The Kingdom of God
Our Two Realms
The "World" vs. "Eternal Life in Heaven"
Our Two Realms
The "World" vs. "Eternal Life in Heaven"
Where is Your Focus?
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IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
Redemptoris
Missio
On the permanent validity of the Church's
missionary
mandate
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Blessing
Venerable Brothers, Beloved Sons and
Daughters,
Health and the Apostolic Blessing! |
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INTRODUCTION
1.
The mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is
still very far from completion. As the second millennium after Christ's
coming draws to an end, an overall view of the human race shows that this
mission is still only beginning and that we must commit ourselves
wholeheartedly to its service. It is the Spirit who impels us to proclaim the
great works of God: "For if I
preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is
laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor 9:
16)
The
Second Vatican Council sought to
renew the Church's life and activity in the light of the needs of the
contemporary world. The Council emphasized the Church's "missionary
nature," basing it in a dynamic way on the Trinitarian mission itself.
The missionary thrust therefore belongs to the very nature of the Christian
life, and is also the inspiration behind ecumenism: "that they may all be one...so that the world may believe that
you have sent me" (Jn 17:21).
The
commitment of the laity to the work of evangelization is changing ecclesial
life, while particular churches are more willing to meet with the members of
other Christian churches and other religions, and to enter into dialogue and
cooperation with them. Above all, there is a new awareness that missionary
activity is a matter for all Christians, for all dioceses and parishes,
Church institutions and associations.
Nevertheless,
in this "new springtime" of Christianity there is an undeniable
negative tendency, and the present document is meant to help overcome it.
Missionary activity specifically directed "to the nations" (ad
gentes) appears to be waning, and this tendency is certainly not in line
with the directives of the Council and of subsequent statements of the
Magisterium. Difficulties both internal and external have weakened the
Church's missionary thrust toward non-Christians, a fact which must arouse
concern among all who believe in Christ. For in the Church's history,
missionary drive has always been a sign of vitality, just as its lessening is
a sign of a crisis of faith.
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. . The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a
pseudo-science of well-being. In our heavily secularized world a
"gradual secularization of salvation" has taken place, so that
people strive for the good of man, but man who is truncated, reduced to his
merely horizontal dimension. We know, however, that Jesus came to bring
integral salvation, one which embraces the whole person and all mankind, and
opens up the wondrous prospect of divine filiation. Why mission?
Because to us, as to St. Paul, "this grace was given, to preach to the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph 3:8). Newness of life
in him is the "Good News" for men and women of every age: all are
called to it and destined for it. Indeed, all people are searching for it,
albeit at times in a confused way, and have a right to know the value of this
gift and to approach it freely. The Church, and every individual Christian
within her, may not keep hidden or monopolize this newness and richness which
has been received from God's bounty in order to be communicated to all
mankind.
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Chapter II – The Kingdom of God
12.
"It is 'God, who is rich in mercy' whom Jesus Christ has revealed to us
as Father: it is his very Son who, in himself, has manifested him and made
him known to us." I wrote this at the beginning of my Encyclical Dives
in Misericordia, to show that Christ is the revelation and incarnation of
the Father's mercy. Salvation consists in believing and accepting the mystery
of the Father and of his love, made manifest and freely given in Jesus
through the Spirit. In this way the kingdom of God comes to be fulfilled: the
kingdom prepared for in the Old Testament, brought about by Christ and in
Christ, and proclaimed to all peoples by the Church, which works and prays
for its perfect and definitive realization.
The
Old Testament attests that God chose and formed a people for himself, in
order to reveal and carry out his loving plan. But at the same time God is
the Creator and Father of all people; he cares and provides for them,
extending his blessing to all (cf. Gn 12:3); he has established a covenant
with all of them (cf. Gn 9:1-17). Israel experiences a personal and saving
God (cf. Dt 4:37; 7:6-8; Is 43:1-7) and becomes his witness and interpreter
among the nations. In the course of her history, Israel comes to realize that
her election has a universal meaning (cf. for example Is 2:2-5; 25:6-8;
60:1-6; Jer 3:17; 16:19).
Christ Makes the Kingdom
Present
13.
Jesus of Nazareth brings God's plan to fulfillment. After receiving the Holy
Spirit at his Baptism, Jesus makes clear his messianic calling: he goes about
Galilee "preaching the Gospel of God and saying: 'The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel'"
(Mk 1:14-15; cf. Mt 4:17; Lk 4:43). The proclamation and establishment of
God's kingdom are the purpose of his mission: "I was sent for this
purpose" (Lk 4:43). But that is not all. Jesus himself is the "Good
News," as he declares at the very beginning of his mission in the
synagogue at Nazareth, when he applies to himself the words of Isaiah about
the Anointed One sent by the Spirit of the Lord (cf. Lk 4;14-21). Since the
"Good News" is Christ, there is an identity between the message and
the messenger, between saying, doing and being. His power, the secret of the
effectiveness of his actions, lies in his total identification with the
message he announces; he proclaims the "Good News" not just by what
he says or does, but by what he is.
The
ministry of Jesus is described in the context of his journeys within his
homeland. Before Easter, the scope of his mission was focused on Israel.
Nevertheless, Jesus offers a new element of extreme importance. The
eschatological reality is not relegated to a remote "end of the
world," but is already close and at work in our midst. The kingdom of
God is at hand (cf. Mk 1:15); its coming is to be prayed for (cf. Mt 6:10);
faith can glimpse it already at work in signs such as miracles (cf. Mt
11:4-5) and exorcisms (cf. Mt 12:25-28), in the choosing of the Twelve (cf.
Mk 3:13-19), and in the proclamation of the Good News to the poor (cf. Lk
4:18). Jesus' encounters with Gentiles make it clear that entry into the
kingdom comes through faith and conversion (cf. Mk 1:15), and not merely by
reason of ethnic background.
The
kingdom which Jesus inaugurates is the kingdom of God. Jesus himself
reveals who this God is, the One whom he addresses by the intimate term
"Abba," Father (cf. Mk 14:36). God, as revealed above all in the
parables (cf. Lk 15:3-32; Mt 20:1-16), is sensitive to the needs and
sufferings of every human being: he is a Father filled with love and
compassion, who grants forgiveness and freely bestows the favors asked of him.
St.
John tells us that "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Every person
therefore is invited to "repent" and to "believe" in
God's merciful love. The kingdom will grow insofar as every person learns to
turn to God in the intimacy of prayer as to a Father (cf. Lk 11:2; Mt 23:9)
and strives to do his will (cf. Mt 7:21).
Characteristics of the
Kingdom and Its Demands
14.
Jesus gradually reveals the characteristics and demands of the kingdom
through his words, his actions and his own person.
The
kingdom
of God is meant for all mankind, and all people are called to
become members of it. To emphasize this fact, Jesus drew especially near to
those on the margins of society, and showed them special favor in announcing
the Good News. At the beginning of his ministry he proclaimed that he was
"anointed...to preach good news to the poor" (Lk 4:18). To all who
are victims of rejection and contempt Jesus declares: "Blessed are you
poor" (Lk 6:20). What is more, he enables such individuals to experience
liberation even now, by being close to them, going to eat in their homes (cf.
Lk 5:30; 15:2), treating them as equals and friends (cf. Lk 7:34), and making
them feel loved by God, thus revealing his tender care for the needy and for
sinners (cf. Lk 15:1-32).
The
liberation and salvation brought by the kingdom of God come to the human
person both in his physical and spiritual dimensions. Two gestures are
characteristic of Jesus' mission: healing and forgiving. Jesus' many healings
clearly show his great compassion in the face of human distress, but they
also signify that in the kingdom there will no longer be sickness or
suffering, and that his mission, from the very beginning, is meant to free
people from these evils. In Jesus' eyes, healings are also a sign of
spiritual salvation, namely liberation from sin. By performing acts of
healing, he invites people to faith, conversion and the desire for
forgiveness (cf. Lk 5:24). Once there is faith, healing is an encouragement
to go further: it leads to salvation (cf. Lk 18:42-43). The acts of
liberation from demonic possession-the supreme evil and symbol of sin and
rebellion against God-are signs that indeed "the kingdom of God has come
upon you" (Mt 12:28).
15.
The kingdom aims at transforming human relationships; it grows gradually as
people slowly learn to love, forgive and serve one another. Jesus sums up the
whole Law, focusing it on the commandment of love (cf. Mt 22:34-40; Lk
10:25-28). Before leaving his disciples, he gives them a "new
commandment": "Love one another; even as I have loved you" (Jn
13:34; cf. 15:12). Jesus' love for the world finds its highest expression in
the gift of his life for mankind (cf. Jn 15:13), which manifests the love
which the Father has for the world (cf. Jn 3:16). The kingdom's nature, therefore,
is one of communion among all human beings-with one another and with God.
The
kingdom is the concern of everyone: individuals, society, and the world.
Working for the kingdom means acknowledging and promoting God's activity,
which is present in human history and transforms it. Building the kingdom
means working for liberation from evil in all its forms. In a word, the kingdom
of God is the manifestation and the realization of God's plan of
salvation in all its fullness.
In the Risen Christ God's
Kingdom Is Fulfilled and Proclaimed
16.
By raising Jesus from the dead, God has conquered death, and in Jesus he has
definitely inaugurated his kingdom. During his earthly life, Jesus was the
Prophet of the kingdom; after his passion, resurrection and ascension into
heaven he shares in God's power and in his dominion over the world (cf. Mt
28:18; Acts 2:36; Eph 1:18-21). The resurrection gives a universal scope to
Christ's message, his actions and whole mission. The disciples recognize that
the kingdom is already present in the person of Jesus and is slowly being
established within man and the world through a mysterious connection with
him.
Indeed,
after the resurrection, the disciples preach the kingdom by proclaiming Jesus
crucified and risen from the dead. In Samaria, Philip "preached good
news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12).
In Rome, we find Paul "preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about
the Lord Jesus Christ'' (Acts 28:31). The first Christians also proclaim
"the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph 5:5; cf. Rev 11:15; 12:10),
or "the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pt 1:11).
The preaching of the early Church was centered on the proclamation of Jesus
Christ, with whom the kingdom was identified. Now, as then, there is a need
to unite the proclamation of the kingdom of God (the content of Jesus'
own "kerygma") and the proclamation of the Christ-event (the
"kerygma" of the apostles). The two proclamations are
complementary; each throws light on the other.
The Kingdom in Relation
to Christ and the Church
17.
Nowadays the kingdom is much spoken of, but not always in a way consonant
with the thinking of the Church. In fact, there are ideas about salvation and
mission which can be called "anthropocentric" in the reductive
sense of the word, inasmuch as they are focused on man's earthly needs. In
this view, the kingdom tends to become something completely human and
secularized; what counts are programs and struggles for a liberation which is
socio-economic, political and even cultural, but within a horizon that is
closed to the transcendent. Without denying that on this level too there are
values to be promoted, such a notion nevertheless remains within the confines
of a kingdom of man, deprived of its authentic and profound dimensions. Such
a view easily translates into one more ideology of purely earthly progress.
The kingdom of God, however, "is not of this world...is not from the
world" (Jn 18:36).
There
are also conceptions which deliberately emphasize the kingdom and which
describe themselves as "kingdom-centered." They stress the image of
a Church which is not concerned about herself, but which is totally concerned
with bearing witness to and serving the kingdom. It is a "Church for
others" just as Christ is the "man for others." The Church's
task is described as though it had to proceed in two directions: on the one
hand promoting such "values of the kingdom" as peace, justice,
freedom, brotherhood, etc,, while on the other hand fostering dialogue
between peoples, cultures and religions, so that through a mutual enrichment
they might help the world to be renewed and to journey ever closer toward the
kingdom.
Together
with positive aspects, these conceptions often reveal negative aspects as
well. First, they are silent about Christ: the kingdom of which they speak is
"theocentrically" based, since, according to them, Christ cannot be
understood by those who lack Christian faith, whereas different peoples,
cultures and religions are capable of finding common ground in the one divine
reality, by whatever name it is called. For the same reason they put great
stress on the mystery of creation, which is reflected in the diversity of
cultures and beliefs, but they keep silent about the mystery of redemption.
Furthermore, the kingdom, as they understand it, ends up either leaving very
little room for the Church or undervaluing the Church in reaction to a
presumed "ecclesiocentrism" of the past, and because they consider
the Church herself only a sign, for that matter a sign not without ambiguity.
18.
This is not the kingdom of God as we know it from
Revelation. The kingdom cannot be detached either from Christ or from the
Church.
As
has already been said, Christ not only proclaimed the kingdom, but in him the
kingdom itself became present and was fulfilled. This happened not only
through his words and his deeds: "Above all,...the kingdom is made manifest
in the very person of Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, who came 'to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mk 10:45)." The kingdom
of God is not a concept, a doctrine, or a program subject to free
interpretation, but it is before all else a person with the face and
name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God.23
If the kingdom is separated from Jesus, it is no longer the kingdom of God
which he revealed. The result is a distortion of the meaning of the kingdom,
which runs the risk of being transformed into a purely human or ideological
goal, and a distortion of the identity of Christ, who no longer appears as
the Lord to whom everything must one day be subjected (cf. 1 Cor 15:27).
Likewise,
one may not separate the kingdom from the Church. It is true that the Church
is not an end unto herself, since she is ordered toward the kingdom of God of
which she is the seed, sign and instrument. Yet, while remaining distinct
from Christ and the kingdom, the Church is indissolubly united to both.
Christ endowed the Church, his body, with the fullness of the benefits and means
of salvation. The Holy Spirit dwells in her, enlivens her with his gifts and
charisms, sanctifies, guides and constantly renews her. The result is a
unique and special relationship which, while not excluding the action of
Christ and the Spirit outside the Church's visible boundaries, confers upon
her a specific and necessary role; hence the Church's special connection with
the kingdom of God and of Christ, which she has "the mission of
announcing and inaugurating among all peoples."
19.
It is within this overall perspective that the reality of the kingdom is
understood. Certainly, the kingdom demands the promotion of human values, as
well as those which can properly be called "evangelical," since
they are intimately bound up with the "Good News." But this sort of
promotion, which is at the heart of the Church, must not be detached from or
opposed to other fundamental tasks, such as proclaiming Christ and his
Gospel, and establishing and building up communities which make present and
active within mankind the living image of the kingdom. One need not fear
falling thereby into a form of "ecclesiocentrism." Pope Paul VI,
who affirmed the existence of "a profound link between Christ, the
Church and evangelization,"26
also said that the Church "is not an end unto herself, but rather is
fervently concerned to be completely of Christ, in Christ and for Christ, as
well as completely of men, among men and for men."
The Church at the Service
of the Kingdom
20.
The Church is effectively and concretely at the service of the kingdom. This
is seen especially in her preaching, which is a call to conversion. Preaching
constitutes the Church's first and fundamental way of serving the coming of
the kingdom in individuals and in human society. Eschatological salvation
begins even now in newness of life in Christ: "To all who believed in
him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God"
(Jn 1:12).
The
Church, then, serves the kingdom by establishing communities and founding new
particular churches, and by guiding them to mature faith and charity in
openness toward others, in service to individuals and society, and in
understanding and esteem for human institutions.
The
Church serves the kingdom by spreading throughout the world the "gospel
values" which are an expression of the kingdom and which help people to
accept God's plan. It is true that the inchoate reality of the kingdom can
also be found beyond the confines of the Church among peoples everywhere, to
the extent that they live "gospel values" and are open to the
working of the Spirit who breathes when and where he wills (cf. Jn 3:8). But
it must immediately be added that this temporal dimension of the kingdom
remains incomplete unless it is related to the kingdom of Christ present in
the Church and straining towards eschatological fullness.
The
many dimensions of the kingdom of God do not weaken the foundations and
purposes of missionary activity, but rather strengthen and extend them. The
Church is the sacrament of salvation for all mankind, and her activity is not
limited only to those who accept her message. She is a dynamic force in
mankind's journey toward the eschatological kingdom, and is the sign and
promoter of gospel values. The Church contributes to mankind's pilgrimage of
conversion to God's plan through her witness and through such activities as
dialogue, human promotion, commitment to justice and peace, education and the
care of the sick, and aid to the poor and to children. In carrying on these
activities, however, she never loses sight of the priority of the
transcendent and spiritual realities which are premises of eschatological
salvation.
Finally,
the Church serves the kingdom by her intercession, since the kingdom by its
very nature is God's gift and work, as we are reminded by the gospel parables
and by the prayer which Jesus taught us. We must ask for the kingdom, welcome
it and make it grow within us; but we must also work together so that it will
be welcomed and will grow among all people, until the time when Christ
"delivers the kingdom to God the Father" and "God will be
everything to everyone" (cf. 1 Cor 15:24, 28).
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Conclusion
92.
Today, as never before, the Church has the opportunity of bringing the
Gospel, by witness and word, to all people and nations. I see the dawning of
a new missionary age, which will become a radiant day bearing an abundant
harvest, if all Christians, and missionaries and young churches in
particular, respond with generosity and holiness to the calls and challenges
of our time.
Like the apostles after Christ's
Ascension, the Church must gather in the Upper Room "together with Mary,
the Mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14), in order to pray for the Spirit and to
gain strength and courage to carry out the missionary mandate. We too, like
the apostles, need to be transformed and guided by the Spirit.
On the eve of the third millennium
the whole Church is invited to live more intensely the mystery of Christ by
gratefully cooperating in the work of salvation. The Church does this
together with Mary and following the example of Mary, the Church's Mother and
model: Mary is the model of that maternal love which should inspire all who
cooperate in the Church's apostolic mission for the rebirth of humanity.
Therefore, "strengthened by the presence of Christ, the Church journeys
through time toward the consummation of the ages and goes to meet the Lord
who comes. But on this journey ...she proceeds along the path already
trodden by the Virgin Mary."
To "Mary's mediation, wholly
oriented toward Christ and tending to the revelation of his salvific
power," I entrust the Church and, in particular, those who commit themselves
to carrying out the missionary mandate in today's world. As Christ sent forth
his apostles in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
so too, renewing that same mandate, I extend to all of you my apostolic
blessing, in the name of the same Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on
December 7, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Conciliar Decree Ad Gentes,
in the year 1990, the thirteenth of my Pontificate.
JOHN PAUL II
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