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Critics are quick to point out what they see as the many contradictions in our faith. 

For example, people call me “Father,” yet I have no children. 

And how many of us believe that God can bring some good out of the havoc wreaked by the Coronavirus?

Illogical, absurd, impossible in the eyes of many. Yet, we believe nothing is impossible for God.

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Consider what else we believe to be possible.

Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us; to humble ourselves in order to be exalted; to lay down our lives only to take them up again.

He himself forgave the weak and those living on the fringes of society, while condemning religious authorities; he preached about virtue while he ate and drank with sinners.

The night before his death, Jesus offered his Body and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine after washing his disciples’ feet; the Master kneeling before his servants.

It doesn’t make sense; it defies logic. It seems Jesus teaches us to believe in contradictions, that down is up and up is down.

Maybe that’s the point.

Faith turns our lives upside down, right side up.

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The message is clearest when Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. 

Why does he wash Peter’s feet, but not his head? Peter even protests, telling the Lord to wash him entirely.

But Jesus insists Peter’s feet are enough. Peter must use his feet before his head, following the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense, because up is down and down is up.

What’s the alternative?

To think first; to reason; to rationalize; to bargain with God.

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Think of how often our head slows down our feet. 

We know where we should go, or what we should do, but fear stops us; we think about it too much. We don’t trust in Providence. 

We put our head before our feet. 

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This why the best way to see the world from a Christian perspective is to surrender, feet facing up; viewing the world upside down. 

Or, better said, right side up.

We follow the Lord, we trust Him, even when we don’t understand.

The world will try to convince us that we’re crazy, that we should be in control of ourselves; that we’re our own masters; that we should chart our own destiny; that our faith is filled with contradictions.

Maybe it is.

But it’s the Lord who challenges our minds and hearts. It’s he who turns the values of this world upside down, right side up. 

Instead of seeking revenge, he tells us to let go. Let God. Instead of being selfish, be generous. Instead of exalting ourselves, be humble. Instead preserving our lives, lay them down.

To the world, that’s nonsense; a “how-to” on being a doormat. 

But to us it’s the path to salvation.

Remember the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your good, not for evil” (Jer. 29:11).

Plans to turn your life upside down, right side up.

For Peter, that meant becoming an Apostle, and eventually, the chief shepherd of the Church. But he’d never make it that far if he thought about it; if he put his head before his feet. 

The same Peter who sank into the stormy waters on the Sea of Galilee, would’ve sank into his ego, his fear, his unworthiness if he knew his future.

It’s why the Lord washed his feet, not his head. 

Peter, an ordinary fisherman who didn’t always get things right, had his life turned upside down, right side up.

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This is how Peter dies, too; feet first, hanging upside down on a cross. 

He demonstrated to the Lord his willingness to follow him, to do the illogical, to lay down his life, trusting he’d pick it up again.

Not in this world, no. 

But in the next.

On that awkward, quickly assembled cross, Peter finally understood the head-over-heels message of his Master, who turned his life, his values, his doubts, his security, topsy-turvy, upside down, thirty-five years earlier on the shores of Galilee with two simple words:

“Follow me.”

And Peter did.

All the way to Rome, to the center of worldly power. Peter scoffed at the threat of death, diving feet first, seeing the world in all its contradictions upside down, right side up.

There he preached his final sermon like his Master, not with words but with his life. 

He testified to a God who reveals his power with gentleness, not force; who came to serve, not to be served; who gave his life as a ransom for many.

For Peter. For you. For me.

Perhaps that’s how Peter entered heaven, too, feet facing up. He finally learned that the road to heaven isn’t paved with reason, but with love. 

The best way to reach it is upside down, right side up.

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To many our faith is filled contradictions. We know them. We’ve tried living them. And often enough, we fail. I’ll be the first to admit it.

Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you. Lay down your life, in order to take it up again. It sounds illogical.

But maybe it’s the world – not us – that has its logic twisted. Faith turns our lives upside down, right side up, teaching us to live like Peter:

Heads well grounded; feet pointed toward heaven, eyes viewing the world from a different perspective; earthy logic upended; hands useless; efforts to save ourselves futile.

Ready to follow the Lord feet first, saying “yes,” even when we don’t quite understand.

Somehow, doing so leads us along the topsy-turvy, upside down, right side up road to heaven.

Which is why the same words Jesus spoke to Peter he now speaks to us:

“Follow me.”

Will we do it?

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There’s always a cost to starting something new. Whether you’re off to college, getting married, or even trying to break this Coronavirus pandemic, everything in life comes at a cost.

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In my case, I love to golf. 

It’s a hobby that comes at a price. Before you can play, you need the right clothes, clubs, a few lessons… and, most importantly, lots of patience.

Ask anyone who’s played the game, you can have the best putt of your life on one hole and watch your ball fly into the water the next.

Golf is fun – but it’s costly, and at times, terribly humbling.

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In the Gospel, Jesus urges us to consider the cost of following him. 

Like learning how to play golf, he lays out the expectations: we must “hate” our family, renounce all of our possessions, and take up our cross and follow him.

Taken at face value, that’s not difficult.

It’s impossible.

But we must clarify what Jesus means. 

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In its original context, the verb “to hate” meant valuing one person or thing over another, meaning Jesus wants to be number one in our lives.

Never number two.

The earliest Christians felt the weight of this command, as many were disowned by their families – even killed – for choosing to follow the Lord.

It’s a position some Christians are still put in today.

A Turkish friend of mine, for example, married a serious Catholic – and has since come to believe in Jesus, as well. But her parents have made it clear: if she converts to Christianity, they’ll disown her.

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What would you do?

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Fortunately, most of us don’t have to face such a wrenching decision. But putting our faith first still creates tension in our families.

How many of us, for example, have a spouse, children, or grandchildren who refuse to go to church?

How many have watched their children drift from the faith in college, marry outside of the Church, or dabble in other faiths and spiritualities?

As parents, you want the absolute best for your children – a safe home, a successful career, a family of their own. How painful it must be when the one thing that matters most – faith – isn’t there.

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Faith moves us. It inspires us. It creates a sacred space in our hearts where we wrestle with life’s most difficult questions. 

By our very nature, we want to share that experience with others, but we can only do so if another person believes.

As a result, faith can become like politics – it’s a topic we don’t discuss at home or in our social circles because we’d rather keep the peace.

Yet Jesus tells us today we must keep him as number one.

How, then, do we reconcile this burden of belief? And how do we hand on our faith without burning bridges?

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Follow Jesus’ example.

He never imposed himself. He never judged (unless he was condemning the religiously arrogant). He welcomed everyone, allowed people to question, and loved them regardless of their conclusions.

Though he didn’t change every heart, Jesus convinced many to follow him because of his example.

That’s key. 

The best way to share our faith is to set an example; to love others regardless of another person’s race, politics, religion, or lack thereof.

As Pope Francis said recently, people won’t follow “Christian parrots,” those who talk about the faith, but don’t live it. 

People are looking for witnesses; they want to see lives transformed by God.

Anything but a “Christian parrot.”

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Learning how to play golf is tough and expensive. But the expectations are clear: buy new clothes, a set of clubs, and stock up on patience.

In a similar way, Christ sets the standard for following him: He must be number one.

And when that decision creates tension in our lives, as it inevitably will, bear the burden patiently trusting that the Lord never wastes our efforts.

In Jesus’ own words, we who believe are the salt of the earth, the light of world.

Anything but Christian parrots.

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Social distance isn’t anything new.

All that’s changed is the fact that now we’re distanced from everyone. In Jesus’ time, social distance was practiced around lepers.

One of the most brutal aspects of leprosy was this sense of isolation that set in.

People were terrified of it; they didn’t know how you contracted leprosy or how it spread, only that it ravaged the body.

The easiest, most convenient answer was being a sinner.

Lepers were sinners.

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If lepers were sinners, the logic went, then it was best to avoid them.

It was holy to disown them, to discard human beings like bags of trash tossed into a dumpster.

But in today’s Gospel, Jesus turns this logic upside down, right side up. 

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He not only speaks to this man with leprosy, he also reaches out and touches him. Jesus heals him.

In doing so, he not only restores this man’s physical body, which had become terribly deformed; Jesus also shatters the boundaries of social isolation that previously held him captive.

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This is the will of God, to shatter the isolation that holds so many captive.

During this Coronavirus pandemic, for example, we’ve all felt the weight of social isolation. (This doesn’t mean we that we should break the CDC guidelines and gather in large groups! Social distancing remains essential).

But think of how many feel alone. 

Depression and anxiety affect too many in our society, from teenagers to grandparents.

Think of one person who may feel alone.

Like Jesus, how can we shatter their isolation?

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Accompany them. Be a shoulder to cry on. Say a prayer. Speak a word of encouragement. Reach out however you can to assure them that are known – and loved.