PRAYER MOMENT
Wednesday
26 November 2014
THEY
WILL PERSECUTE YOU
Pause. Be still in God’s presence.
Reading: “Men will seize you and
persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and imprisonment and
bring you before kings and governors.” (Luke 21:12-19)
Reflection. The atmosphere of crisis continues
in our daily readings as we come to the end of the year. The time of decision
has come – with its consequences. The main consequence here is persecution. The
dictionary defines this as ‘pursuing with enmity.’ When someone stands out in
some way, puts their head above the crowd, and does or says something that
someone does not like, they lay themselves open to being ‘pursued with enmity.’
That is exactly what happened with Jesus and it is happening now with one of
our highest politicians in Zimbabwe. Persecution is, in a way, a measurement of
our witness. If we stand for truth – or make any kind of stand that separates
us out from others, we are liable to be persecuted, physically or verbally. The
fear of persecution keeps people quiet and docile. But we know in our hearts
that this fear also paralyses us and prevents us from doing what, if we listen
to our heart, we know we are called to do.
Prayer. Lord, give us the courage
not to be afraid of persecution but to do what our heart tells us to do. Amen.
David Harold-Barry SJ
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