At times, we may believe our faith tradition is just about God and me or Jesus and me. We may fail to realize that we are social beings who are in interdependent relationships with others and with creation itself. What we believe, think, or do affects these relationships to some extent, regardless of whether we realize it or not.
Many scripture scholars agree that Jesus understood that the primary mission and purpose of his ministry was the coming of God's "kingdom," reign, or Way of love, truth, freedom, justice, peace, hope, healing, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation for all, not just ourselves. Throughout the Church's history, six Greek terms have been primarily used to summarize the dimensions of Christian ministry necessary to continue Jesus' mission to the world: being a life-giving community of faith (koinonia); proclaiming the Good News (kerygma); bearing witness to our faith (marturia); teaching the faith (didache), worshipping as a community of faith (lietourgia); and serving those in need (diakonia). (see, Thomas Groome, "The Purposes of Christian Catechesis," in Empowering Catechetical Leaders, Thomas H. Groome and Michael J. Corso, eds. (Washington: NCEA, 1999), 6, 19). We may hear other terms that include these dimensions such as evangelization, catechesis, and social justice.
How have you experienced God's reign in your life, or in the lives of others? What dimensions of Christian ministry do you actively participate in? How do you promote and advance Jesus' mission in your time and place?