30 March 2004
General Topic:
The Lay Faithful
Johannesburg Intervention
The laity’s testimony of Christ resurrected which reveals the novelty of the Gospel in daily life.
Prof. Stuart C. Bate OMI
All members of the Church share in the three-fold mission of Christ who is priest, prophet and king. We receive this mission as we are anointed in Baptism. We are strengthened in it in Confirmation and continually sustained in it by the Holy Eucharist.
Lay people share in the priestly ministry of Christ when they transform the events of their lives into ‘spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God’ (1 Pet 2.5). This they do under the influence of the Holy Spirit as the events of daily life: at work, in the home and in civic, cultural and social life, are offered to the Father. In offering their lives in this way, lay Christians pray for the transformation of the world in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. As a result, all that happens, is experienced as call and opportunity to serve the Lord.
Serving the Lord may manifest itself in prophetic ministry, which lay people carry out when they insert the good news of the Gospel into the daily life of the world. This prophetic task is particularly confided to lay people since these are the ones who find themselves in the factory, in the office, on the roads, in the family, as well as in civil and political life. Such prophets witness love for others. They struggle for justice, and they bring hope and trust in a world that is often more accustomed to fear, hatred, abuse, greed and despair. By engaging with the world in all areas of social and cultural life, Christians bring something good and something new in a world which suffers from much that is evil.
We must not underestimate the power of evil, since it has the ability to oppress large numbers of people and make then suffer. In such circumstances people are called to a kingly mission which involves a spiritual combat against the powers of evil. Such Christians are ‘given the ability and responsibility to accept the gospel in faith and to proclaim it in word and deed, without hesitating to courageously identify and denounce evil’(CL14).
The vast majority of Christians are lay people who are called to live their faith in the daily life of the world. By who they are and what they do, they manifest the risen Lord, alive and active in the world to day. Many people do not know that God cares for them, that he sent his son to save them and that through the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s kingdom may be created in the daily events of life by making the world a better place for all. This is often something new for people and it is good to see it happen. In bringing something new and something good, lay people cause the Gospel to penetrate into parts of the world where only they are found.
CL Christifideles Laici: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation On The Vocation And The Mission of The Lay Faithful in The Church And In The World. Pope John Paul II, 30 December, 1988.