Mt 5, 1-12
«Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you…»
Jesus believes in Abba, and believes also that Abba dreams of a humanity of Sons capable of fulfilling themselves by loving each other as brothers. And he feels sent by God to realize his dream. And in his task, he exhorts us to be content with little, to share what we have with those who have nothing, to learn to suffer, to always tell the truth, to not be violent, to work for peace and justice to prevail, to not take advantage of anyone… and to not worry if they insult us and persecute us for it…
They kill him so that his fire doesn’t scorch the structures of Israel and its leaders along with them, and with his death, he entrusts us with completing his work; not from power, but from below, from within, like a seed, like yeast. And he puts us in a great predicament because we don’t believe, not remotely, that the criteria of that carpenter who died crucified twenty centuries ago can prevail against the criteria of the world; a world that has immense power to promote its own; much more attractive in appearance, and diametrically opposed to those of Jesus.
But we are mistaken, and you will see why.
Pedro and Pablo receive martyrdom in Rome around the year 67, and their communities face the challenge of continuing their work. And despite their social and political irrelevance, and despite the atrocious persecutions unleashed against them, Christianity is being introduced into Roman society and becoming the first spiritual force of the Empire. All of this before Constantine. But what are the causes of this rapid expansion?
Firstly, because the lifestyle they offer, more inward and with a high moral standing, attracts honest and pious people. In this way, little by little Christianity is becoming an alternative to the way of thinking and living of Greco-Roman society, and evangelical ideas are increasingly influencing even outside Christian circles. The consequence is that Roman society becomes more compassionate and supportive, hospitals are created, the needy are cared for, and there comes a time when Christian attitudes are considered the “correct” thing, to the detriment of pagan customs…
The situation we are living through today is very similar to that of Rome: a society imbued with worldly criteria that provokes injustice, inequality, and oppression, and a minority of effective followers of Jesus living within it. That said, there is a great difference, and that is that despite being a minority and living in an environment born of a culture opposed to their own, those Christians do not flinch or allow themselves to be absorbed by the majority culture, and they are salt and are light, while we have become so mingled with the prevailing culture that, with few exceptions, our way of life does not differ in almost anything from the rest.
It is frequent to hear those who consider themselves avant-garde lament that the Church is not capable of keeping pace with the speed at which the world advances, and this, viewed from Jesus, is a monumental absurdity, because Christians are called to be the vanguard that sets the course. This is how it happened with the first communities; this can happen again if we shake off laziness and get rid of the complexes and prejudices that hold us back.
Jesus was a radical vanguard, produced great scandal, and they killed him. The first Christians were also a vanguard, and they were persecuted and murdered; like their master. We must choose between falling comfortably at the back of the pack, or being a vanguard and being persecuted and denigrated, because our society does not tolerate dissent.
Miguel Ángel Munárriz Casajús
To read an article by José E. Galarreta on a similar topic, click here
English version translated with AI