Missionary Evangelization

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The Gospel for today's liturgy details the beginning of the gathering of Jesus' twelve apostles as it appears in the Gospel of St. John. When it is paired with the first reading from the Book of Samuel, one might get the impression that St. John's purpose is to speak of their calling. While there is certainly an element of a "vocation" story in the Gospel, it is also about evangelization. John the Baptist tells Andrew about Jesus who then tells Peter about him. The word begins to spread. St. John's Gospel has several instances of this kind of evangelization, most notably the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.

When we stop to think about the 2,000 year history of Christianity, one remarkable aspect of that history is the effect that such evangelization efforts have had upon the world. Ever since the day that Jesus returned to his Father in heaven, missionaries have been telling the story of Jesus. Through that telling of the story, more and more people have come to believe in Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God, God in our flesh. Even now, when Christianity is a world-wide religion, evangelization is still the top priority of the Church.

It is a sad truth that a major portion of the population of the world, even the population of our own country, doesn't hear the Gospel preached on a regular basis. While they may know of the person named Jesus, they have very little contact with the Gospel. In ecclesiastical parlance, this group is referred to as the unchurched. They might also be referred to as the unevangelized.

Missionary evangelization is everyone's responsibility. We are all charged with the task of telling others about Jesus. One of my favorite stories about St. Francis of Assisi tells of his request that Brother Leo accompany him on a preaching tour of the city. They walked through the town toward the piazza where Brother Leo thought St. Francis would begin to preach. As they passed the townsfolk, Francis would greet them with a smile and wish them peace. To Brother Leo's surprise, when they reached the piazza, St. Francis simply continued to walk through the town greeting people as they met. When they reached the outskirts of the town, Brother Leo questioned St. Francis. "I thought we were going to preach," he said. St. Francis looked at him and said, "That's just what we have been doing." It is from this story that the saying has evolved, "Preach constantly; if necessary, use words."