These are words frequently used by Pope Francis directed towards laypeople, bishops, priests, and cardinals. Go forth and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In today’s gospel from Mark, immediately before ascending into heaven, Jesus entrusted the apostles with the task: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Jesus did not merely say, “go forth and proclaim the gospel to those few who you should meet”; rather, he commanded his apostles to “go into the whole world,” and proclaim it to “every creature.” Jesus commanded them to be His Good News ambassadors, to be His body, mouth, and hands wherever they go, so everyone would have an opportunity to know the Love and Truth of God through the witness and acts of Jesus’ followers. Today is one of those days when across the globe, in the Catholic Church, people may not be listening to the same readings. New Jersey is one of the few areas where the Feast of The Ascension would have been celebrated this past Thursday. But the Bishops of New Jersey recently decided to move the celebration of The Ascension to this weekend. Now, I do have to write a Thank You note to them, as this Gospel fits perfectly into my ordination to the Permanent Diaconate this weekend. In one portion of the service the Bishop places the book of the Gospels in the newly ordained hands with the words: “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” With those words I have been entrusted with being a “herald” a messenger of Christ. My friends, we are all called to be His disciples - whether you are young or old, man or woman, in high school or grade school – we are all called to be disciples, to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Many have heard the term “The New Evangelization” What is this New Evangelization? Well, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops statement on it reads in part – “The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel.” It is focused on ‘re-proposing’ the message of the Gospel to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a deep crisis of faith due to secularization. A recent survey shows that in this area of Burlington County only six out of every one hundred Catholics attend Mass. Those numbers suggest that the “deep crisis of faith” is right here in Burlington County. Right here, among our friends, neighbors, and classmates. This message of New Evangelization is so important that each pope from the time of the Second Vatican Council has written documents instructing the church on evangelization and getting the Good News out to “every creature.” So, how are we to undertake this New Evangelization, how do we as the church, not the building, but each of us as individuals - proclaim the Gospel to “the whole world?” I would like to offer three suggestions:
Instead of asking God for His will “for your life,” I suggest that we begin to ask God “what do I need to do TODAY. God if you could speak clearly to me right now, what do you want me to do with today.” You see I think sometimes when we ask, “God what is your will for my life”, what we’re really saying is “Let’s keep this nice and vague, so I can still be in control of things.” Let’s get down to the very root. God what do you want me to do today with my finances, marriage, job, day at school - to make a real difference for your kingdom, your church, this world for YOU?
Start eating solid food. Now what do I mean by that. If we tried to live our lives, to do our jobs based on what we learned up thru 8th grade we probably would not get very far. I trust that the allergist who gives me my shots each week knows more about sticking me with a needle than she knew in 8th grade. We can’t just be consumers of Catholic stuff. We need to begin to equip ourselves for deeper knowledge, a mature growth in Christ. Set aside time to study God’s Word by reading scripture daily, to pray and to serve, using the gifts God has empowered us with.
In the Letter of James, he writes “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Service of the poor and preaching the Gospel message cannot be separate. The New Evangelization cultivates Gospel Neighboring with Gospel Messaging. Being a good neighbor, loving your neighbor as yourself often leads to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us be real, mature members of the Body of Christ, The Church, making a difference bringing love, truth, and forgiveness to all our neighbors, co-workers, school friends, teammates. Let us be Christ in Action as well as words.
In a few minutes, our recessional hymn will implore us to “Go Out to all creation and tell the wonders our God has done.” In the words of our Holy Father – AVANTI!! Go Forth!