Evangelii Nuntiandi 6: The Example of Jesus

Jesus gave a powerful example of evangelization in his public ministry: 

6. The witness that the Lord gives of Himself and that Saint Luke gathered together in his Gospel – “I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God”[ Lk 4:43] – without doubt has enormous consequences, for it sums up the whole mission of Jesus: “That is what I was sent to do.”[Lk 4:43] These words take on their full significance if one links them with the previous verses, in which Christ has just applied to Himself the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.”[Lk 4:18; cf. Is 61:1]

Going from town to town, preaching to the poorest – and frequently the most receptive – the joyful news of the fulfillment of the promises and of the Covenant offered by God is the mission for which Jesus declares that He is sent by the Father. And all the aspects of His mystery – the Incarnation itself, His miracles, His teaching, the gathering together of the disciples, the sending out of the Twelve, the cross and the resurrection, the permanence of His presence in the midst of His own – were components of His evangelizing activity.

How does the believer find sustenance for the effort of evangelization? I would say one source is reflection on the Gospel witness of the Lord himself. One can take Luke’s Gospel and pray carefully over the following passages:

• The Incarnation: 1.46-55; 1.68-79; 2.8-14; 2.25-32; 9.28-36
• Miracles: 4.33-44; 5.17-26; 7.1-10; 7.11-17; 8.26-39; 17.11-19
• Teaching: 4.14-21; 6.20-26; 6.43-49; 8.4-15; 11.5-13; 12.22-31; 12.35-53; 13.22-30; 15.1-10
• Gathering disciples: 5.1-11; 5.27-32; 6.12-16; 9.57-62; 18.15-25; 19.1-10
• Sending disciples: 9.1-6; 10.1-20
• Cross and resurrection: 9.18-27; 12.1-12; 22.39-23.56, 24.1-12
• Aiding presence: 22.14-20; 24.13-35; 24:36-53

Not an exhaustive list, by any means. But it shows there are ample evangelism passages in just one Gospel. We need that urging by the Lord, as we encounter him in the Scriptures, to provide inspiration for our own efforts.