What... ME evangelize!?! Part One

The word “evangelization” conjures up all sorts of images: a man standing on a crate on the street corner, waving his worn Bible and shouting, “Repent;” two people in dress clothes going door to door with tracts; someone coming up to you and asking, “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?” 

The concept of evangelization makes some Catholics feel--- well, frankly--- uncomfortable. So when it is said, “Catholics must evangelize,” the hairs on the back of the neck stand at full attention. 

There’s been a lot of talk in my parish about evangelization. This reflects the reality of the universal Church, which is very focused on the work of evangelization in the modern world. 

The popes of recent decades won’t let up on the topic, reminding us constantly that it is part and parcel of the Christian life. 

Why can’t I just have my religion as a private affair and leave it at that?

Jesus didn’t leave us that option. 

Jesus said explicitly, “Go… 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” (Matt 28:19-20a).

So what is evangelization, really?

Evangelization simply means to share the the good news of Jesus Christ. The word’s very root meaning is “good news,” or "glad tidings," in fact. 

My favorite definition, though, has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (though I don’t know if he really said it): “Evangelization is one beggar showing another beggar where the bread is.” I have found something that nourishes and sustains me and gives me life, and I have a responsibility to share it.

The Good News of His love is meant to be shared. People are, frankly, starving for the bread of God’s love (if you doubt it, look at current statistics on divorce, addiction, suicide, emotional and physical abuse, gang and street violence, broken homes, etc.). 

As Catholics we recognize that Jesus comes to us as the Bread of Heaven, the Eucharist. This is good news, indeed!

The Good News can be summed up in the well-known passage from the Gospel of John: “…God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). And further, from Jesus’ prayer to the Father: “… this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). The Good News has the power to transform individual hearts and culture.

The U. S. bishops’ document, Go and Make Disciples, states:

Bishops should take every occasion to speak out on the need and duty of every Catholic to be an evangelizer. Because we need everyone's help to implement this plan, we ask our brother and sister Catholics to support us in the following ways:

 1.     Each individual Catholic is to look at his or her everyday life from the viewpoint of evangelization. Take note of the many opportunities to support another's faith, to share faith, and to help build up Jesus' kingdom in our homes and workplaces, among our neighbors and friends. Catholics should participate in renewal programs and receive training in evangelization.

 2.     Families must find ways to highlight the faith that is part of their daily life, until each family unit knows itself as a "domestic church" living and sharing faith. If each household lived a vibrant faith, the members would more naturally reach out to their friends and neighbors, introducing them by their lives to the faith of Christ Jesus. Households are invited to see the dynamics of welcoming, sharing, caring, and nourishing as dynamics of evangelization. Families, individually or together, should read this plan with a view to helping them both appreciate and revitalize the practice of faith in the family and in the neighborhood. 

 (Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States, no. 136)

While evangelization may very well involve going door to door at times (some parishes have made this an apostolate), it is so much more, and involves a whole mindset and way of life, as the Go and Make Disciples passage above indicates. 

True evangelization is always grounded in prayer. Our mission as evangelizers flows from our identity as adopted sons and daughters of God the Father, which is realized through our relationship with Christ. 

We are moved to evangelize not only because our Lord commanded it (cf. Matt 28:19-20), but also because we know that a relationship with Jesus Christ--- lived in communion with the Church He founded--- changes everything in a person’s life. We desire to share the life of Jesus Christ with others because we have come to know it leads to the fullest life there is, because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6), and because to share His life is the most loving thing we can do.

In the twenty years I have been Catholic, I have seen many lives transformed (including my own) by the Gospel--- hearts that have been changed, lives that have been re-formed.

Recently a friend made an immensely practical observation: “We keep talking about evangelization, but people don’t know how to evangelize. What does that really look like?” 

So how do we “do” this work of evangelization? What does it look like in the nitty-gritty of everyday life? 

Next time we will look at my friend's question and explore some practical ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with a weary world without making a mess of things in our efforts.