The Basic Question that Easter presents to us:
"As the Father has sent me so I send
you." Don't
we often see our relationship with God in terms of what we get out
of it? Don't we sometimes criticize the Church because it doesn't
meet our expectations? Don't we want to keep our religion private
and personal, as well as safe and satisfying? Such attitudes find
no support in the life and words of Jesus nor in the two-thousand-year
faith tradition of the Church. The reason why Jesus Christ
has called us to be
his
followers
is in order to send us forth to be apostles. Evangelization is
the word used to describe what each of us must do if we are going
to be faithful to the call of Christ. The word means living in the
world in a way that the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus -- forgiveness
of sin and the promise of eternal life -- is present to others in
word and action, in an inviting and even compelling way.
It's an old question, even a cliché, but nonetheless
an important one: If being a Christian were a crime, would
there be enough evidence to convict you? What visible qualities of
your life and actions might the prosecuting attorney use to prepare
a case against you? Would they convince a skeptical jury that you
really are a Christian?
Notice that this does not say anything about "going
to church," "church
work" or "ministry" -- lay or ordained. Whatever
we do in church to develop our relationship with Christ has to serve
what we do in
the world -- the workplace, the marketplace, the boardroom, the neighborhood,
the school, the playground -- to make Christ present there. Otherwise
we're not
doing
much more
than holy navel-gazing in spiritual self-admiration. While people
are needed to do the things that make liturgy and ministry happen,
to do the things that make the parish run, the
reason why we exist at all is to be leaven in the world. If you come
to Mass on Sunday -- great; if you're a lector or a eucharistic minister
or perform another ministry in the Church -- wonderful, you're needed;
if you pray an hour day -- marvelous, we can't get along without
you! But all of this leads to the real question: What can
you do in your "secular life," in your "worldly pursuits," to
demonstrate to all who see you that "Jesus Christ is Lord"?
There are many, many resources that could be helpful
in pursuing the theme posed by this question, but if you visit only
one, it should be the Paulist
National Catholic Evangelization Association website.
There's enough rich food for thought, prayer, sharing, and discussion
to keep you busy for the week -- and beyond. And, if you really
want to explore further, a total immersion into Catholic evangelization,
go to ChristLife.
