Cups of Mission.

As a country, you would be forgiven for thinking that tea is the solution to all the ills we encounter in our lives. In many ways this is true, but it is not the tea itself that helps ease our burdens but the one bearing the cup.

A couple of weeks ago I had the fortune to be present at Merton for a discussion on mission. The conclusion of which was that mission is a word now often associated with colonnialism, one of the less endearing attributes in Church history. So the word Mission has in itself become one that has overtones of domination. It also appears to bring to mind in some non believers that stereotypical Christian with a bible in hand quoting scripture as the answer to all. Neither of these unfortunate images should really be what mission is about. Mission should be about living a Christ like life daily, the mission of sacrificing our lives for a greater good.

Here we come back to the cups of tea, slices of cake and a couple of biscuits. Since being at theological college with my husband, it has brought home the necessity of these tools as a way to bring mission to the modern day person. When Christ breaks bread the night before he is killed, he reveals to us the importance of sharing food to bond. When the Priest breaks bread at Mass he reminds us through his actions and liturgy how sharing spiritual food can bring us together in forgiveness and salvation. When we sit down with a friend or stranger who is struggling and offer them tea and cake, we bring them to our table and share a life giving necessity. When we do it with the genuine love and hope we start to create the basis of mission. In sharing what we need to fuel our bodies life, we are giving a small bit of our life to the person before us. We can offer them hope and forgiveness through our conversation.We bring friendship through our actions and therefore we bring Christ to them.

In a sermon the other day, Father was talking about encountering someone asking about the Christian faith for the first time and the words he used to describe it. The words were simply "Jesus Christ".
These two words and all they embody should be at the centre of all we do and say. If they are not at the very centre of our being, then our life as a Christian will be some what lacking. Though we may not be able to work the miracles that Our Lord could. We can through sacrificing our needs on a daily basis, to understand the needs of others and to put them first, bring Jesus Christ to others. Once you bring him into their lives, they can not help but ask the questions. Then maybe those questions will turn into a faith.