TAKE COURAGE; BE A MAN!
Last
year’s social media reports showed us a number of grisly and gruesome
killings perpetrated by those who hate Christians and Christianity in
general. While they do not come from mainstream and traditional media,
we have no reason to take them as rumors and dismiss them altogether as
fake news, given the fact that the killers themselves uploaded videos of
the murders.
Death, in itself and of itself, being a consequence of sin as we learn
from Scripture, is already a difficult matter to discuss, let alone
experience. We all cringe when we speak of death — our own and that of
others. But we find it even more revolting when we see it happening to
our brothers and sisters who are killed in the most heinous fashion, all
done in the name of God, guilty of nothing more than simply not sharing
the same faith with those who do the dastardly deed.
It takes courage to live, but it takes even more courage to give up
that which stands at the basis of everything else we enjoy. Even St.
Paul, who was himself beheaded and died a martyr, spoke of the “sting”
of death.
Today, we read about a great man’s passing and the courage he passes on
to his son. David takes the bull by the horns and accepts the reality
that no one can escape: “I am going the way of all flesh.” But more than
just facing death squarely and showing himself a model of dying well,
he takes it a notch higher and challenges his son, Solomon: “Take
courage and be a man.” He counsels Solomon to do the better thing — to
live fully and face up to his responsibilities as king.
We are all afraid to die. I am the first to acknowledge this. But not
too many of us put focus on the business of living responsibly,
honorably and heroically. As Pope St. John Paul II said in 1981 during
the beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz, “Not all of us may be called to die
for the faith, but all of us are called to live for the faith.” “Take
courage and be a man.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: How are you living your faith today?
Grant me courage, Lord, to live for my faith each day. Amen.
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