선교사 영성의 기초로서의 산상수훈

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to argue that the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus'blueprint for building the Kingdom of God on this earth, and to show that it is an appropriate manual for missionaries,the agents of the kingdom of God, to realize Jesus' vision of Kingdom-life on this earth. Missionaries are to, in the light of the Sermon on the Mount, be led to reflect upon spiritual problems in their selves, and to learn that the Sermon on the Mount serves as the foundation for Christian spirituality by which the continuous fulfillment of the Kingdom be realized. With this aim in mind, the study is comprised of three parts, and each represents a significant aspect of the Sermon on the Mount which in turn serves as the spiritual foundation for the missionaries. The first aspect of the spiritual foundation found in the Sermon on the Mount is its being the 'Kingdom of Heaven.'The 'kingdom'described in the Sermon on the Mount is not so much a utopia after death as a reality embodied in the midst of the problematic world ‘here and now.’ 'The Beatitudes' is presented as the heart of our Kingdom-seeking life, which serves as the determining principle for the rightful condition of heart, and rightful attitude toward God and life. Missionaries are expected to sustain the inner life of devotion, keep the identity as the salt and light, and guide people to live the life of glorifying God. The second aspect of the spiritual foundation found in the Sermon on the Mount is its demand to be ‘lived out’ in our daily lives. A normative life of a missionary should be a life of seeking spiritual growth and wholeness. There is a sense in which a missionary holds a heavenly ‘secret’ with which mere formal and superficial spirituality is avoided. Missionaries may reverently recognize that God is the living God, have hearts for neighbours and pray for them, and do not neglect to pray for themselves either. However, it is not to be missed that the essence of spirituality of the Sermon on the Mount is not just praying but to live out its rules. It is to uphold God’s expectation of perfection as the goal by which they pursue God’s kingdom and seek to realize the Golden Rules. The third aspect of the spiritual foundation found in the Sermon on the Mount is its revelation of the spiritual crises for us to overcome. The Sermon on the Mount manifests the depth of spiritual sickness and distortions of the believers and offers the ways for restoration. First, it penetrates and reveals the formalism and legalism in the life of believers. Secondly, it convicts religious hypocrisy, self-centered desire for material gain, and secularism. Thirdly, it exposes such ungodly tendencies such as judging others,egocentric demanding, laziness, idolatrous obsession for success,life of boasting, etc. The manifestation of the kingdom challenges these spiritual crises and demand that they be dealt with and get rectified before we go to ‘the village down the mount’(the world). The Sermon on the Mount is the perfect spiritual foundation for missionaries (1) to overcome their spiritual problems, and (2) to build the kingdom of God firmly in the lives of individuals and communities.