BOAST, DARE and DO
There
were just too many boasters around — false preachers riding on the
crests of their emerging popularity. Too many lies, half-truths and
preposterous claims, along with not just a few accusations and subtle
innuendoes against Paul. All this proved too much for him.
Paul needed to meet them on their own turf. Paul decided to call their
bluff and challenge their claims, right in their home territory, using
the very methods they employed. Paul thus became “all things to all
men.” Remember? He went straight into the lions’ den and preached where
the educated people of his time gathered — at the Areopagus!
And so he dared to boast, and talked about his heritage (a Roman
citizen); his service record (been there, done that); his dangers and
deprivations
(shipwrecks and all); his daring escapades and even ecstatic
experiences, along with his pastoral concerns. Name it, Paul had it.
Dare him, they did, and Paul proved himself up to the challenge.
The Catholic Church has been taking a beating of late. In this country,
the Church has been called all sorts of names, criticized as being not
attuned to the times, and given up as a hopelessly backward community of
clueless clerics.
We need to do as Paul did. We need to rightly boast, and boast rightly
in the Lord. We need to tell the world of God’s great love. We need to
inform the secularized world that we don’t just dare and dream, but that
we do what we dream about. We claim and we believe. And thousands upon
thousands of saints and martyrs, including our very own San Lorenzo Ruiz
de Manila and St. Pedro Calungsod, lived and died for what they
believed in. Even now, in many places all over Europe, Pinoys dare,
dream, and do as their faith dictates. Now is the time to boast, and
boast rightly in the Lord! Fr. Chito
Dimaranan, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you like Paul who dared to dream and did what he dreamt about?
I pray for the courage, Lord, to dream great things. Empower me with Your grace to make them come true.
No comments:
Post a Comment