Witnessing Christ with Resolve
Raise your hand if you made New Year Resolutions for 2025.
Now raise your hand if you’ve already “slipped” in adhering to those resolutions.
Now, raise your hand if you will join me in a resolution that goes far beyond those of losing weight, keeping your house tidy, or breaking a bad habit.
Celebrating Christmas this season, I’ve been struck by how very different celebrations today are from those of my youth. As a child, many of the movies and Christmas specials on TV were overtly religious. John Denver & the Muppets included a beautiful Nativity retelling in their special, and Linus of the Peanuts recites Luke 2:8-20. Many songs played on the radio were the same Christmas hymns we would sing at Mass. Sharing oplatek was the norm for many Christmas dinners, and no one dared start eating until after a proper prayer before the meal.
We are not living in a Christendom anymore. We are multi-cultural and secular in most aspects of our lives. Millions celebrate Holidays without ever setting toe in a church, temple, or synagogue. The culture focuses on Santa, spending, and STUFF.
Still, Jesus IS the Reason for the Season. (Jesus, and the Triune God is the reason for everything if we’re being honest.)
So let’s all resolve to act like He is.
It doesn’t even take much effort to be a Witness for Christ. Say a prayer before meals, even at restaurants. Reject watching shows or listening to music that are perverse, dark, pornographic, and obscene…even if they are the most popular movies/songs. Shut down social media gossip and garbage that deteriorates human connection. Talk about your faith in some way with others on a regular basis.
Share your faith with those you know and invite someone to Mass or to an parish event.
Embrace these resolutions, among others you devise, and commit to doing them with resolve.
This is how we change ourselves in ways that matter so much more than pants size.
This is how we heal our world and live our faith.
Raise your hand if you’re IN.
A very Happy New Year!