Repacking and retailing
Those in the business of marketing consumer products know well that they have to do repacking and retailing to make sure their goods reach the end-users. That's why we have shampoos and catsup, for example, in sachets, and food products reduced to bite size for easier accessibility.
And they organize an ever-growing network of outlets and agents and sellers, classifying their market into different segments and coming up with appropriate plans and strategies.
They continually monitor market trends and adjust their products, their pricing and marketing plans accordingly. They invest a lot on advertising and packaging that trigger the impulse to buy. Marketing campaigns are launched, employing gimmicks and celebrity endorsers, to promote the products.
More or less, we need to do the same with our Christian doctrine that is even more important than any of these consumer products. We need to repack and retail it as widely as possible, making use of whatever technique and strategy that can effectively bring it to the equivalent of the market end-users.
We should not be averse to make use of secular ways of doing things to promote the things of God meant for our spiritual health and apostolic vitality. Let's remember the parable of the dishonest steward who was praised by Christ not because of his dishonesty, but because of his resourcefulness. (cfr Lk 16)
In short, whatever is useful for this purpose, even if mixed with some bad elements, should be welcomed and availed of, with prudence, of course, and with the view of cleaning up and purifying the system, since as the same parable reminded us, we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both God and mammon.
In this concern about our Christian doctrine, we have to realize that all of us should be involved in all the stages of the process. We all are both sellers and buyers, producers and consumers, makers and users of the Christian doctrine. But everyone under the guidance of the Spirit through the Church.
This is, of course, the ideal situation. To reach it involves a dynamics whose mechanism we should know increasingly well, so each one of us can act properly.
We have to learn the art of how to deal with evil which is unavoidable in the world. A certain tolerance and even cooperation with it-for sure, only material and passive, never formal, intentional and active-can be expected. In this world, we should not presume to be squeaky clean all the time. We can't avoid getting dirty sometimes.
In this regard, the model to follow is Christ himself. The very creator of the world, the source and pattern of everything that is true, good and beautiful, becomes man and assumed our weakened human condition to save us. As St. Paul once said, Christ made himself like sin without falling into sin.
He fraternized with the weak and the lost. He adjusted his ways to the wounded condition of our humanity. His preaching was constant and keyed to the level of the people, making use of parables, images and other literary devices familiar to the hearers.
We have to have the mind and attitude of Christ with regard to spreading the doctrine of our faith. We have to preach and spread it widely, in season and out of season, obeying Christ's command to his apostles just before he went up to heaven to go, teach all nations… (cfr Mt 28,19)
Wherever we are, we should feel the urge to communicate the saving doctrine of Christ, knowing how to deal and communicate with everyone, no matter how different they are from us.
We have to learn how to repack and retail the doctrine of Christ, arming ourselves first of all with the proper attitude and disposition, then with the appropriate skills.
The lofty, sublime, spiritual and supernatural truths of our faith should be brought down to the ground level so they can be appreciated and followed by everyone. If some sing-and-dance routine would be needed or would be appropriate in a given situation, we should not shy away from doing it.
We have to learn to appeal to all kinds of people-the young and the old, the intellectuals and manual workers, those engaged in some rocket science as well as those selling peanuts in the streets. In short, everyone.
Since we always are in need of some strategy, and therefore some selection and prioritization are unavoidable, we should not forget that our basic concern is to reach everyone.
With abiding prayer and continuous effort to identify ourselves with Christ, we can manage to do this seemingly impossible task.
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