[Reflection] John 15:18
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.”
There are days when being a Christian can feel like the loneliest, most thankless job going. Days when you open the newspapers and read about the clergy being involved in scandal. When you see people being ridiculed for expressing their belief in God. When you hear people giving up on their faith as being impractical for these modern times.
Sometimes, it just gets to you, all these negatives, and your heart grows tired of carrying the banner for Jesus. When it feels as though your convictions are a millstone around your neck. When you start asking, “Lord, tell me again, why am I doing this? Why am I even trying?”
Today’s Gospel tells us why — because when we made that choice to follow Jesus’ footsteps, we turned our backs on the world and all its temptations to power, wealth, and earthly glory. The world didn’t understand it when Jesus explained a love so all-consuming that everything else pales in comparison — and the world still doesn’t “get it”. So it strikes back at you the way it struck back at the Master; with mockery, and temptations to abandon one’s faith.
Don’t be discouraged if you feel blue about being a Christian. Jesus had his time of anguish the night before He was called to die for a sinful humanity. He accepted His cup, and so did we. We’re following in our Lord’s footsteps, right up to the moment when the Father raises us up in glory.
