[00:00:00] Jim Jansen: Hey everybody. Welcome to the EquipCast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go.

Hey everybody. Welcome to EquipCast Coaches Quarter, where I break down important topics to equip you and your team for mission in your family, in your church, and in your ministry. So my name is Jim Jansen and today I am gonna talk about the heart of evangelization. Like what's the center, what's the heart of evangelization?

And I think this is important because as Catholics we have a very full and broad view of evangelization. I mean, it can be everything from a simple smile, thank you, mother Theresa, or an act of service to the in-depth formation of disciples [00:01:00] in the life of the church. It's that full process that begins with our wordless witness, our care for the least and the poor.

And it goes all the way to equipping missionaries for the new evangelization in countries and places where the gospel has been preached and to the nations. Places still where the gospel has not been preached. This is so full and broad that it can be tempting to count everything as evangelization and miss the heart, and that's not helpful because the Lord is calling us to something new.

What Saint John Paul II said when he called for a new evangelization, God bless, I don't know who who gets the credit for this, but God bless, right? Those bishops who are like, uh, your holiness. What's new, right? Because they knew it wasn't the content. They knew he wasn't changing the gospel. So what is the new part of the new evangelization?

And he said it's new and arter like the spirit, the energy, the love, and it's new in its [00:02:00] methods. So I think it could be helpful just to start in here to, to just define evangelization. And I think the best way to do that is to go all the way back to Jesus and the great commission, right when, when Jesus and Matthew 28, right after the resurrection, you know, he's, he's getting ready.

Well, it's not like right after the resurrection. It's like 50 days after the resurrection he's getting ready, you know, he's getting ready to ascend into heaven. The last thing he does. He gives his disciples, gather together the Great commission, right, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them all that I've commanded you.

And Lo, I'm with you always until the end of the age. Now if you, I want to, don't wanna get like too nerdy about this, but if you really break down that sentence, the heart of the great Commission is making disciples. The teaching, the going, the baptizing, they're all part of it. But literally like the Greek [00:03:00] sentence, the heart of it is to make disciples.

Now, it certainly includes the formation of children in the faith, but the primary emphasis is adults, and it is those adults, parents, coaches, teachers, whatever, that will pass along the faith to, to the children. But the heart of evangelization is making disciples. So for the sake of clarity, I thought it also might be helpful here to talk about things that might look like evangelization, renewal, or life but aren't.

So I'll give a couple examples. It's really important that we recognize that population shift is not evangelization. So if you are living in a city where the, where a part of that city is booming, the real estate market is going crazy and there's movement within your mission field from one part of the city to another.

Now here in Nebraska it's like, you know, cornfields that are now suddenly, you know, huge housing developments. That movement within your mission [00:04:00] field from one part of the city to another, that's not evangelization, that's just movement. It's a real estate market. Similarly, immigration blessing that it is, that's movement from Catholics from one country to another.

That's not evangelization either. Now, don't get me wrong, both of these things are real. Like when parishes have to deal with the reality that, gosh, we used to be a small, you know, small town parish, and now the, the city next to us has grown out so that suddenly we're a suburb and you know, we are five times the five times the size that we used to be.

That's a, that's a real pastoral challenge. Similarly, immigration, when lots of Catholics and Christians move from one country to another, there's a real pastoral responsibility to. To care for them, but that's not evangelization. In similar vein, simply catechesis teaching people who are already disciples to faith.

That's not only evangelization, right? I mean, disciples are the ones that are interested in learning more, but something [00:05:00] comes before. They learn about who Jesus is and you know, and, and what he promised them and what it means to live as a disciple. Evangelization is that thing that precedes catechesis, right?

It's also not simply dialogue or relationship building. I mean, it's, it's often a first step. We have to have a relationship. We have to enter into dialogue. But those relationships have to lead to a life of discipleship. They have to lead to conversion, to an encounter with Jesus Christ, where people make a commitment to follow him as a disciple.

And this one might be hard for some of you. It's also not simply liturgical renewal. I mean, who doesn't want more reverence, more silence, better music, and better preaching. But again, if we, if we think clearly about this, the liturgy is for those who are already disciples. This is why if you've ever brought a friend who is not a disciple, or even one who was maybe once living as a disciple, but has been away for a long time, [00:06:00] it's disorienting to them.

They don't know when to sit. They don't know when to stand. They don't know what to say. Wait, I thought like the prayers have all changed, right? The liturgy assumes evangelization and catechesis and sacramental initiation. So while it is true that the liturgy is the source and summit of our Christian life, and so in that sense, it powers our evangelization.

It powers our evangelization in the strength that it gives the evangelizers, not simply in the gathering itself. So fine. What is it then, like, what is the heart of evangelization? Well, I'm gonna go back to a, uh, little section from John Paul II's mission of the redeemer that I encountered. I mean, gosh, it's probably been more than 20 years ago.

And a little, little vulnerable. I had been a missionary for many years. Before I heard this and it just rocked me. Here's what he says. He says, [00:07:00] proclamation is the permanent priority of mission. He says, the church cannot elude Christ's explicit mandate nor deprive men and women of the good news about their being loved and saved by God.

Evangelization will always contain as the foundation. Center, and at the same time as the summit of its dynamism, a clear proclamation that in Jesus Christ, salvation is offered to all people as a gift of God's grace and mercy. And then like, if that wasn't enough, just one more line. Drop the mic. He says, all forms of missionary activity.

Like all the things, all the expressions, the teaching, the relationship, building the dialogue, the works of Mercy, all of all of the stuff that are a part of Evangelization says all forms of missionary activity are directed to this [00:08:00] proclamation as the hinge on which all evangelization turns. Now I have to tell going too much into my own story here.

This, this little section, this is from Mission of the Redeemer, article 44, like just, it just rocked me because I loved doing all the relationship building stuff and I loved teaching people and informing people about the faith, but I. I deprived people of the good news 'cause it made me uncomfortable. It was kind of counter-cultural.

I didn't want to be one of those, you know, Jesus freaks, preachy types. Uh, and there were a lot of misconceptions that I had that, that made, made this worse. But when I, when I began to put right the proclamation of the gospel in the center, when, when I let it be the hinge, when I let it be the heart, it changed everything.

I want to just give you one other little quote here. This is from Pope Francis. Enjoy the gospel, [00:09:00] and in it he gives a little sample of what, what it might sound like in everyday language, in conversation. He says, Jesus loves you. He gave his life to save you, and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free you.

And he goes on to say, this first proclamation is called first, not because it exists at the beginning and then can be forgotten or replaced by other more important things. It is first in a qualitative sense because it is the principle. Proclamation, the one we must hear again and again in different ways.

The one which we must announce one way or another throughout the process of catechesis at every level and at every moment. Again, that's Pope Francis from the Joy of the Gospel Section 1 64. All right, so fine, Jim. Like, what does that mean? What do I do? Well, here's what it might mean for you, right? In your family, in your church.[00:10:00] 

In your everyday life. It's what Pope Francis calls everyday preaching. So I'd encourage you just choose one of the points, right? Pope Francis begins with like, you know, like Jesus Christ loves you. Like that should show up. I love what we talked about again and again in some way, shape or form in every homily, in every story time with your kids.

I mean like kids' books are great for this, right? In every parish ministry moment. A proclamation, a reminder that God loves you should show up in every conversation. Okay? Maybe not like every, every conversation, but, but like if it's not showing up at least once a week in a conversation over dinner, if it's not showing up every now and then, you know, in homilies or in your story times with your kids, like, bring it back.

Or you can choose the second point, right? He gave his life to save you. I mean, he will save your parish if you let him. He will save [00:11:00] your family, your marriage, your life, your all, all of it. I mean, he is saving, and that's maybe like my favorite part, right? The last point where Pope Francis goes on, he says he's living at your side every day to enlighten, to and strengthen you, to strengthen you, to free.

You share your experience where you have been enlightened, where you've been strengthened, where you've found freedom. Not just like the big one that happened, you know, when you were 18 and you were, you know, you know, a dumpster fire and on your knees and like, I mean, that's a great story. Like share that too, but like how did the Lord enlighten you today?

How did he strengthen you this week? Where did you experience freedom and hope, and peace and joy? Share that with friends, family, other ministry leaders. Because it is in the proclamation of the gospel. Even the simple and ordinary mini testimonies of God's strengthening and [00:12:00] freeing action in my life this week.

It is in that, that we enter right into the heart of evangelization. Alright, let's pray. Jesus, I pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to recognize again, all the ways that you are at work, uh, your love for us, the way you are present to us. Your willingness to give everything for us. Ask that you would renew in us, uh, in everyday preaching, telling of the story of the gift of mercy and hope and peace and joy and strength.

Lord, free us from all that would, uh, hinder us from entering again into the heart of evangelization. Amen. Alright, what are your thoughts? You can respond back in the chat at Equip.archomaha.org. Again, that is equip.archomaha.org. Thanks everybody. 
Thanks for listening to the EquipCast. We hope this episode has inspired you [00:13:00] to live your faith and equip you to be fruitful in your mission. Stay connected with us by going to equip.archomaha.org. God bless and see you next time.