By Tony Joe:
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:12-19
Today's Bible Verse Explained / Homily - Saint Luke 21:12-19
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21:12-19
Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
In today's Gospel passage, we see Jesus promising to send help regarding what to speak when Christians are called to testify on behalf of faith.
He also foretells that "You will be hated by all because of my name..."
If you are a Christian, you already use His name, but are you really hated by all because of His name?
If you can answer yes to this question, you are already in the correct path. You just need to do some checks. I will come back to this soon.
But if your genuine answer is no, that is, if you feel that you are not hated at all because of His name, you are way off from the true Christian path.
Forget hate, today many Christians are using His name to win love, respect, adoration, support, influence, success, riches, and power.
Many of the Christian leaders in all denominations - both clergy as well as laity - as well as the so-called Christian leaders in politics, are just using Christ's name to emerge powerful and remain powerful. Period.
Nobody is going to persecute such Christians ever; rather, if given a chance, they will first persecute non-Christians, and eventually persecute even true Christians for their own selfish ends.
So, whenever we are in doubt regarding the genuineness of our Christian moorings or of other Christians, this is the acid test that Jesus himself proposed - a true Christian is sure to be hated by all because of His name!
That brings us to another cardinal point regarding those who feel that they are already hated because of His name. I promised to revisit this point.
Agreed that you are hated by many, especially by non-Christians or those belonging to the secular crowd. But for what?
Is their hate for your trashing of their religion? Or their science? Or for pursuing religious conversion through incentives?
Or is it for being intolerant to mysterious minorities like gays, lesbians & transgenders?
Or for your reluctance to do charity? Or for your penchant for amassing millions through crooked businesses and matching selfishness?
Or for your your harsh judgement of sin in others? Or is it for your holier-than-thou attitudes or self-righteousness?
If such things are what you are hated for, you are not hated because of His name at all!
Because, Jesus never trashed any religion, ordered his followers to lead and spread the Gospel through example, was never intolerant to sexual minorities, was never intolerant to sinners, never judged anyone harshly, was intolerant of those amassing riches, regarded hypocrisy or self-righteousness as one of the greatest sins, and put charity above everything else.
So, what does Christ mean when He says that "You will be hated by all because of my name..."?
If you are hated because of His name, you will be hated for the following - your senseless forgiveness, your surprising charity, your shocking generosity, your unfailing tolerance, your leadership by example, your faithfulness towards truth or science, your respect for sexual minorities, your dislike for amassing riches, your totally non-judgemental attitude, and your stunning kindness towards your enemies.
Still doubtful that these are the qualities that Jesus meant? To clear your doubt look no further than His preceding sentence:
"You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death."
Why and when would those dearest and nearest to you hate you so intensely? Only when your Christianity hurts them directly, through your senseless acts of charity, generosity, forgiveness, and your apparently foolish kindness towards your enemies!
And not when your Christianity brings you fame, riches, and power, as then your nearest and dearest ones would only benefit from your success.
Let us therefore vie to do good without limits, as Jesus commanded, to a level where our actions are disapproved by our near and dear ones! And stay that course, come whatever may, till the end.
Only then would Christ's promise to us hold good - "...but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
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