When I was a rookie police officer, my training officer and I went on a domestic disturbance call. There were many such calls over the years, but I’ll never forget this one. We got there and could hear a man and woman shouting at each other in the house. My training officer pounded on the door. The door was jerked open from within, and things got suddenly real quiet. We walked in the house.
Now, I have to tell you why things got so quiet. I’m not a big dude. I’m barely 5’9” and weigh maybe a buck seventy. Back then, I was lighter, probably around 160 lbs. My training officer, however, was another story. About 6’4” and weighed about 250 and it was all muscle. He was a big guy and looked very intimidating. We walk in the house and my TO picked up the TV remote. He turned the channel and said, “Ya’ll be quiet; Andy’s on.” And so, we watched a few minutes of the Andy Griffith show. I had no idea what was going on but knew that this was NOT how they taught us to handle domestics at the academy. At a commercial break, my TO looked at both them and said, “Ya’ll don’t be ugly.” He got their names and we walked out. Ya’ll don’t be ugly. It’s a southern thing. I tell that story to start this conversation about ugliness. If you pay attention at all to what is happening in the world, you can see quite clearly the ugliness of the world around us. There is so much hate, so much vitriol, so much tension. Rage seems to just ooze out of everyone. Our public figures (especially our President) just seem to be angry all the time about everything. The fact that we even have conversations about abortion and war and mass shootings and suicide and drug overdoses (and the list could go on) should illustrate to us how ugly and bitter and destructive the world is. This is a real struggle for me right now. I see the ugliness of the world. I see the destructive and satanic agenda being pushed, especially on our children, and I am anxious and angry and feel the proverbial walls closing in. The fact that people either seem oblivious to this or don’t seem to care and just keep kicking the can down the road is unfathomable to me. Going along to get along and keeping quiet while the world descends into hell is unacceptable. But here’s where it really strikes home for me. I was recently reading a book review of a compilation of sayings from St. Silouan, a Russian ascetic. One of the sayings jumped off the page at me. “Of a truth I say, speaking before God whom my soul knoweth: in the spirit I know the Most Pure Virgin. I never beheld her, but the Holy Spirit allowed me to know her and her love for us. Had it not been for her compassion I should have perished long ago; but she was minded to come to me and show me, that I might not sin. This is what she said: ‘I find your ways ugly to look upon.’ And her words, soft, quiet and gentle, wrought upon my soul. More than forty years have passed since then but my soul can never forget those sweet words, and I know not what return to make for such love towards my sinful self, nor how to give thanks to the good and forbearing Mother of the Lord.” “I find your ways ugly to look upon.” I cannot stop hearing it in my soul. “I find your ways ugly to look upon.” Can you feel how that quiet whisper crashes into your heart? Oh, how this convicts me! How far I have fallen from the ways of our Saviour. How far I have fallen from the ways of His Blessed Mother. How far I have fallen from the ways of the saints. I read Holy Scripture and the things that our Lord Jesus said and did, the things that His Apostles said and did, the words of the Fathers and the saints and I am ashamed. I am ashamed of myself. Far too often, my ways are ugly to look upon. My selfishness, pettiness, anger, greediness, and worldliness are so very ugly. So very sinful. Wretched man that I am. I live such a silly and frivolous life. My heart is too easily distracted by silly things that have no eternal value. I think we’re all like this at times. We read the lives of our Lord, His Apostles, the Fathers and the Saints and we should be struck by the differences in ourselves and them. There was an intensity and focus and sobriety about them that we are sorely lacking. Or maybe it’s just me. Pray for me, brothers and sisters. Pray for yourselves. Let us fall on our faces and repent of our ugly ways. Turn off the TV, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Turn away from the world. Turn again to the staggering beauty of our crucified Lord. Turn again to the purity and piety of the ascetical life of the Church. Turn again to prayer and the life of the Christian. Partake of the Liturgy and the Body and Blood of our Lord as often as possible. May God forgive us for the ugliness of our lives and hearts. May He grant us His beauty and peace as we turn again, over and over, to Him.
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I’ve been talking about this a lot recently so I recognize that some of this will sound redundant, but I refuse to be silent. Besides, repetition is the mother of learning and we, as a nation, don’t seem to be getting it so I’ll just keep saying it. Besides, far too many “Christians” are silent these days.
I want us to consider a question in this post. I want to say at the outset that this is something that I take very seriously and am struggling with right now for various reasons. Here’s the question: At what point do Christians say enough? I’m serious. At what point do we say that we’re done with the ultra-pagan society that we have become? This morning there was a conversation at my workplace which I want to use as an illustration that this woke madness and moral degradation is completely overwhelming the United States. In this little town and county where we live, there are plans for a “pride parade.” I guess this is “pride month” or something like that. Anyways, two local churches (both Protestant I believe) asked the city to cancel the parade. It got posted about on Facebook. So, some of my coworkers were talking about this today. These coworkers call themselves “Christians” and are members of local churches and/or parishes (Roman Catholic). They began to criticize said churches for their stance. I couldn’t take it. I just walked out of the room. I was furious and ashamed of “Christians.” Since when do those who claim to follow Christ defend public displays of sodomy and debauchery?! I’m not talking about their constitutional right to assembly. Sure, they can do that. I’m talking about Christians defending this public display of flaunting unnatural sexual acts! At what point do Christians say enough? Consider the warning of the Prophet Isaiah, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20) Woe unto them. Judgment is coming, says the Lord. Brothers and sisters, we cannot be silent any longer. All sin is evil in the eyes of God. All. And we should confess and repent and turn back to our Lord when we have committed any sin. But for Christians to stand by as this is happening in our society and either say nothing or (God forbid) defend this is unconscionable. Woe to us if we are silent. Woe to us if we call evil good and good evil. Woe. So, when do we say enough? When do we stop going along to get along? Even Jesus says that there comes a time when we have to just leave it. At least that’s what He told His disciples. Look at Matthew 10. Jesus sends out His disciples and tells them to preach the Gospel to the lost sheep of Israel. These were God’s people and Jesus calls them lost sheep. There is a warning here for us I believe. Don’t assume you’re in just because you go to a weekly worship service and pay lip service to Christ as King. The people of Israel assumed as well, and we see how that worked out. They were sent into exile and dispersed all over the world; their land was taken away and God was silent for about 400 years. So, Jesus sends out the Twelve. And what does He say to them? Look at verse 14-15, “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.” Shake the dust off. What does that mean? It’s basically the same as us saying we have “washed our hands” of something. It was akin to a curse that God’s judgment would come. Jesus said that those people, those cities would have it worse than Sodom and Gomorrha. Lest we forget, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha by raining down fire from heaven on them (see Genesis 18-19). That’s pretty bad. Our society has rejected God. If you don’t believe that, you are simply not paying attention. What do you think God is going to do to us in His judgment if we continue in this way? Now, here’s a hard question. What do we do in our own lives when we find this in members of our family or our friends? What do we do when they reject God? What do we do when they have embraced the world and don’t follow the commands of Christ? At what point do we say to them, “I’m done. I’ve tried, I’ve prayed, I’ve talked with you, I’ve modeled it for you (make sure you are) but you’re still refusing to turn away from sin and turn to God.” When do we say enough? I get the arguments against this attitude. We’re supposed to be merciful and loving and kind and show grace and all that. Yes, yes, we are. We’re supposed to love them anyway, you might say. Yes, that is true. But which is more loving, to continue to let them live in their sin or to say, “Repent and turn back to Christ and His Church”? Is it loving of us to find a brother or sister in danger of hell and not call them to repentance?! If you were about to get ran over by a train, wouldn’t you want someone to try to save you? Or would you rather them say, “Oh well, you do you”? I don’t know all the answers. I don’t know if true Christians should leave America like the moral sinking ship it is. I don’t know if we should turn away from our friends or relatives or family who have turned away from God and embraced the world. What I do know is that Jesus demands all. He calls us to love and fidelity to Him and His Church above all. What else can we do if we say we love Him? Brothers and sisters, pray for me. I pray for you. Pray for others who are without Christ. Pray for those who call themselves by the name of Jesus who have embraced the world. Pray that Jesus would return soon! |
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