Blessed Are The Reviled
Today’s Verses:
From Matthew 5:11-12 ESV
(Jesus said) “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Today is the final day of our reflection on Jesus’ Beatitudes. We contemplate Jesus’ Words on verses 11 and 12 of Chapter 5 of Saint Matthew’s Gospel.
Jesus is blunt. If we follow him we will be misunderstood. We will be mocked. We may even be hated. It won’t be because we are rude or loud or too intense. It will be because he himself is a scandal and we claim to be with him.
And yet, he says we are blessed. Blessed not when things are easy, but when they are costly. Blessed not when we are celebrated, but when we are faithful. And then he says something even more astonishing, “Rejoice and be glad.” This is not denial. It is defiance. The joy of those who know the end of the story.
Jesus is not calling us to false smiles or rosy glasses. He is giving us cause to lift our heads: “Your reward is great in heaven.” In Lutheran theology, the ground for this kind of joy is not in how well we perform, but in the promises of Christ.
We do not merit the kingdom by suffering well. The kingdom is ours already – by grace, through faith. This is why we can rejoice. We belong to Jesus. Our future is secure.
So today, whatever this day brings, take heart. You are not forgotten. You are not alone. The One who spoke these words stood by them all the way to the cross. And He stands with you now.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, thank You for calling us blessed, even in our hardships. Help us to trust Your promises and find joy not in our circumstances, but in You. Give us courage to stand firm and hearts that rejoice in the hope of heaven. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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