In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Pope Francis shared his dream of reaching out to all people in their own customs, styles, schedules and languages. How can evangelization be achieved in a way which would be simultaneous for all people and yet unique for each person?
The choice of the twelfth apostle of the early Church could shed some light on this matter. Saint Matthias is mentioned in the Bible by name just once. He was an apostle that had accompanied Jesus in all His Ministry from His baptism until His death and resurrection. He was the only one of the twelve apostles who was not personally called by Jesus. He replaced Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Jesus. The only phrase in the Bible in which St Matthias is mentioned is the following:
“Then they drew lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; and so he was added to the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:26)
I suppose there were “several apostles” that drew lots. There was no need for a single action of one apostle. Only a movement, the action of a plural that we cannot specify.
Keep it as simple as possible. Do whatever comes to mind to share Jesus. For example, draw a cross on a paper napkin, or on the back of a ticket or on a Post-It note and leave it on the table at a restaurant. Do the same thing on the snow or on the sand. You do not even have to sign it or take credit for it. Fade away and disappear. Every Christian could generate dozens of announcements of Jesus a day (kerygma) without investing money on marketing.
Many times we make things more difficult by letting our thoughts and knowledge get in the way. Not to mention the mental block that perfectionism generates in the process of narratio. I leave this spelling mistake in the last word of the sentence on purpose. I want to abase myself, I want to prune myself to let God arise.
God is simple. He even chooses one of the first Twelve Apostles of his Church having an indefinite “they” to draw lots.
Would you be bold enough to make the simplest announcement of Christ that comes to your mind?