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Jesus teaching the crowd — image by Gerd Altmann/geralt on Pixabay |
Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake
We end our series on The Beatitudes and Becoming a Spiritual Warrior with the last two “blessings” that Jesus talked about in his Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Blessings or Warnings?
It seems, doesn’t it, that the last is rather an extension of the one before?
In fact, these last two “Be-Attitudes” are different than all the others before them. The first difference is that the subject changes from “the (something)” to “those who.” Then the person changes from the third to the second, from “they” to “you.” The move out of the theoretical and general to the very specific and personal.
One difference between these and the previous “blessings” is that they are a warning. You see, if you are a true Spiritual Warrior, and you do everything you can to live out the previous concepts, you will become a target. You become a target for those who fear what you have to say and the kind of life that you choose to live.
This is what happened to Jesus.
Jesus’ own example
When Jesus came into Jerusalem that last time, he knew that he had crossed the line. He had met with Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, who had died yet returned to life when Jesus called him. He had done many things that defied both the occupying Roman government and the established religion of his people.
He had healed on the Sabbath, he had knocked over the moneylenders’ tables at the temple, and he had stood on a hill and talked about the blessings that would come to those who lived selflessly amidst a population that reveled in selfishness and the pursuit of wealth.
He taught women, spoke to Samaritans, blessed prostitutes, and held out his hand to lepers. He came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, his followers waving palm branches, drawing attention to his arrival. He called to the tax collector Zacchaeus and after talking with him over dinner, convinced him to change his ways and to return all he had stolen from the people.
When Jesus came into Jerusalem, he knew the authorities were likely to finally get hold of him. Yet he did it anyway. He didn’t hide; he didn’t stop revealing his Way of living in love. Right down to the last, he forgave those who turned him in, those who captured him, those who tortured him, and those who nailed him to the cross.
Right down to the last, he lived in love.
Second Century Martyrs
In the second century of Christianity, there were many people who chose to die in the most horrific ways rather than renounce their allegiance to the teachings of Jesus. In about 202 CE, a young woman in Carthage named Perpetua became a Christian. By then it was illegal in Rome to be Christian, and she was arrested along with the other catechumens who were studying with her.
Perpetua was about 22 years old, newly married with a baby. In the group there was also a young slave woman named Felicitas who was expecting a baby. They all refused to give up their new faith. Perpetua gave the baby to her mother to care for, and Felicitas gave birth to her daughter a month early. The baby was taken to a sister to be raised.
The catechumens, including one of Perpetua’s brothers, were all taken into the amphitheater and forced to fight wild animals. Most were thrown to tigers or lions, but Perpetua and Felicitas were attacked by a mad heifer. These martyrs fought and fainted, yet were still alive. They were torn apart, but they marched into the open to be finally killed by having their throats cut by a gladiator’s sword.
In Perpetua’s diary of her time in prison, she writes that Hilarianus, the governor, “passed sentence on all of us: we were condemned to the beasts, and we returned to prison in high spirits.” In high spirits! They felt blessed that they were to be torn apart by animals because of their beliefs.
By the second century, Christianity had begun to be based more on belief than action. Many believers sought to “share in the suffering of Jesus.” It seems there was less focus on acting in love toward one another and more on suffering in the name of Christ.
Is it possible that these last two Beatitudes had something to do with that development?
Do you think this is what Jesus meant when he said,
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you?
Is There More to the Story?
While we do have some primary sources for their experiences, we have very little information about the activities that brought them into prison in the first place. The writings are all rather metaphysical and vision-filled. Perhaps there’s more to the story.
When we take the information we have at face value, it seems that the second century martyrs may have missed opportunities to work toward making their world a little better. It’s possible that they lived a time sharing the love that Jesus taught before they were arrested. Perhaps they felt their deaths would further the cause of Jesus.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Over the centuries, there have been many people who taught the truth of equality and justice who have been vilified, beaten, imprisoned, and killed for the work they did. At the beginning of this series, we talked about some of them. some of them were followers of Jesus and others were practitioners of other religions.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a powerful Christian Spiritual Warrior, following the example that Jesus gave to work toward racial and economic equality in the United States. He was assassinated for it in 1968.
In India, Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu Spiritual Warrior who worked toward economic, racial, and religious equality and independence for India. He was assassinated for it in 1948.
When Martin Luther had been publishing his writings that led to the Reformation for about ten years, William Tyndale adopted his ideas. Tyndale particularly wanted see laypeople read the Bible in English. Tyndale was the first to release the first mass produced English edition. The translation was opposed not only by the clerics of the church, but also by Henry VIII. Tyndale also spoke out against the annulment of Henry’s marriage. In 1535, Tyndale was arrested, convicted of heresy, and killed in 1535.
In 1963, a postal worker named William Lewis Moore was walking by himself to deliver a letter in person urging an end to inequality to the Mississippi governor. He was shot and killed while on his march.
Also in 1963, Medgar Evers was killed by a sniper at his own home because he led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) campaign for integration.
Viola Gregg Liuzzo was a mother and wife who felt called to drive from Detroit, Michigan to Selma, Alabama to help black people with their fight for voting rights. She was driving a young black man named Leroy Moton from Montgomery to Selma when KKK members in another car shot Liuzzo in the face and killed her. The car went into a ditch and Moton survived.
All of these people were “persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” wouldn’t you say?
How Far Would You Go?
What would you be willing to suffer in exchange for doing the right thing?
This question isn’t about calling oneself “Christian.”
It’s about behaving in the way that Jesus did, the way he taught his disciples and the apostles to live. It’s about living as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Viola Gregg Liuzzo, Medgar Evers, and others have done. They lived in love and died because of it.
Yet, there is still work to be done. In doing that work, we become Spiritual Warriors. Becoming a Spiritual Warrior isn’t about being perfect in the pursuit of doing the right thing.
It’s about the pursuit itself.
The Beatitudes — Matthew 5:3–12, NRSV
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Let us go into the world seeking to do the right thing. Let us love one another, stand for equality and justice, and for kindness and acceptance. Let us be ready and strong when we meet those who would revile us and speak against us.
Let us meet them with love.
Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again.
