The season of Lent is a time to get back to the basics of our Christian commitment, including our call to evangelize. There are basics to which we need to regularly return if we are serious about being missionary disciples of Christ and being effective instruments of others coming to faith in him. Explored here are four basic components of evangelization: the personal, interpersonal, liturgical, and cultural. The more these four aspects are effective and actively work together, the more the Church can carry out her mandate given by Christ to “go make disciples of all nations.”
First, the personal. Karl Barth, the Swiss Protestant theologian from the last century, was once asked by a journalist toward the end of his life, “Dr. Barth, what was the most profound of your many theological insights?” The journalist was expecting a long and complex answer. Instead, Barth answered simply, “Jesus loves me.” Here is where evangelization begins and the point to where we return time and time again. Only when we know in our bones that “Jesus loves me” are we most effective, compelling evangelists. It is a truth that grabs us, giving our lives purpose and meaning. It is the gift of God’s love and life that upholds us, renews us, and changes us. In a conference he gave in the monastery of Gethsemane, Thomas Merton asked the question, “Who am I?” and replied, “My deepest realization of who I am is—I am one loved by Christ. . . . The depth of my identity is in the center of my being where I am known by God.”
For Pope Francis, this personal encounter with the love of God through Christ is the beating heart of evangelization. In the opening paragraph of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he states, “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. . . . I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy.” Later in the document when instructing preachers, he points out that “what is essential is that the preacher be certain that God loves him, that Jesus Christ has saved him and that his love has always the last word.” This could also be said of every Christian dedicated to the mission of evangelization. What is essential is that we are convinced of God’s love for us, that Jesus Christ has saved us, and that he is our final hope.
Only when we know in our bones that “Jesus loves me” are we most effective, compelling evangelists.
The second component of evangelization is the interpersonal. We are not content just to be a disciple of Christ but want to make disciples too. The conviction that “Jesus loves me” means “Jesus loves you too.” Spirit-filled evangelizers are convinced that “we have a treasure of life and love which cannot deceive and a message which cannot mislead or disappoint. It penetrates to the depths of our hearts, sustaining and ennobling us. It is a truth which is never out of date because it reaches that part of us which nothing else can reach.”
Here is the treasure we possess that we must not keep for ourselves but share with everyone in a way that offers hope and new life. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, “There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and speak to others of our friendship with him.” As an example, a parishioner of mine is currently in the hospital and gravely ill. Recently he spoke about his suffering and mortality. With the inspiration of the Spirit, I shared this message with him, “I believe that Christ is with you in this dark place of suffering and is leading you on a journey that will lead to light. He loves you, suffers with you, and goes ahead of you on the road, leaving a space for you to move into where light and joy await you. Whether you reach that place before you die or after, once you are united to Christ, he will take you there and all will be well.” Here is the hope that does not disappoint, for it is based on the power of Christ’s love that overcomes all things and from which nothing can separate us. Evangelization proclaims that saving power in the present in a way that anticipates the future.
Interpersonal evangelization also has to do with how we engage with those we encounter. Our common experience of being human is the bridge that unites us with those we seek to evangelize. In this light, interpersonal evangelization communicates a deep respect for those we encounter as we share the Gospel with warmth, tenderness, and, most of all, with love for those we seek to evangelize.
The third dimension of evangelization—and the one most often overlooked—is the liturgical. During the Rite of Baptism, the ears and mouth of the newly baptized are blessed so that the Lord Jesus “may soon touch your ears to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim his faith to the praise and glory of God the Father.” Here at the very beginning of the Christian life is a forward impulse to go out from oneself to proclaim the Gospel. After the distribution of the Eucharist, one of the dismissal formulae announced by the priest, deacon, or bishop is “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” In other words, let your whole life declare what is true—namely, that Christ is alive, his kingdom is at hand, and his love is the most powerful force in the world. Because of the celebration of the Mass, there ought to be an outward propulsion of missionary zeal in the congregation to return to our homes, friends, schools, and places of work with a new energy to witness and evangelize. Every Eucharistic celebration ought to be a moment to renew our desire “to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition” (Evangelii Gaudium 259). This mandate to evangelize from the Eucharist also includes evangelization at the Eucharist with the ministry of welcome, inclusion, meeting, and greeting—part of our celebration of God’s love for all.
The fourth component of evangelization is cultural—one of the eight principles of Word on Fire. In modern times, Western culture in particular is in a state of flux leading to confusion and the de-stabilization of society. The Catholic response must always be to evangelize the culture, participate in public affairs, and re-lay the foundations of a just and stable society. This involves the celebration of all in the culture that is good and the calling out of aspects of our culture that are bad and that damage the common good. A savvy evangelist critiques culture well, proclaiming the vision of the Gospel that offers greater promise and hope. In the words of Pope St. Paul VI, “The Church evangelizes when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage and the lives and the concrete milieux which are theirs.”
To conclude, every generation of Christians needs to return to the basics of evangelization to be transformed by a personal encounter with Jesus Christ crucified and risen; to move out beyond ourselves to encounter others in Jesus’ name and share the joy of the Gospel; to celebrate our common life with others through prayer, especially at the Eucharist; and finally, to share our faith publicly in ways that transform the culture. If the Church exists to evangelize, then prayerful attention to these basics is essential.