Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, March 18, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I marvel at the commitment and resilience of Jesus’ followers. He tells them that horrible things are going to happen to them and that the good news still has to be proclaimed, no matter what. And after he dies, they go off and do it! Would I welcome such a task? If I’m honest with myself, I would have to say probably not.
These days, I don’t expect to be beaten or dragged into court for sharing my faith, but that’s not all there is to “sharing the good news.” If it was just about spouting my opinion about who God is and what Jesus did, that’d be easy (although lots of people might be annoyed). But truly proclaiming the good news—Jesus’ words from Isaiah 61 (to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners)—is not for the faint of heart. There are plenty of folks out there living the gospel in social justice work who suffer threats, violence, or imprisonment for speaking truth to power.
We might not all be called into those positions, but we are certainly called to support those who are in whatever way we can. It’s always worth looking at these words of Jesus and wondering how they apply to us now, rather than simply going, “Wow! Those disciples had it tough!”
How do I see the command of Jesus that “the good news must…be proclaimed to all the nations?”
