Discipleship Point and Prayer
FRIDAY'S BIT OF
DISCIPLESHIP
No parent always does the right thing. Humility about our mistakes draws our children to us. Pride almost always causes a negative reaction.
p.103, The Prideful Soul’s Guide to Humility, Fontenot/Jones
Humility Prayer
Knowing that we don’t always do the right thing, help us to be humble with one another in our family – as spouses, parents and children, swallowing our pride, admitting mistakes and offering forgiveness to each other as You forgive us our sins. Amen.
MISSIO DEI
Discipleship Point
What are the root meanings of the words MISSIO and DEI?
Today we look at parts two and three:
To understand the main biblical word for mission (send,) three other sending root words in the Bible are used in the context of the main apostolic word to help understand the depth of the biblical sending motif. One is πέμπω (pĕmpō) (sending from the subject view or point of departure). Another is ἀφίημι (aphiēmi, the main word for the biblically translated word forgiveness, thus a sending away of sins, a remission of sins, a release, and this Greek word is also translated leave/leaving/left). One other sending word to consider is ἐκβάλλω (ĕkballō) (thrust [sending away with velocity] as thrusting the laborers into the harvest field in Matthew 9:38).
“Missio Dei” then is
- The sending of God (God is a sending God)
- The sending by God the Father of Christ into the world
- The sending by God the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit
- The sending by Christ of the community of Christ-believers into the world
- The sending away of sin by God through Christ
See the following Scriptures in your bible or on pp. 250-251 of The Great Sending book: Luke 4:18-19, John 20:21-23, Leviticus 16:9-10.
Luke 4:18-19
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
John 20:21-23
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Leviticus 16:9-10
9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
Prayer
We return to last week's prayer...
Lord Jesus, whatever language we use to learn about you, study you, sing to you and share about You – we pray to be rooted in the root meanings of Father God’s mission – Your Mission. Father God sent You to Us, our sin from us and our presence to the world. Bless us to live well. Amen.