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Though it is true that the work of evangelization demands great generosity on our part, it would be wrong to see it as a heroic individual undertaking, for it is first and foremost the Lord’s work, surpassing anything which we can see and understand.
Jesus is “the first and greatest evangelizer.” In every activity of evangelization, the primacy always belongs to God, who has called us to cooperate with him and who leads us on by the power of his Spirit.
The real newness is the newness which God himself mysteriously brings about and inspires, provokes, guides, and accompanies in a thousand ways.
The life of the Church should always reveal clearly that God takes the initiative, that he has loved us first (1 Jn 4:19) and that he alone gives the growth (1 Cor 3:7).
This conviction enables us to maintain a spirit of joy in the midst of a task so demanding and challenging that it engages our entire life. God asks everything of us, yet at the same time he offers everything to us.
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Evangelization is first and foremost about preaching the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus Christ or who have always rejected him.
Many of these are quietly seeking God, led by a yearning to see his face, even in countries of ancient Christian tradition. All of them have a right to receive the Gospel.
Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet.
It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by attraction”. John Paul II asked us to recognize that “there must be no lessening of the impetus to preach the Gospel” to those who are far from Christ, “because this is the first task of the Church.”
Indeed, “today missionary activity still represents the greatest challenge for the Church” and “the missionary task must remain foremost”.
What would happen if we were to take these words seriously? We would realize that missionary outreach is paradigmatic for all the Church’s activity.
Along these lines the Latin American bishops stated that we “cannot passively and calmly wait in our church buildings”; we need to move “from a pastoral ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry”.
This task continues to be a source of immense joy for the Church: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Lk 15:7). From Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel) (#12 and 14-15)
