John 15:18-21
If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
because my choice withdrew you from the world,
therefore the world hates you.
These are not easy words from today’s Gospel. We naturally draw back from the word ‘hate’, especially in a Bible text. Persecution was a growing reality for the Early Church and this is reflected in its sacred texts. The backdrop of the Roman Empire with its cult of the Emperor etc provides us with one context for John’s use of the word ‘world’. It’s God reign and not Caesar’s that will bring redemption. It is to God’s kingdom that we give our loyalty and devotion.
At baptism our parents and godparents made a choice for us. They chose to have us welcomed into the Christian community and to share in Christ’s anointing as priest, prophet and king. It’s in this sense that we can say that we are ‘in the world and not of it.’
In Ch 4 of his Rule St Benedict urges his monks ‘Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before all else.’ The invitation here is to base your everyday choices on the Gospel. Commenting on this section of the Rule, Michael Casey, a Cistercian monk, says;
‘If I invest my energies in living a life characterised by humility, altruism, non violence, charity, forgiveness, truthfulness, indifference and detachment, it is unlikely that I will become rich or famous.’
It’s about choosing Christ at every turn.
How can you choose Christ today?