Mtr Kelli Joyce

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

In this teaching, Christ isn’t giving us permission to behave like jerks and then take the negative reactions of others as signs that we’re being persecuted for righteousness. But he is saying something that’s difficult for modern ears, at times, to hear: if you do everything right, there are people who will hate you for it. If you follow the path of Christ and the prophets, the outcome on earth will not be widespread popularity and material comfort.

Christ came preaching a gospel in which the last will be first and the first will be last - that means are called to throw our lot in with the last and the least, and to proclaim good news to the poor, release to the captives, and comfort for those who mourn. Doing this won’t make us popular with all those who are currently first and rich and powerful, or with those who are invested in keeping captives imprisoned, or with those who benefit from things that make others mourn.

The path Christ has called us to is controversial. Following it will win us enemies. But their disapproval isn’t a sign that what we’re doing is wrong. Our call is not to be liked, but to be kind and to seek and proclaim the truth.

In peace,
Mtr Kelli