Pope Francis discusses the Christian proclamation of God's nearness during the weekly General Audience, and he exhorts us to draw strength from our friendship with Jesus so that we can preach the gospel in unity and meekness.
At the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the zeal for evangelization (apostolic zeal).
He considered the "missionary discourse" Jesus delivered to His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew (10:7–16) shortly after calling them.
According to the Pope, Jesus called the 12 Apostles "so that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach."
According to him, Christian missionary activity starts with a personal encounter with Christ and moves outward, pointing to the dual action of "being with" and "going out" in Jesus' call.
"To bear witness to Him is to emanate Him." However, if we do not accept His light, we will perish. If we don't support him, we'll be carrying ourselves rather than him, and it will all be for nothing.
Jesus sends His disciples out right away after calling them, he continued, demonstrating the importance of missionary experience in the formation of Christians.
Pope Francis continued by discussing the why, what, and how of the Christian proclamation.
In a few short sentences, Jesus, he claimed, explains the "why": "Freely you have received, freely give."
According to the Pope, when we are filled with God's unconditional love, we are compelled to spread that love to other people.
He pointed out that the kingdom of heaven's proximity is related to the "what" of our proclamation.
Pope Francis stated that the message of the sermon is that "God is near."
It's simpler to urge others to love God than it is to allow ourselves to be loved by Him.
According to the Pope, the Christian message must place God first while we allow ourselves to be molded by His love and deeds.
Pope Francis continued his lengthy speech by discussing "how" to proclaim, noting that this topic took up the majority of Jesus' own missionary discourse.
He explains that bearing witness requires a certain demeanor and style. He says, "I send you out as sheep among wolves," so let's listen to what He wants us to be like.
Jesus continued by saying that the Pope never instructs us to defend our faith in the face of wolves with prepared counterarguments.
Jesus instructs His followers to be "meek and innocent, willing to sacrifice" instead.
And He will defend His sheep from the wolves in return, but only if they behave like meek sheep.
Pope Francis concluded by saying that Jesus instructs his followers to embark on a mission together without any material possessions or worldliness and to put their complete faith in God's Providence.
He claimed that "the apostolic church is entirely missionary and finds its unity in the mission." "Therefore, go forth, gentle as lambs, without worldliness, in the company."