M1 INSPIRED WORD OF GOD: Explore, Explain, and Elaborate
(NOTE: YOU ARE EXPECTED TO UNDERGO THE FOLLOWING PROCESS, BUT YOU ARE NOT
REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS FOR EXPLORE.)
EXPLORE
Jesus sends seventy-two followers (Lk. 10:1-9)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by
two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them,
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the
harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as
lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no
one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a
son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And
remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves
his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive
you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God
has come near to you.’
EXPLAIN
In the text, Luke the Gospel writer, tells us that Jesus sends his disciples to do something.
Sending is an integral part of the Christian idea of mission. When we go on a mission, we do
so because somebody sends us. The mission, therefore, does not belong to us. We are mere
collaborators of the one sending us. Where to go on mission and how the mission is done
depend not on us but on the one sending us. In the story you just read, it was Jesus who was
sending his disciples and he was giving them instructions on how to go about the mission.
Jesus uses the analogy of the workers in the field to describe missionaries and what
they do. The workers are sent to harvest the crops and gather them in the granary. In like
manner, missionaries as workers are tasked to gather people into the fellowship with God.
Seemingly, there are not many of these workers so that Jesus tells his disciples: “A large
crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to
send out workers to bring the harvest in.”
The story proceeds and we hear an advice or a warning given to the workers: “Go
your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” Lambs are never
safe in a pack of wolves. The wolves will devour the lambs! In the ancient times, to be a
Christian missionary means to live a dangerous life. Many Christian missionaries suffered
martyrdom for the faith. In our times, some places are not any safer for missionaries. We still
hear people getting killed because they are Christians. To do missionary work is not easy
because there will always be opposition from others.
Then comes a puzzling instruction from the sender: “Carry no moneybag, no
knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.” The first part of the instruction about
not taking along moneybag, or knapsack, or sandals is related to the second part about not
wasting time. A moneybag, or a knapsack, or a pair of sandals may become a burden or a
distraction to the missionary who is supposed to be concerned only with the mission. He
always has to carry and protect his money or bag or has to repair his sandals or look for
another pair if they get worn out. His focus is no longer the mission which is urgent and which
is the only important thing for the missionary. These things are the least of his concerns.
The passage tells us certain supremely important things about the Christian as
missionary – and about each of us who are, by our humanity, concerned with the welfare of
others. Here they are:
The missionary is not to be cluttered up with material things; he is to travel light. It is easy to
get entangled in the things of this life. Our material possession can cloud our vision if we are
not careful. Instead of helping us to become freer, they can enslave us. For example, if you
are obsessed with buying a smart phone worth P50,000.00 but you do not have the means to
buy it, you will have some problems. And if you were able to buy it at last by availing yourself
of a loan, you will have to guard it with all your might so that you won’t lose it. It is like your
phone has taken control of part of your life.
The missionary is to concentrate on his task; he is to “greet no man on the way.” This goes
back to Elisha's instruction to Gehazi in 2 Kings 4:29. It is not an instruction to discourtesy; but
means that the Christian must not turn aside or linger on the lesser things while the great or
more important things call him. Look back and think about the times you busied yourself with
the less important things and neglecting the more important ones. Many of us are guilty on
this score.
The missionary must not be in the work for what he can get out of it; he is to eat what is
put before him and must not move from house to house seeking better and more
comfortable quarters. The laborer is worthy of his wage, but the true servant of the faith
cannot be a seeker for luxury. Sometimes we do things for the sake of convenience and
comfort. But there is a better reason for doing the good and the honorable: the call of the
Gospel to be on the side of truth and goodness no matter the cost. It is difficult, of course,
but that is the missionary call.
To have heard God's word is a great responsibility. Persons will be judged according to what
they have had the chance to know. Knowing something is a privilege. As is usually said, it is
also power. But knowing as a form of privilege and power is also a responsibility. If we know
the truth and we do not speak up at the cost of letting lies reign, then we did not do our
responsibility. This is a challenge for us today, especially for you the younger generation
because a good part of your world is the world of the web where false news can easily
proliferate. To state and defend the truth when you know it is a crucial part of the missionary
and the human in you.
But what is the mission? What is the missionary sent to do? The last verse (verse 9) tells us,
“Heal their sick and say, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” The mission is the
proclamation of God’s kingdom. There is a part of your course in CFE 101, if you still
remember, that deals with the concept of the kingdom of God. In the later part of the
present course, we will go back to that. But for the purpose of this module, suffice it to say
that when we talk about the kingdom of God, we refer to that situation where God reigns in
our community or society because the values of charity, justice, and peace are lived or
practiced by people. In other words, the kingdom refers to total human well-being which
includes the very important experience of healing from all forms of illness. In Biblical
anthropology, healing includes non-physical restoration like healing of relationships,
emotional healing, and others.
ELABORATE
Read the following reflectively. Pay attention to what has changed in the understanding
and doing of mission. Check out what the following means: unchurched, unreached,
missiology, missio Dei, missiones ecclesiae, WCC
We live in changing times with regard to many aspects of church life, and this also affects
our approach to mission. Changes in our society and in the opportunities and possibilities
given to us lead to new approaches and new avenues with regard to the exercise of the
believer's mandate in the world. Given our history we are accustomed to think of missionaries
as those who go to far-flung areas and preach the gospel to people who are illiterate or
totally cut off from the mainstream of civilization. But the constellation of mission work of the
churches is changing. We now work in more industrialized countries. And most areas of the
globe have been confronted with the message of the gospel in one way or another.
Missiology, the science of missions, has been undergoing much change and development in
the last thirty years. You can characterize this period as the breakthrough of the modernistic
idea in mission. This modernistic idea is: we cannot really speak of mission in any traditional
sense, that is, of a being sent by Christ to the unchurched or the unreached. Can we in the
west presume to say that we have a message for the rest of the world? The old adage was:
there is no salvation outside the church. The church must change if it wishes to be saved. It
must go out into the world and become the church for the world. It must join in the suffering
of this world, and share people's suffering, becoming partners with them of the suffering of
God in the world.
These sentences capture in a nutshell what the new missiological thinking is all about. David
Bosch speaks of the emergence of a new paradigm, that is, a new world and life view with
respect to missions.[2] That new world and life view or paradigm is predominately
characterized by the abolition of any sense of western priority, as if the west would be in a
position to show others the way to salvation. Mission does not flow from the west to the rest of
the world's nations. There is a new flux, a new matrix with a complex chart of points and
counterpoints, a grid of interchanges and flow lines going in every direction. One can hardly
speak of mission anymore, for everyone is at the same time sent, but also one to whom one
is sent, a giver and receiver, one who shares and one who experiences sharing. As Lesslie
Newbigin puts it:
It is no longer a matter of the simple command to go to the ends of the earth and preach
the gospel where it has not been heard. In every nation there are already Christian believers
. . . . The missionary calling is thus merged (or dissolved) into the general obligation of all
Christians everywhere to fight injustice, challenge evil, and side with the oppressed.[3]
Let us consider some elements of this emerging paradigm in missions, and also the impact
that this paradigm has had on the activities of many mainstream churches today. First, we
can no longer speak of the mission of the church. The preferred concept today is missio Dei,
the mission of God.[4] God is the real and only missionary. We do not do mission, we only
participate in God's mission. And therefore the church cannot dictate to the world, but in its
sharing with the world it at the same time discovers with the world what the mission of God is
all about.[5]
This means, secondly, that the church is not a body for itself. It is always church for others..
The essence of the church is mission. The church is a missionary church, and being a
missionary body belongs to the very essence of the church. As Bosch puts it, the church is
never static.[6] It is a pilgrim church, a church on the move; it is essentially a sign or a
sacrament of the comprehensive salvation of God, and of God reconciling the world to
Himself. The church is not the bearer of a message; the church is an illustration of God's
involvement with the world.
The one missio Dei breaks down into the various missiones ecclesiae. All churches are
involved in mission. But here there are not mother churches opposed to daughter churches.
All churches are equal, and all are involved in mediating God's salvation for the world. Here
one meets the modern ecumenical approach. Churches of all denominations, stripes and
colors are included in the missio Dei. Modern missiology is essentially a missiology of
convergence, and especially convergence between Protestant and Roman Catholic
missions.
A fourth characteristic of the modern approach concerns the salvation which the church
mediates. It is described as a comprehensive salvation, liberating the whole of life from the
false structures of tyranny, hardship and oppression. The whole matrix of spiritual and
material life together forms the one eschatological idea of salvation. It is holistic and all
encompassing. The term most commonly used to describe this salvation is: the coming of the
kingdom of God.[9]
Ultimately the one mission of God is God's movement- His self-journey through the world. This
is a journey of humiliation and suffering. God sends His Son to journey to suffering and death.
And His Spirit demands the same journey of those who are disciples in the true sense. The
missio Dei is marked by compassion for the world and by suffering.[10] The holistic approach
of mission demands that the church sacrifice itself for the good of the world. The rich must
give to the poor, the strong to the weak, so that God's triumph can be seen in weakness,
and His riches in our voluntary poverty.
The new approach to missions also incorporates a new approach to other religions. One can
no longer speak of a message of light to free those trapped in darkness. One cannot speak
of the relation between the Christian and the non-Christian religions as a difference between
truth and error, but different paths towards the Truth. David Bosch notes how through the
years the terminology at the meetings of the WCC has changed: from speaking of the
witness of the Christian faith to men of other faiths it has become "dialogue between men of
living faiths."[12] From witness to dialogue - a telling mark of the times. For the end result, as
before, is that one can no longer speak of the mission of the church but of the mission of
God.
M1 CHURCH TEACHING: Explore, Explain, and Elaborate
(NOTE: YOU ARE EXPECTED TO UNDERGO THE FOLLOWING PROCESS, BUT YOU ARE NOT
REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS FOR EXPLAIN AND ELABORATE.)
EXPLORE:
The Church document on the mission Ad Gentes gives us more insights into what mission is
and how it is to be done. In these two sections from the document, we are instructed about
how to live as missionaries in present society.
11. The Church must be present in these groups through her children, who dwell among
them or who are sent to them. For all Christians, wherever they live, are bound to show forth,
by the example of their lives and by the witness of the word, that new man put on at
baptism and that power of the Holy Spirit by which they have been strengthened at
Confirmation. Thus other men, observing their good works, can glorify the Father (cf. Matt.
ES:16) and can perceive more fully the real meaning of human life and the universal bond of
the community of mankind.
In order that they may be able to bear more fruitful witness to Christ, let them be joined to
those men by esteem and love; let them acknowledge themselves to be members of the
group of men among whom they live; let them share in cultural and social life by the various.
undertakings and enterprises of human living; let them be familiar with their national and
religious traditions; let them gladly and reverently lay bare the seeds of the Word which lie
hidden among their fellows. At the same time, however, let them look to the: profound
changes which are taking place among nations, and let them exert themselves to keep
modern man, intent as he is on the science and technology of today's world from becoming
a stranger to things divine; rather, let them awaken in him a yearning for that truth
and:charity which God has revealed. Even as Christ Himself searched the hearts of men, and
led them to divine light, so also His disciples, profoundly penetrated by the Spirit of Christ,
should show the people among whom they live, and should converse with them, that they
themselves may learn by sincere and patient dialogue what treasures a generous God has
distributed among the nations of the earth. But at the same time, let them try to furbish these
treasures, set them free, and bring them under the dominion of God their Savior.
12. The presence of the Christian faithful in these human groups should be inspired by that
charity with which God has loved us, and with which He wills that we should love one
another (cf. 1 John 4:11). Christian charity truly extends to all, without distinction of race,
creed, or social condition: it looks for neither gain nor gratitude. For as God loved us with an
unselfish love, so also the faithful should in their charity care for the human person himself,
loving him with the same affection with which God sought out man. Just as Christ, then, went
about all the towns and villages, curing every kind of disease and infirmity as a sign that the
kingdom of God had come (cf. Matt. 9:35ff; Acts 10:38), so also the Church, through her
children, is one with men of every condition, but especially with the poor and the afflicted.
For them, she gladly spends and is spent (cf. 2 Cor. 12:15), sharing in their joys and sorrows,
knowing of their longings and problems, suffering with them in death's anxieties. To those in
quest of peace, she wishes to answer in fraternal dialogue, bearing them the peace and the
light of the Gospel.
Let Christians labor and collaborate with others in rightly regulating the affairs of social and
economic life. With special care, let them devote themselves to the education of children
and young people by means of different kinds of schools, which should be considered not
only as the most excellent means of forming and developing Christian youth, but also as a
valuable public service, especially in the developing nations, working toward the uplifting of
human dignity, and toward better living conditions. Furthermore, let them take part in the
strivings of those peoples who, waging war on famine, ignorance, and disease, are
struggling to better their way of life and to secure peace in the world. In this activity, the
faithful should be eager to offer prudent aid to projects sponsored by public and private
organizations, by governments, by various Christian communities, and even by non Christian religions.
However, the Church has no desire at all to intrude itself into the government of the earthly
city. It claims no other authority than that of ministering to men with the help of God, in a
spirit of charity and faithful service (cf. Matt. 20:26; 23:11).(1)
Closely united with men in their life and work, Christ's disciples hope to render to others true
witness of Christ, and to work for their salvation, even where they are not able to announce
Christ fully. For they are not seeking a mere material progress and prosperity for men, but are
promoting their dignity and brotherly union, teaching those religious and moral truths which
Christ illumined with His light; and in this way, they are gradually opening up a fuller
approach to God. Thus they help men to attain to salvation by love for God and neighbor,
and the mystery of Christ begins to shine forth, in which there appears the new man, created
according to God (cf. Eph. 4:24), and in which the charity of God is revealed.
Source: Ad Gentes 11, 12.
EXPLAIN
The development in the understanding of mission in the Church can be seen in the emphasis
given to the missionary activity.
A. Emphasis of the missionary agenda at the beginning of the Church
In your experience, you might have seen some of the ideas of mission related to the
text above at work among Christian missionary individuals or groups. During the early days of
Christianity and up to the present, missionaries are sent to other places to convert people to
the Christian faith. Paul of Tarsus (also known as Saint Paul), a convert to Christianity, became
the greatest missionary of his time. He went from one place to another within the Roman
Empire preaching about Jesus and starting new Christian communities.
Watch the video (attached below) about the first missionary journey of St. Paul guided
by the following questions:
1. In his three missionary journey, how many places did Paul go to?
2. What problems did Paul encounter in his missionary journey?
3. As a missionary, what was the main activity Paul did?
B. Emphasis of the Church’s understanding of mission after Paul
For many religious groups that started very small like Christianity, and faced a lot of
opposition from the very beginning, there was the need to grow fast in terms of membership.
It was a necessity in ancient times especially when size was the requirement for continuing
existence. The bigger the group, the greater was the chance for survival. Small groups die
naturally for lack of membership to make their tradition live. So it was, that at the beginning
of Christianity as a community separate from Judaism, there was a stress on missionary
conversion as can be deduced from the accounts of the New Testament, especially in the
Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of Paul.
That situation the Church found itself in brought about particular ways of
understanding mission, one of which is what missiologists today describe as eccleo-centric.
This word literally means “Church-centered”. An eccleo-centric view of mission puts more
emphasis on the idea that mission belongs to the Church. This idea implies the following:
1. You have to be a member of the Church to do mission. Since mission belongs to the
Church, doing mission is properly the work of Church leaders and members and not
outsiders.
2. Doing mission is equivalent to converting others to become members of the Church.
The number of converts, indicated by baptismal records, was an important gauge of the
success of the mission.
3. Such an understanding of mission sometimes resulted in insensitive attitude towards
indigenous views and practices in mission territories which were sometimes seen as inferior to
or against the practices and way of life of the missionaries’ culture.
The limited ecceleo-centric view of mission has undergone a shift to a broader one
which missiologists call theocentric, literally God-centered. A theocentric view of mission
affirms the following:
1. The source of the Church’s mission is the work of God in redeeming all human
beings including the rest of creation. God always takes the initiative to reach out to all
peoples and cultures. God calls people to him in a relationship of love. The call is honored by
human beings when their loving relationship with God shapes their relationship with others.
2. For Christians, the embodiment of God’s mission of redemption is concretized in the
person and ministry of Jesus. When we asked the question, “How do we do mission?”, we
answer by pointing to the way Jesus lived his life.
The core spirit that shaped the life of Jesus and how he related with others is
compassion. He felt for other people. He had passion for others such that he thought and
acted in solidarity with them, especially with the marginalized and the suffering.
3. The successful doing, or more fittingly, living the mission requires dependence on the
guidance of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospels, Jesus and the disciples always asked the
inspiration, guidance, and strength the God’s Spirit before starting an important undertaking.
In the rest of the New Testament books, the followers of Jesus continued with this practice.
4. The Church participates in the mission of redemption, of helping make the kingdom
of God a reality in society. As the Church does not own the mission, it has always to discern
as a community the will of God in every concrete situation. As the Gospel says, the Church
has to “read the signs of the times” which implies that the Church has to understand properly
the situation and respond accordingly.
5. In the theocentric view of mission, understanding the different cultures where the
mission is lived is necessary. Culture is an important fact of being human. It is the product of
the human community’s struggle to create meaning. Hence, missionaries have to consider
this truth and learn to appreciate the many good things in culture while striving to help
transform elements in the culture that may not be life-giving.
ELABORATE:
Read the following missionary story. Here is the guide question: What elements of the
theocentric view of mission can you see in the story?
Interview With Former Superior-General of African Missions
Africa has often been called the forgotten continent. With the visits of Popes John Paul II and
Benedict XVI, however, Africa is becoming better known among the faithful as home of one
of the fastest growing Catholic populations in the world.
For the Society for African Missions, Africa is anything but forgotten. This group has been
working on the continent for more than 150 years.
To learn about these missionaries and their work in Africa, the television program "Where God
Weeps" of the Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) in cooperation with Aid to the
Church in Need, spoke with Bishop Kieran O’Reilly.
Bishop O’Reilly was ordained bishop of Killaloe, Ireland, just last August; prior to this
appointment he served for almost 10 years as the superior-general for the Society of African
Missions.
Q: Africa has seen an explosion of Catholicism from 1.2 million faithful in 1900 to over 140
million today. To what would you attribute this explosion of faith in Africa?
Bishop O’Reilly: Well as many of my bishop friends in Africa would say, “First of all it’s God’s
blessing and it’s a great grace," which it is — to see the numbers coming for baptism, adults
as well as young children, to see the number of people coming for other sacraments.
But I suppose the main reality about Africa is that, since her independence 45 to 50 years
ago, we have witnessed a huge growth of the urban reality in Africa. With the growth of the
cities, many people have been displaced from rural areas so they have found themselves in
cities, which are to a large extent alien, until they can integrate into the communities that
are there. Very often these communities are associated with Churches so you have, as it
were, people even moving from the rural areas immediately falling into the fabric of Church
life in the urban areas.
Q: And probably seeking it out because it’s one reality that they know in this very strange
environment?
Bishop O’Reilly: Yes, but also in Africa you have a very strong sense of linking between the
villages and the people who are from the villages already established in the cities — so you
link in immediately. You may be transferring geographically but you link in with people of
your area and of your own background.
Q: Has missionary work changed because of urbanization?
Bishop O’Reilly: If I speak for us, for our missionary institute — as one of our primary works is
evangelization — it has changed. It’s evolving continually because of the reality of the
numbers of people that you are now dealing with. And when you ask that question about
the numbers it also fits it with the growth of population in Africa because, especially in sub-
Saharan Africa the population has grown enormously in the last 30 years and will continue to
do so: good health, clean water, so many factors have helped to do that. The reality of the
growing Church is very much tied in with the growth of Africa as well.
Q: In fact it is said that 90% of the population is under 24. So this is also a challenge for the
Church. How do look to serving the youth now?
Bishop O’Reilly: It’s a huge challenge. One of the things that strikes me as I traveled to the
big cities like Kinshasa, Lagos, Abidjan, Nairobi, any of the cities all over Africa, is the huge
number of young people that are present — especially the secondary school-going
population — and then subsequently the number of people who would have qualified for
university but are without work. You see a tremendous movement everyday. You only have
to go to Lagos to see the number of people and the challenge even for the government to
provide the basic services for a population that is growing so quickly.
The infrastructure required is enormous so for us as a Church, when we set out, one of the
main things that we did was to establish schools. We built the church and the next thing you
had a school next door — or as often happens in the early missions — the church was the
school. But now with the number of children looking for schools, the Church is no longer
capable of doing it alone and often the state just doesn’t have the resources. So we have to
contribute especially since education is the hope continually.
Q: What is the answer?
Bishop O’Reilly: The answer is not to lose hope. The answer is to be committed. The answer is
to continue to work with the local Church, to work with local groups, to seek the good help
of Aid to the Church in Need and groups like that, generous people overseas. People might
say: “Oh we are tired of giving.” No, you are never tired of giving; it’s for the children, it’s for
their future, it’s for hope. You don’t ever get tired with that. The challenge is enormous
because the population continues to grow.
Q: In the year 2050, they say that three African countries will rank among the top 10 of the
largest Catholic countries in the world: Uganda, Congo and Nigeria. Is the future of
Catholicism the Church in Africa?
Bishop O’Reilly: That is a difficult question. I would say in response that a large part of the
future of Catholicism is in Africa but not all of it and as a consequence of that, I believe,
there has to be much more awareness of the African reality within our Church. It is not very
far away from this city of Rome. It is just across the Mediterranean, but sometimes it can be
very distant. So it is the demographic reality — that this is the way it is going to be. So, I think
at all levels within the Church there has to be a real awareness of that and proactive
planning toward that reality.
Q: What is the strength of the African faith?
Bishop O’Reilly: I suppose the strength of the African faith comes from the people
themselves, from the manner in which they relate to the existence of God, to the reality of
Jesus Christ in their lives and to the way in which Christianity is able to tap into a rich context
within their cultures of helping one another. There is a great sense of: “What is ours belongs to
all of us." There is great sense of being able to share while, perhaps, in another culture we are
more self-centered. This is best seen at the table. You always have food, it doesn’t matter,
we put on more rice. There will be food for everyone. No one goes hungry. There is that
sense, if you like, of the heart of Christian hospitality and openness that is there. It is very
inspiring when you go to different parts of Africa. It is always there.
Q: What is the weakness of the Catholic faith in Africa?
Bishop O’Reilly: A weakness I suppose is that it hasn’t been able to address as quickly as
possible some of the realities around it.
Q: For example?
Bishop O’Reilly: One of the big areas that will always be a challenge is the whole issue of
corruption — corruption in society, which is a terrible disease really and does awful damage
to the fabric of everything. Good people, well qualified, can’t get jobs because they don’t
pay the bribe. The whole infrastructure of power can be so centered on corrupt practices
and payment. The Church is trying, but it is very difficult because it is something so rooted in
many cultures now and it must be said that it is very often due to the leadership and to
outsiders who have come and taken advantage for whatever purpose, maybe to extract
resources. In order to get the best deal, they don’t hesitate to pay and then if there are no
checks and balances inside the country, the whole thing collapses.
Q: A quick change of pace: We have been talking now about the growth of Catholicism but
we also have seen a growth in Islam. One out of every three Africans considers himself
Muslim. What challenge does this pose for the Catholic Church in Africa?
Bishop O’Reilly: The most important challenge it poses is to be able to work with our brothers
and sisters. They live in the compound next door. Our church is built next to a mosque. They
work on the same fields. They travel on the same buses. So, one of the most important things
is the mutual respect; that must be developed and that has to come with an understanding
on our part and on their part of the values we hold and, of course when that happens you
begin to discover that our values are common — that there is a common search for the right
kind of things.
The risk always is — and has been in Africa with these two great religions that you mentioned
— is extremist elements within them who will take advantage for particular purposes like
political, or social or economic to try and destabilize a region, a government or a ministry.
But, I think that one of the most important things that has happened in the last 30 years is the
amount of rapprochement and how we are working with each other at different levels in the
government. I know in Nigeria, with the recent riots in Bauchi, the head of the Catholic
Church and the imam immediately come together to resolve and speak about what has
happened. So there is certainly a great deal of movement to a better understanding and
respect of each other’s positions and the regard for their ways and our ways of living and
working together.
Q: Even Pope Benedict has been voicing very strongly this question of dialogue with Islam as
the solution to many of the conflicts that seem to be raging?
Bishop O’Reilly: It is. Unfortunately many of them are "instrumentalized" as they say in Italian to
the advantage of some politician or to some person and then the good work that’s done on
the ground is undone very quickly and you’ve got to rebuild again. As we are trying to build
a just society and the values of Islam in that regard are the same as ours, so we work
together for that.
Q: Both Christianity and Islam have incorporated many traditional African beliefs. Are we
talking about syncretism here? There is also a revival of African traditional beliefs. How do
you see this question?
Bishop O’Reilly: It is a very interesting one and there is a revival and — it is possible to link with
Brazil and the different cults that developed there. It is also linked, I think, with the mass
media. There is a huge market for plays and stories in which witchcraft plays a big part of the
story. That is widely distributed in Africa now. I can see them all over the place. So it’s a big
challenge really. In many ways it can come from a situation where there is great poverty
and unemployment. Even the very best people, because of their children, will search in any
direction. They will go anywhere if their child is not well. Who wouldn’t?
So the answer has to be in fact, again education, a proper understanding of what the
Catholic Church is doing. It is something we are aware of — a careful instructing of our own
ministers, religious and lay — in the aspects of this, and that this situation should not bring us
back into a time of fear or a time where these forces held an inordinate sway over people's
lives. This shouldn’t be the case. There is always that risk in societies where poverty, misery,
unemployment is dominant.
Q: In the document of Pope John Paul II “Ecclesiae in Africa," he wrote that the hour of
Africa has come. Would you say that this is the case?
Bishop O’Reilly: Yes, on some levels. I mean within the Church, it has certainly come because
of the statistics you have quoted and the reality of how those statistics are going to grow
over the next 10, 20, 30 years. Africa, unfortunately with the economic world the way it is, is
becoming more and more bypassed and being used to a greater extent only for its
resources, as we can see by the great powers that are doing that. But with regards to
Church, I would say it’s moment has come, and I think Pope John Paul II realized that in the
future, this is going to be a continent that will be central — not, perhaps, the dominant, but
central to the life of the Church in it’s mission.
Q: How will this change the universal Church?
Bishop O’Reilly: For the better I hope because, I suppose the richness of all our Churches
wherever we come from is the richness of somebody like Paul who can take a quasi-Jewish
Greek background, bring it to Rome and put the Gospel in there. So, if we can inculturate
the Gospel fully into Africa, Africa will give back a richness that we cannot imagine to the
universal Church. And if we can see the face of Christ as it is manifested in their cultures,
then we will have a richness that the Spirit wants us to have.
Q: What has Africa given you?
Bishop O’Reilly: It has given me that shear sense of the spirit being present in the communities
there. It is the communities that I have found the most inspiring and the most humbling. How
people will serve each other the way they do without counting the cost. They will give so
generously of themselves and to serve the Church. They are amazing. They love the Church.
M2U1 INSPIRED WORD OF GOD: Explore, Explain, Elaborate
We are familiar with the comment in Filipino that goes like this: "Hindi mo ako naiintindihan
dahil hindi mo naranasan ang aking napagdaanan" (You cannot understand me because
you did not experience what I went through).
1. Cite and instance when somebody says this to another.
2. Is it true that we can understand somebody better and can truly be with united with that
person if we have gone through his/ her experiences? Explain your answer.
3. Give a word in your culture that approximates the meaning of genuine unity with others.
Explain the implications of the word.
EXPLORE
Read the following Biblical passages from the Gospel of John. Consider the guide
questions below as you read:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who was in the beginning with God?
From a Christian perspective, who is the Word?
How is the Word related to God?
What happened to the Word according to the text?
The Biblical Text (John 1: 1-18)
2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him
not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was
the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome
it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify
to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came
to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not
know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But
to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of
God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of
God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as
of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was
he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before
me.’”) 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen
God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
EXPLAIN
This introduction to the Gospel of John became partly the Scriptural basis for the
doctrine of the incarnation which is central to Christianity. Literally, incarnation means
‘becoming flesh” or “en-fleshing.” The Christian teaching holds that in the person of Jesus,
God became human like us. God revealed who he is in Jesus so that in another part of the
Gospel of John, Jesus says, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father,” and “I and the
Father are one.”
Among the other Biblical bases for the teaching on the incarnation are the stories in
the Gospels of Matthew and Luke about Jesus’ conception and birth. For many Christians,
these stories are familiar because they are usually narrated or read during the very popular
season of Christmas. In these stories, Jesus is described as God’s Son born of a human being.
He is understood as a heavenly figure who became human precisely to save human beings.
He is Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Read the following and locate the cited Biblical texts in your Bible and reads them
also:
In grace God sends an angel to announce Jesus’s birth not to the rich and powerful, such as
Caesar Augustus or Governor Quirinius, but to lowly shepherds. God’s glory appears at night
to them, and the angel quiets their fears and conveys joyous good news, not just for Israel
but “for all the people” (v. 10): “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord” (v. 11). This amazing declaration names a newborn infant Savior and Lord,
the same titles Caesar Augustus, who claimed divine characteristics, gave himself.
The Greek translation of the OT uses “Savior” to name God (Isa. 45:15, 21), as does Mary
(Luke 1:47), and God transfers it to Jesus at his birth (2:11). He is also “Christ,” the Greek
rendering of the Hebrew “Messiah,” the promised deliverer, who came not as the Jews
expected—as a military leader to lead a revolt against Rome—but as the Savior from sin.
Moreover, Jesus is “Lord,” a word Luke uses to refer to God himself (1:11, 17) and also to
Jesus (vv. 43, 76).
ELABORATE
What is the significance of the biblical idea of the incarnation for Christians? Read the
following reflection:
The idea of a “god” involving himself in the affairs of men by coming to the earth is not
a novel one. In the Greek culture of New Testament times there were numerous instances in
which the “gods” were said to have manifested themselves in human flesh.1 In our own
times there are numerous examples of “super-beings” who have intervened in human history.
Just check out the movies and the novels proliferating around and you will find these "superheroes."
All of our present day “super-beings” offer provide little help when it comes to the doctrine of
the incarnation, however. In the first place, these are fictional characters--nobody really
believes in them. This predisposes us to doubt the description of our Lord in the New
Testament. In addition, these “super-heroes” of our time are vastly different from the person
of Christ, who is God incarnate. There is nothing in fact or in fiction in the history of human
beings which matches the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Humanly
speaking, no one anticipated God’s intervention into human history by the birth of a child,
born in a manger. Not even Judaism was looking for Messiah to come in this way.2
Furthermore, we have become so accustomed to the biblical narratives of the birth of our
Lord and the creedal formulations of the doctrines involved that we have often ceased to
appreciate the mystery of the incarnation.
If we are to properly appreciate the mystery of the incarnation, we must first come to
recognize the importance of the coming of our Lord as God incarnate in the language of
the Bible. For this reason I have chosen to devote this first message on the incarnation to the
subject of the importance of the incarnation. Let us consider the reasons why the doctrine
of the incarnation is vital to every one of us.
(1) The Doctrine of the Incarnation Should be the Focus of a Christian Celebration of
Christmas.
We are rapidly approaching Christmas. Strangely enough, this is a time of depression, not just
for men and women in general, but particularly for Christians. The “let down” is noticeable, I
think, for all of us. Some of this is probably the fact that we have spent considerable money
and effort to make the celebration of Christmas enjoyable, and yet the returns have been
minimal. A great deal of our depression is related to the fact that much of our concentration
is turned away from the message of Christ’s incarnation. The great joy of Christmas is
inseparably bound with the fact of His incarnation.
It is probably not necessary to remind you that December 25th is hardly to be considered the
time when our Lord was actually born. No one really knows the exact date of our Lord’s
birth.3 We do know that by the end of the fourth century Christ’s birth was celebrated on
January 6th, and then later on, celebration was divided between January 6th and
December 25th. In early Rome the Feast of Saturnalia was celebrated for seven days from
the 17th of December to the 24th. This festive week was “marked by a spirit of merriment, gift
giving to children and other forms of entertainment.”4
Throughout the centuries various elements have been included in the observance of
Christmas. In some way some of these elements helped obscure the central focus of
Christmas on the incarnation . If we are to truly enter into the spirit and celebration of
Christmas in Christian worship than we must focus our attention on the event of the
incarnation, which is the heart of the Christmas message.
(2) The Doctrine of the Incarnation is Not Only Neglected by Christians Today, It is Under
Attack By Those Who Would Call Themselves “Christians.”
While our culture is very open to “super-beings” who are fictional, there has been increased
hostility and opposition to the biblical doctrine of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
history there have been those who have sought to handle the difficulties of the incarnation
by sacrificing either the deity of Christ (e.g. the Ebionites) or his humanity (e.g. the Docetists).
Quite recently there has been a bold attack on the doctrine of the incarnation made by a
group of theologians, whose essays have been published under the title, The Myth of God
Incarnate (S.C.M., 1977).5 In no uncertain terms the incarnation is dismissed as a myth, along
with other fundamental doctrines of the faith.
A study of the incarnation of our Lord is therefore not only necessary in order to properly
observe Christmas, but also to preserve the significance of sound doctrine, which has come
under attack at this very point.
Biblically, doctrine of the incarnation provides the Christian with a doctrinal touchstone to
determine a departure from orthodoxy:9 This passage from the first letter of John is a fitting
advise for us today:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God;
because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of
God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every
spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of
which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world" (I John 4:1-3).
(3) The Doctrine of the Incarnation is Frequently the Point of Departure for Those Who Reject
the Christian Faith.
We have already stated that the doctrine of the incarnation is central to a biblical Christian
celebration of Christmas and that it is a truth currently under attack. But the doctrine of the
incarnation is also one which is vital to the Christian faith because other biblical doctrines will
stand or fall with it. Where people stand on the doctrine of the incarnation often defines the
dividing line between orthodoxy and heresy, between true Christianity and the cults.
The uniqueness of the Christian faith is directly related to the biblical teaching of the
incarnation of Christ:
The Christian doctrine of the incarnation is one of the two central doctrines which set out the
unique features of Christian faith in God. Christianity shares with some other religions belief in
an infinite and transcendent God, the source of the world’s being and of all its values. It
recognizes that in every part of the world, traditions of religious belief and religious
experience have made it possible for men and women to enjoy the blessedness of spiritual
life and of the knowledge and love of God. But the Christian doctrine of the incarnation
expresses the conviction of Christians that this God has made himself known full, specifically
and personally, by taking our human nature into himself, by coming amongst us as a
particular man, without in any way ceasing to be the eternal and infinite God.11
M2U1 CHURCH TEACHING: EXPLORE, EXPLAIN, ELABORATE
(NOTE: YOU ARE EXPECTED TO UNDERGO THE FOLLOWING PROCESS, BUT YOU ARE NOT
REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS FOR ELABORATE.)
EXPLORE
Starting from the Biblical perspective, the Church reflects further on the significance of the
incarnation. Pay attention to the new insights contained in this article:
The Incarnation is a unique and singular event. Its truth informs the way we view God and
ourselves.
Divine condescension
When Jesus arrived on the earth, he changed the way humanity viewed God. In Jesus, God
came down from heaven to earth, without compromising his divinity.
The Incarnation of Christ crowned centuries of divine revelation, God’s slow revealing of
himself, making himself known to humanity over time. God’s divine communication was now
to be known through the Person of his Son. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines
the Incarnation as “the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to
accomplish our salvation in it” (CCC, 461).
This is the deepest meaning behind our Christmas celebrations.
[T]he Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part
man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the
human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true
man. (CCC, 464)
This holy condescension of God means that we can never accuse God of being absent or
lofty or unreachable or inaccessible. The Incarnation—the taking on of flesh in the Virgin’s
womb—is the moment whereby the inexhaustible, inexpressible, invisible, omnipotent, and
almighty Holy One takes on human visage. The divinity of God shines through a human
person now.
At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the
Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine
nature he has assumed human nature. (CCC, 479)
Divine dignity
Jesus, coming as a human person, changed the way we view ourselves. The Second
Vatican Council declared that the Incarnation raises our own human dignity.
He who is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) is himself the perfect man. To
the sons of Adam he restores the divine likeness which had been disfigured from the first sin
onward. Since human nature as he assumed it was not annulled, by that very fact it has
been raised up to a divine dignity in our respect too. (Gaudium et Spes, 22)
Humanity now counts the face of God among its own. Never again may I look at another
person, or myself, with disdain or disrespect, for there is an inherent dignity in all.
For by his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every man. He
worked with human hands, he thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and
loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like us
in all things except sin. (Gaudium et Spes, 22)
This is why we celebrate Christmas; the Nativity is the realization of the Incarnation. This is
why we kneel with wonder, praying at the manger. The Christ Child gives us insight into the
God who truly knows us, loves us, and still chooses to save us.
As we yield ever more deeply to the love of God, we discover that Christmas’ true meaning
brings us a keener understanding of our own true selves.
The Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus “we see our God made
visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.” (Roman Missal, Preface of
Christmas I)
The individual characteristics of Christ’s body express the divine person of God’s Son. He has
made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated
when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer who venerates the icon is venerating in it
the person of the one depicted. (CCC, 477)
EXPLAIN
Reflecting on the Biblical texts pertaining to the doctrine of the incarnation, the Church
provides us with these two important themes:
1.
2.
The incarnation is God reaching out to the whole of creation.
The incarnation is God immersing Himself in the very concrete situation of people.
As you ponder on what these two themes mean, focus on “reaching out,” “whole of
creation,” “God immersing Himself,” and “concrete situation of people.”
In the understanding of the Church inspired by the Biblical literature, God is Creator and He
loves what He created. It is no wonder that the Bible starts with God creating in the book of
Genesis, and that after each day of creation, he surveys what he made with satisfaction
and exclaims, “It’s good!” The Church also teaches that creation is an overflow of God’s
love. We and the rest of creation, in Biblical understanding, are fashioned out of boundless
love. Because God loved so much, he created.
In Jesus, the Incarnate Word, God continues to reach out in love for creation and renews
creation. Through Jesus, God has shown us the way of life, a way of relating with ourselves
and with others, and indeed with the whole of creation, that can lead to the renewal of our
world. Jesus showed us that human beings have the capacity to sacrifice for one another;
that we can show genuine compassion; that we have the courage to work for justice and
peace against oppositions.
The incarnation is also God’s solidarity with people, especially with the poor and the
oppressed. In Jesus’ life and ministry, we see God’s concern for the sick and the
marginalized. Around one-third of Jesus’ recorded activities in the Gospels are concerned
with healing and giving hope to the sick and those afflicted in any way. In Jesus, the saving
God has visited his people. The Old Testament refers to this as God “pitching his tent among
his people” (Exodus 40: 34-38) in order that people will live full lives (John 10:10).
Pitching tent with others is a symbol of intimate relationship, of solidarity or oneness. Biblical
scholars usually use this expression in relation to the incarnation. In the following anecdote
from Steven Bouma-Prediger, we understand how pitching tent with others becomes one
way of speaking about the doctrine of the incarnation (Read this in relation to John 1:1-18):
"It was raining, cold and hard, as we finally canoed into our camp for the night. It may have
been spring back home, with blooming tulips, but May in the Adirondacks is often still late
winter. My students and I needed some shelter from the weather, so we pitched our fourperson tents, and after a hot meal of delicious food and some conversation about the day,
we dove into our warm, dry shelters. You get to know someone well, sleeping in a small tent
night after night. You know who snores and who rolls about, who likes to sleep in and who is
up with the birds. With tenting comes a newfound level of intimacy."
In this famous passage, verse 14 in Greek literally says that “the Word became flesh and
pitched his tent among us.” As Eugene Peterson puts it: “The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood”. God tented with the Israelites in the wilderness and in
Christ God pitches his tent with us. God is with us, up close, in person. How amazing that God
pitches his tent among the likes of us! Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
ELABORATE
Here is a poem from the great Saint Augustine of Hippo. Read it carefully guided by
the following questions:
1.
2.
Who is described as beautiful?
Why is he beautiful?
3.
What has poem to do with the doctrine of the incarnation?
GOD’S GREAT DREAM
To us, therefore, who believe, the Bridegroom always appears beautiful.
Beautiful is God, the Word with God;
Beautiful in the Virgin’s womb,
Where, without losing his divinity, he assumed humanity;
Beautiful is the Word born as a child, because while a child,
he sucked milk,
while being carried, the heavens spoke,
the angels sang praises, the star directed the journey of the Magi,
he was adored in the crib, food for the meek.
He is beautiful, therefore, in heaven and beautiful on earth;
Beautiful in the womb, beautiful in his parents’ arms:
Beautiful in the miracles, beautiful in his sufferings;
Beautiful in inviting to life, beautiful in despising death,
Beautiful in giving up his life and beautiful resuming it;
Beautiful on the cross, beautiful the tomb, beautiful in heaven.
Listen to the canticle with intelligence,
and do not let the weakness of the flesh distract your eyes
from the splendor of his beauty.
Supreme and true beauty is justice;
you will not see the beautiful One if you consider him unjust;
if he is just in all places, he is beautiful everywhere.
(St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms 44, 3)