“Entrusted with the Gospel” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)

Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

Bernardino Luini [Public domain], via
Wikimedia Commons

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our reception among you was not without effect. Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle. Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception. But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please men, but rather God, who judges our hearts. Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know, or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–nor did we seek praise from men, either from you or from others, although we were able to impose our weight as Apostles of Christ. Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8)

You have searched me and you know me, Lord. (Psalm 139:1)

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. (Mark 6:20)

Piety

You know me, Lord; like Herod, reluctant to lose face in front of others. I beg you for the strength of John the Baptist to speak the truth.

Study

There was something about John the Baptist. Everyone saw it, his followers and his enemies alike. Even Herod, the king who would have him put today, saw it. He liked to talk with John, even though John was quite straightforward about the inappropriateness of Herod’s marriage to an ex-wife of one of his brothers. (Or, as some scholars posit, John’s potential ability to effect a rebellion.) In any event, charisma notwithstanding, Herod decided the risk of loss of stature—in the eyes of his wife, his stepdaughter, his court, his people—was too great.

From John and from Jesus, we learn that the truth can be costly, no matter how compassionately and gently and kindly it is shared. Being a Christian and attempting to live the Gospel doesn’t guarantee us friends; indeed, it is likely to result in quite the opposite. And yet, it is what we are called to do: when we witness disharmony in family relationships. When we witness injustice at work. When we witness a disregard for corporal or spiritual mercy by those we don’t even know by name. We are called to speak the truth—as gently as a nursing mother, as Paul tells us in today’s first reading—but to speak it. Better to lose our heads, figuratively or as John the Baptist did, then to lose our souls.

Action

Speak the truth today in a situation that you fear will cause you to be ridiculed.