Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops
"Stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control." These words from today's first reading simultaneously give me comfort and make me entirely uncomfortable.
The comfort comes in knowing that God does not want us to be cowards. God wants us to speak out about injustices when we see them and God will be with us, strengthening us when we make this bold choice. But the uncomfortable part is that God is EXPECTING this of us. We are not made to hide in silence or hide behind angry words. We are made to speak the truth. And sometimes speaking the truth means stepping out into the gap - stepping out from the comfort of those who we feel are "like-minded" and making peace with those we may disagree with. Making peace is rarely popular. It is not easy. It is not glamorous or fun. Making peace is hard. Making peace demands bravery. But making peace is what God is calling us each to do.
This knowledge that God expects us to be uncomfortable increases when I continue reading this passage, "So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God." Being a disciple is easy when we are called to pray and worship God, but when we are told to bear our share of hardship, suddenly things change. Accepting this means accepting that there will be hardships and that we cannot run from them. But again, knowing that his audience will not be thrilled to take on hardships, Paul reminds us that the strength to take on these hardships will come from the Lord.
Paul also reminds us that this faith and this strength will come from another very valuable source too - our family. Earlier in the reading Paul makes reference to the faith of Timothy's mother and grandmother and recognizes the fruits of that same faith in Timothy. As family we are called to witness to the Gospel for our children and grandchildren. This faith provides strength and courage to persevere through the hardships we must bear. I am thankful that my family has handed such a rich and vibrant faith down to me. I pray that I can do the same for my family as well. It is from my family that I learned to speak the truth and work to make a difference in this world.
And all of this feels so relevant right now. We are in the middle of uncertain, changing, polarizing political times. We seem to have lost the ability to talk to one another, to communicate and work together to solve issues. Where are the peacemakers? It seems that there is less working together towards a common good and more name calling and fighting. And I believe that the name-calling, the finger-pointing, the "mudslinging" is cowardly. We are not called to handle our disagreements as cowards. We are called to act from a place of love and self-control. There are truths that need to be discussed and issues that need to be solved, but nothing is gained by cowardly demonizing those we disagree with or making angry generalizations.
Peacemaking begins when we step out from our "side" and we sit down with one another, we listen to one another and we work together to solve the injustices before us. Peacemaking begins when we recognize that no issue is black and white - no issue is simple. I have recently been wrestling with how to make peace in the midst of polarizations with the pro-life issue. I consider myself pro-life. I believe abortion is taking an innocent life. BUT I also believe that in order to ask women to make the hard choice to keep an unexpected, unplanned baby, we need to have strong social supports in place. I think this woman needs to know that there will be programs like WIC, the possibility of health insurance for her and her child, quality childcare she can afford and the opportunity to keep her job, even after taking time off to have her baby. This woman needs to know that there is going to be a way to take care of this child. And this is the core of peacemaking. When we make peace we take care of one another. So yes, I am called to bear my share of the hardship - to step out into a place that is uncomfortable and unpopular and to speak the truth. But it is my hope that when I make myself uncomfortable and bear my share of the hardship I will help my neighbor to more easily bear their share as well.
- Amanda Grimm