Face Everything And Rise!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, June 25, 2017

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to teach, instruct and strengthen his disciples, to prepare them for the mission he is sending them. Previously, he had told them that he was sending them out as lambs among wolves, that they will face extreme persecution and that even families will be divided on account of his name. He was upfront with them. He did not present the salvific mission as a mission only packed with bed of roses with no thorns, as some Christians believe. Today, it’s not uncommon to hear of all-crown Christian messages with no cross. But from the beginning, the Master, Jesus Christ, did not teach a crossless message. He recognized that believing in his name and striving to live like him will come at a cost. 

In the face of opposition, intimidation, mockery and persecution, Jesus calls his disciples to a stunning courage. He did not want them to be chickenhearted, to easily fold up and fade away when opposed. He knew his message is not going to be accepted by all and sundry. He knew that truth hurts both lies and liars, and when that happens, they will fight back. But rather than succumb to fear, he calls them to stand firm, strong and resolute. Three times in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells them not to be afraid. First, he said, “Fear no one” and even those who will persecute you. They are to expect some persecutions because he too was persecuted. What Jesus endured, they are to endure as well. In the second counsel, he urged them not to be afraid of those who will kill the body but cannot kill the soul. And for the third time he urged them not to be afraid because they worth a lot before his heavenly Father.

Jesus did not want his followers to live anonymously; he did not want them to be anonymous followers. An anonymous Christian is neither here nor there. By anonymous Christian, I do not mean the controversial theology taught by Karl Rahner. Karl Rahner was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who in an attempt to expound the Church’s age-long teaching which says that it was impossible to achieve salvation without Christ declared that people who have never heard the Christian Gospel might be saved through Jesus Christ. He believed that it was impossible to achieve salvation without Christ, but he could not accept the notion that people who have never heard of Jesus Christ would be condemned. Controversially, therefore, he postulated that non-Christians by following their conscience and committing to those values that we Christians attribute to God, can be saved through Jesus Christ. Rahner called such people Anonymous Christians. My concept of anonymous Christian is different from that of Karl Rahner’s. For me, it means a person who is baptized a Christian, who has received other sacraments, and attends Mass often but still lacks the courage to witness for Christ privately and publicly. When the chips are down, they easily deny the Lord. Before others, they deny him. Like Peter, they are quick to say, “I do not know the man.” They are the sleeping and snoring Christians. Anonymous Christians, for me, are those who try to keep their faith secret and private, ashamed to disclose their Christian identity and timid to witness publicly that they are disciples of the Lord. When they are in the company of others who bash and mock their faith, they say nothing. Any Catholic who is not living a Christ-centered and Christ-inspired and motivated life is an anonymous Christian. Even if we are known in our parish, and try to fill your life with religious activities, as long as we are not awake in the Spirit of the Lord, as long as we do not walk the walk, all our talk is a bold statement that says, “We are anonymous Christians.” To such a Christian St. Paul urges, “Awake O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14).

Jesus wants the lives of his disciples to reveal the secret of salvation to others, to speak in the light, and to proclaim his message even from the housetops. He wants them to live boldly and courageously. In 2 Timothy 1:7, St. Paul stresses this point when he said, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-control.” 

Fear is an unpleasant feeling caused by the belief that something good or favorable may not happen and something dangerous and painful is likely to happen. Being fearful is part of being human. I don’t know if there’s anyone who has never experienced fear or who has never been fearful. Some preachers have tried to use the spelling of FEAR to describe it: False Evidence About Reality. The other day, a Facebook friend of mine described it in this way: “FEAR has two meaning: Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise.” Then she concluded, “The choice is yours!” I have been fearful before, you have been fearful before. Some of us may even be experiencing it right now. Some of the things that cause us to fear are: 

1. Broken marriage/relationship
2. Poverty
3. Failure in life
4. Physical or spiritual death
5. Kids making wrong choices and not succeeding in life
6. Insecurity 
7. Unknown
8. Becoming sick and dying young
9. Immigration officers 
10. Loss of jobs, home, 
11. Misfortune etc.

But is fear always a false evidence about reality? I don’t think so! Some of the things that cause us to be afraid are real. They are not figment of imaginations. But in spite of all these, Jesus counsels us to stop being afraid. Why? Because we worth a lot to him and to the Father. Therefore, rather than forget everything and run, the Lord asks us to face everything with courage and faith in him and rise. 

God bless you!