Grief Will Become Joy

May 2, 2008

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the Church

One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city." Acts 18:9-10

When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. John 16:21-22

Piety

Jesus, just like you had Simon to help you carry your cross, you are here to help us carry ours. Just like you commissioned the Apostles to go out into the world and preach the Good News, you ask us not to be silent. Be with us today and give us the strength and courage to support you no matter what we face from the rest of the world. Amen.

Study

"I am with you." Jesus' paschal promise is to be with us always. He remains with us through the Spirit. Through the same Holy Spirit, the Lord pleads with us to speak out for him. Maybe it is the Eleventh Commandment: Do not be silent. Jesus agrees to be with us always if we support him always.

Last week, I was confronted by a situation crying out for me to speak out. A small group of young men were gathered at a party telling jokes that you would not want to hear in mixed company. You would not want to hear these jokes in private let alone in public. I had three choices. One was to confront them and ask them to stop. Two was to take part. Three was to walk away.

Jesus wanted me to speak out. "Tell them that such humor at the expense of the dignity of other people was not the right way to have fun." But I chose to just walk away and not speak out. Like John in today's Gospel, Ezekiel makes no bones about our responsibility. If we do not warn others to turn away from their evil ways, then we, too, are sinners. But I wanted to avoid the confrontation. So I walked away to save myself the embarrassment of confrontation.

You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself. Ezekiel 33:7-9

After 802 installments of Your Daily Tripod, I was at a loss for words, at a loss for the courage to speak out, at a loss for the potential ridicule I might get if I spoke out. Like the disciples who scattered, betrayed and denied Jesus, when we fail to speak out, we fail to acknowledge our role as the only voice Jesus has in this world. Remaining silent because of what people might think, or remaining silent despite what people might think, is the same as participating with the crowd.

Crucify Him!

Action

Every week I get e-mail alerts about the continuing horrendous conditions in the Sudan. And once in a while I read an article or hear a broadcast about volunteers and political leaders mobilizing the "powers that be" to confront the Sudanese leadership. Yet years go past. Despite the pledges made after the holocaust that such carnage would never happen again, some people find it easy to inflict such death and destruction. But we do not have to accept the situation as it is. One way to make sure your voice is heard is to join the Save Darfur Coalition. Save Darfur is a coalition of more than 100 humanitarian and non-profit organizations. You can read more about the group at this web site: http://www.savedarfur.org/content?splash=yes

The organization explains that, "You can help end the genocide by taking small steps that can make a big difference for the people of Darfur. By lobbying your member of Congress, educating others, planning a local event, and generating coverage in the media about the crisis, you will help build the political power needed to end this conflict." So stop by the website today and see what you can begin to do to save the children and families in Darfur.

Save Darfur explains that "Ending the catastrophe in Darfur requires a 3 P strategy: protection for civilians, a peace agreement and punishment for human rights abuses. While the deployment of the UN-AU peacekeeping force is moving ahead in the face of constant obstruction by the Sudanese government and gross inattention by the international community, it will prove insufficient without a viable peace process."

You can help the people of Darfur. We cannot be silent.