Tradition and Evangelism

"The positive relationship that has been established between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of Rome is one of the most stunning achievements of Benedict XVI's pontificate.

...To a question from www.chiesa on the factors that led to this extraordinary change, Metropolitan Hilarion responded by indicating three of these.

...the third reason is their mutual embrace of the grand Christian tradition, as the great highway of the new evangelization."

- "A Holy Alliance between Rome and Moscow Is Born," by Sandro Magister, published on www.chiesa at http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1343399?eng=y, accessed 25 May 2010.

A good discussion of the method and means of evangelism and outreach has been going on over on my friend Rick's blog. Rick, hailing from an Evangelical perspective, and I, hailing from a Catholic perspective, can tend to disagree over the role of Tradition in outreach and evangelism.

My argument runs along the same lines as that which is discussed in the article cited above: reasoned caution toward innovation for fear of borrowing and baptizing so many things in the name of relevancy that the baby becomes indistinguishable from the bathwater (a good question: would my Evangelical friends say it's all bathwater or all baby?), and a heavy reliance upon Tradition as a norm of faith, not merely contributing to, but foundational for the Church's missional existence.

As we become ever more aware of our inextricable human rooted-ness in history and tradition, it seems to me all the more important to embrace, explore, and yes, when necessary, reform, that tradition. Contrary to some popular thought, anchoring oneself in a tradition is more conducive to inter-traditional dialogue than claiming an autonomous distance from any tradition.

Hence, the Christian Tradition must needs be maintained--through study, through interaction, and through liturgical/sacramental practice--in order to continue to provide a "solid rock" on which to build our evangelistic efforts.

Thoughts?