“Popular applause veers with the wind.”

Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means.  But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them. -Immanuel Kant

Gospel text (Lk 12,8-12):

Jesus said to his disciples:

"I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others

the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.

But whoever denies me before others

will be denied before the angels of God.

"Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,

but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit

will not be forgiven.

When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,

do not worry about how or what your defense will be

or about what you are to say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say."

Do we treat Jesus with the same reverence when we go out on the weekends? Do we acknowledge Christ when we are out with our friends? Do we defend his name when asked why we remain in the church? Do we call ourselves Christians when it is not comfortable or the popular thing to do? 

Sometimes the right choice is not always the popular one.

There will always be instances in our lives in which we find ourselves comfortable, then uncomfortable. If you called someone your best friend yesterday, would you stand up for him if he was being bullied today? Would you say you were proud of your son one day, then bail him out of jail the next? 

We are called to treat these situations just as we are to treat our relationship with Jesus. We are called to be like St John and call him our savior until the bitter end at the foot of the cross. It will be difficult. In order to nurture our relationship with Him, we need to implement daily prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments into our life. We must live the gospel in our words and actions, treating the least of God's people as we wish to be treated.  Perhaps most importantly, we must defend him in conversation when called to do so.

Like many things in life, being a Catholic is not always easy, but rewarding in the end. If we wish to be acknowledged on judgment day, it is our duty to acknowledge Jesus as God today in both word and deed.