Reading
Luke 19.45-48
Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
but you have made it a den of robbers.’Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.
Reflection
Many people in this world live in fear of persecution or even death for their faith in Jesus Christ. In our own, increasingly secular society, Christians may feel persecuted in the way they are ridiculed or ignored. Indeed, I heard a comedian recently apologize for spoiling the ‘story’ for Christians by declaring that the gospel message was ‘simply not true’. Not only was that ‘comedian’ wrong, I was also left wondering why he felt he had the right to speak in that way, and why the BBC felt that that was an appropriate thing to broadcast? I also wondered whether a similar slur on other religions would have been allowed? Whatever the answer to those questions may have been, the fact remains that a ‘comedian’ thought that our faith could be the subject of his derision … Christians are indeed feeling persecuted through the ridicule and indifference of those who have rejected Christ’s call in their lives.
Throughout his ministry Jesus ran the whole gamut of human disdain and hatred. But … Jesus remained steadfast. Jesus never ceased to pray to his Father in heaven, to preach the good news, to bring healing to the sick, to lead others away from the old way of doing things in order that they might draw closer to God. We are called to do no less.
When human beings fail to understand something that is beyond their intellect, or when their comfortable lifestyles are threatened, they react with scorn and derision, and sometimes with violence … just like the chief priests, the scribes and the leaders of the people who kept looking for a way to kill Jesus. These words reveal the extent of the persecution we might feel. They show us that Jesus did not only face opposition from the religious authorities, the leaders of the people, that is the secular authorities, were also determined to see an end to his ministry.
As books are written deriding the Christian faith, and as commentators and comedians feel empowered to pour scorn on the certainty of our faith, we are called to consider our response. Do we sidle away and hide from the constant barrage of abuse, or do we stand firm in our faith? Do we join Jesus in a life of prayer, preaching, healing and leading, or do we keep the joy of our faith to ourselves?
Let us pray for the strength to stand tall in our faith, never failing to help others along the path trod by Jesus himself.
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