"Blessed are you when people 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 in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets." (Luke 6:22f.)

The beatitudes summarise what the community of the friends of Jesus is like. It is a community that reflects the character of God as we know it from the story of Jesus.

People in that community are pure in heart, they are peace makers. They live in obedience to the will of God. Their main concern is not with their own reputation, but they hunger and thirst for righteousness. They bow before God in meekness and obedience, but at the same time they lift their heads in solidarity with those who are poor and sad. It is a dynamic community with vision and passion.

The Christian church has been around for nearly 2000 years. In its history people have often asked: what are the essential marks of the Christian church? The list which you find in most text books on theology is made up of four: Four essential marks of the Christian church.

1. Unity. Jesus prayed that the church may be one, so that the world can believe in him (John 17). As God, the Father, and Jesus, the son, are one in passion and compassion, without losing their distinctive identity and differences, so the church should echo the being of God, by its oneness in passion and compassion. The church is one. One God, one saviour, one Spirit, one body, one faith, one baptism – we read in Ephesians 4. The multiplicity of denomination is not a problem as such, but it is a real problem, when they exclude each other and claim superiority over each other.

2. Holiness. The church is holy. It lives in the world, but it is not of the world. Its citizenship is in heaven. God, not the world calls the tune, and the church lives in obedience to the One who has called the church into being. "… You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." (1 Peter 2)

3. Universality. The church is not defined via the ethnicity or nationality of its members. Ethnicity and nationality are important, but for Christians they cannot have the first claim on the human conscience. Just as it is God's declared will for all people to know God as a good God, so the community of faith longs to include all people.

4. Mission. By echoing the God who "is love", the church is outgoing in solidarity, compassion, mission and service. The church, in which the Gospel is heard and Christ is obeyed, is the community for others and with others. Christ sends his friends into all the world to preach the gospel.

That then is the classic definition of the church: "One, holy, catholic and apostolic church."

Now we Baptists, but the same voice would come from the other churches who have been in the dissident stream, like the Methodists, the Mennonites, the Quakers, the Waldensians and the Brethren – our history and experience has made us aware of another biblical mark of the Christian church: suffering, costly grace, discipleship, following Jesus whatever the cost may be.

There is no virtue in suffering – of course! No one should seek suffering for its own sake. Jesus did not seek suffering. He was committed to the spreading of joy, freedom, confidence, courage, solidarity and compassion.

But he knew, as we all know, that there are some things in life that are even more precious than our mental and physical health. Our love for our family, for our country, for God, are so precious to us, that when we are challenged in our commitment to these precious relationships, we shall risk even our health to maintain the relationships that shape and sustain who we are.

Inter-related with the story of joy and freedom that Christ brings is the story of suffering. There is a story of people for whom suffering became part of their identity. Not because they sought suffering, but because their commitment to God clashed with the values of their world: "for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." It is the story of people who remained strong and pure in light of adversity. It is a story of people who refused to compromise what they knew to be true in their conscience.

Jeremiah was one of Israel's great prophets. He spoke hope to his people, but he also had to announce judgment. They excluded him. The suffering prophet we call him. When other prophets spoke what king and people wanted to hear, Jeremiah spoke truth, uncomfortable truth. When they celebrated, he remained isolated –alone. Against his will he was take on a flight to Egypt. His radical obedience to God brought him into tension and conflict with the world. He suffered.

We know of the so-called Maccabean martyrs. 150 years before the coming of Christ when Jewish identity was threatened by the Hellenistic influence the Maccabees sought to be true to the law of God. We know moving stories of a mother watching her sons being crucified in their struggle to be true to their God.

As we know, Jesus himself was opposed and betrayed in his life and ministry. The reason why he may have expected his own suffering and then death was that he knew of the capture, the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist.

But the story of persecution and suffering did not stop with Jesus.

The first two hundred years of Christianity was accompanied by massive persecutions.

During the Reformation there were our own spiritual ancestors, the so-called Anabaptists who were persecuted by church and state. 5000 Anabaptists were killed by sword, drowning or burning. Today the Limmat river in Zürich, where Felix Manz was drowned, and the Täuferhöhle in the Zürcher Oberland, where Anabaptist hid from the police, are tourist attractions.

The story of persecution and suffering continues today. Christians in Muslim countries like Indonesia often have to pay a heavy price for their faith in Christ. Not long ago Christians in socialist and atheist countries suffered severe disadvantages. I know of Baptist ministers in Bulgaria who spent many years in prison. Their only crime was that they were Christians.

So my friends, what do we do with this beatitude? "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." What can be its relevant to us?

1. Believing in Christ includes being committed to say and do what is right. It includes the willingness to stick to our convictions even when life becomes difficult. Many or even most of us would have suffered some tension, conflict, disadvantage when our commitment to Christ came into conflict with other values.

This beatitude and the long story of persecution and of suffering for what is right serves as an invitation and encouragement to us not to compromise when what we know to be right comes into conflict with what happens around us.

Ethics, as I have said before, starts when it begins to hurt. Then our faith in Christ gives us the courage to do what needs to be done.

2. Secondly, this word of Jesus makes us sensitive towards those who suffer for what is right. There is no question that life will become tougher for those to whom their Christian faith is central. My pastoral letter today is an indication that large sectors of our society no longer know what faith and the church are on about. Not having been part of a church's life, they feed on caricatures and stereotypes which may have been true 50 years ago but which are not true now. We need to stand together and help each other when we experience disadvantages for our faith.

3. Jesus promises that God will honour such a commitment: "the kingdom of God is theirs." We have the promise of being part of the sphere where God is God.

My friends I hope that suffering for Christ will escape you. But at the same time, I know that the integrity of your life, being true to yourself and to your God, is even more important than physical and mental health. Whether it be us or others, we share in each others' journey and when the road becomes steep and stony, when we or others are attacked for our faith, for such a time it is good to know:

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Thorwald Lorenzen
25/07/2004