Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
“The great crowds heard this with delight.” From today’s rather short gospel passage (Mark 12:35-37) this is what stood out to me. Who of us wouldn’t want to “delight” the crowds, “wow” the audience, or impress our social media followers? This gospel passage is a continuation of Jesus teaching and being questioned. And at this point, the crowds are impressed with Jesus, even delighted. But I don’t believe that was his goal. Jesus did not come to win the affection or admiration of people, although at times that did happen. He did not sacrifice the truth and his calling for the sake of his ego.
We know that Jesus was not popular with everyone who encountered him. His life and teachings were perceived as a threat to the political powers, and just a short time after “delighting” the crowds, they were chanting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Paul’s second letter to Timothy (3:10-17), that we hear from today, reminds us that following Jesus, being a Christian, will often not be popular and may even result in persecution, as it did for both Jesus and Paul. The author of this letter very pointedly declares, “In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Persecution for most of us today will look quite different from persecution in the time of the early Christians. But I don’t think that means being a true follower of Jesus today is easy. I have to ask myself, am I willing to risk my ego for the sake of the Gospel? Am I willing to stand up for the teachings of Jesus Christ even when it’s no longer “delighting the crowds”?
Are we willing to “remain faithful to what you have learned and believed…” as followers of Jesus even if it leads to persecution (whatever that may look like)? As we just celebrated Pentecost, let us ask for the Spirit to bestow on us the same faith, patience, love, and endurance that those first Christians possessed. May our goal be to live the love and truth of Jesus Christ, even when the crowds are no longer delighted.
—Eileen Miller