Jesus did what?! He touched a leper? Is he crazy? Ignatius, too, says crazy stuff, like sometimes it might be good to pray for actual poverty. It is probably important to admit, as Paul says, that these things do appear to be “foolishness,” but are we also willing to go a step further and let God show us why Jesus might invite us to do “foolish” things? Paul says “the Spirit working within us can do more than we can ask or even imagine,” so it stands to reason that, at some point in a sincere faith walk, we are going to do things that others will think is crazy.
What “crazy” things might God be calling me to consider? Maybe to risk advancement at work to spend more time with family? Or to invite ridicule by reaching out to someone that others see as a loser? Or …
—Fr. Tim Hipskind, S.J. is co-director of the Institute for Leadership and Service, as well as Director of Service Learning at the University of Detroit Mercy. He regularly ministers to Hispanic Catholics in the Detroit area.