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A memorial to Bishop Lesslie Newbigin at St Matthias, Chennai |
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St Matthias, Chennai |
These words from Newbigin's 'On Being the Church for the World' are staying with me:
"[W]hen Jesus said to them, 'As the Father sent me, so I send you', he showed them his hands and his side. In other words, the Church will be recognizable as the bearer of this mission on which the Father sent the Son and on which the Son sent the Church, in so far as the scars of the Passion are recognizable in its body. So you have that classic definition of mission, which has been so much ignored, in St Paul's letters, where he defines his apostolic mission as 'bearing in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal flesh'.
"I think we have often missed something by concentrating entirely on that Matthaean version which can produce the kind of triumphalist picture of the mission of the Church. Here, however, the Church is recognizable as the bearer of the Kingdom, the presence of the kingdom, in so far as it is marked by the scars of the Passion... And if you see the mission of the Church in that sense, then all this futile discussion between evangelism and social action disappears."
In A Word in Season, p54, Newbigin notes that Matthew 28:20 was never used as a basis for mission until Wiliam Carey (1791).
In 'Mission in Christ's Way' Newbigin explores the ambiguity of the kingdom. As when Jesus proclaimed the kingdom, the reign of God is not as plain as one might wish. He roots this in passages like Mark 4:10-12. This is supremely so in the cross "the place where the kingdom of God, his power and wisdom, is hidden and revealed."
Perhaps we might also say that the ambiguity of the church's proclamation in today's world is rooted here as well. The scandal of denominations, the role of the church in religious conflict (not least that in Europe) - all this means that truth of the message is not clear.
This should though save us from proclaiming the wrong thing. The good news is the kingdom of God, made present in Christ: not ideology, nor principles, nor systems. the church dare not proclaim itself. And when it so does (as it does all too often) those around are suitably astounded at its arrogance.
The church is a fallible instrument: yet one that God by his grace works through.
It is a foretaste of the new kingdom. But much of the 'fore' is rooted in its own fallibility
It is a sign, pointing beyond itself. It must be this or it is nothing. As a sign pointing to a vista is as nothing in comparison to the viewpoint when reached, so the church is nothing compared to that to which it points
All this is of God. The church may well be - and is - the hermeneutic of the gospel (and how can it be anything else?) but unless it points beyond itself, unless it is thoroughly aware of how provisional it is, it has nothing to offer. But unless it is a community of reconciliation, how can it offer reconciliation to the world?
In the big scheme of things, Newbigin roots this in an emphasis on the eschatological. "The perspective of the eschaton enables the church to live with the inherent tension of being holy and sinful; and of defining itself in terms of what is, and also in terms of what is becoming." (Mark Laing, The Indian Church, in 'Theology in Missionary Perspective, Ed Laing & Weston).
Where does this leave para-church organisations and 'movements'? In "What is 'A Local Church Truly United", he writes: "The existence of separate congregations in the same geographical area on the basis of language and culture have to be accepted as a necessary, but provisional, measure for the sake of the fulfillment of Christ’s mission. Necessary because there must be the possibility to bring to full ripeness the special gifts and insights that God has given to peoples of different language and culture and this cannot happen if some have no place except on the margin of a community of another language or culture. Provisional because the Gospel is the good news of God’s purpose, to bring all these gifts to their perfection in his new creation where - all together - they will shine in their true glory."
He also notes:" Unity must be defined in terms of movement, not stasis. The unity of which the Gospel speaks is an eschatological reality and therefore the question which must be asked in each situation is the question of movement and direction. Not: ‘Is this body of Christians truly united within itself? But ‘Is this body of Christians functioning as a true sign, foretaste and instrument of God’s purpose in Christ to draw all in that place into unity in Christ?’ The unity of the Church at the local as at every other level must be seen in the context of the unity of mankind. One can point to a multi-cultural situation where there is a local church at one with itself but out of contact with the people among whom it lives. This is not ‘a local church truly united’. To be truly the local church in such a situation the Church must be manifestly functioning as sign and foretaste and instrument of God’s purpose to draw those of different cultures into his one family. There must be movement in the direction of unity."
Thus he is sympathetic to provisional forms of church (See Paul Weston, 'Ecclesiology in Eschatological Perspective' in 'Theology in Missionary Perspective, Ed Laing & Weston). But it is vital that they are future directed. This is an eschatological perspective.
In 'Mission in Christ's Way' Newbigin explores the ambiguity of the kingdom. As when Jesus proclaimed the kingdom, the reign of God is not as plain as one might wish. He roots this in passages like Mark 4:10-12. This is supremely so in the cross "the place where the kingdom of God, his power and wisdom, is hidden and revealed."
Perhaps we might also say that the ambiguity of the church's proclamation in today's world is rooted here as well. The scandal of denominations, the role of the church in religious conflict (not least that in Europe) - all this means that truth of the message is not clear.
This should though save us from proclaiming the wrong thing. The good news is the kingdom of God, made present in Christ: not ideology, nor principles, nor systems. the church dare not proclaim itself. And when it so does (as it does all too often) those around are suitably astounded at its arrogance.
The church is a fallible instrument: yet one that God by his grace works through.
It is a foretaste of the new kingdom. But much of the 'fore' is rooted in its own fallibility
It is a sign, pointing beyond itself. It must be this or it is nothing. As a sign pointing to a vista is as nothing in comparison to the viewpoint when reached, so the church is nothing compared to that to which it points
All this is of God. The church may well be - and is - the hermeneutic of the gospel (and how can it be anything else?) but unless it points beyond itself, unless it is thoroughly aware of how provisional it is, it has nothing to offer. But unless it is a community of reconciliation, how can it offer reconciliation to the world?
In the big scheme of things, Newbigin roots this in an emphasis on the eschatological. "The perspective of the eschaton enables the church to live with the inherent tension of being holy and sinful; and of defining itself in terms of what is, and also in terms of what is becoming." (Mark Laing, The Indian Church, in 'Theology in Missionary Perspective, Ed Laing & Weston).
Where does this leave para-church organisations and 'movements'? In "What is 'A Local Church Truly United", he writes: "The existence of separate congregations in the same geographical area on the basis of language and culture have to be accepted as a necessary, but provisional, measure for the sake of the fulfillment of Christ’s mission. Necessary because there must be the possibility to bring to full ripeness the special gifts and insights that God has given to peoples of different language and culture and this cannot happen if some have no place except on the margin of a community of another language or culture. Provisional because the Gospel is the good news of God’s purpose, to bring all these gifts to their perfection in his new creation where - all together - they will shine in their true glory."
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| 'One baptism" - a baptistry in a village in Andhra Pradesh.
There is only once church in the village
- a powerful sign of the reconciling gospel of Christ.
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Thus he is sympathetic to provisional forms of church (See Paul Weston, 'Ecclesiology in Eschatological Perspective' in 'Theology in Missionary Perspective, Ed Laing & Weston). But it is vital that they are future directed. This is an eschatological perspective.
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