January is a time of reflecting upon the Christmas season that has just passed. For those who celebrate Christmas as a time of remembering the birth of Jesus, it is a time centered around the concept of liberation and redemption. It is a holiday based upon the story of God sending His Son to rescue His people. This Christ centered view of Christmas often rejuvenates Christians as they approach and enter the New Year. For Christmas is a missional holiday; an illustration of God sending someone to bring people to Him and, therefore, a call for His followers to go out into the world and spread the gospel. The January 1914 edition of The Other Sheep, presents this missional view of Christmas. These Nazarene missionaries saw this holiday as a time to celebrate God’s redemptive plan for the world. It encouraged them and reminded them why they were traveling to foreign lands to spread the gospel. This liberation theology found in the Christmas story is what motivated the early Nazarene missionaries as they preached the gospel message.
The early Nazarene missionaries refused to turn a blind eye to the spiritual and physical captivity of the many people they encountered. They were zealous about Jesus’ plan for redemption and salvation, believing all could be set free from the bondage of the world. Throughout this edition of The Other Sheep, pleas were made for Christians in America to donate and financially support missionaries. This request was not presented as an option but as a duty of all Christians. The missionaries enforced this cry through the story of the redemption and liberation of one young temple servant. At this time Hindu temples often had young girls of ages seven to eight who had been widowed serving as temple servants. This was not voluntary; they were often sold to the temple by their parents. One story detailed the rescuing of one temple girl who was orphaned and widowed. She was taken by the missionaries to the safe house and school they had developed for these girls specifically. As God had sent His Son into this world to redeem it, so were these missionaries being sent into these temples to liberate these young girls from bondage. This is a powerful demonstration of the missional theology behind Christmas that these Nazarene missionaries so deeply embraced.
Thanks, Kayleigh, for your reflections on this reading. I'm a little curious about your use of the word "liberation," and can't help wondering whether that is your choice of the missionaries? Even more, I wonder whether the missionaries in the case you described prioritized the economic/social liberation that seems most immediate in this case over the "spiritual liberation" that came by way of conversion? Or were those ideas even distinguishable in their writing and thinking?
ReplyDeleteI cannot remember precisely if the word "liberation" was used. However, it was clear that they sought to rescue the individuals they were serving. The missionaries detailed in this month's edition were very focused on bringing the good news of the gospel to all the people as well as rescuing them from the oppressive bondage of this world. I will say that I do think these missionaries were prioritizing the economic/social liberation, especially in the story regarding the temple girl. However, I do not think this is because they saw this form of liberation as more important than the spiritual liberation, but because they saw it as the means of bringing the latter. It seems that they believed that in order for people to experience the freedom of Christ, they first needed to be removed from the social oppression they were facing, that they may be in a place where the message of Christ could be communicated.
ReplyDeleteThat's fascinating - thanks!
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