ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 15, 2022
What does it mean to evangelize? It comes from the Greek word we translate as Gospel: euaggelion. It means a good message or good news. I took 20 minutes or so and watched a couple of YouTube preachers offer a message on the Good News of Jesus Christ, and within a short time, I felt worthless, emotionally trashed and beyond rescue… with only a glimmer of guilt induced hope (which I don’t believe is really hope). I kept on thinking to myself, “When are we going to get to the good part of the news?” What they called good news was news, but not good news or even relatively satisfactory news. It’s concerning to me how the Gospel of Jesus is packaged in such a way as to carry the title of good news and slathered profusely with the name of Jesus, but the intent is really to beat people down to a point of insecurity and emptiness. It feels like a poorly designed fraternity pledge season, with each Sunday being a reoccurring hell week. There are too many moments in the history of Christianity when evangelizing was a mixture of threats and manipulative power, laced with guilt. And if none of that worked, Christians slaughtered the unrepentant sinners. Where did we lose sight of the word ‘good’? Where did we decide to set aside the good and kind Jesus we encounter in scripture (in the Gospels, the Good Messages) for something entirely different? The Good News should be something like: You are an amazing and unique gift, and in knowing your beloved status, let us join together to make sure all the world knows this news… this good news.
God of Extravagant Love, wherever we might be a little off the purpose or a whole lot, guide us back and into the good work that will bring good news to the lives of others. Amen.
