Witness and Proclamation
Truly, it is through the gift of the Spirit that the
Church will be able to become a witness
and thus, could proclaim the Gospel
ever anew. It is impossible to proclaim the word of God without first becoming
God’s witness. So, what is then a witness to the Gospel? To be a community of
witnesses is to experience the message of the Gospel. Experience here is more
than hearing the Gospel but rather living the message, walking the message and
doing the message. To be able to become a witness involves vitally the aspect
of being evangelized and being converted. It means that we have let ourselves
open and let the Gospel touch our lives and hence, our very being. This affirms
our very identity before God as beloved people.
To
go deeply, it would be important to reflect what kind of Gospel that a person
should be a witness of. Of course, there is only one Gospel and that is Jesus
and His Kingdom which goal is communion with the Father. So, the Gospel is
basically the person of Jesus, the God-made-man who suffered, died and
resurrected. It says also that Jesus is a God-with-us, Emmanuel. Jesus is a God
who is not far or somewhere out there but rather near to us and with us. Jesus
is a God who is not completely incomprehensible and totally alien to human
experience but rather a God who is truly human yet truly God. He is a God who
is close to humanity.
Definitely,
it says that Jesus, this God is not alien to any human suffering, to any human
pain or to any human agony. He is a God who could relate well to these human experiences.
And it is when we realize and experience that Jesus is experiencing with us,
not only that, but accompanying and sharing with us in our every human
experiences. It is in this experience that we become a witness to this grace
that brings us to liberation. It may not be materially but from the shackles
and hurdles that makes our hearts insensitive and strange to others’ struggles.
Hence, this image is not only limited to the poor or to the oppressed but it is
universal for this experience could touch the hearts and lives of the rich and
even the oppressors. This whole grace-process of being a witness is truly the
work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus has promised. It is something that everyone
could receive with an open and willing heart.
It
is by this experience and through this life in the Spirit that we could
proclaim what we have received. Being able to receive the person of Jesus and
his Kingdom in the life of the Church, this makes us as a Church to proclaim
Jesus, the God-made-man, the God-with-us and His Kingdom. So, proclamation is
also an aspect of giving and sharing what we have received to others. In
return, to be able to proclaim and share would allow us to be more open and
thus, to be enriched by others. This spirit of giving-receiving and receiving-giving
is actually a counter-culture image in a world divided by selfishness and
self-interest. But I am not saying that this kind of attitude of
giving-receiving is completely absent in the world today. In some way, it is
still present, but, this will be more enriched through faith.
In
particular, proclamation can be done in varied ways. Personal contact with
another person is a possible way where a sharing of faith could take place.
Reaching out to individual families would be a powerful way of proclaiming the
Gospel. Reaching out to different sectors of the society such as the youth,
professional men and women, workers and labourers are also other ways of
proclaiming the Gospel. The use of our current technology could be best
employed in our evangelization. The mass media through music, movies and
inspirational programs can be created to make people aware as a re-awakening of
the message of the Gospel. And there are still other ways of exercising our
identity as witnesses in proclaiming the Gospel ever anew. The proclamation of
the Gospel message is precisely should not just be only intellectual.
Nevertheless, it should be something that everyone could understand and in due
course touch their hearts. This would surely lead to conversion and commitment
in the Gospel message.
Furthermore,
as an important element of this proclamation, it would be very essential that
this mission in the 21st century would still carry out Jesus’
effective way of proclaiming the Kingdom that it would be manifested through healing and reconciliation. Hence, as
we experience Jesus, we would surely experience the healing and reconciling
image and presence of Jesus.
Healing and Reconciliation
By the insecurities of conflicts politically,
religiously, racially or economically which result to violence, estrangement
and indifference cause so much division in the community. Nonetheless, this is
not to overly emphasize a pessimistic perspective of the world as being in
division and always in trouble. This is rather to recognize a reality of the
situation of the world otherwise if this is unrecognized and denied the
relationship we would have will be unrealistic. Accordingly, a difficulty on
how to approach this situation inevitably arises. Mediation through dialogue
seems too difficult as well. However, dialogue is the only best way of
approaching these insecurities and never through war or of closing ones door
otherwise it would only create deep and more distance. Hence, the most possible
way of dealing these insecurities is again through the dialogue of faith that
would promote or bring healing and reconciliation within and between community
of cultures, races, nations and religions.
Hence, it is on this part where the
Church as a missionary is most vulnerable also. In order to bring healing and
reconciliation, at first, the Church has to recognize her wounds and the
divisions within the Church. This one is difficult and not an easy task. This
is very much true even to a person. A person is first called to deal and face
the wounds and pains which cause traumas in him or her. It is through healing
that there would be a true reconciliation and also the other way around,
through reconciliation that there would be a true healing. This makes the
person a healer – a wounded healer and an advocate of reconciliation. Hence, as
a community of faith, the Church as a missionary is called to be a healer with
a very positive hope of bringing reconciliation. Thus, in order for the Church
to become a healer and advocate of reconciliation, the Church is to experience
and re-experience the healing and reconciling mystery of the incarnation of
Jesus as well as his paschal mystery.
Consequently, aspects are to be
affirmed here also (in the Theology of Reconciliation). It is by looking at
healing and reconciliation not merely a human work. Healing and reconciliation is first and foremost the work of God –
this is ultimately a grace. The Church as a missionary is basically an “agent”
of God to bring healing and reconciliation in the world. As St. Paul would say,
“we are ambassadors of Christ, as if
God were appealing through us (2 Cor. 5: 20a).” God is the One who can give
this grace to the world. That is why the Church is called to be healed and
reconciled first that she may become and effective agent. Further, God’s reconciling work begins with the
victim. This simply upholds that God is a God who looks and hears people in
suffering. It is good to remember that Jesus agonized, suffered and cried. This begins by restoring the dignity of the
victim as a human being which had been violated or destroyed in the act of
wrongdoing. However, God cannot be indifferent with the oppressor. God is
also concerned with the other party. Indeed, God wills healing and
reconciliation to both. Hence, God makes
the victim and the wrongdoer a “new creation.” Healing here does not
entirely mean of recovering what was there before in the victim. Reconciliation
does not mean also as merely lifting up what burdens the person. Nevertheless,
healing and reconciliation is God’s way of recreating the victim and the
wrongdoer, thus, to a new creation. This is what St. Paul says, “So whoever is
in Christ, is a new creation; the old
things have passed away; behold new thing have come (2 Cor. 5:17).” And by this
new creation, suffering is placed inside
the story of Jesus’ suffering and death with the hope of resurrection. This
is really an assurance that God is never indifferent to human suffering. In
fact, God is inviting us to place our
suffering in the framework of Christ’s own suffering. Again, St. Paul
effectively says, “to know him [Jesus Christ] and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death (Phil. 3:10)”
– by placing ones suffering is knowing Jesus and the power of his resurrection
– liberation. Therefore, as we place our suffering in Jesus, we share in his
suffering; yet, Jesus is also suffering with us. This is, again, God’s power of
incarnation. Essentially, we are to remember also that the healing and reconciliation that we are going to experience in this
world through the grace of God is not yet in its fullness. This gives us
even a very positive hope that there is beyond and there is more than this in
God. It reminds us too that though we have the capacity but entirely we are dependent
on God’s grace of healing and reconciliation in its fullness. This makes us as
a missionary Church humble and open to the Spirit of God.
Besides, another characteristic is
worthy to be expected and admitted in this area. Healing and reconciliation is
not something that can be reached immediately. Healing and reconciliation
follows a process. As there is a process, it means that it could take time.
This might be frustrating to the Church who proclaims healing and proclamation.
But, it is more frustrating and even more painful for the ones who are
victimized and oppressed. Accordingly, a great patience with sympathy and
solidarity for those who are suffering is needed. This is surely giving the
Church as a missionary to affirm her role as a companion, a friend and a
co-sufferer. It gives the missionary Church a place in the midst of division,
of indifference and of violence. It is again giving flesh to the Gospel
message. This gives also a bigger horizon for the Church on how to dialogue
with the world. She will surely not become irrelevant.
Henceforward, as I refer to the
missionary Church, I do not simply refer to the priests, religious brothers and
sisters or the bishops and the Pope and the whole hierarchy of the Church.
Essentially, the missionary Church is the entire people of God that is every
believer of Christ both women and men, young and old, rich and poor, the
uneducated and intellectual, the employer and the labourer - yes, everyone
else, the people who affirms the grace of God in their lives, thus, are called
to give witness and proclaim the message of love. And here, the Magisterium
that is the teaching authority of the Church guides the people of God in
carrying out faithfully the mission entrusted to the Church.
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