Paper at the Congress on Mission and International
Diaconia –
The Church's Mission in the Third Millennium
Tampere, 28th January 2002
Kutsu yhteyteen – Esitelmä
kirkon lähetyskongressissa Tampereella 28.1.2002
The birthday of the
Christian Church is usually considered to be the first Pentecost of the
Christian era, the day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles spoke about Jesus and his
Resurrection to the people gathered in the temple, and in many different
languages. The crowd understood what
they said and were so convinced by the words of Peter and the others that that
day about three hundred new baptized believers were added to their number.
The group of believers was
indeed in existence beforehand. The disciples of Jesus who were convinced of
the Resurrection of their Lord had maintained contact before. But the beginning of the Church can be dated
to an even earlier time, when Jesus began his ministry and gathered around him
a group of people called disciples, some of whom were later called apostles. This was the beginning of the Church, when the Saviour called his followers. He called them first of all to be with him,
to travel with their Teacher and to live the life of prayer, teaching and
charity that following Jesus involved.
Being with Jesus was,
however, only one aspect of their calling. Soon they were given their own
tasks. They were sent into villages and
towns with the message: "Proclaim
the good news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near. "Cure the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without
payment; give without payment"
(Matt.10:7-8).
Being with Jesus and
setting out on the journey were different aspects of the same thing:
discipleship. They belonged together so
that one could not exist without the other.
So also the Church's task and its nature are so interconnected that they
cannot be separated. Living the
Christian life, being the Church, is a matter of both fellowship and being
sent: preaching, teaching, witnessing, healing, cleansing. Today the casting
out of evil spirits involves in particular opposing all the demonic forces
which spoil our common life and sow among us injustice, oppression, inequality
and conflict.
This is also how our Church
has understood the matter, when it has sought to create biblical strategies or
programmes. Twenty or so years ago was the golden age of various parish plans,
such as PTS and KTS. Then we were impressed by a model imported from Germany,
the Doppelstrategie or "double strategy" devised in secularized
cities, and this became the basic idea of many plans. It proposed that in order for the Church to accomplish its
mission in this world in a genuine way, it must direct its eyes and activities
in two directions. Parishioners must be made more aware of the activities of
their parish. The parishes must purposefully develop activities to care for,
strengthen and nourish the faith and spiritual life of church-members. There must be more meetings for Bible
teaching and for instruction in Christian doctrine. The parishes must offer opportunities for pastoral care, and
encourage parishioners to attend services and meetings where the Word of God
and the sacraments are administered and where the Holy Spirit does his work. In
this way fellowship with Christ and his Church is strengthened.
Strengthening the inner circle
is only one aspect of the strategy. Our
eyes and activities must also be purposefully directed outwards. Reaching with the Gospel those who have
abandoned the Church and Christian faith, or those who have never had any
faith, is a real challenge, and the inner circle needs to be strong for
this. A live church is always
outward-looking, it recognizes people's needs and is concerned for those who
are outside. When this concern declines, the church shrivels up and is merely a
caricature of the group of people to whom Jesus said: "Go, preach, heal,
cleanse."
A very similar model
underlies our Church's programmes, Church 2000 and Parish 2000, conceived in
the 1990s. Measures have been taken to
build up spiritual life: worship reform has been introduced, a new catechism
has been written and distributed to every home, and various types of work have
been developed. The distribution of the
catechism was certainly a help to evangelistic, outward-looking work. So too, perhaps,
has been the increase in charismatic activities. On the administrative and
organizational side, a study has been commenced to consider how the work of the
Church and its seven missionary organizations can be organized so that it
serves the real task of mission in the best possible way, without overlapping
and unnecessary bureaucracy. The main purpose of this conference is to consider
these matters and to seek visions.
It may indeed be that a
formal division into two - internal strengthening activities and the
outward-looking missionary task of witness and evangelism - is over-simplified
in the situation facing our Finnish folk Church. In Finland we should really speak of three different
dimensions. In between the so-called
'inner circle' and those outside there are a large number of people, both
members and non-members of the Church, whose contact with Christian faith and
the Christian life seems to be almost non-existent or very nominal. However,
when things get tough the link with the Church and faith is rediscovered and
wells up from somewhere below the surface.
Sometimes this happens at baptisms, weddings or funerals, or at the
Christmas service. It appears when
people need someone to talk to during a crisis in life or just when the gallup
poll asks about their degree of confidence
in the Church and moral values.
In this land with a folk church tradition, this group of people, whose
numbers none of us can estimate, poses a special challenge to the Church and
its work.
The world of today in which
Christ's followers seek their place of witness and opportunies to bear
testimony is in the grip of confusing changes.
The religious situation is changing more radically than appears at first
sight. A shift of focus is taking place in the Christian world. A hundred years
ago, at the beginning of the 20th century, 80 per cent of Christians were
Europeans or North Americans. Today 60
per cent of Christians come from the
so-called Third World - Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Christian Church is growing more rapidly
in these very areas, and 21st-century Christianity will be shaped elsewhere
than in the so-called traditional Christian parts of the globe. In Europe many seem to be moving towards a
post-Christian era, if this is not already the reality in some older parts of
Christendom.
When I was ordained in the
1960s and began my work in parish ministry, it was a time when it was commonly
thought that Christian faith, and other religions too, were disappearing. The
progress of science made God and belief in Him unnecessary and outdated. It was then that the American Time magazine
made history and published for the first time an issue of the magazine with no
picture on the front cover. It was just
a gloomy black cover displaying the three-word question: "Is God
Dead?" Now three decades later we
know that the view of religion held by the secular world at that time, and the
provocative question that was asked, were premature. Or rather they are already outdated. God, or at least religion, is doing very well, but in a new way.
The same Time magazine
which in the 1960s asked whether God is dead, published almost exactly thirty
years later a major article about angels. It dealt with the contemporary religious
spectrum in American society in all its diversity. According to the magazine,
the end of the 1990 seemed to be packed full of old and new gods. This spectrum included mixtures of exotic
religions, from New Age beliefs and palmistry to astrology, diverse beliefs in
angels, popular interpretations of traditional American Indian religion, Hindu
meditation and Zen Buddhism as well as a renaissance of Gregorian chant and
silent retreats, and a variety of Christian and non-Christian charismatic movements. The situation brings to mind the words of G. K. Chesterton (British writer,
d.1936) to the effect that when a person loses faith in God, it is replaced not
by faith in nothing but by faith in anything.
If at the beginning of the
last century the religious world seemed like a very ordered and well-cared-for
garden, the prediction of the 1960s that it would become an arid desert almost
devoid of vegetation, did not come about. It has been replaced by a luxuriant
jungle where abundant undergrowth and new kinds of lianas make it difficult to
see the whole picture. The Christian
Church is in such a jungle with its task of witness. It is evident that in the new terrain a re-evaluation of visions
and methods is necessary.
On the other hand, the
diversity of religions tells of human seeking, of the longing for eternity and
harmony. Modern man does not live by
bread alone, he has an inner hunger for the bread of life. The fact that in traditional Christendom
more and more people ignore our churches in their spiritual quest, may well
imply that we have answers to questions that no one is asking or that we try to
answer when we are not being asked; all that is expected of us is the witness
of love.
I believe that in our
post-modern days, when people seek experiences and mental pictures, shop in the
great department store of religion and more than ever ask questions about the
security and purpose of their lives,
Christian witness should put greater emphasis on what the apostle Paul
refers to in Galatians: "The only
thing that counts is faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6). All that we mean by the Christian way of
life, choices, human relationships, but above all acts of love, speak to those
around us much louder than our words.
Does not the same apply in the wider context, even on the global level,
in the world missionary situation?
When we exploit this
world's science and knowledge for the benefit of mission and witness, we must
take into consideration the laws of communication, our knowledge of the behaviour
of modern individuals or the theories of group psychology. They all stress
holistic witness, the connection between teaching, life and service. In other words, what Jesus sent his first
followers to do - to preach, to teach, to heal, to cleanse. The world, which
has an enormous hunger for the bread of life, but which cannot always ask the
old questions for which we have standard answers, challenges us to seek a
holistic way of working which includes mission, witness, evangelism, the
exercise of influence, and diaconal service.
In my opinion, it is
obvious that in such a world Christian witness cannot be genuine and convincing
without co-operation between the churches.
The division into sending and receiving churches, just like that into Christian
continents and non-Christian continents, is hopelessly outdated. A natural and integral part of modern
mission strategy is the kind of activity where churches support and strengthen
each other, in a word, co-operation.
The importance of the
interconnection of proclamation and service, or in other terms mission and
diakonia, is not only a result of the contemporary world situation and the way
of life or way of thinking of modern or post-modern man. It arises from the Church's understanding of
the task of witness and from Jesus' holistic commission of his disciples. It is a matter of how we understand mission
and how we understand diakonia. In
theological discussion, both in the Lutheran churches and in ecumenical contacts
this question has been debated a great deal.
Whenever an attempt has
been made to find out what Missio Dei, God's mission, really means, it has been
necessary to make one's way between two extremes. On the one hand, mission has been understood in the narrow sense
as evangelism and other activities directly serving that end. In early 20th-century missiology, service
and socio-ethical activities directed at renewing society could be described as
a by-product or consequence of mission work or as preparatory work for
evangelism.
On the other hand, God's
mission has been defined in such broad terms, especially in mid-20th-century
ecumenical socio-ethical discussion, that almost all activities are
mission. This may have obscured the
profile and focus of the work. At least it has created difficulties in that it
does not produce the kind of enthusiasm which is well known from the history of
Christian missions, the kind that makes people take action, and see visions of
the goal set by the Great Commission in Mark's Gospel: "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole
creation" or at the end of Matthew's Gospel: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations"
(Matt.28:18).
Diakonia and exercising
influence for social justice (nowadays the term 'advocacy' includes acting on
behalf of poor countries in the global context) have, however, always been part
of mission. Word and deed have always
belonged together. Mission is the activity of God and His Word. When God speaks in His Word, something always
happens. The Word, Christ, brings new life, and the saving message includes
liberation from everything that accuses, causes a sense of oppression or
destroys life.
After the first Pentecost
of the Christian era it did not take long before concern for the poor, the sick
and others in need became very prominent.
It became the first Christians' primary task in life. When church
offices and the division of ministries were organized for the first time,
diakonia took its place alongside proclamation. From the missionary history of
our church we know how important a position care of the sick, helping the poor
and other types of service have occupied in the overall picture of mission, and
how integral and significant its share has been.
The Finnish missiologist Risto
A. Ahonen (FELM) has recently written a book entitled "Mission in the
New Millennium", which, among other things, deals with the subject of how
missiologists of different schools have reached agreement on the connection
between word and deed and the position of diakonia in the totality of mission.
I wish to mention two of Ahonen's ideas, in fact two of the headings in his
book. First of all, diakonia is an
expression of the Church's faith.
Diakonia is also an expression of the faith of individuals. There is no
faith without love, no Christian life without mercy, no mission and witness
without "faith working through love". Therefore mission and diakonia
cannot and must not be separated.
Secondly, Ahonen considers
diakonia as a witness to faith. This
subject has been debated a great deal by those engaged in diakonia. There has
been the fear that diakonia might be abused as a means of evangelism. Acts of love are an incentive to conversion;
there are historical examples of this not only in Christianity but also in
other religions. Nowadays this danger
can be avoided and it should not be exaggerated. But the fact that deeds speak
and witness to the origin of love need not be underestimated either. Jesus himself
said that people should follow what they hear and see. The apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthians of
the positive influence of loving service as witness. Financial aid "overflows
with many thanksgivings to God. Through the testing of this ministry you
glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by
the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others" (2
Cor.9:12-13). Ahonen concludes this
touching presentation as follows:
"The question of the possible
nature of diakonia as witness is anthropocentric, but if we are faithful to the
nature of diakonia, in fact the question of its nature as witness is
unnecessary. Love always tells of the
love of God, but a person does not decide when another person experiences it as
such. Because God testifies to His love
when He sees fit, a person should not be too quick to make ineffectual God's
influence. The Christian is called to serve others, but his business is not to
ask about how it influences others. God's influence and witness to Christ is
ultimately His affair. The task of a human being is solely to sacrifice himself
for the benefit of his neighbour" (Ahonen 2000, 262-3).
When we speak of the
Church's holistic missionary task, we must think of bringing the whole Gospel
to the whole person. This means that
holistic mission includes evangelization, diaconal service, prophetic witness
concerning social justice, as well as fellowship between Christians and
churches and mutual encouragement. Such
burning contemporary issues as the fight against racism, poverty and economic
and social injustice are part of mission, the basic task of the Church and
Christians of today. Jesus said to his
first disciples, when he sent them into the villages and towns of Israel:
"Proclaim the good news, "The
kingdom of heaven has come near." Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment"
(Matt.10:7-8).
It is time to re-think the
relationship between mission and diakonia. In places in our church they have
drifted too far away from each other.
It can be seen both in the structures and the practical work of our
Church. In the parishes, in the dioceses, on every level of the Church there
are separate committees and boards for mission work and for diaconal work, and
furthermore in many parishes there are too obviously different groups of
supporters for each, even a degree of competition between them. We have separate organizations for
missionary work and for international diakonia and thus also separate aid
channels. Our understanding of the
nature of missionary work as well as of the nature of diakonia needs
re-thinking. The same applies to the relation between them.
An interesting and
important angle is provided by Luther-research, where our theologians have
opened up new paths of understanding.
The relation between proclamation and service, or as theologians say,
faith and love, has been an especially difficult one to define, not only in
Finland but in other Lutheran churches, too.
What is at issue is not only how we understand mission but how we understand faith itself.
The fact that this issue is
a difficult one in Lutheranism, is strange, because Luther is one of those figures
of church history who in the most profound way have been able to relate faith
and love to each other. Especially recent Luther-research has emphasized how
Luther thought through the subject and explained the relation between them. It is well known that soon after the death
of its mentor, Lutheranism broke away from his thinking, and so-called Lutheran
theology was thenceforth much more coloured by the theology of Melanchthon and
his pupils. They separated faith and
love from each other in quite a different way from what Luther himself had
taught.
This can be seen in the most central point of
Lutheran doctrine, the doctrine of justification, and a shift in thought
concerning the relation between justification and sanctification, which led to
a situation where later Lutheranism understood them in a distinctly different
way from Luther. In the latest of our confessions, The Formula of Concord,
which was published about thirty years after Luther's death, the doctrine of
justification is presented purely in the so-called forensic form. According to it, the justification of human
beings is like a legal transaction. In the heavenly tribunal the sinner is
reckoned righteous due to the merits of Christ. This takes place entirely
outside a person, and the judgment of this heavenly tribunal does not in any
way change the person himself or herself.
Sanctification, however, is
a separate act or work of God, which, after the decision of the tribunal has
been made, begins to change a person and engenders in him love and the desire
to perform acts of loving service. Tuomo Mannermaa, for example, sees
precisely here the reason for the fateful separation of faith and love in
Lutheranism. He uses a practical
metaphor:
"When the union of faith and love is severed, it is indeed
possible to proclaim forgiveness, but the driving axle from this motor of the
life of faith to the driving wheels is broken.
Forgiveness is proclaimed, the motor turns, but nothing moves. But when the subject of sanctification is
preached to the Christian, there is now a demand for love and action, but the
source of power is sought in other vehicles and no longer in the car's own
motor. The demands of the law begin to
stir and dominate the Christian's life.
The motor is alternately run at full revolutions, but in neutral
gear. Alternately the car is pushed -
by hand." [Mannermaa, Kirkkomme lähetys (The Mission of our Church)
1/1988, 2-5].
The emphasis of
Luther-research has been that by faith Christ himself is really present. By faith the Christian really participates
in God in Christ. Both justification and sanctification are closely linked to
Christ, his person. The Christian's righteousness and holiness are Christ
himself. In him both forgiveness of sins and sanctification, that is God's
renewing presence, are inseparably one.
God is love. Thus when we believe in God we believe in
love. But even more: When we
participate by faith in God's nature in Christ we also participate in love. Being a Christian is being in Christ, as the
apostle Paul says in several places in his letters. In Christ. Thus having faith cannot be isolated from
that love, grace and truth, of which Christ is full.
I shall return to the task
of the first followers of Jesus, and that of his followers today. They were called to be with Jesus, to
nurture fellowship, which is the prerequisite for everything else. In this fellowship are love and faith,
service and witness, diakonia and mission, all together and in the same package. For Christ is the vine, his followers are
the branches. Without fellowship with him there is nothing.
(Translated by Michael Cox)
Takaisin arkkipiispan
kotisivulle