Discipleship Point and Prayer
FRIDAY'S BIT OF
DISCIPLESHIP
The humble man takes sin seriously. He realizes how it offends a holy God... if we would pursue humility we must first be honest about our sin and then broken and contrite over it. Those who think they have become too mature for such a response are completely deceived.
p.153, The Prideful Soul’s Guide to Humility, Fontenot/Jones
Humility Prayer
Lord God, I don't like the idea of offending You; I want to take my sin seriously. But don’t let me get bogged down in a life of shame while facing my sin. Help me acknowledge my sin repentantly and then find authentic joy in the forgiveness of my sin and the release from its harmful effects. Let me seek peace not in hiding, but in confessing and being forgiven through Jesus my Lord, in whose name I pray. Amen.
MISSIO DEI
Discipleship Point
What are the root meanings of the words MISSIO and DEI?
“Missio” is Latin for the Biblical English word “mission,” which is based on the original Greek word for “send,” “sending,” and “sent.” The Greek root word, ἀποστέλλω (apŏstĕllō, or an official or authoritative sending and authoritative representation), is best translated as “apostolic,” “apostolate” or “apostle.”
Therefore, Missio is the same as “send,” “apostolate,” and “mission.” The Hebrew word (חַלָׁש – shalach) for “mission” or “send” is translated “apostolic/apostolate/apostle” in the Septuagint (The Old Testament translated into Greek) with the same basic meaning of sending away on official business or mission…
Dei is Latin for “divinity” and stands for God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the source, authority, and resource of the “sending.”
“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
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.