John, Andrew, and another guy are standing on the side of the road. Jesus walked by. John acknowledged who Jesus was, and Andrew and the other began following Jesus, right then and there. Add two followers to the Church. Then, Andrew told his brother Simon about Jesus, and another follower into the fold. Simon became Peter and was later the first Pope.
In a few short lines of the Gospel today, we see different forms of evangelization in play. Seeing Jesus, getting a reference to Jesus, and a sibling talking to a sibling. All ended up following Jesus and were evangelized in a way that worked for each one. The common thread was human interaction.
Relationships
John must have been an upright and well trusted guy, as he had strangers come join him, and this radical new Rabbi named Jesus. Andrew and Simon must have had a trusting relationship in order for both of them to go “all in” with this same Rabbi. We generally have easier access to family members than to strangers, but it seems almost normal to evangelize outside the home, instead of with family. Just think back to the past few weeks of parties and get togethers. How much time was spent talking about the birth of Jesus, following Jesus, and He being the reason for the season? There was probably much more of this in our small church groups or classes or seminars.
Upon our entry into the Catholic church, our mission is to go forth and make believers in all the nations. We are supposed to bring people to the faith. We are to be the laborers to go out in the fields. The harvest is abundant, we just need more of us to do the work. We can all do this in a way that matches our life experiences and our personal style. One key may be to show that Jesus has a personal touch on our lives. Another key could be to show joy in your Faith. Who wants to follow someone who is sour and bitter and life sapping? Another key may be to live a good and holy life, even when people are not watching. As the great basketball coach John Wooden said, reputation is what people think about you. Character is what you do when nobody is watching. But someone is always watching, like at the supermarket, driving in traffic, at the gym, walking through town, or sitting on a bus, train, or plane.
Encouragement
Do not be discouraged if you don’t have crowds of eager folks asking you to learn more about Jesus and our church. Remember that many early Church members left because they could not handle the truth about the Eucharist. Some people just cannot handle the truth. People are easily lied to by the media and our secular culture, and Satan (who is the king of lies). The hard part is convincing them that they have been lied to. The Twitter Files have been released, which are debunking many political lies. But how many people will continue to believe the lies, when the truth is presented to them directly? Sadly, I think you know the answer to that.
Do your best to bring yourself and others to the truth. We can evangelize as only we can.
