The Holy Priest-Martyr Timothy, Bishop of Prussa (361-63)
Romans 8:22-27; Matthew 10:23-31
Apostles’ Fast
Read Matthew 10:23-31
Today our Lord speaks to us about the reality of living in this fallen world and offers words of encouragement to those who follow after him. He does not sugarcoat that which is coming. Persecution will happen and it has happened in every generation since the coming of Christ—in some more than others. In fact, Christianity is the most persecuted religion even today. The Lord wants us to know that to be persecuted for his name’s sake is a great honour: “Blessed are you when men 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 men persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11).
We want to be like Jesus and want to follow in his footsteps toward glory, but his resurrection is never separated from his cross. This should not frighten us for we belong to God and nothing can take us away from His love. The Lord wants us to fearlessly carry out our Christian calling knowing that the greatest tragedy in life is not persecution, or even death, but the rejection of God’s love. This is what we should be afraid of and not someone calling us names, throwing stones or even killing the body. Our body will be raised up on the last day and our soul is in the hands of our loving God—who knows the number of hairs on our head and providentially cares for our salvation.