Acts 14: 19-23, from Tuesday’s first reading:
In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
The story is told of the pastor who was approached by the evangelization-outreach committee of the parish who wanted to put up felt banners in the church in hopes of giving it a cheery, welcoming look and feel. He agreed to the plan with the proviso that the main banner would include one of his favorite passages from Scripture. When he chose “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God,” (Acts 14:22) the plan was quickly shelved. Apparently, the committee was not willing to undergo that hardship!
I doubt the story is true, but it is revealing. We much prefer hearing Paul say “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) But Paul is not contradicting what he and Barnabas are teaching in Acts 14. “All” in “all things work for good” includes the hardship and persecutions they warned the new Christians about as they made their way through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. In fact, Paul had just been discussing suffering persecution when he penned Romans 8:28.
It’s not as if Jesus had forgotten to mention this, either. His very first public teaching begins with the Beatitudes which include:
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.” (Matthew 5:11) He goes on to add lines such as “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (5:44) And check chapter 10:16-32 in Matthew where Jesus elaborates on this.
Jesus teaches about a lot of things, but the expectation that his followers will face persecutions and hardships runs through it all. That is simply being honest. Christ calls us to a demanding life: love of enemies (as just mentioned) but so much more: repeated forgiveness of those who wrong us, prioritizing generosity over acquisitiveness, “seeking and striving for peace,” blessing those who curse us rather than canceling them, prioritizing commitment to obeying him over country, company, or family, doing the right thing when it hurts, etc., etc.
In those things, we will find God supports us.
In effect, the pastor’s banner says: “We invite you to consider the real deal.” I believe it would catch more eyes than the committee feared.
Would it catch yours?