As we continue walking through the Acts of the Apostles we
see repeatedly how the early Christians evangelized. Specifically we note how the Gospel spread to the
Gentiles—those who were non-Jews and formerly considered unclean.
Today
we have a new sort of Gentiles—those who are not Christian or who do not
practice their faith regularly. We
are called to witness in our lives and actions to these men and women.
And
one of the hallmarks of a good evangelizer is a characteristic emphasized by Jesus:
“I have told you this so that my
joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.” To spread the Gospel we must first be
joyful for the Gospel. Now I’m not
talking about contrived flowers, duckies and bunnies. Yet no matter what we face in life, the reality of Christ’s
presence in our journey should keep us filled with joy.
And this is what makes our witness effective in the
world. People are not attracted by
Debbie downers and humbugs and you will not spread the Good News if you are not
joyful so doing.
This morning we ask for the grace to encourage the men
and women in our lives to grow closer to Jesus. And we ask for His gift of joy in our lives to more
effectively help others.
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