Luke 6:22,26

      Last week the focus was on the beatitudes of poverty, hunger, weeping…
      This week let’s consider the fact that Jesus said blessed those who are hated, excluded, reviled or spoken ill of—for the sake of the “Son of Man.” (22) Verse 26 is similar, but saying it in the opposite form – woe to those about whom everyone speaks well, because that’s what was also said of the false prophets in the past.
      Christians would soon face persecution in the years following the death of Jesus. He knew it would happen and didn’t try to sugar-coat it. Being a master in understanding human nature, he also understood the desire to be thought well of, to have good things said about us, to be liked. Yet in looking at the history of his own people, it was not hard to find situations where this led people in the wrong direction. There had been genuine prophets – many of whom were hated or persecuted for telling the truth. There had also been prophets who tended to tell people what they wanted to hear. Naturally, they were popular.
     These beatitudes surely gave comfort to people in the days of persecution, past and present. There are still parts of the world where people are in danger because of their faith. There are circumstances where faith in Christ is safe, yet we may see in people’s eyes that they think Christians are silly, or unrealistic, or kooks, etc. A few decades ago, some Christians even went through a time when they considered it a good idea to show that they were like everyone else (trying to avoid charges of hypocrisy and self-righteousness). It can’t be denied that some Christians openly engaged in behaviors that provided a very poor witness to everything else in the Christian message. The question that was legitimately raised was – is there any point to being a Christian since it doesn’t make any difference to the way these people live?
     Ironically, in the world of the new millennium, those questions aren’t even asked very much. Some branches of Christianity have politicized themselves until they are only associated with certain viewpoints. A candidate’s faith may be debated, because they engage in still has an aura of respectability or authenticity. People accept or reject on the basis of a sound bite. Yet true Christian dialogue is almost never heard.
      Some branches of Christianity are barely known because witness has become a rarely practiced aspect of discipleship. These beatitudes become irrelevant because Christ and his followers aren’t discussed at all, in either good or bad terms.
     So the challenge of these beatitudes today may not be whether or not Christians are willing to accept persecution on behalf of Christ. It may be the question of whether Christians are willing to make their witness in such a way that genuine meaningful dialogue is possible.

What could you do that might make this beatitude apply to your life and faith?
Have you ever backed off from a word or action because you were afraid of what people would say?
What would be the danger in becoming a “popular” church?
Where are the dangers of truth telling today?