Fr. Bob - Pentecost
Today celebrates the outpouring of the Spirit on the early church. Before that outpouring the disciples were locked into fear. Take Peter, the night Jesus was arrested while warming himself by the courtyard fire a panic-y Peter folded in fear when questioned if he were a disciple of Jesus. But after the outpouring of the Spirit we hear in Acts 1 how an on -fire Peter is boldly proclaiming the Good News of the Risen Christ to anyone who will listen to him. From timid to bold, that same Spiritt can empower us to be bold in the same way. Keep in mind however, being bold about our faith doesn’t mean being preachy about our faith, or showy about our faith, or mouthy about our faith. That’s ego. If we’re going to be authentically bold in giving witness to our faith, we need to be humble about it not arrogant about it. Being humbly bold in giving witness to our faith, there are more public ways to do that. Like when I was a kid. The first Sunday in May my dad would pile all us kids in the care and off we’d go to the old Parade Stadium near downtown. From there we’d prosses with hundreds of others praying the rosary right to the steps of the Basilica. That was my dad’s way of being humbly bold in giving witness to his faith and letting the world know what was important to him. Being humbly bold in giving witness to our faith, in this year of the Eucharist, they’ve come up with a very “think outside the box” way of drawing attention to just how central the Eucharist is to our faith as Catholics. Already started are Eucharistic processions coming from California, Texas, the east coast, and from the headwaters of the Mississippi in Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota. All will converge somewhere in the center of the country. In a humbly bold way what a great way to tell the world who we are as Catholics. It’s not to say to non-Catholics that we’re better than them. It’s to let them know that we’re with them in striving for the peace that Jesus offers the world. Being humbly bold in giving witness to our faith, just you, being here at mass today is your way of going public with your faith. Going to mass is our way of saying to the world this is what’s important to me and this is who I am and this who I follow. But more often the opportunity to be humbly bold in giving witness to our faith comes to us in a more behind the scenes way. So, the story goes, in a small tow, there was an elected official who had been receiving a series of hateful letters from a disgruntled citizen. These letters persisted for some time. And then they suddenly stopped. The public official was curious why the letters had stopped. So, he asked around to see what he could learn. It turns out the man had taken sick and was in the throws, of chemotherapy and had no way to pay his rent. So. behind the scenes, without anyone knowing about it out of his own pocket the elected official covered the rant and then made sure that the man had money for groceries. When the man who sent the hate letters found out who had covered for him, he was stunned. Being humbly bold in giving witness to our faith, we can do it in more public ways but more often it’s the quiet behind the scenes way that presents itself to us. Like with the public official who covered the guy’s rent, it’s those small acts of kindness that go a long way in healing the fear that makes us so suspicious of and even hateful toward one another. So, this week look for ways to be humbly bold in giving witness to your faith. The Holy Spirt who empowered the disciples in the upper room can empower us in the same way. So, when that moment comes to be humbly bold in giving witness to your faith ask for that grace and watch for how the Spirit will be there to give it to you.
