This is a sharing that I gave to the SFX Charismatic Renewal Prayer Group.
I would like to begin my sharing with a story. There was once a man who, after many years, stopped going to church. When asked why, he said that he could worship God at home as well as he does in church. One day, the parish priest visited this man and had a conversation with him. During the conversation, the priest took out a burning stick from the fireplace and placed it aside.
After the conversation ended, the burning stick was no longer burning. The parish priest then looked at the man and the burnt out stick. He did not say anything else. The man got the message.
Community is an important aspect in our lives. Whether we like it or not, we are not an island, existing on our own. This is why BEC is important. We come to church to worship together on Sunday but on other days, we live our lives in the secular world. In facing our challenges, all of us will need some form of moral or spiritual support. This is where BECs play their role.
In the document Ad Gentes Divinitus (Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity), the Fathers of the 2nd Vatican Council states:
“The Holy Spirit, who calls all men to Christ by the seeds of the Lord and by the preaching of the Gospel, stirs up in their hearts a submission to the faith Who in the womb of the baptismal font, He begets to a new life those who believe in Christ, He gathers them into the one People of God which is "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people" (1 Peter 2:9).
“Therefore, let the missionaries, God's co workers, (cf. 1 Cor. 3:9), raise up congregations of the faithful such that, walking worthy of the vocation to which they have been called (cf. Eph. 4:1), they may exercise the priestly, prophetic, and royal office which God has entrusted to them. In this way, the Christian community will be a sign of God's presence in the world: for by reason of the eucharistic sacrifice, this community is ceaselessly on the way with Christ to the Father; carefully nourished on the word of God it bears witness to Christ; and finally, it walks in charity and is fervent with the apostolic spirit.” (Ad Gentes 15)
As we can see by the words of this document, the Church places great importance on the Christian community. This is because we are the visible sign of God’s presence in the world. People who encounter us as a Christian community should be able to see God reflected in the community.
During His time on earth, Jesus did not live a single missionary life. Instead, he called apostles and disciples to share in his ministry and sent them out for mission. As we can see from Mathew chapter 10 verse 8, Jesus sent out his 12 apostles to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin diseases and drive out devils” Clearly, Jesus did not intend to carry his mission here on earth all by himself. In another instance, Jesus further chooses another 72 disciples and sent them out to spread the Gospel. This account can be found in the gospel of Luke chapter 10 verses 1 to 12.
In Ad Gentes Divinitus, it says “From the very beginning, the Lord Jesus "called to Himself those whom He wished; and He caused twelve of them to be with Him, and to be sent out preaching (Mark 3:13; cf. Matt. 10:1-42). Then, when He had by His death and His resurrection completed once for all in Himself the mysteries of our salvation and the renewal of all things, the Lord, having now received all power in heaven and on earth (cf. Matt. 28 18), before He was taken up into heaven (cf. Acts 1:11), founded His Church as the sacrament of salvation and sent His Apostles into all the world just as He Himself had been sent by His Father (cf. John 20:21), commanding them: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of a nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19 ff.). "Go into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised shall be saved; but he who does not believe, shall be condemned" (Mark 16:15ff.).
The mission of the Church, therefore, is fulfilled by that activity which makes her, obeying the command of Christ and influenced by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, fully present to all men or nations, in order that, by the example of her life and by her preaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace, she may lead them to the faith, the freedom and the peace of Christ; that thus there may lie open before them a firm and free road to full participation in the mystery of Christ. (Ad Gentes 4)
Let us now look at the term mission itself. "Missions" is the term usually given to those particular undertakings by which the heralds of the Gospel, sent out by the Church and going forth into the whole world, carry out the task of preaching the Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ. The proper purpose of this missionary activity is evangelisation, and the planting of the Church among those peoples and groups where it has not yet taken root. The chief means of the planting referred to is the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Ad Gentes 6)
The mission of BEC can be divided into 2 aspects, inward mission and outward mission. In the document Apostolicum Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity), the Church says that “The mission of the Church pertains to the salvation of men, which is to be achieved by belief in Christ and by His grace. The apostolate of the Church and of all its members is primarily designed to manifest Christ's message by words and deeds and to communicate His grace to the world.” (AA 6)
We can have an idea of how to participate in this inward mission. In Acts chapter 2 verse 42, which is also the theme for our Golden Jubilee, says that ““These remained faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers” For us in the BECs, it is important to always remind ourselves of this inward thrust of our mission. All of us belong to the Body of Christ, and as brothers and sisters and co workers of Christ, we should strive to support one another, spiritually or otherwise, and to be there for one another.
In reality, we all know that our inward mission to minister to our own brothers and sisters is challenging. Our ideal is to transform our community into one that is selflessly helping and supporting one another, especially in the time of need. No community is perfect but having an ideal helps us to strive for something better. As is stated in Acts chapter 2 verse 44, “All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another”. And in verse 46, “Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes eating with glad and humble hearts.” This was how the early community missioned inwardly. Are we able to follow their example today?
In order for us to be effective inward missionaries, we need to live a life that is Christ centred and prayerful. Without personal sustenance of prayer and reading of the Word, we will not be able to have the grace and strength to carry out our mission. Our inward mission as BECs is to be a pillar of support to all those in our community. We gather to pray during gatherings and to have fellowship, but how sincere are we in our endeavours? In St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, St Paul wrote “With all humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love” (Eph 4:2) Are we doing this in our inward mission?
In Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), it states that “God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood. For having been created in the image of God, Who "from one man has created the whole human race and made them live all over the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26), all men are called to one and the same goal, namely God Himself.”
“For this reason, love for God and neighbour is the first and greatest commandment. Sacred Scripture, however, teaches us that the love of God cannot be separated from love of neighbour: "If there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.... Love therefore is the fulfilment of the Law" (Rom. 13:9-10; cf. 1 John 4:20). To men growing daily more dependent on one another, and to a world becoming more unified every day, this truth proves to be of paramount importance.”
“Indeed, the Lord Jesus, when He prayed to the Father, "that all may be one. . . as we are one" (John 17:21-22) opened up vistas closed to human reason, for He implied a certain likeness between the union of the divine Persons, and the unity of God's sons in truth and charity. This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.”
This statement aptly describes what is to be our outward mission as BECs, which is to spread the love of God to the world. As Jesus has mentioned as the most important commandment, to love one another, our mission is to love others around us, regardless of race, creed or colour. As I mentioned earlier, the church is the visible sign of God’s presence and love in the world. How else will the world see and experience God’s love if not through us?
In Acts chapter 1 verse 8, Jesus, upon his ascension into heaven, gave the apostles the command to “be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. This is the thrust of our outward mission as BECs. But we should not limit ourselves to witnessing. In these days of injustice, we should strive to stand for what is just and right, giving assistance to those oppressed and under privileged. This is also why most BECs will have a Social Concern Coordinator, to look into the social challenges and how the BEC can assist.
Our inward and outward missionary endeavour cannot be sustained if we are not firmly rooted in Christ, in His Word and in the Eucharist. These elements give us the strength to be true witness and missionaries in our BECs. Therefore it is crucial for us to always avail ourselves to the Sacraments. And our mission can only be successful if we work together as one community instead of wanting to hog all glory four ourselves. If all of us keep squabbling and keep wanting all glory, who then will carry out the mission that has been entrusted to us as BECs? Only we can answer that question.
