EVERYDAY EVANGALISATION | KAIROS GLOBAL | MAY 2024

Becoming the Bread Broken for Another

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

At a certain point in my life, I developed a strong spiritual attachment to the Holy Eucharist.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed that year as the Year of the Holy Eucharist. During one of his speeches, he stated, ‘The Holy Eucharist is the living bread that protects the people who become the bread broken for another person.’ This sentence was etched into my heart. Later, during Holy Mass, after receiving Jesus, I said yes to the Lord and agreed to be broken for another person. But then I felt that despite saying yes to the Lord, I had taken no action.

Ten to eleven years later, during Eucharistic Adoration, I asked Jesus about this thought that had previously come to me. When I opened my Bible, I came across the verse: He that hath two coats, let him impart to him who hath none (Luke 3:11). What struck me at the time was that I had two kidneys; why not give one to someone else?

A long time later, an old friend of mine contracted COVID-19 and his kidneys failed. Many people wanted to know why I was donating my kidney to a man who wasn't my relative. I had only one response for each of those people: I wanted to live the gospel I preached. It was a fantastic opportunity to preach the gospel to everyone, including the board of directors, in front of whom I had to appear before the transplant.

When I was led to the operating table, I remained strong and cheerful and even went to the recipient and encouraged him to be strong. By God's grace, the transplant was successful and both of us are well. A message that I would like to give you all after sharing this experience is that ‘Evangelisation is more than just preaching or giving sermons; we must be willing to live a life that reflects the gospel.’

Abhilash Ainikal, Missionary, Santvana Community of Disciples, India

***

The Most Important Stage of Evangelisation

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).

I would like to divide my evangelisation experience into three stages. The first phase occurred during my campus life as a member of the Jesus Youth movement. During the national leaders training camp, we were divided into three teams and assigned houses to visit and introduce Jesus. We did it simply because we were told to, and most importantly, out of love. We thought we were just mobilising for a programme, talking to others about Jesus, or sharing our experiences. I would rather say that we were too young to have understood that what we were doing at the time was a form of evangelisation.

The next phase took place while I was working as a college professor. My way of living changed when I married and took on new responsibilities. It was then that I realised that evangelisation should begin in our homes, which was going to be extremely difficult.

Sharing Jesus in a place where I had been plucked and replanted was certainly a challenge for me.

The third phase of my evangelisation journey began approximately 6 to 7 years after my marriage, when life became more challenging. My responsibilities had dramatically increased. I was a daughter, wife, teacher, sister, and mother who had to play multiple roles. During this time, I realised that evangelisation must take place not only in society or at home, but also within us. Every word we say, every thought we have, and every action we take must be directed towards spreading Jesus' love.

In light of my evangelisation journey, I firmly believe that we must first try to evangelise ourselves before moving on to evangelise our families and society.

Anamia Baby, Assistant Professor, Vimala College, India

***

Evangelisation by Listening

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Mathew 25:40).

Prior to being a part of Jesus Youth, I was a conventional ‘Sunday Christian.’ Ever since I knew Jesus a lot closer, my goal has been to share the love of Jesus in my college, but I was clueless how to do that. A senior sister at college told me that rather than imposing the gospel on people, I should be patient with them so that they might heal themselves via prayer, by this we can spread the love of Jesus.

Once I saw a boy leave midway during a college event. When I went up to check if he was alright, he leaned his head on my shoulder and broke down in tears in the middle of the road.

He said that he felt deeply rejected and alone at college. Suddenly, I heard the local church bell ring. I turned to face the crucifix and prayed in silence. Abruptly, I started uttering words that I hadn't planned on saying, yet they appeared to ease his pain. He miraculously stopped crying and thanked me sincerely before heading back to the institution. It was then I realised that God had anointed me as a comforter, and that my way of evangelisation would be by listening to others.

Once I understood this I resurrected my inner listener. I wandered to find those in need of someone to listen to. Occasionally, I would catch myself spending hours in front of the Holy Eucharist not just listening to them but also praying for them. I've also seen that God occasionally allows me to interpret his words. Evangelisation has never really been a goal. I have actually felt that God has been using me as his instrument to hear the woes of his children.

Aquinas Maliakal, Postgraduate Student, India

***

The Miracle Onstage

When I was asked to share an evangelisation experience I thought about it for a few days. It was then I remembered an experience that happened to me a few months ago.

Precisely speaking, a few days after our entire team had attended a retreat. Through the retreat, all of our team members were replenished with God's grace. However, due to the change in climate at the retreat centre, all of us had severe throat issues. Our throats were sore and our voices were coarse, most of us had cough and cold.

That week, we were asked to lead the music and the praise and worship section of a programme. Before going, I prayed and picked a verse from the Bible verse box. The verse that I received for the day was Jeremiah 30:17, I will restore you to health and heal your wounds.

In most programmes, we begin with a prayer, then teach the audience an action song, and then finally conclude the session. However, the music service we led that day, differed from the ones we normally performed. We read verses from the Bible, explained them in detail then moved on to an action song.

After the programme, many people approached us and shared that they had felt a divine anointing during the session. A middle-aged man approached us, saying he felt very blessed. Some of the youth who participated in the programme said that they felt Jesus' presence throughout the session.

While none of the team members had the voice or energy to speak offstage, it was incredible to see Jesus performing miracles onstage. We couldn't even hear ourselves when we got down from the stage and even onstage we had sound issues. All of us were overjoyed that we were able to spread Jesus despite our physical limitations. I will always remember this experience and how Jesus held us in his hands and guided us through this evangelisation journey.

Jacob James, Machine Operator, Thrissur JY Music Team Coordinator, India

***

Prayer and Sacrifice also Evangelises

From an early age, I enjoyed spending my free time sharing Jesus with everyone around me. I had a really fulfilling spiritual life. However, the tables flipped after my marriage. It was certainly one of the most difficult periods of my spiritual journey. I was married into a family that did not value prayer. I struggled to sustain my spiritual life.

I recall intentionally kneeling down on small stones, praying fervently for my family when no one was home or at night when everyone was fast asleep. I used to pray to the Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, and St Joseph for their aid for my family. During Lent, I recall fasting for twenty-four hours. This went on for maybe four or five years. On days when I felt absolutely hopeless, I would go to a nearby chapel and express my anguish before the Holy Eucharist.

By God's grace, my entire family discovered the spiritual path. At present, I am living the life I prayed for. I am confident that my family is experiencing the joy of the Lord. We read the Bible, go for Mass every day, and grow in our faith.

This Bible verse is the first thing that comes to mind whenever I discuss this incident. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38).

Throughout my journey of evangelising my family, I realised that evangelisation entailed more than just preaching the gospel, it also included small random acts of prayer and sacrifice that I performed over the years to teach my spouse and our children about Jesus Christ, a man who chose to die on a cross for us despite our being so unworthy of his love.

Sheeba Rajan, Homemaker, India