“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, 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."
Matthew 5:10-12 (NRSVue)
Assuming you're not currently in a bad relationship, the easiest way to avoid persecution in the future would be to never pose any changes.
One of the main rules of systems theory is that systems resist change. And of course, any relationship is a system of people interacting. Most systems exert pressure on the individuals to get back in line - the pressure may be subtle or overt.
Think about a family with a functioning alcoholic. Is it easier to confront the person about their drinking or is it easier to say nothing? Most families will continue to function as is until a breaking point comes and disrupts the system.
The right thing may be to identify the issue before the breaking point occurs but you are likely to be persecuted for the sake this righteousness. You may even be labeled as self-righteous.
Can we stand in the midst of the persecution that is to come? Thinking about this may keep us quiet.
From an organization standpoint, I like the Ronald Heifetz quote, "Leadership is disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb."
This is due to the idea that introducing change (even positive changes) will likely be difficult for people to embrace. Edwin Friedman tells us to expect sabotage when we seek to introduce health to a difficult situation.
As we look at who is saying these words, Jesus is being rather prophetic. He may have been building to this because of all the reversals he was proclaiming in the beatitudes themselves.
What did Jesus actually do that would get him crucified?
Author Douglas Adams suggests that it was for "saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change." This is an exaggeration to an extent but maybe it is also basically true.
What does it mean to ask the community at large to respect people who are currently disrespected as a whole?
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| Alexei Navalny's recent death in Russian prison reminds us that political persecution is real. |
Martin Luther King, Jr. ran up against all kinds of resistance during the Civil Rights movement. On the day before his assassination, King stated in a speech, "I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."
He may have also seen his own death coming but he continued to offer hope.
As we move through Lent, may we find the courage to offer needed change to the systems we find ourselves in - and to maintain our stance even when there is resistance.
Prayer for the Day: Mighty Savior, you offered yourself to the world in so many ways. We grieve the fact that people in power chose to reject you in the most extreme way possible. But we also remember that death does not have the final say. Help us to follow you even when it is difficult. And when we falter along the way, pick us up, dust us off and walk with us along the path you would have us go. We pray this in Christ together. Amen.
Photo by Prachatai via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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