Ponderings
May 22, 2012
Luke 18:31-34
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
There are so many instances in the Gospels when the disciples simply do not get it; especially when it comes to the journey that lies ahead for Jesus (and ultimately for them).
The truth is that few of us want to think of suffering as the by-product of faithfulness. We're much more comfortable with talking about God's grace in our lives, God's power for our challenges, and God's love amidst our flaws. However, persecution, in one way or another, is indeed inevitable when we are willing to stand tall for God's cause and Christ's call in the world.
Now obviously, few, if any of us face in our lives the kind of persecution or reaction Jesus faced, and the disciples would later face. But the truth remains that we must be willing to suffer for Christ's cause if such becomes necessary.
Maybe it's the rebuttal we receive from people who matter to us when we speak on behalf of the forgotten or maligned. Maybe it's the discontent we sense when we dare to love those whom others write off. Maybe it's the well aren't you holier than thou expression we get when we seek, however lovingly, to remind others that certain moral principles matter. Maybe it's as simple as the misunderstanding we get when we voice a desire for reasoned and civil response to highly controversial matters. Maybe it's the here we go again sigh from others when we call attention to critical key issues like the environment or immigration or hungry children.
I don't think it's going too far for each of us to assess personally whether or not we're so faithful to Christ that there is some reaction from others!
