Our presence is the real evangelization and we need to let God do the rest.
By Deacon Steve
“Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.
Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am,” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:1-6
“Remove your sandals from your feet, for the ground on which you are standing is holy ground.” Every encounter with every person is an encounter with “holy ground” for every person is made in the image and likeness of our God. In every person is the “burning bush” that never consumes but remains as a light in each person, whether they choose to reveal it or not.
And so we need to remove “our sandals”, the “sandals” of our ego, our status, our agenda, and our solutions. We are called to be humble and to walk with people, especially those people who are poor, suffering and marginalized, experiencing who they are as a person and thus experience the person of Christ in each of them and so allow God’s grace to begin to restore their sense of dignity as persons.
We ourselves need to acknowledge that we are in need of God’s love, mercy and compassion, so that by God’s grace we can be the loving presence of Christ to each person. In each person we meet, especially those who are poor, if we listen, we can experience the merciful love of Christ.
St. Francis of Assisi is thought to have said, “Preach the Gospel…if necessary use words.” It is our loving, non-judgemental presence that is the real evangelization. When people start thinking of evangelizing the poor, it almost feels like they are looking for a way to solve the person’s problems rather than just walking with them and being a friend. We also have to remember we are not qualified counsellors and while trying to be helpful we could create other problems or extend them.
In the stories of Jesus healing miracles, Christ is totally present to the person first, looking at them directly, with a loving presence that gives them a wonderful sense of their humanity and dignity in the eyes of God. Any teaching moment only happens when the person is fully healed and their dignity restored.
In being Christ’s presence to the poor and suffering, we have no idea of the grace God makes available to all people. In faith we believe our Lord has a plan and it will be by God’s will that God’s grace will do what is needed. All we have to do is be fully present to the people as equals and as brothers and sisters.