Matthew reminds us in the Gospel of the missionary impulse, recounting a wonderful discourse of Jesus: “And as you go, preach that the kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7-8). “As you go” means that there can be no experience of faith and of the Church while standing still.
Faith and the Church are such only if they are on a journey, only if we understand that the theological place where the proclamation takes place is the road even more than the Temple, and that the Temple is precious only insofar as it is instrumental to the journey and is not instead a shell in which to take refuge from the world.
The fundamental theme of every proclamation is closeness (preach that the kingdom of heaven is near), a faith that does not show closeness, and a Church that is not close to what is normally far away, is a faith and a Church that betrays Jesus’ mandate.
And then healing, restoring, resurrecting, and casting out are verbs that tell us that words are not enough; the Gospel is instead a fact that concretely changes people’s lives. It is not an interpretation of facts, but change. And this happens through the power of the Spirit and not through pastoral techniques acquired over time.
This is why every true evangelization poses a question to which we must respond personally: “Do you really believe?”
Image: altarpiece from Siena Cathedral, reverse, 1308-1311
