The lessons today ask us to remember the martyrs Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions. Paul, who was also martyred, reminds us that even though we may often be chained in sharing or living out the Gospel, the word of God is not chained. Though we may often suffer for our work in the faith, our suffering is not in vain. For this reason, we can give thanks to those who have suffered and died for their faith and we can also give thanks for our own suffering for the faith.
As I reflect on these lessons, I think that a very big part of what it means to share the Gospel is not just about bringing the word of God to those who haven’t heard it. That is important, but encouraging those who already know of God’s work in the world to persevere in their faith and to stay focused on truth is also important and often a lot harder to do. Sometimes it is just easier to start a new mission congregation in a developing country than it is to keep a 100 year old congregation together in America’s heartland. Sometimes those older congregations can lose sight of what is really important and begin arguing with each other over little things. These disputes are a kind of unfaithfulness. And being in the midst of it and trying to focus on what is really important can feel like being held in chains. It can bring suffering.
So what is important? Jesus tells us that it is love. The Psalmist tells us that it is truth, humility, kindness, and constancy in keeping the commandments. Paul says it is remaining upright and acceptable to God. That can make martyrs of us all if we take it seriously. There isn’t one day that goes by where we are not challenged to deny the power of the Gospel. There isn’t one day where we don’t back off in some way from the full glory of living out our faith by demonstrating less than what God expects from us in truth, humility, kindness, constancy, and love.
So Paul’s words to us today are to encourage us to stay the course, to persevere. We remember his struggles and those of all the martyrs who remained faithful, even to death. Will we follow them to the extent that we will be imprisoned and die for our faith? Probably not. We’re not all called to be martyrs. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hear the words of Jesus and apply all of our understanding and strength to loving the Lord, our neighbors, and ourselves at the levels God expects from us. And like Paul and Timothy, we are all called to more fully demonstrate truth, humility, kindness, constancy and love to those around us, especially in our own congregations, where we work, and in our neighborhoods and our families. So today I pray that all of us will see the challenges of our faith in our day to day lives right where we are and persevere where the going gets rough.
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
