Jesus speaks here what has been called the most neglected of all the Beatitudes, "And blessed is he who takes no offense at me." John dies in the prison. "Blessed is he that takes no offense."

It is a word for that time, and it is a word for our time. For faith is comparatively easy when things go well; faith becomes difficult when things turn against us and there seems to be no release. It is then that we are blessed if we take no offense. Most of the time in our lives when trouble comes we are able to work our way through it. Illness strikes us, and we are well. Our loved ones go to the hospital, the things that are done are appropriate, and they return. And yet, for all of us, the time comes when these kinds of deliverance will not occur, at least not on their own terms. The grip of pain will not be broken, the tragedy will not be set aside; the death will not be thwarted. How is it possible to have faith when the release does not come?