12/17/2023 0 Comments Quote keep your enemies closeHe is known as the “Angel of Mexico” and is the patron of travelers. At age 72, he distributed all he had among the poor and entered the Franciscans as a brother. Sebastian lived from 1502 to 1600, and he was a bridge builder mostly in Mexico. Help me to love all others as much as I love you. The Franciscans’ have a saying: “commit yourself to daily conversion.” “Lord, I love you above all. We need to transform ourselves to be like Christ, and follow His whole laws. The idea of perfection for the Jews of that time, was a man who observed the whole law without exception. In Luke’s gospel, the parallel verse ( Luke 6:36 ) demands that the disciples be merciful. In the gospels this word occurs only in Matthew here and in Matthew 19:21. In the last sentence of this reading, the word “perfect” was used. In the time of Jesus, the “greeting” mentioned above, was a prayer of blessing on the one greeted. Jesus’ disciples must not be content with the usual standards of conduct in society. If you don’t see Jesus in everyone, get your vision checked in the confessional, and at mass. Remember, all people are God’s creation, and we should see Jesus in everyone we meet. Loving our enemies is a must for all Christians. He instructs that loving those that hate you, increases God’s love for you. Jesus ate with tax collectors frequently, during His ministry. It would have been difficult to be hated more than a tax collector. Tax collectors were hated publicly, verbally, and sometimes violently. Tax collectors were a symbol of low morality, being often associated with extortion and collaborating in the Roman occupation of Palestine. Hence, tax collectors were regarded as sinners and outcasts of society, and were disgraced, along with their families. The abuse of extortion was widespread among tax collectors. Whatever they collected above this amount was profit to them. Such tax collectors paid a fixed amount of money for the right to collect customs duties within their districts. The tax collectors were Jews of the region, who were engaged in the collection of indirect taxes such as tolls and customs. Jesus distinguishes between earthly rewards, and Godly rewards. Aggression displayed is transformed into a strategy of winning through the wisdom of love. Christianity is purposely not aggressive by nature and intent. As children of God, we must imitate the example of the Jesus. Jesus extends the love commandment to the enemy, and the persecutor. Both in the Old Testament, and in the Qumran (1QS 9:21), hatred of evil persons is assumed to be permitted and all right. The “neighbor” of this “love” commandment was understood as one’s fellow countryman. There is no Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one’s enemy. There was no “as yourself” at the end of the quotation. (NAB Mt 5:43-48)ĭid you notice this series of verses left out the end of the quote from the first sentence. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. “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 persecute you, 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. Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time! Truths that little children have learned: You can’t trust dogs to watch your food!ĭon’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair!
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