Suffering And Blessings

Mακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅσῳ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶσθαι τὸ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι χαλεπώτερον κέκριται; Τοῦτο µέν τοι πολλάκις τὸ δοκοῦν χαλεπὸν, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον εὐκληρίας πολλοῖς αἴτιον γίνεται, οἷον περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ὁ λόγος ἐνδείκνυται· ὃς ἐπιβουλευθεὶς παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ τῆς µετ' αὐτῶν συν διαγωγῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, διὰ τῆς πράσεως βασιλεὺς ἀν εδείχθη τῶν ἐπιβεβουλευκότων, οὐκ ἂν ἴσως προελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἀξίωµα, µὴ τοῦ φθόνου διὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκείνης τὴν βασιλείαν ὁδοποιήσαντος. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν εἴ τις τοῦ µέλλοντος τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχων, προεῖπε τῷ Ἰωσὴφ, ὅτι Ἐπιβουλευθεὶς µακάριος ἔσῃ, οὐκ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου πιθανὸς ἔδοξε τῷ ἀκούοντι, πρὸς τὸ παραχρῆµα λυπηρὸν ὁρῶντι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ᾠήθη δυνατὸν εἶναι κακῆς προαιρέσεως ἀγαθὸν ἀνα δειχθῆναι τὸ πέρας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ τῶν τυράννων τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπαγόµενος διωγµὸς, πολὺ κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν τὸ ἀλγεινὸν ἔχων, δυσπαράδεκτον ποιεῖ τοῖς σαρκωδεστέροις τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αὐτοῖς προκειµένην τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδα· ἀλλ' ὁ Κύριος τὸ σαθρὸν ὑπεριδὼν τῆς φύσεως, προαναφωνεῖ τοῖς ἀσθενεστέροις, οἷόν ἐστι τῆς ἀγωνίας τὸ πέρας, ἵνα τῇ τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδι τὴν πρόσκαιρον τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αἴσθησιν εὐκόλως καταπαλαίσωσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λόγος Ηʹ Source: Migne PG 44.1296a-b

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Who does not know how more difficult it is to bear if instead of being loved we are schemed against? Yet often what seems hard becomes a cause of happiness for many even in this life, which is shown in the story of Joseph, he who was plotted against by his brothers and they expelled him from their company, but because of this he became the king of those who had plotted, 1 and perhaps he would not have attained to such great dignity had not the envy of the plotters made a way for that kingdom. If, then, someone who had knowledge of the future had told Joseph, 'You are being plotted against, you will be blessed,' it would not have appeared immediately believable to him who heard, for looking only to present distress, he would not have thought it possible that evil purpose could reach a good end. So here the persecution of the faithful by tyrants, in which there is much material pain, makes it difficult for those who are more worldly minded to admit the hope of the kingdom that is to be brought forth by these pains, but the Lord, looking down on the infirmity of our nature, foretells to the weak what the goal of the struggle is, so that with hope of the kingdom they more easily triumph over the transient feelings of pain. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Eighth Oration 1 Mt 5.10 2 Gen 37-45