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1 Timothy 4:15-16. "Practice these duties [of the public reading of scripture, preaching, and teaching], devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching: hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."

 

Sometimes our mission of evangelization can seem so daunting. We can overthink what we are to say, when we are to say it, and how and to whom we are to say it. We rely on our own reason and abilities, and plan out how we are going to reach others, then we feel disappointed or frustrated when we don't see results. As members of the Church, we definitely do have the mission to proclaim God's word to all the earth, Bishop Barron just spoke of it again yesterday in his homily, calling it "the Church's Marching Orders", but "all the earth" is a big place, and if we think we can figure out how to reach everyone, or even one particular person, we are doing it wrong, we are relying on ourselves too much.

 

Paul lays out the right way to approach our mission of evangelization. It is actually pretty simple and non-stressful. Paul was speaking to Timothy, giving him direction on how to lead the flock in his care, which was Timothy’s specific mission. The exact style will differ for each of us, as we each have different vocations, but the basics are here in Paul’s words: read Scripture, preach, and teach, and practice what you preach. Look to yourself, are you personally heeding what you read, preach, and teach? If so, people will see your progress and you will save both yourself and others.

 

We don't all have to read scripture in public, but we do all have to read scripture. When we do, it should settle in our hearts and minds, awakening a desire to live by these words, and to share them with others. We preach and teach, not necessarily as Thomas did, but through our everyday duties, conversations, actions, and prayers, all done with the Word of God as their foundation. We look to ourselves in these things - are we practicing what we believe to be true, what we are trying to share with others? - and we repent, adjust, and do better where when we need to. People see this in us, and see it as admirable (it is always admirable to try to better oneself!). If we have been vocal about our beliefs, as we should be, then they see that the way we are living and trying to live is an effort to be more faithful to those beliefs. That shows them that anyone can turn to this faith, it is one for fallen, imperfect people, which is what we all are.

 

If we just do these basics that Paul has laid out, rather than making our own evangelization plan, we will go much further towards bringing people into the Church then we could ever do on our own. In fact, when we try to do it on our own, we often are perceived as thinking we have this all figured out, as not thinking of ourselves as fellow sinners. That turns people off, rather than inviting them in. But if we read Scripture, and teach and preach it, in the ways open to us in our daily lives, while also practicing what we preach; if we look inward for areas that need correction, and try to live more faithfully to what we believe, then we show others that we ourselves are followers. This attracts others to want to follow the only One worth following.