Saturday in the Octave of Easter
My wife, Bess, and I are so excited that we have a beautiful baby boy named Ignatius at home with us. He is doing wonderfully after a stay in the NICU and is an absolute blessing. Without fail, we have been broadcasting his birth and homecoming on facebook, via text message, and even our living room window. We are so excited and proud to be recognized as his parents. People could think it was too soon in our marriage to have a baby, they might not like his name, or they might think we are both too young. There could be any number of things that they don’t like, but that couldn’t stop us from sharing our joy and love for our two week old little boy. So my brain took all of this and wondered, “What about Christ?”
As I read today’s first reading, eight words jumped off the page and hit me upside the head, “They recognized them as the companions of Jesus” (Acts 4:13). These words made me reflect on three questions: Do people recognize me as a companion of Christ? What makes a companion of Christ recognizable? What is holding me back?
First, I think we all need to step back and ask ourselves how someone else would describe our life. Would our Christianity, our Catholicism, our discipleship be on that list? We might want it to be, but would our list truly be incomplete without those things? Obviously, those are necessities for Peter and John’s list, for in their boldness they were recognized as his companions. Would I? This is a question to take to prayer, to scripture, and to our reflection on the lives of the saints. The bags under my eyes and spit-up on my shirt might tell people I’m a new father, but what about me tells them I’m a Christian?
This leads to the question of “what makes a companion recognizable?” Does the crucifix in my living room or around my neck suffice? I don’t think so. These physical symbols of Christianity are to call disciples to action, not do the work for them! Acts tells us that Peter and John had an observable boldness to them. Bold is a good word too. Not cowardly, not cocky or argumentative, but bold. Boldly they did the work of the Lord, they taught and preached the gospel. They cared for the sick and the needy. And they received instruction, correction, and thus repented. In Mark’s gospel it says that “Jesus rebuked the eleven for their unbelief and hardness of heart” (Mark 16:14). Thus, boldly they proclaimed the gospel, boldly they provided for the needy, and boldly they opposed persecution because they knew Christ as Lord. They had been taught by their Lord, had been corrected and conformed to Him, and had been provided His Spirit. So what about us now?
I can only speak for myself here, but boldness is not my strongest virtue and a lack of it might be what holds me back the most. Sure, I’ll speak boldly when I’m preaching to the choir, or if I know that this person will still like me after our conversation. But, my boldness can waver if someone might get offended by a post that is: pro-life, a defense that Christ is not simply ripped off of Pagan myths, a quote showing that Martin Luther may have supported Mary as the Mother of God, or how Catholic Social Teaching isn’t code for Liberal, but rather a moral prerogative. I waver on all of these things because I wonder, what is someone going to think? What if they don’t like my stand for Christ and my Christian faith? Often this is a product of me forgetting John 15:20, “Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Often though, I don’t feel ready to accept my persecution even though we were commanded to love, not promised to be loved by everyone.
So today, as we remember the boldness of Peter and John, and tomorrow as we celebrate the boldness of Pope John Paul II at his canonization, let’s take these three questions to Mass:
Do people recognize me as a companion of Christ?
What makes a companion of Christ recognizable?
What’s holding me back?
Lord, send down your Spirit, like you did on Pentecost, to strengthen us and help us be about your work with boldness, love, and faith that you will accomplish the good that you seek.
-Spencer Hargadon