Gospel (Evangelium)

[1] Introduction. What is all about the Rule and the Constitutions of all the Orders and Congregations? To live the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without anything of their own, and in Chastity.¹ But what is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is it different from the Gospel that St. Paul preached, the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John? And what is the Gospel’s relationship with the life of evangelical counsels? The document Vita Consecrata gives us a hint. “As a way of showing forth the Church’s holiness, it is to be recognized that the consecrated life, which mirrors Christ’s own way of life, has an objective superiority. Precisely for this reason, it is an especially rich manifestation of Gospel values and a more complete expression of the Church’s purpose, which is the sanctification of humanity.”²

[2] Origin: Pre-Christian usage. The noun euangelion means either the recompense received by the courier of victory (e.g., victory from battle, deliverance from enemies), or the message itself is the euangelion, chiefly a technical term for the message of triumph, be it political or private messages of joy. Such messages are seen as a gift of the gods, and the sacrifices offered to the gods are signs of gratitude for the good news.³ Hence, euangelion was always taken as the good news of some significance, not just any news, usually in the context of announcement or proclamation.⁴ “Good news” is not synonymous with "cheerful' or "pleasant" news. The enemies of David were vanquished, which is good news, but the good news brought sorrows and lamentations to King David because Absalom, his son, who wanted to kill him, was killed.

[3] “The term has recently been translated as ‘good news.” That sounds attractive, but it falls far short of the order of magnitude of what is actually meant by the word evangelion. This term figures in the vocabulary of the Roman emperors, who understood themselves as lords, saviors, and redeemers of the world. The messages issued by the emperor were called in Latin evangelium, regardless of whether or not their content was particularly cheerful and pleasant. The idea was that what comes from the emperor is a saving message, that it is not just a piece of news, but a change of the world for the better.”⁵

[4] Gospel usage. "In the Synoptic Gospels, the ‘gospel’ (euangelion) refers primarily to the announcement of ‘good news associated with the arrival of God’s kingdom in the person of Jesus as the Messiah. Within this broad usage, the emphasis changes from one evangelist to another when it comes to detailed narration.⁶ However, the word appears in the Gospel according to John.⁷ At another point, euangelion is the name given to the good news of the saving event in Jesus Christ, proclaimed in the church. Here is a point of challenge and reflection for the consecrated person. We will discuss it at the end of this section. The different narrations are due to their respective theological positions.⁸ Four evangelists are narrating one Jesus, the good news himself. When we say the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, it means the actions of God taking place in his person. The Gospel is a twofold reality – the person of Jesus and his saving words and actions. (evangelium = christologia et soteriologia) Is theology synonymous with the Gospel?

[5] Mark. The Gospel according to Mark uses the word gospel from an apocalyptic point of view. ‘The time has been fulfilled,’ and the reign of God is at hand.⁹ The evangelist portrays John as a figure who leads a movement of repentance to “prepare the way” of the Messiah.¹⁰ The reign of the kingdom of God – the primary content of the preaching of Jesus – will be experienced even before some of Jesus’ followers have died.¹¹ “First, however, the announcement of the kingdom’s arrival must reach all the nations,¹² and the eschatological crisis will ensue.”¹³ So, the eschatological crisis is within the context of the kingdom of God. It is good news because of the forthcoming victory of the Kingdom, an overall reign.

[6] Mark’s messianic identity. The identity of Jesus as the messiah determines the dynamic of the gospel’s proclamation of the kingdom of God. The identity of the proclaimer colors the content of the preaching and it renders unique the character of Christian usage of the term “Gospel”. Hence, we should understand Mark 1:1 as a marker of the messianic personality of Jesus which is constitutive of the good news – Jesus is the Messiah. ‘The beginning of the gospel’ in Mark 1:1 likely refers to the good news about Jesus Christ as king and if he is a king, he must have a kingdom. The ‘Son of God’ was a royal title and Mark 1:1 indicates that Jesus’ reign is as a messianic king, it reflects the ‘gospel’ in Romans 1:2.¹⁴

[7] Matthew. The evangelist Matthew centers in his gospel on the approaching reign of God. The death of Jesus plays a crucial role in the Kingdom of God and it is the ultimate event of the good news. It is the paradox of death, where death becomes good news. “The gospel of the kingdom in Matthew must thus refer to the announcement of God’s coming reign on earth, to be entered decisively at the time of Christ’s return,¹⁵ although in another sense it is already here and growing.”¹⁶ Likewise, the death of Jesus and the preaching about the Kingdom is within the plan of Christ’s second coming that has already begun. Isaiah 61:1 finds fulfillment in Jesus' reply to the inquiry of John’s disciples.¹⁷ Similar to Luke is Matthew’s sense of empowerment of the marginalized and forgotten members of Israel (e.g., The demoniac of Gadara 8:23-27; The cure of a woman with hemorrhage 9:20-22; The children 9:13-15).

[8] Luke. The word euangelion is not used in Luke; instead euangelizomai has been mentioned 11 times. Lk 2:10 tells about the announcement of great joy, the birth of a savior, Christ the Lord (Lord and savior are the titles of the emperor). The evangelist theologically likens the birth of Jesus to that of an emperor. Certainly, more noteworthy than the birth of any emperor.¹⁸ Luke develops the themes of joy, mercy, and salvation in his gospel.¹⁹ Acts 8:12 shows the intrinsic relationship between the good news of Christ's kingship and the good news about the Kingdom of God. Luke presented this relationship from an apocalyptic perspective, inaugurating the Lordship of Christ that culminates at the event of the resurrection,²⁰ where he was revealed also as cosmic Lord and King (e.g. The calming of the storm, 8:22-25)

[9] Oral message. The originality of euangelion or euangelizomai points out that there is a great probability that it is derived from the historical Jesus and John the Baptist. Metaphorically, Israel is in captivity of sin, and John called her to repentance in preparation for the coming of the king to ransom her from captivity.²¹ Regardless of the figurative use of the term euangelion or euangelizomai, it always means: “the oral proclamation of the message of salvation and never to something fixed in writing, such as a book or a letter. This oral message is one, even if Paul speaks of ‘his’ gospel.²² The NT knows only the gospel; the plural ‘the gospels’ is a contradiction of its nature.”²³ The NT understanding of the term gospel refers primarily to the announcement or proclamation of the good and saving news – the paschal mystery. It is good news because it has saving effects on the hearer of the gospel.

[10] Pauline usage. For Paul, euangelion means the proclamation of the good news of redemption that God has realized in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.²⁴ ‘The gospel does not merely bear witness to salvation history; it is itself salvation history.’²⁵ Various expressions such as “ ‘gospel of God’, or ‘gospel of Christ, and ‘of the Son of God’²⁶ should be taken as both objective and subjective: objectively, Christ or God is both the content and author of the gospel. It is difficult to make a clear distinction here since Paul sometimes stresses one aspect and sometimes the other."²⁷

[11] The Gospels. The Catholic Church has continually used the word euangelion as “good news” of salvation centered in the person of Christ. Vatican II points out the development of her understanding of the Gospel. “It is common knowledge that among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special preeminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior. The Church has always and everywhere held and continues to hold that the four Gospels are of apostolic origin. For what the Apostles preached in fulfillment of the commission of Christ, afterward they themselves and apostolic men, under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, handed on to us in writing: the foundation of faith, namely, the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."²⁸ One may notice the use of the plural, gospels as stated above is a contradiction of its nature. There is only one Gospel, Jesus Christ but the document explains that gospels are principal witnesses for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior. This is doctrinal development, not doctrinal alteration.

[12] Proclamation of God’s mercy and love. The CCC affirms the very purpose and nature of the euangelion (in singular) as the proclamation of the good news within the Tradition of the Church. “The ‘good news’ of God’s mercy and love revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is this Gospel or good news that the Apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the entire world.²⁹ The Gospel is handed on in the apostolic tradition of the Church as the source of all–saving truth and moral discipline. The four Gospels are the books written by [according to the] the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which have for their central object Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son: his life, teachings, Passion and glorification, and his Church’s beginnings under the Spirit’s guidance.”³⁰ Strongly, the CCC points out the continuity and harmony between the New Testament and Tradition usage of the “gospel” guaranteed by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

[13] Conclusion: The Gospel life of the consecrated person. The Gospel is a proclamation of the saving event of God taking place in Jesus Christ, i.e., “Good News” because of the saving dimension. As a consecrated person, it is not about the person himself, nor the habit of bible reading that makes her/him evangelical, but his or her evangelical lifestyle. Naturally, we understand that the Sacred Scripture is the fundamental witness of the Word of God, not a book of religion.

[14] Joy: the fruit of “Good News”. A consecrated person is a joyful person because of the life of the Gospel he has embraced. Let us listen to Ratzinger’s view: “Evangelical joy is not superficially caused by created things but by the Holy Spirit. Another thing, asceticism is not the good news. Its primary subject is the sinful person, while the center of the Gospel is proclamation – Jesus as the saving event of God; without the proclamation, it is not Gospel but only a treatise on Christology and Soteriology. Unless a person has experienced the saving event of Christ, he cannot be a proclaimer of the “Good News.” Gospel life is a life in Christ, whose absolute goodness, that diffuses itself through proclamation, diffusivum sui per proclamationem.