Fearlessly Faithful

Our age often seems bedeviled by huge global issues that defy simple answers. We have ongoing controversy over climate change and what we ought to do. We are faced with refugees from war-torn countries and our obligations to them. We debate war and military actions in distant lands—should we be there? My own land, Canada, suffers ongoing anguish over how to do right by our aboriginal peoples. These are all huge issues, marked by complexity and few simple answers.
Some, perhaps many, feel inclined to opt out of the confusion and anguish. It seems so much easier simply to do our work and play, raise our families, and ignore these political-social dilemmas.
A careful reading of today’s passage from Matthew suggests that is exactly what the chief priests and elders do with Jesus. They ask under what authority he acts. Jesus turns the question back to them—what do they think? Because any answer they give would commit them to some action or stance, they opt for silence. “We do not know,” they mumble finally.
If we retreat from the issues of our day, wring our hands, and declare we can do little, we have responded as the chief priests and religious leaders did so long ago. They opted to duck the question and stay on safe ground. But from the Gospels, we sense a call to respond. We can follow the news and become better informed. We can read up on issues or affiliate with organizations around particular concerns. Then we can respond in Christian action and witness out of an informed stance.
Christians are to respond faithfully, living out what they believe. We may experience stress and make mistakes, but silence (“we do not know”) is not a faithful choice.