wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Cardinal W. Kasper on the 9th Assembly theme

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For immediate release - 16/11/2005

CHALLENGED TO OPEN OUR EYES AND TO BEAR WITNESS

(*) By Walter Kasper

	Reflections on the theme of the WCC 9th Assembly:
	God, in your grace, transform the world
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Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, contributes in the following article a reflection from
the perspective of the Roman Catholic Church on the theme of the upcoming
World Council of Churches 9th Assembly: God, in your grace, transform the
world.

The theme of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) 9th Assembly God, in
your grace, transform the world, is a profound prayer of faith and hope in
God, who gratuitously and continually leads the Christian to personal
renewal and conversion, and uses the church as an instrument of his love
in transforming the world.

In two of the proposed biblical readings on the theme (Luke 4 and Isaiah
61), one finds the theological foundation for God's action through the
church as "the indivisible sacrament of salvation". [1]

God's transforming work is brought about through Christ, who "having been
lifted up from the earth, is drawing all men to himself" (John 12:32 Greek
text). Having risen from the dead (cf. Rom 6:9), he sent his life-giving
Spirit upon his disciples and through this Spirit has established his
body, the church, as the universal sacrament of salvation." [2].

In the text from Isaiah 61:1-4, fulfilled in Luke 4:16-30, it is clear
that "the restoration which we are awaiting has already begun in Christ,
is carried forward in the mission of the Holy Spirit, and through him
continues in the church". [3] Through Christ's presence in the action of
the Holy Spirit, God is continually active in the world transforming
humanity, and the entire cosmos.

The Second Vatican Council understands the church as "the universal
sacrament of salvation", [4] that through God's grace has the dual task of
working for the realization of its own full unity and for the unity of
fragmented humanity. Thus the Council sets the church in perspective by
focusing on its eschatological nature as the pilgrim people on the way
towards the final realization of God's kingdom, when the human race as
well as all of creation, which is intimately related to human beings and
achieves its purpose through them, will be perfectly re-established in
Christ. [5]

The foundation of the church's role in the world is theological and
christological. In the Old Testament, God's intervention in history is
perceived against the background of God being the creator and lord of all
things (cf. Isa 40:21-26; 42:5f). In the Old Testament, the realization of
messianic righteousness (God's rule) was always linked to the restoration
of order in the whole cosmos - the whole inhabited earth (oikoumene).

In the New Testament, especially with Paul, sovereignty is attributed to
Christ who is the head of the church (cf. Eph. 1:18-20), and of all things
(cf. Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:15-18; 2:10). Christ, as head of both domains, is
the bearer of a covenant relationship between God and human beings, and
between God and the whole of creation.

The theme of the WCC Assembly, God, in your grace, transform the world,
presupposes faith and hope in God, who in Christ through the work of the
Holy Spirit, has already fulfilled the promise. The end of ages has
already begun, for the foundation of the restoration of all things has
been laid in Christ.

We not only pray and wait for God to transform the world. Christians are
given the talents and wisdom to cooperate in God's work of transforming
the world. In other words, Christians have the duty and responsibility to
establish a world order in conformity to God's gift of truth and grace
received in Christ Jesus our Lord. [6]

Listening to the word of God in fresh ways

The question that needs to be kept in mind regarding the theme is the
following: What is God's purpose in creation, the mystery of salvation and
the incarnation, a purpose that finds its culmination in the paschal
mystery of Christ, who is finally lifted up in order to draw all things to
himself (cf. John 12:32 )?

The Second Vatican Council sums up the answer to this question in the
following words: "While helping the world and receiving many benefits from
it, the Church has a single intention: that God's kingdom may come, and
that the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass. For every
benefit which the People of God during its earthly pilgrimage can offer to
the human family stems from the fact that the Church is 'the universal
sacrament of salvation', simultaneously manifesting and exercising the
mystery of God's love for man." [7]

But concretely, how does the church live its pastoral ministry in the
light of God's purpose of salvation?

Christ's pastoral ministry, as set before us in Luke 4:16-30, is the model
for the pastoral ministry of his church. Just as Jesus is sent by the
father in the action of the Holy Spirit "to bring the good news to the
poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set
the downtrodden free and to proclaim the lord's year of favour", so too
the church is sent to do no less, in order to contribute towards the
realization of the messianic righteousness in concrete situations.

The WCC Assembly theme challenges all Christians to listen to the word of
God in fresh ways, so that they may capture what the word means in their
lives today. Indeed, we are challenged to open our eyes, in order to see
to it that the poor experience the good news, that captives are set free
and that the blind of all categories are enabled to see again.

We are challenged to bear witness to the transforming works of God through
the Holy Spirit in our midst today, just as Jesus told the disciples of
John, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their
sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, and the poor have the good news brought to them" (Matt. 11:4-5). 
Therefore, the theme of the Assembly is both a prayer and a fulfillment of
the kingdom of God in Christ through the instrumentality of the church
sustained and guided by the Holy Spirit down the centuries.

[1,028 words]

Cardinal Walter Kasper is, as president of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, the Vatican's top ecumenical officer. As a
theologian he has written many articles and several books, including That
they may all be one, the call to unity today (2004). He was a member of
the WCC Commission on Faith and Order between 1975 and 1991.

Notes:
1 Cyprian, Eph. 69, 6, Hartel III, p. 754 (PL III, 1142 B).
2 Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen
Gentium, 48.
3 Ibid.
4 Lumen Gentium, 15.
5 Cf. Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20; 2 Pet. 3:10-13.
6 Cf. Y. Congar, Jesus Christ (New York: Herder 1966) on the realization
of Christ's rule over the world; and Y. Congar, Sacerdoce et Laïcat
devant leurs tâches d'évangélization et de civilization (Paris: Cerf
1962), p. 357 (in English: Priest and Layman; London: Darton, Longman and
Todd, 1967).
7 Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the
Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 45.

[Sidebar text]

9th WCC Assembly: Praying for a transformed world

The 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) will be held in
Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 14-23 February 2006. Its theme is a prayer:
"God, in your grace, transform the world".

The first WCC assembly of the 21st century, it will gather up to 3,000
church leaders and ecumenical representatives from nearly every Christian
tradition around the world. As such, it will be one of the broadest global
gatherings of its kind.

WCC assemblies are often turning points in the life of the World Council,
and this one is expected to leave its mark on ecumenical history.
Deliberations will focus on issues such as the future of the ecumenical
movement, the churches' commitment to economic justice as well as their
witness to overcoming violence, and the challenges faced in the midst of
religious plurality.

In Porto Alegre, members of the ecumenical family will be able to gather
around the assembly at a Mutirão, a Portuguese word that means coming
together for a common purpose. Made up of workshops, exhibitions and
cultural celebrations, this part of the assembly programme will offer
opportunities for members of the wider ecumenical movement to gather,
reflect and celebrate together.

This is the first WCC Assembly to be held in Latin America, and it is
being hosted by the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil
(CONIC) on behalf of churches throughout the region. Pre-assembly events
for youth and for women will be held from 11-13 February.

Assembly website: http://ww.wcc-assembly.info

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