Worst Sales Pitch Ever!

This is a recycled post, but I just love it so much and it definitely seems pertinent today. 

I have a 22-year-old cousin that recently graduated from college with a degree in Computer Science. He’s super smart and super delightful in every way. He showed up to Thanksgiving last year with a full-sleeved black and white tattoo that attracted a lot of attention especially from his grandpa. It was not necessarily positive attention, however, he definitely had everyone intrigued. When his grandpa asked him bluntly, “why the hell would you do that to your body?” My cousin proudly gave us his testimony behind the meaning of his tattoo. It was eloquent and well prepared, it was thoughtful, and it was a witness of who he was and what he valued in life. It was so important to him that he tattooed it permanently on his arm for all to see knowing that he would most definitely encounter those that hated tattoos and would have no problem telling him how much they hate tattoos. The tattoo was of a house on fire, which represented to him the things of this world that can consume us and when people become burnt out in jobs that do not feed their passions. On the outside of the house was a man on fire and that represented him and his desire to burn brightly outside of the things of this world and not because of them. It was a beautiful demonstration of his hope-filled outlook on life. What convicted his testimony even more was that people were persecuting him for it and it gave him the opportunity to stand up for his creed to burn brightly. This is what Jesus is talking about in the gospel today: persecution “will lead to your giving testimony.” 

Jesus tells us today that people will give you lots of crap for being friends with me (I paraphrased that just a little!). He goes on to say, not just any people, “parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.” Jesus, this might be the worst sales pitch ever, I’m just sayin’! “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” This is a practicum of the beatitude, “Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I love that Jesus is real with us. We know what we are signing up for, but we know that at the end of the day, we can say that we stand with love, and that the very word that breathed the universe and all that is within it into existence is permanently tattooed on our soul. When people ask us “why in the hell would we do that?” we can proudly give our testimony: I want to burn brightly because I know Jesus Christ. 

Eventually, my cousin’s strong conviction about the meaning behind his tattoo softened the hearts of all of us at the table. He was so secure in his belief that it converted people’s nay saying and I loved watching him stand firm in his faith. Another testimony came forth that night. When my cousin asked his grandpa why he hated tattoos so much, his Jewish grandpa responded with, “I guess it just reminds me of the holocaust and the persecution of my people identified by tattooing numbers on their wrists.” The room was reduced to a moment of honor and respect because my cousin’s testimony and his grandpa’s testimony came together and the persecution ended in the understanding of each other’s soul. This is what needs to happen on all fronts in our society, in our church, and in our personal relationships. It is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 DN 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,
with whom he drank.
Under the influence of the wine,
he ordered the gold and silver vessels
which Nebuchadnezzar, his father,
had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,
to be brought in so that the king, his lords,
his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.
When the gold and silver vessels
taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in,
and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers
were drinking wine from them,
they praised their gods of gold and silver,
bronze and iron, wood and stone.

Suddenly, opposite the lampstand,
the fingers of a human hand appeared,
writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace.
When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched;
his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook,
and his knees knocked.

Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king.
The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile,
whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?
I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,
that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties;
if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means,
you shall be clothed in purple,
wear a gold collar about your neck,
and be third in the government of the kingdom."

Daniel answered the king:
"You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else;
but the writing I will read for you, O king,
and tell you what it means.
You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.
You had the vessels of his temple brought before you,
so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers,
might drink wine from them;
and you praised the gods of silver and gold,
bronze and iron, wood and stone,
that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence.
But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.

"This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.
These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Responsorial Psalm DANIEL 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67

R.(59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

Alleluia RV 2:10C

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 21:12-19

Jesus said to the crowd:
"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."