In today’s gospel account, chosen because of the feast of St Paul’s conversion, we read: Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). The Eleven, and Paul who would encounter Jesus later (cf. Acts 9:1-9), are commissioned with carrying the Gospel, to the whole world. What did they preach? How are we do follow in their footsteps?
The earliest kerygma, Greek for preaching the Gospel, was a very simple but effective mnemonic device. Each disciple was taught what was needed to be covered in sharing the Good News. This blueprint was the symbol of the fish. In Greek, fish is pronounced ichthus. Each of the characters of ichthus represented the key words that needed to be covered as follows:
Iesous – Jesus Christos – Messiah or Anointed One Theos – God Hyios – Son Soter – Savior.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God our Savior.
This is the Good News. It may sound pretty basic but the dynamic truth of these five words are profoundly transformative if we truly believe them. What we need to ask ourselves is, do we really believe this statement to be true? If we do, how can we stop ourselves from smiling, from dancing, from sharing that Jesus is truly who he said he is! Jesus is fully God and fully man and he became one of us so we could be one with him.
Through Jesus’ Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, we are invited to share in the divinity of Jesus. We are to be deified, divinized, to become God through our participation in the life of Jesus. We are not so much the people of the Book, but a people who encounter a person, Jesus the Christ. We share the Gospel by sharing these five words, what each one means, and the story of our encounter with this person. This is what the Apostles and Paul, Mary the Mother of God, Mary Magdalene and those who followed them did. Let us continue the proclaim this Gospel with joy!
——————————————-
Picture: The mosaic of Jesus Christ the Pantocrator, Ruler of the Universe at Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, Turkey (I have not yet been there).
Spiritual Stepping Stones