God’s mission for the Church walks two paths at once – the inbound road, towards the renewal of faith at the centre of our hearts and our communities, and the outbound road, bringing Jesus to the world, all the way to the leper at the margin, reflects Bishop Tim Norton SVD in The Catholic Leader.

“God is in both,” said Bishop Norton, who is auxiliary bishop of Brisbane.

He said they were both interlinked aspects of a mutual relationship.

*Bishop Tim Norton SVD. PHOTO: Catholic Leader.*

“We engage in ‘mission ad intra’—as God works within ourselves and our Christian communities to grow and care for one another,” he said.

“This prepares us for ‘mission ad extra’—outward to those who are needy or those who are different.”

He said we must be vigilant that the inward-facing mission does not grow at the expense of the outward-facing mission.

The various cultures that formed us have a tendency to focus in on themselves, Bishop Norton said, and a consequence of that process was that, inevitably, some people and groups found themselves on the outside of culture, excluded. They don’t or can’t fit in.

There were similar processes at play in Jesus’ day, he said.

“There are many examples of Jesus stepping across cultural boundaries set by the community He grew and lived in.” he said.

“He (Jesus) would move towards what wasn’t being tolerated and we find him making relationships with people living on the margins of His society, tax collectors, the sick, blind and lame.

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“Not only did He speak with those people, reminding them of their value as daughters and sons of God, but He also listened to them.”

Bishop Norton said it was important to remember the call as the Church in Brisbane to follow Jesus’ example.

A real world example of this, he said, would be Emmanuel City Mission a drop-in centre in South Brisbane, next to St Mary’s Church, for people experiencing homelessness and loneliness.

“A good number of the volunteers there have a strong and lived Catholic faith,” he said.

“I’ve also met volunteers who have no religious tradition at all, but they are there because they believe that the ministry takes people and their needs seriously and is important.

“I’ve spoken with secondary school students, who are preparing meals and accompanying people there, who say, ‘I’m not sure about God, but if He exists, He’s right here’.

“This ministry by it’s very nature is one of mutual evangelisation.

“This is Jesus at work in our people in our times as far as I’m concerned.

“These volunteers come to understand the importance of mission ad extra.”

There are some tough, tender and interesting characters at ECM, he said, including people struggling with addictions and mental health issues, and some recently released from prison. All of them go there seeking fellowship, a hot meal, a shower and chance to wash their clothes and chew the fat.

He said it was also a good example because it showed that effective mission ad extra often involved taking on some level of risk.

“There are teachers and parents who, on balancing the risks involved in taking students to (ECM), have decided that it is important enough for their human and faith development to take the risk,” he said.

Bishop Norton said Church agencies like Centacare did great mission ad extra with the excluded, those living with disability, the frail and aged.

He said he had only recently learned Centacare was the biggest provider of residential facilities for people suffering domestic violence in the state.

He said parishes and communities were equally obliged to do mission at the margin.

“I’m not sure that we give sufficient cues and opportunities for mission ad extra in the multitude of growing Christian communities in our archdiocese.” he said.

“I think we could probably do better.”

Bishop Norton said that, through the consultation process of SYNOD24 in the archdiocese, he had heard from a variety of people and groups who had been historically excluded.

He said he had recently heard testimonies from members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as stories from First Nations people, and from women.

All were trying to be faithful members of Christian communities.

He hopes to bring those historically excluded voices forward in the September and October sessions of SYNOD24.

“We can have this conversation here (in Australia),” he said.

“In many countries and Christian communities across the world, these groups do not have safe spaces to be heard.

“For example, it is common experience for LGBTQIA+ folk to have various biblical references quoted to them, which I think are very poorly understood, to say they are sinful, they are wrong and they shouldn’t be part of us.

“Well, who are we to say that?… What would Jesus do? Well, I don’t think Jesus would be excluding those people.”

Bishop Norton said it always came back to Jesus and the baptismal call to mission – both ad intra and ad extra.

“We are Christian people with a personal and communal baptismal mandate to go out to the other, to listen, to assist and to be changed in the process of becoming closer to Jesus,” he said.

This article by Joe Higgins was published in The Catholic Leader.