Baxter gets lots of toys, but he doesn’t seem to hang onto most of them for very long. When he gets a new mouse, ball, feathery foil, or whatever, he bats it about and bites it to give it his personal touch. Then, after a few days, it’s gone. I look for it, searching high and low, but nothing appears. I ask Baxter, but he gives me the "dumb look." "I don’t know what you are saying. Toy? What’s that?" Sometimes that’s the end of it. I never see the particular object ever again. However, every now and then, one of the lost presents is uncovered - when I move a piece of furniture, when I clean under the bed, when I look in the back of a closet. Suddenly, the long lost item is back, sometimes permanently, but often only temporarily, and then it vanishes again.
Yes, Baxter hides his favorite things. Maybe he’s worried I will take them for my own. Maybe it’s his feline instinct to keep a little of the leftovers from the hunt for a rainy day. Maybe he’s a hoarder, unable to part with anything he gets. Whatever the reason, Baxter hides his prizes for safe keeping.
We sometimes have the same problem with our faith. We think of our Catholic faith as a precious gift from God involving our most personal and intimate feelings and beliefs. So we keep it private and protected. It’s not something we bring up in social situations or invite strangers to discuss with us. We can bat it around with our close friends and family, but otherwise, it is not appropriate conversation in polite company. After all, everyone has his or her own opinion about God, Jesus and the Church. What is gained by starting an argument over these? No one ever wins, and people just go away upset.
But not to share our faith is to hide what is best within us and about us. The love, forgiveness, goodness and mercy of God mark believers with at least the intention to try to be better persons. Not that we always succeed, but we are not satisfied with our faults and failures. This can inspire others not to give up on themselves either.
Jesus' humility and compassion set the conditions for the sharing of our faith with others. Never in His ministry does Jesus set out to condemn the other person. He engages with others always to help them, to understand them, to improve their lives, and so to love them. Any witness we give is empty and selfish unless it intends to do what Jesus did. So often in the gospels we hear Jesus speak of the Father, so that others will know they are His children. He promises the Spirit, so that others will understand that they are not alone in this world but have the providence and wisdom of God at their disposal. He heals, forgives, feeds and teaches that others may be whole, satisfied and enlightened. Whatever the other needs to see God in their lives is what Jesus does for and with them. That is the model of evangelization we need to follow. We don’t force feed the faith. We serve others to serve the faith to them.
So don’t hide this great gift like Baxter hides his toys. He still hasn’t learned that toys are the most fun when they are used for play. We still have to learn that the faith is most fruitful and fulfilling when it is used in service to others.
