Word to the Wise
Saturday, March 11, 2017 - 1st Week of Lent - Sat
[Deut 26:16-19 and Matt 5:43-48]"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecuteyou, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." [Matthew]
SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2017 SATURDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
[Deuteronomy 26:16-19 and Matthew 5:43-48]
"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecuteyou, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." [Matthew]
Of all Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, this one seems to many people to be just plain unrealistic! Why, the foreign policy of our nation since the beginning has been based on loving our "neighbor" and "hating our enemy." Those of us who grew up during the 'cold war' were taught to hate communists and communism. The word 'hate' may not have been used, but the attitude was clearly inculcated. Needless to say, on a more personal level, anyone we dislike we are likely to consider an "enemy" of sorts.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not trying to "repair or replace" the Mosaic Law. He is offering the best interpretation of it. Scripture scholars will point out that the Hebrew Bible (a/k/a/ Old Testament) does not say anywhere in the Mosaic Law that we should "hate our enemies." It DOES say we should love our neighbor. In the Gospel According to Luke, the parable of the Good Samaritan comes in response to a question, cleverly put: "Who is my neighbor?" The Samaritan would have considered the Jew an enemy and vice versa.
In considering Jesus' teaching in this matter, I think it is a good idea to ask questions like this: Does my faith shape my "politics," or do my "politics" shape my faith? Or, what is my starting point in considering anyone my "enemy?" Jesus points out that we are all God's children, good and not so good. Do we live in love or do we live in fear? This is what makes the Sermon on the Mount such a great catechism! AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
128 ms
4
