Persecution understandable

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer some food for thought on the way in which we live and experience the peace of Christ. The rejection of Christ and Christians by the world is an unfortunate but not unexpected consequence of living and advocating a life style which is counter cultural. Recently Pope Francis addressed young people at Confirmation, advising them, “To go against the current, this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide.” The currents against which Paul and Barnabas struggled included rejection of the invitation of Jesus to all people that they would find peace in living daily in the relationship of Love between Jesus, Son and Father, God. The Spirit of God is the courage which believers use to get up and continue to serve God in loving others even when the others have beaten us down. Friar Jude Winkler notes that the persecution of followers of Jesus is more than the physical suffering experienced at the hands of others. It includes rejection, ridicule and being thought a fool. The “Shalom” which Jesus promises, in the text from the Gospel of John, accompanies working for the will of the Father is profound. The choices we make to serve others in Love deepen our peace. The direction the dominant culture declares best for our individual welfare seems to separate winners and losers, encourages obscene consumption by winners and ignores constant the constant struggle for survival of the losers. Friar Jude reminds us of the lost discipline of fasting which gives opportunity for our being to live simply in an experience of freedom from our passions to over attend to ourselves. We understand more that coming to the Father is our mission and the path to the Father with Jesus involves deaths to self and service to others.