Isaiah 49:3, 5–6
It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
John 1:29–34
I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.
The message is clear, in our very roots as God’s people, we are each of us prophets, and evangelists – we are to make known to all people God’s word so that their lives will have His light.
As His followers, we operate at a debt, each of us has much to be thankful to God for, things that we cannot even begin to truly repay. So how can we at least try to show effort at balancing this – God asks us to love Him, to love those created in His image, and to spread the light of His message to all, because even those who do not believe are children of God as well, even if they do not realize or acknowledge that fact. God loves them nonetheless, and He expects those of us who do possess knowledge and love of Him, to share that prolifically, constantly, and if need be, persistently – so that all may come to a relationship with Him. If we do not, we are not answering our call, nor easing our debt.
“To the one to whom much has been given, much will be expected” – it is a surety that like any parent, God has expectations about how we use what he has given us. What we have learned from reading and hearing God’s word, will have the requisite expectation that it will be shared, and woe to the one who has done nothing with that knowledge.
So, how do we fulfill our destiny as prophets and evangelists? Do we go about preaching to everyone we meet? Yes and No, there are many ways of preaching, some more effective than others. I always loved the quote “proclaim the Gospel always, and if necessary use words”. There is a lot of truth to that, in that the doorway to our being able to have a discussion with someone to share our faith, is often the example we set by how we live our lives. No one is going to listen to a person who they do not perceive as being genuine. We have to walk the walk BEFORE we talk the talk. I find this to be particularly true for those of us who are parents. Our children have a finely attuned mechanism for detecting dis-ingenuine conduct or talk. When we try to stress to them about how important a relationship with God is, but then skip Mass on Sunday because it conflicts with a social or sporting event, what message are we really sending? I can guarantee you, that despite their likely enthusiasm at the moment, to go do something entertaining, our kids will eventually connect the dots. For that matter so will anyone else who is paying attention. We have to live what we hope to preach.
Whether we realize it or not, people who have not yet come to terms with their faith, are very often curious about those who have. It’s not unusual that they pay close attention to the conduct of others whom they see as believers while they are trying to make up their own minds. I can’t over-emphasize the importance of this. We need to always be sensitive to this, which I know is not always easy. I can recall an instance years ago, one of my daughters’ friends was over visiting, it was summer, and I was outside working on a carpentry project with my usual finesse and brought the hammer down on my thumb. A moment later a creative string of verbiage passed my lips, and from behind me, I heard a teenage voice sing out slightly sarcastically, now, now, deacon tsk tsk tsk. I was not amused, but I also realized later that she was right. I had to keep my mind focused always on how I conducted myself because you never know who is watching and taking note. A crass joke at a barbeque, a grumble about someone’s performance in the office, an unkind word about a fellow commuter in traffic. None of this goes un-noticed at times, and while it may seem trivial, it can cast doubt upon our overall conduct, and hence how much we really believe and adhere to God’s teachings.
Our responsibility as God’s followers means sometimes stepping back from what has become the social norms of some situations. We’re called to be a bit more thoughtful and reserved in our conduct. We’re called to exhibit greater patience and love toward others, even in times when that is not so easy. On our own, this is at best difficult, which is why we are called to always be humble enough to acknowledge our limitations and ask for God’s help. To daily spend time in prayer, not out of obligation, but out of personal necessity, so that we can have some hope of fulfilling our responsibilities. What is impossible for man, is absolutely possible for God.
If we live our lives in this way, with God’s help, we achieve a noticeable peace and serenity that others often find extraordinary. They may even ask us about it, and therein lies the opportunity. We can give testimony to our own challenges and experiences, and how we were helped to overcome and deal with them. We can talk to them about the peace that most of us seek, and so few of us find until we learn to rest in God’s care. We can talk about the solidity of our faith after investing the time to learn, and truly discover the depth and consistency of the Gospel message. All these things give testimony and provide others who do not yet believe with reasons to start their own search for knowledge of God. When we have influenced even one other soul, our efforts have certainly not been wasted.
The Deacons Bench 