CHAPTER 1: MISSION

AND THE JESUS’

EVENT
As followers of Jesus, we see in
Him and His life the MODEL for
participating in God’s
redemptive act.

He is the CONTENT and

PROCESS of doing MISSION.
  LESSON 1: THE INCARNATION AS GOD’S
CONTEXTUALIZATION OF HIMSELF

Activity:
1. Share an experience in which you failed to
understand somebody. Why?
2. Share an experience in which somebody
failed to understand you. Why?
3. What insight/s can be drawn
from this sharing.
 It is a requirement for understanding
others that we are aware of what they are
going through or that we have experienced
what they are experiencing.

That is why we sometimes hear people

say, “Hindi mo naranasan ang pinagdaanan
ko.”
 Authentic solidarity or unity with others
can only happen after one has immersed
himself in their own situation.

We can only understand and be truly

united with people if we experience what
they experienced.

It is this real solidarity with humanity

that John speaks about, when he talks about
the Word.
The Prologue of John’s
Gospel  (Jn 1:1-5)
 On its face, the prologue of the Gospel
of John reminds us of the first Genesis
creation story in which God creates with
the power of His Word.

John equates this Word to Jesus, who, for

him, is God’s creative and powerful Word,
revealing God and redeeming humanity.
 It says that even if this Word is the
source of creation, it “became flesh and
dwelt among us.” He became totally one
with creation, totally one with us.

This is expressed in the theological term

“incarnation” – God immersing Himself in
His own creation.
1. The mystery of the Incarnation (God
becoming a human being in Jesus;
Immanuel), is God:
a. reaching out to the whole of creation
b. immersing Himself in the very concrete
situation of His people. In the words of
the Old Testament, He “pitched His
tent among His people.”
2. God’s vision/dream for creation (Jn. 10:10 –
Fullness of Life)
3. Jesus’ life and ministry as the
concretization of God’s vision (dream) and
mission (action) for creation.
 As missionaries we incarnate
Jesus by immersing ourselves in the life
of others through:
1. exerting effort to sincerely know our
neighbors, our classmates, and those whom we
come in contact with daily;
2. helping our classmates in their academic
difficulties; and
3. studying the situation of our communities to
be able to contribute to the solutions of
problems
 LESSON 2: JESUS’ RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD

Activity:
1. Make a list of words we use to address our
parents.
2. Which among those listed do you use to call
your parents?
3. What do the terms you use to call your parents
reveal about your relationship with them?
4. How is your relationship with your parents?
 Our relationship with our
parents is revealed by how we address
them. In the Filipino culture, as it is in
other cultures, we have a lot of words
that suggest reverence for parents. Even
in the culture of Jesus, words of
reverence are reserved for parents and
elders.
 Jesus Teaches His Disciples
How to Pray to the Father/ The
Lord’s Prayer
( Mt. 6:7-13 )
 The Inspired Word of God tells us that the
Lord’s prayer indicates the kind of
relationship Jesus had with God, His Father
which every missionary must have.

Joachim Jeremias, a biblical scholar, said

that one indication of the kind of
relationship Jesus had with God is His use of
the word Abba.
 According to Jeremias, the term
Abba is an intimate term for “father” – a
term used by children in Jesus’ culture.

It suggests therefore that Jesus’

relationship with God is intimate,
trusting, characterized by love, and
freedom.
 It is this relationship with God that
enabled Jesus to care for others and to fight
for those oppressed in society.

Jesus teaches us to call God Abba. And

therefore, He also calls us to a mission of
solidarity with the suffering and the
oppressed.

This is a necessary consequence of our

being sons and daughters of a God whom we
call Abba.
Jesus’ relationship with God is
1. Important in understanding how Jesus
saw His mission
2. Characterized by intimacy as seen in His
a. prayer life
b. attitudes
c. preaching and dealing with people
3. Source of Jesus’ passion for His mission
- Jesus is passionate because God is
passionate.
4. Jesus saw His mission as fidelity to His
relationship with God.
- Jesus’ “food” as doing the Father’s will
5. Jesus saw God’s will as primary and
ultimate
- “Not My will but Your will be done.”
 As missionaries, we must exert effort to
improve our relationship with God as Father by:
1. studying hard so that we will be able to help our
parents in the future;
2. Making it a regular practice to express our love
and appreciation towards our parents and elders;
3. Knowing the content of the Senior Citizen’s Act
and helping implement/observe its provisions.

Vocation Month
Rosary month:
Mission Month: