Homily for Saturday 17 October 2026, St Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr (d. c. 115)

Luke 12:8-12

Have you ever been in the social situation where you had the perfect thing to say to someone, but didn’t think about it until afterwards? I think we are all brilliant conversationalists, if we had enough time. The name for this comes from the French, by the way: “L'esprit de l'escalier”, literally, “the spirit of the staircase” (because it’s when you’ve walked away and are half-way up the stairs that you come up with that brilliant comeback).

While the spirit of the staircase is enormously frustrating, imagine if you had the same thing happen while talking about your faith. It would be more than frustrating, I think – dare I say heart-breaking, even. Our Lord is teaching his disciples about what to do so that they don’t fall into that problem when they are arrested and brought before kings and authorities. It involves the implication that one’s skill at speaking publicly about Christ is not about planning the speech itself, but rather cultivating a strong relationship with God the Holy Spirit.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, is the opening instruction. Confess Christ as Lord, which pleases the Holy Spirit enormously. It is a holy rejoicing when you confess Christ as Lord in your heart, for the Holy Spirit who dwells in your heart hears this and rejoices, and you are then filled with the joy of heaven.

You will then be called to confess Christ as Lord in public: “when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities” that is to say, not if, but when it happens.

And so we are to do this in our hearts in order to prepare us for when we are to do it with our voice.

It is interesting that here, as in so many other places, when we are given the encouragement to declare the good news of Jesus Christ, we are not told how to do it. Instead, we are given instructions on how to cultivate the inner life. If you are worried about how to talk about your faith in public, talk about it in prayer. Build up that relationship with God over time. Don’t rest in it; work at it. That inner life will become visibly obvious; it is impossible for Christians to hide the fact that they have been spending quality time in the immediate presence of God Almighty. And if you are being built up in God’s strength, perhaps God will call on you to declare his good news in public, and therefore draw people to faith in Jesus.

As long as we remember that it all comes from our own hearts being dedicated to God, and spending time with him in prayer.