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    Kimmy Shawwy
    The document discusses the missionary nature of Christianity and the Church. It makes three key points: 1) The Church is missionary by nature. As the people of God called to serve others, the Church exists not for itself but to serve all people in need. 2) Mission is the fundamental reality of the Christian life. Through baptism, all Christians have a responsibility to be other-oriented and missionary. 3) The Church's relationship to the world is missionary in character. The Church is called to serve society, not be served, and work for its transformation through initiatives like social action and advocacy groups.

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    14192

    Uploaded by

    Kimmy Shawwy
    1K views3 pages
    The document discusses the missionary nature of Christianity and the Church. It makes three key points: 1) The Church is missionary by nature. As the people of God called to serve others, the Church exists not for itself but to serve all people in need. 2) Mission is the fundamental reality of the Christian life. Through baptism, all Christians have a responsibility to be other-oriented and missionary. 3) The Church's relationship to the world is missionary in character. The Church is called to serve society, not be served, and work for its transformation through initiatives like social action and advocacy groups.

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    The document discusses the missionary nature of Christianity and the Church. It makes three key points: 1) The Church is missionary by nature. As the people of God called to serve others, the Church exists not for itself but to serve all people in need. 2) Mission is the fundamental reality of the Christian life. Through baptism, all Christians have a responsibility to be other-oriented and missionary. 3) The Church's relationship to the world is missionary in character. The Church is called to serve society, not be served, and work for its transformation through initiatives like social action and advocacy groups.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    1K views3 pages

    14192

    Uploaded by

    Kimmy Shawwy
    The document discusses the missionary nature of Christianity and the Church. It makes three key points: 1) The Church is missionary by nature. As the people of God called to serve others, the Church exists not for itself but to serve all people in need. 2) Mission is the fundamental reality of the Christian life. Through baptism, all Christians have a responsibility to be other-oriented and missionary. 3) The Church's relationship to the world is missionary in character. The Church is called to serve society, not be served, and work for its transformation through initiatives like social action and advocacy groups.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    CHAPTER II: MISSION AS A CHRISTIAN IMPERATIVE

    Introduction
    An integral part of the definition of Christianity is its being missionary. This has to be seen
    always as rooted in God’s love for humanity and creation which, at one point in history, became
    very clear and nuanced in the person and life of Jesus.
    Lesson 1: The Church is Missionary by Nature
    Activity
    Who we are determines what we can do or what we ought to do. If we are rational then we
    do things using our reason. If our nature is good, then our actions must also be good. In
    Christianity, it is the nature of the human person to live for others, and it is the nature of the
    Christian community to serve. The New Testament points to these ideas.
    Inspired Word
    Text: Church as People of God (1 Peter 2:9-10)
    One important scriptural description of the Church is People of God. As people, the Church is
    one. Members are in solidarity with each other as a body is a unity of all its parts. As such,
    members have to care for one another as a consequence of its self-understanding as a single
    body. Yet it does not exist only for itself, but it is called to serve all needy people. In other
    words, the Church is essentially missionary. It is other-directed rather than self-focused.
    Church Teaching
    1. Mission is the fundamental reality of the Christian life
    a. Life has purpose only to the extent that it has a missionary dimension
    b. By virtue of baptism, mission is a Christian responsibility.
    c. In Christian anthropology, to be human is to be other-directed/missionary
    - Paul’s “nobody lives for him/herself” (Romans 14)
    - Schillebeeckx’s anthropological constants: relating with others, with society, with
    culture and history
    - We are always kapwa to the other
    2. The Church’s link to Jesus obligates the Church to do mission
    a. The vine and the branches (John 15:1-17)
    b. The Church as Body of Christ (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 1;23; 5:30;
    Colossians1;18)
    c. The great commission (Matthew 28: 19-20)
    d. Jesus sends his disciples (john 20:21)
    e. Preaching Jesus from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)
    Missionary Response
    We cannot escape the fact that we are missionaries. As such, we have to:
    1. Cultivate the following attitudes and their corresponding behaviors: listening, openness,
    other-orientedness, sensitivity to the needs of others; and
    2. Exert effort to act always in accordance with our identity as a missionary Church even
    in seemingly insignificant matters.
    Lesson 2: The Church’s Relationship to the World is Missionary in Character
    Activity
    Inspired Word
    Text: Who is the Greatest (Luke 9:46-48)
    The disciples were quarreling among themselves about who is the greatest. Greatness for them
    referred to being first in rank – being next to Jesus in terms of importance. Such an idea of
    greatness was rejected by Jesus when he called a child, put him in front of them, and told his
    disciples that true greatness is serving the least in society represented by that child. The Church
    is called to this kind of greatness as it does its mission in society. True to its nature as the Body
    of Christ, the Church comes to serve and not to be served.
    Church Teaching
    a. The Church as servant (Gaudium et Spes)
    - The Church is to serve and not to be served (GS 3)
    - Christians must not shirk from the earthly responsibilities (GS 23)
    - Doing the Father’s will is “taking a strong grip of the work at hand” (GS 93)
    b. The Church as leaven for society
    - Church must read the “signs of the times” (GS 40)
    - The world is the arena of God’s saving actions (GS 23)
    c. Church must learn from society
    - The Church can and ought to be enriched by the development of human social
    life (GS 44)
    - The Church is not only a teacher but also a learner (GS 40)
    d. Examples of societal transformations where the Church played an important role
    - In politics, in economic, in social life
    Missionary Response
    We can be missionaries by being servants working for the transformation of society in the
    following ways:
    1. Initiating or joining cleanliness drive or similar activities in our barangays;
    2. Extending help to the social action activities of the Church; and
    3. Joining advocacy groups that work for socio-economic, and political transformation.

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