Persecuted
“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven.” Matthew 5:10-12
This is the last of Jesus’ Beatitudes. They are all amazing statements, and they give us the best possible introduction to Jesus’ teaching. He was introducing his disciples to an upside-down kingdom. When you see things from Jesus’ point of view, everything looks different; this final Beatitude makes that clearest of all. In these few words Jesus sums up what all of us would try very carefully to avoid. Being mocked, persecuted, lied about and having all sorts of evil things said about you is surely as bad as life gets. But Jesus affirms that the person who experiences these things should be incredibly happy. This sounds so completely contrary to normal thinking that we need to handle Jesus’ words very carefully.
Jesus was clearly saying that living in tune with God’s will is the best that life can be, however fierce the opposition. To be part of God’s eternal kingdom of love, joy and peace is better in every way than anything that this world can offer. What Jesus was doing was equipping his disciples to face life in the Roman empire, where they would be under continual pressure at home, at work and in the community. The Romans were, in fact, very tolerant of other religions and tried to bring order and unity to the empire by simply requiring that once a year the people would burn incense at one of the many images of the emperor and declare: “Caesar is Lord.” It seemed like a modest request, but it was too much for the Christians who knew that it was simply untrue. Only Jesus is Lord. Many Christians died through their refusal to worship the emperor, but they knew that they couldn’t compromise even for a moment.
Opposition will come in many different ways. Some will be sneered at because of their commitment to Christ and be thought of as rather simple and weak. Others have to live with continual mocking even within their family. Some will be disliked at work because they insist on sticking to the rules and not cutting corners. In some parts of the world the opposition from authoritarian governments makes it illegal to meet with other Christians. In countries where another religion is dominant, believers are under constant pressure and are sometimes the focus of physical violence.
In all these amazing Beatitudes Jesus was declaring that seeking first the kingdom of God is life at its best, however tough it might be at the time.
QUESTION
In what ways has Jesus turned your thinking about life upside down?
PRAYER
Lord God, I thank you for the privilege of knowing you and being part of your kingdom. Help me to stand strongly for you whatever challenges and difficulties I might face. Amen