Sometimes we tend to walk outside our doors and begin to mentally prepare ourselves for a battle. Our radars are on and we are prepped to protect and defend ourselves against those that might hurt us or attack our faith.
Now, spiritual combat and a combative attitude are certainly important parts of the Catholic package. Still, I couldn’t help but chuckle and marvel at the lesson about evangelization that I learned in this sweet video in which a father tries to scare his 2-year old toddler while dressed up as Darth Vader.
YouTube vlogger Rob Lopez decided to wake up his toddler, Sebastian. His son is a huge star wars fan and he loves Darth Vader. Thought it would be fun to see what happened if Vader woke him up in the morning.
Anyone that has picked up the Bible and allowed Christ’s message and presence to touch their hearts can see that Christ was no Barabas. Although everyone expected him to take up the sword (lightsaber in this case) and duke it out with the powers at be (just imagine Rome as Darth Vader), he did something very different. More than arm himself, he disarmed those were thirsty for combat.
While those who struggle to understand the faith or who are very critical, or even hateful, against the Church may come with the sword (or we feel that they do… sometimes we can get defensive all too quickly!), we need to give some thought as to how we should respond.
Sebastian teaches us a great lesson about the greatest and only weapon of our Faith: charity. Charity is the only cutlass capable of severing the knots of aggressive debates where there is a lot of talking and very little listening. The little guy shows little or no interest in winning a battle. He is much more interested in sharing his treasures.
More than demand that he put the sword down, our friend completely changes the dynamic. He doesn’t want to take anything away. He wants to make an exchange, to inaugurate a new game, with new rules, and an utterly new result.
Long story short, the aggressor quickly ends up in the rocking chair, evidently taken aback by the turn of events. In the end, the young child seems to take the position of an instructor as his father sits and takes notes from his lessons.
The Moral
The moral of the story? Being Christian and doing apostolate is about sharing the treasure of our faith. Even when others are closed or antagonistic (who knows why? each one has a story!), the best answer must always consist in generous service, in giving from what we have received without asking for anything in return, in offering them the way, the truth, and the life that Christ has bestowed upon each and every one of us.
