We celebrate World Mission Sunday this weekend. We acknowledge a fundamental truth proclaimed by the Church: that the Church exists to evangelise. This was said by Pope Paul VI in his 1975 encyclical, “Evangelii Nuntiandi.” We are not a social club though of course that is part of what we do as Church. We build and strengthen the bonds of community though social gatherings and in our outreach to the old and housebound who can be isolated and lonely. We are not an NGO or charitable organisation, but we feed the poor and work for justice. There are many good and important things that we do as Christians, but they are not core to our identity.
In the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s gospel we are told to make disciples of all nations. This seems to be at the heart of the mission of the church, to bring people into a deeper relationship with God.
It is interesting to reflect on the conversation Jesus had with his disciples in Luke 10. They returned rejoicing that that they healed the sick and cast out demons but Jesus, changing their focus, told them to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. Jesus himself proclaimed that he had come to preach good news, and he prioritised that above the works of healing, casting out demons and multiplying loaves and fishes.
Having said that, we can’t proclaim Jesus and not care for the poor, the outcast, the oppressed and those unjustly deprived of their freedom. According to St James, we demonstrate our faith through our actions, and in the words of St Ignatius of Loyola, loves shows itself more in action than in words. It’s all about where we place our focus.
The following four points summarise what evangelisation is:
- Proclaiming the message:
Evangelisation involves preaching and teaching about Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit, as well as demonstrating the message through a Christian life of love and service. - Two-fold mission:
It is directed toward both those who have never heard the Gospel and those who have
drifted away from the faith. That’s why we need to be an invitational church, and to make
how we “do” church attractive, from our liturgies to our community building and our
community outreach. - Goal:
The ultimate goal is to open people’s hearts to Christ, encourage them to have a personal
relationship with him, and lead them to salvation and a life of holiness. - Methods:
Evangelisation happens in many ways, including through our liturgical life and being an
invitational community, in teaching and preaching in a variety of ways, and in the
testimonies of our lives as individuals and as a community.
