ON EVANGELIZATION AND MISSION

(Part 43)

THEY WILL LISTEN

May 18, 2013

Today’s reading: Acts 28:16-31

Just as the synoptic gospels end with Jesus commissioning his disciples to evangelize, so too does the book of Acts end, with Paul living out the Great Commission.

There are basically two aspects to the mandate to evangelize–proclamation and witnessing. We verbally proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus, so that those who hear can believe and be saved. But our proclamation should be accompanied by a silent witness, of how God has transformed us. People need to see the change in us so as to be attracted to a life in Christ. To proclaim without witnessing, or worse, living a life not in accord with God’s design, is to do empty talk, devoid of power. To silently witness without proclaiming why we live as such and who we live for is to keep people ignorant of Jesus, thus not helping bring them to salvation in him.

Paul “proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 28:31b). Not only that, “he expounded his position to them, bearing witness to the kingdom of God” (Acts 28:23c).

This too is what we need to do. This is the most important work of the Kingdom. We must give our energy, priority, resources, commitment and passion to this work. We must be tireless and be preoccupied with this work, just as Paul talked “from early morning until evening” (Acts 28:23b). We must be bold and self-assured in the message we bring and aggressively brush aside all hindrances to this work, just as Paul acted “with complete assurance and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31a). We must go to as many people as we can, just as Paul, hampered by his incarceration, “received all who came to him” (Acts 28:30b). We must give our all in “trying to convince them about Jesus” (Acts 28:23d).

Now not everyone will accept the gospel. “Some were convinced by what he had said, while others did not believe.” (Acts 28:24). The unfortunate reality is that the world is in darkness, even antagonistic to the gospel. “Gross is the heart of this people; they will not hear with their ears; they have closed their eyes” (Acts 28:27a). We must not be discouraged or give up when we seemingly fail to convince people. The fruit is up to God. Our part is simply to proclaim and witness.

Know that a rich harvest has already been prepared. What is needed are the workers to bring in that harvest. We do our part, and God does the rest. “Let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” (Acts 28:28).

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THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

(Part 37)

AS JESUS RELATED TO THE FATHER

May 16, 2013

Today’s gospel: John 17:20-26

The New Evangelization is all about going back to the way God designed evangelization to be. This was manifested on Pentecost, with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples, and in how the early Church carried out her mission. But it was Jesus who showed the way, in his final prayer before his arrest and passion. Jesus pointed to his relationship with the Father, and thus showed us the way we are to go. Just as Jesus related to the Father, so are we to relate to Jesus. Jesus knew the Father, lived the Father, shared the Father. We in turn are to meet and know Christ, to live Christ, and to share Christ.

Jesus knew the Father. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you” (Jn 17:25a). Now Jesus has made God known to us. Jesus has revealed the Father, and in so doing has revealed the Son. God sent His own Son to redeem us.  Because of Jesus’ words and works, “they know that you sent me.” (Jn 17:25b). To meet and know Jesus is to meet and know the Father, “as we are one.” (Jn 17:22c). We are to meet Christ.

Jesus lived the life of the Father. Jesus avers, “you, Father, are in me and I in you” (Jn 17:21b). Jesus reflects the very glory of God. “And I have given them the glory you gave me” (Jn 17:22a). We too are to live the life of God. Our light too is to shine forth. Disciples are to live Christ, “that they also may be in us” (Jn 17:21c). To live Christ is to be holy and to strive for perfection. This happens as we put on Christ, as Jesus says, “I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection” (Jn 17:23a). Jesus gave his life out of love for us. God is love, and the greatest Christian virtue is love. To live Christ is to manifest and share the Father’s love, and thus will Christ himself live in us, as Jesus says, “that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” (Jn 17:26c). We are to live Christ.

Jesus shared the Father. He told the world of the Father’s love, “that you loved them even as you loved me.” (Jn 17:23c). “I have made known to them you name” (Jn 17:26a). Now Jesus continues to make God known, through us as his instruments, as we share Christ. In this challenging work, we are assured that this is Jesus’ own continuing work, as he says, “I will make it known” (Jn 17:26b). When we share Christ through the work of evangelization, then Jesus’ prayer will come to pass, as he said, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (Jn 17:20). We are to share Christ.

Jesus has gone on ahead to heaven. That too is our destination. Jesus gave his life so that many more would be restored to the Father. Let us do our share in the work of the New Evangelization. Then we can help fulfill another prayer, and wish, of Jesus. “I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me” (Jn 17:24b).

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OUR THEME FOR 2013

(Part 49)

CONSECRATED TO GOD

May 15, 2013

Today’s gospel: John 17:11-19

Jesus said that those who believe in him will go greater works than he did, because he is going to the Father (Jn 14:12). Jesus goes back to heaven but his work on earth continues. We are to be his instruments for this continuing divine work. “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.” (Jn 17:18). Since the work is much larger, territorially (the whole world) and with regard to the number of people to be reached (all peoples), then Jesus’ disciples are tasked to do greater works.

So Jesus went to heaven. “And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.” (Jn 17:11a). Did Jesus then leave us to fend for ourselves? No. Jesus made important provisions for us.

First, Jesus entrusted us to the Father. “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me” (Jn 17:11b). Jesus is God’s Son and he is the Christ. We too have been restored as children of God and carry Jesus’ name as Christians. Just as the Father took care of His Son, so also does Jesus pray that God would take care of us as well. This is very important. Just as Jesus carried out the plan of God for the world, we too continue with carrying out that plan. As such, we are important and crucial to God’s will being accomplished in the world. If so, then we can trust that God will always be there for us.

Second, Jesus entrusted us with God’s word and consecrated us in the truth of that word. “I gave them your word” (Jn 17:14a). “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.” (Jn 17:17). When we proclaim Christ, we proclaim he who is the truth, and we proclaim the truth of God’s word. When we work such that people meet Christ, we continue so that they will live Christ. That is a life of obedience to God’s word. As we make disciples of all the nations, we teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded.

Third, Jesus entrusts us to himself, as he consecrates us. “And I consecrate myself for them” (Jn 17:19a). We are consecrated to Jesus, not by our unilateral action, but by Jesus’ own action. Jesus acknowledges that we belong to him. Jesus himself allows us to walk in his footsteps. Jesus gives us the great privilege of becoming his instruments. As such we can look to Jesus’ protection. “When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost” (Jn 17:12a). This is very comforting. As we face intense spiritual warfare, we fight under the cover and protection of God.

God has done His part. We need to respond. Jesus says we will do greater works, but we need to become fitting instruments. How will this be?

First, we must know that we are in the world but are not of the world. “They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.” (Jn 17:16). We are a people set apart, a people called to holiness. Just like Jesus, we live and work in the world, but we do not belong to the world. We are citizens of the Kingdom.

Second, since we do not belong to the world and thus do not conform to the ways of the world, we must know that the world will oppose us, and will oppress us. As Jesus avers, “the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.” (Jn 17:14b). We must be prepared to face the world’s hate, even as we show love to those who hate us.

Third, we must “be consecrated in truth.” (Jn 17:19b). We must show the way and live the truth of God’s word in our lives. We must obey all God’s commands. We must always stand for what is right and just and true.

Fourth, we must never betray the cause of Christ. Jesus himself chose and appointed us. We must not disappoint him, by turning away, by lukewarmness, by proclaiming another gospel, by remaining in conflict with other Christians. Otherwise we will remove ourselves from the mantle of God’s protection. As Jesus said of Judas, “none of them was lost except the son of destruction” (Jn 17:12b). How truly unfortunate if we start out in the Spirit and end in the flesh.

Fifth, we must maintain our unity with other Christians. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as we are.” (Jn 17:11c). Granted that Jesus also came to divide–the sheep from the goats, those who believe and those who do not, those who promote his cause and those who betray his cause, we still must strive for unity in the Spirit. Even as we have disagreements, we must practice the virtues of tolerance, patience, forgiveness and charity.

We today are called to the New Evangelization. Jesus has gone back to heaven, but he will return. In the meantime, we are to work to prepare for his second coming. As we do our work, we encounter the evil one, but God is there to protect us. “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.” (Jn 17:15). Ultimately, Jesus will also take us out of this world, and bring us to heaven.

So Jesus has gone up to heaven, back to the Father. “But now I am coming to you.” (Jn 17:13a). That is his great joy. We too rejoice in Jesus, and in the privilege given us to continue his work on earth. “I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.” (Jn 17:13b).

With joyful and grateful hearts, let us be about the work of the New Evangelization.

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Read more here.

THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

(Part 36)

CHOSEN AND APPOINTED

May 14, 2013

Today’s readings:

Acts 1:15-26

John 15:9-17

We made our decision for Christ when we repented and turned to faith in him as Savior and Lord. We chose to follow him. But Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain” (Jn 15:16a). Just like the Twelve, Jesus was the one who chose us, and what we did was to respond. This is a staggering reality. Jesus chose us from all eternity.

Then Jesus appointed us. We are commissioned by Jesus. We are given his marching orders, to carry out his plan. We go in his authority. We are to do his very own work. Finally, we are to go and bear fruit that will remain. God intends to use us to accomplish His divine purpose. Connected to the mind and heart of Jesus, who is the vine, we will bear fruit. This is the fruit of transformation in Christ, leading to eternal life in heaven.

Is it any wonder then that Jesus also says, “so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (Jn 15:16b)? When Jesus calls and appoints, he empowers. We are given access to the Father to tap on to the very power of the almighty God. When we act as Jesus did and would, then the Father is looking upon a beloved child, whose requests, if in accordance with His will, He will always grant.

As we do the work of the New Evangelization, we can be assured that we are chosen, appointed and will bear fruit. What a great privilege!

Unfortunately, many are not responding positively to the call. Then there are those who do respond, but who ultimately betray the cause. Such was the case with Judas. “He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry.” (Acts 1:17). But he became “the guide for those who arrested Jesus.” (Acts 1:16b). Judas had been chosen by Jesus himself, stayed for some time in his presence, heard his teachings and saw his works, but fell away, shunning “this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” (Acts 1:25). The result for Judas was tragic.

The reality of Jesus’ choice and appointment does not guarantee seamless ministry. God chooses but we need to respond. God appoints but we need to be obedient. God wants us to bear fruit but we need to be faithful and committed.

God chooses us by using human instruments. In the case of Matthias, it was through the Christian community. But notice that the disciples do not do the choosing, but merely discern what they believe to be God’s choice. Thus they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen” (Acts 1:24).

Friend, have you been chosen by Jesus? Will you respond to his call to “become with us a witness to his resurrection” (Acts 1:22b)?

Will you be a friend of Jesus? Are you aware of what Jesus has done and is continuing to do, in choosing us and sending us forth? Will you remain “a slave (who) does not know what his master is doing” (Jn 15:15a)? Or will you be Jesus’ friend as you obey his command to proclaim the gospel to all? “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (Jn 15:14).

Onward to the New Evangelization!

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Read more here.

THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

(Part 35)

HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT?

May 13, 2013

Today’s reading: Acts 19:1-8

All Catholics have been sacramentally baptized, by which they receive the Holy Spirit. The problem with many Catholics today is that they are unaware of the importance and action of the Holy Spirit in their lives. For all practical purposes, Catholics might as well say, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.” (Acts 19:2b).

Why are many (even most) Catholics, who have been sacramentally baptized and sacramentally confirmed, not acting as true Christians in the world today? They do not really know Christ (have a personal relationship with him), they certainly are not living Christ (being holy), and they most certainly are not sharing Christ (evangelizing).

What needs to happen? It all starts with repentance and faith. “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” (Acts 19:4). People need to turn away from their old lives, and start to live a new life in Christ.

With Baptism (and later Confirmation), people receive the Holy Spirit. This is empowerment for worldwide mission. But why are the great majority of Catholics not really into evangelization? It is because they do not know the Holy Spirit, and they do not know what they have been called to do in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thus, the call to the New Evangelization necessitates a renewed understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, followed by prayers for a renewed infilling of the Spirit, to manifest a renewed outpouring of the Spirit. Catholics once again need to experience the so-called baptism in the Spirit. As in the case of the Ephesian believers, “when Paul laid his hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” (Acts 19:6). This was a common experience of the early Christians, starting with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. How many Catholics today speak in tongues and prophesy? Do the majority of Catholics even know about the gifts of tongues and prophecy?

With the baptism in the Spirit comes boldness and power. Paul “debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 19:8b). Catholics need to do so as well. Catholics need to go forth into the world and proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus. Every Catholic is commissioned to be an evangelizer.

And so I ask you, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” (Acts 19:2). Indeed you did. Now act on that reality.

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OUR THEME FOR 2013

(Part 48)

EMPOWERED FOR MISSION

Ascension Sunday

May 12, 2013

Today’s readings:

Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 47:2-9

Ephesians 1:17-23

Luke 24:46-53

Jesus told his disciples, “I am going to the Father.” (Jn 14:12b). Now Jesus does so, as “he parted from them and was taken up to heaven” (Lk 24:51), as “he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9b).

Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus commissioned his disciples to carry on his work, as he told them, “repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Lk 24:47-48). He had formed them, he had trained them for three years, he had sent them on mission, and now they were on their own.

But how could mere human flesh do divine work, and do even greater works than Jesus? They needed to be empowered. And so Jesus also told them, “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Lk 24:49b). How was that to come about? They needed to “be baptized with the holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:5b).

What happens with the baptism in the Holy Spirit? Jesus says, “you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). The baptism in the Spirit is empowerment for worldwide mission.

This is the very power of God, given to human beings in order to fulfill the very commission of Jesus. It is a continuation of God’s work of salvation. The Father sent His Son, who suffered and died for us in order to win for us our salvation. God worked in power, “raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens (Eph 1:20). Now, through baptism in the Spirit upon those whom God has called and chosen, we “know what is the hope that belongs to his call.” (Eph 1:18b). What is that? It “is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might” (Eph 1:19).

Indeed, those who BE.LI.EV.E will not only do the works that Jesus did, but even greater ones that those (Jn 14:12a).

With Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the power of the enemy has been shattered. God “put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things” (Eph 1:22). “For God is king over all the earth” (Ps 47:8a), with Jesus reigning “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Eph 1:21). Now this “great king over all the earth …. made people subject to us, nations under our feet” (Ps 47:3b-4a).  Not only are all things under the feet of Jesus, but all nations are under our feet. We have been given the power of God to do greater works, in order to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, and bring God’s dominion over all the nations.

In working at the New Evangelization, we help establish God’s dominion on earth, while Jesus the King awaits in heaven. “God rules over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne.” (Ps 47:9). Unlike the disciples, we need no longer ask, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6b). Jesus already has, but we need to work so that the nations of the earth will recognize such authority, and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Then Jesus will come again, as “this Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:11b).

So let us do our part. Let us get to work. Let us not wait for two men dressed in white garments to stand beside us and say, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” (Acts 1:11a). Let us be about the work of the New Evangelization.

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