WEBVTT 00:00:03.310 --> 00:00:05.969 Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode 00:00:05.969 --> 00:00:08.869 of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla. I'm Melissa. 00:00:09.529 --> 00:00:13.789 Britten. Justin. And we are here to wrap up our 00:00:13.789 --> 00:00:17.269 conversation about the Beatitudes, this section 00:00:17.269 --> 00:00:20.230 that opens Jesus's sermon on the Mount where 00:00:20.230 --> 00:00:22.449 he talks about all of the kinds of people who 00:00:22.449 --> 00:00:26.989 are blessed and why that matters, what it sort 00:00:26.989 --> 00:00:30.750 of looks like for us to live in the way of Jesus. 00:00:32.789 --> 00:00:38.289 It kind of ends on a bit of a downer. I mean, 00:00:38.390 --> 00:00:40.729 there's a little bit. Great is your reward in 00:00:40.729 --> 00:00:44.170 heaven. That is the actual end. Great is your 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:46.929 reward in heaven. But to get the reward in heaven, 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:52.070 Jesus says, blessed are the persecuted or blessed 00:00:52.070 --> 00:00:55.149 are those who are persecuted for righteousness, 00:00:56.130 --> 00:01:01.789 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So, I mean, 00:01:01.850 --> 00:01:05.349 The reward is great. The road is maybe less ideal. 00:01:06.109 --> 00:01:11.090 Yes. The way to put it. Yes. Yeah. So we're talking 00:01:11.090 --> 00:01:13.250 about persecution. Blessed are those who are 00:01:13.250 --> 00:01:16.790 persecuted because of righteousness. So first, 00:01:16.849 --> 00:01:18.829 maybe we need to talk about like persecution 00:01:18.829 --> 00:01:24.010 as a word. Like what when you hear that word, 00:01:24.030 --> 00:01:29.900 like what sort of comes to mind for you? Well, 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:33.299 definitely this is something that I've learned 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:35.560 more, even just like last year. But there is 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:37.500 a lot of Christian persecution that happens. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:39.519 Perhaps it doesn't happen in the Western world, 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:42.260 where Christianity is deemed to be kind of like 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:47.420 the dominant kind of religion. If you are a Christian 00:01:47.420 --> 00:01:49.939 in a Western country, you do have certain privileges 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:52.599 that other people of other religions would not. 00:01:52.739 --> 00:01:54.620 However, this isn't the case in other countries 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:59.189 in the world. there's a lot of people who are 00:01:59.189 --> 00:02:02.909 dying or who are being horribly treated, kidnapped, 00:02:03.189 --> 00:02:06.129 all these things, persecuted, thrown out by their 00:02:06.129 --> 00:02:08.349 own families and other countries because they've 00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:10.490 decided to follow Jesus. And there is an organization, 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:12.009 I actually don't know if I can mention it here. 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:15.930 It's called Open Doors Canada. So this organization, 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:19.710 they specifically work with countries where Christians 00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:24.409 are being persecuted. It's really prevalent and 00:02:24.409 --> 00:02:26.469 it's really sad, the stories. I believe that 00:02:26.469 --> 00:02:29.389 recently there were children who were killed 00:02:29.389 --> 00:02:33.469 in Nigeria or they were kidnapped and they were 00:02:33.469 --> 00:02:38.110 Christian children. So it's not always like shown 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:40.990 on the media. However, if you go looking for 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:42.770 these stories, you'll see that there's a lot 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:44.370 of stories of Christians who are being killed 00:02:44.370 --> 00:02:49.710 right now in countries where Christianity is 00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:53.009 not... the dominant religion yeah yeah yeah totally 00:02:53.009 --> 00:02:59.129 it's like serious stuff it it is and um i think 00:02:59.129 --> 00:03:04.810 i think it's just that you know we live in such 00:03:04.810 --> 00:03:08.490 a privileged place where we can talk about our 00:03:08.490 --> 00:03:11.569 faith openly um and i think sometimes as christians 00:03:11.569 --> 00:03:13.550 who grow up in western countries we kind of take 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:16.270 that for granted um of course not all of us because 00:03:16.270 --> 00:03:19.020 they're are Christians who do get persecuted 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:21.439 as well. However, not to the extent that someone 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:26.800 in a another country may be persecuted. And it's 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:29.300 there's very, very dark stories that come out 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:31.539 of countries like this. And I won't mention them. 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:33.759 But again, if you look for it, you will find 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:39.199 it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, what do you folks think 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.080 of when you think of or hear persecution? Yeah, 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:47.449 I guess like I. The word persecution, I think, 00:03:47.590 --> 00:03:51.250 within a Western context, especially within Christian 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:55.150 spaces, is something that is almost like a buzzword 00:03:55.150 --> 00:04:01.530 that we use to talk about the oppression of self. 00:04:03.270 --> 00:04:07.270 And it tends to be used within spaces that... 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:09.129 I guess we need to like define what do we mean 00:04:09.129 --> 00:04:12.030 by persecution? Yeah, right because some folks 00:04:12.030 --> 00:04:15.789 will will say like because you don't permit me 00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:19.910 to I don't know. Yeah, yeah persecution complex. 00:04:20.189 --> 00:04:24.610 Yeah. Yeah, and it's and it becomes this this 00:04:24.610 --> 00:04:28.509 like whole thing um And so it's yeah, just to 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:31.050 sort of finish your sentence there like it's 00:04:31.050 --> 00:04:33.290 it's People will say that they're persecuted 00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:36.350 when they don't get to do like sort of thing, 00:04:36.550 --> 00:04:40.009 they're inconvenienced in some way. It's persecution. 00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:43.870 Yeah. It's, I can't pray in school anymore. Or 00:04:43.870 --> 00:04:45.990 I can't force other people to pray. Yeah, or 00:04:45.990 --> 00:04:47.930 I can't force other people to pray in school 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:50.050 and therefore I'm persecuted. And that's maybe 00:04:50.050 --> 00:04:52.269 not the angle that we have in mind here. And 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.050 I think that's why when like what you're talking 00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:57.029 about, Melissa, and like what people are experiencing 00:04:57.029 --> 00:04:59.810 in other countries, when we do have those conversations, 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:02.930 a lot of folks will, they're already tuned out 00:05:02.930 --> 00:05:06.939 because we've made the word, we've watered it 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:10.800 down so much within our own society that and 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:13.680 use very what I would define as minuscule things 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.500 to to validate it. And in some ways, we cried 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:19.560 wolf so much times that it doesn't it doesn't 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:23.819 it doesn't feel like it's true. Sure. Yeah, there's 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:26.439 definitely difference between Christians getting 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.819 persecuted in the context of a waning Christendom. 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:32.899 and in the context of a place where Christians 00:05:32.899 --> 00:05:36.160 are a minority, right? We feel like we're getting 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:38.000 persecuted sometimes here because we're no longer 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:42.399 in charge of everything, right? But someone who's 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:47.259 converted in a Muslim majority nation or, you 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:50.000 know, in India and a Hindu majority area or something 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.180 like that is gonna face different kinds of consequences. 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:56.920 Right. And then that text talks about like for 00:05:56.920 --> 00:05:59.949 righteousness sake. Yeah, and I think That's 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:03.129 the other piece. It's not because you have this 00:06:03.129 --> 00:06:06.629 label of being Christian or because you take 00:06:06.629 --> 00:06:11.649 on doing insert Christian -ish thing here. Like 00:06:11.649 --> 00:06:14.430 you walk with your Bible or you wear a necklace 00:06:14.430 --> 00:06:17.810 that has a cross on it. And those things do. 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:21.850 People do experience that. But in Christian minority 00:06:21.850 --> 00:06:23.769 countries, people do experience those things. 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:28.319 But it's not just because of the symbols. that 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:31.420 they're showing, it's because of what follows 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:35.500 up with that. Like, yeah. Yeah, it's not purely 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:38.939 ethno -religious persecution, right? Because, 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.519 like I mentioned, Hindu majority, right? The 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:44.139 Muslims are getting it just as bad as the Christians, 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:46.120 right, in some of those contexts. So it's whatever 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.220 the majority. Yeah, it's not because you said 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:50.639 you, because you're following Jesus and Jesus 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:53.180 has led you to feed the poor. But that is, historically, 00:06:53.779 --> 00:06:56.279 that is, when we think of, especially, like, 00:06:56.459 --> 00:06:58.360 I was thinking about this passage and I was thinking 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:00.399 about it in the context of what happened after. 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:02.939 What happened after people started to like take 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:05.420 that name of Christian and the stories that they 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:10.100 would tell. And it, what, what Christians were 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:13.379 being persecuted for are things that many of 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.339 us today, like as Christians, like we're like 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:20.040 the church is begging us to do like feeding the 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.339 poor. Like literally that was, that was enough 00:07:22.339 --> 00:07:25.060 to be persecuted. Cause you were, you were You 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:28.259 were throwing the the the powers that be on their 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:29.860 head like they were they were winning off of 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:31.399 these things They were thriving off of these 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:34.699 things. I guess what kept power in place Yeah, 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:39.180 so by doing by it by helping your neighbor and 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:41.939 this sounds so simplistic, but like that's what 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:44.560 they were doing Yeah, yeah, you're throwing a 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.959 wrench in the system. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:50.889 when it comes to like even just like all of the 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:52.810 Beatitudes, including this one, like sometimes 00:07:52.810 --> 00:07:54.810 you read and you think, OK, I have to actively 00:07:54.810 --> 00:07:57.649 go find a way to get persecuted so that I can 00:07:57.649 --> 00:08:01.089 now, you know, be blessed. And it's like just 00:08:01.089 --> 00:08:03.569 like some of the other Beatitudes we talked about, 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:06.069 you don't as a Christian, you don't need to actively 00:08:06.069 --> 00:08:08.209 go out to look for it. Just being a Christian 00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:10.370 and what you represent in a fallen world means 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:15.029 that you will get persecution. You will get pushback 00:08:15.029 --> 00:08:17.310 from people. Of course, depending on where you 00:08:17.310 --> 00:08:21.220 live. that intensity of pushback will depend. 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:22.720 You know, it's like, yeah, being told, maybe 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:24.980 you can't pray in school because of whatever 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:28.220 reason or people are like, hey, why aren't you 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:30.680 doing X, Y, Z when we're all doing it? And you 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:32.460 say, well, I'm following Jesus, so I'm not doing 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:35.720 X, Y, Z. And they might not talk to you or not 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:37.360 want to be around you for whatever reason. That 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:40.200 is a form of persecution. And there's also, of 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.539 course, people dying and people getting kidnapped 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:45.639 and all these terrible things. And it's just. 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:48.639 I don't think it's like God's like asking us 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:51.440 to seek persecution. I think He's like kind of 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.340 giving us this comfort that He wants us to follow 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:57.600 Him. But a natural consequence of following Jesus 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.600 means that the world is going to hate you and 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.039 so the world is going to persecute you. However, 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:05.559 it's like reassuring to hear that like Jesus 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:08.659 knows that. And it's like kind of like you have 00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:11.850 to endure that because the opposite of enduring 00:09:11.850 --> 00:09:13.730 that is turning away from Jesus and following 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:19.750 the world. It's also not just the world. So Jesus 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:22.990 says, they're going to persecute you just like 00:09:22.990 --> 00:09:25.789 they persecuted the prophets. The prophets were 00:09:25.789 --> 00:09:28.610 sent to the children of Israel. Right? So it 00:09:28.610 --> 00:09:31.309 was the kings and the leaders of the Israelite 00:09:31.309 --> 00:09:33.389 society that were persecuting the prophets. It 00:09:33.389 --> 00:09:37.450 wasn't the Philistines or the Arameans. Right? 00:09:37.490 --> 00:09:41.289 So I think we have to be conscious of the fact 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.090 that when you choose the way of Christ, even 00:09:43.090 --> 00:09:46.149 in the context of church, people in the church 00:09:46.149 --> 00:09:51.950 are going to potentially persecute you. As Jesus 00:09:51.950 --> 00:09:56.429 says, the church is a mixed community. It's wheat 00:09:56.429 --> 00:09:59.269 and tares, as he says in the parable. It's not 00:09:59.269 --> 00:10:03.529 just wheat. So if you try to live the way Jesus 00:10:03.529 --> 00:10:05.490 lives, you're going to throw a wrench not only 00:10:05.490 --> 00:10:08.610 in the way the world functions, but you'll throw 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:11.870 a wrench in the context of people trying to use 00:10:11.870 --> 00:10:14.169 the church institutionally for their own devices. 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:17.090 Right. Yeah. And I was thinking about that and 00:10:17.090 --> 00:10:19.110 like, just like, I think that the word persecution 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:22.370 is the loaded term. And it made me think, what 00:10:22.370 --> 00:10:24.710 are the things that, especially in light of the 00:10:24.710 --> 00:10:26.549 prophet piece, I think that's really important 00:10:26.549 --> 00:10:29.610 to note, because what are the things that we 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:33.250 tend to not see as Christian persecution or persecution 00:10:33.250 --> 00:10:34.590 that happens to Christians for righteousness 00:10:34.590 --> 00:10:38.110 sake, but truly is like taking up that cross 00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:42.639 and getting battered. And I started thinking 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:45.259 about it in the lens that we're in the context 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:51.940 of the civil rights movement. And that in itself, 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:57.700 I think, is an example of how within our mainstream 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:01.039 Christian spaces, we don't... That wouldn't be 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:04.019 labeled under... No one would think of automatically 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:07.600 jump to Christian persecution. and think of all 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.139 of those black and other folks that were fighting 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:15.120 against segregation, fighting against the marginalization 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.799 that was happening in North America. And no one 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:20.379 would think of it like that, or maybe let's insert 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:23.440 movement into it. And we're not going to think 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.740 of, most people wouldn't even put that in climate 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:27.659 justice. No one's going to say, oh, that's Christian 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:31.000 persecution. But there is... There is a conversation 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.379 that should be happening there. Sure. That's 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:36.419 what King said in his Birmingham jail letter. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.080 Yeah. He's writing it to other pastors who are 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:41.639 not supporting. Yeah. You know, like you were 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:44.299 saying you need to be more moderate in your approach. 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:47.850 Right. I'm doing this because of. My faith. The 00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:53.549 call was inside the house. I really, really love 00:11:53.549 --> 00:11:55.529 that point you made because that's so true. It's 00:11:55.529 --> 00:11:58.529 like there's so many political, historical things 00:11:58.529 --> 00:12:01.610 that are happening right now. And there are Christians 00:12:01.610 --> 00:12:04.450 who are fighting against, you know, social injustice, 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:08.080 right? maybe because they don't look like what 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.799 the mainstream Christian, stereotypical Christian 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:13.259 looks like. You don't label it as Christian persecution. 00:12:13.779 --> 00:12:15.519 But again, like, you know, when we talked about 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.519 how persecution against Christians, it's not 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:20.039 just like an ethno thing, right? There's no ethnicity 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:21.820 or nationality behind a Christian. A Christian 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.940 is someone who follows Jesus. And kind of in 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:26.899 that spirit, like there's so many things that 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:29.860 we learn about. And you don't know that there's 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.419 these are Christians, Christ followers who love 00:12:32.419 --> 00:12:35.519 God and who want to love people. and they were 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:39.039 being persecuted. And there's so many layers 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.419 here because yeah, it's like, you know, maybe 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:42.779 they weren't being persecuted because they were 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:44.299 Christian, but they were being persecuted for 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:46.519 other things. Their race, their sexuality, where 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:49.700 they come from, all these other things. But I 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:51.559 guess just hearing what you said, it's like that 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:53.600 still is Christian persecution because they're 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.379 fighting for something. that they believe and 00:12:56.379 --> 00:12:58.080 where the Christians are being persecuted because 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.279 they're standing with those oppressed folks. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.460 Yes. Because of their faith in Christ. Exactly. 00:13:04.059 --> 00:13:06.700 Yeah. Yeah. It's like there's all of these places 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:09.539 where Christ calls us to and Christ doesn't just 00:13:09.539 --> 00:13:13.200 call us into Christian spaces. Yeah. And that's 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:15.460 why maybe, well, the term Christian didn't exist 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:18.299 at that point when he was talking, but like the 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:21.600 saying persecuted for righteousness sake. Right. 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:25.100 In that context, I think it opens us up to getting 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:29.240 out of the like, I think we sit in this label 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.639 sphere where unless we can tightly label it, 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:37.700 then it doesn't matter. But righteousness, what 00:13:37.700 --> 00:13:41.179 God has called to restore is beyond just like 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:45.159 making a denomination or a religious institution. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:51.559 Great. I would actually say that's a So if if 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:54.019 if righteousness is coming into right relationship, 00:13:54.139 --> 00:13:57.000 then all of these pieces are brought into it. 00:13:57.179 --> 00:13:59.580 And that persecution piece, because there are 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:02.600 people that are going to die and they're not 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:05.799 going to label themselves as we can have a whole 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.019 other conversation. But they might not be looking 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:10.980 at in the context of saying I am doing this because 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:17.139 I read. I did my catechism and I read every single 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:19.360 book and it's because of this text that I'm doing 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.419 X, Y, and Z. They might not have that, but there 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:24.919 is a spirit, and I believe that's Christ, that 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:27.100 is calling them into something greater, calling 00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:29.850 them into right relationship. And that will lead 00:14:29.850 --> 00:14:34.629 to persecution. Opposition. Oppositional forces. 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:37.690 Yeah. This world runs on the fuel of opposition 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:40.549 to the Kingdom of Heaven. Yep. Right? So if you 00:14:40.549 --> 00:14:42.590 start living as if the Kingdom of Heaven is actually 00:14:42.590 --> 00:14:45.350 real, you won't fit. You'll be like a puzzle 00:14:45.350 --> 00:14:49.309 piece that doesn't fit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And 00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:52.509 I think that's why, like, I sort of said that, 00:14:52.509 --> 00:14:54.970 you know, that we end on a bit of a downer. But 00:14:54.970 --> 00:15:00.000 like... Hit it fits. It fits with everything 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.039 else that we've talked about They're all downers. 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:06.340 They're all downers. Downers for now, then things 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:09.659 get flipped. But I guess like when I look at 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:12.299 the other Beatitudes, you know, like hungering 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:14.679 and thirsting for righteousness and meekness 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.000 and and all of these like peacemaking nice nice 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.600 things. That was a good conversation we had about 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:25.100 peacemaking. Yeah, I like I think there's just 00:15:25.920 --> 00:15:29.580 There's a sense in which I can logic my way into 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:31.879 like, okay, this is why this might be a good 00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:34.940 thing. Oh, I see. Right? I can say, okay, meekness, 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.500 yes, it's counter to the world, but I can understand 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:39.919 why God would call me to meekness. I can see 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.559 the benefit of it there. Persecution feels like 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:48.019 a different category to me because I can't logic 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:50.360 it in the same way. It's gonna lead into the 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:52.460 bit about loving your enemies. I think it needs 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:56.930 to be read hand in hand with that. Okay. because 00:15:56.930 --> 00:15:59.769 Jesus was persecuted. Right. But he's persecuted 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:02.669 for the sake of his persecutors kind of in a 00:16:02.669 --> 00:16:05.649 way. Sure. Right. He's doing this out of love 00:16:05.649 --> 00:16:09.629 for the world. He's willing to to sort of face 00:16:09.629 --> 00:16:11.889 that. He's willing to stand up for justice and 00:16:11.889 --> 00:16:14.690 righteousness and all of that stuff to show the 00:16:14.690 --> 00:16:17.490 world a better way, even though they end up rejecting 00:16:17.490 --> 00:16:21.350 and killing him for it. Right. So there's a cruciform, 00:16:21.549 --> 00:16:25.950 like cross shaped. Sort of sense to this right? 00:16:26.269 --> 00:16:29.389 I'm standing up for righteousness because the 00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:33.889 world needs to see that you need not be a Manipulative 00:16:33.889 --> 00:16:38.110 looking out for number one. Yeah, you know Backstabbing 00:16:38.110 --> 00:16:40.789 person to get ahead in this world Do everything 00:16:40.789 --> 00:16:43.250 it takes to get wealth and money and power and 00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:46.470 sex and all those things You do things differently. 00:16:46.490 --> 00:16:48.870 They're not gonna like you for it, but you've 00:16:48.870 --> 00:16:51.820 born witness And you're doing it for them, just 00:16:51.820 --> 00:17:01.820 the same way Jesus did. Yeah. So, in this beatitude, 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.099 the line itself, the blessed are those who are 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:07.259 persecuted because of righteousness for theirs 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:10.880 is the kingdom of heaven, also comes with a bit 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:13.339 of a... Postlude, that's maybe not the right 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:16.240 word, but like, it comes with some extra verses. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:18.900 Prelude. Prelude? Well, no, because it's at the 00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:21.619 end. Oh, it is a postlude. Postlude, if it's 00:17:21.619 --> 00:17:25.640 any of a - Adlib? Yeah. Epilogue. Yes? Yeah. 00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:28.140 Anyway, it comes with some bonus features. Sounds 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:29.920 like we're saying Jesus is a recording artist 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.599 or a rapper. That's a different question than 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:37.680 you when you're just like the prophets. Yes. 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:48.799 What? Yes. So in that section, Jesus, so in the 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:51.220 Beatitude, he said persecuted because of righteousness. 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:54.400 In verse 11 that comes immediately afterwards, 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:58.440 he talks about, you know, people who if you are 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:01.400 like called evil or like if people are like making 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:03.220 fun of you and all of these other things because 00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:06.279 of Christ. Yeah. Not because of righteousness. 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:11.019 Now, are these the same? Are they different? 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:14.220 I think they're related. Okay. How are they related? 00:18:15.059 --> 00:18:20.259 Because you're acting justly or righteously in 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:23.859 Christ's name. Right. Who's the herald and the 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:26.359 substance of the kingdom of God or the kingdom 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.599 of heaven in Matthew's terms. So you're living 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:32.319 a certain way and you're proclaiming Christ together. 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:37.019 Those things are always intertwined. And that's 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:40.700 what people are upset about. Yeah. Right, I think. 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:45.240 And it's also, you know, it's a mirror of everything 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.579 Jesus went through, right? When people are speaking 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:50.420 evil of Jesus, right? What did he get called? 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:52.960 He got called a drunkard, a glutton, a demon 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.900 possessed, a son of Satan, all that stuff, right? 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.880 Even though he's just out there healing and doing 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:03.500 his thing. Because he doesn't fit. Right. He 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:05.759 just doesn't fit. Even though he's the rightful 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:08.539 Lord of this world, he doesn't fit. And that's... 00:19:08.589 --> 00:19:10.710 This is another great Bonhoeffer quote, right? 00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:12.650 Like when you run across Jesus, your options 00:19:12.650 --> 00:19:14.829 are two things. You're either going to fall at 00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:16.589 his feet and worship him as Lord or you're going 00:19:16.589 --> 00:19:19.990 to crucify him. Right. Like I think I might have 00:19:19.990 --> 00:19:22.130 mentioned that before. Maybe that feels like 00:19:22.130 --> 00:19:25.150 a very stark contrast. Right. So that's that's 00:19:25.150 --> 00:19:26.230 what's going to happen. You're either going to 00:19:26.230 --> 00:19:28.670 be like, yes, Lord, I'll follow you like Peter, 00:19:28.670 --> 00:19:31.630 or you're going to be like, I need to eliminate 00:19:31.630 --> 00:19:35.690 this person. He doesn't fit. I just I think that's 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:38.150 always just something that like is kind of like 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:40.900 You know, the fact that like Jesus and like the 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:43.240 early Christians, they were doing good things 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:45.559 like feeding the poor, helping people, standing 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:47.420 up for the marginalized and the oppressed. And 00:19:47.420 --> 00:19:51.440 that's what like got them persecuted. It seems 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.759 insane to me right now. However, at the same 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.380 time, it still does happen in this world. For 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:59.740 example, if there is an encampment of homeless 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:02.240 people and everyone's like, you got to take that 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:05.170 encampment down because it's ruining my aesthetic 00:20:05.170 --> 00:20:07.809 of my park with my nice house. And you're like, 00:20:07.890 --> 00:20:10.269 take it away because you have all these stereotypes 00:20:10.269 --> 00:20:13.269 about people who are unhoused. It should be the 00:20:13.269 --> 00:20:16.069 Christians that are like, no, we're not going 00:20:16.069 --> 00:20:18.710 to take this encampment down. We're going to 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:21.950 get these people help. Even this might be controversial, 00:20:22.130 --> 00:20:24.490 but harm reduction spots taking that away in 00:20:24.490 --> 00:20:27.130 Toronto. It's like there's evidence that harm 00:20:27.130 --> 00:20:29.289 reduction is good for the community. It helps 00:20:29.289 --> 00:20:32.210 people. It reduces trips to the hospital. And 00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:36.809 yet people were so for it to take away this necessary 00:20:36.809 --> 00:20:39.750 resource that was going to help people. Why? 00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:42.549 Because they were unhoused, because they didn't 00:20:42.549 --> 00:20:43.869 look like what you want them to look like. And 00:20:43.869 --> 00:20:45.410 it's like, no, it's like the Christians are the 00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:47.009 ones who should be standing up for the people 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:49.509 who are oppressed. And you are going to get persecuted 00:20:49.509 --> 00:20:51.490 from that. You're going to get called. Why do 00:20:51.490 --> 00:20:54.680 you want? to ruin my beautiful yard. Why do you 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:58.339 wanna have these things where these people who 00:20:58.339 --> 00:21:00.279 abuse substances can go and use whatever? And 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:02.700 it's like, no, as a Christian, you should stand 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:04.599 up for the people who are marginalized, even 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:07.400 if that means you're gonna get persecuted. And 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:09.559 sorry, this is - Yeah, go for it. I'm very passionate 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:11.420 about this topic, but it's so disheartening when 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:13.140 you see the fact that it's not Christians who 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:15.440 are fighting against that. Sometimes it's Christians 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:17.400 who are like, yeah, tear down that encampment. 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:19.920 And it's like - I feel very strongly that if 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.000 this was Jesus, Jesus would not be like teared 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.319 down in an encampment. He would be sitting with 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.359 the people in the encampment. He'd be sitting 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:28.519 with the people who are using harm reduction 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.720 sites, being there for them. He says in Matthew 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.460 25, I actually was the person in the encampment. 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:37.359 Yeah, legit. And then, so I think it's just that 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.779 those are things that happened this day. And 00:21:39.779 --> 00:21:42.119 it's like, as Christians, we should be at the 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:45.529 forefront of like protecting people. I think 00:21:45.529 --> 00:21:47.390 sometimes we're afraid to be and I will admit 00:21:47.390 --> 00:21:49.329 this to like I'm also afraid to be as well because 00:21:49.329 --> 00:21:51.230 I know I'm gonna get persecuted I know someone's 00:21:51.230 --> 00:21:55.970 gonna be like XYZ, right? But I think it's like 00:21:55.970 --> 00:21:58.950 when we're following that righteousness That's 00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:01.910 just gonna lead to that persecution. Yeah. Yeah, 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:05.430 you know, it's I'm gonna I'm a one -track Mind 00:22:05.430 --> 00:22:08.680 person here, but Bonhoeffer Yes, Bonhoeffer. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.779 Again, in his prison letters, he was in prison, 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:13.299 imprisoned by the Nazis at the end of his life, 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:14.859 and he wrote all these letters kind of reflecting 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:20.700 on Christianity. And he says, Christians shouldn't 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:24.640 be known for their weird ceremonial practices. 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:27.779 Okay. You know, like, and I think that's what 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:29.539 you were talking about, the persecution complex. 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:31.279 It's like, they won't let me pray, they won't 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:32.980 let me do Eucharist, they won't let me build 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:36.259 my church building or have my music. He's like 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:39.180 do all that stuff in secret. Mm -hmm. He says 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:42.440 let your religious stuff Be done in secret and 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:45.680 let the stuff you're known for be You're dying 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.660 for the world, right? Your service to the world, 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:52.799 right? Right because he says He says all the 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:56.299 religious practices we we do can be misinterpreted 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:58.759 by the world. They can be profaned by the world 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:05.279 Oh yeah, the cannibalism. Yeah, yeah, for podcast 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.759 listeners, right? It's because people would get 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:11.539 together and eat Jesus' body and blood. Right. 00:23:11.700 --> 00:23:14.140 So the rumor was Christians are all cannibals 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:17.000 because they eat bodies and drink blood. Right. 00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:20.079 In the early years. Yeah, but he's like, don't 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:22.319 worry. Don't let your brand be the religious 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:26.750 stuff as Christians. Let your brand be... loving 00:23:26.750 --> 00:23:29.210 one's neighbor in the name of Christ. Right. 00:23:29.529 --> 00:23:31.690 For the glory of God. Yeah. And that's what we 00:23:31.690 --> 00:23:34.569 should be known by. They'll know us. Yeah, yeah. 00:23:34.630 --> 00:23:35.890 They'll know us by our love. That depressing 00:23:35.890 --> 00:23:39.490 song. Yeah. They'll know we are Christians by 00:23:39.490 --> 00:23:45.329 our love. By our love. Yes. Yeah. Instead of 00:23:45.329 --> 00:23:47.829 they know we're Christians because we won't stop, 00:23:47.829 --> 00:23:52.009 you know, laughing about our rights that we deserve. 00:23:52.990 --> 00:23:59.740 Yeah. Yeah. So in some ways this beatitude comes 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:02.599 full circle back to the beginning because the 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:05.819 promise is the same as the promise in the first 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:08.660 one. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And as 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:11.180 an English major, I appreciate the poetry of 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:17.680 this. But what else does that offer us? Like, 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:21.980 are we talking about the same sort of promise? 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:24.559 Like, is it the same? Meaning that the kingdom 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:26.859 of God, like there's the kingdom of God. Is that 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:28.859 the same here as what what we're talking about 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:36.519 for the poor in spirit? Yeah, it's just I think 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:39.059 of like what Justin said, actually, which is 00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:41.400 that all of the Beatitudes are supposed to be 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:44.680 like are what like the kingdom of heaven will 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:47.660 look like that upside down kingdom. And I feel 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:49.579 like in some ways it's like even they are talking 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:53.650 about different attributes. I feel like all the 00:24:53.650 --> 00:24:56.369 Beatitudes kind of in a way just like say the 00:24:56.369 --> 00:25:01.529 same thing, which is that if you follow Jesus, 00:25:01.769 --> 00:25:03.430 you know, you're not just a fan of Jesus, you 00:25:03.430 --> 00:25:06.170 actually follow him. That's going to bring, there's 00:25:06.170 --> 00:25:07.890 going to be hardships. It's going to be really 00:25:07.890 --> 00:25:11.529 difficult. However, that's what you got to do, 00:25:11.710 --> 00:25:15.049 because that's what the kingdom of heaven is 00:25:15.049 --> 00:25:17.970 going to look like. Right. And I was thinking. 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:20.660 in like you were talking about the encampment 00:25:20.660 --> 00:25:22.380 pieces and how churches aren't even a part of 00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:24.460 it and that's so true and I was thinking the 00:25:24.460 --> 00:25:27.839 churches that are usually like very poor their 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:32.119 fundraising efforts don't go very far um but 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:34.759 in light of that I was I was thinking like it 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:38.839 makes more it probably is better to be poor in 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:41.480 spirit and in material things yeah and then be 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:43.680 persecuted because at least you have nothing 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:47.529 to lose right you can Like, what are you gonna, 00:25:47.730 --> 00:25:49.490 like, all you're gonna lose, you're not gonna 00:25:49.490 --> 00:25:51.950 lose the kingdom of heaven. You don't see the 00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:54.329 megachurches trying to fight for the encampments. 00:25:54.349 --> 00:26:00.690 You see them on Grammy shows. Do you guys have 00:26:00.690 --> 00:26:06.029 megachurches in Canada? Not much. I'll show y 00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:08.549 'all a megachurch compounded in the United States. 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:13.980 But yeah, maybe it's better to just be poor. 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:18.779 It's better to have nothing to lose. We talked 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:20.940 about this before. We talked about that investment. 00:26:22.059 --> 00:26:25.000 If we are investing in this earth, then how can 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.839 we prioritize heaven? And yeah, I think we invest 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:32.880 so much that it is hard. So when the hard moments 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:35.059 do come, when it is time for us to take a stand, 00:26:35.390 --> 00:26:38.589 It's so uncomfortable because we're holding so 00:26:38.589 --> 00:26:41.230 much. Like I think of the rich young ruler, like 00:26:41.230 --> 00:26:44.130 it was so hard for him to figure it out because 00:26:44.130 --> 00:26:49.730 he had like he'd built up so much here that to 00:26:49.730 --> 00:26:52.869 give up just a bit would have been too much. 00:26:52.950 --> 00:26:56.930 That investment was so heavy. Some good cost 00:26:56.930 --> 00:27:03.720 fallacy. Yeah. But really. was more, it's more 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:06.400 beneficial if you think about the long run. It's 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:10.180 also, I think, let's speak like plainly, I think 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:14.900 it's better for your mental health. But like, 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:17.339 not even just like having less materially, but 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:21.000 to be in a place where you can do the right thing. 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:27.680 You can live justly knowing that like, I'm I'm 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:30.759 not tied to any of these things. I can make the 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.480 right move because I can say the right thing 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:38.000 and stand up for people and call out really garbage 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:39.940 things when they're happening in my government, 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:44.339 in my community, in my home, because I haven't 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:48.500 invested into what is so, I would say, corrupt. 00:27:54.190 --> 00:27:58.190 Say that I don't want to sort of just celebrate 00:27:58.190 --> 00:28:03.569 poverty But I also that's one of the reasons 00:28:03.569 --> 00:28:07.269 why we try to alleviate Because it's not a great 00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:10.750 life To be poor there are certain sort of spiritual 00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:12.849 potentially advantages, but it also sucks to 00:28:12.849 --> 00:28:18.190 be addicted to smack in the streets But yeah, 00:28:18.190 --> 00:28:22.710 I mean there's there's a balance I mean I think 00:28:22.809 --> 00:28:25.930 it's extremely difficult to enter the kingdom 00:28:25.930 --> 00:28:28.490 of heaven as a vastly wealthy person. But then 00:28:28.490 --> 00:28:30.509 Jesus says, I can even get those people if I 00:28:30.509 --> 00:28:34.529 want to. And the early church was subsidized 00:28:34.529 --> 00:28:36.650 by all these wealthy women who let people be 00:28:36.650 --> 00:28:39.630 in their houses and stuff. But again, you're 00:28:39.630 --> 00:28:43.329 doing it out of obedience to Christ, not out 00:28:43.329 --> 00:28:46.349 of fear, not out of hoarding, not out of a zealousness 00:28:46.349 --> 00:28:51.130 for power. And I would love to see poor people 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:54.079 well fed and housed and all that kind of stuff, 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:58.819 too. Totally. I definitely feel like, yeah, like 00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:01.460 it's like for anyone listening, it's not like 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:04.440 we're saying like, again, like we're not telling 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:06.140 you to go find someone to be persecuted. But 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:08.859 sometimes I think it is like every Christian 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:11.079 is going to be given different gifts from God. 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:13.660 And if you do have the privilege of certain gifts, 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:17.480 I feel that you know we're not saying you know 00:29:17.480 --> 00:29:19.720 donate all of your money and now go live in a 00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:21.960 tent somewhere it's more so like since you are 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:24.059 in that place of privilege how can you then use 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:26.519 that privilege to help those who are disadvantaged 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:30.619 who are facing barriers so for example you know 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:33.980 someone who if you're trying to fight to not 00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:36.579 have an encampment of homeless people be taken 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:39.140 down perhaps you are someone who is more affluent 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:41.579 who might know someone and you can kind of speak 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:43.539 to people and be like hey like i don't believe 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:45.440 that you should be doing this to these people. 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:47.420 So I'm going to use what God has given me to 00:29:47.420 --> 00:29:51.819 help other people. Because I feel like because 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:53.559 that's the contrast of that is you just sitting 00:29:53.559 --> 00:29:55.880 there being like, that sucks for them. I'm just 00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:59.480 going to go keep making more money and buy more 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:02.819 Bitcoin or whatever. And it's like you can use 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:05.339 that to help other people, too. And it's a personal 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:06.960 choice you have to make. And I think that's why 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:11.079 it's so hard to make that choice because. Yeah, 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:14.019 you might not be gaining something in the material 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:17.559 sense, but you would be sacrificing something 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:19.700 kind of like for the greater good. But you still 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:21.880 are in a better position than the people you 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:25.759 would be helping. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:28.480 so. Go back to sort of the beginning of your 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:32.000 thought there. Like, we're not seeking persecution, 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:35.700 you know, but seeking the kingdom. We're seeking 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:40.160 the kingdom. And and this statement for me, is 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:44.420 less of a like, go gain, go strive after this 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:46.519 thing and more of a like, don't be surprised 00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:49.660 when persecution shows up. Right? Yeah. Don't 00:30:49.660 --> 00:30:52.160 have a pity party over it either. Like, I think 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:55.279 that's like the focus should be like, I think 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.900 about this a lot in like social issues where 00:30:58.900 --> 00:31:00.839 someone might be advocating for a particular 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:04.119 thing and then they become the point of the story. 00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:08.920 And usually, usually we say If you become the 00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:11.180 point of the story, then you're doing the wrong 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:14.019 thing because you're you're detracting from the 00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:16.619 actual issue. So someone is fighting against, 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:20.500 let's say, homelessness. And then now they become 00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:23.240 like now all this attention, the story, the headline 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:30.279 is no longer City Park has been demolished or 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:33.440 the police have like, I don't know, formed some 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:36.240 sort of occupation around it or something to 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:40.019 keep certain people out of the park who were 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:43.190 sleeping in encampments. That should be the point 00:31:43.190 --> 00:31:46.309 of the story. But if the story becomes, oh, Britain 00:31:46.309 --> 00:31:52.970 was arrested by the police and is now in custody 00:31:52.970 --> 00:31:56.029 for 10 ,000 days, and if I can get people to 00:31:56.029 --> 00:31:59.059 donate to me... to get out of the prison, compared 00:31:59.059 --> 00:32:01.319 to get people to donate to the residents that 00:32:01.319 --> 00:32:03.359 were in the park in the encampment, then you've 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:06.099 missed the point. The plot's not there. I mean, 00:32:06.099 --> 00:32:08.539 it kind of depends, right? Angela Davis is pretty 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:10.720 awesome. There are people, yeah, but like, I 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:13.799 think, like, for those folks, they saw their 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.339 positionality. They saw, like, how they were 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:18.779 able to... They could bring... Yeah, like, they 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:21.140 always, like, even, like, Angela Davis is a great 00:32:21.140 --> 00:32:23.559 point, because anytime she got on the mic and, 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:27.099 like, she didn't talk about herself. Like in 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:29.279 fact, I've I've rarely heard her talk about herself 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:31.259 unless it's in conjunction to a story that talked 00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:33.279 about Grenada like there was a whole thing in 00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:35.539 Grenada and she but she talks about herself in 00:32:35.539 --> 00:32:38.299 point of like this is what I How I use the power 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:41.519 I had as an American citizen to be able to support 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:44.779 the folks that were experiencing Like all this 00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:48.539 up. So yeah, like if you are going to people 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:50.819 are gonna call you names Let them call you names 00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:52.579 for righteousness sake or for the name of Christ 00:32:53.639 --> 00:32:57.380 not because of yourself. I think that's the angle 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:59.579 I think we tend to miss. It becomes a story about 00:32:59.579 --> 00:33:02.480 ourselves. It becomes a story of like, look how 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:05.259 Christian I am and how they want to torture me 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:08.359 as a Christian rather than the justice that we're 00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:10.619 supposed to be seeking in the world. And it's 00:33:10.619 --> 00:33:15.640 not, I mean, it's not fun to be persecuted, right? 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:18.839 Like, there's a way to get persecuted. I mean, 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:20.480 social media is the perfect example of this, 00:33:20.579 --> 00:33:23.130 right? you get persecuted, then you immediately 00:33:23.130 --> 00:33:25.869 parlay that into having some kind of audience 00:33:25.869 --> 00:33:27.769 or something like that that's following you. 00:33:28.269 --> 00:33:31.650 But in real life, it's, I mean, one of the reasons 00:33:31.650 --> 00:33:33.690 why I think Jesus is giving us this sermon is 00:33:33.690 --> 00:33:35.670 because he's trying to galvanize us. Like, it's 00:33:35.670 --> 00:33:37.829 not going to feel like you're blessed in the 00:33:37.829 --> 00:33:41.829 moment. It's going to feel terrible. Like the 00:33:41.829 --> 00:33:45.109 world's going after you, like the people who 00:33:45.109 --> 00:33:47.450 are not meek and not hungering and thirsting 00:33:47.450 --> 00:33:50.450 for righteousness are succeeding. Like, everything 00:33:50.450 --> 00:33:52.130 inside of you is gonna be like, this isn't worth 00:33:52.130 --> 00:33:55.009 it. Right? It's not like people are gonna be 00:33:55.009 --> 00:33:57.809 giving you accolades and being like, you know. 00:33:58.170 --> 00:34:00.990 But that's why it takes faith, right? We talked 00:34:00.990 --> 00:34:04.829 about that on Sunday. It takes faith to follow 00:34:04.829 --> 00:34:10.530 the Sermon on the Mount, not grit. Yeah. So, 00:34:11.650 --> 00:34:15.469 as we are wrapping up, the Beatitudes. I want 00:34:15.469 --> 00:34:17.809 to just like read them all in a row here for 00:34:17.809 --> 00:34:21.670 us and see how we feel about that. So Jesus said, 00:34:22.030 --> 00:34:25.050 blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is 00:34:25.050 --> 00:34:28.190 the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who 00:34:28.190 --> 00:34:31.530 mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are 00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:35.349 the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed 00:34:35.349 --> 00:34:38.369 are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness 00:34:38.369 --> 00:34:42.190 for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful 00:34:42.190 --> 00:34:46.010 for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the 00:34:46.010 --> 00:34:50.050 pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed 00:34:50.050 --> 00:34:52.510 are the peacemakers, for they will be called 00:34:52.510 --> 00:34:56.489 children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted 00:34:56.489 --> 00:35:00.130 because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom 00:35:00.130 --> 00:35:05.070 of heaven. So when you hear those all together, 00:35:06.150 --> 00:35:10.610 what does that bring about in you? I mean, I 00:35:10.610 --> 00:35:12.789 think the first thing that occurs to me is like, 00:35:12.989 --> 00:35:18.500 it's a lot. But it's also I Don't know it feels 00:35:18.500 --> 00:35:24.019 right even as it feels hard and wrong if that 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:26.260 makes sense like it feels like this is what the 00:35:26.260 --> 00:35:30.719 kingdom of God is about and also like Wow, how 00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:38.039 does How it's kind of like a Like a dare Okay, 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:41.619 okay Jesus like all right, you want blessing? 00:35:41.820 --> 00:35:44.980 This is what it's gonna take right? But it's 00:35:44.980 --> 00:35:48.039 going to be awesome if you're willing to saddle 00:35:48.039 --> 00:35:51.239 up your horse and ride. Yeah. To quote Stephen 00:35:51.239 --> 00:35:57.539 Curtis Chapman. It sounds like a great adventure. 00:35:57.800 --> 00:36:01.239 It does. Yes. In a lot of ways. But don't kid 00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:03.139 yourself that it's going to be easy. Totally. 00:36:04.369 --> 00:36:07.170 You know how, like, Jesus says, like, go and, 00:36:07.170 --> 00:36:09.429 like, make disciples of, like, all the nations? 00:36:09.989 --> 00:36:11.510 I feel like, in a way, it's like, especially 00:36:11.510 --> 00:36:13.750 when I hear about the persecution beatitude, 00:36:13.829 --> 00:36:16.349 it's kind of like a calling in a way of, like, 00:36:17.289 --> 00:36:20.190 now go and do, you know, righteous things, follow 00:36:20.190 --> 00:36:23.030 me, tell people about me. But we know that there 00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:25.150 are so many people who've lost their lives because 00:36:25.150 --> 00:36:27.150 they've tried to share the, you know, because 00:36:27.150 --> 00:36:29.889 they've shared the gospel. They've lost and had 00:36:29.889 --> 00:36:32.730 to sacrifice terrible things. And it's kind of 00:36:32.730 --> 00:36:35.539 like... Just ending off with the persecution. 00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:37.280 It's not like Jesus is calling us to go and be 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:39.099 persecuted But in another sense, it's kind of 00:36:39.099 --> 00:36:42.300 like go and do this But you will be persecuted 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:45.019 and it kind of feels like but he's telling us 00:36:45.019 --> 00:36:49.059 to you know, go and There's a cost. Yeah, there's 00:36:49.059 --> 00:36:51.940 a cost. There's a Not to go ahead, but I was 00:36:51.940 --> 00:36:54.599 looking at the other passage that comes right 00:36:54.599 --> 00:36:57.800 after it. Yeah He says like you are the salt 00:36:57.800 --> 00:36:59.940 of the earth Yeah, kind of goes through all of 00:36:59.940 --> 00:37:02.159 these different analogies of like what it looks 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:06.300 like to be Christian And I just feel like it's 00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:10.900 like Jesus saying, be useful. This is what your 00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:13.480 usefulness will look like. This is what it will 00:37:13.480 --> 00:37:16.920 cost you here and now. But be useful. Do you 00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:19.159 know that was a big Christian term years ago? 00:37:19.179 --> 00:37:25.420 Yeah. No. Yeah. In like the Puritan kind of setting 00:37:25.420 --> 00:37:28.940 and in Baptist world, the best compliment you 00:37:28.940 --> 00:37:30.920 can give another Christian is you're a very useful 00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:34.190 person. But it means useful for God. Yeah, right. 00:37:35.090 --> 00:37:38.469 As a student, I used to have that wrote a whole 00:37:38.469 --> 00:37:41.130 PhD dissertation about this particular Baptist 00:37:41.130 --> 00:37:45.070 preacher. And I think it was the title was A 00:37:45.070 --> 00:37:48.519 Most Useful Man. or something like that. I was 00:37:48.519 --> 00:37:51.079 like, that's really interesting. Yeah, be useful. 00:37:51.159 --> 00:37:53.699 I love that. It's also very Thomas the Tank Engine 00:37:53.699 --> 00:37:56.360 coded. I like Thomas the Tank Engine. I used 00:37:56.360 --> 00:38:00.900 to religiously watch that. It'd be a very useful 00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:05.159 engine for business. Yeah. Yeah. What is the 00:38:05.159 --> 00:38:08.099 point of being powerful if you don't do anything 00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:15.610 with it? Salt does nothing if it's not. Like, 00:38:15.690 --> 00:38:18.349 it seasons things, right? It enhances the food. 00:38:18.949 --> 00:38:22.750 Be useful. I think we're not useful enough, I 00:38:22.750 --> 00:38:26.090 don't think, in our world right now. The power 00:38:26.090 --> 00:38:30.510 that we do have, even the power that... You can 00:38:30.510 --> 00:38:32.309 talk about the origins and all that stuff, but 00:38:32.309 --> 00:38:34.869 the power that the institutional church does 00:38:34.869 --> 00:38:41.239 have, are we useful in that power? Yeah. I have 00:38:41.239 --> 00:38:44.300 another doctoral student that wrote a defense 00:38:44.300 --> 00:38:46.659 of the Church of England being an established 00:38:46.659 --> 00:38:51.820 church. So, you know, there's two countries in 00:38:51.820 --> 00:38:53.900 the world that have an established church or 00:38:53.900 --> 00:38:55.719 have a religion established with the government. 00:38:56.019 --> 00:39:00.659 It's England and Iran. And he's saying like, 00:39:00.699 --> 00:39:02.679 okay, there's all these potentially nefarious 00:39:02.679 --> 00:39:05.539 reasons why this relationship exists, but what 00:39:05.539 --> 00:39:09.000 if we... Yeah, made it righteous. Yeah, I think 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:11.380 we could do if we did this, right? Yeah, it was 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:14.880 a really interesting argument. Yeah, yeah Because 00:39:14.880 --> 00:39:18.719 isn't I Feel like I've just come in with I don't 00:39:18.719 --> 00:39:20.920 know the scripture like chapter But it's like 00:39:20.920 --> 00:39:24.739 the vague idea like when God says, you know Don't 00:39:24.739 --> 00:39:27.179 be like lukewarm, you know, you're either gonna 00:39:27.179 --> 00:39:29.139 be hot or you're gonna be cold or I'm gonna spit 00:39:29.139 --> 00:39:33.360 you out and I know like This is just what I believe 00:39:33.360 --> 00:39:35.159 and I know it's like contested of course, but 00:39:35.159 --> 00:39:37.119 like lukewarm is just like when you're not useful. 00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:38.659 It's like, if you're going to be one thing, it's 00:39:38.659 --> 00:39:40.719 like either be hot or be cold. Cause at least 00:39:40.719 --> 00:39:44.579 God can use that for something. Um, but I think 00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:48.280 a lot of Christians and my, and myself included, 00:39:48.360 --> 00:39:50.300 like we fall into that lukewarm thing of like, 00:39:50.440 --> 00:39:53.559 yeah, I believe in God. I, you know, follow Jesus. 00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:56.260 And at the same time, like I've, I don't have 00:39:56.260 --> 00:40:00.280 any fruit, you know, what is my fruit? Um, and 00:40:00.650 --> 00:40:03.190 Not to say that like again persecution is something 00:40:03.190 --> 00:40:06.929 that you should, you know attain but those who 00:40:06.929 --> 00:40:11.530 have suffered a lot for Jesus like Again not 00:40:11.530 --> 00:40:13.210 saying that you should aim for that, but I that 00:40:13.210 --> 00:40:16.889 is something that they Have kind of in a way 00:40:16.889 --> 00:40:20.070 gain I know there's also like those two guys 00:40:20.070 --> 00:40:22.090 in the Bible who are like I think something happened 00:40:22.090 --> 00:40:23.889 and something where they were like happy because 00:40:23.889 --> 00:40:26.030 they were like, oh we got persecuted for Jesus's 00:40:26.030 --> 00:40:28.570 sake Paul in silence. Yeah chillin in prison 00:40:29.150 --> 00:40:31.349 Yeah, praise in the Lord. And they were like 00:40:31.349 --> 00:40:33.190 happy about that. I always think about that because 00:40:33.190 --> 00:40:35.750 I'm like, I feel like being persecuted isn't 00:40:35.750 --> 00:40:37.949 a good thing, but they were rejoicing that they 00:40:37.949 --> 00:40:39.889 were able to be persecuted for Jesus. And so 00:40:39.889 --> 00:40:41.949 that's just like something I struggle with because 00:40:41.949 --> 00:40:46.030 it's like. I don't know if it's a good. Because 00:40:46.030 --> 00:40:48.909 they got to imitate Jesus. Right. Right. There's 00:40:48.909 --> 00:40:52.309 that person Colossians. I fill up in myself the 00:40:52.309 --> 00:40:54.650 sufferings of Christ in the flesh. It's like 00:40:54.650 --> 00:40:57.309 the more Jesus like I am, the more happy I am. 00:40:58.500 --> 00:41:01.159 And I don't think I'm at that point. I hope maybe 00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:04.059 one day, I believe. We're all growing into that, 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:06.980 right? But also there's this, like, I don't think 00:41:06.980 --> 00:41:09.579 anyone is ever gonna, if someone has arrived, 00:41:09.900 --> 00:41:12.340 then God bless them. But I don't think anyone 00:41:12.340 --> 00:41:16.219 has. Rob Hirkman's is pretty close, though. Okay. 00:41:16.219 --> 00:41:28.440 What a fantastic gentleman. Yes, but... No, no, 00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:32.719 I think what you said was... Sorry. No, but I'm 00:41:32.719 --> 00:41:37.059 just saying that to say, like, I don't think 00:41:37.059 --> 00:41:40.039 any of us, in ourselves, like, when it comes 00:41:40.039 --> 00:41:42.460 time for us to make that... Like, I've seen some 00:41:42.460 --> 00:41:44.239 things, like, there's moments where I look back 00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:48.579 and I'm like, wow, why didn't I stop what I saw? 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:52.380 Why didn't I say something? And it could... And 00:41:52.380 --> 00:41:54.239 it's not things that people would say, oh, that's 00:41:54.239 --> 00:41:56.829 the Christian thing to do, but... really is the 00:41:56.829 --> 00:42:01.409 Christ -like thing to do. If I see someone in 00:42:01.409 --> 00:42:03.730 the subway, I think is a great example. Actually, 00:42:03.750 --> 00:42:05.130 the other day I saw someone and it got into a 00:42:05.130 --> 00:42:07.409 fight. This was a perfect example and it shook 00:42:07.409 --> 00:42:09.829 me to my core. See, the two people get into a 00:42:09.829 --> 00:42:12.690 fight and the first thing I saw everyone else 00:42:12.690 --> 00:42:16.030 in the crowd do is pull out their phones. And 00:42:16.030 --> 00:42:22.929 it was actually my very unreligious wife who 00:42:22.929 --> 00:42:25.809 slapped someone's hand and said, don't do that. 00:42:25.820 --> 00:42:28.280 Don't record on your phone. Why would you do 00:42:28.280 --> 00:42:31.559 that? Help them. Let's do something. And yeah, 00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:34.159 and she stopped. She didn't stop the fight because 00:42:34.159 --> 00:42:37.059 that would have been dangerous. But she intervened 00:42:37.059 --> 00:42:40.179 in a way that she could. And I'm there just like, 00:42:40.420 --> 00:42:42.219 just like, what am I seeing? Because violence 00:42:42.219 --> 00:42:46.139 is horrifying. But yeah, just like do like that 00:42:46.139 --> 00:42:49.260 act of doing something like seeing people watch 00:42:49.260 --> 00:42:52.579 what people record with their phones was disturbing 00:42:52.579 --> 00:42:55.369 for me to see. But I think the fact that she 00:42:55.369 --> 00:42:58.050 was able to see that and say, I'm so disturbed 00:42:58.050 --> 00:43:00.090 by this. I'm seeing these two people lose their 00:43:00.090 --> 00:43:03.030 humanity in this moment, belittle each other. 00:43:03.349 --> 00:43:06.070 And I'm not going to just participate or just 00:43:06.070 --> 00:43:08.869 witness what is happening. And she stopped and 00:43:08.869 --> 00:43:12.010 stopped at least one person from doing what they 00:43:12.010 --> 00:43:14.469 were doing. And those are the moments I look 00:43:14.469 --> 00:43:16.369 back and I'm like, I didn't do this. I'm the 00:43:16.369 --> 00:43:19.989 Christian there. I'm the one that has dedicated 00:43:19.989 --> 00:43:24.489 a good chunk of my educational investment into 00:43:24.489 --> 00:43:27.869 religious education. And still, I sat there and 00:43:27.869 --> 00:43:33.010 I stood there and I froze. And the chemist, the 00:43:33.010 --> 00:43:35.190 one that wouldn't consider himself very religious, 00:43:35.309 --> 00:43:37.050 was the one that moved and did something. And 00:43:37.050 --> 00:43:39.510 that's why I think that term of righteousness, 00:43:39.510 --> 00:43:43.510 I think, it opens us up from that label. Because 00:43:43.510 --> 00:43:47.010 that label, I think, we get fixated on. blocks 00:43:47.010 --> 00:43:49.809 us from doing the right thing, the just thing. 00:43:51.050 --> 00:43:53.449 And yeah, like I think we're all growing in that. 00:43:53.670 --> 00:43:54.809 I'm just to say that. I think we're all growing 00:43:54.809 --> 00:43:56.670 in that. I don't think I'm perfect because I 00:43:56.670 --> 00:43:58.550 saw that like two weeks ago and I didn't do anything. 00:43:59.769 --> 00:44:02.949 And but but the spirit can move us in those moments 00:44:02.949 --> 00:44:05.989 to do something. I love what you said. It's like 00:44:05.989 --> 00:44:08.750 don't be Christian, be Christ -like because yeah, 00:44:08.769 --> 00:44:10.409 like there's a lot of times where if you have 00:44:10.409 --> 00:44:12.489 kind of like that Christian mantle, that Christian 00:44:12.489 --> 00:44:16.469 name, you know, I would argue that when the world 00:44:16.469 --> 00:44:18.849 hears the word, the name Christian, they don't 00:44:18.849 --> 00:44:21.449 think about Jesus. They have a very set image 00:44:21.449 --> 00:44:23.829 of what a Christian looks like based off media 00:44:23.829 --> 00:44:27.610 and stereotypes and history. But it's like, you 00:44:27.610 --> 00:44:29.630 know, it's like, yeah, just be Christ -like. 00:44:29.969 --> 00:44:33.730 And that can lead to persecution, but that's 00:44:33.730 --> 00:44:36.469 ultimately what we should go for. And I love 00:44:36.469 --> 00:44:39.289 that your wife did that. Yeah. God bless her. 00:44:39.909 --> 00:44:42.769 Yeah. Yeah. I mean, all... All of these things, 00:44:42.909 --> 00:44:47.570 all of the attitudes, it is. I think we've said 00:44:47.570 --> 00:44:50.909 this a few times, it is both like a thing that 00:44:50.909 --> 00:44:54.650 Christ calls us to and a gift that Christ gives 00:44:54.650 --> 00:44:58.309 us. Right. It's it's this is the way that you 00:44:58.309 --> 00:45:01.289 should be. But also, like, I know you can't get 00:45:01.289 --> 00:45:03.449 there on your own. So, like, let me help you. 00:45:05.170 --> 00:45:08.469 Yeah. And that's like what following Jesus is 00:45:08.469 --> 00:45:12.340 all about. You're never alone. Yeah. Yeah. It's 00:45:12.340 --> 00:45:15.920 like Liverpool. You'll never walk alone. Okay. 00:45:15.920 --> 00:45:21.980 Sorry. I had to Google that. You're just like 00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:26.280 the plethora of like cultural knowledge and quotations 00:45:26.280 --> 00:45:29.920 and things. Yeah, I waste a lot of my time consuming 00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:36.420 popular culture. And following Jesus, except 00:45:36.420 --> 00:45:40.039 that's not Christ. Yeah. Yeah. And reading about 00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:45.880 theology. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So all of these Beatitudes, 00:45:46.760 --> 00:45:54.599 this life that Jesus calls blessed is hard and 00:45:54.599 --> 00:46:02.219 beautiful and scary and I think worthwhile. Yes, 00:46:02.420 --> 00:46:06.300 I agree worthwhile. Yeah, it's all worth it and 00:46:06.300 --> 00:46:09.300 the thing I think is so cool about the Beatitudes 00:46:09.300 --> 00:46:11.880 is the fact that it's kind of like Maybe you 00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:13.519 know the people that Jesus was speaking to at 00:46:13.519 --> 00:46:15.519 the moment. They didn't feel blessed They may 00:46:15.519 --> 00:46:17.519 have gone through they may have not gone through 00:46:17.519 --> 00:46:19.340 the same situations that current Christians would 00:46:19.340 --> 00:46:21.440 be going through now But it's like Jesus saw 00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:24.159 obviously he can you know saw the future he first 00:46:24.159 --> 00:46:26.320 saw that there would be people who would face 00:46:26.320 --> 00:46:28.519 persecution because of they were following him 00:46:28.519 --> 00:46:31.329 and I think it would have sucked if there was 00:46:31.329 --> 00:46:33.230 no Beatitudes at all. And they were just like, 00:46:33.230 --> 00:46:35.489 I'm being persecuted. Now what do I do? Right. 00:46:35.530 --> 00:46:38.849 For following Jesus. But Jesus kind of was like 00:46:38.849 --> 00:46:41.170 reassuring them from the very beginning of like, 00:46:41.329 --> 00:46:43.389 I know this hurts. I know you're being persecuted. 00:46:44.090 --> 00:46:47.690 But since you are doing it for me, like, I see 00:46:47.690 --> 00:46:51.730 you. I knew this would happen. But I'm here. 00:46:51.730 --> 00:46:54.670 Yeah. And that can sometimes just give us the 00:46:54.670 --> 00:46:57.730 courage to keep enduring. Yeah, totally. Yeah. 00:46:58.110 --> 00:47:01.090 Thank you very much, folks, for this whole series 00:47:01.090 --> 00:47:04.050 of conversations. It's been fun. Yeah, it's been 00:47:04.050 --> 00:47:07.730 great. And thank you for tuning in again to this 00:47:07.730 --> 00:47:10.969 week's episode of Trinity Talks. Go back and 00:47:10.969 --> 00:47:14.610 read the Beatitudes and just like think about 00:47:14.610 --> 00:47:16.610 all of these things that Christ both calls us 00:47:16.610 --> 00:47:20.530 to and gives us as a gift. And as you walk through 00:47:20.530 --> 00:47:24.829 life in all of its ups and downs, remember that 00:47:24.829 --> 00:47:27.719 God is calling us blessed. We'll see you next 00:47:27.719 --> 00:47:27.920 week.