Lately we hear a lot in the Church about evangelization and the New Evangelization. Truth is, there is nothing new about it. From the beginning the task of the disciple has been the same. Once we have come to an awareness the love of Christ in our own lives, we must necessarily share that love. Just as real faith will necessarily produce good works, a real awareness of the love of God in our lives will radiate out.
In today's Gospel, Jesus feeds the crowd but indirectly. Jesus takes the 7 loaves, blesses them, breaks them, gives them to the disciples. It is the disciples who feed the crowd. They pass on what they have received.
An even more important message is for us who live in a culture of zero sum games where we think that if one person gets another loses. In this gospel every one is satisfied and there are 7 baskets left over. Once again the number that represents perfection. But such is the nature of love; it comes in infinite supply.
Evangelization is not a program. It doesn't require a committee, and it certainly isn't new. It is the fundamental way of life of every Christian. From the moment our soul is created, we are loved by God. From the moment of our baptism we are adopted as sons and daughters of God, and God who is love dwells in us. That love of God wants to reach out and spread, through us, to others.
The natural movement of love is outward. Restraining it and turning it inward is what take effort, and is unnatural and is called sin.
When we evangelize it is not that we are bringing someone something new. Because they are created in the image and likeness of God, and their soul is from God, every human being is loved by God and has an innate experience of that Love. We merely help others to see it, to name it, to enter more deeply into it.
Share the light today!
