Know the Kerygma

Ministry Tip of the Week

ke·ryg·ma      noun     \kə-ˈrig-mə\

"Kerygma" is a fancy way of saying "the basic Gospel message": the apostolic proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ. At the heart of the Church's mission is an unwavering resolve to proclaim the Gospel, in season and out. All ministry efforts flow from our own personal and living encounter with the truth of this message - the kerygma; these efforts in turn are fueled by a focused zeal to bring others to experience the same living encounter. It's a message simple enough to teach three-year-olds and profoundly rich enough to overwhelm geniuses.

1970's sporting events were famous for having zealous evangelicals promoting the most popular Scriptural summary of the kerygma:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

And you can't go wrong with the following liturgical formulation:

"For in goodness you created man and, when he was justly condemned, in mercy you redeemed him, through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Order of the Mass, Common Preface II)

Of course, in my actual experience of sharing the Gospel...

...there's usually a more spontaneous and personal quality to it:

"I realize now that Jesus Christ is real, truly risen, and he loves me and died for my sins. More than this, he revealed to me the heavenly Father and now offers me a share in his own divine Sonship. In other words, God loves me so much that he not only forgives me, he wants to adopt me!:

Then there's St. Paul. Nobody said so much with so little: 

Jesus is Lord.

However we say it, let us do so with confidence, and in a spirit of prayerful obedience to Christ's commission:

"Go, and make disciples" (Matthew 28:16).

It's a simple message, with astonishing implications. In just a few brief words, the human condition is pierced and our hearts are confronted with a choice. Meditation on the kerygma is a catalyst for daily conversion in our own lives, and it's a double-edged sword we must learn to wield in the work of making disciples.

The proclamation of the Gospel is the mission of the Church. We teach all the various doctrines and practices of the faith, to be sure, but always in a way that sheds light on the love of God in Jesus Christ. All that we pray, believe, and live as Catholics is meant to help us enter more fully into the mystery of the kerygma. In word and in deed, we're called to "preach it from the rooftops" (Matthew 10:27).