Social movements and ministry of the Church
- Part 2 -

Benjamin Gondaimei *

Christmas Eve at Imphal, Manipur on 24 December 2013 :: Pix - Ashok Ninghoujam / Gnet Cyber Cafe

1). b. Ministry of Jesus:

The gospel reflects the daily realities of disease poverty, and disenfranchisement that characterized the social existence of first century Palestine. Through the ministry of Jesus the crowds are there, continually pursuing, interrupting, and prevailing upon him. Jesus compassion is always first directed towards the importunate masses and their overwhelming needs and demands. He responds to their desperate situation of hunger and hopelessness, and nurtures their dream of liberation.

The crowds are manipulated by the very Jerusalem politicians who enforce their subjugation. Christianity is being interpreted as a millenarian movement it is not being relegated to some long lost shelf in the sociological museum. It is being compared and contrast with movements which are still shaping the headlines in tomorrow's newspapers in many parts of the world.

Millenarianism arises when there is a widespread desire for radical change within a society. The Jews as whole certainly felt deprived at the time of Jesus. They have been politically disinherited by the Romans. Did Jesus movement relate to the feeling of oppression and desire for change?

1). b. a. Healing:

Jesus' healings, no less than other portions of the Gospels, have been scrutinized not so much from a historical perspective, asking "What really happened?" "How did the stories of these events function in first-century society?" the stories of healings functioned symbolically to affirm meaning, order and integration of reality in a world filled with conflict and suffering.

Similarly, the Gospel healings should be viewed as symbolic accounts which affirm, from a primarily rural, poor and uncultured perspective, the possibility of rescue, salvation and redemption in this life in a world of rapidly overturning geographical, economic and cultural norms. Healing is breaking down Social Barriers.

Frequently Jesus heals in such a way as to incur the anger of the Jewish leaders. He does not have to touch the leper to cleanse him, but does so deliberately to show that he is unconcerned with the ritual taboos that separated classes of people (Mk 1:41). Sinking deep, the rural poor and the common mass are the neglected people in the larger society of Jesus context.

The poor who couldn't afford to get medical attention and expenses, the lepers who are cast out from the society needs healing for there is no other means for the alienated groups to sooth their lives in the mid of survival of the fittest.

2). The Church and Civil Society:

It is at the level of civil society that social movements operate, supported by educational and cultural institutions, religious conviction and the media. The Church and the Christians, if they wish to bring about any socio-cultural change in the process of achieving Cosmotheandric change. But the church has a dichotomy outlook. Note of the final document of the Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World.

It says Christ did not bequeath to the Church a mission in the political, economic, or social order: the purpose he assigned to it was a religious one. But this religious mission can be the source of commitment, direction and vigour to establish and consolidate the community of human according to the law of God. As such, it claims to be the teacher of private and public morality.

It has a body of social teaching." It addresses the world and the individuals in it. Though it has spoken on many important issues - the common good, subsidiarity and participation, labour, economics and politics, environment, international order and peace - it keeps itself to generalities and does not get into detailed action-plans. The church being one of the social institutions constitutes how society functions and operates to generate harmonic atmosphere.

3). Relation between Social Movement and Mission of the Church:

The growth of ecumenical movement presupposes important changes in the experience of the relation between church and world. Christianity is experiencing the effect of cultural diversity and the influence of economic and ideological development within itself. A rethinking of the church-world relation, more particularly the nature of mission, the relation between general human history and history of salvation, the relation of church, kingdom of God and humankind has become necessary now that the unity of humankind has become a pressing issue.

There are various ecumenical involvements such as fight against racism, the struggle against poverty, the promotion of inter-religious dialogue and critical reflection of women and men. Situation has created for social movement which expresses the aspirations and struggles of the people to secure their basic guaranteed rights, struggle for peace, unity, and social transformation which are both identical in their thrust.

Humanitarian, Gandhian, and Christian principles continue to inspire various charitable, development organizations and movements before and after independence in India. A new type of education geared to making the weakest sections aware of their situation, to enable them to become active agent of their own development and change in their society was thus considered essential. The conscientisation, organisation and movements of people were found necessary to counteract the dominating castes and classes and to prevent them from monopolizing the benefit of development. The growth of social movements and organizations became the main criterion of genuine progress.

One of the most important products of Second Vatican Council was the pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world (1965). Its analysis of the order of creation and the order of salvation are seen in close relation to each other. The humanity of human kind is both the purpose of creation and the challenge of the gospel; the church is the sacrament, the sign of the unification of the whole humankind in God.

For the church this implies an awareness of its position in history and its character as a pilgrim people and a readiness to cooperate with many worldly/secular movements which are serving the same purpose of humanity since Christ is present in the secular history. The central role of the concept of mission dei is the centre of gravity of all missions in God's plan of salvation for the whole world, rather than in expansion of the church.

We need to be more critical how religion functions in society; since religion tries to answer the question what life is all about. In a traditional society religion formulates the core value of the society and the mission and ministry of the church is to formulate the kingdom values in our society.

While the concern for social justice and God's good creation and ultimately for God's reign, are of central theological importance, the change of destructive development policies can only be brought about in co-operation with people's movement, irrespective of their religious background of the participants.

The role of the Social Movements lies in filling a vacuum and focusing the states/country's attention on the neglected problems of the people in general and the most margibalised and oppressed in particular. Social Movements foster a search for alternatives in practically for all sections of life. The search for implementation of development in terms of wealth and income, health care, education and a struggle for egalitarian and participatory development.

It further expresses and foster a search for political alternatives; to bring new situations and local needs, in the issues of health, education, environment, gender and human rights for building people. It also focuses on most neglected groups of people and who are exploited, neglected and the victims of deprivation on which social activists became a new catalysts to conscientise and empower the mass. It fights against the powers to get the people's rightful claims which have been relatively deprived seeking human rights which are vividly written in the Bible.

To be continued...