Stand Up

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For quite some time now, several friends of mine have been urging me to start a blog to share reflections on scripture, current events, and just life in general.  I’ve decided to follow their promptings, and begin this blog.

I’ve chosen the name “Manere in Christo,” which is Latin for “Remaining in Christ.”  Whether I consciously acknowledge it or not, I try to live my life by this saying.  Without sticking with Christ in every aspect of our lives, we would be lost.  It is only in Him that we find our true happiness and purpose.  Naturally, this blog will always have a focus on Christ, whether it’s a reflection on scripture, a current event, or just my views on an issue.

I will try to post at least weekly with a reflection on the upcoming Sunday’s readings.  Most likely, I’ll post more than that with my thoughts on different current events.  With that said, I hope you enjoy!

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Stand Up

At first glance, one cannot help but think of New York’s new abortion law when reading through Sunday’s readings.  The words of the Lord in His calling of the Prophet Jeremiah naturally bring our thoughts to the dignity of the unborn.  The Lord tells Jeremiah, “before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (1:5).  The Lord’s words remind us that each human, from the moment of conception until natural death, is special in His eyes.  The recent actions of the New York Legislature and Governor are an egregious violation of the fundamental dignity the unborn have as human beings.

As we move through the first reading, we hear the Lord telling Jeremiah how to live his mission.  The Lord tells Jeremiah to “gird your loins; stand up and tell them all that I command you” (Jeremiah 1: 17).  Jeremiah is being given instructions to stand up for what is right, to protect human life, and to spread the Word of God to all people.  This job is not just Jeremiah’s.  It was also given to each of us on the day of our Baptism.

We are called to be advocates for the voiceless and not shy away in the face of adversity.  We are called to speak out against injustices.  We are called to oppose unethical laws.  We are called to be the voice for the unborn who have no voice.  We cannot sit by and just wring our hands when our governments pass laws that allow a human to be murdered in the womb.  No, we must stand up and fight, just like Jeremiah.  And just like Jeremiah, the Lord will be with us and strengthen us (Jeremiah 1: 19).

As we move through the readings, we come to a classic excerpt from St. Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians focusing on love.  Here, St. Paul teaches us that whatever we do, we must do with love.  For if we do something without love in our heart, it is worthless.  In our stance against the violations of human dignity, in our fight to end abortion, we must do it with love and because of love.  If we raise our voices in solidarity with the unborn, but we do not do it with love, we are but a “resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1).  Our efforts are only effective when they come out of our love of God and our love for the unborn.

This isn’t going to be easy.  Christ did not promise us an easy life if we follow Him.  In fact, he promised us the opposite.  He tells us to take up our own cross — and not just a fancy cross necklace.  Christ calls us to radically follow Him and stand up for human dignity, for the unborn.  We know there will be many who think we are crazy or extreme for opposing this culture of death.  We know we will be ridiculed or mocked.  We know we are going against the norms of society and popular opinion.  We stand up anyway.

Many people rejected Christ and His message when He walked this earth.  Even the people in his hometown.  The people He grew up with rejected Him and wanted to throw Him off of a cliff, as we hear in Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 4: 29).  Yet, He persevered and continued on in His mission.

The Lord promised Jeremiah that He would defend him in his fight.  Jesus showed that He would not give up in His mission to bring us salvation.  We, too, are called to stand up and fight.  And if we fight for the unborn with love, the Lord will be with us and defend us.

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 29, 2019 at 10:39 AM

    Very true, Will. We must be aware of our actions and perceptions when protesting. Thinking always....what would Christ do in this situation? Which would He hand us in our time of anger -a stone to throw, or an olive branch to extend? God's will shall prevail. We should be examples for others instead of accusers. We must defend our faith in ways that are within our means. We must spread the Good News instead of judgements.

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