SPEAKER_00: Today the church celebrates the memorial of Saint Boniface, probably one of the greatest missionaries in Christian history.
SPEAKER_00: Boniface was born in England in the eighth century.
SPEAKER_00: He could have lived a comfortable life.
SPEAKER_00: He was educated, respected, and very successful.
SPEAKER_00: Instead he left everything behind to evangelize the pagan tribes of what is now Germany.
SPEAKER_00: The story most people remember is the day he walked up to a massive oak tree dedicated to Thor, the pagan god of thunder.
SPEAKER_00: The people believed that anyone who touched the tree would be struck dead by divine judgment.
SPEAKER_00: Monifus took an ax and began chopping it down.
SPEAKER_00: The crowd watched in horror.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing happened.
SPEAKER_00: No thunderbolt, no curse, no death.
SPEAKER_00: The tree gone, and with it fell the fear that had enslaved all those people.
SPEAKER_00: Soon many people came to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Bonabis understood something very important.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel does not simply add Jesus to our lives, like one thing among many things.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel tears down idols.
SPEAKER_00: Every generation has its idols.
SPEAKER_00: In Boniface's day it was Thor.
SPEAKER_00: Today we might say it's money or success or power, politics, pleasure, comfort, self, things.
SPEAKER_00: The name changes, but the temptation always remains the same.
SPEAKER_00: Human beings are always tempted to place something in God's place.
SPEAKER_00: And that brings us directly to today's first reading.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Paul tells Timothy, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
SPEAKER_00: That is not a verse you find on many inspirational coffee cups, but it's true.
SPEAKER_00: Notice Paul does not say some Christians will face opposition.
SPEAKER_00: He says all who desire to live faithfully will encounter it.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because the gospel challenges challenges every age.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel challenges paganism.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel will challenge the Roman Empire.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel will challenge communism.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel challenges secularism.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel challenges every ideology that pulls something else on the throne that belongs to God and God alone.
SPEAKER_00: And whenever truth confronts falsehood, there's resistance.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Boniface knew that.
SPEAKER_00: Eventually he was martyred while preaching the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: According to tradition, when attackers approached him with swords, he refused to allow his companions to fight.
SPEAKER_00: He held up the book of gospels and entrusted himself to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: What kind of man does that?
SPEAKER_00: Well, a man who believes what Paul is talking to us in the first reading.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed.
SPEAKER_00: Then Paul gives us one of the most important verses.
SPEAKER_00: All scripture is inspired by God.
SPEAKER_00: That single verse is foundational for Catholic apologetics.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what Paul does not say.
SPEAKER_00: He does not say scripture merely contains God's word.
SPEAKER_00: He says scripture is inspired by God.
SPEAKER_00: The church teaches us that God is the ultimate author of sacred scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Human authors wrote according to their personalities, languages, and historical circumstances, but it is the Holy Spirit guiding them so that they can be faithful and communicate what God wants to be revealed for our salvation.
SPEAKER_00: That is why Catholics do not read the Bible just as another ancient book.
SPEAKER_00: It is living, it is inspired, it is transformative.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Augustine was converted through Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Francis built the church through Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Boniface evangelized nations through Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible is not merely information, it is formation.
SPEAKER_00: It changes the person who approaches it with faith.
SPEAKER_00: Then in the gospel today, Jesus asks a fascinating question.
SPEAKER_00: How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the Son of David?
SPEAKER_00: At first it sounds like a theological puzzle, but Jesus is doing something very important.
SPEAKER_00: He's revealing that the Messiah is more than a human descendant of David.
SPEAKER_00: He is David's Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, Jesus is revealing his divine identity.
SPEAKER_00: The crowds expected a political savior.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus reveals to them a divine savior.
SPEAKER_00: The crowds expected someone who would solve earthly problems.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came to conquer sin and death.
SPEAKER_00: The crowds expected a king.
SPEAKER_00: They got God.
SPEAKER_00: And this is where the readings come together.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Boniface was willing to risk everything because he knew who Jesus was.
SPEAKER_00: Not merely a teacher, nice some man, nice man who went around doing nice things, not merely a prophet, not merely a wise man, but the eternal Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: That's the question every person must answer.
SPEAKER_00: Not whether Jesus was influential, not whether Jesus was moral, not whether Jesus was inspiring.
SPEAKER_00: Who is Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Because if he is truly Lord, then everything changes.
SPEAKER_00: Our priorities, our fears, our values, the way we live our lives, we prioritize everything, even our willingness to suffer.
SPEAKER_00: The reason Boniface could stand before pagan idols, hostile crowds, and eventually his executioner was because he knew what St.
SPEAKER_00: Paul knew and what the gospel is telling us.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ is Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And if Christ is Lord, then there is nothing left to fear, not even death itself.
SPEAKER_00: That's why the martyrs are so powerful.
SPEAKER_00: They remind us that Christianity is not a hobby, not a philosophy, a cultural tradition.
SPEAKER_00: It is truth with a capital T.
SPEAKER_00: And once a person encounters that truth, everything else becomes secondary.
SPEAKER_00: As Saint Boniface teaches us today, the gospel still has the power to cut down idols, convert hearts, and transform nations, one soul at a time.
SPEAKER_00: Saint Boniface, pray for us.