The Holy Priest-Martyr Patrick, Bishop of Prussa, and Those with Him (361- 63)
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Acts 17:19-28; John 12:19-36
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
When a company decides to release a new product along with the necessary marketing and advertisement to promote it, when and how it is promoted reveals the target audience envisioned by the company and its marketing executives. It would be a waste for toys to be advertised in primetime slots and fine dining restaurants to purchase commercials during children’s programming.
Paul the Apostle understood what it meant to speak to one’s target audience. At the beginning of chapter 17, he speaks to the Jews and uses the Old Testament as a starting point in preaching Christ. To this group of Gentiles, he references one of their altars built to the “Unknown God” in order to point to Jesus Christ and His relationship with all of creation.
The Church does likewise. She preaches the same eternal truth to everyone, from the children to the seniors. The same truth of Christ is preached to believers and seekers but in different ways and approaches. The content of our preaching never changes, just the delivery.
May we, brothers and sisters, preach Christ with words and by the way we live our lives, adapting our approach with wisdom depending on who we encounter and to whom we witness.