The Church: opus Dei and opus hominum

The Church: Opus Dei and opus hominum

KUNG Lap Yan

The Church is called by God to witness to his salvation and graciousness, and the emergence of the Church is brought about by him. On one hand, no matter how miserable church life may be, it will not damage God's salvation, for salvation is God's gracious work. On the other, the earthly church cannot not witness, for this is its nature. This paper explores how the earthly church witnesses to God's salvation in three dimensions; namely, a charismatic community, a spiritual community and a moral community. In addition, this paper points out the dangers challenging the church of Hong Kong; namely, apoliticization, middle-class ideology, and the loss of language. However, it has to be admitted that no matter how hard the earthly church witnesses to God's salvation, it does not imply that the world will repent. Can the earthly church become St. Benedict (in A. MacIntyre's word) in this Dark Age?