Most mornings I receive a text from my oldest friend. She is not my oldest friend, but the one I have known for the longest. We met in church nursery; I won’t tell you how many years ago. Our friendship has ebbed and flowed throughout the years. I am not certain we were aware of each other’s presence those first few years, but it is still nice to have that history, knowing that her mother might have held me, or mine changed her diaper. We attended the same school from kindergarten to eighth grade, and although we went to different schools afterward and lived in different cities, our love for Jesus kept bringing us back together.
We haven’t always shared texts in the morning. But lately, we’ve needed encouragement. So, the texts have started.
Lately, our faith feels under attack. Some of the core tenets of our beliefs are viewed as evil, instead of good. And sometimes we feel like the man calling out to Jesus, Help my unbelief!
Much of our encouragement is reminding each other of what is true. Both of us have been reading Scripture each morning. We spend time in prayer. We do all of this so that we are clear on who Jesus is and what Scripture and Church teaching say he is. That way, when others say he is someone else, we aren’t easily led astray. We know who Jesus is because we spend time with him. We have a personal relationship with him. Then we send each other a text to remind each other of the truth.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Christians are told to “encourage one another and build one another up.” Don’t we need some encouragement?
In the New Testament, encouragement is always spoken of as a community event. We don’t need help being discouraged but we do need help being encouraged. We need each other. We cannot do it alone. It happens in community. We are to envelop, enfold, wrap each other in courage.
If you read any of the letters of St. Paul, you will see that most of his ministry was about going out and encouraging Christians. On many of these trips he was accompanied by his friend Barnabas, whose very name means “son of encouragement.” (I think we need to bring that name back into vogue.)
In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells the Church that God is the author of all encouragement. He is the one who encourages us when we are suffering. Not so that we would keep it to ourselves, but that we would share that encouragement, that it would overflow to others.
How do we encourage each other? By sharing our stories. This is how the Church began. Those first few who knew Jesus told others who he was and how he transformed them. It’s time to share these stories again. Tell them after Mass, over coffee, while on a walk, on a Zoom call or even in a morning text to a friend. Remind each other of what is true and good, so that we will be emboldened — wrapped in courage.
Northwest Catholic — February/March 2022