Dare to speak the truth

Good News ReflectionFriday of the 28th Week in Ordinary TimeOctober 16, 2009
Today's Saint: Margaret Mary AlacoquePray for the Sacred Heart of Jesus to provide you with comfort in your afflictions, peace in your home, and abundant blessings in all your undertakings:http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/MargaretAlacoque.htm
Today's Readings:Rom 4:1-8Ps 32:1b-2, 5, 11 (with 7)Luke 12:1-7http://www.usccb.org/nab/101609.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_10_16.mp3
Dare to speak the truth
What truths are you whispering about behind closed doors because you're afraid to make them known publicly? Are you afraid of the repercussions? Have you been told to keep silent by someone who's frightened you?
Perhaps you're not afraid but you simply do not have the opportunity to be heard by those who need to learn the truth. Sometimes the fear is: "What if I don't ever get to say it?"
Any fear can be very unsettling. It robs us of the peace that God has given us. But Jesus says in today's Gospel reading, "Fear nothing!"
His first promise in this scripture is a good fear-buster. He assures us that we can rely on God to reveal whatever truth needs to come out into the open. We can pray: "Lord Jesus, You are the light of the world. Expose the truth in Your holy light so that the people who need to know this truth will become aware of it. Use the circumstances and the other people in their lives to make the truth plainly obvious to them."
Life is so much easier when God chooses to reveal the truth through others, right? We'd rather not do it ourselves. Yet he tells us not to be afraid to expose the truth. Yes, we could get persecuted for it, yes we might experience more hardships, but we should not be afraid of that. We should not fear the suffering; what we should fear is the consequences of saying no to God when he gives us something to say. The results of our silence could be far more devastating and affect many more people than what might happen to us if we speak the truth.
(For the sake of those readers who live in countries where persecution against Christianity is very strong, let us all join in prayer right now for their protection as they worship Jesus and serve his kingdom. I praise God for allowing me the opportunity to share these Good News Reflections with people who live where they often have no Bibles, no churches, no priests, and no freedom to share their faith publicly.)
The second promise that Jesus gives us in this scripture is another fear-buster. We are so very, very important – precious! – to God that he will always take good care of us, no matter how bad or scary a situation gets. Even if we become martyrs for the faith, our murderers cannot claim any victory over us. If their persecution makes daily life difficult, we will become more aware of Jesus, more aware of our how connected we are to his trials and his redemptive passion. If they kill our bodies, our souls are embraced by God and we immediately enjoy eternal rewards in heaven.
Do not be afraid! From persecution comes greater holiness than we would otherwise achieve. Persecution is not fun, but it's a mark of a growing Christian. If we're not being persecuted by anyone, we're not speaking the truth loudly and boldly enough.
© 2009 by Terry A. ModicaFor PERMISSION to copy any of my reflections, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
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