Lectionary: 24
Adults: How willing are you to profess your faith in Jesus Christ openly to others?
Children: Would you still be able to say that you believe in Jesus if others made fun of you for it?
by Thomas Gette
Have you ever had the experience of being out to eat and when you go to say grace since you are in public, you find yourself a bit hesitant to pray the Sign of the Cross? I know I have encountered this situation many times. “Are people going to judge me or think I am ‘showing off’ that I’m religious?” are some thoughts that might go through my mind. I have always wondered why this simple act can often be met with trepidation and hesitation. “I should be proud of my faith,” I tell myself. I might even add some guilt by reminding myself that Jesus said, “If you deny me, I will deny you before the Father.” Then, on another day, I will notice someone with a blue mohawk and tons of piercings and tattoos, and I wonder: “If that person is comfortable being in public like that, then I should have no issue praying a simple Sign of the Cross.”
Imagine a married person going about his or her daily routine and being too sheepish to acknowledge his or her spouse to coworkers in a conversation. Any of us would feel deeply hurt if our spouses avoided talking about us with other people. Our faith in Jesus Christ really should be no different. Sharing our faith should come as naturally to us as sharing about our family or our favorite sports team. Having a saving faith in Jesus Christ is not something that we should keep to ourselves. The gift of faith is too precious not to share with others. The reality is that it is not always this easy.
This is a serious call for all of us who believe to take some time to discern and understand what it is that makes it difficult for us to share our faith. Do we feel we are not knowledgeable enough? Not confident? Whatever it might be, this is a good time to explore it and find concrete ways to make some changes. Now that we are in the season of Lent, we can take this opportunity to focus on how we can grow in our faith so that sharing it comes more naturally. Jesus spent three years forming and “training” the apostles to be ready to give a reason for their hope (1 Peter 3:15), so it is good for us to become more deeply formed in the faith.
We live in an age and culture that is becoming very hostile to Christianity, so it is understandable that we have reservations about how to express our faith publicly. However, it is of utmost importance that we walk as lights of Christ shining into our everyday lives at the watercooler, the hairdresser, the grocery store, or wherever we may go. Most importantly, this will come in the form of living a good life of virtue and integrity, but we also need to find ways to openly share this great treasure with those around us. Certainly, we begin by taking our faith more seriously in our private lives and at home, but then maybe the next small step is starting to say grace in public. Things will only grow from there.
Thomas Gette is a family man with a passion for the domestic Church. He holds master’s degrees from both Franciscan University and the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium.