"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Jesus Himself knows that anyone who stands for actual peace and real justice will be greeted often not with acclamation but with persecution. He, again, is the foremost example.
What makes righteousness so repulsive to certain powers-that-be in the world as to inspire persecution against those who practice it?
Righteousness, in the sense that Christ uses it here, means the practice of one's life in accordance to what God wants. That means standing up for real peace, not just "peace and quiet." It means giving ultimate homage to Jesus alone and no one and nothing else. But powers today, just as did powers in the first century, demand exclusive loyalty from people who refuse to give it to anyone but Christ.
Especially in a society that recognizes the free practice of religion, we can be thankful that the penalties we face for dedicating our utmost loyalty to God alone are minor by comparison. But in other parts of the world followers of Christ continue to pay the ultimate price.
It is widely accepted conventional wisdom that being persecuted or discriminated against is part and parcel of being different and therefore often misunderstood. If anyone is called to live his life in a startlingly different way, it is the Christian.
As I've previously said, in a world marked by sin, there can be no love of righteousness that does not carry with it some manner of marginalization or discrimination. Jesus says that such persecution is a gift -- or at least it is the sign of a gift. The saying goes, "If you're not taking flak, you're not over the target." If we're not living our lives in a radical way for Jesus, then we may avoid making enemies, but we may also miss a chance to be truly blessed with the friendship of the One who matters most.
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