Evangelism: meant to be awkward

Sharing the Gospel was supposed to be tough. Well, that's what I thought. But to me, it's often amazing how people react to the idea of religion. In the past three weeks, I have had the chance to ask people if they needed prayer and prayed with them on the street. I have debated a student who said a loving God would not think of us as superior to any other animal, and there is an afterlife for animals. There was also the hour-long conversation with a gay man about Jesus and Christianity. These were all situations which are supposed to be out of my element and what the world does not want.

But isn't it the Bible which tells us the opposite? Doesn't Christ bring the words of everlasting life? I have seen words pierce like a sword the hearts of children Jesus wants to call to meet him here on earth and join him one day in heaven. This is something powerful. This is something real.

So what is it that causes us to not want to evangelize, especially to complete strangers? I can see why we wouldn't want to talk to our family and friends. We don't want to make Thanksgiving awkward. We don't want them to think we hate them and shoving something down their throat. There's more at risk when bringing it up with people you'll see again. But I'd gladly take two hours of debate on the morals of voting than small chit chat about the Steelers or how bad construction is in the city. Please, give me something better.

In the end, someone's feelings might get hurt. There might need to be an apology. But so be it. Reconciliation brings people together. And Christ's message is worth the awkwardness which may linger at some point while your eating pumpkin pie.

Conflicted during church

Today at church, the Gospel reading was Luke 12:13-21. It's the classic parable about the rich man who is given so much abundance from his crops he decides to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so he can store it all. But he dies the next day. The point is not to spend so much time on earthy things but rather the things of the Lord, which is built on eternity.

The priest reminded us about ho much we possess and asked how much do we really need in our life. I thought it was a fine homily, and it is a good reminder to us, especially in the United States, that we can really do without certain earthly things and to live a simplistic lifestyle. I'm all for this. I still don't own a bed. Simplicity to me is a valuable trait which Christians should be willing to exercise as often as possible. Too much stuff distracts us from the Lord and relying on Him and his provision.

So we move into the creed and then to intercessions. Here's where it was a problem.

"Let's pray that wealth can be distributed evenly..."

I did not reply "Lord, hear our prayer."

I was not sure what to do at that point. My political convictions of conservative principles and small government told me this prayer was misguided and wrong. Governments should not redistribute the wealth. Ever. Charity should be based on the individual, not on someone telling you to do something. It ceases to be charity at that point. You should tithe your money and give even more out of your wealth. You should make the choice. It should be done because you are convicted to help, not because if you do not pay you get convicted for tax evasion.

But the Catholic side of me said the Church knows what it should be doing. They should be the agent of change. They should be on the front lines of helping the poor and living up to the teachings of Christ. But I would also say the church has to be aware the places where the Gospel is growing the most are places where there are many who are poor. Europe, with the exception of Poland, is becoming more and more godless as time progresses. It will only be a matter of time before Islam will be their top religion, with atheism probably somewhere in the top three (and yes, I know atheism is not a religion; it's just to illustrate the point). In Central and South America; Asia, especially China and South Korea; and Africa show the largest growth of Christianity. These are places where wealth is minimal.

Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe the goal is to make everyone poor so the proud will be humbled and the Gospel will flourish once again. But prayer requests for the redistribution of wealth should be left out of church. Prayers for an increase in charity and an emphasis on actually tithing ten percent of your income should be what is being preached.

It's easy to pick on the Christians

Have you ever noticed Christians are usually the easiest targets to attack? Think about it. You have nothing to lose when going after a Christian. Sure they could do physical harm to you if provoked, but then they would be hypocrites of their faith. The provoker would simply throw Scripture right back at the Christian. "What happened to 'do unto others' or 'turn the other cheek?'" Oh yeah, I could hear it now.

But the same people who would attack Christians are usually the first ones to say, "We need tolerance for the Muslim faith. It's our fault they attack us." What? Why? Christians often get provoked, but you don't see it as a terrorist cell or an ideology which wants to wipe Islam off the map.

Why won't the people attacking Christianity attack Islam? Is it because you might get a suicide bomber at your front door? Is it because people fear what happened to Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard when he is attacked for drawing a picture of Muhammad? Is it because Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh is killed for creating a film on Islam?

Christians though have been standing up to Islam, and getting martyred for it. Instead of fearing them, they try to live peacefully. When they are martyred, they make the ultimate sacrifice for their faith and for the Kingdom of the Lord. They are not hiding behind anything. They are standing up more than anyone. So go ahead and mock and ridicule Christians. It's the easy way out. But dying for your beliefs and standing in times of trial is something most people aren't willing to stomach anymore. Here's to the Christian martyrs, who are some of the most courageous people on the planet.