eklektos

If the purpose of the church's existence is to fulfill God's mission on earth, what IS God's mission? And to what extent has the catholic church grasped that purpose, the very reason for its existence, throughout these 20 centuries? Consider that God chose to reveal Himself through the unfolding drama of redemption from the time of creation, of which a primary means of that revelation was in establishing a covenantal relationship with the man we know as Abraham. Then since the sealing of that covenant, all of Scripture show glimpses how we can know that God is a God of faithfulness, because He both provided (1) the contract itself, a 'measure' to which He can be faithful (with or without man's faithfulness), and (2) the circumstances in which His faithfulness can be revealed, as we now have that 'measure' to which faithfulness can be directed. An example would be like me making a promise to a friend to be there for her when she's in trouble, and then making sure she experiences enough situations that would prove my intent to keep my word, until she is fully convinced. It's not the most well-pondered example, but for today's meditation this would suffice.

God says throughout the Bible that His chosen people are His treasured possession, "...a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation...". To be elect = to be chosen. The Greek word 'eklektos' is defined as those who are picked out of the larger group for special favor and privileges. Was it for privileges, or were privileges a subset of the entirety of God's missional intent? Perhaps the reason for God's election was not so much for privileges as much as it was for service. Perhaps to be God's elect means to serve the nations of the earth, that they may know "[He] is the Lord Almighty, God of heaven and earth." And where that purpose of election is remembered and demonstrated by the eklektos, God's people are playing their part in the missio dei. Adversely, when the eklektos become exclusive, concerned only with themselves and appropriating God's favor and compassion purely for their own preservation, God's people then suffer from a lack of purpose, become blinded to God's revealing of His nature by their selfish inwardness, and cease to take part in the unveiling of His glory until "the waters cover the sea". In other words, the church loses its meaning.

I love this definition (from Wikipedia, where else?!):

When kept in the context of the Scriptures, missio Dei correctly emphasizes that God is the initiator of His mission to redeem through the Church a special people for Himself from all of the peoples (τα εθνη) of the world. He sent His Son for this purpose and He sends the Church into the world with the message of the gospel for the same purpose.

Does God use the story of His elect and His dealings with them in relation to the nations/Gentiles to provoke His own people to consider His mission in its entirety? Does He want those who call themselves God's people, the church, to know that He directs His favor on them not because they are meant to keep it, but that it gives the 'outsiders' a reason to desire Him and experience His favor too? That God uses people like Rahab of Jericho who put her faith in Yahweh because she saw how the Lord God was with Israel is not just so Rahab is converted to Him but that Israel herself is converted to know her God in the fullness of His nature and character?

Apart from those who do not yet know Him (by 'know', I mean to 'have a close relationship with'), how would you come to understand that God is a God of love and compassion?

Apart from those who haven't experienced His power, how would you know God heals the sick and opens blind eyes?

And that they need Him too, because He has shown you His awesomeness?