[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
Wednesday, 11 July, 2012, 14th Week, Ordinary Time
THE CALL TO A NEW EVANGELIZATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: HOSEA 10:1-3; 7-8; 12; MT 10:1-7

In the gospel, we read that Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority so that they could be sent out for mission. Pope Benedict in his homily at the vespers on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles reflected on the urgency of the mission of the Church. In connection with the theme of mission, he recalled the late Pope John Paul II who was instrumental in highlighting the exigency for a ‘new evangelisation’ especially at the dawn of the new millennium.

Pope Benedict also reiterated this when he spoke of the Church as “an immense force for renewal in the world, not by her own power but by the power of the Gospel”. At the same time, he recognized the threat of growing secularization, particularly in countries with Christian roots, which is eroding faith and belief, leading to a “serious crisis of meaning in Christian faith and in membership of the Church.” A new Pontifical Council dedicated to a “renewed evangelization” was thus established in response to this threat.

This call to the New Evangelization, or Renewed Evangelization, or Re-evangelisation, is actually not entirely new. This necessity was seen by Jesus Himself when He specifically instructed the Twelve whom He sent out, not to go ”to pagan territory” but to “go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” Why did Jesus instruct His disciples to focus on the Jews? This was because Jesus knew that the work of evangelization, the work of restoring the Covenant and the People of God, must begin with the Chosen People of God. But as it were, the Jews themselves had lost the meaning of the Covenant and were not faithful to His heavenly Father.

The concern of Jesus was the same challenge faced by the Prophet Hosea. The King and the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom of Samaria had also turned away from the Lord. In their prosperity, they strayed further from Him and allowed themselves to fall into idolatry and materialism. Truly, our situation is not much different from theirs. Because of affluence and progress in technology and science, humanity has estranged itself from God because of pride and self-centeredness.

However as the Prophet warned, by allowing themselves to worship false gods and adopt the worldly pagan lifestyles, they would have to face judgment and when that day comes, it might be too overwhelming even if they called upon the mountains and hills to fall on them and hide them from God’s wrath. Of course, he was prophesying the fall of Samaria which took place in 722 B.C.

It was in this context that Hosea undertook the vocation of re-evangelization, calling his fellow Israelites to repentance, to “sow integrity for yourselves, reap a harvest of kindness, break up your fallow ground: it is time to go seeking the Lord until he comes to rain salvation on you.” In a nutshell, he was urging them not to neglect the soil of faith lest it hardened further and cannot receive the Word of God. They needed to open their hearts and minds to repentance from sin and conversion to a life of righteousness so that once again they can receive God’s mercy and love.

How is the work of a Renewed Evangelization to be done? The gospel tells us that Jesus gave the apostles “the authority to expel unclean spirits and cure diseases.” This then is the first stage of re-evangelization. The demonstration of the power of God was to be accompanied by the proclamation of the gospel that “the reign of God is at hand!” In other words, God is here and He is alive, reigning in our hearts. Yes, these signs that would accompany the proclamation of the Gospel are also recorded at the end of St Mark’s gospel in Chapter 16. Rightly so, the proclamation of the Good News is to be carried out in word and deed.

It is also important that we must make a distinction between the evangelical proclamation of the gospel for the un-converted and the ongoing formation of the gospel, called didache, for the baptized Christians. Pope Benedict took cognizance of this fact when he spoke of the task of the new Pontifical Council which has “the specific task of promoting a renewed evangelization in countries where the first proclamation of the faith already resounded, and where Churches present are of ancient foundation, but which are going through a progressive secularization of society and a sort of ‘eclipse of the sense of God,’ which constitutes a challenge to find the appropriate means to propose again the perennial truth of the Gospel of Christ.”

Truly, it is an irony that although many have been baptized as Catholics yet they were never properly evangelized. In other words, they heard the Good News but never encountered the Good News in person, namely, the power and presence of the Risen Lord in their lives. This also accounts for the consequence that although many are baptized, their lives are not radically transformed by their Faith in Christ. Didache without the God-experience is like building a foundation on sand, whereas if our Catholics are first evangelized, then our ongoing formation of the Faith will reinforce their belief in Jesus.

Finally, in the work of a Renewed Evangelization, we must consider the model and principle of mission began by Jesus, namely, that mission must be accomplished in communion. That is why He first called the apostles together as the Twelve, and then sent them out. In another gospel text, the 72 disciples were sent out two by two. What we can learn from this structure is that the mission which we are called to accomplish cannot be done alone but always in union with the Church and in collaboration with fellow Christians. Mission requires communion in love. This is also underscored by Pope Benedict when he reminded us in his homily on the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, that “the challenge of the new evangelisation calls to the universal Church…to remain committed to the search for full unity among Christians.” Hence, the importance of renewing the faith of our Catholics and our union with all Christians is paramount, so that together, we can be a potent force and a powerful and uncompromising sign of God’s power at work in us, gathering us together as one, just as the Holy Trinity is one in mission and love.