Self-Evangelization
by Fr.Gus Carter
7/10/05

I read not long ago that the average American spends about twenty hours a week watching television. That amounts to about three hours a day. Yet when it comes to prayer and spiritual reading, most people claim that they have a hard time finding an hour a day to devote to their spiritual development.

Today's Gospel is often called the parable of the sower and the seed. However, when we look at the emphasis of the parable, we see that it is better understood as the parable of the soil. Jesus speaks of the varying ways soil effects the growth of seeds. The seed Jesus is talking about is the word of God. The soil is the human heart.

Jesus was aware of the anxiety and pain of confused people. His answer to the lostness in life that many feel was clear and authoritative teaching. What he said was comforting and challenging at the same time. Jesus manner of teaching gave persons confidence that they could approach him. He invited all to rely on him. By the power of his own person he drew people to himself. Like a good parent Jesus' teaching was more a way of personally relating to people rather than a mere transmission of ideas.
I like the idea I read recently: "Everything Jesus said or did is good news."

Even his moral lessons such as today's Gospel inspire optimism and confidence. The enormous yield of grain is most hopeful to those who intend to spread the word of God. In spite of the religious leaders and many of his own people turning against him, Jesus' disciples remained glued to him by personal loyalty and friendship. Whenever we read the Gospel with some attention, the words Jesus speaks give expression to his desire to be one with us. His words and actions reach out to heal what is wounded and defective in us. His words give meaning and direction to our lives. They are salvation and access to divine life. Jesus himself said, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

Generally people do not reject God. They just drift away due to lack of attention. Our society values being busy. Many individual have so much to do that they describe their lives as "constantly putting out fires." They often use images of life such as "rat race' or "treadmill." Research has shown that those who work calmly actually get more done. Health advisors advocate that we take periods to slow down several times a day.

We all need to reflect on what is important in life. Instead of just crashing in front of a television set, we might take a little time remembering that God is in charge. We could reflect on whether we are giving proper time to self, family and friends. We might consider, too, what we could eliminate to make our lives less hectic. Slowing down allows us to become more reflective on the direction of our lives.

Our habit of slowing down might include reading the Gospel or some inspirational material. We know that TV wastes at lot of our time. In our use of TV we need to make good choices. This takes some resolve on our part to take better control of our lives. Perhaps it would be of help to remember that all Christians have the obligation to evangelize, that is, to assist people to find and to follow Jesus Christ. We must keep constantly before our minds that we are also called to evangelize ourselves. The main purpose of television is to make us consumers, not a very admirable aim in life. TV is known to appeal to what is called “the lowest common denominator. " It seeks to draw us mainly through our baser human instincts. We must make the effort to counteract efforts made to lead us astray. We need to fill our minds and imaginations with good thoughts and good images. We need to spend energy in the effort to inject positive thoughts into our minds to offset the baser impulses found in all of us.

To remain spiritually alive the best means is to become fervent disciples of God's revealed word. This means spending time reading Scriptures and listening to them. We want to meditate on them in such a way that they speak to our hearts and throw light on our lives. The Gospel must be the standard against which we measure the options we face in daily life.