A lent to be persecuted

Christians in the early church were persecuted and instead of escaping it, they embraced it. Christians now for hundreds of years look for the opportunity to compromise and escape persecution. Adapting to a particular situation or culture and witnessing to Christ is one thing and wilting under the pressure of a particular culture or situation and compromising on witnessing to Christ is a totally different thing. This lent we need to think about how we have compromised instead of adapting.

In St. Matthew 16:21 Jesus revealed to his disciples that he would undergo great suffering, be killed and would rise on the third day. In verse 22 Peter tells Jesus that this must never happen. Jesus was in the prime of his ministry and his disciples were also confident on doing things alone. Yet Jesus is ready for persecution while Peter has not given it any thought. His “This must never happen to you” suggests that at any cost this must be prevented. Christ Jesus is ready for persecution but his disciple is ready for a compromise if it will save Jesus!

We do the same. Everything is a compromise and compromise is glorified. Women and girls are asked to compromise, children are told to compromise, the poor are reminded that compromising will benefit them. Compromise has become a trump card of the church and whenever any news of persecution is heard, the Christian community will huddle together and see how they can compromise with the powers that be and wriggle out of the threat of persecution. Very similar to what Peter and what any disciple of Jesus at the time would do.

Lent calls us to see this differently. Compromise is not a virtue but a sin when it asks us to compromise on witnessing to Christ and undergoing persecution. Compromise is not going to get the Christian community and us as Christian individuals anywhere. We can adapt to the needs of the congregation, of people and of a culture but it is not by compromising and escaping persecution. Amen.