“Whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“Whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

Gospel Reading Matthew 10:17-22 Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

Today’s Gospel reading seems to be just a little bit out of place as we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Martyr of the Church.. We just celebrated the glorious birth of Christ and were told of the great joy and hope which was given to the world by God. Yet, in today’s reading we hear that there will be consequences if we follow Christ. We hear if we follow Christ, others will hate us and others will make fun of us. It even says that some of us will be put to death if we follow Christ. This does not sound like the good news we have been hearing for the past couple of days. However, Christ became flesh to save us from our sins and free us from death. He came to give us new life in the Kingdom of God. We learn that the way to heaven is through the cross. If we want to live in the glory of God, then we must be willing to take up the cross no matter what the consequences. Jesus tells us, “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” We should not fear being committed to God; we should not be afraid to tell our friends that we are Christian Catholics; and we should not be afraid to stand up for the teachings of Christ because “whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostle, it says, “But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” Following Christ is like running a marathon. The training and practice is grueling and our body continually tells us to quit, but persistence wins. We win the marathon not by crossing the line first but simply by crossing the line. In today’s Gospel reading, Christ is telling us that we may even be hated by our brothers and sisters, but if you are persistent, in the end you will be given the Kingdom of God. When you look up to heaven, what is it that you see? Do you see the glory of God raining down or do cower and hide from people when you are challenged for your faith. Stand tall, be proud to be a Christian for it is the through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can stand up for our faith a be a witness for God.

A Simple Prayer

Lord Jesus, I am scared to carry my cross.

Strengthen my will so I can withstand the punishment

For it is through you that I find the Kingdom of God.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon