Happily Hated?

"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." -Luke 6:22-23

I've been reading through the Gospels over the past week or two and am struck by the radical nature of Jesus' teachings; they are often so counter-cultural that I read over them without fully grasping what has been said. With this text I do not claim full understanding, but it is quite evident that Jesus is not teaching his followers to be "good Christians." The contemporary Christian ideology that we must be "people pleasers" and "seeker sensitive" is blown out of the water here by Jesus' teaching; we are not to be ashamed, saddened, or depressed when people hate us or reject us on account of Jesus. Jesus says we are blessed, a word with the underlying theme of happiness; he is telling us to be happy when we are persecuted for his name. We are told to "rejoice" and "leap for joy" when people hate us. This is not something that the contemporary Church acknowledges very well; we seem so eager to make Jesus and the Church "likable" that if we are ever despised, it is seen as failure...but Jesus is quick to point us to the prophets of old and remember that they too were rejected by men. Jesus himself becomes the most hated man of his day, leading to his own death.

However, why are we to be hated, excluded, and reviled? We are to be rejected on account of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. If we follow the lifestyle he exemplified and commanded us to follow in the previous two verses, our lives will be lived on his account, for his purposes and glory.

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." -Luke 6:20b-21

Followers of Jesus are happy in poverty, in hunger, and in sorrow; the time for affluence, being satisfied, and laughing is not far off, but it is not yet time. Christ wandered this earth for three years in poverty, with nothing to his name. Often he hungered and went on without being filled. We read of his sorrow over Jerusalem and the pain of death and other examples of the grief he endured. Yet he did it as one blessed, happy to do his will for the Lord. Paul writes that he too rejoices in his sufferings for Christ.

But what about those who are now rich, satisfied, laughing, and spoken well of?

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets." -Luke 6:24-26

Woe to you or "what a miserable state for you," what affliction for you; for who? Those who are rich, are full now, who now laugh, and those who are spoken well of. Why, because you are already receiving your reward. The Christian life is not about the Christian person, it is about Jesus. We are to live our lives in a way that Christ is seen, both in our actions and in our motives. If we accept the praise of this world, that is our reward; while those who give the praise to Jesus, they have a place in the kingdom of God. My challenge in reading this passage can be summed up in this: live your life in such a way that people hate you because you reflect Jesus. The Son of God came and was slain, it should be my desire to follow him unto death.

Father, allow me to reject the treasures of this world and count you as my only need. Let me go hungry often and see to it that others receive their food before I do. Give me the strength to endure weeping and sorrow through this life, receiving the pains and struggles of this life willingly. Allow me to be happy when hated and accept the rejection of men. Grant me these things I pray, but if I fall into the trap of "pleasing people" for accepting their praise, grasp my attention and shake my hands loose of the things of this world. Lord, allow me to let go of my perceived needs and hold tight to Jesus. It is by his name I ask these things. Amen.