Catechetical greenThe liturgical color of the season of Epiphany is green. This humdrum fact takes on some weight when one looks at the season from a missiological perspective. The season of Epiphany teaches us that
mission is a long-viewed, patient activity of the church. It involves growth and maturity in the Gospel. It leads the church on a tour with Jesus around Galilee to hear him preach and to witness his mighty acts. The church's mission aims at heaven. We are in it for the long haul. The church is dressed, in other words, in green, catechetical green. We are not in the business of growing dandelions, blowing the seeds of the gospel to the winds and then hoping for a bunch of fast growing but ephemeral flowers that bloom and then disappear.
No, the church is more like a forester who, seeing a burned-out section of forest, begins planting seedlings, tending, watering, planning for and envisioning a vast forest of towering trees. Such Christians have roots that stretch deep into the scriptural, sacramental, Gospel foundation of earth and soil so that no storm may damage them. The church's mission is to nourish Christians on the words of Christ, season after season, so that they may reach his fullness.
This is from an essay of mine that ran a couple of years ago in Lutheran Forum Letter. You can read the whole thing here.
2 comments:
The link for "the whole thing" is broken.
Fixed it. Thanks for the heads up.
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