"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what your ancestors did to the prophets."
Strange how that was not in the welcoming literature to Seminary back when.
That bit is tucked between the blessed be's and the woe-to-you's in our Luke 6 passage. It is a fascinating contradistinction to the immediate reaction to what Jesus is doing. "They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them."
There is attraction in the power but not so much in the message.
So, blessed is nice, I like to be blessed in Jesus, but excluded, reviled, and defamed? Makes me think of the cliched movie line, "This is not what I signed up for."
And Jesus doesn't leave us hanging, "for surely your reward is great in heaven..." But in the mean time, exclusion, revulsion, and defamation.
And this is not a new thing. Jesus speaks of history repeating itself, "For that is what your ancestors did to the prophets."
And I am going to leave it there. Leave it uncomfortable, maybe even unresolved. Jesus speaks with power and truth, but sometimes those are not pretty. But he speaks these words for us.
Peace,
Pastor Peter
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