What is Secret Will Be Made Known
Pastor’s Column
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 25, 2017
“Jesus said to the Twelve:
Fear no one. Nothing is secret that will not be revealed;
no secret that will not be made known.”
Matthew 10:26-27
The time will come for each of us, at the moment of death, and later, at the last judgment when Christ assembles all the nations around him and explains everything, when we will each know the truth about what has been happening throughout human history and our own lives. What we have repented of will not be judged, but we may still see the effects of our actions, our place and mission in the world. Those who thought they got away with something in their lives that was evil are in for a very big surprise! And isn’t it true that even in life, the truth usually becomes known? We have been told in advance: everything in our lives is watched by God!
I had an interesting experience of this when I was in my 20s and working for American Airlines. My grandmother wanted to go to her 50th High School reunion in Akron, Ohio (she lived in San Diego) on one of my airline passes, but she didn’t want to go alone. So I accompanied her and had a (very boring!) week in Akron, Ohio.
All during my growing up years in Akron, when my grandparents would argue, my grandmother would bring up the fact that she could have married this classmate of hers named Richard Fisher; he was wealthy, he had asked her to marry him, she would have been happier with him. I developed an intense dislike for this man’s name!
When I dropped my grandmother off at her reunion, I stopped briefly in the foyer of the ballroom and looked back at the poignant gathering, glad I could make this possible for her. A man was there, walking in. He said to me jokingly, “My, you are very well preserved for being a member of our class.” I said in reply, “Oh, well I am the grandson of Mary Smith” and I gave him her name. He said, “Well, I am very pleased to meet you; I am Richard Fisher.” Somehow I managed to keep my composure, to be actually in the presence of the almost mythical figure of Richard Fisher, the man whose name had come up so often. He repeated my grandmother’s name several times and then said, “Well, I don’t remember who that was, we probably weren’t friends! And I heard the Lord say to me, “Well, I thought you ought to know the truth of the matter, but don’t tell your grandmother you know the real story!”
Let us strive to serve the Lord in purity and zeal; he knows everything we have gone through; many secrets will one day be made known, but the greatest secret he wishes to be made known now is how much the Lord loves us.
Father Gary
