As a child, I absolutely loved the 1960’s Disney movie Pollyanna with Hayley Mills. There was something about the hope and joy that this little girl brought into the life of so many people that spoke to my heart.
It’s easily been 20 years since I’ve seen the movie, but one of the bits of dialogue that always stuck with me had to do with the message about “glad” and “sad” pieces of Scripture.
Pollyanna innocently and gently mentions to the Reverend–whose weekly sermons had been filled with fire and brimstone–how her father had noted over 800 verses in the Bible in which God tells us to rejoice or be glad or be happy. If the Lord took the trouble to tell us 800 times that he wants us to rejoice, then He must really mean it.
These days, to accuse someone of being “a Pollyanna” implies being naively optimistic. But I think she was on to something. And I think that an inordinate focus on the fire and brimstone messages of Scripture does damage to people’s faith. Whether I’m talking with an 83 year old woman on a retreat, a group of high school kids in a theology class, or a mom in her mid 30’s over a glass of wine, I find that people’s faith has been scarred by a fear of God and the threat of hell.
For the longest time, when I’d hear the word evangelization, I’d crinkle my nose, thinking it meant proselytizing. I knew my Church, my faith, my God “called” me to do this thing called evangelization, but really, I’d rather not. The thing is that the popes, starting with Paul VI, then JP II, then Benedict XVI, and now Pope Francis keep writing and preaching about the “new evangelization.” Not only was this “evangelization” thing not going away, each of these popes keep renewing our call to do it. (More uncomfortable shifting in my chair.)
Turns out my understanding of evangelization was off. Way off. Well kind of off.
Background
Let’s start with a better understanding of evangelization; a definition which honors the intention, style, and practice of the apostles. Evangelization is about kindling the burning desire for God in our hearts.
From the beginning, evangelization meant bringing the Good News of the Gospel to every corner of the earth. The call to do this is in Scripture (at the very end of the Gospel of Matthew), and we call it The Great Commission.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:16-20)
Historically, we have limited our understanding of evangelization to the missionary work of bringing the Good News to people who have never before heard it. Which, in itself, is fine (if the ones sharing the message are, in fact, sharing what Jesus taught, how he taught it: with love; without force).
However, evangelization was never meant to be equated with the forceful, negative, judgmental practice of proselytizing. Because, as you may know, that’s not how Jesus did things.
Evangelization is about kindling the burning desire for God in our hearts. Proselytizing is focused on the surface experience of getting someone to agree with you that your religion, belief, or opinion is the right one. We are not called to proselytize. We are called to evangelize.
Renewed Understanding
Even better, the “new evangelization” that all these popes have talked about explicitly recognizes that there are actually three distinct groups in need of evangelization:
NEVER BEFORE – those who have never before heard the Good News
ONCE MORE – those who are regular, committed faithful who are in need of rekindling their passion for God. For many, the fire is there, but it wanes. For others, it’s less of a fire and more of a flame.
THIS TIME WITH FEELING – those who (for whatever reason) have left the Church and are “searching” for something… are considering coming back… are unsure… and are in need of kindling that passion, as well as direction, education, healing, etc.
Each of us falls somewhere in here. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re somewhere between #2 and #3. Think about that: Where on this continuum would you place yourself?
How
What I love most about this renewed understanding of evangelization is that there are many, many legitimate ways to evangelize.
Start with yourself. Ask yourself: What fuels my own passion for God?And then (presuming it’s life-giving and loving) do that thing. Here’s a list of ideas:
Go do service (visit the sick or elderly, help the homeless, build homes at Habitat for Humanity)
Participate in your Church (sing, read, serve, pray, adore)
Learn about your faith – see what classes or book studies you could participate in
Spend time being intentionally present to your friends, family, children, siblings, and parents. Nurture relationships.
Do the thing God called you to do–that thing that fills your heart–and praise God for joy
Go on a retreat
Spend time in nature, thanking God for the gift of Creation
What else would you add to this list
Because the funny thing about evangelization is that it’s contagious. When you tend to the fire within your own heart, your passion for God spills out into the hearts of others.
So what will you to today to kindle the fire of your passion for God?
My LEGO loving boys have been watching the Ninjago series on Netflix. One recent episode captured more of my attention than I would readily admit in certain social circles.
In the episode “Wrong Place, Wrong Time,” the bad guy (Lord Garmadon) wishes that the good guys (Ninjas) never existed, so he goes back in time to make it so. The Ninjas follow him, intending to save the day, but are warned by their mentor (Sensei Wu) that if they change anything, they change everything.
The episode reminded me of a conversation I had with my Grandmom in one of her last visits to my house.
“Kid, there were some difficult times in my life. I’ll tell you. 1936 was hard. Extremely hard. But let me just say this: I have no regrets. Isn’t that something? At my age [83]? No regrets.” She paused and turned to look at me, “Can you say the same for yourself? Do you have any regrets?”
I looked at her with tears in my eyes. “No. I can’t say that. I do have a huge regret. My first marriage was a huge mistake. I regret that it ever happened. I regret making that choice. With every fiber of my being, I regret that.”
Grandmom does this vice grip pinch of my upper arm with surprising strength for a feeble old lady and tells me, “I’m not saying I never made any mistakes. Kid, I made plenty of mistakes. PLENTY. Ask anyone. I’m talking REGRETS.”
“I know, Grandmom. I do. I wish it wasn’t a regret. But it is.”
“I hope one day you change your mind. I hope one day you can get to my age and say that you have no regrets. Because that’s really something.”
Grandmom died December 8, 2011, still having no regrets.
So as I sat in the dining room, sipping my tea and finishing breakfast, I hear Sensei Wu tell the Ninjas that if you change anything, you change everything. And I finally got it.
Regret and Remorse
Regret and remorse are two different things. I have sincere remorse for the series of well-intentioned, yet ill-informed decisions that led to one of the lowest point in my life. I am deeply sorry. The turmoil, crisis, depression… I am very sorry.
But Grandmom was talking about the kind of regret that wipes the event off the face of the earth. And as Sensei Wu said, change anything, change everything.
My husband… my boys… my friends… my community… my personal and spiritual growth… No. I don’t want to risk changing who, and what, and where I am now. So I’m making peace with how I got here.
I’m getting closer to telling Grandmom, “No. I don’t have any regrets.” And I hear her saying, “That’s good, kid. That’s great!” (Though, the imaginary vice grip hurts a lot less than the real one.)
A Caveat – on Divine Providence and Evil
As I note that I wouldn’t trade any of the goodness in my life, even to remove my deepest remorse, I feel the need to address one of my personal pet peeves. The expression “Everything happens for a reason.” I hate it.
Imagine a rape survivor hearing that. Or a Holocaust survivor.
I want to think that the sentiment people are trying to express is one of hope… but something gets lost in the translation.
Allow me to get all Catholic on you and pull out my Catechism. In the section on Divine Providence and the Scandal of Evil (See CCC, 309-314), the Catechism lays it out:
God is all good
God does not causeevil to happen
Evil happens
Then, paragraph CCC, 311 quotes St. Augustine:
For almighty God…because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.
So God didn’t cause the bad things to happen to you or me or anyone else. Everything happens for a reason? NO!
It’s more like: When life gives you lemons, God–as only God can do–makes the best divine lemonade you could possibly imagine.
God–and only God–can transform evil into something good. I mean look what he did with the Crucifixion. That’s some pretty good Divine Lemonade right there.
I digress.
And I hope you don’t have any regrets either. Let’s all make Grandmom proud.
Think about the best teacher, leader, or boss you’ve ever worked with. Who was it? What was it that made them such a good leader? On the flip-side, think about that experience with someone who was a rather poor leader, teacher, or boss? What were the characteristics or behaviors that made it so?
A few months ago, I was preparing to teach two separate groups of people two distinct lessons: during the day, a Godly Play session on “The Good Shepherd” for 3-6 year olds at my kids’ Montessori school and later that night, a Catechism class for adults on the Sacraments. What I thought were two different lessons turned out to be an opportunity to gain a deeper insight by looking at them together.
The Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd story from Godly Play weaves several Scripture passages into one story, primarily from Psalm 23, John 10:1-16, and the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:1-7).
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4)
“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)
‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. (John 10:11-13)
The words and materials used to tell the story of the Good Shepherd are very intentional, but not identical to the translation we may be used to hearing at Mass or reading in the Bible. Therein, they communicate the underlying truth to children in a remarkable way. The Good Shepherd loves, cares for, and leads his sheep. He protects them and looks for them when they are lost.
The storyteller explains the Good Shepherd’s relationship with his sheep, and then introduces “the ordinary shepherd” who neither knows their names nor leads them. Instead, the sheep wander and scatter. The story concludes by driving home the distinction between the Good Shepherd and the ordinary shepherd:
When the wolf comes, the ordinary shepherd runs away. But the Good Shepherd stands between the wolf and his sheep–and even gives his life for his sheep–so the sheep can go safely home.
When the children–ages 3-6–first began discussing the story, I noticed that they kept talking about the Good Shepherd and the bad shepherd. Had I been listening alongside, I may have made the same mistake.
But that’s the thing: the “wolf” is the bad guy in the story. It is the ordinary shepherd that Jesus distinguishes himself from.
Sacraments
Later that night I taught my Catechism for Adults class, covering the chapter on Liturgy which sets the stage for talking about Sacraments; after all, every Sacrament occurs within a liturgy. It is not just the gestures and substance which make for the Sacrament; it is also the prayers we say and the Word of God we read in Scripture that makes it a real gift of God’s grace.
The word liturgy comes from a Greek term meaning “public work or work done on behalf of the people.” Liturgy always referred to an organized community. A work, then, done by an individual or a group was a liturgy on behalf of the larger community. All the worshipers are expected to participate actively in each liturgy, for this is holy “work,” not entertainment or a spectator event. Every liturgical celebration is an action of Christ the High Priest and of his Mystical Body, which is the Church. It therefore requires the participation of the People of God in the work of God.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (2012-04-02). United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (Kindle Locations 2570-2574). United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Kindle Edition.
When it comes to celebrating the Sacraments, one of the most basic questions that we need to answer is Who celebrates the liturgy. Unfortunately, we usually get the answer wrong by saying “the priest.” Who celebrates the liturgy? We all do. The entire Body of Christ.
Liturgy is not private prayer, but public, requiring “full, conscious and active participation” of all faithful (CCC 1141, SC 14).
The idea that all of us are expected to participate actively in each liturgy, and that this is holy “work,” not entertainment or a spectator event is a vital understanding to bring to any study of both the Liturgy and the Sacraments.
Too often, we approach Mass as a spectator sport. And it’s not.
We judge the value of the liturgy by the quality of the homily and/or the music. And we miss the point.
Moreover, when we translate that “spectator sport” mentality into the Sacraments, we set ourselves up to treat Sacramental grace like some sort of magic to befall instead of the gift of God’s grace that they are.
A lot of these attitudes have to do with our expectations of leadership.
Leadership
Recall the questions above: think about the experiences you have had throughout your life with leaders: teachers, bosses, managers, and the like. Think about the characteristics and qualities of good leaders. Good leaders…
Take the time, effort, and energy to teach and empower people
Encourage creativity
Appreciate individual strengths
Facilitate growth
Allow people to make mistakes and learn from them
Practice good communication skills, both in expressing themselves and in understanding others
Care about their people
Value responsibility, honesty, integrity, and hard work
Offer assistance when needed
Create atmospheres of mutual respect
Approaches leadership as form of service [servant-leader]
Has a big-picture sense of mission and vision
Can you add to this list?
On the flip side, we find it easy to complain about “poor” leaders:
Micro-manage every aspect of people’s work
Overly strict
Diminish freedom and creativity
Make people feel small and insignificant – like a replaceable cog in the wheel
Control others through fear or manipulation
Non-communicative
Self-centered, arrogant, and egotistical
Narrow-Minded
Can you add to this list?
Notice this list describes the “poor” leader. Not the “bad” leaders with malicious intent or “evil” dictators.
Take it to the next step. Recall the description of the Good Shepherd; see how the list of characteristics of the Good Leader help flesh out the way in which Jesus as the Good Shepherd leads us.
Now look at the description of the poor leader and notice how it reflects the ordinary shepherd.
The Connection
When it comes to our understanding of Liturgy and Sacraments, it is very important that we check in with our expectations: Do we expect the priest to micromanage our experience of Liturgy and Sacraments, making it happen for us? Or do we enter into the experience of Liturgy and Sacraments expecting the leadership of the Good Shepherd who empowers us to participate in receiving God’s grace?
The Sacraments are not magical things that happen to us.
One way to think about the empowering leadership of the Good Shepherd is to think of the Sacraments with what’s been called a bumper-sticker theology:
Without us, God won’t. Without God, we can’t. Without us, God won’t
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He does not micromanage our experience of faith. He invites us to participate with him in the transforming power of God’s grace.
Without God, we can’t. We need God’s grace. We cannot do it without God’s help.
The Good Shepherd wants to lead you. But to really make it work, you’ve got to want it too.
My kids have been flitting through some of the Disney Pixar movies. Cars (2006) has always been a favorite, but The Incredibles (2004) has been making its rounds in our home as of late. Me being me, I can’t help but watch and think: The Incredibles is a great story to demonstrate vocational calling.
Mr. Incredible is a superhero; or he used to be, until a surge of lawsuits against superheroes submitted by the people they’ve saved forced the government to hide them in witness protection programs so they could lead normal, anonymous lives. Now known exclusively by his secret identity, Bob Parr, he lives with his wife Helen, formerly Elastigirl, and their three children Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack. He works as an insurance claims specialist, and he’s fed up with his pushy boss and his immoral profession, but his wife’s worked too hard to build a normal life for her family to abide his nostalgia for heroism. When Mr. Incredible’s offered the chance to play the role of hero again by a mysterious informant, he jumps at the opportunity, but when it turns out to be a trap set by an old nemesis he had a hand in corrupting, the whole family must reveal themselves to save Mr. Incredible and countless innocents. Written by Michael Loughrin
With three kids to care for, Elastigirl embraces her life as Helen Parr. Her husband Bob, however, is miserable. He goes through the motions of a job he hates because of his love for his family, but doing so is killing his spirit.
In the movie itself as well as on film review sites like IMDB and Fandango, Mr. Incredible’s passion and desire for heroism is dismissed as nostalgia, reminiscing about the “good ole days.”
It’s so much more than that, though.
Look at Mr. Incredible while he’s suppressing his true self:
This is a man who is emotionally unsatisfied. Every ounce of his energy goes into suppressing the burning desires in his heart. The animators depict the physical toll this has taken in his slumped posture, weight gain, and circles under his eyes. In his speech, his voice is deflated. It’s not just that he works for an annoying, immoral boss appropriately voiced by Wallace Shawn. It’s that he’s not allowed to actually do what he does best: help people.
When he talks about his “glory days,” his eyes light up and the energy returns to his whole being. After years of sneaking around and finding ways to clandestinely help people, Mr. Incredible responds to a cryptic invitation to secretly resume his superhero ways and fight bad guys.
The change in his whole being is evident: physically, emotionally, mentally, and I’d venture to say even spiritually. Instead of withdrawing into his mancave of memories, Mr. Incredible starts flirting with his wife and being more present to his family.
Plot twists abound, but suffice it to say the “happily ever after” of this Disney flick involves the whole Incredible family living out their vocation as superheros.
Vocational Calling
Calling a person’s job or career a vocationindicates something specific. Google the definition of vocation and you can see certain words pop out:
The focus isn’t so much on the job itself as the sense of callingdescribed as a strong feeling of suitability. While Christian tradition will always insist that a person’s worth, value, and dignity are never limited to the function of his or her job, there is a deeper understanding that our passion, gifts, and talents are at the very core of our being. This is how God created us; it is who God created us to be. It is God who gives us this vocational calling.
Following our passions and using our gifts and talents (for good, not evil) gives greater glory to God. And the rewards of living out one’s vocation abundantly flow to everyone in our lives: spouse, family, friends, co-workers… every person you encounter on your path.
Not doing this–not following one’s vocational calling and suppressing who you are called to be–takes its toll in more ways than one.
Watching The Incredibles is a fun way to visit this dynamic, especially the transformation that happens when a person can (finally) live out their vocation. But the real challenge–and rewards–come in actually doing it.
Do you know someone who is living out their vocational calling? Or do you know of a Mr. Incredible in your own life that desperately needs to do so? What piece of this speaks to where you are with your own vocation?
The change in his whole being is evident: physically, emotionally, mentally, and I’d venture to say even spiritually. Instead of withdrawing into his mancave of memories, Mr. Incredible starts flirting with his wife and being more present to his family.
