Psalm Reflection: The Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.” - Psalm 117

A Gallup poll taken in October 2021 found that 63% of the public has little or no trust in the media. 

In the past few years it has been hard to sift through fact and fiction even when watching the news. Most, if not all, media outlets have become jumbled with opinion, political commentary and relativism, rather than a focus on the facts.

Unfortunately, there is a news problem in Christianity, too. However, our news problem is a different one. It is not that we doubt what is true; we know what is true and what is not. We know that Jesus Christ died for our sins so we could have eternal life. We get confused when it comes to how to share the Good News.

The task to share the Good News is for every single Christian, not just for priests, religious or ministers. Every Christian is a disciple of Jesus Christ (or at least they are supposed to be), and Jesus said to the disciples in Matthew 28:19-20:

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.

But what is this Good News we are supposed to share? What do we teach and how do we inspire someone to be baptized? What specifically do we say to someone when we are evangelizing them?

The Good News is a definitive message of God’s plan for humanity. In is NOT serving the poor, extending hospitality, or simply being a good person. All of these are good things that might inspire others to faith, but that is not what it means to share the Good News.

To share the Good News means that we must verbally tell people (adapted from The Activated Disciple by Jeff Cavins):

God loves you and has an incredible plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11)

We have all sinned and sin destroys us, ruins God’s plans for us, and leads us to death instead of life. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)

Jesus Christ saved our lives by taking our sin upon Himself and dying on a cross for us. (John 3:16)

Turn away from sin and accept this free gift of salvation from Jesus. (Mark 1:15)

Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 3:15-16)

Abide in Jesus Christ and in His body, the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

It is a simple message that could be spoken in an elevator, put on a business card, or shared in less than 30 seconds. There are so many people in the world who still do not know it, or who have never had it plainly proclaimed to them so they can receive it and respond to it. 

When I get to the end of my life and face Jesus for my judgment, I imagine there could be an album full of pictures or a list of names all of people I had the opportunity to evangelize but failed to. I imagine Jesus showing me each photo, reading each name, and asking me: “was their soul not worth 30 seconds of your time?”

You may be the only Christian a person ever meets. Being nice, doing good deeds, inviting people to Church or a Bible study are all great gestures, but unless we are actively proclaiming the Good News to others in plain, direct speech, then our evangelization efforts are more along the lines of engagement or hospitality. Again, these are good things, but they do not allow us to live up to the calling we have received to evangelize the whole world.

Who is the Holy Spirit convicting you to share the Good News with as you read this? 

Who among your family, your friends, your coworkers or classmates is God trying to get to through you? 

This week, just do it. Find a way to bring up faith, Church, or your experience at Mass this week in conversation. Ask them: do you go to Church? Do you believe in God? If they do not, you have the message they need to hear. You have everything you need. 

“Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.”

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt