«You are Light of the World» (Mt 5: 14) The Hermeneutic of the Mission of Enlightenment: The liturgical aspect

Abstract

The article is devoted to the concept of “enlightenment” and its missiological reception. The author examines the “John paradigm” of mission, within which missionary “potential” appears in the “weakness” of an external act, since it comes from the internal experience of an individual Christian and the Christian community, testifying to the Light of Christ. This is the so-called “attractive” dimension, in which the missionary imperative is not “go and teach” (πορευθέντες οὖν μαθητεύσατε, Μτ. 28: 19), but “come and see” (έρχεσθε και όψεσθε, Ιω. 1: 39). Missiology in this case is not limited to a descriptive analysis of the historical context of missionary actions and the methodology of Christian apostolate, but claims to be a theological reflection on the very content of the Christian call, in which the first place is given to the ontological categories of mission, and not to its descriptions. The Johannine corpus becomes in this case the foundation of an ontological understanding of mission. Within the framework of such a perspective, the light that “enlightens everyone” is not just a symbol, but also the content and method and, finally, the very goal of mission. The “missionary imperative” of the Gospel of John consists, therefore, in the testimony of life, which is most closely connected with light: the disciples are witnesses (μάρτυρες) of God-­Light. Becoming “second lights”, through this light they reveal the Truth to the world. In this article, based on liturgical texts, an attempt is made to systematically analyze the hermeneutics of the “mission of enlightenment” in the Orthodox consciousness.