CONCEPTS OF MISSION - Orbis Books

Mission in Contemporary Missiology 39
• a moral factor: to leave the path of sin (Luke 13:2-3; Acts 3:19; 26:20;
Matt 5:20; Rom 6:2ff.; Eph 4:22). It is an exodus or passage from
darkness to light, from death to life.
• a personal experience with the person of Christ: the meeting with the
person (Jer 3:19, 21, 23ff.) and, in our context, with Christ. In every
conversion, there is the joy of meeting (Luke 15:24; Mark 2:15ff.).
This experience of meeting changes the life of one, and conversion
becomes mission (Acts 9:5, 11; etc.).
• it means making a break: abandoning former values and customs (Acts
6:14; 16:20f.; Gal 4:9). This is the radicality of conversion.
• finally, it means fullness: the converted finds the proper values (culturally,
religiously) “purified and elevated in the church” (AG 9, 11).
What is the part of the missionary in this process of conversion The missionary
has the role of mediator through the proclamation of the gospel
(Mark 6:12; John 17:20). Mediation is necessary in God’s design of salvation.
It does not mean proselytizing, forcing one to convert (AG 13b). The
attitude of the missionary is to offer peace to all (Luke 10:3ff.; Matt 10:16),
and with peace proclaim conversion in Christ. This brings with it a sense of
humility and admiration for the work of God in non-Christians, and respect
for the rhythm of God and humanity (López-Gay 1988, 28).
Conclusion
To conclude this chapter, we indicate again that most of the missiological
themes in the concept of mission are taken up today with more vigor in various
aspects of the so-called new ways of mission: e.g., evangelization, inculturation,
ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, human promotion, etc. (see
Colzani 1996, 55ff.). Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that in the
postconciliar period, in spite of the crisis in missiology, there is great support
and hope for Christian mission (RM 2). Some have described it as the springtime
of Christianity even as we grapple with the negative tendencies. The
period has battled with two dominant questions: the shift in ecclesiology
with its progressive emphasis on mission and its actualizing of the universal
communication that brings to the whole world a unique transformation.
There is also a tendency to provide a Trinitarian and economic reading of
mission and to consider it from a unifying perspective of a salvific dynamism
in the force of which the divine life reaches all and is open to all creatures.
To this must be added the progressive profile of a missiological tendency that
has led to a profound evangelization and humanization. It must be noted,
therefore, that a precise determination of the relationship between the king-