One weekend I was at a family gathering in the twin cities visiting my mom who had come back from Vietnam to see her kids, grandkids, and great grandkid. There was great food, great conversation, and great karaoke. The time went by so fast it was like a blur. A few things stuck out to me though:
1. How old we all were getting.
2. How much I really wanted my family to become believers like me.
My mom is getting up there in age and not that she is sick or has any health risks but as you see your mom age, you begin to think of mortality and what life after death is going to be like. I quickly tried to move on from that thought because who wants to think about losing their mom. I went on to enjoy the night as much as I could.
Along with the family, some of my brothers had invited their friends over to enjoy traditional Vietnamese dishes and a few beers. On this occasion my mom made a dish called “Thit Bo Luc Lac” or translated to English “Shaking Beef” (pictured below). It is a seared beef stir fry and I guarantee it will change your life!
One of my sister-in-laws introduced me to their friends and after some small talk she mentioned that I was a blogger. These friends seemed interested about what I had to blog about and inquired about my wordpress site. I mentioned that I blog about various things but they all deal with it from the Catholic perspective. Ironic that they are now a part of one of the blogs!
There was a slight pause and a hesitancy to talk but soon it was as if the flood gates had opened.
• “It is so odd that you found your Catholic faith when there isn’t anyone of your immediate family members that are Catholic. How does that make your family feel?”
• “I don’t think that you should talk about your faith, I’m a Christian and your faith is JUST between you and God.”
• “I just don’t believe that Christians should press their beliefs on anyone else.”
There were many more comments but these were just the ones that stuck out to me and quite frankly, the ones that I hear all the time.
Bullet point 1 – It is very odd that out of all my family members, throughout the history of the Hua/Nguyen household dating back thousands of years, I am the first Christian. Most of them cannot be held accountable because they never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. But to assume that I would stay in the family tradition of Buddhism simply because that’s what we were is to deny what I have found as truth in the Church. If Buddhism offered me the answers that Catholicism has I would be blogging about the ‘Four Fold Truths’ and the ‘Eight Paths to Enlightenment’ and you probably wouldn’t be so offended by my faith.
Bullet point 2 – (side note, this one came from a Christian from a non-denominational church) If all Christians kept their faith to themselves I wouldn’t be here talking to you right now, my family never would’ve made it to America, I would have never been naturalized an American, and more importantly, I probably never would’ve became a Christian. My faith isn’t just between God and I. As Luke says in 11:33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.” Jesus says that “You are the light of the world” Matthew 5:14. My relationship with Jesus may be personal by my faith is communal, that is why it says in Romans 12:5, “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
Bullet point 3 – You’re right, if by “pressing” my beliefs on you means, forcing you to believe what I believe. But if by “pressing” you means telling you about my faith and what I believe then you are mistaken. I have been commissioned through my baptism and confirmation to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). If I know truth and don’t speak it then I am selfish. If I know truth and speak it then I am free!
The conversation ended with someone saying, “No one cares, dude!” Even though I’d been stymied, I felt that I had at least left enough reasonable doubt for some future intellectual/spiritual thinking. We went on to have a great night while eating lots of food and enjoying adult beverages but I couldn’t help thinking back about the debate I had with those friends and wondering how the conversation would have gone had it happened 2 years ago when I was a coward about my faith. I thank God for the courage to speak up. Jesus does say in Matthew 28:16, “I will be with you until the ends of the earth”.
I want to leave you with a true story about courage and taking action vs cowardice and inaction. Greg O’Leary wrote a book called ‘Small Miracles’, here is an excerpt from it:
God has a way of allowing us to be in the right place at the right time.
I was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, I slowed down to listen and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing was the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling and tearing of fabric.
Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked. Should I get involved? I was frightened for my own safety and cursed myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic? Shouldn’t I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?
Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had taken only seconds, but already the cries were growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast.
How could I walk away from this? No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.
I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don’t know where I found the moral courage and physical strength — but once I had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed. I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman.
Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.
Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing.
In the darkness, I could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock.
Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a distance.
“It’s OK,” I said soothingly, “The man ran away. You’re safe now.”
There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder, in amazement.
“Dad, is that you?” And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest daughter, Judy.
Guys, it’s time to be real men of faith.
Disciples At The Ready 