“We have given up everything and followed you,” says Peter to Jesus in today’s gospel. A statement with an implicit question behind it, “what’s in it for us?” Jesus promises Peter and his followers one hundred times more in this present age: houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands, eternal life, and...persecutions. This last one is not as desirable as the others, but perhaps it is key to understanding Christian discipleship.
Persecution, which countless Christians throughout the world have experienced throughout the ages and still today, has a way of strengthening the bonds of community. Ideally, Christians face oppression and hostility with increased unity, sharing and solidarity. Those most in need will find a family, a home, a land in which to safely live.
But even for Christians who are not actively experiencing persecution, the words of Jesus become a call to generosity, solidarity and mission. “The world is our home,” the Jesuits like to say. Let us make it more of a place of peace, love, and life. May the grace of God and the intercession of all the holy martyrs be with us.