Introduction
Towards the end of the Gospel according to John, when the risen Messiah Jesus commissions his friends for the next stage of their service, he says to them, ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (John 20.21). These words were spoken centuries ago but we believe they are also addressed to us and that we too are caught up in God’s own sending. More than that, we are sent as Jesus was sent, suggesting that our calling as communities of his followers, is a reflection of his and even a continuation of his. This leaves us with the question of how best to talk about this calling, this mission, this purpose that we share with our king.
Christians have chosen to express our calling in lots of different ways. In this series of blogs, I will try, without any claims to having got this wholly right or to being original, set out one way of understanding the missional activity of Jesus. But before I say anything else I should clarify that Jesus’ achievements in accomplishing atonement are not ones in which any of us can share. We can enjoy them and proclaim them, but we recognize that he is the Saviour, and we are not. That said, we are called to follow him and, as the Holy Spirit empowers us, to model our activities on his.
I find it helpful to think of Jesus’ activities as three overlapping concentric circles. At the point where the three overlap we find the Kingdom of God, the reality that inspires all three. The first is evangelism, the second is social action and the third is prophecy. As individuals we may not be gifted in all three of these areas, but as churches and communities we may want to consider how we can be sure we are engaging effectively in each of them. The divisions between them are not hard and fast but I’ve distinguished then to allow us to reflect on each in turn. Last month we thought about evangelism, and next month we’ll look at our call to be prophetic, but this month is about social action.
Social Action
When we look at the ministry of Jesus as it is described for us in the Gospels, we see that he spent lots of time engaged in acts of service. We see examples of healing, of the hungry being fed, astonishing harvests of fish that transform the outcomes of people’s working days, and of the weather being controlled so that people are brought to safety.
These actions often provide opportunities for teaching. We discover that they are not only wonderful deeds in and of themselves, but that they are also things that point beyond themselves. If we want to know what God’s kingdom is like, we can listen to Jesus’ teaching and we can also see the kingdom being demonstrated through his actions.
In God’s impending reign, his people are restored to health. And since they are restored to health, they are also restored to an active part in their communities and can make their own social, economic and cultural contributions. That’s what God’s kingdom does now and will one day do in fullness. In a similar way, when God’s reign comes in its fullness, his people will not go hungry. There will be enough for everyone and there will be enough left over for everyone who has yet to join in.
Of course, there are pictures of God’s reign throughout the Bible. One of my favourites is in Zechariah 8.3 – 6. There we see an astonishing vision of people of all ages safely together in the markets of Jerusalem. Another is the vision shared by Isaiah (2.2 – 4) and Micah (4.1 – 5) which in the latter’s version pictures peace as the opportunity for each to have their own small holding with trees that grow food secure from any threats. The Old Testament picture of a time when people plant vineyards and gardens and enjoy their fruit (e.g. Amos 9.14) suggests a long period of safety and security,
It is important to recognize that only God can bring his kingdom. None of our social action projects will offer the solutions to all the world’s ills. Nevertheless, they can be good things of themselves but more significantly, they can point beyond themselves to the kingdom of God. Our foodbanks, community gardens, lunch clubs, carer and toddler groups, youth clubs are all significant activities, but they also point beyond themselves to God’s kingdom. And we should be prepared to say so. We know they are not perfect and are sometimes just a sticking plaster, but they are also a sign of the true solution which lies in the ultimate purposes of God. We need an attitude where we can be modest about the impact of our projects but bold in our pointing to the good things about them as illustrations of what God can do.
I wonder if this is one of the reasons that when John writes in his gospel about Jesus’ wonderful actions he calls them signs. He knows that they point beyond themselves to the deeper meaning of Jesus’ ministry.
This is one of the reasons I think it is very important to understand evangelism and social action as two sides of the same coin. Sometimes people insist that good actions need no words to accompany them and that it doesn’t really matter whether a good deed is done for its own sake or not. I understand why they think like this, and I agree that it’s always better to do good than to do nothing. Nevertheless, I think it’s usually best to interpret our actions. Suppose we dig a well in a village that needs clean water. It’s clearly a good thing to do. However, we cannot pretend that the villagers will not interpret the action. They might think that these outsiders are gods, or that they wield some form of magic, or that they are somehow better or more intelligent than the villagers. Surely, it is better to say that the work was motivated by the love of the one true God who cares passionately for all and that this is something that the villagers can be part of if they wish, although that participation is in no way a condition of the gift for that is as free as the grace of God.
We have seen how both evangelism and social action can be seen as activities rooted in the kingdom of God. The two mutually inform one another. As individuals we may have a particular calling to one or the other, but as Christian communities we may feel that a fully rounded understanding of the Jesus’ ministry and our own requires both. Next month we will consider how both these might be supplemented by the calling of the church to be prophetic.
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