Food for thought today given Jesus’ public statement – who do we speak for?  As we near Passion Sunday and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, to His suffering, the Cross and His death, we also know that His public statements about His Divine Purpose & Mission are not winning Him more friends at this point, and inciting more hostility towards Him.  But He stays on point and speaks up!  The Father depends upon the Son.

Who do we speak for?  This question for reflection is one I also ask myself in the moments when I find myself shying away from speaking as a Christian.  There’s no question that balance requires us to be prudent and sensitive to every encounter and situation that we’re in.  There are times when I speak with people that I need to be mindful that a hard-core response is not going to be effective in doing the Lord’s work.  But we cannot shy away from moments of standing firm and sharing our faith when it’s warranted.  And we cannot seek only to make the Gospel palatable to people who may find the message altogether disagreeable.  The Gospel calls us all to a higher plain, to a deeper, more committed, more purpose-filled life.  The bar must always remain set high, and we cannot lower the bar to allow more of us to reach it – that is not what Jesus did.  He had (and has) compassion in every possible way for human weakness, but we don’t simply factor in human weakness and create a more agreeable message.  Today’s Gospel is a reminder of that for each one of us.  Although the question “Who do we speak for?” is a question each of us needs reflect upon, it ought to be rhetorical because as Christians we speak for Jesus Christ – that is what we are confirmed to do.

Sometimes people are not going to like us or agree with us, sometimes the message we carry with us as Christians will be attacked and we will be personally attacked for being the carriers of that message, this is what integrity is all about and it’s what being Christian is all about too.  It is part of the sacrifice each of us makes by professing faith in Christ.  We may not always carry that message with perfection either, but an examination of our conscience every day ought to grant us the insight to know how we can share the Good News in better ways.  But we ought to feel confident that just as we find meaning and purpose in living our faith; that hearts are converted when Christians give witness to the Father’s love for all to see.  May God bless you.