In today’s readings, we hear of the founder of the Persian Empire, King Cyrus the Great, who reigned from the year 559 BC to 530 BC. We know that God used this pagan king in order to fulfil his will, allowing his people to return to the Promised Land. They had been exiled, for they had lost their way. They had sinned against the Lord their God, following other gods, worshipping idols—a profanation, a sacrilege in the eyes of the Lord.
And so God sent Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to bring them into exile. But when the time had come, as we hear in the first reading, the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: all the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him.”
This is such a beautiful reminder to us that God is Lord over all, whether believer or non-believer, Christian, atheist, or pantheist. No matter what creed or belief you might espouse, the truth is objective; it is one. It cannot be changed because it comes from the one true God. Whether or not I believe in God does not affect the reality that he exists.
Now, my brothers and sisters, in the Gospel, the Lord reminds us that once we have been given the grace of the truth, we possess it like a light within us. Jesus says, “Nobody takes a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket. No, you put it on a stand in the house so that it can give light to everyone in the house. So too shall your light shine.”
Last Wednesday, September 10th, we lost a beautiful voice, a beautiful light in the world: Charlie Kirk. I haven’t spoken about this, but though he wasn’t Catholic, I truly believe he was on the way there. Just a few weeks before his assassination, for example, he spoke about how the Protestant church undervalues reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary. He began to see more clearly, most likely because the Lord had provided him with a beautiful wife, a Catholic wife, Erica. I believe that with time he would have come to the Church, but nevertheless, he was very disciplined and very close to the Lord.
And this is what is important—even more than doctrine. And trust me, doctrine and truth are all-important. But perhaps even more so than that is our personal relationship with Jesus. Although he was not Catholic, Charlie Kirk was deeply committed to Christ, and he let that light shine all over university and college campuses. For those unfamiliar with him, he would go into places that were hostile territory for a conservative—into liberal, radical-left ideological war zones. Yet he would simply put out a sign: “Prove me wrong.” He wanted dialogue. He studied his material well, knew his statistics, and yet he always approached others with charity, with respect, even when insults were hurled his way. He responded with humility.
He was an example for us of how to put ourselves out there and let our light shine. Too often, I find that we as Catholics tend to hide our faith, almost as if we are embarrassed or ashamed. And we shouldn’t be, because we have the fullness of the truth. We have the treasure, the fullness of that treasure, within our possession. But what we do with that treasure—that is up to each and every one of us.
So, my brothers and sisters, let us hear the decree of King Cyrus of Persia as an invitation to the freedom of the Lord—the freedom to live our faith openly and with courage, even when it comes under fire. Let us take the example of our brother Charlie Kirk and be courageous in speaking in the name of the Lord. For there is nothing more important in this world than to share the goodness of God with others. Amen.
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