Life is a mission

Life is a mission.

2013 World mission Sunday

World mission Sunday is a day we celebrate the mission of Jesus Christ, of Church, and of each and every one of us.  Every Christian shares the same mission of Jesus Christ. From our being, our life is a mission.

1.  Jesus Christ  is the first missionary

            Jesus Christ is the first missionary. With a mission from the Father, Jesus Christ came down to our world to share the love of God our Father. From the very beginning of his life, Jesus always chose  to focus on his mission by praying to God the Father every day. Human beings come from God and are the image of God, but sin distorts us and we get lost in our way of life.  Because of sin, many times, we do not know the meaning of life, we do not know why we live in this world, and who we are.  Sin causes us to lose our mission. As we lose our mission, we lose our identity, so, we regret our past, we do not know what to do in the present, and our future is occupied by fear and vagueness. Jesus Christ lives as a model of human life for us  He is"the way, the truth and the life."

             At every turning point of his life, he chose to pray and to seek the will of God, even in his suffering, he prayed to God to fulfill his mission.  Prayer is the way we connect our life with God and fulfill Jesus' mission. Prayer is a way to stay together with God and to do God's will.  With prayer, Jesus fulfilled his mission, even on the Cross.  On the Cross, Jesus said: "It is finished."

            The mission of Jesus Christ flows from his prayer which is in the intimate relationship with God the Father. Through prayer, Jesus always remembers who he is and the mission he carries.  Prayer is also very important for us. Pope Francis in his letter about this year's world mission Sunday, emphasizes the importance of having an intimate relationship with God through prayer.

2.  Christian Church is missionary

            Christian Church is missionary. Christians in a Church community carry the same mission of Jesus Christ. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (Jn 20:21). From the very beginning of Christian life, we received the life of Jesus Christ which is our mission. The mission for Christians is to preach the love of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. In the history of Church, Jesus Christ sent his disciples to preach the Kingdom of God, the disciples and bishops sent missionaries all over the world to preach the same gospel. 

          Christian faith is a faith of mission. Christian life is a life of mission. When we celebrate today's world mission Sunday, first of all, we realize that we and our fathers and mothers have received our Christian faith through the missionaries. If you just take a moment to recall your life, you may remember someone who, is that missionary ,and delivered the gospel of Jesus Christ to you and your ancestors. As Christians,  we receive the Christian faith as a mission which we have to deliver to other people. From our being, Christian life is a life of mission.

3.  I am a missionary

            When I was young, my grandfather told me that we used to have a big church in our village, but that church was destroyed during the Culture Revolution.  The Church was built by some missionaries from Italy. Those priests not only came to China as missionaries, but also brought the love  of their local people's contribution with them to build church for the poor people. Now I am a missionary here. It is also true, each and every one of us should always say: "I am a missionary of Jesus Christ."

            Life is a mission. We have received the same life and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now it is our turn to become a missionary, to preach the gospel to our families, our friends. I know many of you may not become a missionary to preach the gospel in a foreign land, but you still can fulfill your responsibility as a missionary through your daily prayer, through supporting the missionary work, through sacrificing your life and choosing to do good on earth.

            Jesus Christ is THE missionary. You are also a missionary in our time. Go, to preach the gospel to your families, to your friends.