The Third Luminous Mystery
The Preaching of the Reign of God
By May/June 2009
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Proclaiming the Word
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.” Luke 4:18-19
Reflection
The word “proclaim” has its roots in the Latin pro-clamo, “to call or to shout forth.” This is the mission that Jesus lived, by teaching and healing people, and by challenging the authorities to serve the people better. Near the beginning of his gospel, Luke tells us that Jesus went to the synagogue and proclaimed the words of the prophet Isaiah whose mission was to set free the captives, to bring good news to the poor, to declare a time of grace. This is an ancient dream, one that goes back beyond the time of Isaiah to that of Moses, when God heard the cries and suffering of his people in slavery. Jesus embraces this ancient mission. He, too, hears the cries of the suffering, the sick, and the poor of his time. He responds with compassionate love, touching and healing hearts, minds, and bodies. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, and then invites us to mission: “You are the salt for the whole human race... You are like light for the whole world.” (Matthew 5:13) Jesus is this salt, this light. He lived a constant rhythm between prayer—his mystic relation with the Creator—and action, through his preaching and healing. He calls us to this mission.
Who proclaimed the Good News to me? How do I participate in proclaiming the Good News to others? How can I be salt and light? What is my favourite passage—a parable, a miracle, or a teaching—of Jesus’ mission that has touched my heart? How is the Good News proclaimed in other lands where the name of Jesus has not yet been heard?
Mission Call
In our mission work, we often speak of direct evangelization and indirect evangelization. The direct evangelization approach implies talking directly to people about Jesus and urging them to give their lives for others. The indirect evangelization approach means living the values of Jesus—love, compassion, justice, peace—and hoping that these become transparent through our work and actions.
Let us pray in gratitude for those who first proclaimed God’s Word to me: my parents, teachers, and others. Let us ask God to help us to proclaim God’s Reign through our words and actions. Let us pray for missionaries seeking new ways of proclaiming the Good News. Let us remember to be open to missionaries who come to our land, so that we may learn from each other.
Amazon Word
Once a year we hold a training course for new catechists in a pastoral area comprising 30 Makuxi villages. These are young men and women who feel called to be church leaders in their communities. We begin at the beginning. Three areas are important: the Bible, the Sunday service, and community witness. Some of the questions we address are: Who is Jesus? What are the books of the Bible? How do we look up a reading citation in the Bible (e.g. Luke 4:18)? What are the main elements of the Sunday celebration of God’s Word? What is the catechist’s vocation and witness in the community? These new catechists will become Christian leaders who will proclaim liberty to captives and restore sight to the blind though God’s power and grace.
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