Today’s homily is about courage.  Jesus in the Gospel today says three times not to be afraid, not to fear those who can kill the body, and that, if we deny Him before others, He will deny us for all eternity.  Where in our lives do we need this kind of courage?  If we fight against racism or poverty, what danger will we face?  If we speak out against abortion, what will happen?  If we talk to our co-workers about Jesus and religion, would we lose our jobs?

The one issue that will get us in trouble is if we refuse to go along with the transgender narrative, if we say that there are only two sexes, etc.  If we don’t support Pride events, some people say, ‘No problem.  We respect your beliefs,’ whereas many will not.

Could we take a quick poll, please?  When it comes to transgender activism in our culture, do we think it will increase, stay the same, or decrease?  In other words, now that transgenderism is very popular, do you think activists will push their beliefs even more, or things will stay the same, or do you think things will go back to ten years ago when transgenderism wasn’t even discussed?

You’d think that activists would be satisfied if it’s socially acceptable for adults to attempt transition, but that’s not enough, they want kids to embrace this ideology.  On May 7, 2023 I spoke about how our society is perfectly fine if children use puberty blockers or cut off healthy organs.  At UBC, prospective teachers are told to say no longer, ‘Boys and girls,’ but, ‘Children,’ or, ‘Students.’  On May 31, “Superintendents at an Ottawa school board sent an email to all staff saying they should start the next school year using they/them pronouns for all students until told their preferred pronouns”.  One Toronto elementary school now has boys and girls using the same multi-stall bathrooms, and some boys are already harassing the girls.  This is coming to your children and our school, so we better be prepared.

There are four truths on which to meditate from today’s Gospel.  1) The number of times Jesus tells us not to be afraid.  “Fear no one; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered…  Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Mt 10:26,28,31).  The first obstacle for the disciples in being witnesses to Jesus was their fear.  We know from Acts of the Apostles that the followers of Jesus were persecuted: They were arrested, thrown in prison, lost some family relationships, etc.  I love how Jesus is so realistic: He knows what’s in our hearts, that we’re intimidated.

But everything will come to light!  This month, at Londonderry Middle School (Grades 7-9) in Edmonton, some Muslim students skipped Pride events, and, when the teacher berated them, some student recorded it and put it on the Internet.  The principal had to apologize, but what was exposed was that these activists are not tolerant.

Jesus is reminding us that the loss of our souls is what’s to be feared.  It’s a frightening thing potentially to lose our jobs, but it’s more frightening to lose ourselves.  I’ve been given permission to share that one of our parishioners recently asked her boss if she could remove her pronouns on her email signature.  To her surprise, the boss said it’s each person’s choice and so she took it off.  That’s courage!

In January, 2023 Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers chose not to wear a Pride jersey (Please watch 0:08-0:33).

Later, his coach supported his religious freedom, then some players on the Minnesota Wild chose not to wear the Pride flag, then Eric and Marc Stall refused.   And finally James Reimer put this out on Twitter: “For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian — not just in title, but in how I choose to live my life daily.  I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him.  I have no hate in my heart for anyone…  In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life.”  This is a concrete example of how we lovingly speak the truth.

Speaking of the truth, Dr. Deborah Soh, whom I quoted once before, a neuroscientist in gender and sexuality, says:

“Biological sex is either male or female.  Contrary to what is commonly believed, sex is defined not by chromosomes or our genitals or hormonal profiles, but by gametes, which are mature reproductive cells.  There are only two types of gametes: …sperm produced by males, and… eggs… produced by females.  There are no intermediary types of gametes…  Sex is therefore binary.  It is not a spectrum…  Similar to sex, gender—both with regard to identity and expression—is biological.  It is not a social construct, nor is it divorced from anatomy…” (The End of Gender, 17).  Regarding people who are intersex, they too only produce one of the two types of gametes or are infertile (24-25).

None of us men is 100% masculine, and no woman is 100% feminine.  We all have male and female traits, and we celebrate this kind of variety.  But the fact remains that sex and gender are binary.  Even “most intersex people are not seeking to nullify gender or to live in a genderless world” (83).

2) Jesus tells the disciples that the Gospel is meant for all people, not just for them (Daniel Mueggenborg, Come Follow Me, Year A, 206).  “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops” (Mt 10:27).  The disciples received so much personal instruction from Jesus, and this is meant to be shared.

One of the most fundamental truths that every person needs to hear is that our identity is given by God.  Have you ever met someone who thinks of him/herself as a failure?  They have had so many repeated setbacks that they believe failure is who they are, so they expect it.  The same goes for those of us who may wrongly think, ‘I’m not worthy.  I’m unlovable.  I was a mistake.’  Have you heard that phrase applied to a baby?  ‘Oh, he was a mistake.’  By definition, that’s theologically impossible: God gives each person a soul, so no one is a mistake.

I read a story about Melanie, who was conceived in rape, and then given up for adoption, where she was sexually abused until 16 years old.  On the outside, she was a successful college athlete, but, on the inside, she thought of herself as bad—why?  Because bad things kept on happening to her.  So, she did bad things to herself.  When she was 24 years old, she encountered Jesus in a profound way and her life was transformed.  She’s now a religious sister and travels the U.S. speaking to people about their identity (Fr. Mike Schmitz, Made for Love, 74).  Now that her fundamental identity is as a daughter of God, she treats herself well and expects to be treated well.

Dr. Peter Kreeft told a story about a positive encounter with a man who described himself as a ‘homosexual Catholic’ and gave a talk at Boston College.  Afterwards, Dr. Kreeft recognized the speaker as very intelligent and so goes up to him and asks, ‘Could you tell me why many people in the LGBT movement don’t like the distinction between the sin and the sinner: Love the sinner, hate the sin.’  And the man kindly answered that: If people said they love Catholics but forbade them from celebrating Mass, wouldn’t you feel threatened?  Dr. Kreeft answered, ‘Yes, I would, because that’s my identity.  Thank you.  You taught me something.’  And then he asked a question, ‘You call yourself a homosexual Catholic—which of those is your deepest identity?’  The man smiled and said, ‘We both taught each other something today.’  That’s a wonderful story because two sincere, intelligent men were searching for the truth: What’s our deepest identity?  And Dr. Kreeft points out that that which is our ultimate identity is our religion (Defending Marriage in a Post-Christian Culture, Track 13).

I’m proud to be Chinese, Irish, Italian, and Austrian but they’re not my deepest identity.  I’m more Canadian because I grew up here and am influenced by this culture.  However my deepest identity is that I’m a son of God.  That’s my deepest identity because it explains two existential questions: Why I was created and what is my purpose?  My four ethnicities, being Canadian, etc., are part of me, but don’t answer these fundamental questions.

In the same way, being homosexual, heterosexual, transgender, etc.—these are significant parts of who we are but can’t answer our deepest questions of existence.  Pope Benedict XVI famously said, “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution.  Each of us is the result of a thought of God.  Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary”.

3) Jesus reminds us of the Father’s care: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Mt 10:29-31).  Sparrows were eaten by the poor and were among the cheapest food one could buy—if God cares about something so insignificant, how much more will He care for us?

God allows us to suffer because suffering allows for self-definition and for an increase in love, but He still takes care of us.  Some people experience gender dysphoria, but they weren’t born in the wrong body.  Remember this quote: “God prescribed every single detail of your body.  He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, your hair, and every other feature.  He custom-made your body just the way he wanted it” (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, 22).  Nick Vujicic realized that he was never born in the wrong body, but that he was God’s instrument to show the world that God doesn’t love us because of what we do, but because we’re His children.

4) Jesus tells us that there are eternal consequences to our actions.  God will always love us, no matter what.  The question is: Will we love Him?  “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before humans, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before humans, I also will deny before my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:32-33).  We love the people who will pressure us, but we love Jesus more, and because we love Him, we won’t go along with a lie.  We can’t deny the Person who created us, Who died for us, and Who calls us to be with Him.

On June 16, 2023 in Calgary hundreds of people protested gender ideology being pushed in schools.  Here’s a clip:

Muslim and Christian parents stand together in solidarity to fight groomers in Alberta schools. pic.twitter.com/HIviUKuD2e

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 17, 2023

You’ve got to love that Muslim man and that Christian man, who stand up for their faiths.

A Canadian man, who was in prison for misgendering his daughter, said, “When my daughter turns 25 and says, ‘Dad, where were you?’  I’ll say, ‘I was there.  I was fighting as hard as I could.”

The goal for today is courage.  Speak the truth.  Some of us are very ready to say to others and online very bold truths, but, if we’re not, at least we can say to people, ‘I’m not comfortable with this.  I disagree.’  Let’s take one step forward by saying what we think.

Praise be Jesus Who lives in us and gives us His courage.