Keeping the Faith, Come What May

Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm
and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught,
either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. 2 Thes. 2:15

Undoubtedly in our living the faith trials will come our way; there may be moments that will cause overwhelming doubt and dismay, but our role will be to keep the faith—come what may.

I am reminded of the scripture in which the Lord tells us, “if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.” The fact is that we cannot foretell what is coming, but we most assuredly must be prepared for those things that tend to be of such a magnitude that they might shake our faith.

It was enough that John had been imprisoned. His disciples certainly were shaken already—how much more it must have devastated them to have received the word of his beheading. Nevertheless, faith has a way of answering those things that shake us the most. It is incumbent on us to remain strong with the Lord's help. God reaches in and heals where we let him and he speaks softly through the Holy Spirit, “Stand firm, hold fast, believe, believe…”

You may recall that just this last weekend every diocese in the US took a special collection to support the relief efforts for last year’s Gulf coast disasters in New Orleans and Biloxi. As I was thinking about what kinds of things could possibly shake me the hardest, the first thing that came to mind had to do with those things that would affect my family. I have learned to put my family first. This was something that I heard emphasized time and again during diaconal formation several years ago. It remains true: family must come first. I don’t know exactly how I would go about handling it if something similar to the Katrina/Rita disasters were to take place, but I pray that my faith would remain strong through it. I pray that I would remain courageous and that I would make decisions that would be best for my family. Also, I pray that I would be courageous in offering aid to others. We never know what it will be like when our souls are required of us.

It seems that the biggest thing that we can do when the unexpected happens, whether it be natural disasters, persecutions, war, famine—even if the world we know turns upside down tomorrow—is to take strength in one another, to support and uphold our brothers and sisters; the greatest thing we can offer is our love for each other. If everything that means anything in the world to us disappears tomorrow, we are yet to hold fast to what we have been taught. Here is the real test, and the value, of Christian unity. Here is where we cast aside petty ideological differences that only serve to mock the love that has appointed us to be one in Christ. Here is where we must abandon the immaturity that we often see expressed in polemical arguments and positions. The real world levels out our differences and teaches us that in order to survive we must unite: God has the power to make us one.

Since I was a very young person I have clearly known and seen one thing above all others. Should I ever face death because of what I believe, and I think we can extrapolate this to all kinds of situations and not just persecutions, my soul cannot be taken from me; yes, my life can be taken, but my soul belongs to God. By the same reasoning, love cannot be taken from us. Even if the world we know ends abruptly tomorrow, we still have love. Is this not what we have been taught? God is love and nothing can separate us from him.

Comments

[Anonymous]

Yes