When I was in college, I worked as a computer lab assistant. It was my job to be there to make sure that anyone who needed to use a computer not only got the chance to do so but also to answer questions and make sure it was a peaceful experience for all. One day a young girl was with what seemed to be her boyfriend using one of the terminals at the door. He was abusive with his words.
“You’re so stupid.”
“I’m trying,” she said.
“I’ve shown you a hundred times, you are just too dumb to do it, and I’m tired of it.”
“I said I was sorry.”
She was on the verge of tears, and he kept getting louder and more abusive. After a few minutes, I had had enough. The sad part was it took me a few minutes. I should have come to her defense at the start of it. Instead, I had to work up the courage to stand up and confront this guy. The moment he saw me moving towards them he began to talk to the room.
“We are students in the psychology department. This has been an experiment to see how people would react to someone being abusive to a female in public.” They went on to have us fill out questionnaires and such for their project.
While this was just an experiment, it was a moment in which I learned something about myself and others. No one came to her defense. It took time before even me, a 6’5″, 300 lb guy to stand up and do something about it. I’ve always wished that I could go back and stand up for her, stand up for all the people in this world who have no voice.
On this the feast day of the nativity of Saint John the Baptist we are reminded that it is not too late to stand up for our faith. He stood up to the king, Herod, and spoke the truth even to the expense of his own life. Now, sure, you and I are probably not going to be martyrs. It is very rare these days in the country we live in to be asked to die for our faith.
So what then can we do? We can die to ourselves. Die to that person who is inside you wanting to remain in the comfort of your room. Suppress that human tendency not to want to get involved and instead let Jesus work through us to make a change in this world, here and now. Die to self, let God send His grace to others in you. That’s what the dismissal at Mass is all about. “Go forth and glorify the Lord with your lives.” To that, we respond: “Thanks be to God.” That’s not us saying “Thank God this is finally over.” It is rather us acknowledging that God has come to reside in us as Temples of the Holy Spirit and has given us the chance to be co-workers in the vineyard.
Are you ready to die to your wants and needs? That for least among us; the widow, the orphan, the unborn, the immigrant, the homeless; we may bring the love and protection that God has to offer? Speak for those who have no voice, speak with the voice of the Lord. Our brothers and sisters are out in the world, and we have the opportunity to find them and bring them to the dinner table with us. Are you standing up? Or stay in your comfort zone?
A reflection on the readings for the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist.