I hate secrets. I don’t mind knowing them; it's always a rush, to know something everyone else does not. But that feeling is quickly replaced by the desire that everyone be on the same page, committed to the same level of transparency. In families and in communities, secrets are toxic.
And if it’s good news, I especially hate having to keep it in! Only the awareness that everyone should get to tell their own good news holds me back and keeps me mum. Unless it’s my own good news, and then I can “spill” with abandon.
So I wonder how Jesus’ disciples felt when, after Peter has stated that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus followed up with this: Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Was Jesus concerned that the coming clash with the religious authorities would develop too quickly if everyone began using that kind of language about him? Did he want people to work it out for themselves? Were there other reasons at which I cannot guess? No doubt.
How could they keep quiet? If your whole community is waiting and yearning for the Anointed One of God who will bring deliverance and you’ve discovered that person, you pretty much want everyone to know. It’s not only Good News, it’s news!
Most of us, on the other hand, have known this too well and for far too long to think of it as news; the gospel is ho-hum. Few of us are oppressed by others; maybe by feelings or addictions, but we do not live in occupied lands. What is it that keeps us quiet? Do we keep our faith a secret from people around us? Do we feel too unsure about our faith to go around discussing it openly?
I don’t think Jesus wants us to keep quiet about who he is. I believe he wants us to rediscover his love and feel the amazement that God would love us so much as to send his son into the world to rescue us for eternal life, to show us what that God’s love feels like. This leads us back to the heart of Christian faith: relationship with God in Christ. There’s nothing all that new or all that good about our religious life, for the most part. But we are invited into a relationship that delivers new gifts, new promises, new hopes every morning. That’s pretty amazing.
When we truly engage that relationship with Jesus in prayer, we find ourselves talking about it, as we talk about other relationships in our lives, as we say, “You know what my sister is doing this summer? You know what my co-worker was saying the other day?”
If you’re connected, talk about it. If you feel disconnected, tell Jesus you’re open to a deeper connection with him. If you feel funny talking to him, go talk to someone who you think knows him and hang out with that person. Sooner or later, the Good News will dawn for us – and then we'll never stop sharing it.
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