Talk to Others About God; Let Your Light Shine!!! (Homily #86)

12pm (#86a)

5pm (#86b)

Our Lady of the Sign - The Star of Evangelization

HOMILY #86

"Talking About God to Others; Let Your Light Shine"

St. Catherine's Catholic Church, Vallejo, CA, USA

Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017

At football games, like at the Superbowl, people hold up poster signs, like “John 3:16”.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave His Only Son that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have eternal life.”  Those holding up these signs are letting their light shine. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said that his disciples were the light of the world and the salt of the earth.  Today, I’d like to offer practical ways to let our light shine.  To do this though, I need to first distinguish between evangelization versus pre-evangelization.

Evangelization proper means talking/speaking about Jesus or God or something about our holy Catholic faith to others with the intention to convert them.  In other words, it means deliberately using words to bring them to the knowledge and saving love of Jesus. 

Pre-evangelization, on the other hand, is all the things that prepare a person or make them disposed to receive the Gospel.  For example, a smile and a hug are pre-evangelization.  Being friendly, hospitable, or kind acts to others is pre-evangelization.  In a sense, it is not evangelization proper.

Evangelization proper, as the Church has always understood it for 2,000 years, as seen in Pope St. Paul VI) means speaking, sharing with words, proclaiming, and saying things religiously about God.  It means explicitly using the Word of God, like the people holding up the sign, John 3:16, at the Superbowl, sharing the Good News. 

We must do both: action AND words.  We should be examples and friendly to others, but in addition to our actions, we must learn and train ourselves to talk about Jesus with others, even if our voice and our bodies shake. 

The Word of God is meant to be spoken.  Faith comes through hearing.  How will others know about Jesus and His desire for them to go to Heaven, if we do not preach it?

Even if you’re nervous, you just have to start somewhere.  In the Second Reading to the Corinthians, St. Paul gives us encouragement.  He wrote, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, BUT with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”  One does not have to be a great speaker to evangelize or talk about God with others.  For us who are immigrants, our English does not need to be perfect to talk about God.  One only needs to be willing to let God’s light shine in and through them.

After Mass one time, a professional speaker came up to me and asked, “I have to give a talk.  What do you recommend?”  My mind was blank, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me, and I said, “Speak your heart.  Be yourself.  People will know if you’re real or not.”  He said, “Thanks, I love you, bruh.”  If you are worried about talking about God, say a brief prayer to the Holy Spirit asking Him for help, and then share your heart with them.

[If time allows: After Mass the other week, someone approached me in a nurse’s uniform.  During our conversation she said that she prays with her patients.  She does not work for a Catholic hospital.  She will pray and at times talk about God.  This is evangelization proper.]  

[If time allows: Talking about God should take place out there in the world 24/7, not just here in church on Sunday for an hour.  We should be sharing our Faith naturally at our workplaces, schools, factories, at the marketplace, and most especially in our own families.  The primary role of the laity is to season the world with the salt of the Good News.  Lay ministry is really secondary.] 

And notice, one does not need ordination to proclaim the Gospel.  We must train ourselves to speak about God.  Go to workshops and retreats (like Cursillo).  Find solid programs that will train you to speak about God more.  For example, I co-founded the Maris Stella Institute (with other certified master catechists).  In this program, you will be trained not just what to say, but you will practice how to say it.  You will gain the skills to talk about God. 

One final note about salt and light.  For someone who has been in a dark room for a long time, and their cell phone rings, when the light on the cell phone is too bright, it can shock them for a moment (esp. if they have been living in the darkness of sin for a long time).  Make it gradual, but don’t make this an excuse to not let your light shine with the Word of God, as if we’re afraid, and as if we are covering our light with a basket.  It still must shine, even if it shocks a little bit.  Our job is to evangelize; let God take care of the rest.

So like those football fans that hold up signs at the Superbowl, let us let our light shine before others, but let it not just be at the Superbowl, but at the “Superbowl of our lives,” – the game of life.  You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.

Amen.  Amen.  So be it.  Amen.