Henri Nouwen Society - Daily Meditation
Saturday May 31, 2014

Jesus Is Persecuted

Jesus, the favorite Child of God, is persecuted.  He who is poor, gentle, mourning;  he who hungers and thirsts for uprightness; is merciful, pure of heart and a peacemaker is not welcome in this world.  The Blessed One of God is a threat to the established order and a source of constant irritation to those who consider themselves the rulers of this world.  Without his accusing anyone he is considered an accuser, without his condemning anyone he makes people feel guilty and ashamed, without his judging anyone those who see him feel judged.   In their eyes, he cannot be tolerated and needs to be destroyed, because letting him be seems like a confession of guilt.

When we want to become like Jesus, we cannot expect always to be liked and admired.  We have to be prepared to be rejected.

- Henri J. M. Nouwen  
Comment on this Daily Meditation.
 
Visit our website for inspiration, resources, news, events, community.
Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, �1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible �1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson.