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Gaikward-God's Mission Among the Neighbours and the Oppressed

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Gaikward-God's Mission Among the Neighbours and the Oppressed 1 Dr. Roger Gaikward, General Secretary National Council of Churches in India Paper presented at UELCI Round Table Meeting, Jan.21st 2013 God’s Mission among Neighbours and the Oppressed “The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning,”1 as the well known saying goes. As highlighted in this paper, mission has been an essential focus of the Lutheran Tradition and of the ecumenical movement. Moving on into the second decade of the 21st century, we need to affirm afresh our commitment to mission and to particular dimensions of it in relation to our neighbours and the oppressed. While the title seems to mention ‘neighbours’ and ‘oppressed’ as two separate categories, it would be helpful to remember that ‘neighbour’ is a broad category (the entire world having become a global village, by which incidents happening in any part of the globe affect the whole globe), and the oppressed are very much a part of our neighbourhood. Mission and the Lutheran Churches in India Mission has been a very important concern of the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India. The theme of the 28th Triennial Conference and General Body Meeting of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India held in Chennai during September 26-28, 2011 was “Participating in the Mission of God.”2 In his keynote address, Rev. Dr. Chandran Paul Martin, then LWF Deputy General Secretary, noted that mission was the raison d’être of the church, which flowed from its nature as a witnessing community; to be a missional church was not an option, it was discipleship. Addressing the Conference, Rev. Dr. Augustine Jeyakumar, Executive Secretary of UELCI emphasized that Christians must rethink their spirituality and mission to engage a constantly changing world. Engaging in mission in a pluralistic context such as India is a challenge but we must not be fazed by the challenge, he asserted. The delegates at the meeting discussed various issues related to mission such as the liberation of dalits and adivasis , gender justice, youth leadership, capacity building, HIV & AIDS concern, peace building, purpose-driven church, health ministry, and human resource development, particularly youth leadership and capacity building. It was also noted that though freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of India there remains a tendency to discriminate Christian minorities. To put it briefly God’s mission among the oppressed and the neighbours has been an on-going concern of the UELCI. The Lutheran World Federation and Mission At the global level as well, the Lutheran World Federation has continued to grapple with the all important concern of rearticulating mission in the changing contexts of the world. The conclusion3 of the LWF document entitled, Mission in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment – An LWF Contribution to the Understanding and Practice of Mission, published in 2004, briefly highlights the developments in the Lutheran understanding of mission: 1 H. Emil Brunner, The Word and the World (London: SCM Press, 1931),p.108. 2 http://www.uelci.org/news_view.php?n=24 3Mission in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment – An LWF Contribution to the Understanding and Practice of Mission, (Geneva: Lutheran World Federation, Department for Mission and Development, 2004),p. 60. 2 The understanding of the mission of the church has undergone significant paradigm shifts in the experience and praxes of the member churches of the Lutheran World Federation. For the Fourth Assembly (Helsinki, 1963), mission was still defined in a narrow sense as aiming at conversion from unbelief to faith. From the Sixth Assembly (Dar es Salaam, 1977) onward, however, mission was understood and practiced in a holistic way as encompassing proclamation, advocacy, and service to the whole person and to all people. More and more, advocacy for justice, peace, and integrity of creation was emphasized. At the LWF Global Consultation on Mission (Nairobi, 1998) transformation was considered an important dimension of mission, while joint ecumenical mission venture was seen as an important aspect of mission practice in the twenty-first century. The 2004 document continues to carry on the progressive trend in the understanding of mission. It highlights the vision of the missional church, for which mission belongs to its very being as the body of Christ. Emphasis is laid on mission as participating in the in-breaking of God’s reign in Christ, sharing in a common journey with people in their contexts, and focusing on transformation, reconciliation, and empowerment. The three terms, transformation, reconciliation and empowerment are very significant in the context of our reflection on mission as being God’s mission among the oppressed and our neighbours. Transformation is a continuous process of rejection of that which dehumanizes and desecrates life and adherence to that which affirms the sanctity of life and gifts in everyone and promotes peace and justice in society. This comes from the knowledge of the gracious will of God, who calls, justifies, and empowers people, through the Holy Spirit, to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, offering the self as the instrument of righteousness (Romans 12:2, 6:13, 8:29; 1 Peter 1:14–25; Ephesians 4:15–5:10; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:10–14; Titus 3:5).4 As an ambassador of reconciliation, a peacemaker, the church’s mission tasks include mediation, restoration of peaceful coexistence, and the building and sustaining of relations… In the twenty first century many countries are still living with the legacy of previous centuries’ oppression and injustice. Countries that struggled under colonialism are now suffering from a poverty-inducing neoliberal economy driven by economic globalization. Such death-dealing structures and systems should not have the last word in a world where God has broken the finality of death. The mission of the church, in the way of resurrection, is to make liberation and reconciliation possible for both the oppressed and the oppressors. Liberation and reconciliation have to go together. Liberation without due consideration of eventual reconciliation is self-defeating; reconciliation without liberation is unrealistic and ideological.5 God’s empowerment extends also to society at large through the mission activities of the church as one of God’s empowering instruments in the world. Through its service and diaconal ministries, the church provides help for the immediate needs of people in distress (e.g., refugees, displaced persons, victims of natural disasters). However, the church is called to go beyond a “hand out ” or charity ministry to a mission of empowerment. The church seeks ways to assist those in need, regardless of their origin or creed, to regain their human dignity by asserting control over their own lives.6 4Ibid, pp.32‐33. 5 Ibid, pp.34‐35. 6 Ibid, p.36. 3 These (three) mission dimensions permeate all mission endeavors (e.g., proclamation, service, advocacy for justice, interfaith dialogue, and care of creation) and provide criteria with which the church judges its faithfulness in mission before Christ, who has sent it into the world.7 Mission in the Understanding of the World-wide Ecumenical movement Along with the Lutheran Churches, the ecumenical movement all over the world, including India, has also been engaging itself with understanding and articulating mission afresh in our contemporary context. The 20th century ecumenical movement has in particular focussed on 6 models of mission,8 namely 1. Church-centered mission (mission is for the sake of planting and building the church, based on biblical texts such Matt. 28:19-20), emphasized in particular by Edinburgh World Missionary Conference 1910 and the Tambaram meeting of IMC in 1938; 2. Missio Dei (God’s Mission – the Trinitarian God being a missionary God, the church is sent by God to carry on God’s mission, based on biblical texts such as Jn. 17:18) emphasized in particular by Willingen meeting of IMC of 1952, and thereafter, thus shifting the focus from missions to mission. 3. The Church for Others (the church given by God as a light to the nations, as a vicarious servant, etc), emphasized by the Mexico meeting of IMC of 1963 and the Uppsala WCC Assembly of 1968. Moving from the God-Church-World paradigm to the God-World- Church paradigm, it emphasized mission in all 6 continents, being the common witness of the whole church, bringing the whole gospel to the whole world 4. Kenosis (Self-Emptying) of Incarnation (Mission being understood as being ‘present’ with others, identifying and journeying with them, serving them and engaging in dialogue, focussing on biblical texts such as Phil.2:5-8), emphasized in particular by Willingen meeting of IMC, 1952; New Mexico meeting of IMC, 1963; Uppsala WCC Assembly, 1968. 5. Mission In the Concrete Realities of Life (Mission being understood as meeting human needs, relieving human suffering, engaging in liberation, sharing in the struggle for peace, establishing social justice, etc. focussing on biblical texts such as Lk.4:18-19), emphasized in particular by Bangkok meeting of CWME, 1973; Nairobi WCC assembly, 1975; Melbourne meeting of CWME, 1980; Vancouver WCC assembly, 1983. God’s preferential option for the poor and oppressed, indigenization and inculturation, and dialogue with people of living faiths and ideologies were special emphases. 6. Mission as the Fullness of Life (Mission as the realization of a new heaven and a new earth, based upon biblical texts such as Rev. 21: 1,5) emphasized in Seoul, 1990, WCC meeting affirming Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC); Canberra WCC Assembly, 1991; CWME meeting, Salvador, 1996; Harare WCC Assembly, 1998; CWME meeting, 2005. Mission was thus being articulated as conversion; gospel to all realms of life; church and its unity in God’s mission; mission in Christ’s way; good news to the poor; mission in and to 6 continents; witness among people of living faiths, reconciliation, justice, peace and integrity of creation.
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