I’m comforted by the fact that every hair on my head is counted. However, I’m a little miffed that the Lord seems to be making his task easier by reducing the number of said hairs exponentially since my youth. I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective, really. It’s not losing hair, it’s gaining face!
Anyhoo, there are three powerful messages in the gospel this week. The first one is evocative, the second is sobering, the third is comforting.
When Jesus tells us to fear no one, what is he getting at? In a real way, he is exhorting his followers to embrace the prophetic character of their baptism. It helps to remember that a prophet’s first job was not foretell the future. Rather, it was to speak the truth, especially to those in authority. Some things, especially uncomfortably, shameful things, like to lie hidden in the dark background. The prophet’s job, yours and mine, is to bring them to light. But when we do, make sure to do it charitably. No one likes to have their dirty laundry on display. If you must admonish someone, take them off by themselves in hopes of changing their heart.
The second is sobering. Sometimes people don’t like their embarrassing bits coming to light. Take the professional baseball players who are being threatened with discipline because the league is asking them to promote something that their Christian faith cannot let them do in conscience. One team in an independent league forfeited a game because they could not find nine players who would comply.
It is a simple fact of life that we Christians will not be left alone. If you even try to life the Gospel, even quietly, there will be those who find it very irritating. Eventually they will try to cancel you. Thus it has always been. Thus it is always likely to be…so what?!
I have been given permission to tell the story of a former parishioner of mine from back when I was Fr. Youngpriest. She was a pharmacist who worked for one of the big chain stores here in town. Back in the early 2000’s she came into my office asking for a little spiriutal guidance. The new abortefecent drug RU-486, commonly known now as miefpristone or “the morning after pill” had just come out. As a practicing Catholic, she was very uncomfortable being asked to fill such prescriptions since it would make her a material and proximate cause of a procured abortion. She asked her employer if they could have someone else fill such subscriptions since she had a well-founded moral objection. They had refused. So, there she was in my office asking what she should do. We chatted a bit about the moral principles involved and what was reasonable for her and she left to discern.
A week later she came back in.
“Well,” I said, “What’s the story?”
She said, “I told them I could not do it in conscience.”
“And what did they say?”
“Oh,” she said, rather matter of factly, “They fired me.”
“I’m not really sure at the moment, but I can tell you that I have never been more at peace than I am now. God will take care of me.”
If the story ended there, it would be an incredible story of faith. But it does not end there. She had a bit of savings, and with that she bought an interest in a Christian women’s workout studio franchise. She loved the environment that integrated Christian spirituality into a holistic approach to fitness. And, it turns out she was very good at it. After about six months she opened up another, and then another. After a couple years she was back in my office.
She said, “You know, I could never have written this script. If you would have told me that I would own three workout studios, helping hundreds and hundreds of women live holier, healthier lives.” God has been so good to me.
Christians have always faced some measure of persecution in one form or another. Jesus assures us that the God who knows everything knows this. If a sparrow can’t fall to the ground without his knowledge, then as Paul reminds us elsewhere, “What can separate us from the love of God?” The question is whether we can trust God enough to preach the Gospel, even silently, knowing all the while that others will seek to remove us and shove us into the dark background.
But do not be afraid. “The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.”