Thus says the Lord:
You say, “The Lord’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way
that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? (Ezekiel 18:25)
Remember your mercies, O Lord. (Psalm 25:6a)
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of
vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each
looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)
(Jesus said to the chief priests and elders:) “When John came
to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors
and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not change your minds
and believe him.” (Matthew 21:31-32)
Piety
Lord, open my eyes to Your truth. Grant me the courage
and faith to believe, and to surrender my insecurities and fears to You.
Study
So really,
can you blame the chief priests and elders? They were learned. They were
leaders. Why in the world would they have listened to John the Baptist, that
wildly popular evangelist who looked like a wild man and called them out for
hypocrisy? If anything, those ragtag sinners who followed him were more proof
that his way of righteousness was, well, less than righteous.
John didn’t
care. He was on fire. He kept preaching, kept answering the Lord’s call even as
his purpose became clearer and clearer to him. He paid with his earthly life
for being God’s messenger.
It’s hard to
evangelize and watch people turn against us and ridicule us. What we can learn
from John is not to care. Consider the example of Servant of God Dorothy Day,
imprisoned for civil disobedience seven times. Consider the example of St.
Oscar Romero, gunned down outside a chapel for his call for the respect of
human rights. Consider the example of a family member or friend who won’t be
quiet about issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and immigration.
People like them—and John and Dorothy and Oscar—can be annoying. We belittle
them and their followers. We denigrate them and their followers. We look for
reasons to discredit them rather than listen to their message and discern. And
when we do so, we set ourselves up for the same \type of comeuppance those smug
leaders of Jesus’ time received. May we focus ourselves on obedience to the
Lord, not on the siren song of earthly popularity.
Action
Today
is Respect Life Sunday. Check out the resources available at the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Respect
Life Program page. Be not afraid.
Image credits:
Dorothy Day is By New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection (New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
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