A Year-Long Journey Through the Sermon on the Mount: Week 12

Chapter 12 – Persecution

 

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:10)

 

As popular a religion it is now, being Christian wasn’t always so easy. The first followers of Christ were persecuted, prosecuted, and executed for worshiping someone other than Caesar, for following the teachings of someone outside the empire, and for believing that Jesus had risen from the dead bringing in a new age.

 

In our society here in North America, Christianity is at the top of the social, political, and cultural hierarchy. Our federal holidays are based on Christian tradition. It wasn’t that long ago school days began with the Lord’s Prayer. Only recently Sundays stopped being the one day everything was closed – stores, businesses, etc – on the expectation that everyone was going to church. We are no longer persecuted for being Christian. So, what does Matthew 5:10 have to do with us, you might ask.

 

Popular Christianity seems to be moving away from Jesus’ teachings at an alarming rate. Caring for the poor, having empathy for the stranger, and bringing mercy to the oppressed are considered aspects of “woke” culture rather than the basis of the Christian faith. We confess our sins and ask forgiveness on Sunday while not doing the work of repentance from Monday to Saturday. We preach helping the poor and caring for our neighbour while also calling for the end of social services and gender-affirming medical care.

 

In this week’s chapter, Gene Davenport states, “To ignore the call to bear witness in the midst of the darkness is to allow the darkness to go unchallenged, unresisted.” He also says, “The Gospel calls disciples to insert themselves into the darkness as bearers of the light.” So maybe Christians are being persecuted after all, because those Christians who continue to care for the marginalized, stand up for human rights, and call out injustices are being called woke, leftish, socialist, and, incredibly, anti-Christian.

 

Jesus calls us to challenge and resist the darkness, to be bearers of light. Not for self-gains, but to create a world where everyone has the right to live peacefully as themselves and as a community. Just as in the beginning of his ministry and of his followers’ declarations of the Gospel following his resurrection, we must be willing to risk persecution as we continue the work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ – that we are called to love God and love neighbour as God loves us; that we are called to protect the innocent and the vulnerable; and that we are called to stand up against injustice.

 

It's worth the risk.