1.1.1.
Missionary Songs
Maras are very fond of singing and it
is a part and parcel of their life. The zeal for mission and evangelism has
been nurtured and inspired by missionary songs. The Maras believe that music
became not only a part of worship service but also one of the Mara churches’
effective instruments of revival and evangelization. Christianity gave music to
the Mara church and the Mara church gave life to Christianity through music.
What
makes the Maras to have this triumphalistic attitude in their mission? Can it
be the influence of missionaries of the colonial period? Or is it their
triumphal hermeneutics of biblical passages? The first one is very possible,
while the second one may not be ruled out. Taking the first one as true, one
may assume that since the western missionaries came under the banner of British
colonial power, it is likely that they had some influence on the Mara
Christians with regard to the idea of superiority feeling, that the gospel and
the missionaries are supposed to conquer all, and those
who carry the gospel will have victory over others. The Mara Evangelical Church
of Maraland (India and Myanmar) seems to understand herself as an agent that
has been authorized by the commission of Jesus Christ who says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).
1.1.2.
Spiritual
Revival
As
has been already discussed in the previous chapter, revival has a very
prominent place in the Mara church. Revival in Maraland brought not only rapid
growth to the church but also enormous mission awareness among the Mara people.
It strengthened the believers and sowed the seed of a burden for proclaiming
the gospel to those who have not heard the gospel. Revival not only created
mission awareness, it also affirmed the missionary call to members of the
church. Revival in Maraland was marked with ecstatic experiences with singing
and dancing which at the same time brought motivation for mission.
1.2.Ethno-Political
Identity Factor
No one would deny that the Maras are
identity conscious, for this has been reflected in their mission ventures.
Since the time the Mara Church started mission work, there seem to have the
tendency to go first to the people with whom they think they are related
ethnically and culturally. In other words, Maras want to share the gospel first
with their fellow Maras, who have not yet received the gospel. Even if
evangelisation is the basic reason for mission, the secondary purpose is to
find identical people in terms of racial origin and culture. Only after they
settled politically following the formation of Maraland as one of the district
of Mizoram India, and as a particular tribe people in Chin & Rakhine State
Myanmar, Maras made attempts to reach non-Maras inside and outside Maraland.
Even if they turned to evangelise non-Maras, they still tried to find
similarities with them in terms of vocabularies, cultural practices and so on.
One important element in the gospel mail project is the willingness to share
with others. Sharing one’s resources with others is a Mara cultural virtue. By
practicing sharing from the Mara cultural perspective, the teaching of Jesus
Christ is taking root deep in the Mara culture. The Mara traditional way of
sharing becomes meaningful when it interacts with the gospel. In the light of
this, the gospel mail teaches sharing and being a blessing to others which is
very much part of the Christian mission.
1.3.Social-cultural
Factor
In
seeking various motivating factors for mission, one discerns that the Maras are
culturally oriented to be concerned for the good of others and are at the same
time sharing oriented. In this section we will discuss these two characteristic
of Mara cultural traditions that are found to have influenced their attitudes
toward mission.
1.3.1.
Principle
of sharing in relation to mission
One
outstanding feature of the pre-Christian traditional culture of the Mara is
found in the principle of ‘sharing’ which means to generously share with others
whatever one has. The Maras were taught to be kind to one another even before
the coming of the gospel. It was a common practice to help anybody who was in
difficulty in terms of food, ploughing and clearing of the field for harvest,
building houses, etc. One could understand from this point that the Maras have
a
desire to give to those who do not have and those who are helpless, and to tell
those who have not heard the good news.
The
Maras not only shared their goods, but also news. When Christianity came, they
carried on the principle of sharing and within a short period they engaged
themselves in spreading the gospel to people around them. When a person hears
and experiences the joy of the good news of Jesus Christ, the first thing
she/he did was to share others. In other words, the simple Maras lived in a
sharing community in which the rich and poor had respect and mutual concern for
one another.
1.3.2.
Ethical
foundation of culture and mission
Some
Socio-cultural aspects contribute to help the church to be a dynamic mission
church. One aspect is apiepasaihna, which literally means resistance to
being helped by others and helping others who are in need. It is an act of
charity used in everyday life. Parents taught their children to be baohtu
(helper) person. Hereby, we, Mara
understand that the term ‘apiepasaina’
is based on the principle of self sacrifice and it is a social principle as
well as the norm for good conduct of the people in the community.
This
powerful concept of apiepasaihna, Christianized in Mara society and
culture played a vital part in the missionary enterprise of the Maras. This may
be one of the most appealing dynamics, propelling the Maras out to help those
who have never heard the gospel. In other words, we may say that apiepasaihna
is communication in action. The whole work of Jesus as Saviour-Liberator
can be seen as the highest form of apiepasaihna, which is ‘to serve but not to be served’ (Matthew
20:28) and to sacrifice one’s life for others. It is the same apiepasaihna that
sends the Maras to preach the gospel and it is therefore, possible to say that apiepasaihna
is a motivating principle for doing mission. This is true even today as
many Mara people visit mission fields either to spend passion week or Christmas
to do voluntary works for the newly convert Christians.
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