ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
If we believe in Jesus Christ and what He taught, then we must put those beliefs into action. One of the most pressing issues in our Church today is how do we stem the tide of disinterest and the perception that a faith life is no longer relevant in today’s world. Evangelization has never been more critical since that of the mission of the first disciples in the earliest days of the Church. However, as we read in the Scriptures, evangelization can take many forms.
Recognizing the dire need to Spread the Word in society today, there is a renewal in the desire of the laity to share this mission with the whole Church in reaching out to the disinterested and/or unaffiliated. While there has been much focus on the methods of evangelizing, the most effective way to convince someone of “what they are missing” is through the example of how we live our own lives. The following story illustrates how the way we in which we treat others spreads the joy of the Gospel better than any words can:
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a local coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. “Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. “Thirty-five cents” she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. “I’ll have plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn’t have the sundae because he wanted to have enough left to leave her a tip.