Book Review: Called To Be Sent. Co-missioned As Disciples Today. By Anthony J. Gittins
Book Review: Called To Be Sent. Co-missioned As Disciples Today. By Anthony J. Gittins
Review by Kevin Jesmer 1-29-12
The author is a professor of mission and culture at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He is a catholic priest and a lecturer and a retreat master. I think that a discussion of the author’s background is important, because I was surprised. I am used to protestant Christian writers. This man is Catholic, but his writing really is in tune of all that I have learned in my spiritual walk.
There are several themes that take prominence, our faith must be lived out in community, the Eucharistic life, the fact that we are called to be sent out as Jesus’ disciples.
First our lives must be lived out in community. The author writes, “Privatized spirituality is now widespread, with many varieties and nuances, and one of its forms has been named precisely as “me-and-Jesus” spirituality. But if such spirituality seeks a kind of private revelation, if it resists all public accountability, and if it does not have a social dimension, then it can not be Christian.” p. 42. There is an emphasis on the Christian in community living, not just in the church but in the world with all of its changing diversity.
The author also takes the reader on several aspects of Christian life, eventually leading us to a discussion on Eucharistic living. I especially like the discourse on sitting at the table and eating together and the spiritual benefits of people actually sitting down and sharing a meal together. The UBF missionaries were actually very big on the eating together. They called it “eating fellowship”. The author led us into what this means in terms of fellowship with one another and fellowship with Jesus. This led to talks about communion and the Eucharist. I think that he was trying to lay the foundation for his thesis statement, that we are called by God to actually be sent out into the world.
I liked this discussion of things. He used concrete examples from life and the world. I am used to authors always trying to prove all of there points from the Bible verses and theology. But this author used life examples, like the act of people eating together at a table. I found this refreshing. He also stayed away from controversial issues. I was waiting for him, (Being Catholic) to start talking about the bread and wine actually changing into the body and blood of Jesus. He never went there at all. I found all of his examples refreshing to read.
My take away on this book is that the whole character of Jesus and our faith means that we must live out our faith in community and in this world and we care called to go out and share the Good News. This is true spirituality.
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