By Elizabeth Tertadian
Ask UP students who Harold Burke-Sivers is, and they'll tell you he's the guy in charge of campus safety. What they may not know is that he is a man of deep faith, and that Jesus is much more than just his "homeboy."
On Oct. 7, the Director of Public Safety, who regularly speaks about his faith at retreats, seminars and various parishes nationwide and internationally, spoke at the weekly meeting of FISH, a nondenominational Christian group on campus.
The topic: "Jesus is my Homeboy."
The familiar phrase appears on "Christian" baseball hats, t-shirts, and other merchandise, projecting the idea that Jesus is their friend, their "homeboy."
According to Burke-Sivers, it is important to find a balance between Jesus as friend and Jesus as Lord in a society that often strips Christ of His divinity. Burke-Siver's presentation to Fish emphasized that he sees Jesus as Lord, first and foremost.
So what does that mean?
To start, Burke-Sivers posed a hypothetical situation. He asked one student to name his favorite band. After a few stammers, Burke-Sivers jumped in to help, selecting the band, Muse. The scenario continued with Burke-Sivers as narrator: Muse was coming to town, and everyone is excited, he said. I mean come on, it's Muse!
He piqued the student's interest with the premise that two free tickets to a Muse concert come to him in the mail. They're front row. On top of that, a bar code on the back scores the student back stage passes after the show.
"You'd slap your mother to get tickets to see them," Burke-Sivers said.
Then came the point of the analogy.
"You're pretty darn excited to see Muse, with front row tickets and back stage passes," said Burke-Sivers. "Why are we not this excited about the living God?"
It was a question of passion.
Burke-Sivers lamented the mentality of secular society, the notion that a relationship with God is replaceable. Or worse, he said, that a relationship with God is unneeded. Or even worse, he said that everyone is his own god.
Using another analogy, Burke-Sivers said that while exchanging an unsatisfactory cell phone for a new one is understandable, exchanging one's relationship with God for something less is not feasible. A relationship with God is more than a cell-phone contract, he said. It's a covenant. Not an exchange of goods, but an exchange of persons.
According to Burke-Sivers, truth has become increasingly subjective. He referred to the bestselling book, "The Secret," as an example. Featured on Oprah, the book claims to give readers the secret to a successful and happy life. One attracts what one thinks about, it says, suggesting God is unneeded because "you are your own god, " according to Burke-Sivers.
"My Christian alarm clock started going off," he said, upon learning about the book. "I thought Jesus could give you whatever you want."
He continued on to say that ideas like those in "The Secret" sway people to make Jesus more of a "homeboy" and buddy, and no longer "Lord." This "new age" way of thinking denies the responsibilities of Christians, he said.
According to Burke-Sivers, Jesus is a friend. But the idea that He is just a friend, and not "the living God" is when friendship oversteps its bounds.
"Human friendship fails," said Burke-Sivers. "God's love never fails."
The divinity of Jesus and the importance of being in relationship with him has guided Burke-Sivers's life, he told the FISH members.
"I am willing to stake my entire life that Jesus is Lord," he said, adding that his relationship with God comes first in his priorities, followed by his family.
"My faith permeates who I am," said Burke-Sivers. "It is me."
Burke-Sivers grew up in a Catholic home and was extremely involved in the Church. He was a member of the choir and an altar server. He went through Catholic schools through high school, and earned his Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration at the University of Notre Dame.
Later, he received his Master's in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas. Burke-Sivers then joined a monastic community, but left when his mother became ill. Soon after that, at a wedding, he met the woman who would become his wife. They have four children.
Burke-Sivers currently is a deacon of the Catholic Church as well as a Benedictine Oblate of Mt. Angel Abby, as well as a prominent speaker for various Catholic gatherings.
When he first moved to Oregon, he spoke often at a variety of parishes. That led to appearances on Catholic radio broadcasts, which then led to television.
Now, Burke-Sivers hosts shows on national radio, such as Catholic Answers Live, and appears on Eternal World Television Network, a large Catholic TV network.
Currently, he is on EWTN every Friday at 2 p.m. Burke-Sivers continues to speak around the U.S. and world, making appearances in Singapore, Japan, South Africa and Malaysia. Last weekend, he spoke at a conference in Milwaukee, Wis., on the topic "Light Up Your Marriage."
That's not all. Burke-Sivers started Aurem Cordis, an evangelization and apologetics organization. According to its Web site, Aurem Cordis is "dedicated to the dissemination and promotion of Catholic values, principals, and teaching."
Aurem Cordis is also on Facebook, and has 132 fans. As "deaconharold," Burke-Sivers is on Twitter, and has 51 followers.
To Burke-Sivers, it's all about one thing.
"The Bible says to 'pick up your cross and follow me,'" he said. "I plan to do that and hope to inspire others to do that also."
