Jesus was born to minister to the lost sheep of Israel and beyond. He told his disciples to do the same. He did not tell them to sit tight and wait for the lost sheep to come back. This same call to make disciples continues today. And during this Advent/Christmas season, our calling takes on the flavor of imitating Mary, who watched and prepared for the birth of Jesus.
We too can be instruments of new spiritual birth within our families, neighborhoods, and even our country. A first step is to watch for the presence of Jesus among us. Another is to reach out (to evangelize) grounded in the truth that the love of God, by its very nature, overflows with the slightest cooperation on our part. Here are some simple ways to share your Christmas faith during the Advent/Christmas season:
• After you wrap each gift, hold it in your hands for a moment and pray for the person who will receive it.
• Display a Christmas creche in your home, yard or office. “The Christmas crèche helps us to relive the history of what took place in Bethlehem… It touches our hearts and makes us enter into salvation history as contemporaries of an event that is living and real.” [Pope Francis, ‘The Enchanting Image.] Consider reading this document, as well.
• Pray with Christ-centered Christmas carols that proclaim the Gospel message, as a way of saying “Yes” to the presence of Jesus in our midst. Pray a single phrase from a different carol throughout each day of Advent/Christmas, as if it was written for your family.
• Invite someone to come with you to view a parish nativity display, a Christmas Carol event, or a Christmas liturgy.
• Send a Christ-centered Christmas card with a personal message about your spiritual hopes for the person receiving it. For example, “I am praying for a new outpouring of the peace of Jesus in your home this year.”
• Discuss what family or friends think of the statement, “Keep Christ in Christmas?” Share what this means and ask about practical ways that this be done.”
• Make a donation to Church-sponsored charitable organizations, as the levels of poverty increase in our country.
There are many definitions for (Christmas) evangelizing, but they all revolve around the “glad tidings” that the angels announced on that first Christmas. God has become flesh among us! He has come as Emmanuel, Savior, Prince of Peace, Shepherd and Bread of Life (in a lowly manger). People around us need to experience Jesus in these ways. And we can help by sharing these ‘glad tidings.’ And we can do so in confidence because God’s Word “does not return to heaven without accomplishing what it was sent to do.” Isaiah 55:11.