One thing is certain, we are all going to die. We usually don’t get the chance to choose where, when, or how. The question is, what are you willing to die for? In this episode of By Your Life, we discuss what to do when living our faith is put to the test.

Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2019/19_11_10.mp3

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – November 10, 2019

Welcome to the eighty-fifth episode of By Your Life. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I know that you have a hundred different things you could be doing right now, so I thank you for choosing By Your Life.

My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular, business world. It’s my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.

In this edition, we’ll reflect on the readings for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. At Mass the other morning, the priest talked about the crazy stuff people have been known to do, like jump out of a perfectly good airplane, eat 70+ hot dogs in 10 minutes, or jump on the back of a bull that has been prodded and provoked. Most of us aren’t that crazy. Most of us wouldn’t risk death for the sake of the adrenaline rush or the chance for a cash prize. But would we risk death for the sake of a ham sandwich? That’s what the brothers in our first reading had to decide.

The first reading this Sunday is an abridged version of the story from the second Book of Maccabees where a mother and her seven sons were tortured and killed for refusing to “partake of unlawful swine’s flesh.” (2 Mac 7:1) The full account of the story describes in detail how they were each individually brutalized and one by one had to watch the others being tortured and killed before them. So, what was it that they were willing to die for? It was much more than eating a little pork; it was the sacred belief that eating the pork was in violation of God’s law. They would rather die than deny God.

Unfortunately, some version of humans torturing other humans over religious beliefs has been occurring over the centuries. It didn’t end with the Maccabean revolt in the second century BC, nor did it end with the defeat of the Nazis at the end of the second world war. This is still something very real in our world today.

In fact, in August of this year, when speaking on the first International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion and Belief, the UN Secretary-General said there has been a rise in these types of attacks against individuals and groups around the world. An August 2019 article in Forbes magazine described five recent atrocities that involved murder, kidnapping, people trafficking, rape, sexual slavery and the destruction of cultural heritage against those who refused to renounce their faith. It is amazing to me that people have the courage to withstand this brutality and die for their beliefs. I’d like to say that if I were facing death, I too would cling to my faith.

What about you, are you willing to die for your beliefs? Fortunately, most of us aren’t literally put to this test. Instead, more commonly, we are ostracized socially or face economic hardship for honoring God’s law. Just look at the Little Sisters of the Poor. After years of litigation, they finally won their case at the US Supreme Court in May 2016. But, once again, the Little Sisters of the Poor are going back to court to defend their religious beliefs because several states have sued in response to the exemption that they were granted after their last appearance before the Supreme Court. If the Little Sisters of the Poor do not win this court case, they will have to pay thousands of dollars in fines to the government, all because they refuse to deny God’s law.

Like the Little Sisters, you and I can be pressured to deny our faith like being forced to miss Mass on a weekend because you are scheduled to work. As a healthcare worker, you may be required to assist in sterilization surgery. Our employers will want us to think that it is no big deal. We may even tell ourselves it is no big deal. But, like the Little Sisters of the Poor, your faith is what makes you who you are, and it should impact everything about the way you live your life, including at work. Now, more than ever, you need to know that, as a Christian, the United States is a country that constitutionally defends religious freedom. If you are facing religious persecution in the workplace, there are organizations that can help.

I think a bigger problem we face are those things that are not forced on us, but rather, those times when we have a choice but lack the courage to make the right one. For example, as a legislator, you’ll be pressured to vote along party lines. Or, as an employee, you might feel compelled to remain silent when co-workers make discriminatory jokes in order to avoid becoming the brunt of the jokes yourself.

A few years ago, I was working with a client on developing strategy and culture for their organization. This was a non-profit that did a lot of good work supporting families of patients with a terminal disease. They also raised money for research. As is often the case with non-profits, I will donate some of my time to support their mission and this is what I had proposed to do for them. But then, I found out that some of the research they funded involved human embryonic stem cells and the destruction of those human embryos. What should I do? I had already made a commitment to them to do some pro bono work so walking away would mean I’d have to go back on that commitment. I’d also be walking away from future paid engagements.

Some people would argue that those human embryos are never going to be allowed to develop into human lives, so you might as well put them to good use in research. Others might tell me that whether or not I worked with that client, the research would continue, so I might as well help them in the good work they were doing. Others would say, you made a commitment, so you need to keep it. All these perspectives were valid, but none of them was something I could embrace. And even though I had to go back on a commitment, it was a commitment I never would have made, if I had known about the unethical research. So, I respectfully walked away and faced the backlash from this client.

I struggled when I made this decision. I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes it is easier to deny God in these smaller choices. I mean, if I were facing a “deny Jesus or die” decision, I may find it easier to accept my fate with faith in the promises of the Lord. Like the fourth brother said as he was near death, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him.” (2 Mac 7:14) As believers in eternal life, if we were facing a “make it or break it” decision, choosing Christ is the obvious answer. But what about those seemingly less consequential choices?

These little choices happen throughout our lives, and it is sometimes easy to dismiss them as not that important. There are, after all, a gazillion of them. Our God of mercy isn’t going to deny us entrance to heaven if we mess up just once, or twice, or seventy times seven times, is he?

The difficult thing is that denying ourselves of these little things, whatever it is that causes us to sin, or disciplining ourselves to avoid sinful behaviors can be like torture. We may be able to withstand giving something up for just a little while, but then we can’t take it anymore, and give in to the temptation. So, what do we do about it? How do we overcome our weakness in the face of torture? The answer is in our readings.

The brothers found their strength in the Lord and encouraged one another saying, “The Lord God is looking on and truly has compassion on us.” (2 Mac 7:8) “The King of the universe will raise us up to live again forever.” (2 Mac 7:9) “Do not think that our nation is forsaken by God.” (2 Mac 7:16) And the mother spoke, “Since it is the Creator of the universe who shaped the beginning of humankind and brought about the origin of everything, he, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.” (2 Mac 7:23) And so, after watching his six brothers being tortured and put to death, the last son also “died undefiled, putting his whole trust in the Lord.” (2 Mac 7:40) In sum, they expected a new life that is promised by God and they staked their life on that expectation.

We are given the opportunity to do the same, every day, in small ways, in each decision we make. We just need to ask, “Will this decision I am making take me closer to or further away from God?”, and “Will this decision I am choosing to make lead others closer to or further away from God?” Our life is a series of choices, in those choices, are we staking our lives on the expectation of eternal life?

I saw a bumper sticker on a car many, many years ago. Unlike most of the stuff people put on the back of their cars, I remember it to this day. It said, “If you live your life like there is no God, you’d better pray you are right.” I’d like to suggest that in order to live our life like there is a God, we’d better pray so we can get it right.

God is faithful even when we aren’t. St. Paul tells us this. In our second reading from his Second Letter to the Thessalonians, he writes to us, “The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thes 3:3) And that is the good news. We can start again. This is a new week. We’ve just been fed for the journey. We have been strengthened. Let’s make different choices this week. Let’s hold tight to the promise of the resurrection this week. Let’s pray for each other as St. Paul prayed for us,

“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ,” (2 Thes 3:5) so that we may, through every choice we make this week, glorify the Lord by our lives.

If you liked this episode, spread the word. You know what to do, forward, share, or click to post. Also, check out the Resources page where you can find a link to the books and other resources mentioned in this and other episodes of By Your Life. I’m always interested in what you think, so give me some feedback by leaving a comment.