Gospel: Luke 21: 12-19
The modern Christian oddly sees the normal operating procedure of Christianity to be one of extreme comfort: weekly worship in large, comfortable, and well adorned spaces; ample housing for our ministers; privilege in being part of the ruling class that lords it over others. Our main source of contention is what color the new carpeting for the narthex will be. Our idea of persecution is the coffee shop using cups that say "Happy Holidays."
Jesus spent his life on earth with no place permanent to lay his head. He went from town to town healing people of their illnesses, liberating them from their demons, and nourishing them at table. For all this he was arrested, tortured, and executed. Jesus then tells his disciples that this is our vocation, and this is our lot in life on earth. We are to go about healing, liberating, and nourishing, thinking little of our own needs and comfort, and we should expect abuse from others.
There are many disconnects between Jesus in the Gospels and the modern Christian. The illusions of what we imagine Christianity to be built up over time have clouded over so much of the Gospels. The modern Christian has become the persecutor rather than the one persecuted. He thinks it Christian behavior to demean refugees whom he has created and arrest those who would care for them, all while claiming persecution status for holding such views if contradicted. Woe to us...
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