Incarnational Model

1. INTRODUCTION This study examines Jesus’ model for contextualization, specifically his incarnational model, to understand its relevance for contemporary cross-cultural missions. The focus will be on the practical implications of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in mission work today. 2. MISSIOLOGICAL CONCERN OF INCARNATION: THEOLOGICAL COHERENCE The doctrine of incarnation in theology is of utmost importance. Its peculiarity is of the highest reverence. For such a reason, an author like Berdine van den Toren-Lekkerkerker demands the peculiarity of the doctrine of incarnation. He claims that assimilation of the Incarnation into missiological concern doesn’t suffice for the uniqueness of the theological relevance of this doctrine.1 However, other authors like John Stott emphasize that the doctrine of Incarnation could be very well implied in the missiological insights for the greater good of God’s kingdom without being deficient in its theological coherence. Scott states, “The incarnation was the most spectacular instance of cultural identification in the history of humankind.”2 Disagreement between the advocates and the critics of this model of mission is always present. The critics like Lekkerkerker don’t encourage the idea of Incarnational mission primarily because it demeans, at least in their eyes, the theological significance of the sublime uniqueness of Jesus’ incarnation. However, advocates like Kosmos Ngige Njoroge argue that missionaries are supposed to evangelize the whole of the world by being incarnated into the nature of those being evangelized, for this model of mission characterizes the framework of the idiosyncratic dawn of modern missions.3 Ngige recognizes that Jesus’ incarnation event is enhanced to even basic human matters, which implies it is not specifically isolated to him alone but has grown out to maintain social concerns too.4 Berdine van den Toren-Lekkerkerker and Benno van den Toren, “From Missionary Incarnate to Incarnational Guest: A Critical Reflection on Incarnation as a Model for Missionary Presence,” Transformation 32, no. 2 (2015): 81–96. 2 John R. W. Stott, “Our Challenge for Today: Keynote Address of the European Leadership Conference on World Evangelization” (European Leadership Conference on World Evangelization, Sept. 5-9, 1988 at Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany); Julie C. Ma, Mission Possible: The Biblical Strategy for Reaching the Lost. 2nd ed (Minnesota:1517 Media, 2016), 135, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1ddcq26. 3 Kosmas Ngige Njoroge, “Incarnation as a Mode of Orthodox Mission: Intercultural Orthodox Mission – Imposing Culture and Inculturation,” in Orthodox Perspectives on Mission, ed. Petros Vassiliadis, vol. 17 (Minnesota: 1517 Media, 2013), 49, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1ddcqmg.27. 4 Njoroge, “Incarnation as a Mode of Orthodox Mission,” 49. 1 The importance of God’s incarnation is emphasized in both John 1:14 and Philippians 2:6–8, and the theology of Jesus Christ’s incarnation as God become human validates the theological underpinning of the Incarnation’s missiological implications in contemporary missions. Since God himself started this action, the contextual approach described in this passage of scripture may be the most authoritative strategy for contemporary missions. But some theologians, such as Lekkerkerker, would disagree because of what they see to be a lack of theological clarity. It is crucial to remember, though, that missiologists advance theology toward what theology should be doing—missions—rather than merely tampering with its theological essentiality. Furthermore, the theological concern of this style of contextualization is validated for modern missionaries, who labor for the same cause, by Jesus’ willingness to incarnate as an Aramaic-speaking Jew in a specific physical region as part of his mission to redeem humanity from sin. As a result, the theological consistency of the incarnational mission model that Jesus himself chose creates a favourable environment for its use in modern missions. 3. IMPLICATIONS OF INCARNATION IN CONTEMPORARY MISSION How relevant is the ancient incarnational model of mission today? This remains as a hardstriking question for the most people today. Galgalo writes “God’s mission method could be understood as incarnational.”5 Langmead argues “The incarnational perspective is sacramental because it expects God’s presence to be made visible in earthly vessels, namely Christian lives.”6 Langmead’s claim purposes that incarnational idea of mission is very much applicable in the contemporary missions, specifically as a matter of missionary’s nature. 3.1 Incarnation as the nature of a messenger The missionaries and missions are knit together. The Christian mission, which is to evangelize the world, may be in different contexts and demand differently from the missionaries. The connection between anthropology and mission is closely tied. The incarnational connection is what bridges the gap between a messenger and his or her recipients. Whiteman states “The Incarnation tells us something important about God. God Joseph D. Galgalo, “Mission,” in African Christianity: The Stranger Within (Limuru, Kenya: Zapf Chancery Publishers Africa Ltd., 2012), 33, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvgc6035.7. 6 Ross Langmead, “The Word Made Flesh: Towards an Incarnational Missiology” (Melbourne, Melbourne College of Divinity, 2002), 225, https://repository.divinity.edu.au/divinityserver/api/core/bitstreams/374788e206aa-44b0-a2de-12d47ff033b3/content. 5 1 chose an imperfect culture with its limitations for making known God’s supreme Revelation.”7 God put on human nature to reveal himself. He adopted human flesh to, as Whiteman says, make known his “supreme Revelation.” He also writes. The same process of Incarnation, of God becoming a human being, occurs every time the gospel crosses a new cultural, linguistic, or religious frontier. If the mission of God was achieved by the Incarnation of Jesus, and Jesus in turn said to his disciples and to us “As the father has sent me into the so send I you into the world” (John 20:21), then what does this mean for a model of mission, of cross-cultural ministry? I think we can assume that we are bound to work within the limitation of the cultural forms of the people to whom we are sent.8 According to what Whiteman says, one can see that this perspective on incarnation is about borrowing a distant nature in its entirety. John 20:21 makes it crystal clear that since God Himself undertook the incarnational model to make His revelation known, it will be best for contemporary missionaries to follow up with what God started. Thus, the adoption of this new unique identity becomes a messenger’s nature, which then abides alongside the old nature without being mixed. Moreover, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is not merely a socalled higher theological theory but a practical event and lesson that should be followed by every missionary as they go around with the gospel. 3.2 Incarnation as a functionality for missions “The incarnational character of mission and the love of God are manifested not merely by sending money or aid but in the costly sending of our sons and daughters (or even parents and grandparents) to identify with and live among those without Christ.” 9 The mission has various functions. These functions have different needs. One of the most significant needs for mission in today’s context is not money or aid but the incarnational character of mission, as Ott and Strauss would stress. Thus, incarnation is not only about the personal nature of a messenger but also a function of mission, which is equally important as other concerns. Darrell L Whiteman, “Part II: Anthropology and Mission:,” International Journal of Frontier Missions, n.d., 84, https://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/21_2_PDFs/79_Whiteman.pdf. 8 Whiteman, “Part II: Anthropology and Mission:,” 84. 9 Craig Ott and Stephen J. Strauss, Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues, Encountering Mission (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2010), 221. 7 2 Moreover, it should be noted that incarnation as a functionality for missions is not completely alien. It has been practiced by some of the most influential missionaries, like Robert De Nobili. He was a missionary in Madurai who worked among the Hindus as a Hindu priest who was actually working for the enhancement of the Christian gospel. His method is called accomodatio.10 Apart from De Nobili, Bishop Appasamy, Chakkarai and Chenchiah, commonly known as ‘Madras Trio’, also encouraged the incarnational functionality of mission.11 “Appasamy says, ‘If the Christians in India are to make any impact upon national life they must be well-educated men who are quite familiar with the literature of the country though they may not follow the Hindu religion.’”12 Appasamy’s claim denotes an incarnational function of mission in relation to equipping one’s own self with the traditional philosophies of any country to be able to make an enormous impact. Appasamy certainly uses India for his reference. However, it is possible that it is applicable to any other nation as well. Furthermore, the native literatures of respective nations reflect their deeply adorned worldviews, which, if learned well, will unquestionably aid missionaries in functioning the incarnational mission smoothly, signifying its present relevance. 4. EVALUATING THE RELEVANCE OF JESUS’ INCARNATIONAL MODEL IN THE PRESENT CONTEXT Jesus’ incarnation occurred two thousand years ago. His incarnation had specific concerns. First, to atone for the for the world's sin, a popular viewpoint among the theologians. Second, anthropological identification “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:6-8). The Bible shows that Jesus’ Incarnation has two sides. The first one is exclusive to him, but the second is inclusive of all his followers who like to follow him. Besides that, the Apostle Paul also encourages the believers to imitate Christ (I Cor. 11:1). Now, he certainly did not mean it in terms of Jesus’ exclusive role as an atonement for humanity, for theologically, it Brainerd Prince, “Incarnational Mission: Hermeneutical Insights from the Johannine Experience,” 17, accessed August 2, 2024, https://www.academia.edu/resource/work/38466479. 11 Prince, “Incarnational Mission: Hermeneutical Insights from the Johannine Experience,” 17. 12 A.J. Appasamy, My Theological Quest (Bangalore: The Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, 1964), 24; Prince, “Incarnational Mission: Hermeneutical Insights from the Johannine Experience,” 18. 10 3 would be wrong, but not only wrong, it would be a heresy. Therefore, the second implication seems to fit in well as far as theology is concerned. Daniel Cardo mentions that Jesus’ preachings had two natures, God and human, in their parameters, which he believes are offered to the believers as well, for he writes “Analogously, he offers the same capacity to those whom he has consecrated by the sacrament of holy orders, as they are configured to Christ the head and made capable of acting in him. A preacher ought to conform his life to the reality of the Incarnation in order to learn how to be with god and with his people, following the pattern opened by Christ in the Incarnation.”13 As preaching is also an integral part of mission, Its ever-growing necessity in the contemporary world patently justifies the relevance of Jesus’ incarnational model for missions today which corroborates that Incarnational preaching is obviously a serious necessity. A Jesuit missionary, Robert De Nobili, is among others, such as Pandita Ramabai, who accommodated the incarnational model of preaching or discourse. A Brahmin guru from Madura was converted to Christianity as a result of his discussion with Nobili. ,14 “and his conversion prepared the way for further successes.”15 The practical implications of Jesus’ model of incarnation and its outcome have shown productive results. People should be made aware that there is still a lot of need around the world for it, which should be met at the earliest. This need for the proclamation of the gospel could ideally be covered through an incarnational model. For this reason, Jesus said to his disciples, “As the father has sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21, NKJV). Jesus gave a clear mandate to his disciples, which necessarily applies to contemporary disciples too. Therefore, looking at the obvious need of the gospel around the globe and the effectiveness of the incarnational model in witnessing, and of course, Jesus’ clear-cut instruction regarding our vocation, vindicates the incarnational model's modern applicability. Daniel Cardo, “An Incarnational Approach,” in The Art of Preaching: A Theological and Practical Primer (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2021), 52, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1z2hmvc.9. 14 “Robert de’ Nobili. I,” The Irish Monthly 9, no. 102 (1881): 52. 15 “Robert de’ Nobili. I,” 52. 13 4 5. CONCLUSION First, it must be made clear that the doctrine of incarnation is not isolated in the higher dimension of esoteric theology; rather, it is a practical event that defines the modern mission. Jesus’ willingness to be incarnated to bring the supreme news of the kingdom of God to common people upholds its practical implication. Second, the incarnational model has an integral role in both the messenger’s nature and the functionality of the mission. It prompts the messenger to adopt a new nature to accommodate oneself and appropriately identify with people of different backgrounds. And regarding its functionality, it is a sacrifice of one’s comfort, which is facilitated by living among the people where one is subjected to work. This may require learning their lifestyle and worldview, which is evident in Nobili’s mission in Madurai. Lastly, by observing the current need of the gospel for people of different faiths and worldviews and the incarnational model’s seemingly effective influence and efficient applicability, it should be concluded that Jesus’ model of contextualization is utterly pertinent even today. Bibliography Appasamy, A.J. My Theological Quest. Bangalore: The Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, 1964. Cardo, Daniel. “An Incarnational Approach.” In The Art of Preaching: A Theological and Practical Primer, 50–62. Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1z2hmvc.9. Galgalo, Joseph D. “Mission.” In African Christianity: The Stranger Within, 31–48. Limuru, Kenya: Zapf Chancery Publishers Africa Ltd., 2012. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvgc6035.7. Langmead, Ross. “The Word Made Flesh: Towards an Incarnational Missiology.” Melbourne College of Divinity, 2002. https://repository.divinity.edu.au/divinityserver/api/core/bitstreams/374788e2-06aa44b0-a2de-12d47ff033b3/content. Njoroge, Kosmas Ngige. “Incarnation as a Mode of Orthodox Mission: Intercultural Orthodox Mission – Imposing Culture and Inculturation.” In Orthodox Perspectives 5 on Mission, edited by Petros Vassiliadis, 17:242–52. Minnesota: 1517 Media, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1ddcqmg.27. Ott, Craig, and Stephen J. Strauss. Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues. Encountering Mission. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2010. Prince, Brainerd. “Incarnational Mission: Hermeneutical Insights from the Johannine Experience.” Accessed August 2, 2024. https://www.academia.edu/resource/work/38466479. “Robert de’ Nobili. I.” The Irish Monthly 9, no. 102 (1881): 643–62. Toren-Lekkerkerker, Berdine van den, and Benno van den Toren. “From Missionary Incarnate to Incarnational Guest: A Critical Reflection on Incarnation as a Model for Missionary Presence.” Transformation 32, no. 2 (2015): 81–96. Whiteman, Darrell L. “Part II: Anthropology and Mission:” International Journal of Frontier Missions, n.d. https://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/21_2_PDFs/79_Whiteman.pdf. 6