As baptized and confirmed
Christians in the Catholic tradition, we are called to evangelize. This is our apostolic identity, always
reminded at the conclusion of Mass with these words to send us off, “Ite, missa est”, reflecting these kerygmatic
words of Jesus: “Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15) and “Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit”(Matthew 28:19). This means that we are to sow the Word in the world,
as a witness to Christ, to all the ends of the earth, as driven and empowered
by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). To put this apostolic call of ours into the
context of Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23//Mark 4:1-20//Luke
8:1-15), we are called to evangelize, catechize and charismatize the world with
the Word in the Gospel, by virtue of the Sacraments of Baptism and
Confirmation, as we sow the Word of God in the world.
We are to serve the Lord as
sowers on his behalf, and this diverse world is the field with various types of
soils. As there are different types of soils in the parable, the receptivity of
the Word in the Gospel varies in the world. We may be sent out to evangelize
regions where people are not receptive to the Word, just as the path in the
parable does not let the seed to sprout.
In another area of the world, people may accept the Word with joy and
excitement at first but soon lose interest in it, just as the seed on the rocky
ground with shallow soil may sprout but die quickly as it cannot spread its
roots. On another opportunity, those
whom we encounter may accept the Word on the surface but cannot let it grow on
their heart because they are too busy to study and reflect, just as the seed on
the thorny soil will be chocked to death. Perhaps, only a very small number of
us can be sent to evangelize those who are not only receptive but can commit to
let the Word grow in their heart, just as the seed grows continuously all the
way to its abundant fruition. Chances
are, most of us are sent out to evangelize regions where the Word is not
well-received and appreciated. Then, what are we to do? Because Jesus said, “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of
that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet”(Matthew 10:14),
should we just forget about these unwelcoming and unreceptive areas? This
question reflects a typical challenge in evangelization all the time.
Jesus sure does not want us
to keep sowing the Word on those who are not receptive. He wants us to move on
to sow the Word on those who are receptive. In fact, Paul did not waste his
time and efforts in Athens, realizing that it was not a good place to
evangelize, and went to Corinth (Acts 18:1). However, he sure found Corinth to
be quite difficult place to evangelize, as he did not feel like returning there
(i.e. 2 Corinthians 2:1). Yet, he really cared about the Corinthian community
and wanted to make sure that the Word he sowed there would grow, as he wrote
two epistles to them. This encourages us to take up the challenge to
strategically evangelize those who did not accept the Word and those who did
not let the Word grow. Of course, it is important that we take a lesson from
our first visit as to why the Word was not accepted and why the Word did not
grow. Otherwise, we might keep repeating the same ineffective method of
evangelization, while distancing people further away from the Word. In order to be more strategic and effective in
our evangelization, first and foremost, we need to work on building
relationships to those whom we want to plant the Word in the Gospel. This
ground work for effective evangelization is like working on the soil before
sowing seeds. Aren’t all farmers first work on the soils before sowing seeds to
maximize the odds of the seeds’ growth?
The quality of our
relationship with those whom we want to evangelize the Word and minister to
help them grow the Word in their heart is likened to the quality of the soil
where the seed is sown. Just as farmers first work on the soil before sowing, we
need to work on establishing a good relationship with those whom we want to sow
the Word in their heart.
To cultivate a good personal
relationship, we spend time to get to know each other. In this regard, good sales professionals
often tell that they do not begin talking about the products to sell to people
but rather to listen to them to learn what they need. This way, they are in a
better position to make more effective sales by matching the products to
potential customers’ needs. Thus, rather than talking about the Word at the
beginning, we need to listen to what they need first. Since listening is essential to developing
and maintaining a relationship, getting to know their need by listening
facilitates to cultivate a relationship.
Once we have established a good relationship with those whom we want to
evangelize, we know what they need. This enables us to introduce the Word to
them in a way to meet their need.
To ensure that the Word
continues to take its roots and grow to its fruition, as the good soil does so
with the sown seed, we need to minister them continuously. As good sales professionals
make follow-up contacts with their customers, we also need to do follow-ups
with those whom we have sown the Word. Farmers do not leave the field unattended
after working on the soil and sow the seeds. They continue to provide necessary
care in attending to the field to ensure that the growth of the seeds is not
disrupted. Likewise, we continue to minister to those whom we have sown the
Word so that we can witness its growth and enjoy harvesting its abundant
fruition together.
Namely, for us to be
effective and strategic evangelizers and sowers of the Word to the world, in
the spirit of Jesus’ commissioning commands in Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15,
our focus is on establishing and maintaining the rapport with those whom we
want to sow the Word – to evangelize with the Word. For this, we first need to
get to know them by listening and by continuing to listen so that we can learn
what they need. This is likened to the
preparation of the soil to make sure that it is fitting for the seeds to grow,
upon sowing. Then, we can strategically introduce
the Word to them, in ways for them to experience that their needs are met as
the Word is received and continues to grow in their heart. This is like sowing
the seeds on the right spots in the field, not too clustered but scattered just
right, covered with enough soil for protection. Then, the Word grows in their
heart, and we continue to facilitate its growth, just as farmers continue to
attend the field as the seeds grow, watering and removing anything that may
stunt the growth.
Just as farming is a hard
work, evangelizing is a demanding work, indeed. It is not just about sowing the
Word but continuously providing necessary care to ensure the Word grows to bear
plentiful fruits. Of course, we do not have to do it all by ourselves. Jesus
prefers us to go sowing the Word in the world with another person (i.e. Mark
6:7), and Paul sure had companions and collaborators on his missionary journeys
in sowing the Word in various places. We work as a team in sowing the Word and
ensuring its growth to abundant fruition. Then, our team grows through the
Word. This is how the Church, as Ekklesia,
which literally means “being called out of the world”(ek – out of + kaleo –
being called), continue to grow as the Word continues to grow in the heart of
more people through generations, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We have been called out of
the world to be the Ekklesia, as
Jesus has already sown the Word on us and empowered us with the Holy Spirit, another Parakletos.
He has called us, also, to help him extend and expand the Ekklesia through our evangelization
efforts – by sowing the Word on his behalf and ensuring its growth to great
harvests – so that the Ekklesia will
continue to be enriched in its growth.
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