Many of us know
non-practicing Catholics that we would like to help return to the faith. What is our message to them? Our opening
statement in evangelization is - ourselves. We must be first hand witnesses who
have met Jesus Christ personally and allowed him to change our lives. The
existence of Mother Teresa is a far better argument for conversion than someone
trying to out quote Bible verses with their opponent. Our next task is to
discover the level of their understanding of the kerygma. The kerygma (Greek: Proclamation) is the “Great Story” of Jesus.
Today, we cannot assume that those around us know the story. Many don’t know
the basic facts or perhaps how they fit together to make a whole. They often do
not know what it means to them personally, or what it means to the world.
Let’s review the Acts of the kerygma, the “Great Story”.[1]
1. Jesus of
Nazareth, born in the 1st century, begins his earthly ministry proclaiming the
Kingdom of God. We learn that God is
love. Our lives have a purpose – to live our life with Him full of love, peace,
truth, beauty, goodness, and meaning that begins now, lasts forever, and can’t
be taken away. Kingdom
2. Jesus is not
just the messenger; He is God who became man. Jesus is Lord. God
3. Jesus reveals the love of God the Father by
His words and actions, performing many healings and miracles. He speaks with
authority, driving out demons and forgiving sins. Actions
4. In obedience
to the Father, He is crucified as a means to our salvation and access to God’s
life. Crucifixion
5. Jesus rose
from the dead. Because God assumed our human nature, His voluntary death and
resurrection break the bondage of sin and death. He opens the way to our own
resurrection and new life. Resurrection
6. Jesus asks us
to follow Him with all of our heart, mind, and strength. Follow
7. We must
recognize and acknowledge our personal sins and need for forgiveness. Sin
8. We are
baptized into Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection or we renew our baptismal
grace through confession and return to the regular practice of our faith in the
body of Christ the Church. Baptism
9. We live the
life of a disciple of Jesus, following Christ through the power of the Holy
Spirit in the midst of the Church for the sake of the world. Disciple
Not only must we learn the kerygma in a complete way, we
must learn to proclaim it in a compelling way. We need to ask ourselves, does
our friend know all the acts of the story? Does he or she know how they are
connected? Does our friend know the significance of the story? What has been
their response to the story? People do not have to hear the entire story all at
once. They do not need to hear them in
this order. But “… in the end, an individual will need to be familiar with all
the “Acts” and understand the Kerygma as a whole before he or she can make a
deliberate decision to follow Jesus as his Disciple.”[2]
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[1] The separation of the kerygma into 9 distinct Acts is
taken from Sherri Weddell’s book “Forming Intentional Disciples”. The summaries
of the acts are paraphrased from this and other sources. [2] Ibid
What Does the Bible Say?
“So faith comes from
what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ”
— Romans 10:17
“No one can say “Jesus is Lord” expect by the Holy Spirit” — 1
Corinthians 12:3
Evangelizing Tip for This Week
To prepare for helping someone return to the faith, make it
a point to learn the basic Acts of the Kerygma. Learn the following sentence by
heart: “King of Glory: A Caring Ruler Fights Sin By Disciples”. The first letter of each word is your clue to
remembering the theme of that particular Act. These words are in bold in the
previous Evangelization Message.
1. Kingdom 2. God 3. Actions 4. Crucifixion 5. Resurrection 6. Follow 7. Sins 8. Baptism 9. Disciples
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