Gospel: Matthew 13: 35-43
A reading of the New Testament and the writings of early Christians provides us with a fundamental posture for Christians in the world: joy. In the midst of persecutions the Christian is urged to be joyful, to bear the sufferings with patience, and to love those who persecute us. The great apostacy of the modern church is the utter rejection of this fundamental posture and its replacement by something utterly foreign to our ancestors.
For today we have the Christian of perpetual grievance. Anything and everything is an affront to their faith and sensibilities. Instead of encouraging rejoicing in the face of persecution, the modern Christian sues for his rights and carries on incessantly about religious liberty - provided we understand him as meaning something that exists for him but no one else. These are the weeds of the modern church that lead so many away from faith life.
The Christian of perpetual grievance is the Christian of the upper room - locked away in fear, navel gazing and self-interested. The authentic Christian of joy encounters the risen Lord at the tomb, at Emmaus, at Galilee. She goes forth to announce this good news to others, to heal, liberate, and nourish others without any concern for self and the persecutions that may come. Today is our day to choose what type of Christian we will be.
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