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Tough stuff from Matthew Chapter 5 today:
43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
You have to be wary, I believe, when Jesus starts a sentence with “you have heard that it was said”, always followed by the lethal “But I say to you”. I imagine those following him cringing whenever they hear one of these admonitions. “How hard will this be?” they must wonder.
We don’t have to wonder. It IS hard. Loving our enemies AND praying for them? Greeting those who are not part of “us”. Welcoming the stranger, the different, the other?
Maybe in this political campaign season, reporters can start questions that way – “tell me Candidate X, you have heard it said….but Jesus said…..How does that fit your policy plans?” I would especially like to hear that asked of candidates and those in office who claim allegiance to Jesus above all else. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Christians serving in the public sphere, running for office, etc. I just want them to act more like Jesus, to remember how Jesus turns everything upside down, and then promoting policies that echo “but I say to you”, no matter how hard that may be. Especially how hard it may be to get votes once they really follow our Lord…..