Against the Grain

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

It would be so nice if we could follow Jesus, and also get along peacefully with the world.

And yet, He reminds us, over and over again, that this will not be the case. People will want to kill us because of Him.

Within the hour following your reading of this reflection, in fact, a Christian will be put to death because of his or her faith.

Of course, not every faithful Christian in the world is in imminent danger of death or persecution. But even in the most benign of circumstances, our faith teaches us that we must prioritize love, and this means–in one way or another–that we do not fully progress in the world as it sees progress, or benefit from everything it has to offer. Those “advantages” belong to those who set them as their first priority.

And we need to be ready for real persecution, for people to hate us viscerally for what we stand for. We cannot do else but live for eternity, rather than for peace and happiness in this world, if we want to be Jesus’ followers. He tells us as much Himself in today’s Gospel. And let us remember too, that as gloriously as the faith progresses in the first reading and indeed in all of the Acts of the Apostles, that book’s chief protagonists all died a martyr’s death at the hands of men who were too low-minded to accept the beautiful demands of the Christian faith.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Jesus doesn’t hide the trials that come with our faith. Ask Him for courage and conviction, to be willing to sacrifice all the goods of this life and this world for the goods of eternity.