👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾#Christians #Persecuted #For #Righteousness (#Wereha #Tsege)
(Part 2)
Beloved in Christ, children of the Orthodox faith, inheritors of the covenant sealed in blood by prophets, apostles, and martyrs today we meditate on the mystery of those who suffer for righteousness’ sake. For the Lord Himself declared, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). This divine saying is not a mere comfort for the weary, but a crown of fire placed upon the heads of those who walk the path of truth amid the hatred of the world.
The Nature of Persecution
Those who reject the righteous and add sorrow to those who suffer unjustly will face severe punishment in hell and, later, in the eternal fire. Kotiba and her family represent those who despise the righteous, mock the suffering of the innocent, and falsely accuse them just by giving them names that are not theirs. They even intrude upon the lives of the righteous only to increase their pain. Such people will meet a fate worse than that of Kotiba and her family.
✍🏾Christians must understand that in this life we face two paths: either we follow our Lord, who shares the blessing of persecution with our Holy Mother and makes us heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, or we imitate the wicked Herod, who separates himself from the blessings of the saints and becomes a child of hell. The pursuit of righteousness is not an option but a daily calling for every believer.
✍🏾As our Lord taught us in the Holy Gospel, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Just as persecution for righteousness’ sake surrounds us, so does the opportunity to live righteously. We must grow in wisdom, patience, and endurance so that we may inherit the Kingdom of God with those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
✍🏾Let us be careful not to join the company of the wicked who persecute the righteous, for their end is destruction. Instead, let us walk with those who suffer for truth and holiness, that we may share in their eternal reward.
Persecution: A Transition to the Kingdom of Heaven
The Holy Scriptures teach us that when we suffer for righteousness in this earthly life according to our strength, our trials and persecutions will one day come to an end. Earthly suffering is temporary; but through it, we are led toward the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.
✍🏾One of the early fathers who wrote about the life of the Virgin Mary is the beloved Evangelist Saint John, who received our Lady as his mother on behalf of all humanity (John 19:26; Revelation 12:1).
✍🏾Saint John, because of his steadfast witness to the truth and his defense of the faith, was exiled and imprisoned by earthly rulers on the island of Patmos. Yet this righteous and holy apostle understood that persecution is not destruction but transition a passage to the Kingdom of Heaven. He did not grieve for himself, nor did he despair in his exile. Rather, he was sorrowful only because he could not continue preaching the Gospel as the other apostles did.
The Lord, who never forsakes those who serve Him, revealed to John the mysteries of Heaven while he prayed on the island. From that revelation, Saint John wrote the sacred book we now call The Revelation (Apocalypse). His physical persecution did not hinder him from entering into divine mysteries and receiving heavenly visions. Instead, it became his gateway to the eternal Kingdom.
Continues 👇🏾