When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.
But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
REFLECTION
“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
A very daunting task, to be sure, to evangelize. As with anything we do in life, practice makes perfect. So how do we proclaim the Gospel? Do we need a lectern, notes, books, pamphlets…etc?
Proclaim : Latin prōclāmō, prōclāmāre, from prō- (“forth”) + clāmō (“to shout, cry out”).
When faced with that, I pray “ Lord, I am not worthy ….”
Let the Holy Spirit take over and ask Him to show the way, focus on genuine relationships, help as best you can, listen to what people are saying, don’t ask questions one will struggle answering or take a teacher student approach.
With patience, love and understanding, remember that right before Jesus told them to proclaim the Gospel, He scolded them for their unbelief and hardness of heart.
The wonder of nature is that we don’t see when the seed takes root and when the first sprout is seen. We are just to plant the seeds. God takes care of the rest.
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