Mission Immersion as a way of “Being” (Part 5, 6 and 7)

Part 5: The Basic option of Jesus: The Periphery

                In the Gospels, Jesus was called his disciple by words of invitation that until now re-echoes. Come to me! Come and see! Follow me! Go! These are the words of Jesus that captured his disciples and moved them to follow the Lord. In Matthew, as well as in other Gospels, it is evident that Jesus called and invited people to follow him and to be his disciples as companions and co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord – in order to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

                Discipleship is always radical and something that is not temporary. To be a disciple of Jesus is sent (as Jesus was also sent by the Father) to make disciples of the Lord, baptizing and teaching them. This command of Jesus is to be continued till the end of time “through Jesus and in the Holy Spirit.” But of course, the disciples in the NT were always haunted with doubts. Many times, the disciples misunderstood and doubted Jesus. Yet, Jesus taught them and reminded them again and again (as he did on the road to Emmaus). However, this only expresses the humanity of the disciples that always need guidance from Jesus and who taught them time and again.

                The call to discipleship is actually a call to “Galilee.” Galilee was the place where Jesus grew up. It was also the border region, the periphery tainted by pagan influences and revolutionary ideas. Galilee, indeed, was a very symbolic place. In the NT, it had both the sociological and missiological meaning.

                The people in Galilee were the excluded, the poor, and the marginalized where only bad news were heard and imposed. And Jesus grew up in this environment. He indeed belonged to this marginalized-second-class people who were systematically oppressed by oppressive powers. And Jesus identifies himself with them. And with them Jesus shared food, drink and stories.

Hapag ng Pag-asa by Joey Velasco
Jesus indeed belonged to this marginalized-second-class people who were systematically oppressed by oppressive powers. And Jesus identifies himself with them. And with them Jesus shared food, drink and stories.

                Moreover, Jesus, first and foremost, called his disciples who were mostly Galileans, in the poor and marginalized people. These same people were sent to do mission in Galilee. Galilee now represented the world where people continued to suffer, to be marginalized and oppressed. It is in this periphery where Jesus moved. And for Jesus, marginality means mobility, itinerancy and flexibility. This especially means that Jesus’ mission was a continuous journey – a mission on the road.

                Jesus’ mission though at the periphery, yet, he also went to the centre. Jesus' way of going to the centre was not for the sake of applauding himself but to confront the centre. He went to Jerusalem as a protest to the arrogance of the elites. It was Jesus’ final prophetic mission. It was very radical that even reached to the point of his own death on the cross. Going to the centre was to confront the oppressive power for the sake of the liberation of the poor, the abandoned and the marginalized.

                Certainly, the basic option of Jesus which is the periphery, is the option for the people, the poor, the oppressed and the victims.

               As disciples and modern day apostles of Jesus, we are to seek the marginalized and the oppressed in our society. It is to be faithful to the mission of Jesus entrusted to us his believers. The mission to the periphery is surely radical and demanding, thus, it must always be motivated through the person of Jesus with the power of the Holy Spirit.

                Indeed, Jesus entrusted the mission to be continued by the gathered disciples (ecclesia) who at first had doubts and were fearful and ambitious. It was actually a risk for Jesus to entrust this mission. However, Jesus gave his disciples the Spirit to empower them. This mission now is being handed by the disciple to us, present Christians to continue Jesus’ mission by prolonging the logic of the mission in a creative, courageous and credible way.

                Jesus’ ministry was a loving encounter. And so the gathered disciples (ecclesia- community of believers) has to advocate the cause of the poor, to serve those who are in the periphery, to give sight to the blind, to heal the sick, to free the captives and to fight for justice for the victims and oppressed.

                It was already two thousand years ago that Jesus walked on earth, nevertheless, the church has to re-evaluate our mission on how we would carry out the mandate of our Lord. The church is confronted with the possibility of misunderstanding the mission or “had not been daring enough” to remain faithful to the call of Jesus. And we ask, how far and effective did the church transport and communicate Jesus to different culture and peoples?

                The challenge for the church now “is to make the message understood and to touch the people’s lives. Theological discourses should bring Christians to the simplicity of Jesus that the poor could easily understand – that Jesus may become truly good news to them. It is a big challenge for the church especially today. There are many theological discourses that must be re-interpreted into the words of Jesus for the sake of the poor and the most abandoned.

Part 6: The Missionary Spirituality

                The spirit of our charism should be the force that would lead us into a good missionary. One of its signs is our availability for the people, the frontier where we are sent to as missionaries.

                Spirituality does not merely mean to become a “spiritual man or woman” but rather to become more human in touch with the Spirit. It makes us open and connected with other human beings and to God. And there are actually many ways of Spirituality and our charism as Redemptorists should lead us into that kind of spirituality.

                Spirituality, moreover, should also lead us into the reality of the world rather than departing from the world. And as Christians and religious, this would allow us to have a sound prayer life and not to spiritual elitism. That’s why it is not actually something that can be learned in a classroom alone but through relationship and contemplation expressed in actions. In this way we grow daily in our everyday life with the ups and downs or even to get lost at times.

                It is important to remember that the formation or the growth of our spirituality is not through our own initiative but God’s with the individuals. Participation and effort from the person is still integral in the growth of his or her spirituality. Lacking the human element will only fall to spiritual laziness. Indeed, God works in us and through us. We do not become passive – letting God do everything for us but we as individuals participate. As God works – He is a God of our own history whom we know, whom we have encountered in our lives. The God who is working within us is not outside or alien to us.

               Hence, it is important to remember that the God we encounter is a God of History. As missionaries or even as Christians, we encounter God not in the clouds but among us, his people and in all his creation.

                Spirituality, indeed, is a constant touching of the divine spirit yet remain spontaneous.  The spirit is not structured or bound to any structures. Consequently, the spirit is always filled with surprises where we always encounter joy and sadness, trust and doubts, faith and fear, love and hate.

                Going back, a true spirituality is not a departure from the world or alienating ourselves of what is real. A true spirituality is rather to allow ourselves to be in the world and to recognize God’s presence in the world. Nevertheless, Jesus also called us to renounce the world. Yet, Jesus did not say of renouncing this “world” but what he really meant was to renounce any worldly attachments that may hinder us to be free. Worldly materials are good but our attachments to these will only block our sight from seeing and recognizing the other faces of the people and even the face of God present among His people.

                There are actually two kinds of spirituality. A Good and Bad Spirituality. A good spirituality is lived out among the people and with the people. This will allow us to recognize God’s people and people’s God. On the other hand, a bad spirituality is an over structure spirituality that over-emphasized structured prayer life yet does not see God among His people.

                Prayer life expresses in our practice of meditations and other forms of prayer, is not the whole of spirituality. This aspect is only a part of our whole spirituality. Our relationship with the people and God encompasses our Spirituality.

Part 7: Spirituality at the Periphery

                People at the periphery are those who are poor and oppressed having no resources, no dreams, no hopes, no power, no sight, no freedom, etc. Hence, the periphery is the world of the victims of injustice, exploitation and oppression. Indeed, this place is very depressive, not easily acceptable, and surely, very uncomfortable. As missionaries, this is the spirituality that Jesus has called us. We are called to this places where we don’t want to go, where there is no guarantee of success and promotions.

                It is where we allow the spirit to catch us, to disturb us and to encounter doubts and fears so that we may arrive into a sound spirituality that makes us available, self-giving, confident and prophetic.

                This spirituality at the periphery has been already in the tradition of the Redemptorists. In fact, this is the spirituality that St. Alphonsus had.

                In the history of the congregation, St. Alphonsus had founded this group of brothers not for the sake of fraternity alone but for the sake of the poor and the most abandoned. The encounter of the young Alphonsus with the patients at the Hospital of the Incurables and the poor vendors at the market place of Naples, made the heart of this young man to be fertile. Alphonsus with the other crises he faced finally heard and heeded the voice of God among His abandoned people to become a priest. Later on, the further encounter of Alphonsus with the poor farmers and goatherds at Scala, the young Alphonsus took the risk and a radical decision had been made to found a group of brothers dedicated to proclaim the Gospel.

                Missions even at the time of Alphonsus, were always at the periphery, in the countryside where there was no access of the church and even of the assistance of the state. Yet, Alphonsus had never forgotten the abandoned people even at the city of Naples. Alphonsus had them always in his mind, hence, he continued to reach out to them. This is evident on the occasions where Alphonsus and his friends gathered the people at the market place for an evening session, this they called the “Evening Chapels.”

                Alphonsus had always a compassionate heart for the poor and the most abandoned. His personal encounter with them had made tremendous effect to this young noble. Alphonsus had surely met God and had known personally God through and among the poor and the most abandoned. And Alphonsus had known a compassionate, forgiving, and loving God whose redemption overflows. Yes, Alphonsus had realized a God who is near where one could easily call and rely when times are difficult.

                Alphonsus through his marvellous writings expressed his spirituality particularly grounded in his encounter with the simple people. Accordingly, the many prayers like the novena to the Holy Spirit, to the incarnation (Christmas), to the death and resurrection of Jesus (stations of the cross), to Mary, and the meditations and visits to the Blessed Sacrament and many more were the expressions of Alphonsus.

                In addition, the marvellous theological works of Alphonsus on Moral Theology take the central image of Alphonsus’ God. His theology was primarily based on a God who is so loving, so forgiving and so compassionate. He is a God who wants everyone to be saved and to be restored in His presence. Indeed, Alphonsus had this realization and radical spirituality despite being scrupulous. The poor and the most abandoned were primarily the ones who brought him to Jesus for Jesus himself is among them. 

Mission Immersion as a way of “Being” (Part 3 and 4)

Part 3: To be the Light to the Nations

In the Gospel of Luke (2:30-32), the word of the Lord to Abraham and the mission of Israel in the OT had been re-echoed and that is “to be the light to the nations.” These words that had been re-echoed in the NT had been also the opportunity of the pious Jew, Simeon, waiting in the Temple for so long for the coming of the Messiah. Simeon was literally referring to the child Jesus as the light to the nations which means that Jesus was born into human flesh to save the people not just the Jews but even the non-Jews of the world. In effect, those who believe in Jesus may become the light as well as Israel was called. Jesus’ disciples, the gathered community of believers, are now entrusted to be that light in the world.

Moreover, Luke presented an account that portrayed various people who recognized, saw and embraced the Messiah. However, many of them never became his followers. Although, there were also people that later in their lives particularly at the death and resurrection of Jesus became fearless in believing Jesus as the Messiah.

This is particularly represented by Mary. In fact the Gospel mentioned three times that Mary “kept all these things in her heart.” This meant that Mary also had encountered some wonders upon the events of her life and in Jesus things that she couldn’t understand. After that, Mary only appeared at the foot of the cross of Jesus and at the Pentecost. Truly, Mary might had doubts as well in her heart yet her faith grew gradually as God revealed himself to her. Mary certainly represented the Church - whose faith is on the journey towards maturity.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Joseph and Mary were accounted passively by the evangelist. The mention of the presence of the Magi, which means “wise men,” with three gifts represented the universal presence of God. The Magi who were not Jews were the image of all the nations. God is not exclusive for Israel. God’s offer of salvation is for all people, in fact in all creation.

Through the person of Jesus who was sent by the Father was to bring everyone into the realization of God’s universal plan of salvation. The goal of his mission is to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth.

Hence, in Luke’s Gospel, the healing miracles of making the blind see or the recovery of the sight was central to the mission of the Jews. Israel was blinded and was not able to see God’s presence among them. He person of Jesus will allow them to see God. Yet, it is evident in the NT that many were still blind for they choose to be blind and refused to see Jesus as the Messiah. The Israelites have impose upon themselves that the Messiah who is to come is the saviour with powerful army who will trample down the Roman Empire at that time. The Jews were waiting for a King that will be born in the palace with gold and silvers and servants. They were waiting for a Messiah that holds a sword on his hand to kill the enemies. Nevertheless, all these expectation were never to be found in Jesus of Nazareth.

Moreover, Jesus himself pointed out to the Jews how they refused and rejected God’s message for them brought by the prophets in the OT. Elijah was instead sent by God not to the widows in Israel but to the widow in Seraphat, a gentile. Elisha the prophet also healed the gentile army general Naaman. This is primarily because of the refusal of the Israelites. Nevertheless, God reveals his universal compassion, love and salvation to strangers, to foreigners.

Hence, even though those gentiles did not know God, yet in the deepest of their hearts they were longing for God. It was in this way that God allowed them to see His love for them. This gift of sight is indeed the hinge of all “liberations” in the bible. In the NT, John the Baptist even sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?” Jesus answered them, “Tell John what you have seen and heard.”

In the story of Zacchaeus, it also reflected a story of a desire of a tax collector, a sinner, who wanted to see Jesus. So, Zacchaeus climbed up to a tree and saw Jesus and was commanded to go down for Jesus was to go into his (Zacchaeus) house. There, Zacchaeus confessed to Jesus to return what he had stolen from the poor four times and he would give half of all his possessions. It only means that Zacchaeus wanted to be ruined before Jesus. Giving his possessions and giving back four times what he had stolen expressed a radical response to Jesus’ invitation. The evangelist used this metaphor to convey the message of giving oneself to Christ. Thus, in this story, Zacchaeus also represented the people of Israel.

Those who believe in Jesus may become light as well. Jesus’ disciples, the gathered community of believers, are entrusted to be that light in the world, bringing Jesus to all nations and all cultures.

Part 4: The Table Fellowship

                The banquet or table fellowship is one of the hallmarks of Jesus’ ministry. Many a time, Jesus ate with sinners, fed the hungry (as to the feeding of the five thousand men), told parables about the banquet or gathered his disciples at table. These actions of Jesus perfectly portrayed the image of the Kingdom of God. All these table fellowships expressed a universal scope and intention that breaks any differences whether one is poor or rich, a man or a woman a child or an old man or a Jew or a gentile. This expresses further the eschatological plan of God. Salvation or the Kingdom of God is intended for all people, for all nations.

                Consequently, Jesus commanded his disciples in their table (supper) fellowship, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Remembering Jesus (not only in the Eucharist) is to become a disciple of Jesus. Therefore, not remembering Jesus in our life is unbecoming of a disciple of Jesus. However, by remembering Jesus is making him present and not just a “mere” remembrance of the distant past. Through this, the community of disciples carry out the command of Jesus “to preach the Gospel to all nations.” Yet, Jesus’ command was always demanding and always radical. His mission is always marked by vulnerability and weakness. We have to remember again that through his incarnation became vulnerable. At the start of his ministry, Jesus was prone to temptation. In his passion and death, Jesus was weak.  Nonetheless, Jesus never wavered his trust in the Father. Jesus completely submitted himself to the will of the Father.

                As Jesus’ disciple, who desire to follow the Lord, we are as well called to completely trust in the will of God. We are invited to put our dreams and hope, even our fears and anxieties into the loving hands of God. Jesus himself will teach us on how to do that through constant reflection of the sacred scriptures. We may encounter hardships and temptations to retreat to our own shells of comforts, yet, God will always look and invite us to come out and be his sign of redemption in the world.

Mission Immersion as a way of “Being”

*The following essays were from my notes and reflections from the “Mission Immersion Orientation” last April 3-8, 2014 in Baclaran Church, Paranaque City. Fr. Luc Mees, MJ was the facilitator of the second part of the orientation. These notes and reflections mostly come from his paper entitled Mission Today: To follow Jesus to Galilee.

Part 1:  A Good School

                “Go to a good school - that is the school of the people.” Mission immersions should be looked at this perspective. Immersion to the lives of the people gives wider perspective to students/religious about life and about faith. Hence, these immersions should be more on being than doing – that is to be able to live with the people, to eat with them, to work, play, laugh, cry, crack jokes, and tell stories. It is essentially spending and wasting time with them. It is in this way that we religious may be able to see life at the perspective of this people. In this way we may be able to witness their struggles and listen to their hopes and dreams.

                To be effective missionaries, it is essential to know who our people are, to be in solidarity with them in the many aspects of their lives. We are not to remain in our convents, students must go beyond the four corners of their classroom and to confirm and develop profoundly their theological studies in the slums, in the simple houses of the people or even with the presence of the homeless, the sickly, the dying and those who are fighting for justice and peace.

                In this way, we affirm that the Church has a mission, yet we do not own mission, but mission has us. This should be the attitude we missionaries and as a Church should relate and respond to the call of God to us. The mission of God (Missio Dei) in which mission means “being sent” does not really mean that God is sent but rather God himself is working as a missionary. In God, all missions originates. As the Father sent his Son to redeem the world and so the Father and the Son sent the Spirit to sanctify all creation.

                Yet, as a Church we are sent into the world to continue to proclaim and Good news to all creatures. Mission is the call also for universalism. Indeed, to be universal is the hallmark of our faith and that is why we call also ourselves as Catholics in Greek katholikos which means universal or in general. The Gospel message who is Jesus the Lord is the universal message that must be brought about.

 

 Immersions should be more on being than doing – that is to be able to live with the people, to eat with them, to work, play, laugh, cry, crack jokes, and tell stories. It is essentially spending and wasting time with them.

Part 2: The Divine Mandate

The fundamental divine mandate to all Christians is to be a witness “to all nations.” We find it in the Old Testament, Israel as the chosen race arrived in the destructive misinterpretation of God’s election. Their election at some point of time was thought to be a privilege that even God should be thankful to Israel or else there would be no one who will worship YHWH.

                Israel became arrogant and because of this theological degradation they demanded many things to God. They demanded to have their own king, temple and army like their powerful neighbouring kingdoms. And that was the beginning of more tragedies and destruction of the Israel nation. These catastrophes went beyond from the corruption of kings to destruction of the temple, exiles to their neighbouring kingdoms, division of the kingdom and many invasions.

                Hence, Israel failed in their mission to be a light to all nations and be a blessing to all people. Israel became ultimately a curse to everybody because of the stubbornness of their hearts to return to YHWH. However, God called and sent his messengers, the prophets to remind his people to return to the loving and forgiving presence of God, the God of all the nations.

                There are actually two fundamental myths of Israel. However, the word myth should not be understood as something which is mere illusory but rather a metaphor that expresses the truth. Nevertheless, these two are the Journey of Abraham and the Exodus Story. The journey of Abraham was about the call of God to this man to cross his own boundary and to journey towards the Promised Land and Posterity and thus to become the Father and a blessing to all nations. The story of exodus was also the redeeming love of God that delivered the Israelite from the bondage of slavery of the oppressive Egyptians. The Israelite through Moses was called and rescued to continue to journey towards the land promised by God where there is an overflow of milk and honey.

                Consequently, as people of God, we have to go back again to our original identity and calling.  This is the divine call to be the light for all the nations which includes the demand of the openness towards the foreigners (Dt. 10: 18-19).

                However, with the historical tragedies of Israel, in the eyes of the New Testament, Israel had failed to fully respond to the call to be universal and to accomplish that mission. It is in fact obvious on how the Israelite especially their authorities related with Jesus, the incarnate word. Israel was not able to recognize the messiah. This failure reflected in many occasions of stories and parables of Jesus. However, Jesus continues to call the people that they may recognize the Holy One and reclaim the universal mission of Israel- that is to be the “light of all nations.”


to be continued...