(LR) Francis Xavier: His Missions Work & Legacy

MI 520: MISSIONS PERSPECTIVES
Complete Submission


Moreau, Corwin, and McGee: Introducing World Mission: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey
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Submitted to
Luther Rice Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree
Masters of Divinity
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Justin Z. DuBose
152 Sherwood St.
Toccoa, GA 30577


I.D.# GC6831 / Phone: (678) 707-1491
November 13, 2011
Professor: Dr. Coleman
Hours Completed: 12 -- Hours Remaining: 60



FRANCIS XAVIER: HIS MISSIONS WORK AND LEGACY
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A Paper
Presented to Dr. Derek Coleman
Luther Rice Seminary
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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
MI 520: MISSIONS PERSPECTIVES
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by
Justin Z. DuBose
GC 6831
 
 

OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION
II. FRANCIS XAVIER: HIS MISSIONS WORK AND LEGACY
III. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION
     Francis Xavier was born in a castle to a wealthy and died on a ship off the coast of mainland China.  Was his life, then, a failure?  His relationship with Jesus Christ caused him to devote his life to missions work.  In examining the life of this one man, and seeing what Christ did with his life, may the Lord stir us to action by a genuine relationship with us, as well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



FRANCIS XAVIER: HIS MISSIONS WORK AND LEGACY
          Francis Xavier was a Catholic missionary from the sixteenth century.  When one examines his “resume”, if you will, it is extremely impressive.  In 1534, he was a founding member of the Society of Jesus, one of the most influential missions organizations in all of history.  In 1541, he commenced his missions work in Africa in the country of Mozambique.  In 1542, he traveled to India and began missions work there, building nearly forty churches.  In 1544, his missionary endeavors brought him to Sri Lanka, and in 1545 to Indonesia.  From Indonesia, Xavier traveled to Japan in 1549 and began missions work there.  In 1552, his missions work brought him back to India, and his final missions stop came in China, where he died on December 3, 1552 off the Chinese mainland. 1 Xavier was the first Jesuit missionary to set foot in India as well as Japan.  With such an impressive array of missions work, Xavier must have come from a very devout Catholic family.
     Francis Xavier was born in a castle to a very wealthy, very well-to-do family on April 7, 1506.  His father was a counselor to the king of the Kingdom of Navarre, and his mother was a
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     1 Ricklefs, M.C. A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300, 2nd Edition. (London: MacMillan Publishing), 25.
noble heiress.  Despite the wealth and comfort of the family, Xavier’s father died before his tenth birthday and, for the duration of his youth, his homeland was engulfed in war.  In 1525, Xavier’s life would change forever when he traveled to Paris for college.  As God’s will would have it, he met in Paris Ignatius of Loyola, the famous founder of the Society of Jesus, popularly known as the Jesuits.  Xavier would begin his life of Catholic missions work here in Paris and, on June 24, 1537, he was formally ordained.  Xavier’s missionary work officially began when he was commissioned by King John III of Portugal to begin missions work in India.  From this point, his incredible life of devotion to the Lord and to missions began, for which he is still celebrated and remembered today.
     It has been suggested that Xavier converted more people to Christianity than anyone since the Apostle Paul.  What important lessons can be learned from the amazing life of Francis Xavier?  There are several parallels to the life of Paul that are important to note.  First, both men came from backgrounds which suggested they would become anything but missionaries.  The life of a Christian missionary is one of relative poverty, instability, and obscurity.  Xavier came from a wealthy background.  Paul came from a prestigious background as well.  Both became successful missionaries.  Xavier had a life-changing experience in Paris from which he never looked back to his former life, Paul had a similar experience on the Road to Damascus.  Neither man died a hero or celebrity – rather, both passed away with little to no fanfare at all.  Why then do we celebrate the lives of these men so many years later?  What was it that makes them so inspirational to us?
     Like Paul, Xavier met Jesus Christ in a very real way.  This can hardly be debated when his life after his time in Paris is examined.  What were his motivations in exhaustively continuing this missions work for the duration of his life?  His own words tell the story best.  In a letter he wrote to the Society of Jesus while in Japan, Xavier wrote, “I am beginning to have great hopes that God will soon provide free entrance to China, not only to our Society, but to religious of all Orders, that a large field may be laid open to pious and holy men of all sorts, in which there may be great room for devotion and zeal, in recalling men who are now lost to the way of truth and salvation. I again and again beg all who have a zeal for the spreading of the Christian faith to help by their holy sacrifices and prayers these poor efforts of mine, that I may throw open an ample field to their pious labors…” 2 The spreading
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     2 St. Francis Xavier: Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus in Europe, 1552.  Accessed at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1552xavier4.asp on 13 NOV 2011
of the Christian faith was his primary motivation.  “Recalling
men who are now lost to the way of truth and salvation” is at the very heart of the lifework of Francis Xavier.  While this may not sound particularly surprising, its depth is astounding,
especially to modern Western culture.
     The life of Francis Xavier is a powerful testimony to the power of Christ to man.  When Christ is believed in, and His mission taken literally and seriously, wondrous things can be accomplished in the name of Christ.  I would bet that those who knew Xavier as a youth would have never imagined the wonderful work he would accomplish in the name of Christ.  The salvation and person of Christ compelled Xavier to live a life of hardship, having to constantly adapt to multiple and very different cultures, learning many languages, starting over again and again – all when his family lived a very comfortable lifestyle.  Modern Western culture is the epitome of “comfort” in today’s world.  How much could the landscape of the globe be altered if more people would respond to Christ in the same fashion as Xavier?  If Christ can use one man is such circumstances, imagine if he had even one thousand from such vast numbers as there are in America?  May we all have the heart of Xavier and cry with such passion, “I again and again beg all who have a zeal for the spreading of the Christian faith to help by their holy sacrifices and prayers these poor efforts of mine, that I may throw open an ample field to their pious labors…” 3 May the Lord instill in us such a passion for Him that the world may be changed forever!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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     3 St. Francis Xavier: Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus in Europe, 1552.  Accessed at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1552xavier4.asp on 13 NOV 2011
 
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
     Ricklefs, M.C. A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300, 2nd Edition. (London: MacMillan Publishing).
     St. Francis Xavier: Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus in Europe, 1552.  Accessed at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1552xavier4.asp
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