Friday, December 5, 2025
Friday of the First Week of Advent
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Welcome to week forty-nine of BMW, Be My Witnesses. This week we begin our last series of going out on mission, so let’s give it all we have. We will talk this week about being proclaimers of the Kingdom of God, using our voices to make Jesus Christ known.
Mission: Proclaim the Kingdom of God
The Letter to the Romans, chapter 10 (verses 8-10), says it all: “’The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we preach), for if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” We must use our mouths!
This is not so much a matter of preaching as it is expressing what we hold so dearly that it just has to come out. We are impelled, as Saint Paul might say (see I Corinthians 9:16). Even Jesus was aware of this inner push. After healing a demoniac and Peter’s Mother-in-law, he told his disciples that he had to move on: “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I was sent” (Luke 4:43). Finally, Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him “that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel” (Ephesians 6:19).
The how to is, of course, always the difficult part. First, if we are convinced that this is something we must do because we are impelled by the Spirit, then we can ask for the grace to carry this out for God’s glory. Second, let us think small. What can I say which will express my own faith and perhaps touch something deep in another person? Always offering to say a prayer for someone can be a good start.
If someone asks us the reason for our hope, then a simple expression that I believe that Jesus died for us to free us from sin and that he rose from the dead in order to open heaven to us may be all that is needed at that point. Should a conversation go farther, then it may be good to share what our faith has meant to us and to the way we live our lives, but especially the hope that our faith gives us for eternal life.
There is always a caution to be observed. Always love the person to whom you are speaking. The truth of what we hold so dearly must always be spoken in love.
My Challenge
So, for our challenge of this week, I invite you to give this a try. Go out there and express your faith even in a simple manner. Then talk with your witness partner about how it went. You are well on your way to being saved.
Until next week, may God Bless you.
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Here is a video version of this week's Be My Witnesses. Please do share with friends and family. Thank you.