Artie Sposaro

the mission by Adelaid @ deviantart.com

Missio me is the Latin + English way of saying, “the mission of me.” This is of course an indirect referencing of the popular Latin expression, missio Dei – the mission of God. This saying has always made me think… “What is my life’s mission and how is it related to God’s? or Jesus’?

I have discovered that missio me (and you) uniquely integrates with missio lesus – the mission of Jesus.

Isaiah (chapter 61) prophesied about the mission of Jesus and hundreds of years later Jesus reads the account aloud in the temple claiming Himself to be the mission’s agent. Luke 4:18-19 expresses the messianic mission in the following way:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The missio lesus is individually and corporately our mission. Sure, this statement came at a specific time, to a specific people in Isaiah and Jesus’ case, but the activities of the mission are central to what we know of God’s character and eternal purpose. The living Jesus still works in this world carrying out the missio Dei. As He accomplishes His mission in us, this same mission is accomplished through us.

Closely related to this, I find myself extremely encouraged and a little concerned about the recent thrust of the church toward missional living; less rigid mission programs, more community partnerships, less church-building, more kingdom-building, etc. Missional living means more natural, embedded lifestyle & community ministry. Missional communities are externally focused and devoted to compassion ministry in their surrounding communities. They assertively engage issues like poverty, social justice, education, etc. Missional activity becomes a way of life.

This excites me in that communities of faith are more serious about compassionately engaging the community in broader and more real-life contexts. More and more churches are moving beyond treating people as projects to truly caring. The church at large is actually embracing its redemptive role in the community. This being said, my concern surrounds missional living being limited as the new trend in outreach. It can be understood as simply the new strategy to suck people into Christianity or the local church. If so, it will last about a decade or two…maybe. This would be incredibly unfortunate because I think the missional approach reflects the living out of our true identity in community within the scope of Jesus’ mission…and specifically the mission statement in Isaiah 61. Living missionally is the natural fruit of walking by the Spirit – moving in the missio lesus. To consider missional living an “effective strategy,” the new outreach, is short-sighted and counterproductive.

Our identity in Christ is missional. Christ in us, through us, lives missionally…period.

The components of Jesus’ mission directly reflect missional living – caring for the poor or downtrodden, helping people recover vision/sanity, advocating for the captive and oppressed, and compassionately offering favor/hope through the gospel.

To fully appreciate the missio lesus and its connection with missio me we need to unpack Jesus’ mission statement. We don’t have space here for a thorough consideration of all the components, so I will only consider the basics.

First, and most significantly, the mission begins with the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. Jesus says the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. In the presence and power of the Spirit, Jesus carries out His mission. This was true throughout Jesus’ ministry. He spoke and acted at the direction of the Father in the power of the Spirit. Our living by the Spirit’s presence, power, and guidance is essential.

The first action mentioned in missio lesus is the preaching of the gospel to the poor. Jesus comes telling the spiritually bankrupt….the soul paupers…the emotionally burdened… the mentally anguished…the physically exhausted…and the financially broke the good news. He comes bearing good news, saving grace that only the humble can hear. Come to me for rest and a real life…a fresh second, third, etc. start. In doing so, those who have no spiritual currency whatsoever take on abundance.

Jesus proclaims release to the captives. The original text here presents the idea of a messenger shouting a declaration – “All are to be set free! Be released!” This announcement immediately brings to mind two significant questions. Who is captive, and how are they captive? We are all captive in a sense. We search ourselves and the world over for meaning, love, and identity. There seem to be as many solutions as there are people. The missio lesus offers a message of freedom from self-made identities, performances, and the world’s captivation. Jesus offers himself, the Logos – divine life, as the solution.

Jesus’ mission statement continues with the announcement of the recovery of sight to the blind. Again, a question arises. How are we blind? Oftentimes, we simply cannot see the truth. Life can be confusing to say the least. The Bible suggests not that Jesus is the truth and he gives us eyes to see truth. God provides clarity.

Next, Jesus announces freedom for those who are oppressed. The word oppressed can also be translated downtrodden. The downtrodden are those who have been thrown to the ground and trampled, literally and figuratively. They are everywhere in our world. Jesus removes the giant thumb pressing souls to the ground.

The last component of Jesus’ mission is the proclaiming of the favorable year of the Lord. I immediately think…so…which year was it or is it? 33? 2000? 2010? I believe this statement refers to the era of new covenant…God’s agreement with humanity through Jesus. Jesus refers here to the era of the Anointed One…the messiah…Himself. The favor of God is fully granted to us in Jesus. We live as favored children of God in a favored era called the new and everlasting covenant.

The missio lesus has become missio me. The Spirit of missio lesus lives in us and empowers us. Each of us has the constant call and opportunity to creatively and uniquely participate in Jesus’ continuing mission . In God’s rhythm we share the good news of God, declare freedom and favor for everyone, assist others in seeing clearly, and fight oppression.

Making this a strategy is like creating a program to be yourself. That’s nonsensical..and schizophrenic. Carrying out our missio me is not about strategy or trend, but surrendering ourselves to our true identity and destiny. It’s about tuning and re-tuning into the Spirit.

We have an indelible missional identity and energy. We are missional freedom fighters by nature.