In many ways, the teaching, proclaiming, and curing that Jesus does throughout Galilee are all facets of the same activity and so to address them individually might seem a bit arbitrary but I think it helpful.
• In this context, teaching is about imparting information and helping people to understand their faith tradition. To borrow a common metaphor from the Gospel tradition, teaching is about preparing the ground for the kingdom.
• Proclamation, to continue the metaphor, is about actually sowing the seeds of God’s reign. Through his announcement of the immanent reign of God, Jesus plants the kingdom in the hearts of his listeners.
• Curing, finally, is the fruit of the kingdom. Mental, physical and spiritual healing is all evidence of God’s powerful activity in the world. The reign of God inaugurated in Jesus is not simply an idea but a transformational reality.
This activity, then, of teaching, proclaiming and curing is how the followers of Jesus go about being fishers of people. Evangelization is an oft used word in religious circles today. These activities of Jesus are the “stuff” of evangelization.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment