John the Baptist suffered martyrdom because he was faithful to his prophetic vocation. He told Herod it was unlawful for him to have his brother's wife, and this ultimately cost him his life.
How faithful are we to our prophetic vocation, that is, to our call by God, in baptism, to be proclaimers of his truth in word and deed? If we are not as faithful as we should be, it may be because we fear persecution.
If we fear persecution, it is proof that we love our own lives more than we should. John the Baptist loved God more than himself, and this is why he was willing to die rather than be unfaithful to God and to his prophetic vocation.
May God forgive us for loving ourselves too much and for not being true to him out of fear of persecution. May he strengthen us to love him and the Gospel more than our very lives, and to fear his disapproval more than that of human beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment