Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of justice, the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you.… Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
—Matthew 5:10–12
Father Richard considers how this beatitude challenges Jesus’s listeners to prepare for the consequences of following him:
Up until now Jesus has been talking generally, saying “Blessed are the poor, meek, merciful,” and so on. But following this beatitude he says, “Blessed are you when people revile and persecute you.” He’s likely talking about what’s going on right in front of him. He continues teaching what could really be called the ninth beatitude, although it more likely is an explanation of the eighth. Persecution has begun to happen to the believing community, and he’s encouraging them to “rejoice and be glad.” Persecution for the cause of justice is inevitable. Instead of seeking to blame someone for their well-earned scars, he is telling them two clear things: You can be happy—and you can be happy now! The self that Jesus proclaims is so grounded that it can consider persecution an asset.
Jesus appears to be saying that the disciples’ response is a prophetic action itself. To live joyfully in the midst of misunderstanding and persecution points beyond our smaller “kingdoms” to the larger kingdom of God. Jesus promises us that when we live joyfully under persecution, the world won’t understand. In fact, it will hate us. Many before me have said that a clear sign that something is the true gospel is if it engenders criticism and a spreading of falsehoods, what we used to call “calumny.” Goodness can never be attacked directly; the messengers or the motivation must be discredited.
Luke’s Gospel presents the same message in the opposite form: “Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets” (Luke 6:26 emphases added). Too much praise or widespread acceptance is probably an indication that something is not the full gospel. In either case, Jesus clearly knew that his teaching would turn conventional values on their head.
Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount is not about maintaining the status quo. “Bad” people didn’t kill Jesus; conventional wisdom crucified him. Jesus taught an alternative way of being instead of the maintenance of the social order. When we can weep, when we can identify with the humble ones, when we can make peace, when we can be persecuted and still be joyful—then we are doing it right. The Beatitudes are describing what holiness looks like in the kingdom of God.
Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Jesus’ Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount (Franciscan Media, 2022), 150–151, 152.
Image credit and inspiration: Malek Larif, untitled (detail), 2019, photo, India, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. Like a raindrop poised on a leaf, the Beatitudes provide a drop-by-drop prescription to counter-culturally create the kin-dom of God.
Story from Our Community:
When I think about how many changes my life has gone through, I am amazed at the resilience of the human body and spirit. I am amazed at the way we are tied together by fate and fortune. We are one.
—Tom B.
