The Ways of Evangelization

ME

I love this time of the year. The fall with the cooler temperatures, the yellow, red and orange of the foliage changing color is very energizing for me.

This is also an exciting time of anticipation for the holiday season. In particular for Thanksgiving. A holiday that I have come to appreciate with time. Growing up in Italy we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. And  I have come to love the desire to bring the family together. People drive for many hours or fly to get reunited with their extended family to share a meal together. 

With the coming together of the extended family, a lot of different realities converge at that Thanksgiving gathering. These different realities of families, and belief systems might come right at us and challenge our Faith and our core beliefs. 

They may believe that abortion is morally right, they might have had an abortion themselves, they might be in a homosexual relationship, they might have different political views than ours. All of this can happen while sharing the same meal.

I know I will have some challenges at Thanksgiving, one of my family members just got engaged with someone that holds some of these views.

YOU

You might ask yourself - how am I going to engage with those family members that hold very different core beliefs than mine? 

You know, we are called to evangelize our family and our culture. How can we bring the way of God to people that are separated from God’s Truth?

I am pretty sure I am not the only one that will face these challenges at Thanksgiving.

GOD

In today's gospel the Pharisees and Herodians have joined forces to trap and discredit Jesus on the hot issue of taxes imposed by the Romans on the Jews. They question Jesus: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

There is no good answer. If Jesus says that it is not lawful to pay the tax he can get arrested for sedition. If he supports the tax he will be discredited by the Jews for supporting Roman oppression.

In that time it was considered blasphemy to carry a roman coin because on one side the coin had the engraving of Caesar with the text “Pontifex Maximus”, that means the High Priest. When Jesus asked to see a coin they entrapped themselves by showing that they were carrying the coin. And, this is the beginning of Jesus' teaching.

Jesus is the master of evangelization and of teaching the way of God. With his piercing lucidity and wisdom he replied with a different option. 

Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. In other words, it is lawful to pay tax to Caesar for his protection and roads as long as divine worship is given to our God and not to Caesar.

Ironically Jesus’s answer to the Pharisee gave them exactly what they asked. As it says in today’s gospel passage they asked Him to teach them the way of God in accordance with Truth. And Jesus did it by opening up a new reality, a new way, the way of God that stirs the heart and sends the Pharisee to a deeper thinking.

Notice that Jesus did not humiliate them. He answered in a way to stir deeper thoughts and lead them to a conversion of heart.

Jesus’s goal is always to bring a salvific moment with each of his encounters. He meets everyone where they are but he never leaves them there, he always points them to the way of God. Jesus never gives up on anyone.

The Father sent his Son to teach us the way of God so that we could learn from Him how to be Saints in this world.

How does Jesus bring a salvific point to his encounters? The gospel shows that he adapted his responses to the different situations. Jesus’s encounters in the gospels are examples of crossing over to the people in need of the way of God: the outcast, people from outside groups and often at the extreme margins of society. Jesus teaches us that there is not one way to deliver the Truth. Jesus adapted his method of evangelization to the specific person and situation. Jesus' ways were varied. He taught, healed, listened, challenged, at times was quiet, sometimes avoided the encounter, mostly He sacrificed and humiliated himself for the sake of bringing a salvific moment. In the event of the encounter of the Road to Emmaus, Jesus even walked the wrong way for a while until it was the right time to bring the salvific moment that made their hearts burn, and transformed by His words they went back to Jerusalem and proclaim the Good News to the apostles.

YOU

You and I are called to follow Jesus, to strive to imitate Him. Jesus showed us that there are multiple ways to bring the Truth to others. This is the main mission we are called to do - evangelize and catechize others. We are asked to bring a salvific moment to others. Evangelization and catechesis require adaptable approaches to the specific encounter. 

And the Gospel is the school where we learn it.

WE

We have a month to prepare for the encounters we will have around the table on Thanksgiving. Only through following Jesus will we be able to fulfill the mission of the Church to Evangelize and Catechize our family.

In a few minutes we will line up to receive the Eucharist, Jesus Body and Spirit. Take this time to pray and ask Jesus to transform you and reveal to you a NEW WAY to bring God’s Truth to your family.

“Shine like lights in the world as you hold-on to the word of life.