Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist
In our Gospel reading for today, we hear at least three lessons for anyone heading out into the world to spread the Good News of Jesus. And remember, they come to us straight from Jesus. He is trying to teach us how to evangelize in his name. So, we probably should pay attention.
Lesson #1: If you are setting out to try to persuade people to follow Jesus, you must go in peace. There should be nothing aggressive in your manner, your words, or your tone. You are to approach the other in peace and say that you are. Tell them: I come in peace. I am no threat to you. I won’t force any belief or practice or rule upon you. I will tell you about the Good News that is Jesus, and I will let you decide how you want to proceed. And you should expect to be received in peace. This is a reasonable expectation any time and especially when you approach the other in peace. If you are not received in peace, Jesus insists, then you should leave. You should not be made to endure hostility or ridicule or aggression when you come in peace. Don’t put up with that, Jesus teaches, when you are witnessing in my name.
Lesson #2: You must enter into a conversation with the other about Jesus from a vulnerable position. You are not to make provision so that you are above the fray. When you talk about Jesus, you are in the moment, present, available. And that means vulnerable. Anyone who has ventured out to share the Good News knows how vulnerable it can make you feel. You are putting your deeply held convictions before another. And they can do with them and think of them and of you what they want. They might think you are silly or idealistic or superstitious or something else. That just comes with the territory. To share the Good News, if done right, is all about vulnerability—your own and that of the person you are talking to. What you cannot do, Jesus implies, is lecture or browbeat or (worse yet) condemn those who don’t share your convictions. That is not the way of peace. That is not the way of Jesus. If it were, he sure wouldn’t have died on a cross for us sinners.
Lesson #3: This may be the hardest one. You are being sent out as lambs to the slaughter. Not a pleasant thought! Those you seek to share the Good News with may not get it, or they may get it but are afraid of it. It may threaten who they are and what they do. The Gospel often feels like a critique—because it is. And folks new to the Gospel may not appreciate that. They may want to make the Good News disappear. They may want you to disappear. Or, at the very least, shut up. Of course, over the centuries there have been plenty of folks who have preached an easy gospel. It goes something like this: pray, give the church money, and you will have what you want. Sounds good. Standing with the poor, the outcast, the forgotten—not so good. So, be prepared. If you’re going to be a real Christian sharing the real Gospel (not some comfy substitute), then there are going to be people who really don’t like you or what you have to say.
In a nutshell, Jesus is trying to teach us that if we are to do his work in this world by sharing the Good News (or in some other way), we’ve got to do it as peacemakers who want to share this Good News, not as aggressors who insist on forcing the truth upon others, but as givers of a gift that may or may not be embraced.
Second, we’ve got to approach the other from a position of vulnerability not omniscience. We want to share this Good News that has transformed our lives, but we must not assume that we have all the answers. Christian thinkers have wrestled with tough questions for centuries. And many of those questions remain with us today. That’s because there’s so much we don’t know about what it means to follow Jesus. Vulnerability, humility, and grace are required if we are to share the Gospel in the spirit in which we received it.
Third, we need to understand that what Jesus had to say was often seen as a threat to the powers during his time. Taking the side of the poor and oppressed is almost always met with suspicion and concern. That’s a very old dynamic. These days, you are likely to get called names if you do that. Following Jesus is not the fast track to popularity, to be sure!
All that Jesus is saying in our reading today sounds right. After all, we do worship the Prince of Peace who gave himself over to the authorities of his day and who repeatedly sought out and responded lovingly to the poor or anyone who was on the edges of society (or beyond).
To come in peace. To make ourselves vulnerable to the other. To stand with the poor and the oppressed. Good lessons for evangelizing. Good lessons for life!
—Susan Trollinger