Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 24, 2025
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”
When I encountered this reading, my first thought was, “Well, if they hate me, I probably already hate them too.” Then, I laughed at myself, imagining Jesus’ face if I really told him, “Okay, well, it’s fine, Jesus. Just let me hate those who hate me!”
That’s the easy human response. And more and more, responding to hate with hate feels like the only possible response, especially if we believe by doing so we’re protecting that which is most important to us: our faith, our values, our family, and friends.
But in the final lines of this reading, Jesus tells the disciples: they will do things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. Who are we to think we know how to respond to these modern-day persecutions better than Jesus? He has already shown us the way. No servant is better than his master—and so, in the face of persecution, whatever it might look like, we must humble ourselves as Jesus did. We must meet our detractors where they are, listen, and really listen. And we must love them. We must let them know Christ through us and become a vessel through which God’s miraculous grace can work.
When we are met with hatred, we do not need to respond with hatred. Jesus has endured all the hatred for us. He has endured persecution for us. His image on the cross is a reminder of this. With his sacrifice, Jesus extended the opportunity to us to root out the world’s hatred from our hearts. If we ask, he can likewise open our hearts to seek out those who continue to be persecuted and love our neighbor.
Hating is easy. Loving is harder.
Prayer
Dear Lord, give us wisdom when we are filled with questions. Grant us a grateful heart when we feel discouraged. Open our eyes to the opportunities that await us. Steady our pace so that we can see you in the people and challenges that will come our way today. Let us be pure of spirit so your glory may guide our thinking and acting. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Joanna was a laywoman from the first century who was married to the head servant to King Herod.
She followed Jesus and is mentioned in Luke’s Gospel when she provides for Jesus and the apostles out of her own resources (Lk 8:3). Tradition holds that when John the Baptist was killed, she obtained his head and buried it honorably.
Luke’s Gospel also tells us that Joanna was among the women who went to anoint Jesus’ body after his passion, death, and burial. She was among the first who were greeted with the news of the resurrection (Lk 24:10).
The chapel in Geddes Hall, which houses the Institute for Church Life and the Institute for Social Concerns, contains stained glass windows that depict the works of mercy. Joanna is one of the “myrrh-bearing women” who are shown in the window dedicated to “burying the dead." The relics of St. Joanna also rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus.
Joanna, disciple of Christ, whose care for Christ's dead body revealed to you his risen one—pray for us!