News of Jesus Christ is a message of freedom and joy. In proclaiming this message one cannot be oblivious to the outrageous scandals of our day. Human beings need to be freed from all forms of oppression. Evangelisation in its comprehensive sense then must include liberation.
This realisation is not an entirely new thing in the Church. The Acts of the Apostles relates pointedly how, the apostles wanting to devote themselves fully to prayer and proclamation, appointed deacons to see to the daily distribution.151 St. Paul zealously collected offerings for the Church in Jerusalem. However, this biblical vision which saw the human being as a unity with care for the soul and care for the body as two aspects of the same activity receded when Greek dualistic categories were used to understand the salvific mission Christ entrusted to his Church. Thus “the Church’s salvific function and service lost to some extent its historical dimensions, its socio-economic orientation, its free-setting power and its closeness to reality, its inner openness towards all the integral aspects of the human person and his world, and with this its radical seriousness and binding character.”152 The Good News was reduced only to a spiritual message. Its acceptance was seen as securing eternal salvation. The Church tended to keep aloof from the economic and social realities of the common man. At times she even supported the status quo.153 Such a separation between the spiritual and the temporal had sad consequences. It created a void, which other ideologies and forces, some inimical to the Christian faith, tried to fill. So the fresh awareness in the Church, which sees salvation as an integral reality that touches the entire person and all persons, is to be heartily welcomed.
Liberation is intimately connected with the theme of inculturation. By being inculturated the Gospel finds a home and puts down roots in a given culture. It makes itself a partner in the journey of that culture and its people. If among these are many who are oppressed and as such in need of liberation, that becomes a priority task of evangelisation. It will be precisely the way whereby the Gospel will take root there and find acceptance. Only thus can the Gospel permeate that culture and transform it, making it undergo a transforming death which enables it to rise again to newness and fullness in Christ.
The New Consciousness of Social Justice in the Church and of Liberation of the Oppressed Concern for the temporal welfare of individuals and of groups has not been absent in the Church. However, in the present century the issue has come to the fore thanks to various circumstances.
The Second Vatican Council We could begin with Vatican II in sketching a brief history of the growth of the theme of liberation in recent years.154 Gaudium et Spes (GS) could be considered a landmark in this. The very fact the modern world became an important concern for the Church and a pastoral constitution was produced to articulate that concern is itself
151 Acts 5:1-6. 152 J.Schütte, “Evangelisation and Development” in M. Dhavamony (ed.), Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development (Rome, 1972), 208. 153 Cf. R. Hardawiryana, The Service of Faith in East Asia, Directions in Mission - FABC Papers 8 (Hong Kong, 1978), 16. See also A. Karokaran, Evangelisation and Diakonia (Bangalore, 1978), 7-30. 154 The encyclical letters of Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra on Christianity and social progress (15 May 1961) and Pacem in Terris on establishing universal peace in truth, justice, charity and liberty (11 April 1963) are of considerable importance, but are not studied here. Establishment by Pope Paul VI of the “Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace” (6 January 1967) which had the scope of promoting international social justice, of aiding poor nations and of seeking ways to encourage peace among all peoples was a concrete manifestation of the Church’s desire to be more involved in the integral liberation of mankind. revealing. The Church does not want to close in on herself but rather to open up to the world, to its joys and hopes, its grief and anguish. She expresses her particular concern for the poorer and unfortunate sections of society.
After expressing her solidarity with the whole human family, the Council attempts to describe the situation of humanity in the world today, marked by so many imbalances. Mention is made of the tensions existing between affluent and underdeveloped nations.155 “Great numbers of people are acutely conscious of being deprived of the world’s goods through injustice and unfair distribution and are vehemently demanding their share of them.”156 GS sees in this and in other aspirations of people the desire for a fuller human life. Among the essential requirements of man in leading a genuinely human life, the document mentions food, clothing, housing, the right freely to choose one’s state of life and set up a family, the right to education, to work, to one’s good name, to respect, to proper knowledge, the right to act according to the dictates of conscience and to safeguard one’s privacy and rightful freedom even in matters of religion.
All forms of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights as well as vestiges of social and political slavery are condemned because they go counter to God’s plan. Eschatological hope does not diminish our concern to develop this earth. Earthly progress, because it contributes to the better ordering of human society, helps in realizing the kingdom of God. GS thus sees material and spiritual progress in relation to each other and not in opposition. The mission of the Church, which is directed towards man in his entirety, has to do with both. The dignity of the person is strongly affirmed. The document accepts the autonomy of the secular but expresses the Church’s deep solidarity with secular reality.
Similarly the missionary decree Ad Gentes (AG) expresses the Church’s solidarity with people especially those in greater need.157 The Church comes to their aid just as Christ did. Christians are exhorted to participate in the efforts of those who try to create a better world by fighting famine, ignorance and disease. Such activity is not considered as pre-evangelisation.
Populorum Progressio The encyclical letter Populorum Progressio (Pop.Prog.) of Paul VI can be considered as the Church’s charter on development and social justice. It is precisely the Gospel that challenges the Church today to put herself at the service of humankind and to impress upon all the urgent necessity of solidarity in action. The Pope calls this a “solemn appeal for concrete action towards man’s complete development and the development of all men.”158 Great numbers of our fellowmen are in need of liberation from misery which keeps them imprisoned and makes it impossible for them to realise their profound aspirations.159 The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider. Inequalities are
155 Cf. GS 8. 156 GS 9. 157 Cf. AG 12. 158 Pop. Prog. 5. 159 “Freedom from misery, the greater assurance of finding subsistence, health and fixed employment; an increased share of responsibility without oppression of any kind and in security from situations that glaring not only in possessions but also in the share of power. This fact makes the poor masses incapable of taking their destiny into their own hands and condemns them to be at the receiving end. Thus selfishness and avarice on the one hand and powerlessness on the other make a caricature of the equality of all men as brothers. The encyclical calls avarice “the most evident form of moral underdevelopment” and everyone, poor or rich, is susceptible to it.160
Every person has the right to find in the world what is necessary for him. The world belongs to all and the possession of private property should not be allowed to destroy this basic principle. Unchecked liberalism which sees in profit the key motive for economic progress, in competition the supreme law of economics, and a limitless and absolute right in private ownership of the means of production, is an unjust system that sees no reason for change in our unjust society. “We must make haste: too many are suffering and the distance is growing that separates the progress of some and the stagnation, not to say the regression, of others.”161 In such a dramatic situation, use of violence to right wrongs becomes an attractive option for the underprivileged. “There are certainly situations whose injustice cries to heaven. When whole populations destitute of necessities live in a state of dependence barring them from all initiative and responsibility, and all opportunity to advance culturally and share in social and political life, recourse to violence, as a means to right these wrongs to human dignity is a grave temptation.”162 What the times demand is urgent action, bold transformation, and deep innovations. Preserving the status quo is utter selfishness and would jeopardise the very highest values of modern civilisation. The Pope finds in development a new name for peace and issues a clarion call for action. “The hour for action has now sounded. At stake are the survival of so many innocent children and, for so many families overcome by misery, the access to conditions fit for human beings, at stake are the peace of the world and the future of civilisation. It is time for all men and all peoples to face up to their responsibilities.”163
The Church wishes to share fully in this noble task in collaboration with all people of good will. Thus she offers a global vision of man and of the human race without which progress will not be genuine. In waging war on misery and in struggling against injustice, she is actually promoting spiritual progress. It is part of her mission. In realizing the highest goal of that mission, namely in uniting man with Christ she helps him arrive at the highest form of personal development. To change the world there is the need of a new humanism where love and friendship, prayer and contemplation will be held in esteem, a humanism that is open to the absolute. Only thus can we move from less human conditions to more human ones. Development can be genuine only when the human person is at its centre. Economics and technology have meaning only because
do violence to their dignity as men; better education - in brief, to seek to do more, know more and have more in order to be more: that is what men aspire to now when a greater number of them are condemned to live in conditions that make this lawful desire illusory.” Pop. Prog. 6. 160 Pop. Prog. 19. 161 Pop. Prog. 29. 162 Pop. Prog. 30. 163 Pop. Prog. 80. they serve human beings and enable them to lead a fully human life, conscious of their vocation that gives human life its true meaning.
Authentic progress will have its climax in progress towards God. The Gospel message enlightens every endeavour for development. The Gospel itself leads logically to service and concrete involvement in bringing about justice and peace.
The Medellín Conference The general conference of Latin American bishops held at Medellín in 1968 was a landmark in the development of modern Catholic thinking on liberation and social justice. It is not surprising that such thinking should mature in Latin America which is predominantly Catholic and which suffers the heavy yoke of oppression from within and from without. Applying the teachings of Vatican II and of Populorum Progressio to the Latin American situation, the bishops were able to provide guidelines in effecting the urgently needed transformation of a conflict ridden society, marked by oppression and misery. A new historic period is beginning with the craving for liberation from every form of slavery.164 The dynamic presence of God among his people makes this possible. Just as he once led his people from slavery to freedom, so will he do it again now, leading his people from less human to more human conditions of life. Here Medellín quotes the celebrated paragraph 21 of Populorum Progressio: “Less human conditions: the lack of material necessities for those who are without the minimum essential for life, the moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness. Less human conditions: oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions. Conditions that are more human: the passage from misery towards the possession of necessities, victory over social scourges, the growth of knowledge, the acquisition of culture. Additional conditions that are more human: increased esteem for the dignity of others, the turning toward the spirit of poverty, cooperation for the common good, the will and desire for peace. Conditions that are still more human: the acknowledgement by man of supreme values and of God their source and their finality. Conditions that, finally and above all, are more human: faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity of Christ, who calls us all to share as sons in the life of the living God, the Father of all men.”165
Vast groups of humanity are emarginated. Their legitimate aspirations are throttled, giving rise to frustration. Emargination is experienced in various fields, socio- economic, political, cultural, racial and religious. This unjust situation provokes tensions and endangers peace. It is a situation of injustice and of sin. The bishops do not hesitate in calling it institutionalised violence.
164 Medellín. Testi integrali delle conclusioni della seconda conferenza generale dell’ episcopato Latinoamericano (Quaderni ASAL 11-12) Introduzione 4. Henceforth the document will be referred to simply as Medellín. The numbers used refer to the themes and their sub-divisions as they appear in the document. 165 Pop. Prog. 21; Medellín, Introduction 6.
While unjust structures are employed to preserve this sinful situation, injustice and hatred, however, have their origin in the human heart. Thus for genuine liberation, people need profound conversion. The kingdom of justice, love and peace can come about only through such a conversion.
Human progress, though not to be confused with the kingdom of God, is nevertheless of great importance to it. Any type of dualism that separates commitment to temporal welfare from that to spiritual welfare should be avoided. In fact it is precisely in Christian love that one finds the meaning of both. It is the greatest liberating force and inspiration for social justice.
The bishops commit the Latin American Church to the urgent task of transforming society. Creating a just social order is an eminently Christian task. It belongs to the pastors of the Church to enlighten and educate people on this important task as well as to stimulate and inspire initiatives. Emphasis must be placed on creating a lively consciousness of justice and on inculturating a dynamic sense of responsibility and solidarity. They should also denounce energetically all that militates against justice especially the scandalous inequality between the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong.
Defending the rights of the poor and the oppressed is a pastoral task. So too bringing pressure to bear on governments and ruling classes in order that they may work to eliminate social injustice. The sense of service and of realism demands of the Church’s hierarchy today a greater sensibility and social awareness. The Church must be courageously involved in the liberation of the whole man and of all men.
Octogesima Adveniens The apostolic letter Octogesima Adveniens (Oct. Ad) of Pope Paul VI in 1971 also deals with some of the issues connected with the liberation of the poor and oppressed. However, it is not the main theme of the letter, which has a much broader perspective. It concentrates on social problems and questions, which have arisen in the modern industrial society, and provides guidelines for political action. Thus the letter deals with issues connected with urbanization, with political activity and ideologies (liberal, Marxist and socialist), with the mass media etc.
Christians can contribute towards transformation of society through social and political commitment. There is scope for diversity and pluriformity. However, certain stated positions are incompatible with the Gospel. Inequalities and oppressive structures that characterise the world are also referred to in the letter. Urgent social, political and economic changes are necessary. In effecting such changes the Gospel has an important role. “The Gospel is not out-of-date… Its inspiration, enriched by the living experience of Christian tradition over the centuries, remains ever new for converting men and for advancing the life of society.”166 The Pope also emphasizes that for genuine and liberating change, there is the prior need of interior conversion. “Otherwise, as one can see only too clearly, the most revolutionary ideologies lead only to a change of masters;
166 Oct. Ad. 4. once installed in power in their turn these new masters surround themselves with privileges, limit freedoms and allow other forms of injustice to become established.”167 Responsibility of individuals and the need for action are stressed. Words alone are insufficient.
The Synod of Bishops 1971 One of the themes of the second general assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 1971 was that of justice in the world. The synod passed a document entitled Convenientes ex Universo (Con. Uni.) in which we find what could be called the most emphatic declaration of the Church in favour of liberation of the oppressed. The document uses the term liberation repeatedly and shows how it is related to the mission of the Church.
In the first part of the document there is an analysis of the situation of injustice and oppression that characterizes our world. A “network of domination, oppression and abuses which stifle freedom” keeps the majority of mankind in a situation of slavery, unable to take their destiny into their own hands and live their lives with full human dignity.168 These people, chafing under unjust systems and structures, cry for justice. The stunning paradox of our day is that while there is so much that can unite humankind, unfortunately there are also many evil forces of division and antagonism at work in our world.
Without effective social and political action in time, the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a minority will tend to increase and consolidate, making the climate of oppression distraught with dangerous consequences. “Economic injustice and lack of social participation keep a man from attaining his basic human and civil rights.”169The benefits of the stupendous economic and industrial wonders we are witnessing do not trickle down to the majority of people. In fact the number of people “ill-fed, inhumanly housed, illiterate and deprived of political power as well as of the suitable means of acquiring responsibility and moral dignity” is growing. Just as injustice creates distinctions among people of the same country, international systems of domination create the same situation among nations.
What is the attitude of the Church towards those caught up in this tragic drama and what role must she play in it? The document answers this question on a practical level. God has effected the total liberation and salvation of man in Jesus Christ. Thanks to his paschal mystery, we are children of God and free men. The Good News the Church proclaims is this message of total liberation. Hence, “action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.”170
167 Oct. Ad. 45. 168 Con. Uni. Introduction. 169 Con. Uni. 1.
170 Con. Uni. Introduction. Cf. C. Murphy, “Action for Justice as Constitutive of the Preaching of the Gospel: What did the 1971 Synod Mean?” in Theological Studies 44 (1983) 298-311. The 1971 synod thus does not limit work for human progress to being just a sign of evangelisation or a consequence of it, but understands it as an essential element, ratio costitutiva of Gospel proclamation. It is precisely the mission to proclaim the Good News today that makes us commit ourselves to the total liberation of human beings even in their present existence in the world. Proclamation of salvation in Christ is also proclamation of justice. The credibility of the Christian message will depend to a great extent on this commitment. However, the use of the expression ratio costitutiva has its problems too. It could create a certain ambiguity. It could be interpreted to mean that evangelisation is impossible in a context of injustice or that action for justice must necessarily precede proclamation. The international theological commission, in a declaration in 1971, basing itself on the 1974 synod interprets constitutive as integral.
Convenientes ex Universo reaches the above conclusion through scriptural reflection. God is revealed to us in the Old Testament as liberator of the oppressed and defender of the poor. He demands faith in him and justice towards one’s neighbour. In Jesus Christ we notice the perfect example of the offering of self to God and to one’s fellowmen. He offered himself to God for the salvation and liberation of humankind. He united in an indivisible way man’s relationship with God and with other men. This is the pre-eminent understanding of the Christian faith in the New Testament. In fact, the human person is liberated in as far as he offers himself to God and to his neighbour. Our response to the love of God is seen in our service of neighbour. “Because every man is truly a visible image of the invisible God and a brother of Christ, the Christian finds in every man God himself and God’s absolute demand for justice and love.”171
In proclaiming the Gospel, the Church calls people to conversion from sin to the love of God and universal brotherhood, which demands justice. Hence the right and duty of the Church to proclaim justice at all levels and prophetically denounce whatever militates against it. She has a specific responsibility in this regard. On the practical level, the document notes that the Church must practise justice within herself to be better able to proclaim it.
The Latin American Bishops at Synod 1974 The question of liberation in the context of evangelisation was on the lips of almost every synod member from Latin America. Numerous interventions were made on the subject in the course of the synodal discussion. A study of these interventions shows among other things that the Latin American Church is acutely aware of the urgency of the question and that the Church has to be fully involved in it. What is needed is integral liberation of the whole man and of all men. The bishops do not ignore the possibility of deviations either.
The terms used to signify this commitment are liberation, development, justice, human promotion etc. But the most accepted one is liberation. This term expresses better the evangelical value of freedom which has its summit in the “freedom of the children of
171 Con. Uni. II. God.” Such freedom brings one into communion with God and with one’s fellowmen. It accents human dignity and the right to lead a fully human life as well as the need for interior liberation.
The integral character of liberation needs to be stressed. It is genuine Christian liberation directed at the entire human person, body and soul, in time and in eternity. Liberation will be fully realized only at the end of time. The eschatological element of Christian hope should not be lost sight of. This conviction will prevent the Christian faith from being made into an ideology and the Church from being exploited for political purposes.
It is precisely by offering the Good News in its integrity that the Church endeavours to realize total salvation. Through such liberation, man is created anew and thereby creation itself is renewed. In such an integral process, transformation takes place first of all in the human heart. Man has to free himself from all that imprisons him in his innermost being. This interior cleansing is the result of God’s grace. Genuine conversion has its roots precisely here. It calls for a continuous struggle. Without it the outward struggle to change structures will not produce lasting fruit. Egoism must be fought first to make way for justice. The root of all evil is sin. Liberation from sin then becomes a priority in evangelisation. When this aspect of liberation is included, we can rightly call it a constitutive element of evangelisation.
Evangelising action in its integrity aims also at the transformation of structures whereby human beings, individually and socially, enrich themselves and realise their fullness. This introduces a political dimension. Evangelisation, by proclaiming the rights and duties of the person and by conscientising people, influences political life positively. The Christian faith demands that we work to create socio-cultural conditions under which universal brotherhood as willed by God can be realised. In acting as a critic of society, the Church is to be guided solely by evangelical values. The Church does not need to have recourse to other ideologies, whatever their colour, to carry out her liberating mission. The danger of using one ideology to fight another would also run counter to this principle.
The synodal interventions also show a certain appreprehension for possible deviations in the Church’s involvement in liberation. Marxism is seen as a particularly attractive and tempting political and ideological system that can distort and even destroy genuine Christian liberation. Other tendencies that could compromise the liberating mission of the Church are the transformation of the Church into just a mere symbol of commitment to revolution, political reading of revelation that would reduce it to mere socio-political commitment for economic, cultural and political liberation of the oppressed, even through violent means, converting theology into an instrument at the service of revolution etc.
Development, Human Advancement and Liberation: The Question of Terminology Various terms have been used to denote this aspect of evangelisation. Among them are development, human promotion and liberation. An international theological conference held at Nagpur in 1971 defined development as “the integral growth of man, i.e., the individual and the whole society, to the full human dimension in the economic and social fields, in culture and education and in the spiritual and religious spheres.”172 The individual in this process actively collaborates in his development and becomes conscious of his dignity and potential and realises a fuller human existence. Development promotes the good of every man and of the whole man. Social justice, self-reliance and economic growth are all part of this process. By involving ourselves in this process we manifest the love proclaimed by Christ. Development also means freeing people from all oppressive forces. However, this broad understanding of development has not been widely accepted either before or after the Nagpur conference.
Even Vatican II speaks of development primarily in the economic sense.173 The term carries a dominant economic character in Populorum Progressio also. But the encyclical broadens the concept somewhat. Thus is says, “Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man.”174 Here we could speak of humanisation. Development could be spoken of more correctly by taking into consideration social, political and cultural aspects too. These various non-economic factors are of considerable significance in the development of man.
The term development is widely used today in economic and political language at the international level. One speaks of developed and developing countries, development aid etc. It means mainly, if not exclusively, economic development. Often enough this goal is said to be realised through industrialization. Underlying this is the conviction that the numerous underdeveloped or developing nations of the world must imitate the way traced out by the handful of highly industrialized nations. This is seen as a panacea for the ills affecting the so-called third world countries. The triumph of globalisation in the modern world seems to prove the point. Perhaps, it is still too early to make a judgment on its effectiveness in removing poverty.
The expression human promotion or advancement is used by many to signify development in the more comprehensive sense. Human promotion has a more theological-ecclesiastical origin than a philosophical-cultural one. The conciliar decree Gaudium et Spes makes a clear distinction between technical progress and human promotion.175 The former does not necessarily lead to the latter. The Council also speaks of the promotion of the human community, of the family, of culture etc. Regarding the content of human promotion, first of all basic human needs have to be met. These have to be met at least in a minimal way for a person to live as a human being. Thus hunger and disease, illiteracy, discrimination and emargination on the basis of race, creed, sex as well as all forms of political and economic oppression must be eliminated. Freed from such
172 “ Report of the Special Committee on Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development” in M. Dhavamony (ed.), Evangelisation, Dialogue and Development (Rome, 1972), 19. 173 Cf. GS 64, 65. 174 Pop. Prog. 14. 175 Cf. GS 35. enslaving conditions of life, people can strive for a fuller life in its various aspects: physical, moral and spiritual.
The term most commonly used today in describing that aspect of evangelisation which has to do with abolition of injustice and the creation of better conditions of human life is liberation. It has been accepted by the supreme Magisterium of the Church.176 Paul VI consistently uses it in EN.
The main reasons for the popularity of this term are its scriptural basis and the total reality denoted by it. The theme of liberation runs through the Bible and is fundamental both to the Old and New Testaments. The climax of this liberating theme is the person of Jesus Christ who through his paschal mystery has freed mankind and made us into children of God. This liberation, basically from sin and thereby also from all its consequences, marks Christian existence at its core. Hence it is only logical that the issue of liberation should have arisen so prominently precisely as a fruit of Christian reflection on the Word of God.
Liberation brought by Christ is an integral reality. It frees the person, understood as a unity. All the dimensions of human existence such as religious, cultural, socio- political, economic etc. are transformed by it. The terms we have seen earlier are deficient on this score. Neither development nor human promotion is as comprehensive. As a matter of fact these two are included in liberation. However, the very comprehensiveness of the reality indicated by it can result in exaggerations or misinterpretations one way or another.
176 Cf. J. Saldanha, “A Fresh Impulse for Evangelisation in our Times” in IMR 1 (1979) 33-34. See also D. Bosch, Transforming Mission (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991), 432 ff. 26 Chapter 18 The Nature of Christian Liberation 26.1 Liberation, as we have shown so far, is crucial in understanding evangelisation today. At the same time the Church is aware that many apostolic workers are facing the temptation of reducing their work to mere sociological or political activity. There is the risk of reducing the message of the Church to a man-centred and temporal one. The kingdom of God, which the Church proclaims, frees man first from sin. It proposes to man the love of God as the greatest commandment and eternal life as the ultimate destiny. This spiritual and eschatological character of evangelisation needs to be emphasised.
The Gospel message touches life as a whole. It affects every dimension of human life in its individual as well as social aspects. It has a special relevance to those issues that are strongly felt today. Among these are questions of justice, peace and development, fundamental human rights, religious freedom, in one word liberation. Evangelisation offers a message that is “especially energetic today about liberation.”177
27 Liberation in the Global Concept of Evangelisation Forces of evil, either created by man or controllable by man, are keeping vast numbers of human beings in a situation that can be described only as sub-human and slavish. This situation, marked by “hunger, chronic epidemics, illiteracy, poverty, injustice between nations and especially in the commercial sphere, economic and cultural neo-colonialism which are often as bad as the old political colonialism” condemns many people to live on the borderline of existence.178 The mission of the Church demands that she proclaim the liberation of these millions. It must be an effective proclamation. She is challenged to bring it about as well as witness to it in her daily life. A specific contribution which the Church is called upon to make is to ensure that this liberation is integral. The benefits of it must extend to all spheres of man’s being and activity as well as to the whole of mankind. This helps remove all ambiguity in the use of the word liberation.
The temptation to reduce the mission of the Church to its mere temporal dimension arises from several factors. At the root of it, there is a very Christian sensibility in the face of the appalling oppression of millions of our fellow men. Such an oppressive situation is a challenge to the very essence of the Gospel message. But in restricting herself to the task of mere temporal liberation, the Church becomes less meaningful. Deprived of the spiritual and religious grounds of her existence, she becomes just one of numerous ideologies. Being reduced to such a situation, she can be exploited and manipulated by forces vying for power and influence. The warning is directed against an exclusiveness that empties evangelisation of its religious content, not against deep involvement itself.
177 EN 29. 178 EN 30. Integral evangelical liberation “cannot be confined to any restricted sphere whether it be economic, political, social or doctrinal. It must rather embrace the whole man in all his aspects and components, extending to his relation to the absolute, even to the Absolute which is God.”179 The supernatural dimension of Christian liberation cannot be downplayed. In fact, the Church’s contribution to liberation would be deficient without the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. Such integral liberation is related to the Christian evangelical concept of man. It is only within this Christian anthropology that integral liberation can be grasped. Not every form of liberation in vogue today is consistent with it. Revelation, theology, as well as experience, teach that many of them are inadequate to bring about the kingdom of God. Purely humanistic systems in the field belong to such forms of liberation.
Any theory of liberation that ignores the truly spiritual dimension of man and the transcendent goal of his existence will fall short of its own aim. It “contains within itself the seeds of its own frustration and deviates from its noble purpose.”180 On the other hand, the Church for her part, while accepting the primacy of the spiritual, does by no means overlook the temporal and material aspects. While she does not proclaim the kingdom in terms of mere human liberation, she is committed to the latter precisely by virtue of her deep commitment to human life in its entirety.
In proclaiming this liberation, the Church stresses the need for change of structures as well as conversion of hearts. Without a genuine interior change, any change in structures is bound to be sham and short lived. Violence cannot be accepted as a means of liberation. It is unchristian. Moreover, from the viewpoint of effectiveness, even recent history convincingly proves that violence provokes violence without in anyway achieving the goal it sets out to achieve. Violent changes of structure have created new structures, equally if not more oppressive than the ones overthrown.181
The Church, preaching conversion and advocating change, need not borrow from other ideologies. She has an evangelical contribution of her own to make to the liberation of people. She thus encourages Christians to dedicate themselves to this task and participate in liberating their fellowmen. These persons are impelled to action by Christian love and inspired by Christian faith. The Church also provides them with a
179 EN 33. 180 EN 35. 181 Countries like China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Cuba are telling examples. “…The overthrow by means of revolutionary violence of structures which generate violence is not ipso facto the beginning of a just regime. A major fact of our time ought to evoke the reflection of all those who would sincerely work for the true liberation of their brothers: millions of our own contemporaries legitimately yearn to recover those basic freedoms of which they were deprived by totalitarian and atheistic regimes which came to power by violent and revolutionary means, precisely in the name of the liberation of the people. This shame of our time cannot be ignored: while claiming to bring them freedom, these regimes keep whole nations in conditions of servitude which are unworthy of mankind. Those who, perhaps inadvertently, make themselves accomplices of similar enslavements betray the very poor they mean to help”. Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Certain Aspects of the ‘Theology of Liberation’ (Vatican City, 1984) 10. clear social doctrine. All these need not result in a uniform method of participation and action. There could be much variety in the actual form which involvement in liberation will take on, but it will be characterized by Christian inspiration and will respect the social teachings of the Church.
Religious liberty too needs consideration in this regard. It is unfortunately trampled upon despite much lip-service rendered to human rights. The tragic reality of systematic persecution of believers does not merely belong to history. “The drama of fidelity to Christ and of the freedom of religion continues….”182
The Church does not have any one particular course of action for the socio-economic transformation of society. Her role goes deeper and touches the very heart of the human person, thus transforming society from within. It is up to Christians, as individuals and as groups, to work out concrete programmes of action. However, it must also be understood that the Gospel is not magic. The Good News, in order to be effective, has to be accepted by people individually and in society. Without such an acceptance, to expect transformation is to demand miracles of God. It would be utopian. As a matter of fact, after centuries of evangelisation, we still have several so-called Christian countries subject to severe forms of oppression and immense misery and injustice.183 Hence the need for a constant prophetic proclamation as well as commitment to action. Several statements in EN show the awareness of the Church of this burning theme:
- Evangelisation would be incomplete if it did not “take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man’s concrete life both personal and social” (EN 29). - The Church “has the duty to proclaim the liberation of millions of human beings…” (EN 30). - The plan of redemption “touches the very concrete situations of injustice to be combated and of justice to be restored” (EN 31). - “ How in fact can one proclaim the new commandment without promoting in justice and in peace the true, authentic advancement of man?” (EN 31). - The Church associates herself “with those who are working and suffering for liberation” (EN 34). - “ The Church considers it to be undoubtedly important to build up structures which are more human, more just, more respectful…” (EN 36). - The Church “is trying more and more to encourage large numbers of Christians to devote themselves to the liberation of man” (EN 38). - “The necessity of ensuring fundamental human rights cannot be separated from this just liberation which is bound up with evangelisation…” (EN 39). 28 29 The Nature of Christian Liberation Basing ourselves on what has been said so far we can now undertake a deeper study of the nature of Christian liberation. It is of utmost relevance as the modern world
182 EN 39. 183 Latin America offers striking examples. is the stage of numerous liberation movements. A comprehensive understanding of the nature of Christian liberation is necessary in evaluating these various movements.
A Middle Course The anthropocentric dimension of theology is of considerable importance here. Extreme positions with regard to liberation in evangelisation are not merely possible but are very much of a reality. The human being in his concrete reality with his day-to-day problems, anxieties, failures and at the same time rich potentialities has become the centre of our concern. Some become so preoccupied with the temporal dimensions of man’s existence, that the supernatural is ignored. In this case liberation becomes an attempt to create a mere terrestrial paradise. On the other hand, those who concentrate exclusively on the supernatural dimension make Christian liberation unconvincing and even uninviting.
The eschatological finality of mankind cannot be sacrificed in favour of short term goals. The issue of Christian liberation has its origin in the revelation of God in Christ and so its nature is also greatly determined by the same. However, this very meaning is rediscovered and appears clearer every time the Christian message comes into contact with a relevant situation. This is the typical case in many parts of the world, especially in Latin America. On the one hand, reading into scripture to find basis for other ideologies cannot be justified. On the other, we cannot refuse to see the new light shed on the understanding of the Gospel message by a concrete reality that touches human existence.
Various crises in the course of history have helped the Church to clarify and enrich her understanding of the sublime treasures of revelation. The scandalous situation today, which makes millions of God’s children lead a sub-human life under cruel oppression and injustice, is an impetus to a renewed reflection on the nature of Christian liberation. The Church has not borrowed this theme from other ideological systems or political philosophies. Nor should renewed reflection in the face of current reality make her whittle down what is properly hers in favour of more fashionable theories. Mass poverty and large scale oppression may be a factor in turning people to so-called solutions that work. However, any such adulteration of the Christian message is totally unacceptable. Besides, many such solutions that work have only resulted in replacing one system of oppression with another.
Based on an Evangelical Concept of Man The Christian concept of liberation is based on a certain anthropology. It is rooted in an evangelical concept of man. Several other concepts are accepted and proclaimed today. Many such visions of man, of society and of history as well as of political, economic and social structures reject the mystery of salvation wrought by God through Jesus Christ. It is this mystery that gives meaning to the very existence of the Church and which she firmly believes in and constantly proclaims. Thus atheistic Marxism as well as capitalistic or totalitarian systems would be incompatible with the Christian understanding of human and earthly reality. Liberation, which the Church teaches, can be understood only within the evangelical concept of man. However, within such a Christian vision itself there could be various currents of opinion.
The Christian vision of man precludes any identification of liberation with mere economic development although the latter is of utmost importance. It also demands that the human person be at the centre of all our endeavours. All efforts aimed at liberation have their deepest value precisely in as far as he is the goal. The Church believes that it is this person, redeemed by Christ and made a child of God, whom the Church must help live the redeemed condition in liberty and joy. “Man in the full truth of his existence, of his personal being and also of his community and social being… he is the primary and fundamental way for the Church, the way traced out by Christ himself, the way that leads invariably through the mystery of the incarnation and the redemption.”184
Integral Liberation The Church from the beginning of her history was involved in human advancement. However, often this was seen as a preliminary to evangelisation, as a means to an end. The result was a clear separation between what pertained to the soul and what pertained to the body. The former had the goal of securing man’s eternal salvation, whereas the latter was an exercise of the Christian virtue of charity. This separation is not quite tenable. It is the whole person who has to be saved. He does not possess a body but he is body just as he is soul. Integral liberation has precisely this one aim, of freeing man in his entirety.
Nature and supernature are not to be seen as two entirely distinct realities merely related to each other. The latter includes the former and elevates it. The mystery of redemption in Christ does not replace creation with another, which is new. Instead it renews creation and perfects it. Redemption assumes into itself the order of creation, which in Christ has now become a new way of being, “a new creation” as St. Paul puts it. Salvation cannot be seen as an escape from created reality. Created reality itself has to be transformed. Otherwise we would be accepting a dualistic view of the world, which is foreign to scriptural thinking. The new man in Christ has to be fully involved in renewing creation, precisely by virtue of his Christian calling. Thus, evangelisation, which is the bringing of the fruits of redemption to all people, has to be fully involved in all that makes for the complete liberation of man.
Grace, observes Y. Congar, has too often been considered as separate from nature.185 It is actually a divinisation of nature. It elevates and heals. What is elevated and healed is precisely the world. “Salvation should not be conceived of as a kind of dropping away of the world that sinks to the bottom of the ocean.” Instead salvation saves what was lost. Thus the Gospel of grace includes within it a project based on nature.
The kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish will be fully realised only in the eschatological times. That will be total salvation. In Jesus the kingdom is already with us in an incipient way. It is progressively moving towards fullness in eschatology. Meanwhile all that is done for the authentic enrichment of human beings is in a small measure the realisation of the kingdom or the anticipation of it. The Church through her total commitment to salvation is a sign of the eschatological reality, of the kingdom of God. Hence, in this onward movement towards fullness, involvement in liberation is not just a possible option for the Church but a necessity arising from her very nature and mission.
184 RH 14. 185 Cf. Y. Congar, “Evangelisation and Humanisation” in O.T. LXV-5 (1975) 122ss. While the Church preaches integral liberation, one or other element in it may need particular emphasis. This will be determined by the contingent demands of time and place and does not in any way distort mission. This accenting of a particular element is precisely one way of manifesting convincingly the relevance of the Gospel message, of showing that it is the Good News. For example, in a situation of absolute material poverty and misery, faithfulness to the Gospel demands that the Church be fully involved in alleviating human need and creating material conditions of life, worthy of the human person. In a situation of material affluence but of spiritual poverty, integral liberation calls for conversion and freeing of the human person from slavery to created reality, stressing always the transcendent goal of human existence.
The stress placed on a particular aspect is the logical result of a clear perception of the signs of the times. Such a particular emphasis should not be confused with watering down of the integrity of the message. On the contrary, it is precisely loyalty to the Christian message itself that calls for it. “At this stage of Asian history it is our discernment that the way to give witness to our people of the Father’s love for them, the way to lead them to follow Jesus in his suffering and glory and the way to awaken them to the presence of the Spirit in their hearts, is for the Church to show, not only in word but in deed, that she is unreservedly committed to the poor man of Asia, that she is ready to suffer and to die like her Lord if only the poor of Asia would live.”186 It is thus that the double-pronged loyalty of the Church, to the Gospel and to man, will find concrete expression, not one at the expense of the other but in a complementarity that enriches both.
This mutually enriching complementarity has a special relevance in Asia. It is precisely here that we see deep religiosity along with distressing poverty. The temptation is great, especially for the younger generations, to see in the former the cause of the latter. Organisations and groups, committed to the abolition of misery and injustice, question what they see as the dubious role of religion in perpetuating the status quo. Emphasis only on interior liberation has dampened the struggle for better living conditions, where basic human needs would be reasonably met. Religion and culture, either by themselves or because of their abuse by vested interests, have somehow contributed to creating the present pitiful situation of the masses. The Christian message of integral salvation has a timely contribution to make not to individuals and groups, but also to cultures and religions. We could also see a vindication of it in the fact that in several places, it is to the poorer sections of society rather than to the richer ones that the Gospel is more appealing.
While logical priority goes to spiritual liberation, could we accord a chronological priority to material liberation? The report on the state of evangelisation in Africa presented to the 1974 synod of bishops rejected the position that the Church must first concern herself with development and only later with evangelisation proper. R.H. Lesser emphasises that man “is a unity – a body-soul complex. With such an individual, you will not deal satisfactorily if you first fill up the body, then stuff the mind with knowledge and then as an after-thought add a soupcon of religion. You must treat him as one whole, as
186 C. Arevalo, (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission, 51-52. See also EA 34. he is, and satisfy all his yearnings, his spiritual ones no less and not less urgently than his temporal ones…There is not, nor should there be any chronological priority in these matters. Each is important, all must go on together.”187 The spiritual liberation that the Gospel proclaims cannot by any means be reserved for a later moment. The stress placed on material liberation is never exclusive. As a matter of fact, in a situation of oppression, integral liberation would by itself bring it into prominence, given the conspicuous need for it. Moreover, the very fact of raising a question of priority betrays that we still have not accepted liberation as an integral reality. Instead we are still thinking of two different realities.
Anthropological, Theological and Evangelical Links The intrinsic relationship between evangelisation and liberation has been defined in different ways, as “constitutive” by the 1971 synod, and as “integral” by later documents. The theological foundation for this intrinsic relationship has also been variously explained, as total liberation, sign of the kingdom, demand of charity etc. We can base the profound links between evangelisation and human advancement on a broad theological foundation. These links are of an anthropological, theological and evangelical nature.
The anthropological link arises from the fact that the human being to whom the Gospel is proclaimed lives his existence in a very concrete historical-social situation. His understanding of the Gospel message, the way to live it, the demands it will make of him and his expectations of it will be determined in good measure by the situation he finds himself in. Social and economic questions affect vitally human existence. Human advancement that enables a person to live his life with dignity cannot be considered as an appendix deserving only marginal attention. The Gospel touches man in his entirely. This evidently includes the concrete situation of his life, with all its problems and possibilities, including the social and economic ones. In as far as this concrete historical situation is marked by oppression and exploitation, the Good News of salvation will make itself felt as liberation. Thus arises the profound anthropological link between evangelisation and liberation.
The New Testament could be very instructive in this regard. Jesus heals the sick and forgives sins. The salvation that he offers the blind man includes liberation from his sinful state as well as the restoration of sight. The healing is physical and spiritual. The person is not separated into two parts but is always seen in a unity with one vocation, a vocation to being a child of God. This call is already realized in some way here on earth, but will be brought to fullness in eternity.
The theological link consists in the intimate connection between creation and redemption. Redemption is not a second creation but a re-creation of the first, in the sense that it is transformed and made new. This transformation and restoration imply the liberation of the human person from all oppression.
187 R.H. Lesser, “Humanisation and Evangelisation” in IMR 1 (1979) 341. Injustice is the state of creation without redemption. It is practical atheism. Oppression is an active challenge of sin to the realisation of God’s design of redemption. Thus the divine design “touches the very concrete situation of injustice to be combated and of justice to be restored.”188 The Church, in her endeavour to mediate Christ’s salvation, is spurred on by that same movement, to help people find the fullness of their God given freedom.
The third link is that of Christian charity. While the anthropological and theological considerations are somewhat new, at least in the importance attached to them, the motive of charity is as old as Christianity itself. It has always been a striking characteristic of the Christian mission. It has accompanied the Church’s preaching down the ages. The list of charitable activities undertaken by Christian missionaries in the past as well as in the present is an unending one. Almost every country on earth has benefited in some measure from it. In many cases the Church has pioneered schools and hospitals, printing of books and even giving scripts to what were unwritten languages.
The selfless service of Christian missionaries has won for them the respect even of their enemies. The Church has seen service as an integral part of her evangelising work. It is a powerful way of testifying to the Gospel and a sign of credibility. Christian charity derives its meaning from the Gospel. It is the commandment of love, which ought to distinguish the Christian. Gospel proclamation would be hypocritical if this basic demand of it were not carried out. This involves first and foremost charity towards those most in need and the liberation of the oppressed and the marginalized.
The relation between evangelisation and liberation is thus presented in a global manner. Traditionally there was an almost exclusive stress on charity. Even today it would appear that for the majority of people, Christian love is the sole reason for involvement in human liberation. While it remains a powerful and compelling motive, it should not be considered as the only one. In fact, by rightly speaking of the anthropological and theological links we have placed the discussion on liberation in a more comprehensive perspective. This changed attitude is more in keeping with the times. Its prominence today has been the result of greater attention to the signs of the times. Unfortunately, certain aspects of traditional charity, or more correctly the traditional ways of exercising it are no longer looked upon kindly.
Often charity was seen as a missionary tactic.189 The evangelical value itself of charity was not always clear. Moreover, if it were intended as a tactic, it turned out to be a poor one, leading to frustration in missionary work. Certain types of charity could also breed enduring dependence with the beneficiary actually never arriving at self-reliance. However, extreme caution needs to be exercised in making judgements on practical situations. In most cases the positive results of Christian charity have far outweighed the negative ones.
188 EN 31. 189 Cf. A. Karokaran, Evangelisation and Diakonia (Bangalore, 1978) 37-60. By far the most convincing reason for fresh thinking on the issue is the reality of our world. We are witnessing today a situation of appalling inequality. The poor are getting poorer despite the commendable economic growth seen in many countries in the wake of globalisation. Human misery, and we stress the economic aspect of it, is very real still despite all talk of overcoming it. The impact of charity in alleviating it seems to be very little. What we have been doing so far, while it is, indeed, Christian and evangelical in character, seems to be far from sufficient in improving the lot of the underprivileged. This is further heightened by the fact that the number of committed Christians who devote themselves and their resources to helping the poor in no way matches the immense number of those in need.
Here, two other problems crop up, one with regard to the Church and the other with reference to the concrete situation of human misery. As far as the Church is concerned, she does not have any one specific programme of action in combating poverty and oppression. In fact, various options are possible within the ambit of the Church. She is a sign and sacrament of salvation, a salvation which reaches fulfilment only in eschatology. Hence, while in her own way she must contribute to human advancement, can she be expected to propose and still more to execute precise and concrete programmes of action in reducing human misery?
The other consideration is that what the underprivileged want and need is not only charity but more importantly justice. It is inequality and oppression of man by man, of some nations by other nations that have brought us to our present lamentable pass. Populorum Progrssio and the document of the 1971 synod of bishops show a keen perception of this fact. EN speaks of “injustices in international relations and economic and cultural neo-colonialism sometimes as cruel as the old political colonialism.”190 In the changing world economic order, the Church insists that globalisation should not lead to marginalisation.191
The remedy for injustice is not charity but justice. Any exclusive emphasis on charity in linking evangelisation and liberation would be inadequate in meeting the present-day problems. Hence, the emphasis also on the anthropological and theological considerations is most welcome.
This new emphasis is of particular help to those involved in activities that are principally or solely in the field of human advancement. Such activities have a strict and intrinsic relation to evangelisation. This relationship is not indirect. It is not pre- evangelisation, as it was once called. The choice is not between evangelisation and liberation. Nor is their co-existence to be grudgingly tolerated. Instead, evangelisation to be genuine must be fully involved in human liberation and liberation has its crown in evangelisation, which alone enables the human person to live one’s vocation fully and strive towards one’s God-given destiny.
190 EN 30. 191 EA 39. Possible Deviations We could point out three possible deviations in the way liberation in evangelisation is understood and put into practice: the danger of reduction or ambiguity, use of violence as a means, limiting liberation only to structural change without at the same time effecting personal change.
The Danger of Reduction The integrity of Christian liberation can be reduced in two ways. Limiting it only to its temporal aspect is to reduce it. So too, is limiting it only to its spiritual aspect. We stress the originality of Christian liberation and distinguish it from other ideologies and thinking of groups who profess a similar theme and use the same term to describe it. In fact, it is precisely this widespread use of the expression liberation that could result in ambiguity.
Considerations incoherent with Gospel values, which some of these ideologies profess, can by no means be grafted on the Christian concept of liberation. There are ideological systems which are opposed radically or substantially to the Christian faith and the Christian concept of man. The Marxist and the liberal ideologies belong to these. Marxism professes atheistic materialism and the dialectic of violence. The individual is sacrificed to the collectivity. It denies all transcendence. The liberal ideology exalts human freedom to the extent of making it unlimited. Sexual aberrations, sometimes even permitted by law especially in some western countries, are an indication of such thinking. Unfortunately, some of these countries have a Christian history. That makes it even more pitiful. The Christian faith recognises a creator God who is transcendent. He calls man, who is endowed with responsibility and freedom, to himself. No liberation which sacrifices the intrinsic worth of the human being and his God-given destiny can be coherent with the Christian concept of liberation. “In the modern world there is a tendency to reduce man to his horizontal dimension alone. But without an openness to the Absolute, what does man become? The answer to this question is found in the experience of every individual, but it is also written in the history of humanity with the blood shed in the name of ideologies or by political regimes which have sought to build a new humanity without God.”192
Christ came to establish the kingdom of God. He has initiated this process and the kingdom is already present among us but it is still to reach fullness in the eschatological times. This tension between the already and the not yet characterises also the various aspects of the Church’s evangelising activity. Creating a terrestrial paradise, which is the avowed aim of several ideologies today, does not by itself usher in the kingdom. At the same time, the kingdom is not a reality unless accompanied by the genuine liberation of people, individually and collectively, spiritually and materially.
The Question of Violence In endeavouring to liberate the oppressed and the underprivileged, recourse to violence could be a tempting option. Violence, especially the force of arms is an unacceptable means. It causes death and destruction and is immoral and unchristian.
192 RM 8. Besides, it is ineffective as violence provokes violence, giving birth to a never-ending chain, a sad and cruel reality that we have been witnessing for a long time in various parts of the world. Ironically enough, those who suffer most are the poor and the oppressed, precisely those who need to be liberated.
However, the question of violence may not be as simple as it looks. J. Comblin aptly remarks, “The question of violence is a difficult one, because, according to the authors of violence, there is no violence; only according to the victims is there violence. Everybody is in agreement in condemning violence as violence, in the religious sense. But a condemnation of violence in itself changes nothing. It is easy to condemn violence in principle: it is more complicated to say that here, in this case, there is really violence, that is to say, legitimate use of force or illegitimate use of force – that is a moral difficult task.”193 One could speak of various types of violence, including institutional violence. The law of the jungle, where might makes right, is increasingly becoming a modern phenomenon. Vested interests perpetuate themselves in their entrenched positions of wealth using political authority also as a protective barrier to provide the semblance of legitimacy. In his encyclical letter, Populorum Progressio, Paul VI, while clearly disapproving of violence to bring about change, appears to view differently a revolutionary uprising in cases where there is “manifest, long-standing tyranny, which would do great damage to fundamental personal rights and dangerous harm to the common good.”194 However, he adds immediately, “Real evil should not be fought against at the cost of greater misery.”
Exclusive Stress on Structural Change Change of unjust structures is necessary in liberating the oppressed. But again in today’s world, many liberation movements aim at it exclusively. Structural change by itself does not lead to general and genuine change. As a matter of fact, history gives us numerous examples of revolution that replaced one oppressive system with another, often worse. Basic to all social change is personal change. A system is effective in bringing about justice in as far as the people controlling it are themselves just. The Church is conscious “that the best structures and the most idealised systems soon become inhuman if the inhuman inclinations of the human heart are not made wholesome, if those who live in these structures or who rule them do not undergo a conversion of heart and of outlook.”195 Revolution should take place in the heart of man. Misery and oppression
193 J. Comblin, “The Situation of Violence” in P. Flanagan (ed.), A New Missionary Era (New York, 1979) 160. 194 Pop. Prog. 31. 195 EN 36. Comblin’s words are to the point: “There is no doubt that we must change external structures in order to save the human person, but the fact remains that such structural changes will always be ambivalent. The tactics and techniques used to change people are manipulated by people, and so they do not automatically effect the liberation of human beings. They will effect this liberation only when they are in the hands of human beings who have saved themselves from evil. In the hands of sinful human beings, however, the techniques of structural change will only produce new structures of domination and oppression. Our present-day experience has taught us that the human sciences, the techniques of development, and the capacity to change structures are capable of engineering new and unheard of forms of oppression. Work on structures is ultimately worth only as much as the human beings who do that work, for the end result is the product of all the decisions that have gone into the arise not only from extreme poverty, but also from hatred, greed, quarrels, violence, and injustice.
The prophets of the Old Testament inveighed against oppression of the poor and the defenceless. However, they too stressed the need for interior conversion and justice.196 The Church with her call to conversion has a most relevant role to play in effecting this interior revolution. She is singularly privileged to play this crucial role. It may appear unimpressive in the short run but it may be the only effective way for a lasting solution.
Conversion and renewal appear as fundamental in the liberation the Church proposes, while revolution is the key word in most other liberation movements. It might appear strange that Jesus, preaching in a Palestine under foreign occupation, to people many of whom were underprivileged and emarginated, gave priority in his teaching to the liberation of the interior man. His message included such unglamorous considerations as “Blessed are the poor in spirit…Blessed are the meek…if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” It is not a question of passive toleration either. The kingdom he proclaims has first and foremost to find acceptance in the hearts of people. The other effects will follow.
The new earth and the new heaven will come about through liberation from unjust structures and social injustice as much as through liberation from sin, egoism, sensuality, hatred and revenge. It is only when human beings, through conversion, become new creatures that the quality of human life can improve. Liberation consists in the order of being rather than of having. Oppression and misery do not just happen. They are caused by man. Human responsibility lies at the root of the unjust situation. Hence, any radical change in the situation can result only from a change in the human perpetrator.
effort”. J. Comblin, The Meaning of Mission (New York, 1977). 196 cf. Amos 2:6ss, 5:11; Is 1:16ss, 23, 5:8ss; Hos 4:1ss, 10:13ss. Chapter 19 The Specific Contribution of the Church to Liberation
The Church carries out her mission of liberation in collaboration with all people of good will. However, she has a style of her own. She has also a particular contribution to make.
Christian Hope and the Call to Conversion A specific contribution that the Church makes is witnessing to and proclaiming the message of Christian hope. Such hope is an antidote to all forms of passivity on the one hand and impatience on the other. Transformation of the world is in process. The presence of the risen Lord in our midst today gives the Church the firm conviction that human history is moving towards the final goal set by the Creator. Man has to play his role too in the full realisation of the kingdom. This calls for persevering effort, undaunted by difficulties and failures. Fighting against discouragement and apparent failure, strengthened in hope, the Church, while sharing in man’s day-to-day struggle in realising a better tomorrow, shares with him also her hope in the guiding hand of a loving Father.
The proclamation of the Christian message with its call to conversion and to right relationships among people is itself a contribution to liberation. Though hidden, it is a most efficacious contribution. Neither technological revolutions nor masterly developmental plans will be fully successful in bringing about justice unless human beings, individually and in groups, learn to live in peace and reconciliation. Man needs liberation deep within. There are alienating forces in man that go deeper than economic, political or sociological ones, such as egoism, sin, adoration of strange gods like money, pleasure, power and fame. The world needs to be freed from what St. Paul calls “the powers”.
Inner conversion is essential for genuine liberation, if the latter is to be deep-rooted and lasting. Hence the precious role of the Church in hastening this conversion, through her unfailing proclamation, “repent, and believe in the Good News” and “be reconciled to God.” This contribution of the Church has its climax in the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. She believes in Jesus, the liberator, present and active in history. By witnessing to him, she makes an original contribution to the progress of mankind. Thus, not only does evangelisation promote liberation, evangelisation itself becomes liberation.
The Social Doctrine of the Church The social doctrine of the Church is another specific contribution to liberation. This doctrine, if well understood by Christians and put into practice, can become a catalyst. It can give rise to various forms of “action, participation and commitment”.197 The social teaching of the Church stems for her view of man and of reality. The human being and his integral welfare have been a permanent concern of the Church. She throws new light on the true nature of man, his needs, aspirations, his progress and advancement. She is convinced that in Christ the full man, man himself is helped to realise the meaning of his existence. “It is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear… (Christ) fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling.”198
Enlightened in Christ, the Church throws fresh light also on the question of human liberation and on social questions. Her teachings have consistently increased during the recent years and constitute an impressive patrimony. This social teaching provides not only principles for reflection but also guidelines for action and criteria for judgement. There is need to place confidence in this social doctrine with loyalty, to study it, to put it into practice and to spread it.
The depth and volume of this teaching have shown marked increase in the recent past. Not that it was absent before, but in the past moral teaching was mainly personal. It was directed mainly to the
197 EN 38.
198 GS 22; RH 8. individual and his salvation. The social element was not duly stressed. This deficiency has now been overcome. The encyclical, Populorum Progressio and the 1971 Synod of bishops could be considered as the high-water marks of this changed perspective. Worthy of special mention are the social encyclicals of Pope John Paul II: Laborem Exercens (1981), Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987), and Centesimus Annus (1991). However, it must be noted that these teachings do not contain solutions to all practical issues. They give us faith-inspired principles of action and, fortified by Christian hope, spur us on along the road that leads to social justice and liberation.
Prophetic Denouncement of Oppression and Injustice Another specific contribution that the Church can make to the liberation process is the prophetic denunciation of injustice in society. Such a task falls on the universal as well as on the local Churches. It must be noted immediately that this prophetic function demands as a condition sine qua non credibility on the part of the entire Church, laity as well as clergy. The Church not only points to the kingdom of God but is herself a realisation, however limited, of it. When she is able to project that kingdom image proclaimed by the Lord, she is in a position to boldly criticize whatever militates against it. However, if members of the Church become part of the system and the Christian message is perverted to suit the dominant ideology, they become like salt that has lost its taste.
In the world today, particularly in situations of oppression, all too few are the individuals or institutions who have the courage to stand above such a system and prophetically denounce it and demand change. The Church, called together in love, can and must carry out this mission, boldly and continually. By faithfully carrying out this mission she becomes the voice of the voiceless. The poor and the oppressed, precisely because of poverty and oppression, are unable to speak out and demand justice for themselves. The Church like a loving mother can make their concerns hers and make their oppressors realise the sinfulness of their actions. The word of the credible Church carries with it power and strength. G. Gutierrez observes with reference to the Church in Latin America: “Because of its very social influence, its words – if they are clear and incisive – will not be hollow. When the Church speaks, it can cause the old underpinnings of the established order to fall, and it can mobilize new energies. This is so much the case that simply because of their speaking or making statements, certain organisms of the Church and many Christians have undergone severe attacks and serious difficulties at the hands of the representatives of the established order – including the loss of liberty and even the loss of life. It is not at all our purpose to overestimate the word and so to diminish the value of concrete actions; but simply to be realistic we should remember that at times the word is also an important gesture of commitment.”199
The Puebla conference expresses the idea when it says that the people of God must “announce where the presence of the Lord’s spirit is manifested; and…denounce where the mystery of iniquity is at work through deed and structures that prevent more fraternal participation in the construction of society and in the enjoyment of the goods that God created for all.”200 In the face of oppression and misery there is no such thing as a neutral position. Either one is for it or against it.
The Church has before it the forceful example of the prophets of the Old Testament in criticizing social situations in the light of faith. She thus becomes the conscience of society. This prophetic denunciation of oppression can be seen in the wider context of the Church’s pastoral activity. She prophetically interprets life for the society in which she lives. Thus on the one hand she works for human advancement and demands that justice be done to everybody and that all have a fair share of the material goods of the earth. On the other hand, she always points to the “transcendental dimension of newness, which is beyond our hopes and desires, and which has become reality, only through the self-emptying of Christ, in his glorification.”201 Both these aspects are of a prophetic nature. While the first manifests a
199 G. Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation (London, 1974) 268. 200 Puebla no. 267. 201 P. Arrupe, “The Contemporary World: Its Challenges to the Missionary Church” in O.T. LV-4 (1973) 39. See also D.S. Amalorpavadass, New Theological Approaches in Asia (with reference to religions and cultures other than western culture and Christianity) in Verbum SVD 21 (1980) 279-302. positive appreciation of the value of human and material progress, the second puts in relief a transcendence for the realisation of which one is asked to make some sacrifice of the former.
Thus in her prophetic and interpretative role, the Church clearly distinguishes herself from other organisations and groups, who may also boldly denounce injustice. The Church’s role is always in relation to the integral salvation she preaches. For this reason, her prophetic ministry is comprehensive. Populorum Progressio and Convenientes ex Universo, the document of the 1971 Synod of bishops are but two of several instances where the Church has boldly exercised this function at the very highest level. The conference of Latin American bishops at Medellín in 1968 and Puebla in 1979 also showed particular urgency to this task.
Such prophetic announcement and denouncement lead to genuine conscientization. This conscientization is directed to all. All Christians need to be made aware of their responsibility in promoting the liberation of the poor and the oppressed. The poor themselves are made aware of their human dignity and enabled to demand their rights. “Socio-economic structures of domination and exploitation are not ultimately rooted in external juridical forms that we might reform or replace; nor are they rooted in the perverse thinking of one particular human group. They are rooted in all human beings for we all have a tendency to create new structures of domination and oppression that embody our yearnings for special privilege and pride of place. And these structures are maintained thanks to the collaboration or silence or cowardice of countless human beings. Evil is rooted in the abuse of human will power whereby some catch hold of an opportunity to dominate others, and in the cowardice of those who are willing to put up with forms of injustice.”202 The oppressors are invited to conversion and repentance, which is the first step in promoting justice. The oppressed are invited to take greater control over their own lives.
In a message to the United Nations on the occasion of the 25 th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, Paul VI observed, “Mere denunciation, often too late or ineffective, is not sufficient. There must be an analysis of the deep-rooted causes of … situations and a firm commitment to face up to them and resolve them correctly.” The message is relevant for the Church too. Study and research into particular situations will be necessary to make her prophetic task more effective. Such study will make clear the dynamics of oppression, which are hardly touched by a general critique. The Church in our day, devoid of material interests, is in an ideal position to undertake such an analysis of oppressive situations.
The prophets were down to earth in their criticism of the evils of their society: “…They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals – they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way,” “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow,” “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the orphan, and the widow’s cause does not come before them.”203 Here we have a challenging role model for the Church.
Christian Liberators and Political Commitment The Church has a “proper manner and strictly evangelical means” in liberating the oppressed. Being a religious body, her interventions are also of a religious nature. She has no intention of supplanting other organisations and groups involved in this process. As far as action itself is concerned, while the Church does not propose a concrete political or revolutionary programme, it is incumbent on Christians, particularly the laity to involve themselves actively in the liberation process. In carrying out this mission
202 J. Comblin, The Meaning of Mission, 54. 203 Amos 2:6-7, Is 1:17, Is 1:23. they are strengthened by faith, hope and love and enlightened by the social doctrine of the Church. This social teaching will be realised in practice precisely through the self-sacrificing work of Christian liberators.
Such dedication could take various forms, including political commitment. Today, more than ever before, we are realising the need for political action to change society. Ignoring this opportunity amounts to despising a most realistic and effective means of working for the liberation of all people. “Far from despising political activity, the Christian faith values it and holds it in high esteem.”204
It is important to make a distinction between politics and political involvement. Politics in its broader sense is a socio-cultural dimension of man. It seeks the common good at the local, national and international levels. It thus refers to a sphere of values. In this sense the Church too must fulfil a political function. The mission of the Church makes her present in every sphere of human existence, including the political. This contribution of hers is primarily one of animation and enlightenment. Thereby the Christian social teaching is made to reach the political ambience. Moreover, the critical and prophetic function of the Church is also a service to the political society.
In its strict sense, politics, understood as political activity, involves the pursuit and exercise of political power in order to solve economic and social problems. This concrete performance of the common political task is carried out by groups of citizens. This may be referred to as party politics. Involvement in party politics is to be carried out generally by the laity. While their commitment in this regard must be inspired by the Gospel values and the social teachings of the Church, there can be differences among various groups of citizens, in the ideology and strategy employed to realise the common good. No party can claim to represent the Church as such. “By its nature and mission the Church is universal in that she is not committed to any one culture or to any political, economic or social system.”205
There is room for legitimate differences among Christians themselves in political and social matters. Thus Christians, earnest about involving themselves in the liberation of the oppressed, have before them various options also in the political field. In the social teachings of the Church they will find “the proper criteria deriving from the Christian view of the human being. For its part the hierarchy will demonstrate its solidarity by contributing to their adequate formation and their spiritual life, and also by nurturing their creativity so that they can explore options that are increasingly in line with the common good and the needs of the weakest.”206
Charitable Undertakings Christian charity demands that we often undertake activities to come to the immediate aid of the poor. In fact, social action in the New Testament Church was confined to such organised charity and economic relief.207 This is an area in which the Church has been and continues to be faithful, to the extent of winning the admiration of even those who do not share the Christian faith. Vatican II stated, “The Church is able, indeed it is obliged, if times and circumstances require it, to initiate action for the benefit of all men, especially of those in need, like works of mercy and similar undertakings.”208 While such charitable activity should not be marked by paternalism and should not lead to a situation of permanent dependence, in several parts of the world it remains a necessary and genuine manifestation of Christian
204 Puebla no. 514. 205 GS 42. 206 Puebla no. 525.The Puebla conference warns against the temptation of some groups of Christians to attach such urgency to a political policy as to make it a precondition for fulfilling the mission of the Church. That would subordinate the Christian message to some other ideology and interpret it in terms of a particular political option, “…Read the political scene from the standpoint of the Gospel, not vice- versa.” Puebla no. 559.
207 Acts 6:1, 11:28; Rom 15:26; 1 Cor 16:1. Cf. G. Soares-Prabhu “The New Testament Church and the Economic Liberation of Man” in Jeevadhara 32 (1976) 198-210. 208 GS 42. charity. At the same time such activity, however admirable, should not be used as a ruse in not going to the root of the problem and becoming involved at a more profound level in the task of liberation. Chapter 20 30 31 Gospel–Culture Encounter
A striking phenomenon of modern times is the enormous emphasis placed on a significant human reality, namely culture. Christian missionaries down the ages, in bringing the Gospel to people in various parts of the world had to encounter this reality. The issue has become more acute in the present-day world. The Churches in Africa and Asia are particularly aware of the problem as they are immersed in cultures totally different from the culture in which the Church in Europe grew up. However, the problem is felt there too, as with the spread of secularism, Europe and America are undergoing a tremendous cultural transformation. The relationship of Christianity with other religions too is closely linked with the question of the Gospel-culture encounter. Again, the problem arises more in Asia and Africa than in Europe. It would be difficult to separate culture and religion in the East. This makes the task of evangelisation difficult but also challenging. In the West, culture has been so divorced from religion that the Church faces new problems in its mission of evangelisation.
The fact of cultural diversity is there for all to see. It is very much a part of human existence. We understand culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”209 Every society of human beings thus has a culture. It is that society’s design for living. Every such design has an individuality of its own and is distinct and unique. Culture is a people’s way of being human.210
We see in the Bible itself a deep awareness of the great diversity that characterises human beings.211 Jesus’ command is to go and preach to all people. Evangelisation has to
209 E Tylor, Primitive Culture, Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Art and Custom (London, 1871), 1. Among the numerous other definitions of culture are the following: “The sum total of what an individual acquires from his society - those beliefs, customs, artistic norms, food- habits and crafts which come to him not by his own creative activity but as a legacy from the past, conveyed by formal or informal education” (Lowie). “Culture is the total life-way of a people, the social legacy the individual acquires from his group” (Klukhohn). “Culture consists of patterned and functionally interrelated customs common to specifiable individual human beings composing specifiable social groups or categories” (Gillin). “The totality of man’s learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, the behaviour acquired through social learning” (Keesing). All definitions agree on the following: Culture is a way of life, culture is the total plan for living, it is functionally organized into a system, it is acquired through learning, it is the way of life of a social group, not of an individual as such. Cf. L.J. Luzbetak, The Church and Culture (Techny, 1970), 59-60. 210 Cf. F. Clark, “Inculturation: Introduction and History. How and why we have Arrived at our Present Situation with its Problems and Opportunities” in Teaching All Nations 15 (1978) 211-225. The author, following Yves Raguin, speaks of the three levels of being in a person: The external level which is easily seen, like eating, talking, singing, being born, marrying etc. Here all men are alike. At the second level, there is multiplicity. People talk different languages, have different food habits, have different types of dress and ornament etc. The third level is deep in the person where people are again alike. Thus, for example, all men want to be treated justly, all want to do something worthwhile etc. 211 The Book of Revelation contains rich descriptive lists of peoples: “every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9); “every nation, all tribes and peoples and tongues” (Rev. 7:9); “many peoples and take seriously into consideration the reality of cultural diversity, not merely to tolerate it but to use it as a necessary means to make the Good News be seen and accepted as really good. In every culture one notices positive and negative elements. Thus the Gospel- culture encounter becomes a two-way process. Culture ought to undergo purification (evangelisation of culture) while the essence of the Gospel message can always be re- expressed and reformulated so as to be relevant to any and every culture (inculturation). Inculturation and evangelisation of cultures are two sides of the same coin. Often the former is taken to include also the latter.
Gospel-culture encounter is not new but the issue has now become more prominent than ever before. There is today a new awareness of national identity and cultures. The question also assumes political undertones. The fact that this patrimony to some extent was trampled upon in the past makes such awareness even stronger. The great progress of the mass media and the growth of the science of cultural anthropology have contributed too. In the western secularised society there is a new interest in oriental cultures, including in their religious aspects. In countries that once had an experience of colonisation, local Churches are anxious to show that while being truly Christian they are also genuinely patriotic.
The Asian Context Christians in Asia are a minority. Here ancient religions are a living reality. The cultural heritage and national identity of many countries are intimately linked with these religions. Hence dialogue with them and with local cultures is essential for the Church in Asia, necessitated not only by theology but also by present day realities.
The Church is a sign and instrument of the kingdom of God. She is incarnate in a particular people who are profoundly linked to a culture, which they share with others. This calls for inculturation of the faith. Thus she becomes truly catholic. The contemplative dimension of Christianity is especially meaningful in Asia, as the oriental religions greatly value contemplation. Moreover, if offers a more powerful spiritual witness and will be immensely useful in inculturating the faith.
Dialogue with non-Christian religions is a matter of particular significance in Asia. The fact that these religions are followed by large numbers of people and have a history longer than that of Christianity is sufficient to make us realize the importance and urgency of inter-religious dialogue. They contain many values and have a role in the economy of salvation. In dialogue we discover the seeds of the word in them. We need a positive and creative approach in this regard. Dialogue makes for mutual understanding and collaboration, and is an effective instrument in realizing the Kingdom. Dialogue then becomes a specific activity of the mission of the Church. It does not exclude evangelisation but is part of it. However, it may be better to speak of dialogue as an approach rather than as a specific activity. nations and tongues and kings” (Rev. 10:11); “the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations “ (Rev. 11:9); “every tribe and people and tongue and nation” (Rev. 13:7); “peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues” (Rev. 17:15); “every nation and tribe and tongue and people” (Rev. 14:6); Cf. D. Barrent (ed.), World Christian Encyclopaedia (Nairobi, 1982), 107. Asians and Africans show a keen interest in a positive evolution of the Gospel- culture encounter. But the perspective of each is somewhat different. In Africa, it is a fast growing Church that feels the need to be thoroughly African as well as Christian. It wants to remove its foreign look and be truly inculturated. In Asia too there is the preoccupation for inculturation. But the numerical growth of the Church is limited. Living side by side with the great oriental religions, the Church feels the need to look beyond herself. From this flows also the emphasis placed on the Kingdom, a Kingdom with which the Church cannot identify herself. As a sign of that Kingdom she is under obligation to realize it more and more convincingly. Hence the stress on testimony and contemplation. It is a way of sharing one’s faith with others. But this sharing has an inner dynamism, flowing as it does from one’s own deep inner commitment to Christ.
The Evangelisation of Culture The oriental cultures are essentially religious. In fact, in the East religion and culture are so intertwined that it is difficult to make a clear-cut distinction between the two. Again with the modern growth of nationalism, the tendency for a people to look upon their religious, cultural and even political heritage as forming a single patrimony is evident. Often enough this entire patrimony is designated by the term culture. Against such background, one understands why efforts at evangelisation are perceived as suspect and are at times interpreted as a form of cultural imperialism. On the other hand the strong bond between religion and culture is an asset in permeating the given culture with Gospel values.
If the fusion between religion and culture poses problems for evangelisation in the East, the separation between the two in the West is equally problematic. The rapid changes affecting western society in material well-being have been accompanied by a steady deepening of the gap between faith and culture. However, while it is true that the arrival of the secular culture has to some extent undermined the traditional culture that supported religion, it would be naïve to make glorious images of everything that the past represented. The so-called Christendom and Christian culture were not, perhaps, always Christian enough to deserve the name.212 The secular culture is as much a challenge as an opportunity, a hindrance as well as an aid to evangelisation. In such a situation evangelisation of culture would demand that the Church insert herself in every cultural ambit and dialogue with it. The Gospel needs to be presented in its genuineness as the Good News and the caricature of religion that many people have must be replaced by a true picture.
212 Reflecting on evangelisation in the contemporary world, Fr. Arrupe remarks, “Many of those who close themselves to the Gospel know it perhaps only from caricature, and have never been confronted with it in truth. Hence, the vocation of Christians in this world, who share with atheists and unbelievers a common human situation is to enter into… dialogue, and to share also with them the toil of building a better human society. Only by the witness of faith working in love will the Gospel of Jesus Christ be rendered present.” P. Arrupe, “The Contemporary World: Its Challenges to the Missionary Churches” in O.T. LV 4 (1973) 5. D. Colombo points out the following trends in modern western culture: “Scientism” and “technicism”, materialism and marxism, liberalism and laicism, and nihilism and radicalism. Cf. D. Colombo, “L’uomo al centro. La sfida culturale all’ Evangelizzazione” in Mondo e Missione, 22 (1984) 602-626.The Pontifical Council for Culture was founded by Pope John Paul II in 1982 with the scope of evangelising cultures. The sacred is a specific dimension of man. Religion, being founded on this sacred dimension, is not a transitional cultural phenomenon. Thus the Church can offer an answer to the split between religion and life. Evangelisation of cultures necessarily follows from her mission. Sent by her Lord to make the Good News available to men of all times and places, she finds in culture not only an indispensable means but the very context of realising that mission. Culture is a dynamic reality that is in continuous evolution. Change is a permanent feature. Hence the Church’s dialogue with culture must be a continuous one.
Purification of Culture Christ through his passion and death reached the glory of the resurrection. Cultures too must undergo a similar process. They stand in need of conversion in order to be admitted to the kingdom. They are in need of constant purification. They thus take part in the death and resurrection of Christ. Regenerated by the paschal mystery, they become messengers of the Good News. Thus, while on the one hand no culture can adequately express the Good News, the Good News itself effectively challenges every culture. Just as it calls individuals to conversion, it calls also cultures to conversion.
Every culture contains elements that are desirable as well as undesirable. Hence, the constant need for a certain rupture which is initially crucifying but finally enriching. Any attempt at absolutising cultures makes purification impossible. It is only normal for a people to believe that its culture is the only and the best way for them. However, when elements in a culture are considered untouchable simply because they are part of culture, culture is being made absolute and supreme. The Gospel must challenge such absolutism.
Renewal of Humanity Evangelisation of cultures in not merely superficial and decorative.213 It must lead to renewal of man and of humanity. Evangelisation achieves its purpose precisely in this renewal. Hence, it is not an opportunistic tactic but an attempt at transforming society from within. For the Church it is a question “of affecting and as it were upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind’s criteria of judgement, determining values, points of interests, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the word of God and the plan of salvation.”214
This is not a half-hearted, fearful offer but a bold challenge. One notices here an echo of the warning in the letter to the Hebrews, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”215
Inculturation
213 See EN 18-20. 214 EN 19. 215 Heb 4:12. Inculturation, as noted earlier, could be seen as the reverse process of evangelisation of cultures. If we can draw a parallel between the evangelisation of cultures and the paschal mystery, here we can draw one between inculturation and incarnation. The Gospel must be born into a culture, not superimposed on it. The essence of the Gospel message must take flesh and blood in a given culture. Only then will it be perceived as Good News. All groups of people have deep expectations and aspirations. When the Gospel is proclaimed in a way that is intelligible to them and is seen as fulfilling what they long for, then it becomes Good News to them and can command their allegiance.
The Gospel message must be expressed in categories known to the recipient. It is a living reality that must find a home in cultures which are also alive. The values and aspirations of a given culture can coincide with or be perfected by the Good News. The Good News penetrates the very heart of culture and there makes its home, renewing it, not replacing it. This can be achieved only through profound study and constant dialogue. It is no more only a question of teaching or giving. There is also the challenge of learning. Not because the Gospel is imperfect but precisely because it is a leaven that can renew all cultures and should not itself be restricted to any one culture.
Principles of Inculturation Christ saved by assuming. This is an old theme and is a favourite one with the Fathers. Gregory of Nazianzen affirms, “That which was not assumed was also not healed; that which is united with God is also saved.”216 Christ is the universal saviour and has assumed everything to himself. The Church, continuing the mission of Christ, must do likewise. In fact, inculturation follows logically from the uniqueness of the salvation brought by Christ. It is addressed to all peoples and cultures. Otherwise it would not be universal and definitive. Inculturation thus becomes an internal requirement of the faith.217
It must be noted too that the Gospel enters a culture, in the cultural garb of the one who proclaims it, the missionary. The Church too is marked by many such cultural characteristics. We need to distinguish the essence of the message from whatever is cultural. There is also an essential content as well as secondary elements in
216 St. Gregory Naz, Epist 101 (PG 37, 181). 217 Cf. Z. Alszeghy, “Cultural Adaptation as an Internal Requirement of the Faith” in Gregorianum 63/1 (1982) 61-85. Inculturation “is a practical corollary of the theological principle that Christ is the only saviour and that he only saves what he assumes. Consequently he should assume into His body, which is the Church all the cultures. Naturally, purifying them of whatever may be opposed to the Holy Spirit, and in the same process saving them without destroying them.” P. Arrupe, “The Contemporary World: Its Challenges to the Missionary Churches” in O.T. LV 4 (1973) 24. “True incarnation far from being a tactic for the propagation of the faith, belongs to the very core of evangelisation, for it is the continuation in time and space of the dialogue of salvation initiated by God and brought to a culmination when he uttered his word in a very concrete historical situation”, “First Bishops Institute for Missionary Apostolate” in Teaching All Nations XV (1978) 174. Evangelisation.218 Moreover, inculturation presupposes an ever deeper understanding of revelation itself. Trying to inculturate a message that one has only superficially grasped is a dangerous exercise.
While faith cannot exist in the abstract and must of necessity be inculturated, it is also true that there cannot be successive re-incarnations of the faith. The historic character of Christian revelation cannot be ignored. While no particular culture was necessary in order that Christian revelation might take place, a cultural clothing, whatever be that culture, was necessary. The historic condition of man demands it. Christian revelation has taken place as a matter of fact and come down to us in a particular cultural garb. Thus the word of God comes to us first of all in the ancient Hebrew culture. Jesus was a Jew who lived in Palestine in the early part of the first century and he accepted the racial and cultural particularities of his fellowmen. Many of the writings of the New Testament are in the context of the Greek culture. Early in the life of the Church, Greek terms were used to clarify several points of Christian doctrine.
In distinguishing the essence of the Christian message from whatever is only cultural, the privileged place of sacred scripture and the doctrinal traditions of the Church must be respected. To ignore the historical development faith has taken, on the ground that these happened in a different culture would be foolish. “There is no way for us to situate ourselves at the year zero of Christianity.”219 The present comes from the past. Only this recognition can help heal the wounds of the past and get rid of dead wood. At the same time the Word of God is not a static reality. It contains inexhaustible treasures, which must be discovered. We have been reading the scriptures through a cultural prism. When that prism is changed for another, the beauty of the message can become even more resplendent. Every culture and every people can thus enrich the previous understanding of God’s Word. Besides, confining it to one culture is like imprisoning it and claiming ownership of it while we are only servants who have been given a commission to make it available to all people, of all times and of all places.
Inculturation is also demanded by the fact that the Christian faith is a communication. The message will fail to be communicated if it is not intelligible to the recipient. In presenting a truth, while the truth itself is of great importance, the effectiveness of the communication is also of considerable importance. Teaching, for that matter communication of anything, is much more than merely saying the right things. Communication involves both saying the right thing as well as hearing the right thing. Hearing the right thing will depend in good measure not only on saying the right thing but also saying it rightly or appropriately in the given context. If that does not happen, there will be a gap. The result is non-communication, sometimes even wrong communication.
218 Cf. EN 25. 219 Y. Congar, “Christianisme come foi et comme culture” in AA.VV., Evangelizzazione e culture: Atti del congresso internazionale scientifico di missiologia (Rome, 1976) 99. Generally inculturation is considered against the background of the so-called non- Christian cultures, where the Gospel-culture encounter is urgent. However, here there are two presuppositions which are difficult to maintain. When we speak of a non-Christian culture, we presuppose that there is a Christian culture. The Gospel is not tied to any culture. While it penetrates any culture, it does not identify itself with any.220 As such, it is incorrect to speak of a Christian culture. We would be more correct to speak of several Christian cultures or even of as many potential Christian cultures as there are cultures in the world.
The second presupposition that must be discarded is that the so-called Christian culture still holds sway. De-christianisation has become such a general phenomenon in traditionally Christian countries that the dominance of Christian culture has been challenged. The new liberal, secular culture, prevalent in the West, may be further away from the Gospel than the oriental and African cultures. In the latter the religious aspect still predominates. Many of them could be called essentially religious, whereas secular cultures not only ignore the transcendent but often enough place themselves in opposition to religion. Dialoguing with them and inculturating the Gospel in them, using the positive elements they contain are an urgent task.
Terminology Various terms have been used to signify the Gospel-culture encounter. We would like to list some of them here.
The Second Vatican Council had used the term adaptation. SC speaks of adaptation in the liturgy and GS speaks of adaptation as the law of all evangelisation.221 The apostolate of the Church must be continuously adapted to the needs of the time.222 Adaptation, however, is no more popular. Perhaps, it does not convey the idea really intended. The Council asked for something more than mere external adaptation The term gives the impression that something ideal exists which needs to be touched up slightly to fit in elsewhere. The accent is on external changes to serve some immediate practical purpose. In that sense, it would be superficial and insufficient. We need to go deeper. AG teaches that the community of the faithful “must be deeply rooted in the people.”223 The term accommodation too stresses the external aspect. Luzbetak defines it as the “respectful, prudent, scientific and theologically sound adjustment of the Church to the native culture in attitude, outward behaviour and practical apostolic approach.”224
220 Cf. EN 20. 221 SC 38, 39, 40, GS 44. 222 AA 33. 223 AG 15. 224 L. Luzbetak, The Church and Culture, 341. See also D. Bosch, Transforming Mission (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991), 447-457. The term indigenisation was used in mission history especially with reference to the establishment of a local Church to be governed by the local clergy. There is some difficulty with its precise connotation. If it means that the indigenous culture becomes the exclusive norm in accepting or rejecting the Christian faith, it becomes untenable. Moreover, the word indigenous like the word native, though originally used very meaningfully, has now become pejorative because of the abuse of the word in the colonial period.
In the 1974 Synod of Bishops, the African delegates in particular spoke of incarnation. The term was also used in the 1977 Synod and appears in its final message. The image of the incarnation of the Christian faith is attractive. Just as the Son of God became incarnate, the Gospel message too must incarnate itself in cultures. But the expression while justly emphasising one aspect, ignores the other, namely that cultures must undergo transformation in receiving the Gospel and thus take part in the paschal mystery of Christ too. Besides incarnation already has a very definite meaning in Christian theology. The conciliar decree on missionary activity draws a comparison between the incarnation and the insertion of the Church in a particular culture.225 Some would go a step further in this line of thinking and speak of interpretation or hermeneutics.226 What this entails is giving a Christian interpretation to the entire human reality. This thinking is intended to complement the theology of incarnation.
Inculturation is a term commonly used today. It expresses the idea that the faith, like a seed, must sprout and grow in a culture, using the resources and genius of that culture. It does not limit itself to the external aspect as in the case of adaptation. The Gospel comes into contact with a culture and there experiences a profound encounter. There is mutual influence and even transformation. Of course, the essence of the Gospel message must be preserved. As we have noted earlier in regard to the mutual influence, we could further specify one aspect as inculturation proper and the other as evangelisation of cultures.
The terms enculturation and acculturation would preferably be not used as they have a technical meaning in cultural anthropology. Thus enculturation is the process whereby a human being adapts to his culture and learns to fulfil his proper function. Acculturation refers to the unilateral or bilateral process whereby elements of one culture are transmitted to another. The term inculturation appeared for the first time in an official
225 “ The seed which is the word of God grows out of good soil watered by divine dew, it absorbs moisture, transforms it, and makes it part of itself, so that eventually it bears much fruit. So too indeed, just as happened in the economy of the incarnation, the young Churches which are rooted in Christ and built on the foundations of the apostles, take over all the riches of the nations which have been given to Christ as an inheritance (Cf. Ps 2:8). They borrow from the customs, traditions, wisdom, teaching arts and sciences of their people everything which could be used to praise the glory of the Creator, manifest the grace of the Saviour, or contribute to the right ordering of Christian life.” AG 22. 226 W. Bühlmann, Forward, Church! (Slough, 1977), 49-50. Church document rather late. It was used in the final message of the 1977 Synod on catechesis.
By way of conclusion, I would like to point out that I prefer to use the term, Gospel-culture encounter. It underlines the dynamic nature of the reality we are dealing with. It is not something done once and for all. Nor is it something that is left to experts and professionals. Instead, we are speaking of a continuous and real interaction between two realities: the Good News of Jesus Christ that the Christian has accepted as life-giving and the local culture in which he realises his human identity. Thus every believer is an active player together with his fellowmen, in this dynamic encounter, which marks the daily life of the believing community.
Attitudes for Inculturation Openness to truth and genuine service to mankind should be the motivating factors in inculturating the faith. The local Church undertakes this task precisely because of its twofold loyalty, to the Gospel that it must proclaim and to the men of our day who have a right to that same Gospel message.
Extremism in this regard is counter-productive. On the one hand, inculturation should not turn one into “a hidebound nationalist or regionalist.” On the other hand, falsely identifying uniformity with unity, one should not imprison the Word of God in one particular expression, however ancient that expression may be.227 Over-eagerness to see results, irresponsible experimentation and undue imposition without sufficient preparation of the faithful will only harm the cause of inculturation. Openness to the Spirit and willingness to see his guidance especially in the signs of the times are essential. Inculturation does not take place in an atmosphere of contestation and challenge. There should prevail mutual trust and obedience to the magisterium of the Church. The divine- human nature of the Church should never be lost sight of.
Fields of Inculturation Inculturation is comprehensive. Just as it is deep penetration of a culture, it is multi-faceted too. The process affects the whole life and activity of the Church. Otherwise it will be patchy and inconsistent.
We can mention in particular the liturgy, catechesis, theological formulations, secondary ecclesial structures and ministries.228 The question of liturgical and catechetical inculturation, seen more as adaptation, was very much insisted on by the Church.229 AG emphasises that religious institutes should consider how traditions of asceticism and contemplation, so dominant in certain cultures could be incorporated into the Christian
227 P. Arrupe, “Letter on Inculturation to the whole Society of Jesus” in IMR 1 (1979) 89-95. 228 Cf. EN 63. 229 Cf. SC 37, 38; CD 13, 14; GS 62. religious life.230 The same decree states that the Christian message can profit from the customs, traditions, wisdom, teaching, arts and sciences of various peoples.231
For this purpose the Council encourages theological investigation to study how the faith can be explained in terms of the philosophy and wisdom of various peoples, and how their customs, concept of life and social structures can be reconciled with what divine revelation teaches. It is the “whole sphere of Christian life” that must be inculturated. Along with theological research, there is also the need for related studies, especially in cultural anthropology so that inculturation may be genuine.232
230 Cf. AG 18. 231 Cf. AG 22. 232 The words of Fr. Luzbetak written in an exclusively missionary context are, however, quite relevant here, “Cultural relevance is indeed an important apostolic principle. The cultural context constitutes a basic missionary tool, necessary for the missioner in his role of agent of culture change, necessary for spiritual guidance, necessary for effective social action, and indispensable for successful communication. Anthropology is a missionary science par excellence because it teaches the missionary how to apply this all-important tool. All missionaries seem to admit the necessity of understanding their people; nevertheless there is a deplorable lack of appreciation in some missionary organizations of the very science that teaches them how to understand a people. Unfortunately, such organizations seem to look upon Anthropology as some sort of curious study of apes, dry bones, and museum curios, and anthropologists as individuals who are not quite normal. Such misconceptions and prejudices have made these otherwise practical missionary groups brush the science aside as something purely speculative and unrealist, something without which we gotten along so far, and, no doubt, will get along quite well in the future.” L. Luzbetak, The Church and Culture, 18. Chapter 21 32 Evangelisation in the Context of Non-Christian Religions
The great religions of the world are a most significant reality of our times. The Holy Spirit’s action overflows the bounds of the Christian community. Hence the need to dialogue with non-Christian religions has become urgent and pressing. The Second Vatican Council had marked a shift in the Church’s approach towards non-Christians and their religious traditions.233 Human beings constantly ask themselves some fundamental questions regarding their existence and regarding the world in which they live. It is precisely to their religions that they look for an answer.234 The Church recognizes that there is truth and holiness in these religions.235 She sees in them a ray of that truth which enlightens all men and accepts it. However, she proclaims Christ because in him men find the fullness of their religious search. The Council exhorts Christians to acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians. The universal plan of God for the salvation of mankind is realized in a new and definitive manner in Jesus Christ. But it is realized in a limited manner also in man’s search for God. This search needs to be enlightened and is itself a preparation for the Gospel.236
Evangelii Nuntiandi Thinking on non-Christian religions The EN thinking on non-Christian religions appears mainly in articles 53 and 80. In the former we can notice three elements. The Pope speaks of the positive aspects in non-Christian religions. He notes also their deficiencies. He then emphatically restates the Church’s evangelising obligation in the non-Christian context. It is evident that the theological position behind EN thinking on non-Christian religions is that advocated by the fulfilment theory.237
Non-Christian religions trace their history to the remote past. Immense sections of humanity, in fact the great majority, follow these religions which represent their deep felt search for the divine. They have taught their adherents to commune with the divine in prayer. They possess rich religious texts. The Church respects and esteems these religions. She sees in them the seeds of the word and a preparation for the Gospel. This positive evaluation is a restatement of Vatican II teaching.
The search for God that these religions witness to is termed by EN as incomplete. The Pope calls them natural religions. He goes on to add that they do not establish an authentic relationship with God. Only the fact of a search for God is found in non-
233 Cf. LG 16; AG 7, 9; NA 2; GS 22. 234 NA 1. 235 NA 2. 236 Ratzinger, J., Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions 237 P. Johanns, Henri de Lubac, Hans von Balthasar, J, Danielou etc. have developed this theory. See also D. Veliath, Theological Approach and Understanding of Religions: Jean Daniélou and Raimundo Panikkar, A Study in Contrast (Bangalore: Kristu Jyoti, 1988). Christian religions. They are seen virtually as mere human endeavours. Authentic communion with the divine in these religions is denied.238
Our ecclesiology will determine to a great extent how we view non-Christian religions. Many see in them praiseworthy moral and religious values. This is only a factual observation and merely says the obvious. But one could also consider the universal plan of God for the salvation of man as older and vaster than the Church. That universal plan finds fulfilment in the kingdom. It is the kingdom that must grow and renew the whole of humanity. The Gospels do present such a universalist vision. It is the Holy Spirit who through his active presence brings the kingdom to fulfilment.
EN affirms the responsibility of the Church to announce Christ to non-Christians. The strong reaffirmation of this responsibility precisely in the context of the issues raised by non-Christian religions is significant. It would appear that there is an element of admonition in it. Perhaps, for various reasons the Church is shirking this duty. Several reasons are given for this pressing obligation. Non-Christians have a right to be told of the mystery of Christ. The mystery of Christ is the answer to man’s imperfect search for God. The Christian religion is thus presented as the fulfilment of all religious search and as superior to other religions because it “objectively places man in relation with the plan of God.”239 The uniqueness of Christ and his Gospel, and the universality of the Christian religion are strongly restated.
The Pope wholeheartedly exhorts the Church to missionary proclamation. He corrects any notion that would obscure this duty of the Church. The language used is almost blunt, “Let us state this fact with joy at a time when there are not lacking those who think and even say that ardour and the apostolic spirit are exhausted, and that the time of the missions is now past.”240 God can save men as he wills. But the incarnation of the Son shows that the way he revealed through word and deed is the ordinary path of salvation.241 He has commanded the Church to transmit this revelation to all men with authority. The proclamation of the Gospel is a test of our own acceptance of this message. The Pope underlines the role of evangelisers in spreading the Gospel, going to the extent of saying, “it will depend on us”.242 He is exceedingly frank in stating his conviction that neither negligence nor fear nor shame nor the influence of false ideas should prevent this constant proclamation.
The idea is contained also in more recent Church teachings. RM repeats, “Although the Church gladly acknowledges whatever is true and holy in the religious traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam as a reflection of that truth which enlightens all men, this does not lessen her duty and resolve to proclaim without fail Jesus Christ who is the way, and the truth and the life…The Church is the ordinary means of salvation
238 See J. Dupuis, “Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi of Pope Paul VI” in Vidyajyoti 40 (1976) 119. 239 EN 53. 240 Idem. 241 EN 80. 242 Idem. and …she alone possesses the fullness of the means of salvation.”243 EA too contains the same passage.244
Although the obligation of proclaiming the Gospel message to non-Christians is repeatedly emphasised, the actual evangelising activity in this regard needs to be rethought. Missionaries today need new avenues in their contact with non-Christians.245 For this further study and research are needed.
If salvation does not necessarily imply visible membership of the Church, what exactly does respect for the values of non-Christian religions demand from us? If the lack of visible membership in the Church is not an obstacle to salvation, it is due to the fact that through the mediation of Christ, God saves non-Christians through the religious values of their own culture. Can we say that these values are ordained to Christ?
Although EN does not answer these questions, the fact that the issue is very real is clearly stated. The questions raised are “complex and delicate”. Paul VI exhorts that these be studied in the light of Christian tradition and of the Church’s magisterium. While this book makes no pretence of attempting such a study, we would like to point out a spectrum of views on the Christian attitude towards non-Christian religions.
Christ, the Church and Religions The way we fulfil the Church’s evangelising mission in the context of non- Christian religions will depend on our ecclesiological and Christological thinking.246
An exclusive Christology holds that Jesus is the only mediator of salvation. To receive this salvation it is necessary to know and believe in Jesus of Nazareth. Such a Christology leads to an ecclesiocentric view of the universe. Salvation can be had only in the Church. Other religions are mere human attempts to reach the divine, but all are doomed to failure.
An inclusive Christocentric position holds that while salvation is only through Christ, it is available also to those who are ignorant of Christ. The same salvation is offered to them even without their being aware of its essentially Christian character. This
243 RM 55. 244 EA 31. 245 Cf. EN 53. 246 What follows is taken from a summary of various attitudes in this regard made by Peter Schineller. Cf. P. Schineller, “Christ and Church: A Spectrum of Views” in Theological Studies (December 1976) 545- 566. Modern theological thinking in this field is marked by remarkable pluralism as Schineller’s exposition shows. “What matters is not the completeness or incompleteness of Schineller’s spectrum… but the fact that such a spectrum can be constructed at all. Its existence is an indication of the lively pluralism that has irrupted into a once monolithic Christian theology of religions, and of the substantial shift that has taken place in it from narrow, Church –centred, exclusivist approaches to broad, God-centred, inclusive ones”. G. Soares-Prabhu, “Inculturation, Liberation, Dialogue: Challenges to Christian Theology in Asia Today” in Collected Writings of George M. Soares-Prabhu, S.J. Vol.1 (Pune: Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth Theology Series, 1999), 60. See also Kuttianimattathil, J., Practice and Theology of Interreligious Dialogue: A Critical Study of the Indian Christian Attempts since Vatican II (Bangalore: KJC, 1995). makes possible anonymous or implicit faith in Christ. However, salvation is only in Jesus, that is, the logos become incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. He is thus the constitutive mediator of salvation. The ecclesiological position that follows from it is that even without explicit membership in the Church a person can be saved, but always through the grace of Jesus Christ active in the Church. Within this position some would hold the Church to be the constitutive mediator of grace, while others see her as pointing to or representing the constitutive mediation of Christ.
A normative Christology sees Jesus as correcting and fulfilling other mediations. He becomes the standard or norm of all mediations. He becomes the standard norm of salvation. He is not unique but normative. The love of God is most clearly seen in Jesus Christ. But it is also manifested outside him. Jesus is the decisive manifestation of God’s saving grace. One can be led to this position seeing the many positive values in non- Christian religions as well as the fact that the majority of mankind follow these religions. The ecclesiological position that follows from it is that the Church is sign of, but not the indispensable mediator of salvation. The Church is normative, that is, she is the standard in judging other religious communities.
A non-normative Christology does not judge among religions or saviour figures. Such judgement is impossible and unnecessary. Reflection on the incomprehensibility of God and the mystery of human subjectivity can induce this position. Jesus is one of many mediators and the Church one of many religions. All are valid.
Exclusive ecclesiocentrism ignores the reality of the spiritual wealth of non- Christian religions. The second position views no-Christian realities from the Christian perspective and seems to be the understanding of Vatican II. The theocentric position, with a normative Christology, is marked for its respect for other religions and its willingness to dialogue but it does not establish critically how Jesus is normative. The fourth position is unacceptable as it holds that religions and saviour figures cannot be judged.
A New Understanding I would like to propose another approach to the whole issue. Beginning our reflection by posing questions on the salvation of non-Christians, salvific value of non- Christian religions, necessity of the Church for salvation etc. is likely to lead to a negative perspective. This is, so to speak, putting the cart before the horse. There is another passage in EN that offers a different perspective on the question: “Men can gain salvation also in other ways, by God’s mercy, even though we do not preach the Gospel to them; but as for us, can we gain salvation if through negligence or fear or shame— what saint Paul called blushing for the Gospel—or as a result of false ideas we fail to preach it?”247
When we think of a new understanding of evangelisation in the context of non- Christian religions, two perennial criteria stare us in the face: faithfulness to the Gospel and relevance in the context. If the former answers the why the latter answers the how and
247 EN 80. the what. Let me then describe it in the following words: Evangelisation is the relevant expression of a deep experience one has in the heart in a particular context. The same description applies to a community. The experience we are speaking of is Christian discipleship. The expression may be a thousand types and more.
St. Paul had a powerful experience of Christ. He expressed it in an equally powerful way as described in the Acts of the Apostles. In the history of the Church, Paul’s method has been a traditional paradigm of mission: witness to the Good News in life, proclamation in words, founding of believing communities leading to formation of local Churches. This paradigm has produced some of the greatest missionaries and saints of the Church. However, this is but one paradigm. It is still applicable, but not necessarily everywhere. We can think of others in our present day situation.
However, essential to all is a deep experience of Christ, which leads to committed discipleship. The followers of Christ, living this new way of life, in deep felt communion with one another and always ready to serve the wider community, become spontaneously missionary. Through unity and service they proclaim the Good News and lead people to God (Jn 17:21-23). “It makes us understand that we are missionaries above all because of what we are as a Church whose innermost life is unity in love, even before we become missionaries in word or deed.”248
Inter-religious Dialogue249 Inter-religious dialogue could be seen as one of the new paths of evangelisation in the non-Christian context. In the context of religious pluralism, inter-religious dialogue is an eminent form of evangelisation. The evangeliser in such encounter shares his experience of the risen Christ with those who do not explicitly profess such an experience. But in so doing he not only enriches his partners but is himself enriched by the presence of the Spirit in them. The partners in such dialogue come together to share their religious conviction. The scope is mutual enlightenment and edification. Dialogue is more at the heart level than at the head level. Hence, the predisposition for it is a profound conviction and attachment to one’s faith more than mere theological acumen and arguments. It is not a theological debate where polemics dominate but a brotherly meeting where love dominates and truth is respected.
Especially in the Asian context, it should be observed that depth of religion is not so much in knowing about God as in experiencing him as a living reality.250 The Hindu tradition, in particular, accents this search for a profound experience of the divine. Christian contact in dialogue is ideal precisely at this level. Thus dialogue is more prayer than discussion. Such an encounter is positive in itself and is not a gimmick or an unfortunate substitute for an open verbal proclamation of the Gospel, rendered difficult if not impossible in certain places because of circumstances. It is founded on a vision of
248 RM 23. See also chapter …on missionary motivation 249 Dialogue, of course, could be studied in a much wider context. Here, however, we are focusing on inter-religious dialogue as this section of our book deals with evangelization in the non-Christian context. See also D. Bosch, Transforming Mission (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991), 483-489. 250 Cf. FABC Papers No. 12e. faith, not on strategic motivation. It is obedience to the Spirit who precedes us and challenges us to take the extra step.
A Christian engages in dialogue as a Christian. He does not shelve his faith as it were, to begin from a universalist concept of religion. That would make dialogue a mere ritual in religious etiquette. As a matter of fact, it is precisely his experience of Christ that impels a Christian to dialogue, to make known to others the beauty of such experience. This is also what makes it a truly evangelising endeavour. At the same time the Christian knows he does not have a monopoly of truth and the presence and work of the Spirit are not restricted to his community. This frame of mind enables him to give as well as receive, not to give away as dialogue is sometimes accused of doing.251
While the salvific mystery of Christ is complete, our grasp and experience of it is always incomplete. There is the constant need to strengthen our understanding of and intensify our sharing in it. There is also another person in dialogue, the Holy Spirit. He, though invisible, is actively present. This divine presence makes dialogue fruitful.
While the sharing of religious experience appears as the ideal form of dialogue, it need not always be so. Of course, religious commitment remains paramount and partners speak from within such commitment. But they could speak on matters of common interest too. In today’s fast changing world, men need to rediscover the essential meaning of life. They need solid principles to keep the right orientation. One of the victims of modern consumerism is the spiritual and religious dimension of human existence. Dialogue among people of different faiths can considerably aid in restoring to the spiritual its proper place.
Non-Christian religions too are seriously affected by the current of modern secularism. This happens especially in urban and industrial areas. With the growth of industrialisation and globalisation the problem will become more acute. Christianity has shown considerable resilience in the face of it and it can be of help to other religions especially in the East, which are faced with the menace of secularism and even of atheism.252 With the impressive economic progress being made now by India and China, containing over 40% of humanity, this phenomenon is likely to increase, affecting the life of huge numbers of people on the planet. In the so-called knowledge society that is emerging in the modern world, there is the danger that the knowledge of God may be considered dispensable.
251 John Chethimattam speaks of “communicative receptivity” of the Church on the basis of dialogue. Cf. G. Arevalo (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission (Manila: 1981) III, 111. 252 Cf. R. Hardawiryana, “The Service of Faith in East Asia. Directions in Mission” FABC papers No. 8, 13. “In the case of the other religions, secularisation is still charging in at top speed. In Christianity it grew from the inside out, and actually had its ultimate basis in the critical behaviour and discourse of Jesus. But in the case of the other religions it presses in from the outside like the Trojan horse, and does its deeds in a milieu far less well prepared for the conflict. In particular, the other religions lack great theologians to grasp secularisation by the lapels and force it to yield up its positive power and meaning. Religious leaders, by and large, are representatives of the old, uncritical, fundamentalist ways of thinking, less well educated than either the youth growing around them or the intelligentsia”. W. Bühlmann, God’s Chosen Peoples (New York: 1982), 234. One of the ironies of the present day world situation is the distressing division among people on the basis of religion. At times such divisions lead to armed conflicts with massive destruction and loss of life. The so-called war on terrorism has serious religious undertones. Dialogue among men of good will, belonging to various religious traditions can go a long way in such situations, not only to ensure peace and harmony, but also to bring out the genuine meaning of religion which should unite and not divide.
Dialogue could be seen in a broader sense as co-operative involvement in all endeavours, aimed at realizing the kingdom of God. This has been referred to as the “dialogue of life”.253 In the context of Asia, it is “a life-sharing within the experience of the great majorities of Asian peoples, who, from their poverty, under-nourishment and illnesses, their suffering and enduring, seek a fuller human life, an affirmation in life and praxis of the dignity and rights of every human person, a striving for the liberation of man toward a fuller humanity, the existence of children of the heavenly Father.”254 Such dialogue necessitates that we go out to encounter our fellowmen in the concrete reality of their day to day life. United in brotherly love, in dialogue and cooperation with all men we build up a better world, where the kingdom of God will be more resplendent.255
The spiritual dynamism of oriental religions is a challenge to Christianity. They are renowned for their life of prayer and contemplation, treasures which we too possess, but in us they do not seem to appear clearly. Dialogue with people of other faiths will enable us to bring out these values in full relief.
Inter-religious dialogue calls for preparation. Formation of missionaries should take account of this new dimension. There should be a greater grasp of the comprehensive nature of the evangelising mission of the Church. Study of other religions and cultures is indispensable in arriving at this goal. All Christians too have a responsibility in this regard. Catechesis imparted to them must be adequate to meet this need.
In evangelising through dialogue the Church is but following the example of Jesus. He entered into intimate and profound dialogue with his fellowmen in communicating to them the message of salvation. Moreover, the very mystery of the incarnation shows God entering into a dialogue with man. The conciliar decree AG draws out attention to this reality, “Just as Christ penetrated the hearts of men and by a truly human dialogue led them to the divine light, so too his disciples, profoundly pervaded by the Spirit of Christ, should know and converse with those among whom they live, that
253 The report of the third Assembly of the East Asian Region of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (Tokyo, 26-29 March 1977) speaks of three ways of dialogue: dialogue of understanding, dialogue of life, and dialogue of prayer and religious experience. Cf. C. Arevalo (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission, III, 121-122. 254 C. Arevalo, Towards a New Age in Mission, II, 141. 255 Redemptoris Missio 55-57, Ecclesia in Asia 31. through sincere and patient dialogue these men might learn of the riches which a generous God has distributed among the nations.”256
Sociological Consequences of Church Membership Traditional missionary activity in several Asian countries had to face the problem of severe sociological consequences that baptism entailed. Nor is the problem one of the past. With the resurgence of nationalism and ethnic identity in the modern world, the issue has become even more acute. Religion is so intimately linked to a people’s culture that a change in religion appears to be a change in culture and social grouping. The accusation is also made that Christian converts abandon their national culture in favour of western culture.
Thus a convert runs the risk of being thrown out of his own society where he has his roots. Conversion would then call for heroism to be able to stand such ostracism. But such heroism is demanded not so much by the religious change as by other non-religious consequences that rightly or wrongly follow from this change. Hence, it would not be entirely proper to look for justification for such an eventuality in the words of the Lord that his followers would be persecuted. Evangelisation today, especially missionary activity in the strict sense, has to take into account this reality. The problem need not be insurmountable. The key to a solution lies precisely in inculturating the faith.
Political factors can further complicate the situation. Certain modern states contain different communities, often based on religion. Political power is shared by these groups according to the numerical size of the community. Conversion from one community to another in such a situation can have serious repercussions. Vested interests can even exploit it to serve their own goals. Religion could be used by power-mongers for purposes that are far from religious. Christian communities are not rivals but challenges to other religions.257 They challenge precisely with a religious message, lived as an authentic way of life. It comes from Jesus himself who challenged all that militated against the true image of God and the meaning of human life. Thus Christians can influence society and other religious communities.
33 Theology at the Service of Inculturation The doctrine of the faith constantly calls for fresh research. In the understanding of the same faith, there can be different emphases. But the acceptance of the magisterium unifies these differing emphases. Pluralism has indeed contributed to Christian spirituality, ecclesial and religious institutions, and to the spheres of liturgical expression and disciplinary norms. What is unacceptable is the pluralism which sees faith and its expressions not as an ecclesial heritage, but the fruit of free examination of the Word of God. The Church accepts balanced theological pluralism. It arises from the very nature of the Christian mystery.
256 AG 11. 257 Cf. J. Neuner, “Why Mission?” in Indian Theological Studies XVII (1980) 32. Mystery is something that is inexpressible. The mystery of Christ which the Church proclaims can never be exhausted by one or several modes of understanding. There should always and everywhere be new ways of expressing the inexpressible. In this regard, one may speak of indigenous theologies. Such theologies in keeping with the traditions of the Church and under the ecclesial magisterium, far from whittling away the truth, are a praiseworthy effort at digging deep into the mine of the Christian mystery. These theologies do not contradict but complement one another. Everyone is imperfect and inadequate. They enrich one another. They give and receive.
Genuine theological pluralism is not only legitimate and necessary but is the expression of the nature of the Church. The Church, emanating from the Trinity, has in herself an element of unity as well as of diversity. She is one and many. Unity of faith and pluralism of theology are one of several manifestations of this reality characterizing the Church.
Pluralism was willed by the Council. While upholding unity in essentials, everyone in the Church should preserve a proper freedom “even in the theological elaborations of revealed truth…. If they are true to this course of action, they will be giving even richer expression to the authentic catholicity and apostolicity of the Church.”258 The Council speaks of legitimate variety also in theological expressions of doctrine. “In the study of revealed truth East and West have used different methods and approaches in understanding and confessing divine things…these various theological formulations are often to be considered complementary rather than conflicting.”259 AG called for theological investigations and a re-examination of the Church’s teachings in the light of tradition.260 This will enable faith to be explained in terms of the philosophy and wisdom of peoples.
GS notes that there have been difficulties in harmonising Christian thought with culture. Such difficulties can in fact stimulate a deeper understanding of the faith. Modern research in various fields of knowledge has an effect on theology too. “Theologians are now being asked, within the methods and limits of the science of theology, to seek out more efficient ways, provided the meaning and understanding of them is safeguarded – of presenting their teaching to modern man: for the deposit and the truth of faith are one thing, the manner of expressing them is quite another.”261 For this purpose, GS encourages a lawful freedom of inquiry, of thought and expression.
Pluralism is not identical with plurality. The latter simply means more than one. Pluralism goes beyond that and implies a value judgement on the fact of being more than one. Genuine unity is compatible with pluralism. Pluralism implies that diversity forms part of the unity.262
258 UR 4. 259 UR 17. 260 AG 22. 261 Cf. GS 62. 262 Cf. Y. Congar, La missione come pluralismo ed ecumenismo, 157-164. A healthy balance must be preserved between unity of faith and pluralism in theological formulations. There is no doubt of the risk of division and sectarianism. The entire Church is involved in this delicate task. Theologians can make a praiseworthy and much needed contribution. But the ecclesial magisterium has the particular responsibility of guarding the integrity of the faith and the unity of the Church. However, all are at the service of the mission entrusted to his followers by Christ. Effectively fulfilling that mission should have the highest priority. (Back Cover)
The early Church was a missionary movement. The first Christians were deeply aware that they were a sent people. While the Church is missionary by nature and mission is as old as the Church, the scientific study of mission, namely Missiology, is quite a new theological discipline. Perhaps, not all theological curricula give it the pride of place that it deserves. The author has been teaching Missiology for over two decades. He is happy to offer this volume to teachers and students, to aid them in their study of a subject that has emerged as particularly significant in the modern world.
“ Theological training cannot and should not ignore the Church’s universal mission, ecumenism, the study of the great religions and Missiology. I recommend that such studies be undertaken especially in seminaries and in houses of formation for men and women Religious, ensuring that some priests or other students specialize in the different fields of Missiology” (Pope John Paul II in Redemptoris Missio, art.83).
Paul Vadakumpadan is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. He teaches Missiology and Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong. He is the Chief Editor of the journal Mission Today. His other works include Evangelisation Today (Vendrame Institute, 1989) and A New Look at Old Truths (Media House, 2002).
Vendrame Institute Publications Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong 793008, India Select Bibliography for the Study of Missiology
Council and Papal Documents Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, Ad Gentes, Gaudium et Spes, Nostra Aetate, Dignitatis Humanae. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 1975. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris Missio, 1990. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Asia, 1999.
Bibliographical Sources and Dictionaries Streit, R., and Dindinger, J., Bibliotheca Missionum, 30 volumes, 1916-1974. Bibliografia Missionaria, Rome: Pontifical Urban University. Müller, K., et al. (ed.), Dictionary of Mission, Maryknoll: Orbis, 1997. Neil, S., Anderson, G., and Goodwin, J., Concise Dictionary of the Christian World Mission, London: Luttherworth Press, 1970.
General Bibliography Arevalo, C., (ed.), Towards a New Age in Mission. The Good News of God’s Kingdom to the Peoples of Asia, Manila: 1981. Bevans S. and Schroeder R, Constants in Context. A Theology of Mission for Today, Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2004. Bosch, D., Transforming Mission. Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991. Jedin H., (ed.), History of the Church. 10 volumes, London: 1970-1981. Kariapuram, M., Contextual Reflections, Shillong: CDCP, 2003. Karotemprel, S., et al. (ed.), Following Christ in Mission, Bombay: Pauline, 1995. Karotemprel, S., et al. (ed.), Promoting Mission Studies: The Role of Missiological Institutes, Shillong: VIP, 2000. Kuruvachira, J., Relgious Experience: Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu, New Delhi: Intercultural Publications, 2004. Latourette, K, S., A History of the Expansion of Christianity, New York: 1937-1945, 7 volumes. Legrand, L., Unity and Plurality: Mission in the Bible, New York: Orbis Books, 1990. Luzbetak, L.J., The Church and Culture. New Perspectives in Missiological Anthropology, Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1988. Menamparampil, T., Thoughts on Evangelisation, Mumbai: St. Pauls, 1997. Puthenpurakal, J., Mission in the Documents of the Catholic Church, Shillong: VIP, 1997. Raguin, J., Missionary Spirituality, Manila: IEPI, 1980. Saldanha, J., Patterns of Evangelisation in Mission History, Bombay: St. Pauls, 1988. Senior, D., and Stuhlmueller, C., The Biblical Foundations for Mission, Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1983. Vadakumpadan, P., Evangelisation Today, Shillong: VIP, 1989. Vadakumpadan, P., Kariapuram, M., and Puthenpurakal, J., Breaking New Ground in Mission, Shillong: VIP, 2002. Verkuyl, J., Contemporary Missiology: An Introduction, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1978. Reviews Indian Missiological Review, Shillong: Sacred Heart Theological College. Established in 1979. Renamed Mission Today in 1999. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, New Haven: OMSC. Third Millennium, Rajkot, Gujarat – India. Vidyajyoti, Delhi: Vidyajyoti Educational and Welfare Society. International Review of Mission, Geneva: Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches. Omnis Terra, Rome: Pontifical Missionary Union.