How to Live in a World that Hates You Because of Jesus
"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings." (Wisdom 2:12)
This passage from the book of Wisdom is so prophetic it sounds like it should be in the New Testament, not the Old Testament. Written in Greek, about 100 years before the birth of Jesus, the beautiful book of Wisdom is unfortunately one of the seven books of the Old Testament that was removed from the Bible by the Protestant reformers.
It is a great example of how our Protestant brothers and sisters, who for the most part, don’t believe in Sacraments and claim that their rule of faith comes only from the Bible, have been terribly cheated by their forefathers in faith because they don’t even have a complete Bible, yet many will still say that their faith is based on the Bible alone.
This reading from Wisdom speaks in clear detail of how the Son of God will be treated when he comes into the world, and in a way, is even prophetic of how the Church, which is the Body of Christ, will often be treated by future generations.
It tells us that the very existence of the Son of God on earth is obnoxious to the wicked because in his light their wickedness is exposed for everyone to see. They hate this because they want more than anything to do things their way, instead of God’s way, and are willing to do whatever it takes to get their way. In their blindness to the truth that Jesus is not just the Messiah but more importantly the Son of God, they are even willing to revile, torture, and condemn him to death to prevent his message from spreading.
In reflecting on this, it is clear that the old saying, “The more things change the more they stay the same,” is as true as ever. In our world today, in Christian culture, in secular culture, and even in the Catholic Church, it seems that more and more of us, instead of turning to God, instead of striving to live according to the teachings of Jesus and his Church, instead of humbling ourselves and seeking God’s will for our life, are falling to the temptation of doing things our way and are offended if we are told, “No, that’s not right.”
We see this being lived out every day and that’s why it is so important that this penitential time of Lent be used to oppose that influence. Not by getting angry and attacking others, but by surrendering ourselves to the Lord. By recognizing and acknowledging our weaknesses and faults instead of denying them. By crying out to Jesus, “Lord, I want to know you, love you, and serve you; please send the Holy Spirit upon me to guide me in your ways because I can’t do it on my own.”
The Church gives us the gift of the Lenten season as a time specifically designed to help us do this, to help us remove whatever obstacles have come between us and God and draw closer to the Lord.
Let us use it as such. Let's use Lent as a springboard to strive to continue to grow in our relationship with the Lord throughout the year. Fully aware that while there will be opposition, we can be confident the Lord will be with us, just as Psalm 34:20 tells, “Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the Lord delivers them.”
As we draw closer to Holy Week and Easter, in the Gospels we see Jesus facing opposition and ridicule regularly. In John, chapter 7, we see that Jesus had been avoiding going from Galilee to Judea because he knew the Jews wanted to kill him. They wanted to kill him for the same reasons mentioned in the Book of Wisdom. They hated him because he testified that their works were evil.
But since it was the Feast of Tabernacles, he decided to go to Judea anyway, but quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself. He was, however, quickly recognized and even though Jesus did nothing except speak the truth to them, they still sought to arrest and kill him but were not yet allowed to do so.
As followers of Jesus, we must recognize that when we speak the truth about the faith, even when we speak with clarity and charity, meaning very clearly and with love, those who are living far from the faith or who are struggling to accept the full truth of Jesus and his Church may not respond to us in the same way.
They may get upset; nevertheless, let us remember that as Christians we are all called to spread the Gospel of Jesus, sometimes in words and sometimes in deeds, but always in love, to everyone we meet. Most especially to those family and friends who may have physical, mental, or spiritual wounds that are in need of healing. Wounds that the enemy may be using as walls to separate them not only from the people that love them but most especially from the Lord.
Let us ask the Lord for the courage to help us heal those wounds and tear down the walls that separate us.