Taken Aback

This one caught me off guard the other day. I was standing in front of the church before Mass and I saw a motorcycle go by (I have been told I should have a t-shirt that says "warning: easily distracted by motorcycles!"--but this time it had an extra bonus). Of course, I looked closely to try to determine what kind it was, and I was completely taken aback. The rider--half helmet, no protective gear, long beard--was heading down the road with a box of diapers strapped to the back (and the box looked like it was close to falling off). At least I presume that was what was inside, as it looked like the box was new and I cannot imagine if it was anything else he would have been okay with it saying "diapers".

Those are two things that you do not expect to see together: a burly bike rider and a box of diapers. I give him credit: he and his wife (hopefully?) needed more diapers, so he went out and got them; no shame involved. How often are we just as willing to let our truth be open for all to see? I am not referring to our sins (which everyone wants to hide) but rather just to the fact that we are Catholic. Are we willing to admit our faith even if it does not seem to fit with how we are behaving?

Priests are forced to admit publicly who we are (assuming that they are obedient to the requirement that they always wear clericals when doing any kind of ministry). Yet, the laity can hide much more easily. I know someone who once told me that he refused to have a bumper sticker that said he was Catholic just in case he did something bad while driving--he did not want to give the impression that all Catholics behave like him. Although I would rather have him just be good while driving, at least he is concerned about profaning the name of Christ.

There is a passage in the Old Testament where the Lord rebukes the Israelites for causing, by their sinful behavior, the pagan nations to blaspheme God. Have we turned it around where they do not even know that we are Catholics at all? Do we hide our faith in the public sphere because we are afraid of being ridiculed? This is not faithfulness. Let us make our profession before the world completely consistent: our behavior and our testimony both need to proclaim the righteousness and the mercy of Christ Jesus.