Blessed the persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:10).
In our blessed Lord’s litany of praises, the tense suddenly changes. No longer is the future blessing declared, but the Kingdom of Heaven is said to belong now to those who have endured persecution for righteousness’ sake.
Just as His own glorious wounds remain visible, there is a prominence relating to the permanent mark of suffering that rests on the persecuted.
Possession of God’s Kingdom is accomplished by standing in the place of others who are suffering unjustly and taking on their afflictions in loving solidarity. Violence is withstood always in imitation of Jesus and His suffering love for us and our salvation. We learned in the previous verse that those daring to advance real and lasting peace can expect violent persecution as a counter-response from the depraved world.
Notice, here, that it is not an indiscriminate persecution – so to say, nuclear – , but emerges for righteousness’ sake. Violence unfurls to prevent the establishment of God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
The Kingdom of Heaven presents the face of weakness and vulnerability to the world because it does not use the world’s weapons. In the waning days of the Second World War during a discussion of the future of Eastern Europe, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill cautioned Joseph Stalin to consider the views of the Vatican. To this, the Soviet leader responded, “How many divisions does the Pope of Rome have?”
Having defied all vestiges of the worldly violence unleashed upon those seeking to imitate Christ the Lord, we know who the successor of Saint Peter is two thousand years later.
