I speak and write often these days about the kerygma, the fundamental proclamation of the Gospel.
If you had to synthesize Catholicism into a 10-minute explanation to someone who is curious about your religious belief, what would you say?
If we are going to be effective and fruitful in our efforts to evangelize others, we need to know the kerygma and we need to be able to articulate it in a fresh and convincing way to others.
Parts of the kerygma
In the mission talks I give at our parishes every month, I focus on four fundamental parts of the kerygma: God created us as the crown of His creation, made in His image and likeness, which means that our deepest identity is our divine filiation e.g. we are beloved sons and daughters of the Father; in choosing to sin by rejecting God and wanting to be their own gods, Adam and Eve shattered God’s original plan for humanity and brought sin and death into the world, and our personal sin adds to the collective weight of human guilt; God could not bear to leave us in such a wretched state of darkness, so He rescued us by sending His Son, whose life, death, and resurrection redeems us, offering us the promise of eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins; when we realize the enormity of God’s love for us and the generous gift of salvation offered, we live our life as missionary disciples of Jesus, embracing the fullness of faith within the Church and witnessing the power of Jesus’ resurrection to everyone we meet.
Another way of stating the kerygma is this: God created us as His children to be in eternal communion with Him; by sinning, we reject God’s plan and break that relationship, God restores our lost identity through Jesus Christ; and now freed and forgiven, we live anew an ever deepening communion with God.
If we seek to know, live, and proclaim the kerygma, we need to immerse ourselves profoundly in the Biblical worldview.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, given to us in the power of the Holy Spirit, written by various authors in widely divergent historical periods and situations, using multiple linguistic and literary forms.
The Bible is more like a library than a book. As Catholics, we need to understand the Bible well, at least its fundamental narrative, because it is the essential key to understand God, His plan and intention for us, the meaning of human history, and the significance of our own existence.
Getting to know the Bible
The most popular podcast on social media is Fr. Mike Schmitz’s The Bible in a Year. Father Schmitz does a wonderful job of explaining the Bible, plumbing the depths of both the Old and the New Testaments, contextualizing every book and story into the whole and helping his listeners to understand that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone and center of salvation history.
Creation, the Fall, Redemption, and Discipleship, four Biblical themes which are another way of summarizing the kerygma, unfold beautifully, dramatically, and sequentially in the whole sweep of the Scriptures, with Jesus Christ as the center and cornerstone of human history.
Studying the Bible brings us to a deep appreciation of the Jewish faith, our elder brothers and sisters, who, as the Chosen People living the Covenant, bear within their belief and identity God’s plan of salvation, which is realized in Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham and the Son of David.
We cannot understand many of the images, symbols, and language of the New Testament, or of the Mass as well, if we are not familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures.
Studying and praying over the Gospels brings us into a deeper relationship with Christ, as we ponder His preaching, parables, miracles, and mysteries.
I encourage everyone to meditate over one paragraph from the Gospels every day. Read it several times. Meditate on its images and words.
Is there a word, phrase, image, or symbol which captures your attention? Pray over that and let the Lord speak to you in the silence of your prayer.
Catholics who regularly practice this lectio divina or “holy reading” will be readily equipped to evangelize others and attract them to the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
If our efforts to evangelize and renew the diocese of Madison will be fruitful and effective, they depend in large part on well-formed laity who possess both the confidence and competence to witness to Jesus, to proclaim the kerygma, and live a missionary discipleship which is magnetic, joyful, attractive, and generous. The basis of such witness is the Biblical worldview.
Therefore, I encourage everyone to join a Bible study, listen to Father Schmitz’s podcast, study Jeff Cavins’ Biblical timeline, do lectio divina, or simply start reading the Bible on a regular basis.
Our familiarity with the Word is essential for our own salvation and that of the world.
In the Bible, God has said everything He wants to say to us. We simply need to read, study, listen, pray, and speak.