Life-Widening Mission

Cathy C Ross

• Publisher: Regnum
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781908355003
• eBook ISBN: 9781912343263
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Each of the young Anglicans who write on the Five Marks of Mission were at the Edinburgh 2010 Conference in June of that year. The articles were then reworked in Toronto a year later, so what you read here is the fruit of much labour, writing, and rewriting. These articles are also open and honest reflections from a range of young Anglicans in a variety of contexts. Here we see a glimpse of the strenths and struggles of the Anglican Communion. There is no space for complacency.

The title of the book created much discussion. I still remember the excitement we all felt when our first contributor, from Hong Kong, explained to ust the meaning of the Chinese character for'life-widening'. We all thought that this captured that this captured the essence of how we long for mission not only to be but also to be experienced; as life-widening. Our God is a God of love, life and spaciousness so we long for the missio Dei to be practised and received as life-widening. We hope that this book may disturb, challenge, comfort and enrich your life. We think it will disturb and challenge as you read of the hardship and injustices experienced in many parts of God's world and creation today. We think it will comfort and enrich as you read stories of change and renewal, and as you meet the writers through their writings.

THE FIVE MARKS OF MISSION

THE FIRST MARK OF MISSION: TO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Kwok Keung Chan

Introduction

The year 2010 marked the celebration of the centenary of the ‘Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference’. I was most grateful to the Anglican Communion office for inviting me as one of the official delegates to attend the conference from 2nd to 6th June, 2010 at, Edinburgh, Scotland. One hundred years ago, only three Chinese Christians were present in the meeting¹. In 2010, Revd Dr. Ying Gao, Revd Ge Wen, Dr. Yi Sun, Revd Eric So and I were the five official Chinese delegates who were present at this historic occasion. It was indeed my privilege to have a dinner with the Chinese delegation and share our Christian life and witness during the precious time we spent together. One point that impressed me most was that all Chinese delegates, including myself, were very enthusiastic about missionary work in China and that we all shared a common vision of preaching the gospel of God throughout all places.

As a Hong Kong born Chinese Christian, I have a deep sense of obligation to proclaim the gospel in China. So, in this chapter, I will attempt to discuss and reflect on the first mark of mission suggested by the Anglican Communion – to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Learning the First Mark of Mission From the Scriptures

The Great Commission of our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ is definitely one of the most influential biblical verses concerning the proclamation of the gospel:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Mt. 28:19-20)

According to Benedict T. Viviano, O.P., ‘this brief ending is so rich that it would be hard to say more or greater things in the same number of words. It has been called an anticipated parousia, a partial fulfillment of Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man. Its genre combines elements of an Old Testament enthronement pattern with an apostolic commissioning.’²

The promise of Jesus Christ being with us always to the very end of the age is a great encouragement to Christians. With the second coming of Christ in mind, one is confident that God’s salvation is never far away from us. We are assured of the love and care from our Lord Jesus Christ because He promised to be with us always until the very end of age. Because of His never-ending love, how can we resist sharing the good news with others? How can we receive the love only by ourselves? The answer is simple: we must work out the commission of Christ – to proclaim the good news of His Kingdom.

Four actions are involved in the Great Commission: to go, to make disciples of all nations, to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and to teach them everything Jesus has commanded. From the rich sharing in Edinburgh 2010, I heard different mission workers going to various parts of the world, making the people who did not know Jesus Christians, baptizing and harvesting in the name of the Trinitarian God and teaching them all the truths about the Christian faith. These were all done out of the command given by the Lord. The Edinburgh 2010 Mission Conference not only reminded all participants of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ but also it was a great opportunity for delegates to refresh themselves in terms of their devotion and dedication to proclaim the gospel for the sake of our loving God. And the various stories shared on mission encouraged delegates to continue preaching the gospel for God.

When I began to prepare writing this paper, I used a search engine to find out the meaning of the ‘Good News’. I typed in the Chinese translation of the Good News: 好信息 and had the following results found from the Chinese Concordia Bible. One scriptural verse from the Old Testament reminded us of the real good news from God. ‘When someone told me, “Saul is dead,” and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!’ (2 Sam 4:10) In this verse, the dead person thought that he had brought good news. Yet, he did grasp the bigger picture of the situation and therefore he was killed. So, we need to ask: what is the ‘good news’ of the Kingdom of God?

From the Old Testament we read: ‘Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land. (Prov 25:25)’ The good news of the Kingdom of God should be something that can comfort people, can fulfill the needs of the needy, can bring caring and love, and can let the dry be moistened. The most typical answer to the question is that we can refer to what Jesus did in His three years of ministry before His passion. ‘Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.’ (Mt 4:23) ‘Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.’ (Mt 9:35). It is clear that the good news cannot be detached from Jesus Christ. No matter what He was doing, such as healing the sick or casting out demons from people, Jesus Christ was proclaiming the Good News. In 1 Thessalonians we see the believers affirmed for their faith and love, ‘But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.’ (1 Thess 3:6) In this passage, Timothy was not only proclaiming the good news about the salvation of Jesus Christ. So, in a broader sense, the good news of the Kingdom of God may not be narrowly confined to the message about Jesus, but may also include the witness of different brothers and sisters in Christ.

The verb ‘proclaim’ in the first mark of mission is significant. From the New International Version of the English Bible, there are 167 verses using the term ‘proclaim’, 114 of which are from the Old Testament and 53 are in the New Testament. Whether it was in the Old Testament or in the New Testament time, proclaiming the good news was imperative. One further reflection is that we should not only proclaim with our mouths; our behaviour and thoughts can also be a very good means to proclaim the good news. And, as an Anglican, the first obligation is to proclaim the good news because this is set as the first priority of our five marks of mission.

The concept of the ‘Kingdom of God’ is widespread in the New Testament and there are 68 references throughout the Bible. 54 of them are found in the four gospels while the rest are all from the other books of the New Testament. Interestingly, there was not even one mention of this phrase in the Old Testament. Therefore, this concept of the Kingdom of God was initiated at the beginning of the New Testament time. God loved the world so much that He sent His only son Jesus Christ to teach us and show us about His Kingdom. Jesus’ rich teachings revealed the Kingdom of God to people who were willing to follow and believe in Him. From the New Testament times until now the Kingdom of God is always somewhere Christians are very eager to arrive at. During my college years, one of my most valuable lessons was that the Kingdom of God was not somewhere I could only arrive at only after my death. It should be a place among us, where we Christians can love one another as God loved us. So, the Kingdom of God is not a remote and distant place. It is, indeed, a concept about ‘here and now’. Our Christian faith means that we need to live out our Christian witness so that the Kingdom of God will be revealed in our midst.

Mission: Bold Humility!

When we proclaim the good news, we should bear in mind that stereotyping must be avoided. The reason behind this is that all people in the world are different from one another. The way one perceives the gospel of God is not necessarily the same as or similar to that of another. So, one should bear in mind individual differences when proclaiming the good news.

Does mission mean telling the good news to one who has not heard about Jesus Christ? The answer is yes and no. With reference to my personal experience, the term ‘mission’ is a kind of sharing of treasures in life. I have spent nine years teaching English as a second language in an Anglican primary school in Hong Kong. Throughout these nine years of teaching, I tried to perform well in terms of my professional work as a teacher of language. Besides that, I also tried hard to nurture my students. I attempted to share my life as a Christian. I also tried hard to express the beauty of Anglican liturgy in my school when we had daily noontime prayers. During weekends, I helped to lead the primary students’ fellowship so that these young people could be fed spiritual food in church. All this has formed part of my understanding and interpretation of ‘mission’.

Do not be afraid to voice out the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not be a Christian who does not tell the good news. If we do not speak up about the gospel, people around us will be unable to benefit from our sharing of the good news about Jesus Christ. As Jesus Christ demonstrated in His three years of mission work, He never gave up any opportunity to share the good news with those He loved. Therefore, as Christians, we should also try our best to proclaim the good news, both by our mouths and by our hearts. ‘Silence is golden’ was a very popular song during the 60’s and this wise saying is still true when we are proclaiming the good news of God’s Kingdom. This would be particularly true when we are dealing with some difficult controversy. Nevertheless, I would insist that we must try our best to verbalise the good news. We should make our gospel heard by others, including our neighbours, our colleagues, our schoolmates, our friends and also our family members. This is our obligation to God.

I read in Rick Warren’s book, ‘I took a job I hate in order to make a lot of money, so someday I can quit and do what I love to do.’ ³ Rick Warren thought that was a big mistake. One should not waste his / her life in a job that doesn’t express one’s heart. He asked us to remember that ‘the greatest things in life are not things’. Meaning is far more important than money. The richest man in the world once said, ‘A simple life in the fear of God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches.’ (Prov 15:1). From the experience gained in Edinburgh 2010, I found this to be true. People from around the world shared about their lives of mission in various contexts. A woman from Jamaica shared about her witness of preaching the gospel. Seeing her beauty in terms of her devotion in proclaiming the gospel, I was deeply touched that she had overcome her disability, which prevented her from walking comfortably. She treated her physical disability as a trial in life and, most importantly, she did not give up easily. A brother from India also discussed the difficulty he was facing when doing the mission work among young people in his country. However difficult it was, he tried his best to carry on with his mission work for young people in India. These brothers and sisters are not rich in terms of their earthly wealth. Yet, regarding their wealth in life, I am very sure they both found the true meaning of living a worthwhile and meaningful life for God.

Humility is the key for leadership in proclaiming the good news of His Kingdom. When I looked back to the different speeches or addresses given in Edinburgh 2010, I discovered that most Church leaders shared in a manner of humility and invited brothers and sisters in Christ to serve God with a similar attitude. One of the key questions I am always asking myself throughout my ministries is: ‘Am I enjoying myself in the presence of God, listening to the voice of God, appreciating the beauty of God and connecting to the truth of the incarnate God?’⁴ For sure, humility cannot be found without humbling ourselves and letting God be in charge. The humility demonstrated by various Christian leaders from around the world, especially the Archbishop of Canterbury from the Anglican Communion, should be appreciated. Humble, in a sense that we are all equal, with Christ being the first among equals, is the very first thing I learnt from the world Christian leaders. The washing of feet done by Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday evening was a classic example of humility. Similar practices by other Christians were done all over the world every year on Maundy Thursday. Jesus Christ has demonstrat...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• The Five Marks of Mission
• Other Themes
• Conclusion
• Appendix: The Five Marks of Mission and the Anglican Communion
• Bibliography
• List of Contributors
• Back Cover