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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – One of my favorite hymns is ‘Lift High The Cross’. It tells us that you and me, Christ followers, have an obligation to share the faith with others.
“Lift High The Cross
The Love of Christ proclaim
‘Til all the world adores his sacred name”
Today I am thinking about the commencement speech this month by Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs.
He said nothing that is out of step with traditional Catholic values. He was even critical of priests who put their own popularity among their flocks over the teaching of religious truths. He said the Church makes a mistake when it shies away from topics that make people uncomfortable: divorce, homosexuality, abortion. I know many Catholics who tell me those things are never talked about at Mass.
His message to church leadership was a challenge: you are called to serve, not to be popular.
Butker said the things that give his life its highest meaning is being a husband and a father. He told the audience that his wife was never fully fulfilled until she became a mother. He spoke specifically to the female graduates in his audience, saying that having a career is fine… but it is a weak replacement for matrimony and motherhood. He spoke about the popular lie that men are not necessary in the home.
The secular world described the commencement speech as sexist and homophobic. Hogwash. He was speaking to a group of Catholics and a catholic university. He said nothing that would be controversial to followers of the faith.
I find it comical that the NFL quickly scribbled out a statement, saying that Butker was speaking for himself, not for all of professional football. Of course. Yet the league could never muster the courage for such a statement when Colin Kaepernick and hundreds of other players could not stand for the national anthem.
Here is my challenge for fellow believers. We must be willing to speak about what the faith says. Of course we should speak about God’s mercy, forgiveness in Christ Jesus, and the unimaginable grace that is offered for those who will turn away from sin. But our faith also calls on us to do certain things, and to not do other things. We need to model those behaviors, and to talk about them – even when it’s unpopular.
If we won’t lift the cross, who will?
Chris Conley
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