Integral Evangelization and Biblical Perspectives1

Pasquale T. Giordano and Nancy Russel Catan

The Church’s social teachings embrace a holistic approach to life. Opening to societal
concerns and today’s social environment with Christian love and understanding is a challenge
to people who have become rooted in traditional religiosity and secularistic social concerns.
Integral Evangelization
Integral evangelization is the proclaiming of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament to
bring about a personal conversion that impels one to active involvement in the process of
human development and liberation. [It] brings a living Gospel int o our everyday lives. This
process is also called “earthing the Gospel” and embraces the whole person’s spiritual, social,
and economic life. The more evangelized we become, the more active we should be in the life
of the Church and in the fostering of the human.
There are three aspects to integral evangelization:
Evangelizing Presence. God has created us with restless hearts that yearn for him.
Yet, so many people are oblivious to God and focus on his creatures instead. They miss out
the full meaning of life. They need a conversion experience which will bring them back to
God. This conversion often takes place by encountering the mysterious God through symbols
that manifest His presence. The greatest symbol of God’s presence is the human person
committed to the Lord. As we live a life of Christian witness, we become living symbols to
evoke a response to God from those around us. Examples: Pope John Paul II, Mother
Theresa.
Building a Community of Dialogue. It is active involvement in both religious and
human concerns that determines effective integral evangelization. This demands interaction
and building bridges of dialogue. A community of dialogue is a sign of evangelizing
presence.
Authentic Efforts for Human Development and Liberation. The mission of the Church
is to foster and proclaim the Kingdom of God, to promote justice, peace, and community in a
world torn by injustice, violence, and alienation. The Church is called to be a credible sign in
fostering the Kingdom of God, realizing the service of faith and the promotion of justice in
the preferential option for the poor.
If the Church preaches without significant action, she preaches an empty word. The
Church is called to be involved in the socio-economic, political realities of her people
precisely to safeguard and uphold the human. Essential to the Church’s involvement in the
process of human promotion is the active involvement of the laity because they are the ones
concretely involved in these areas of human endeavor. An evangelized laity actively
involved in socio-economic and political realities will transform many aspects of society: the
family, the community, the business world, and politics.

1
Pasquale T. Giordano and Nancy Russel Catan, Evangelizing Presence: The Challenge of Social
Transformation (Makati: BCBP, 2004), 13-25.
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The level of our relationship with God dictates the level of our ability to help in the
human development of the poor and the powerless. The marketplace cannot be isolated from
the other sectors in society: true Christian compassion is a matter of “going beyond” and
leaving our comfort zones as we live out integral evangelization.
Biblical Perspectives
The dignity of the human person, realized in community with others, is the criterion
against which all aspects of economic life must be measured. All human beings, therefore,
are ends to be served by the institutions that make up the economy, not means to be
exploited. All economic institutions must support the bonds of community and solidarity that
are essential to the dignity of persons, both men and women. The Bible along with the social
teaching of the Church gives us a deeper vision of God as regards the purpose of creation, the
dignity of human life in society, and the Christian vision of economic life.
The fundamental conviction of our faith is that human life is fulfilled in the
knowledge and love of the living God in community with others. The focal point of Israel’s
faith – creation, covenant and community – provide a foundation for reflection on issues of
economic and social justice. All Biblical Perspectives should lead to concrete action for
Jesus Christ by and through men and women who are committed not only to grow in personal
holiness, but who are also commanded to actively serve the Lord in the world and in the
Church.
[S[ix perspectives of God’s word in Scriptures [can] help us more fully understand man’s
humanness and the Christian moral and social vision.
1. We are created in God’s image

 Throughout the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis (Gen 1 and 2) is the conviction
that no dimension of human life lies beyond God’s care and concern. God is present in
creation and to all created things and beings, and creative engagement with God’s
handiwork is itself reverence for God.
 Every human being is created in the image of God and because of this possesses an
inalienable, God-given human dignity. He is tasked to be his faithful steward in caring for
the earth and all creation (Gen 1.26-28)
 By our labor, we are unfolding the Creator’s work and cooperating in his ongoing
creation.
 However, disobedience, sin and idolatry have spawned a cycle of alienation and turning
away from God’s way of holiness (Gen 3-11). The Fall of Adam and Eve (Gen 3) is
followed by the killing of Abel by Cain and the question “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
(Gen 4.1-16). The story of the Tower of Babel tells us of the desire of man to be like God
(Gen 11. 1-9)
 From early times to the present, the Church has affirmed that misuse of the world’s
resources or appropriation of them by a minority of the world’s population betrays the
gift of creation since whatever belongs to God belongs to all.

2. We are People of the Covenant

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 By listening to the people’s cries as they experienced oppression and slavery, and by
leading them out of Egypt, God liberated the Israelites from captivity. Through this
liberating action He created a people that were to be His very own. This theme is
presented in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy and is a key dimension of Israel’s
faith and experience.
 Interspersed with Israel’s complaints and cries are the times they gathered in thanksgiving
to recall the gracious deeds of God and what He had done for his people (Ex 19.1-8, Dt
6.20-25).
 God establishes His Covenant with His people at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19-24) and gives them
the Ten Commandments or Decalogue that makes life in community possible.
 “Covenant” has three meanings: promise – God chooses us as His special people:
agreement – this needs a response from us; and, bond – a covenant is a binding
relationship.
 As His people, we need to respond to this Covenant in faith and love for those whom God
puts in our midst for we, as society, are judged by how we treat the poor and powerless
around us. We can liken the O.T. widows, orphans, poor and strangers to today’s OFW’s
street children, squatters, and refugees.
 Isaiah tells us that “Justice will bring about peace, right will produce calm and security (Is
32.17). Old Testament justice shows us that a people are only as good as their treatment
of the weak. Today justice must be understood as the rightness of the human condition
before God and within society, as a manifestation of love and its ability to grow in love
even more.
 Fidelity to the Covenant means obedience to God, and concern for our neighbor.

3. Jesus Brings the Kingdom of God and Justice

 In the New Testament, Jesus proclaims, “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of
God is at hand.” (Mk 1.15)
 Jesus then cites the dual commandment of love, love of God and love of neighbor, and
says that anyone who follows this commandment is “not far from the kingdom of God”
(Mk 12. 28-34).
 Who is my neighbor? This is answered by the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10.29-
37), which instructs us to exercise compassion, not to pass by or ignore those in need, but
stop and help. In this example, we see that compassion is the bridge between seeing and
action. Man cannot fully find himself except in the gift of giving of himself through a
sensitivity of heart.
 The Kingdom of God and Justice as seen through the eyes of God are more fully
explained in Matthew’s Gospel (25.31-46), the Parable of the Last Judgment. The criteria
of our judgment will be on how we have treated the weakest in our midst. Jesus identifies
himself with the poor and the weak. “Amen, I say to you, whatever you do for one of
these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25.40)

4. We are called to be Disciples in Community

 A key element in the Kingdom of God is discipleship, a deep union with our Lord Jesus
Christ, lived in community with and for others. To be a Christian is to join with others in
responding to God’s Covenant and Call.
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 Jesus tells us to abide in His love, to go and bear fruit, to live in the world, manifesting
our discipleship by our love for each other (John 15. 1-17).
 In Acts 2.1-12, Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes to empower us, to empower the Church,
with His special presence. The Holy Spirit guides the way to missionary activity and to
the universality of the Church. True morality lies in following the Spirit within us, not
just the rules and laws around us.
 Discipleship involves imitating the pattern of Jesus’ life by openness to God’s will in the
service of others (Mk 10.42-45).
 An essential element of discipleship is or willingness to share in Jesus’ cross, especially
in the areas of caring and concern for others. This is an essential mark of discipleship (Mk
8.27-38).

5. We are confronted by Poverty, Riches and the Challenge of Discipleship

 The pattern of Christian life as presented in the Gospel of Luke has special relevance
today
 Mary’s Magnificat rejoices in a God who confuses the proud, deposes the mighty, and
raises up the lowly (Lk 1. 51-53). Jesus warns against greed and reliance on wealth and
possessions in the Parable of the Rich Fool (Lk 12.13-21). He also reminds us not to be
blind to the poverty that exists side by side with great opulence as in the Parable of the
Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk 16.19-31).
 When Jesus calls the poor “blessed,” he is not praising their condition of poverty, but
their openness to God. When He states that the reign of God is theirs, he voices God’s
special concern for them, promising that they are to be the beneficiaries of God’s mercy
and justice.
 Such perspectives provide a basis today for the Church’s expressed “preferential option
for the poor.”
 As disciples we are challenged
o To be compassionate with those who have less in life
o To be an instrument in assisting people to experience the liberating love, justice
and power of God
o To an emptying of self, both individually and in community, to be able to fully
experience the power of God in the midst of poverty and powerlessness

6. Being a Community of Disciples Means Being a Community of Hope

 The biblical vision of creation, covenant and community, as well as the summons to
discipleship , unfolds under the tension between promise and fulfillment, between
Genesis, the time of beginnings and Revelation, the time of the restored creation.

Rev 21 1-4 New Heavens and New Earth –

Vision of a restored creation
Isaiah 11.1-9 Rule of Emmanuel when enmity and hatred
will cease and peace and justice will reign.
Rom 8.18-25 Destiny of Glory
1 Pet 2.9-10 We are a Chosen Race, a new Community
2 Cor 5.17 We are a new creation…
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 Through integral evangelization and sharing with others, we become channels of hope in
our BCBP community, and to others around us who are in dire need of the Message of
Hope in the Gospels
 Since the BCBP is in the marketplace, we are in the unique position of being able to help
improve workers’ welfare, as well as promote the right to productive work and to
economic initiative. Even as we develop our gifts in the marketplace, we should also be
concerned with those poor and powerless sectors of society, as the marketplace cannot
exist in isolation form these sectors.

Conclusion
As Catholic Christians we need to allow the Gospel’s powerful message of Creation,
Covenant and Community to embrace the spiritual, economic and social aspects of our lives,
forming us into persons of integrated wholeness. We each become an authentic evangelizing
presence.

Review Question

1. What are the challenges of each of the three essential aspects of integral evangelization?

2. What most touched you among the Biblical Perspectives? Why?