The Transfiguration and Our Comfort Zones

A few years ago I got involved with a Catholic street evangelization apostolate that sought to proclaim the Gospel in the public square and advance the truths of the Catholic faith in a non-confrontational manner. It was both exciting and a little intimidating. At a weekend conference in Michigan, we got the opportunity to do the work of evangelization by splitting up into teams of two or three, setting up our “Got Questions? Catholic Truth!” signs on a street corner in downtown Detroit, and asking if people would like a free Rosary (and a pamphlet on how to pray it) or Miraculous Medal.

Fishing for souls

When people would stop, we would try to engage them with non-threatening questions. “Are you Catholic?” If they answered no, we would ask if they ever considered the Catholic faith. If they answered yes, we would ask them what parish they attended, and if they didn’t go to church, we would invite them to come home. It was kind of like fishing – you might be out all day on a boat and come home with a few small sunfish. But if you never got up to drop a line in the water, you were guaranteed not to catch anything at all.

Eventually I felt called to start up a team at the parish we were attending at the time, which is located in a college town. The metrics for “success” in evangelization can be hard to measure – which can also be frustrating for the evangelizers. However, as I made a presentation to parishioners about the opportunity to share the good news of the Gospel and put one’s faith into action (in a simple, but somewhat uncharacteristic manner for Catholics), I explained that we were simply “seed-spreaders”. Conversion is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit. But we are all called to be workers in the vineyard in one way or another.

Not always successful

A few parishioners took us up on the opportunity. When we set up our prayer / evangelization station in the middle of town down the street from the parish (to invite people to Mass or Confession if they had been away for a while), our presence would solicit a variety of responses.

Some simply ignored us and walked on by. Some people (usually former Catholics who had left the Church) were visibly angry, and would lay into us about clerical sexual abuse or other personal things. We always prayed the St. Michael prayer for spiritual protection and for the Holy Spirit to use us as simple instruments for His purposes, whatever those might be.

Some people wanted to engage in friendly debate, some wanted to share their burdens, and others just asked for prayer (and we were more than happy to oblige). We weren’t sure we were making a difference, or leading anyone to Christ en masse, but as I said – we were planting seeds, with the hope, like St. Paul, that “some might be saved” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Leaving our comfort zones

Even though I was the team leader, I still got nervous going out in public to do this work of engagement. It takes you out of your comfort zone. The funny thing, though, was that even if we didn’t win any converts after a few hours of evangelizing – which as I saw it, was simply “one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread” – the parishioners who took a chance and waded into these uncomfortable waters were, at the end of the evening, fortified in their own faith. They were both learning it (we always had apologetic tracts on a variety of topics and Church teaching), and, more importantly, living it.

And it was exciting. There is a certain high that comes with doing something uncomfortable (think bungy jumping or sky diving); even though our feet were tired and our fingers numb from the cold, our spirits were on fire, like the two travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). We didn’t do it for that reason, but it was a consolation that only comes when you step out in faith to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do.

Internal fortification is important too

Eventually our family switched parishes, and I had to leave the team to someone else, so I haven’t done street evangelization in a couple of years. Part of it was circumstance (being busy, having other responsibilities, etc). But part of it was like falling off the wagon with an exercise regime. It’s easy to get comfortable – a little too comfortable – taking a break from the work.

That was also a season where I felt the need to fortify my own faith life, and so I mostly associated with like-minded Catholics. It was not exactly a “circle the wagons” mentality, but I was not engaging with non-believers or lukewarm Christians in any meaningful way. I became pretty active on social media, where all my friends were Catholic and of the same mind with regards to faith and morals. I tried to focus more on “building up our own,” but that meant detaching from the greater culture as part of the tradeoff. The world has become an unnerving place, and my Catholic support system was a nice respite.

The disciples’ comfort zones

The reading from the Second Sunday of Lent was the story of the Transfiguration in Mark’s gospel. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain to reveal His glory to them. They are terrified, but Peter, in his usual fashion, exclaims, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” At that point, God the Father speaks from the cloud, the two prophets disappear, and the disciples are left alone with Jesus.

I often think of this story when it comes to the issue at hand: the great commission to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:16-20). A commission is not a suggestion, but a command. As baptized believers, we all have some kind of work to do for the Kingdom, though the stubborn temptation to sit back on our laurels and play it safe with our like-minded brethren is one we have to face. Some may be called to teach, some to pastor, others to evangelize (Ephesians 4:11). But as St. Paul says, in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “he who does not work, shall not eat.”

Endless possibilities

You don’t have to hit the streets to proclaim the Gospel and “fish for men” (though that is one way). It could be suggesting a book counseling against divorce when someone in a moms group is considering it – even when everyone else in the group is affirming that choice – and it is obviously uncomfortable to do so. It could be sitting with a homeless person and sharing a sandwich on the sidewalk rather than simply driving by. It could “spiritually adopting” a person struggling with doubt and issues of faith, praying novenas and offering up mortifications for their conversion.

The possibilities to move out of our “safe zone”, whatever that may be for us personally, are endless. The important thing is that the Lord has work for us to do, though it might not always be the work we choose for ourselves. It might be uncomfortable, it might mean coming off the mountain where we want to stay, but He gives grace to accomplish it. And you may find yourself growing spiritually more than you would have imagined when you step out of your “safe space” and into the wild work of faith in action.

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Rob Marco is a married father of three. He holds a MA in Theology from Villanova University. He has appeared on EWTN’s “The Journey Home” and his writing has been featured at One Peter Five, Catholic Stand, Catholic Education Resource Center, SpiritualDirection.com, Beauty So Ancient, and other Catholic publications. He blogs at Pater Familias.