Silent Witness

Gospel: Matthew 10: 16-23

It is inevitable that persecution will come if one seeks to live by the Beatitudes.  Every value espoused in the Beatitudes is opposed by the world: poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, thirsting for righteousness.  In a world that promotes consumerism, self-indulgence, and conflict the values of the Beatitudes are not good for business and those who live by them are a threat.  

This then leads to the final set of Beatitudes - suffering for the sake of righteousness and the Lord Jesus, the theme of today's Gospel reading.  How are we to respond to this suffering? As in all things we look to the example of the Lord Jesus who was silent before his persecutors at his trials.  Words are vain and of no avail to those who wish us harm.

Yet, a silent witness, the willingness to suffer all this for the sake of goodness and the Lord Jesus is a more powerful testimony than words.  The silent witness of Jesus brought forgiveness to those who put him to death, paradise to the thief, and change of heart to the Roman soldier part of Jesus' execution team.  The silent witness of the martyrs in every age speak more powerfully than any media conglomerate or highly paid PR firm, for it speaks to the heart, the place where God dwells in every human being.