Saturday of Week 14 – Is 6:1-8; Psalm 92(93):1-2; Matthew 10:24-33

“So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven.”

By reading a Catholic website – is it enough, is it a sign of my belonging, an admission? Which of these daily signs of your faith are enough? Evening prayer? Coming to a wedding mass? Respect shown to others?

Maybe these are the wrong questions – maybe confessing to Jesus is not a kind of one-off payment (something that needs to be done to. . .), nor is it even that elusive “something” after which we are accepted in some company, something that makes us so that we fit in. Perhaps the emphasis here is more on the “in the presence of men”, on the fact that we do not live in a vacuum, that we are not saved alone. After all, if someone does something in our presence, we have to define ourselves in some way – silently approve, comment, pretend not to notice, ask for its meaning. Just like people somehow define themselves in relation to the faith we profess – if they know about it, they see it. This is our similarity to Jesus – He also revealed His love for the Father among us, He showed it to us. It is Him we must imitate.