Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.     (Luke 6:22-23)

'Wilt thou be joint-heir with Jesus Christ? Wilt thou be like unto Him, his brother? -- and not suffer? Then, at the Last Day, He will certainly know thee not as brother and joint-heir. Then He will ask thee: "Where is thy crown of thorns? Where is thy cross? Where are thy nails and scourge?" And He will ask thee: "Wert thou an abomination to the whole world, as I and all mine have been since the foundation of the world?" If thou have naught to say to all this, He will not count thee as His brother.' (Martin Luther)

My dictionary defines 'abomination' as 'intense aversion, abhorrence, detestation, loathing', in other words, hatred. Luther says we must be an abomination to the whole world to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Jesus said we are in fact blessed when we are regarded this way, and that our reward in heaven will be great. The question then is: how do we become an abomination; what are we to be hated for?

Ferreting out the reasons given above, we can say the following: we are hated for a specific reason - because of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. We are hated for being his followers. We are treated the same way the prophets of God were treated in the Old Testament. We are treated the same way Jesus was treated. Luther confirms this. We will wear a crown of thorns, have a cross to bear, be whipped and tortured. We are hated for not going along with the rest of the world. We are excluded from their social groups because we don't think or act the same way. We are insulted for being foolish for believing in God. We are rejected as evil for not worshipping money, power, retributive violence, and "the system", like everyone else. The prophets and Jesus were treated that way because they criticized the social, political, and religious behavior of the people. We are then called to do the same. When society is not just, we are called to say so, and work for change. When political leaders expect us to regard the state, rather than God, as our first loyalty, we called to say no. When churches get off track, when their leaders and their institutions are hindrances to proclaiming the gospel, we are called to speak out. When we encounter resistance, we are to "rejoice in that day and leap for joy", not back down but persevere.

In some countries around the world, you can easily be killed by taking this approach to the faith. In the Western world, you are not likely to be killed, but instead you can expect embarrassment, ridicule, and sometimes isolation. This can happen at work, at school, within a family, and within a congregation. At these times, remember the words of Paul:

"And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, provided that we share his suffering, so as to share his glory." (Romans 8:17, NJB)

By remaining faithful to Jesus Christ, suffering for his sake, we will be called by him to be his brothers and sisters in the Kingdom to come.

Lord Jesus, give us the strength to overcome fear as we encounter resistance, hatred, rejection, or persecution while trying to remain faithful to you and God the Father. Your Way is the Way of life. The way of the world is the way of death. We look forward to the day when we will rejoice with you, and all the saints and martyrs, in the Renewed Creation, the City of God. Amen.

Contributed by David M.
Sunday October 1, 2006
Liturgical Year B Week 45