Daily Mass Homily — Thursday, 30th Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 6:10–20 | Luke 13:31–35
Theme: Put on the Armor of God — Christianity Is Not About Being Nice, but Being Holy
There is a tendency today to confuse Christianity with simply being nice. We imagine that because Jesus was loving and merciful, He must always have been gentle, agreeable, and careful never to offend anyone. But that is not the Jesus we encounter in the Gospels. Jesus was compassionate, certainly, but He was also courageous, direct, and uncompromising when it came to the truth. And so was John the Baptist.
Consider John the Baptist. He publicly confronted King Herod Antipas over his unlawful marriage to Herodias, his brother's wife. John knew that speaking against someone so powerful could cost him his life. And eventually, it did. Yet John understood something that we sometimes forget: the truth does not become less true simply because someone finds it offensive.
In today's Gospel, Jesus demonstrates that same courage. The Pharisees approach Him with a warning: Herod wants to kill you. But rather than becoming frightened or retreating, Jesus responds, “Go and tell that fox.” In the ancient world, calling someone a fox suggested cunning, deceit, and craftiness. Jesus was not intimidated by Herod's political authority. He knew that His mission came from His heavenly Father, and no earthly ruler would determine when or how that mission would be completed.
The biblical scholar Frederick Dale Bruner once wrote something that I think is particularly important for us to remember: “When we teach only Jesus' mercies but not his judgements, we disfigure the gospel.” Think about that for a moment. We can become so comfortable speaking about God's mercy, His compassion, and His forgiveness that we forget He also calls us to repentance, conversion, and accountability. Mercy without the truth becomes sentimentality. And truth without charity becomes cruelty. But Jesus never separates the two. He loves us enough to forgive our sins, but He also loves us enough to tell us that we must change.
And this brings us to St. Paul's words in our first reading: “Put on the armor of God.” Paul reminds us that the Christian life is not simply a matter of avoiding conflict or keeping everyone happy. It is a spiritual battle. But notice the weapons he gives us: truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. Not anger, cruelty, arrogance, or self-righteousness. The Christian is called to stand firm in the truth while remaining rooted in charity.
St. Paul uses a similar image in Romans 13 when he tells Christians to “throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” And then he explains what that armor ultimately means: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are not simply called to admire Jesus or occasionally imitate His kindness. We are called to become like Him, even when doing so requires courage, sacrifice, or confrontation.
And perhaps that is the challenge for us today. Have we become so concerned with being liked that we have forgotten our responsibility to be faithful? There is a difference between being charitable and being agreeable. Charity sometimes requires us to say things that others do not want to hear. Jesus loved Herod, the Pharisees, and even those who would eventually crucify Him. But His love never required Him to compromise the truth.
As we approach the Eucharist today, we receive the very Christ whom St. Paul tells us to put on. Let us ask Him for the courage of John the Baptist, the steadfastness of the Apostles, and the strength to stand firm in the truth without surrendering charity.
Because the Christian is not called merely to be nice. The Christian is called to be holy. And holiness sometimes requires the courage to stand against the world rather than surrender to it.
