Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

 Lectionary: 271

So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

 U nlike the enthusiastic crowd in today's gospel who would carry Jesus off to make him king, the disciples knew how to respond to the unexpected and marvelous grace they had been given. They rejoiced that "they had been found worthy to suffer for the sake of the name." 

The 39 lashes could only remind them of the Roman scourge which the Lord suffered silently and willingly. As severe as the Jewish punishment was, it was only a taste of the torture of a sneering occupation army for one who might be a Jewish king. 

The Letter to the Hebrews teaches a similar attitude, 

My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord

or lose heart when reproved by him;

for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;

he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. (Hebrews 12:5-6)

Because they kept the vision of the Risen Lord before their eyes, they could only laugh at the Sanhedrin and their stooges. (...who may have been underpaid, resentful of their bosses, and sympathetic toward the disciples.)  

Hebrews reminds us to expect trouble as we live and announce the Gospel. If it came to the Lord, is there some reason it should not come to us? Prematurely expecting the ease and comfort of heaven can only make disappointments worse. A college freshman might enjoy moving to a distant campus and new opportunities for fun and adventure, but if they don't put that pleasure aside and take up the challenge of study, they'll be back home in short order, in the same old boring bedroom. 

Nor should the challenge come from an expected quarter. I've often found myself complaining about a problem because it seemed I should not have to deal with this particular type of problem. (It's not Christian!) I got over it, but it took a while. The disciples had also seen the Lord suffer at the hands of the Sanhedrin although the Jewish assembly should have welcomed both the Messiah and his disciples. 

It's helpful when I am in difficulty, to ask, "What did I expect?" If I name it, I can get 'build a bridge and get over it!" And thank the Lord for both the opportunity and the requisite courage to deal with it. 

Today's patron Saint Athanasius struggled with fellow Christians as he championed the doctrine of the Holy Trinity despite threats, obstacles, and exile. He celebrated the humility of a supremely powerful, omniscient God who generously surrendered all authority in heaven and earth to his son, a human being. Without his intervention we might admire tyrants like Constantinople, Stalin, and Idi Amin, and would-be-tyrant Trump.