How do you spell evangelism?
Most people believe it begins with “e,” but I say it begins with you and me! Right off the bat, one out of every four readers will probably stop reading this. Why? Because the thought of evangelizing is passé, or we think it is the job of the pope, the bishops, the priests or the deacons – after all, they received holy orders, right?
But we read in Matthew 28:18-20 that Jesus gave all of us His “holy order”: “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Known as the Great Commission, Jesus’ words are not meant just for the small group of disciples He addressed before His Ascension to heaven. We are all called to the effort of building the Church.
Sometimes we make evangelism more difficult than what it needs to be. Yes, there are Christians from whom God will expect more, because – as we read in the Parable of the Talents – when more is given, more is expected.
But overall, the act of real evangelization is misunderstood. When asked to evangelize, people (me included) say: I can’t knock on doors and talk to strangers about Jesus. Don’t ask me to witness to someone about my faith or teach a class. I’m more into praying privately than participating in public events.
We can excuse our way out of evangelizing, but will these excuses hold up come Judgment Day?
We are not all equipped with the gift of public speaking or writing, but we all have one thing in common: we’re living among others. What we do and say at any given moment during the course of our day will determine if our life is truly given to God or consumed by ourselves. When our daily lives feature serving others, loving everyone equally, forgiving our brothers and sisters, giving and not looking to receive in return, and looking out for the benefit of others, we become true evangelizers. When we are merciful, compassionate, chaste, honorable, hospitable, empathizing, sympathizing, humble and gracious, we become true evangelizers.
Simply put, evangelism is a way of life, not a job or a duty. It is our Christian purpose, to live for God! This takes daily habit – a daily conversion of heart, mind, body and soul.
Pope Francis said it best at his April 4 general audience: “However, we are well aware that although the Mass comes to an end, the task of Christian witness begins. Christians do not go to Mass to fulfill a weekly duty and then it is forgotten, no. Christians go to Mass in order to participate in the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection and then to live more as Christians: the task of Christian witness begins. We leave the church by ‘going in peace’ to carry God’s blessing in our daily activities, in our homes, in our workplaces, among the occupations of the earthly city, ‘glorifying the Lord with our life.’ But if we exit the church gossiping and saying ‘look at this one, look at that one...’, with ‘tongues wagging,’ the Mass has not entered my heart. Why? Because I am not capable of living the Christian witness. Every time I leave Mass, I must exit better than how I entered, with more life, with more strength, with more willingness to bear Christian witness. Through the Eucharist, the Lord Jesus enters us, into our heart and our flesh, so that we may ‘hold fast in our lives to the Sacrament we have received in faith.’”
Amen!
Bobby Speers is a writer who lives in Hickory and serves as chairperson of St. Aloysius Church’s evangelization commission.