Mission and health

Mission und health c

Health encompasses a complex combination of physical, mental and social aspects. It is more than the absence of illness or infirmity and describes a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”.

j

Constitution of the World Health Organization, 1946

Branka Gabric

Research Associate - Mission and Health

gabric@iwm.sankt-georgen.de

Avenida_Presidente_Juscelino_Kubitschek,_São_Paulo,_Brazil_(Unsplash)

Source: Luna David

Biblically, the longing for a state of comprehensive well-being is associated with the terms “salvation, healing”. The Gospels are full of stories in which Jesus turns to “sick” people and heals them. The healing work of Jesus Christ is an integral part of his appearance and his preaching:

c

“He went about Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”
(Mt 4:23).

At the same time, Jesus gave his disciples the explicit commission to heal:

c

“And he sent them out with a commission to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”
(Luke 9:2).

Soure: Vincent van Gogh, The Good Samaritan, Detail (1890).

Mission as a follower of Jesus therefore means working to change and “heal” the “disease-causing” realities in the lives of a wide variety of people.

People can be restricted in their physical, mental and social well-being because they have a medically diagnosed illness. However, the multidimensional well-being of people is also not guaranteed if they live in a context of civil war, are affected by extreme poverty or are discriminated against on the basis of their gender, age, skin color or physical and mental characteristics. The focus of mission is therefore always on people in their diverse social and historical contexts and the question of how they can experience the love and faithfulness of the incarnate God:
“Mission certainly has something to do with integral salvation, which concerns body and soul our concrete-historical world and the social situation. It is about the whole person.”

j

WeltMission – Internationaler Kongress der katholischen Kirche, Arbeitshilfen Nr. 202, published by the German Bishops’ Conference 2006, 41.

In intra- and interdisciplinary dialog, IWM staff members theologically explore the diverse relationships between “mission”, “salvation/healing” and “health”. In doing so, they not only reflect on this network of relationships theoretically, but also look at the practical experiences of various local churches. Their reflections are accompanied by the following questions:

What does “healing” actually mean?

How can “pathogenic” realities of people’s lives be transformed?

How is the healing mission of Jesus implemented in different
implemented in different world church contexts?

How can the church implement the “healing mission” in the context of the global church?

What theologies are being developed in the area of tension between health and mission in order to open up healing perspectives for people with disabilities, for example?

How can “pathogenic” life realities be transformed?
of people be transformed?