Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches told delegates of churches in India on Thursday that the new life of the gospel can touch everyone, as he reflected on the theme of an ecumenical gathering portraying the world in a "negative yet realistic terms" light and its wider implications for the global church.

The address came at the 27th Quadrennial Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India, being held in Bangalore this week which has the theme "Gospel in a Groaning World."

Tveit greeted participants, introducing the global fellowship of 349 churches, and called the gathering a "significant event in the ecumenical movement."

"You are manifesting important dimensions of the history and the present life of the churches here in this country, but you also make significant contributions from your context to the regional and global ecumenical fellowship," Tveit said.

NCC in India's Focus

The NCC in India, in its 98th year, is a body composed of 30 Protestant and Orthodox Churches, and various other organizations representing 14 million Christians in the country.

The NCC in India, which has about 500 delegates at the assembly, outlined various areas of concern, many related to governmental policies.

The group of churches is calling for:

- government to have a "pro-people attitude" when development plans are designed

- Protestant and Orthodox churches' representation in decision making bodies of the government

- the passing of Lok Pal, Dalit and Women Reservations bills without further delay

- the Government to revoke various bills "in order to make the people free from exploitation and domination."

The churches will also "propose, insist and uphold" that dialogue, not arms or violence will solve any problem in the country and bring peace to the nation and its governance.

Reflection on a 'Groaning World'

"A groaning world. The theme for your Assembly portrays the world in rather negative yet realistic terms," Tveit said.
The theme refers to the passage in the letter of St. Paul to the church in Rome.

"The use of the word "groaning" describes a very human dimension, and particularly refers to a woman's burden of pain and longing for the end of the process of giving birth to a child," he said.

"Saint Paul applies the word "groaning" to the whole world. It is a mode of expression indicating solidarity and compassion, taking into account the status of the whole world, every human being, children and older people, woman and man, persons of every status or class or caste, of any religion, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other characteristic,' he said.

"The combination of this theme itself, your context and the ecumenical scope of your discussion on this theme can make this event and your reflections here highly relevant for the wider ecumenical movement and the fellowship of the World Council of Churches," he said.

He said the NCC in India can bring "new dimensions to the theme for our upcoming 10th Assembly of the WCC next year in Korea: 'God of life, lead us to justice and peace!'"

"That theme, I believe, is another way to express the famous expression of the text of the letters to the Romans 8 chosen for this event," he said.

"Your contribution is one of great significance in a wider world that is divided by economic injustice, by unemployment, by the effects of colonialism, by discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, caste, sexual orientation, health conditions and other criteria," Tveit said.

Church Fellowship

Tveit related the theme of the event to the wider fellowship in the Church.

"The fellowship in the Church should always be a sign of empathy of God with everyone who is suffering, groaning, longing for relief, for the belief in new life and not accepting the domination of conditions of sin and discrimination. For those who are in Christ there is a new reality, not condemnation, not hopelessness, not partiality," he said.

"You, as churches in India, carry the legacy of Saint Thomas the apostle," he said, noting it was St. Thomas who demanded proof of Christ's resurrection and was invited to "touch the marks of reality."

"The church, wherever it is, in India or elsewhere, is only following in the footsteps of the apostle Thomas when it is willing to touch the reality of one who is suffering, those who are groaning, even touch their skin and their wounds. It is in this reality, and only when we make this reality our own reality, just as Jesus Christ made this his own reality, that we can be Church and give a true witness to the hope we know in Jesus. The new life of the Gospel is what can touch every situation and everybody, yes, everybody. There is nothing and nobody untouchable in the light of the Gospel. If something or someone becomes untouchable for those who bear the Gospel, the Gospel is lost."

"The call to share the gifts of God in the Body of Christ is also a call to show that the Gospel is a message of sharing, of Christ sharing in the groaning and suffering of the world, of the church called to share in the hope that change is possible, that redemption can become a reality, that injustices and conflicts shall not have the last word in this world," he said.

Prayer for World Gathering in 2013

He asked for the churches in India to pray for the upcoming 10th WCC Assembly in Busan, South Korea next year from October 30 to November 8.

"We pray to the God of life who enables us to become agents for justice and peace, to bear fruits of the kingdom of God, to bring signs of the kingdom to a world that is sighing, longing and groaning for it," he said.

"Let me end where I started, acknowledging that you know the reality of groaning in this nation, and that you know the obstacles for hearing the Gospel in this reality. Therefore, you are those who can continue my reflection and pray the prayers of the groaning world in your place, the words of transformation of the voice of the Gospel here. You are not alone.

"God of life, lead us to justice and peace! he concluded, echoing the theme of next year's gathering.