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We need Good News!
I don’t know about you, but the last few weeks have been pretty rough. First there was the story of Archbishop (former Cardinal) McCarrick. Then we had the report from Pennsylvania drop this week. It is so depressing. Last night it reached an apex when my wife and I cried with our two oldest kids after one of them asked me to explain what was going on. I told them about the evil acts of our leaders and how they hurt so many, my kids just couldn’t take it. In some ways, their idea of the Church was crushed and it hurt so much. Evil hurts. This isn’t supposed to happen. We are supposed to be able to look up to our leaders in the Church.
They are right. This shouldn't have happened. We ought to be able to expect something better of our leaders.
I felt drained and sad. So very sad. For my kids. For our Church. For you and me.
We all know this will be a reason that many walk away from the Church. Like leaving a dysfunctional family, some feel like they can’t stay anymore. I understand. If I didn’t know what I know - the Jesus is Lord, the Church will always have scandal, The Sacraments give grace, God will always guard the teachings of the Church, etc - then I would probably leave too.
In the midst of all of this, I keep coming back to the most basic thing I know of all - The Gospel. I think it can help all of us right now. In fact, I think the lack of Good News is one of the reasons (certainly not the only one) that got us into this mess.
THE GOSPEL
The Gospel is the heart of our faith. It is what animates our efforts of evangelization and gives power to our proclamation of Jesus. It is the way God changes hearts. Sometimes we call it the “kerygma”, which means “preaching” in Greek. It is the core message of Good News that Jesus gave us. Jesus came to this earth to rescue us from sin and death. He accomplished this by his life, suffering, death, and resurrection. He now offers us forgiveness of sins, his grace, and eternal life - if only we accept his gift, in faith.
(NOTE - we will explore the content of the kerygma, in greater detail, next week.)
There are many ways of proclaiming the kerygma, but this one fact remains - Catholics are not very good at it. We neglect it, avoid it, or when we do preach it, we rarely invite a response from others. If the kerygma is the heart of our message that we are to proclaim, then it is easy to understand why are not going to be very fruitful evangelists when we don’t proclaim it or if we fail to offer a response. The Church has forgotten this simple truth - WE NEED GOOD NEWS! Today, more than ever. How is one to know there is good news, if we don't proclaim it?
The Church has always known this, if we haven’t lived it out well. Take these quotes for example:“It is the duty of the Church to proclaim always and everywhere the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He, the first and supreme evangelizer, commanded the Apostles on the day of his Ascension to the Father: “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” (Mt 28:19-20).” -Pope Benedict XVI
“In the complex reality of mission, initial proclamation has a central and irreplaceable role, since it introduces man "into the mystery of the love of God, who invites him to enter into a personal relationship with himself in Christ"73 and opens the way to conversion. Faith is born of preaching, and every ecclesial community draws its origin and life from the personal response of each believer to that preaching.74 Just as the whole economy of salvation has its center in Christ, so too all missionary activity is directed to the proclamation of his mystery.
The subject of proclamation is Christ who was crucified, died and is risen: through him is accomplished our full and authentic liberation from evil, sin and death; through him God bestows "new life" that is divine and eternal. This is the "Good News" which changes man and his history, and which all peoples have a right to hear.” -JPII“On the lips of the catechist the first proclamation must ring out over and over: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.” This first proclamation is called “first” not because it exists at the beginning and can then be forgotten or replaced by other more important things. It is first in a qualitative sense because it is the principal proclamation, the one which we must hear again and again” -Pope Francis
DON’T STOP!
As stated above - Catholics stop too soon when they evangelize. In fact, I might call it the greatest fatal flaw of Catholics who evangelize. Without the proclamation of the Gospel (and inviting a response), we undermine our ministry efforts. It is like going to war without a weapon, it makes accomplishing our goal very hard. This has led to a lack of fruit, within the Catholic Church in the West. Too few hearts have been changed by this message of Jesus.
Here are a few observations about the state of Catholics evangelizing:- Catholics are getting better at voicing the Kerygma. More people are comfortable doing so and are learning more effective ways of doing it. This initial proclamation is the core of the message we need others to hear.
- Catholics are good at teaching others about grace. God is the first to act, He is the one that empowers us, His gift of grace is the reason we have the opportunity for salvation in the first place.
- Catholics are comfortable with free will working in union with grace. We understand that it is every person’s choice to say “yes” to God’s grace and that the choice is now up to us whether we respond to God’s invitation.
- Catholics still stop too short when they get to this point. Rarely do Catholics then offer the opportunity to choose God! They might even tell someone they ought to respond to grace - but don't tell them what to do, how to respond, etc.
God won’t save us without us saying “yes” to His grace! This means our free choice to respond to God’s grace, makes all the difference, so why aren’t we offering more opportunities to others to make this choice? Think of all the people who could have had their lives changed by this message, if the Church had proclaimed it more boldly, more courageously, and with love!
It can be as simple as asking, “would you like to make the choice to turn your heart over to God today?” or “would you be willing to invite Jesus into your life right now?” or something similar.
There are several reasons a Catholic evangelist might choose not to do this:- Many are uncomfortable with asking because they have never responded to the Gospel themselves!
- Many find themselves not wanting to be too “pushy”.
- Many are afraid someone might say “no”.
- Many believe it sounds “too Protestant”, but that simply isn’t the case – look at the biblical evidence – God invites, we are to choose to respond:
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said -Matt 4:19
“After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” -Luke 5:27-28
Notice that not everyone chooses to follow Jesus:
“Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be [a]complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” -Matt 19:21-22
The apostles and the rich young man have to respond to the call and grace of God for it to work within them. Some choose it, some do not. Just as Jesus did, we have to respect their freedom as much as God does – which allows them the freedom to say “no”. This does not mean we give up on them though.
The Eunuch chose to receive God’s grace:“The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.” -Acts 8:34-38
Notice that Philip asks the Eunuch if he believes. It is his choice, which is voiced publicly! One of the few places we Catholics have kept this explicit statement of faith (at least in most parts of the Church in the USA) is in the Sacraments – you have to choose baptism (or have your parents do it for you), choose reconciliation, choose to receive Communion, choose to marry, etc. The choice is paramount in celebrating the Sacraments!
The first European convert, Lydia, also chose to follow Jesus:“The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized” -Acts 16:14-15
The jailer and his family as well:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.”-Acts 16:30-33
There are many other stories like these – so, the ample Biblical evidence of giving someone the opportunity to choose teaches us we need to do the same. This is part of the evangelistic process of making disciples and the one where Catholics need to become more bold and intentional.
Still, Catholics don’t believe that offering this choice to someone (and their acceptance of Jesus) is the end of their journey of justification/salvation. We are not a people who believe in once-saved-always-saved. Rather, this choice is the first step (or another step) in continuing to choose God.
Finally, offering someone the opportunity to make a decision for Jesus is not taking anything away from the primacy of grace or the sovereignty of God. Rather, it is a participation in the grace and a reminder that God always acts first.
From the Catechism (emphasis added):“Those who with God’s help have welcomed Christ’s call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.” -CCC 3
“Faith is man’s response to God” -CCC 26
“By his Revelation, “the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company.” The adequate response to this invitation is faith.“ -CCC 142
“By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience of faith“.” CCC 143
Let us end with this quote:
“Our love for Jesus and for our neighbour impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.” -CCC 166
Time to offer an opportunity to choose Christ. Time for the Gospel.
Will you - today - let Jesus into your life, whether for the first time or not? Will you let Jesus' Good News saturate your soul with grace? Will you let Jesus come into your heart and take ownership of all of you?
You, me, and the Church really need this GOOD NEWS!Jesus is Lord.
Jesus loves you.
Jesus became human for you.
Jesus lived for you.
Jesus suffered for you.
Jesus died for you.
Jesus rose from the dead for you.
Jesus made his Church for you.
Jesus offers you his grace right now. He wants you to say "yes" to him...will you?