“[Our] gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.”
Two weeks ago, we marked the 800th anniversary of the death of one of the Church’s most beloved saints, Francis of Assisi. We saw one myth about him – the famous misquotation, “preach the Gospel at all times; use words when necessary” – and how it was so contradictory to Francis’s own life. We also saw, though, how that fake quote has endured in popularity because of an instinct we have that words that aren’t backed up by a powerful conviction – the kind of conviction evidenced by the holy life of the saints – will always fall flat.
St. Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians is an important clarification on that theme. The words that communicate the truths of the Christian faith are necessary but insufficient. There can be no true proclamation of the Gospel without the word of testimony. But that proclamation of the Gospel in word will not be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit and the conviction of a deep faith. Which is to say, you have an instinct for when people are really convicted. You have an instinctual and gut response that tells you where someone’s heart is.
Which leads us to the theme touched on by today’s Gospel: the relationship between Christian faith and political power. Increasingly, it’s also easy to tell where someone’s political convictions lie. Long gone are the more genteel days when it was considered impolite to inquire after someone’s political leanings. Politics is increasingly marked by a tribal mentality. You can predict someone’s political leanings by the stores they shop at, the foods they eat, and the neighborhoods in which they live.
I’m frequently asked questions about how our faith bears on political questions, and I struggle to give straight answers. In part, because there isn’t always an obvious choice for Catholics in the political realm, but even more so, it’s because I fear that someone is not asking in good faith. They’re not so much interested in the Church’s teaching as in labeling and categorizing people.
In short, I identify with our Lord in today’s Gospel! The people who ask him about paying the tax to Caesar are not asking in good faith. They’re not genuinely interested in His teaching. “The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him” with flattering words. But Christ, St. Matthew tells us, knows their malice. It’s a trap the whole time!
When we likewise approach the Church or our fellow Christians not with a spirit of docility to the teachings of the Bride of Christ, not with a desire to grow in communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but wanting to know which political box to put this bishop, this pope, or this fellow Christian into, we are little better than the Pharisees who just want to ensnare our Lord (especially when we, like them, don’t have the courage to do it ourselves, but send someone else to do it on our behalf).
“[Our] gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.” Do our convictions come more fundamentally from our faith in Christ, or from our political leanings? If we find ourselves making excuses for politicians who claim to be pro-life but promote in vitro fertilization or try to make a public spectacle of a gruesome execution, we might need to reconsider whether our trust and our convictions are well placed.
Very few of us are intellectuals. Most of us don’t spend our time reflecting on abstract philosophical notions. But most of us are intellectualists. That is, we give priority to the ideas in our heads – to the intellect – rather than to the will, to the choices we make and the convictions that move our hearts. We are easily trapped into thinking that it is sufficient to hold to the right opinions and to believe the right things.
But the Christian faith is not just about having the right opinions, not just about being on the correct side. The Lord wants not just our minds, but our hearts, just as He has given us His heart! To be thoroughly and authentically living the Christian life, we can’t be satisfied with just holding the right opinions and beliefs. We need to be living according to a Gospel, a good news, that comes not “in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.”
So, how can we have that power and conviction? As St. Paul tells us, the Holy Spirit has an essential role to play. But how is the Holy Spirit active in our hearts? How are we convicted first and foremost by Him? The Entrance Antiphon of today’s Mass gives us an important clue. (Recall that these proper chants, drawn from the Scriptures, are often the interpretative key that the Church gives us that show how the Scriptures and prayers of the Mass fit together.) As we began Mass, we heard, “To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words.” It’s describing prayer! We hear the same theme in the Responsorial Psalm: “Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and praise; give to the LORD the glory due his name!”, describing prayer of praise and adoration.
Authentic conviction of the Christian faith is formed by the Holy Spirit most fundamentally in prayer. It is formed in prayer of deep reliance and even desperation: “To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God!” It is formed in the prayer of praise and adoration, in which we confess God’s greatness and power, the source of our own conviction: “Give to the LORD the glory due his name!”
A simple test of how important something is to us, is to ask: How much time do I spend on it? Do I spend more time with the Lord in prayer, or with politics, through the news media, social media, podcasts, etc.? If I spend more time each week or day with political news and commentary, that’s probably what’s more deeply forming my heart! And the people around me can probably tell what I’m really most convicted about.
The goal of every Christian should be, to be able to say with St. Paul, that the good news of Christ has come to the people around us through our words, but not in “word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.” That conviction of the truth and power of the Christian faith is formed in us by the Holy Spirit through prayer, and through consistency of life, when we give an example of a life that has been transformed by an encounter with Christ, which changes our priorities and changes the decisions we make. This is the evidence of real conviction that gives credibility and power to our words and to our witness to the saving good news of Jesus Christ.
The Rev. Royce V. Gregerson
Parish Church of Our Lady of Good Hope, Fort Wayne
XXIX Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXVI
