The current missionary is a man who is daily dealing with experiences of the society with its complex realities. In the light of the Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris Missio of the Pope John Paul II, we would like to share with you our brief reflection on giving space to the experience in the new faces of the mission, particularly “the evangelization of the culture”. It is so hard to talk about evangelization of the culture without a little sharing on the inculturation of the Gospel and the mission itself.
1. Brief Idea of Mission:
Mission is derived from the Latin word “mittere” which means “send off”. When you read in John 17:18, it is said: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” We obviously understand that the word ‘mandate’ is equivalent to mission. A little bit far, in Jn 20: 21: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” St John directly links the mission which Jesus entrusts to his disciples with the mission which he himself has received from the Father. We also notice that the entire missionary sense of St John is expressed in the priestly prayer. The ultimate purpose of mission is to enable people to share in the communion which exists between the Father and the Son. The disciples are to live in unity with one another, remaining in the Father and the Son, so that the world may know and believe (cf. Jn 17:21 -23). It makes us understand that we are missionaries above all because of what we are as a Church whose innermost life is unity in love, even before we become missionaries in word or deed. The mission as word is very complex. Talking about and writing on it, may take us even generations. We do not want to fall into that risk now. The Church as she carries out missionary activity among the nations encounters different cultures and becomes involved in the process of inculturation. The need for such involvement has marked the Church's pilgrimage throughout her history, but today it is particularly urgent. We are daily familiar with that process.
2. The Inculturation of the Gospel and the evangelization of the culture:
Inculturation is not a matter of purely external adaptation, for inculturation means the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures. The process is thus a profound and all-embracing one, which involves the Christian message and also the Church's reflection and practice. But at the same time it is a difficult process, for it must in no way compromise the distinctiveness and integrity of the Christian faith. Through inculturation the Church makes the Gospel incarnate in different cultures and at the same time introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her own community. She transmits to them her own values, at the same time taking the good elements that already exist in them and renewing them from within. Through inculturation the Church, for her part, becomes a more effective instrument of mission. “Missionaries, who come from other churches and countries, must immerse themselves in the cultural milieu of those to whom they are sent, moving beyond their own cultural limitations. Hence they must learn the language of the place in which they work, become familiar with the most important expressions of the local culture, and discover its values through direct experience. Only if they have this kind of awareness will they be able to bring to people the knowledge of the hidden mystery (cf. Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:5) in a credible and fruitful way. It is not of course a matter of missionaries renouncing their own cultural identity, but of understanding, appreciating, fostering and evangelizing the culture of the environment in which they are working, and therefore of equipping themselves to communicate effectively with it, adopting a manner of living which is a sign of gospel witness and of solidarity with the people.” (number 53). Following always the line of the Redemptoris mission, properly applied, inculturation must be guided by two principles: "compatibility with the gospel and communion with the universal Church." Since culture is a human creation and is therefore marked by sin, it too needs to be "healed, ennobled and perfected." Reading calmly the IMC General Letter sent to the missionary for the coming general chapter 2011; in the end the General Direction makes some analysis on the context of our Institute. The General Direction realizes that there is tiredness of giving space to the experience in new faces of the mission of today such as Justice and Peace, Consolation, Reconciliation, Evangelization of the culture. Actually, those are called the forms of the "Areopagus" in the modern world. The Church's missionary activity ought to be directed toward them. We need to know that “Inculturation of the Gospel” and “the evangelization of the culture” are both the aspects of the evangelization. They are different. They are not blends. The inculturation of the Gospel is carried out in the whole missionary world with songs, dances, pictures, translations in local languages, but “the evangelization of the culture” has to be in the light of the Gospel. With the coming of Jesus-Christ, there are not any more differences between the peoples. Christ has brought all to one. Reading an article some days ago in our website: ismico, there was an article titled: “ Evangelizzazione delle culture impegno primario della missione. It was during the plenary assembly of the members of the Congregation of the people, recently met in Rome from November 16 to 18, 2009 to reflect on “St Paul and the new areopagus”. In that assembly, the Cardinal Dias, Prefect of the Congregation of the people did not delay to show the difference between “the inculturation of the Gospel” and “the evangelization of the culture” and the task which we are also invited to accomplish in the mission. The article was in Italian and he said: “L'evangelizzazione delle culture, ha avvertito, è qualcosa di diverso dall'inculturazione del Vangelo. Anzi "mentre si constata con viva soddisfazione - ha aggiunto - che l'inculturazione del Vangelo è stata eseguita in tutto il mondo missionario con canti, danze, pitture, traduzioni nelle lingue locali e così via, si nota che in alcuni Paesi di missione non molta attenzione è stata data all'evangelizzazione della cultura. Per cui accanto ai molti e pregiati valori che si trovano nelle culture dei popoli, che bisogna a tutti i costi difendere e salvaguardare, vi sono altri valori che sono incompatibili con il Vangelo". E se questi valori "non saranno corretti - ha proseguito - i cristiani correranno il rischio di essere credenti superficiali, ossia pagani ben verniciati di cristianesimo, che non possono però dire con san Paolo "Non vivo più io, ma è Cristo che che vive in me"".
È dunque necessario, ha concluso il cardinale, insistere su entrambi questi aspetti dell'evangelizzazione: inculturazione del Vangelo ed evangelizzazione delle culture.
Conclusion:
In summary, the scientific research has proved that the culture by itself is also one of the immense areopagus of the mission. We need courage to give space to the experience in the new faces of the mission. All the cultures are important. But we need to see the achievement of them. When a culture becomes height of all, there is a big danger of ignoring the Gospel without knowing that all the cultures have to be read in the light of the Gospel and bring all to Christ who we witness. Our witness has to reflect the image of Christ disciples and not focusing all life on the cultures as if culture is more than the Gospel. In a brief way, “people today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, 69 in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories. The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission: Christ, whose mission we continue, is the "witness" par excellence (Rv 1:5; 3:14) and the model of all Christian witness. The Holy Spirit accompanies the Church along her way and associates her with the witness he gives to Christ (cf. Jn 15:26- 27).” (Redemptoris Missio n. 42).
