It is difficult to be courageous amid the chaos of this world. People on one side will scream at you for believing one thing, while people on the other will cancel you for another. No matter what we do, it seems like there is no ‘right’ answer, no ‘correct’ way in which to simply be. I’ll admit, I’m terrified every day that something I’ve done in my past will come back to haunt me in some way that I never expected. Of course, then the answer from others is, “Well, what do you have to hide?”
Really? Have you never sinned?
My point is this: None of us have a clean slate, no not one. The newest pandemic of self-righteousness is squeezing the life out of us, bit by bit. Courage has taken a side-seat to self-preservation, in avoidance of anyone who might try to tear us down for something we believe. We’re being hunted…and the worst part about it is this:
We’re also the hunters.
How can we be better? I am tired, y’all. I am tired of the bickering, the nastiness, and the cyclical conversations. Part of the human condition is that we will inadvertently disagree quite often; but not everything needs to be a knife fight. If we say that we love Jesus Christ on Sunday morning and then crucify our neighbor on Friday afternoon, then how exactly are we living into the Word? How are we leaning into the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ? That’s not courage, it’s the opposite. It’s cowardice. It is fear of the ‘other’, fear of being rejected, and fear of being changed by someone else’s point of view. So, how can we turn fear into courage?
It might be a tired question, but it’s one that I think we have to keep answering until we can come up with a solution. I never want to feel like I can’t speak my mind, yet I find myself weighing whether or not the follow-up is worth speaking my personal truth. What if, instead, I was able to say things without the rest of the world going crazy? What if you could do the same? What if, and I know this is mental, we could allow people their own agency to think freely, regardless of the differences between us? What if we had courage in a different way: Courage to be firm in our belief while still living in holy tension with those around us?
What a world that would be. A world like that would allow each of us to hold differing views and still be a connected people. All it would take is a little bit of courage to be firm in our individual beliefs without having to belittle someone else for theirs. Hunting season would close, and life would be abundant. That’s a world I would love to live in, and something for which I yearn. I will continue to dream of that place, and at least attempt to make small changes every day to ensure I’m doing my part. It will take courage, but in the end, everything worth doing always does. Take heart and have courage, beloved. We all want to love and be loved, our ways of doing so are different, sometimes. Put down the knives. Pick up the mantle. And go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit, knowing that that same Spirit created each face we meet along the way.
Faithfully,
Fr. Sean+