lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great, and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. For he is kind toward the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Don’t be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

Reflections
For many people, the challenge of Jesus is the most difficult passage in the Gospel. It seems to express a way of life that is totally unrealistic and unattainable. We live today in a world of great violence, of terrorism, of violence and murder, of summary executions and extrajudicial killing. Where do Jesus’ words fit in? “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.” We may feel that we are unable to follow this teaching. We think it would only encourage those people to behave even worse. But Jesus is extending love to the enemy and the sinners. This is the core of Jesus’ teaching, which he himself lived. The Golden Rule which is often expressed as “Do not do to others what you would not want them do to you” is expressed positively by Jesus. This, in fact, is the love that God has for us. It is a an expression of unconditional love. God reaches out in merciful love to every single person without exception. God wills the fullest well-being of every single person. To love as God loves is to focus more on the needs of others. What is hurting inside them that drives them to such behavior? We begin to ask why do they have to act in this way. We can only do this if we have a strong inner sense of security and self-acceptance and above all having ourselves experienced God’s prodigal love.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018