(This map
outlines some of the areas of interest for SAT-7 and our strategic interest in
the Middle East and not show here as much - North Africa.)
Points of
interest from the story of the woman at the well:
• The
Samaritans were a mixed race people, who had intermarried with the Assyrians
centuries before. They were hated by the Jews because of this cultural mixing,
and because they had their own version of the Bible and their own temple on Mount Gerizim.
• The woman at the well came
to draw water at the hottest part of the day, instead of the usual morning or
evening times, because she was shunned and rejected by the other women of the
area for her immorality. Jesus knew her history but still accepted her and
ministered to her.
• By reaching out to the
Samaritans, Jesus showed that his mission was to the entire earth, not just the
Jews. In the book of Acts, after Jesus' ascension
into heaven, his apostles
carried on his work in Samaria and to the Gentile world.
• Ironically, while the High
Priest and Sanhedrin
rejected Jesus as the Messiah, the outcast Samaritans recognized him and
accepted him for who he truly was: the Savior of the world.
We are on a journey. Our
strategy describes how we will reach our destination. It is our road map. Our
destination is the answer to the key question - What does God want to
accomplish in the world through our church?
Jesus was born of the Jewish
people, as were His apostles and a large number of His first disciples.
When He revealed Himself as the Messiah and Son (cf. Mt 16:16), the bearer of
the new Gospel message, He did so as the fulfillment and perfection of the
earlier Revelation. And although His teaching had a profoundly new character,
Christ, nevertheless, in many instances, took His stand on the teaching of the
Old Testament. The New Testament is profoundly marked by
its relation to the Old. As the Second Vatican Council declared: "God,
the inspirer and author of the books of both Testaments, wisely arranged that
the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be made manifest in the
New" (Dei Verbum, 16). Jesus also used teaching methods
similar to those employed by the rabbis of His time.
The Great Commission is one of the most significant
passages in the Holy Bible. First, it's the last recorded personal instruction
given by Jesus to His disciples. Second, it's a special calling from Jesus
Christ to all His followers to take specific action while on this earth.
The Great Commission is found in the Gospel of Matthew:
And Jesus came and spoke
to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
We are sent out in relational
power. Relational power takes into consideration the value and perspective of
others. It gives, but also receives; acts but also responds; has a vision but
is open to change and transformation. Relational power is at the heart of good
parenting as well as democratic decision-making. Relational power encourages
freedom, creativity, and coloring outside the lines, within the context of
overall environmental safety and order. Relational power recognizes that
well-being in personal and institutional life is best achieved by welcoming
diverse perspectives and balancing order and novelty for the common good.
This means dealing with
pluralism. We have seen it from a Catholic
perspective that poses challenges by religious pluralism in a democratic
setting or more recently demonstrated by, Umar
Faruq Abd-Allah who urged Muslim Americans to
consciously establish a unique cultural identity that reflects the American
tradition of tolerance for diverse races and ethnicity's. There is an essential
compatibility, argues Abd-Allah, between American pluralism and the Islamic
tradition that respects ethnic and cultural differences.
This also means universalism. The concept of universalism
signifies the general, what concerns everything of a special kind, or the
totality. The concept is central in different European traditions of thought; in theology it
connotes a religious view that asserts the ultimate salvation of all souls (inter alia in opposition
to Calvinist predestination).
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