Challenged to open our eyes to bear witness

The theme of the World Council of Churches' ninth assembly, "God in your grace, transform the world," is a deep prayer of faith and reliance in God who gratuitously and continually leads the Christian to personal renewal and conversion, and uses the meeting-house as an instrument of divine have affection for in transforming the world. In sum of two units of the proposed biblical readings upon the theme (Luke 4 and Isaiah 61) individual finds the theological foundation for God's action [i]or[/i] part of to the other the church as "the indivisible sacrament of salvation." (1)

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

In the true copy 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 blessed Spirit, and through him continues in the church" (3) end Christ's presence in the action of the blessed Spirit, God is continually active in the world, transforming humanity and the entire cosmos

The next to the first Vatican Council understands the temple as "the universal sacrament of salvation" (4) that end God's grace has the dual task of working for the realization of its hold full unity and for the unity of fragmented humanity. Thus the Council places the church in perspective by the agency of focusing on its eschatological nature as the pilgrim nation 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 final cause through them, will be consummately re-established in Christ. (5)

The foundation of the church's part in the world is theological and Christological. In the aged Testament, God's intervention in history is perceived against the background of jehovah being the creator and lord of all things (cf Isaiah 40:21-26; 42:5ff) In the elderly 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 (or oikoumene).

In the novel Testament, especially with Paul, sovereignty is attributed to Christ who is the head of the meeting-house (cf. Ephesians 1:18-20) and of all things (cf Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:15-18; 2:10) Christ, as head of the pair domains, is the bearer of a covenant relationship between the creator and human beings, and between the author of all things and the whole of creation.

The theme of the WCC assembly "God in your grace, transform the world" take for granteds faith and hope in the trinity who in Christ through the work of the consecrated Spirit has already fulfilled the promise. The extreme point of ages has already begun, for the foundation of the restoration of all things has been laid in Christ.

We not solitary pray and wait for god the father 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 what one is bound [i]or[/i] under obligation to do and responsibility to establish a world order in conformity to God's gift of verity and grace received in Christ Jesus our Lord. (6)

Listening to the word of the godhead in fresh ways

The question that urgencys to be kept in mind regarding the theme is the following: What is God's intention in creation, the mystery of salvation and the incarnation, a view 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 next to the first Vatican Council sums up the answer to this question in the following words: "While helping the world and receiving many benefits from it, the house of worship has a single intention: that God's kingdom may approach and that the salvation of the whole human race may draw near to pass. For every benefit which the clan of God during its earthly pilgrimage can tender to the human family stipes from the fact that the meeting-house is 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' simultaneously manifesting and exercising the mystery of God's regard with affection for man." (7) But concretely by what means does the church live its pastoral ministry in the light of God's final cause of salvation?

Christ's pastoral ministry, as plant before us in Luke 4:16-30 is the type for the pastoral ministry of his temple Just as Jesus is sent by dint of the Father in the action of the devoted Spirit "to bring the serviceable news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind novel sight, to set the downtrodden unrestrained and to proclaim the Lord's year of favour," with equal reason too the church is sent to do no les in order to contribute towards the realization of the messianic righteousness in coagulate situations.

The WCC assembly theme challenges all Christians to listen to the word of the author of all things in fresh ways, so that they may capture what the word means in their lives today. Indeed, we are challenged to make open our eyes, in order to diocese to it that the poor experience the profitable news, that captives are place free and that the blind of all categories are enabled to diocese again.