Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV)
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This is going to be hard for young people to believe, but when I was growing up, the worst insult you could be called is ‘black’. As African Americans, we were called negroes, colored and a bunch of other names I won’t mention. But of all the insults hurled at us, the very worse was being called black. Those were fighting words.
But something interesting happened that changed all of America and maybe the world. This month, fifty three years ago, James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," released the iconic song, "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." It was released in August 1968, just four months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It was perhaps the most timely written song in U.S. history. That song changed everything. It wasn’t a song of indifference to the plight of an oppressed people, but a chant of defiance in the midst of troubled days. No longer would descendants of African origin in America be ashamed, afraid, or embarrassed to boldly proclaim their heritage and skin color. It was the most freeing and empowering experience in my cultural history. It still makes me happy to shout, “I’m black and I’m proud.”
But as wonderful as feeling culturally liberated may be, being spiritually liberated is incalculably superior. So this morning I ask everyone to join me in my new chant: Say it Loud, I’m Saved and I’m Proud.
In Matthew 5, Jesus is quoted saying to his followers, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” I have to admit that is a difficult statement to embrace. Nobody really welcomes insults, persecution and evil done to them for any reason; let alone for trying their best to follow Jesus Christ. To make matters worst, modern Christianity basically frowns on believers that find themselves going through difficulties. You dare not admit to a weakness or confess that any trial, temptation or negative energy is coming your way. Not in church!
But Jesus says the total opposite. Trials are to be expected. Tribulation is ‘par for the course’. Insults and evil intentions are mundane, everyday occurrences for children of the King. At least that was Jesus’ experience. And we must expect it will be ours as well. But the flip side of the pain and suffering is a tremendous blessing. The second part of today’s scripture says, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”.
Okay, I’m feeling a little better now. At least I’m in good company. I think about Moses who labored over 40 years with a group of complainers that wouldn’t stop treating him with disrespect and distain. Yet he has a place in heavenly history as glorious as anyone. And then there’s John the Baptist. He was a forerunner of the Messiah and a true messenger of God. Yet he was impoverished, belittled and ultimately beheaded simply for declaring the word of the Lord. And let’s not forget the great Apostle Paul, who for all the epistles he wrote and churches he started, ended up with a life sentence in prison.
And they were far from the only sufferers. There have been countless women and men that willingly gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel - And continue to do so until this very day. Our relatively easy lives often obscure the massive sacrifice millions and millions of ordinary believers must endure everyday for the sake of the Gospel that we can so freely share. Like the movement in the sixties, we must learn to rephrase our position and repurpose our plight. We are not victims, we are victors. We are not afraid of calamity, but find calm in the arms of Jesus even in the midst of the storms. And yes, we even rejoice at the honor of being chosen to suffer for the sake of Christ, knowing at the end we shall wear a crown of life that will never grow old.
Dear Children of God, this is the message for today. Stay the course. Endure the pain. Trust the process. Receive the victory. Repeat that again. Stay the course. Endure the pain. Trust the process. Receive the victory. Oh, and say it loud, I’m Saved And I’m Proud!!!
God Bless
