Missionary work is done best through dialogue and by example

Unlike traditional religions, which propagate themselves through successive generations, Christianity is missionary by nature. It is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Representing nearly one-third of the world’s population, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. 

But, this numerical success, is wounded. During his pastoral visit to Canada in April 2022, Pope Francis apologized for what he called the “grave sins of colonialism” the Church committed against Indigenous Peoples of America. 
The Catholic Church was one of many Christian denominations that ran boarding schools in Canada and the US, designed to “kill the Indian in the child” by taking kids from their families, cutting them off from their culture and educating them in the ways of the European-minded settlers. A similar story is told in different parts of the world.

Evangelisation cannot be truly realised with the mindset of “the end justifies the means”. Dialogue rather than indoctrination is the way to go. Indoctrination is the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. Dialogue is primarily for the purpose of building bridges and leading to genuine conversion, through mutual respect and understanding. 

If the gospel is a message of truth, we must give people space to consider it, time to learn about it, encouragement to reflect upon it and quietness to respond to it. We must shun techniques and every type of manipulation and pressure. 
Mission is better understood from the very nature of God. Ever since the fall of mankind, God initiated the return a fallen mankind to His presence, fully redeemed. God the Father sent the Son, and God the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. The mission was expanded to include the Church into the world (Matthew 28:19). According to 1 Peter 2:9, every baptised person is a missionary.

The Christian mission is about incarnation and crucifixion, and they both go hand in hand. Incarnation is about meeting people where they are with the gospel of the cross. John 1:14 states: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. …the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth’. “We preach Christ Crucified”, asserts Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:23. The whole message of the New Testament is Christ making an effect on humanity through the power of redemption. 

When the appointed time arrived, Mary of Nazareth was chosen to bear the Savior. But she was only able to give her free consent after the Angel Gabriel had engaged her into dialogue (Luke 1:26ff). Before sacrificing Himself for their sins, Jesus engaged sinners into dialogue. Zacchaeus who was shamed because of being a tax collector, found Jesus removing his shame, liberating his home, and compelling his heart to go out into the community and restore fortunes to people he had previously cheated (Luke 19:1-10). 

Jesus initiated a conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, and the woman ended up bringing entire town to Jesus (John 4:1-42). In Acts 17:16-34, Paul engages Greeks into dialogue at their home ground and from their own culture.
Christians are likewise called to participate in the liberating mission of Jesus, through dialogue. It is the good news of God’s love, incarnated in the witness of a community, for the salvation of the world. 
Any aim different from this thus means that God is not at the centre of our mission but us trying to do our own agenda. 

Following the theology of the incarnation, our very lives are our message and we cannot take ourselves out of the equation of mission. We must be sure we only speak the truth, not exaggerations, half-truths or wishful thinking. Proclamation and dialogue are thus both viewed as component elements and authentic forms of the one evangelizing mission of the Church. 
            Msgr. John Wynand Katende        [email protected]]