HERE’S WHAT CHRISTIAN INITIATION REQUIRES
Author: Fr. Michael Byron
June 21, 2020
Even though the welcoming of our Catechumens and Candidates
today is coming months later then we had wished or expected, and in a way that
will look quite a bit different from what we’ve ever seen before, it may be
just right that all of us are confronted with these Scriptures today on the
occasion of Christian Initiation. Because they were first spoken on the very
same occasion, especially the gospel of Matthew. Jesus is giving his disciples
their instructions as to how to live in to their mission as witnesses to his
life and teaching, and it is very significant that his very first caution to
them is to tell them not to be afraid.
He is very well aware, as his followers may not yet be, that
to be a bearer of this way of life – in word and in behavior – can be
dangerous, and even frightening.
It’s still good news – in fact it’s the best news that has
ever been shared among human beings. But it often will not be recognized or
welcomed as such by others. It will even be resisted and ridiculed and opposed
by some, maybe even violently. Why? Because the very first movement in the
response to Christian discipleship is what the theologians call in Greek “metanoia,”
literally a “turning around,” or what in English the bible calls “repentance.”
What does that mean? Repentance from what? Repentance toward
what? The answer to that question may be very specific to particular persons or
groups or cultures or nations, but in the end it boils down to “selfishness.”
That’s what every sin is at heart. Sin equals selfishness, though it may be
manifested in 1000 different ways and at various moments of life. The gospel
demands selflessness.
So metanoia, conversion, repentance, turning around,
ultimately requires the de-centering of one’s self or one’s tribe as the reason
for making decisions. And to be honest, who really wants to do that?
The most generous souls among us commit to doing that out of
a felt sense of sacred duty – and they are right. That’s what Christian
initiation calls out of us. But the least generous souls will simply refuse, or
they will resist, or attempt to silence the gospel bearers, by force if
necessary. Very few people enjoy being informed that to live well is to live
for the welfare of a community greater than – and sometimes other than
themselves. Whatever the term “original sin” means in our religion, it
certainly involves the reflex by which human beings default to “me first.”
Selfishness. We’ve all been there, each in our own way. That feels natural and
good. And it’s all wrong
The prophet Jeremiah found that out the hard way, as
prophets do. He was called by God to be the very public bearer of bad news to
the King and political-religious hierarchy of Israel that their selfishness was
going to end in ruin, both personally and for the nation. No king or hierarch
wants to hear that, even when it’s true.
Jeremiah offered them the choice of repentance, conversion,
metanoia. Instead they chose to reject and threaten and ridicule him for his
message. That’s the reason for his prayer of sorrow that we heard in today’s
first reading.
“I hear the whisperings of many… Denounce, let us denounce
him!”
People in power don’t feel the need to denounce the prophets
unless they are a little too well aware that there is truth being spoken in
public.
And what was true of human nature in Jeremiah’s time – some 2500
years ago – is still true today. What is true is true, as Jesus said, and there
will be no secrets at the end of the day.
Among the most important responsibilities of any of us who
would presume to identify ourselves as Christian is to be truth tellers, even
and especially when merely worldly powers request our silence, or mock us, or
insult us. They will, and they do. Now.
So this is what Christian initiation means – not only the
consolations of God’s love and welcome into community (although that’s certainly
part of it too). But it’s also about
taking up the responsibility of bringing the Lord’s word into places and
situations where it will not be welcomed, like systemic structures of racism,
to mention the most pressing example right now, and anywhere else that
selfishness threatens to override God’s will and the common good. As Jesus
reminds us in today’s gospel, this is not a mission for the moment or for popular
acclaim. In the end there will be exactly one judge of truth and goodness, and
it won’t be any of us.
“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will
acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others I will
deny before my heavenly father.”
If that statement gets our attention, it’s supposed to.
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