The apostles and first disciples were completely transformed by the experience of the risen Lord in their lives. Their joy was so explosive that they felt impelled to announce and share their experience. Joy, trust, witness, service, and hope became a way of life for them. You see this in the descriptions of their new life in the Acts of the Apostles. At the same time the religious leaders in Jerusalem became even more hardened in their rigidness and false righteousness. The common folk responded with enthusiasm to the apostles’ joy and witness.
Now a days we have to have a formal meeting to analyze evangelization, a meeting to come up with an action plan and goals. Sadly, most of the time we don’t even evangelize; we just keep silent. The Holy Spirit planted joy as the center of evangelization. Look at how the first disciple were addressing the crowds in the temple area that included some people who had condemned Jesus. While their message points that out, it is not centered on condemnation or hatred, rather the joy of living united to the risen Lord comes across as the most important part of the message. The primary purpose of the Church is evangelization, witnessing the joy of having the risen Lord in our lives. The first disciples were very focused. Their whole reason for living became sharing their faith and joy, be that at work, in the family, in the neighborhood, in formal court proceedings, or on the road.
Joy is very important for our personal evangelization. In many ways we have lost the joy of the resurrection in our forms of evangelization. We have even lost the importance of evangelizing, publicly witnessing our faith, living in joy. Take time to reflect on how you share your faith with others. Are you a witness of joy?
We must obey God rather than men…
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.
Image: https://goodnewsshared.wordpress.com/tag/acts-527-33/