Scripture Reflection, April 27: Speaking and Living Our Faith

Scripture Readings:
Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17
Psalm 66
I Peter 3: 15-18
John 14: 15-21

Click here to listen to the podcast of this scripture reflection.

Not long ago I was talking with a young firefighter. This fellow is in his early thirties and is a person of strong faith. He takes his Catholic faith seriously and tries to live it in his daily life. He was talking about the challenges of maintaining his own integrity in his work environment. Firefighters spend a lot of time talking with one another as they share life at the firehouse during their shifts. He spoke about his struggle with knowing when to speak and when to keep silent, especially when the conversation moves in a direction that makes him uncomfortable. He mentioned, for example, that when the conversation about others who are not present becomes very demeaning he does not know whether to say something or just to keep quiet. I suspect that the struggles that my firefighter friend experiences in his work are echoed in the lives of many people, young and old, who are in very different lines of work.

I thought of that conversation because the Scripture readings for this Sunday speak about the importance of giving witness to our faith in Christ. As Americans and as Catholics, this idea of witnessing to our faith can make us a little nervous. We have a national heritage that protects the privacy of religious belief. As Catholics, we do not stroll through the neighborhoods with our Bibles knocking on people’s front doors, or walk up to people on the street corner and ask, “Do you know Jesus?” Such evangelizing efforts are usually sincere, but they are seldom effective and are often inappropriate.

Still, the Lord Jesus calls each one of us to give witness to our faith, to offer credible testimony to the gospel. There is a very famous and thought-provoking sentence from the First Letter of Peter that we hear this Sunday. The author of this letter appears to be writing to a group of Christians who were living in a hostile environment and who had already experienced some kind of opposition for their beliefs and their way of life. He tells them, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.” This famous sentence has been quoted countless times in the history of our tradition. What does it say to us today?

First, I think that these wise words remind us of a truth that we already know but is still worth reflecting on. The primary and most effective way of giving witness to our faith in Christ is by the way we live. The author of First Peter stresses the conduct of the believer. It is especially by the way in which we conduct our lives that we communicate to others the hope and new life that Christ offers us. We may want to ask ourselves a few questions in this regard: When others see the way I act, the choices I make, my manner of relating to others, do they recognize a person of faith and hope in Christ? Do they see a person whose faith makes a real, down-to-earth difference? Do they see someone who tries to act honestly and justly? Do they recognize someone who is compassionate toward others? Do they perceive someone who is respectful of the dignity of others and concerned about those who are forgotten or neglected in this world?

This letter reminds us, too, that when we do speak to others about our belief in Christ, we need to make our replies gentle and respectful. We believe that our God relates to us in a way that is gentle and respectful, ever inviting us into a deeper relationship with Himself. There are times in which it is appropriate, even necessary, to speak to others about the meaning and importance of our faith. When we do, we are speaking about a God who is already present to them – a God who is quietly working in their lives, inviting their response, even if they are people who find it difficult to recognize or believe in God. Like the Christians addressed in the First Letter of Peter, we are called to speak about the hope that Christ gives us with both conviction and gentleness.

As we gather to celebrate the Eucharist this Sunday, let us pray for the grace to give witness to Christ with gentleness and reverence. Through what we say and how we live, may we reflect the presence of this Jesus who died for us that we might live and whose love for each person is greater than we could ever imagine.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp