Whats on my mind? Over and over for the past several months, some of the most difficult words and teachings of Jesus keep haunting my thoughts. Love your enemies. There are no exceptions in the words or example of Jesus. Wow. That is so hard. Do good to those who hate you. Ive always struggled with this one. Bless those who curse you. (In other words, those who speak evil or gossip about you?). Truthfully, Im more comfortable to leave it at the cursing for it is easier to dismiss -- but the other? Does blessing them mean facing my own weakness? Again, Jesus did not make any exceptions. Okay Jesus, Im really having trouble with this no exception idea. It just gets worse: Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone hits you on one cheek, offer the other too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well. If someone asks you for something, give it to him; if someone takes what belongs to you, dont demand it back. Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them. What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Anybody can do that These words strip away my illusions about myself. I feel hopeless in the face of such teaching. It is easier to fight back. To kill those first who might want to kill me. To speak evil of those who might speak evil. To strike back. To hate. Those emotions swell up so quickly when I view the evil of the world, the injustice that exists, the abuse of the poor, the occupied, the self satisfaction of the rich with the way things are. Then, when the light of these words from Jesus shine on me, I see that I am part of that abuse, part of those who are self satisfied with the way things are and content to ignore the suffering of others. When the light shines, I know that everything in me wants to explain away these teachings of Jesus, to make an excuse for the violence, fed by fear, that casts it long shadow across our world. A violence that, albeit passive, I participate in by choosing the easy path, the wide path of hate those who hate, curse those who curse, hit those who hit.... Dear Savior, forgive me for trusting the darkness and turning from the light. Forgive me for believing that I can save myself when you have given the example of your life. Forgive me for ignoring your words to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow you. Please teach me to love as you loved, even if it is only for one day or one hour that I might see the world that you loved instead of the world of fear and prejudice born of my narrow sight. Please, out of your great mercy, forgive me and transform my life to be like you. Teach me to remember that it is not by might, nor by power but by your Spirit.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:37:57 +0000
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