Today we come to the penultimate beatitude in this series of eight we’ve been looking at in the build up to Christmas:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires – the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as them”.
It might seem like a strange topic for the season of goodwill: but given that this is a communion service where the cost of following God to the end is shown graphically in the elements of bread and wine, perhaps it’s not so strange.
Now there are two obvious Sermons to preach today and I don’t intend to preach either.
The first is to hold up examples of Christians who are persecuted in today’s world and say “there you go, folks. That puts whatever problems you’re facing because of your faith into perspective”.
It would be very easy to do.
If you Google “Christian Persecution”, you’ll quickly find several websites that spell out the reality of life for an estimated 100 million Christians across the world. I lifted these headlines at random from one website, but there were pages and pages of other stories I could have chosen.
“Europe urged to halt death sentence of Iranian pastor”
“Pakistani teenage Christian nearly stoned to death in prison”
“Hindu militants attack Punjabi Church”
“Gunmen break into Iraqui Christian home and kill 2”.
“Chinese house churches raided – two pastors missing”.
And they’re just headlines, but behind every one there are people being denied basic human rights, and families worried sick for their loved ones and for themselves.
And though it has to be said that people of all creeds (and none) face persecution in different parts of the world, the fate of Christians, particularly in Islamic and Communist countries, is especially precarious in today’s world.
And it would be easy to use their stories to flagellate ourselves for how little we suffer for our faith; but that’s not a sermon I want to preach.
And nor do I want to put on my Daily Mail hat and rail against the so-called persecution of Christians in Britain today. You know the kind of thing – the Airport worker who’s told she can’t wear a crucifix round her neck at work. The healthcare worker who’s struck off for offering to pray with a patient.
These kinds of small-scale persecution are cropping up with regularity now because we live in a culture of overcautious political correctness. But although stories like that are saddening and maddening, they’re hardly surprising.
Minorities often suffer at the hands of the majority, and we live in an age when only 15% of the UK population attend church at least once a month. We’re a minority now. And instead of spluttering our outrage about it, we’re going to have to learn all over again what it means to live creatively at the margins.
But I digress.
So those are the two sermons I’m not going to preach this morning.
Instead, let me tell you four things the Bible says about persecution and leave it at that.
Firstly – Anyone who’s trying to live a Christian life will come up against persecution of one form or another. That’s guaranteed. If you choose not to follow the crowd, don’t be surprised if the crowd turns on you now and again.
Now some folk bring it on themselves – the Dot Cottons of this world with their moany self-righteousness. But there are many good souls, doing nobody any harm and plenty of folk good, who still find themselves at the sharp end of criticism.
As Jesus spoke with the disciples on the night he was betrayed, he warned them that the going ahead would be tough “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also”.
Expect it, he said. Do your best to live at peace with everyone, but don’t expect that it will always be successful. If you choose to live the way of the kingdom you won’t always fit in. And you know what the world does to people who don’t fit in. It kicks them until they’re the right shape, or it pushes them to the margins where they can safely be ignored. Don’t be surprised when it happens.
Don’t be surprised when you don’t get the invitation; or they pass you over for promotion because you’re not ruthless enough or you prioritise your family and your church life over your career.
Don’t be surprised when tongues wag, or emails fly because you choose to live differently. Don’t be surprised when some take great delight in misrepresenting you.
Persecution of one sort or another will come. Expect it, says Jesus.
But remember, secondly, that you’re not alone in it. Christ is with you in your suffering. Expect God’s presence.
Some of you will know the story of how Saul became the apostle Paul. As one of the most devout Jews of his day, Saul was tearing about the country persecuting the newborn church; presiding over the execution of some of its key members.
And then on the road to Damascus, he was blinded by a shining light from heaven. And he heard the voice of Jesus saying “Saul, Saul . Why do you persecute me?”. Not “Why do you persecute my church? Why do you persecute those poor believers? Why do you persecute ME”.
Now by this stage, Jesus was long gone. Saul never laid eyes on him except in this encounter. But for Jesus, persecuting his church was the same as persecuting his very self. He is with us in our suffering.
Much, much later in life, after he’d struggled long and hard in the service of the gospel, Saul – now Paul - set down these words in his letter to the Romans, and they’re words that are born out of experience:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
We are not alone when we suffer for his sake. God is present with us.
And that is hugely important, because the next thing he asks us to do, we couldn’t do without him
Jesus asks us to pray for those who persecute us. We need to Express Prayer for them.
Nothing represents the whole upside-down, counter-intuitive philosophy of Jesus’ kingdom way, better than this command.
Just a few verses on from where we read this morning, Jesus says these words:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven".
Martin Luther King, who had more enemies than most of us, put it this way: “He who would change someone must first love them”.
How will our enemies, our persecutors, ever change if we refuse to love them and return hate for hate?
Desmond Tutu tells a story from the work of the Truth and Reconciliation committee’s work in South Africa. A black woman whose son and husband had both been brutally killed by security police officers found herself in the same room as the man who had orchestrated their killings. After he’d finished giving his testimony, the commissioners asked the widow how she wanted justice to be done.
“I want three things” she said.
“I want to be taken to the place where my husband’s body was burned, so I can gather the dust there and give his remains a decent burial”.
“My husband and my son were my only family, so the second thing I want is for Mr Van Broek to become my son. I want him to come twice a month to the ghetto where I live so I can pour out on him whatever love I still have within me.”
“And thirdly, I want someone to come to my side and lead me across the courtroom so I can take Mr Van Broek in my arms and embrace him and let him know that he is truly forgiven”.
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse”, says Jesus. Why? Because it’s the only way to break the cycle of hate. It’s the only way that love can triumph.
Expect persecution. Expect God’s Presence. Express Prayer, and lastly, Embrace Powerlessness.
One of the worst things about persecution of any kind, is the feeling of powerlessness that goes with it. But in the kingdom, that powerlessness needn’t be a hindrance. It can be an opportunity.
In the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes about an especially difficult time in his ministry where he felt utterly powerless. But in that situation he heard God say these words which have been a comfort to many suffering Christians:“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
When we come to the end of our own strength, there’s nothing left for us but to rely on God’s strength. And when accept that, we find the power to endure.
Mother Julian of Norwich was a 14th century mystic who lived in a time of great turmoil and uncertainty with the land ravaged by plague and warfare. And in the midst of it all, she had several intense spiritual revelations from God which she wrote down, and they can still be read today. There are her words:
'You will not be overcome, ' were said very insistently and strongly, He did not say, 'You will not be laboured, you will not be disquieted; but he did say: 'You will not be overcome'.
Persecutions will come. We can expect them. But we can also expect God’s presence in the midst of them. And when we express prayer for those who seek to wound us, and embrace our powerlessness, we will find the strength to get through, even in our weakness.
There’s the blessing. Thanks be to God.
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