Mission in Contexts

Mission in Contexts

Arasakumar Rayappan
The Sabri Kumbh in the Dangs of Gujarat, India, among many other events and incidents in the recent history of our country in general and of the state of Gujarat in particular, should make us rethink about our theology of mission. The speakers and organizers of the mega event of the Sabri Kumbh went to the extent of quoting the Bible to argue that what is going on in the Dangs, or even in the other parts of the country for that mater, in the name of mission and conversion is wrong.
Morari Bapu, a well known Hindu leader and speaker, who has apparently tried to bring reconciliation between different communities in some places, quoted Matt 23:15 and said, “The Bible says that conversion by means of allurement is a sin and a person doing this and the person who gets converted would go to hell. I wish Christians would follow the Bible.” This should provoke a question within us: Are we really following the Bible when it comes to mission and evangelization?
In fact, the Hindu nationalists perceive the present mission of the church as a threat to the integrity of India’s religious and cultural legacy. Further, as Satyavrata says, there is a “growing evidence in India of growing numbers of ‘non-baptized believers in Christ,’ who remain integrated within the Hindu community, yet believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour in accordance with the istadevata principle, or in even more orthodox terms.”
All these raise many serious questions regarding baptism. For example, should baptism be really an integral part of our mission or should it be our only goal? What do the scriptures say?
Many in the church, especially those who are not affected by what is happening in the missions, those who are in their cosy residences and offices, are still stuck to their old dogma on mission. However, the missionaries in the field who have become vulnerable in many ways and have become conscious of the plurality in reality, especially in the mission areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh etc., are desperately in search of an alternative mission theology. People who are in responsible positions in the church – the leaders and the theologians – cannot be mere spectators. It is their duty to study and analyze the present situation and find a suitable model of mission that is inspired not merely by tradition but by the Scriptures.…
The Bible presents promotion of life as the only mission of God and Jesus, but demonstrates various ways of carrying out that mission in diverse contexts. The Vatican document on the mission of the church terms the work of preaching the Gospel and implanting the church among people who do not yet believe in Christ as the narrow understanding of mission and states that the mission of the church should receive its specification from the context in which it is exercised (Ad Gentes 6). The church, in fact, believes that she can and she should contribute greatly towards making the world, and in fact, the whole of creation more human (see Lumen Gentium 40-41; Gaudium et Spes 40). In the Indian context, where thousands and millions of the children of God are bound by unjust and exploitative religious, socio-cultural and political structures and are dehumanized because of ecological degradation, the all embracing, liberative and prophetic mission of Jesus as depicted in Luke 4:16-18 should become the mission of all those who are anointed by the Spirit of God through baptism.
Mission, in our context, is therefore a complex activity comprising of witnessing, human liberation, emancipation of the dalit groups, dialogue, inculturation, promotion of ecological awareness and so on. Can we do all this without networking with the people of other religions and the NGOs who are all working towards the goal of humane world where life can blossom?

From “Mission in Contexts: Biblical Foundations of Plurality in Mission” (2008)