Matthew 10: 24 – 33 (Saturday, July 14, 2007)

Jesus invites us in today’s gospel to be prophetic. He says to us in the gospel that what he says to us in the darkness, we must speak in the light; and what he has whispered to us, we must proclaim on the housetops. Many times, God speaks to us in prayer to correct a certain evil or wrong that exist in our society, community or in the life of a fellow Christian, but we are reluctant to carry this out because of the fear of rejection, losing friendships, being persecuted, and being ridiculed. Jesus asks us in the gospel of today to always preach the truth he has revealed to us even if it is not fashionable for our time. He says that we will be persecuted and ridiculed. Blessed Kateri, the American Indian Saint whose feast day we celebrate today was ridiculed and abused for her life of love and austerity. We are not the first people to be persecuted for preaching the truth, neither would we be the last. Jesus Christ who is our Master was persecuted because he told the people the truth they did not want to hear; the Apostles were persecuted in the early church because they told the people the truth they did not want to hear – they were even ridiculed and called names. Their persistent testimony sustained the faith and today we can gladly share in the faith.

Jesus says that if we acknowledge him before the world, he will acknowledge us before the father. When was the last time we made a sign of the Cross and prayed before and after our meals when we were in a restaurant with friends who are not necessarily religious? We were afraid of acknowledging Jesus because of the reaction of our friends. Perhaps we were afraid of being arrogant. Jesus wants us to be a witness to these people. He wants us to acknowledge him before the world and in doing this, we would be acknowledged before his Father in heaven.