[Reflection] Luke 6:23
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven…
Someone once referred to The Beatitudes as the “be-attitudes” — the way we should look at life when the world describes us as poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted. Certainly, as Christians, our way in the world is not always an easy one (not that Jesus ever said it would be, but that’s another story). Choosing between Christian principles and worldly standards often makes us look like we’ve been short-changed, and being human, it’s difficult to swallow tears in the face of ridicule. Or when material blessing seems to pour on others without their seeming to exercise any effort at all.
On the other hand, Jesus makes it clear that the reward that matters most isn’t waiting for us here on earth. We’re here to carry out whatever God has planned for us — and then at the end of our lives, to rejoin our Father in Heaven. If God so desires, our labors in his field will be amply rewarded in material ways (we do need food and clothes and money to pay the bills, after all); but we should look beyond our material possessions and standing in community. As the saying goes, the buck doesn’t stop there.
Jesus’ declaration to “rejoice and leap for joy” in the face of hardship isn’t as far-out as it seems. It’s a reminder to all of us that the world knows we don’t belong here, but to a Kingdom of love and light whose current residents were treated in exactly the same way as you are now.
