Some people love to talk religion, just like some of us love talking about sports or politics or the stock market. Some are know-it-alls: the history of Church music, the details of doctrine, the intricacies of canon law; others are tar-pits of sincerity: every good thing that happens is a miracle and they attribute their choice of breakfast cereal to divine guidance.
Most of us, though, are a bit reluctant to talk about—not religion so much, as faith—our personal faith. Though we may have a hard time expressing ourselves, I think there’s something else at work, too; something deeper than just being tongue-tied.
It’s easy to talk about the amazing grease-cutting qualities of the latest dish detergent. We’re not really putting ourselves on the line when we gush about cleaning products. Faith is different. When we talk about that, we’re talking about who we are, and what really matters to us.
“I believe in one God…” we say every Sunday at Mass (the Creed of Nicaea actually begins “We believe,” but “I” does nicely right now). The creed embodies the essentials of our faith, ancient and modern. It’s our declaration of faith, not just in God, but in His creation, us included. It’s how we Christians see and understand what God has done, is doing and will do.
When we say the Creed, we’re not saying “I find the following set of historical-religious statements likely to be factual.” “I believe in one God” isn’t so much an intellectual proposition as a declaration of trust. What we’re really saying is “this is the truth on which I base my life.”
Evangelism, the telling of the Good News, is grounded on the truths of the Creed, told in our lives. Evangelism makes us uncomfortable because of the aggressive and manipulative connotations it carries in our culture. It comes across as a high pressure technique which presses people to make a “religious decision for Christ” which will save them from hell. As much as the advocates of such an approach quote the Bible, though, this has nothing to do with evangelism as presented in Scripture.
St Peter says: “be ready always to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you.”
Evangelism is “giving the answer that is in you.” It’s sharing how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost is present in our lives—in times of sorrow and joy, crisis and freedom. It’s our willingness to share the presence and power of God with those in our lives; not because we “have” something which they don’t, but because we are all of us creatures starving for grace.—Fr Gregory Wilcox
No comments:
Post a Comment