Saturday of the First Week of Lent - March 3, 2012
Matthew 5:43 - 44
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
"You have heard it said . . . but I say to you . . ."
"You have heard it said" . . . in Jesus use of the phrase, he referred to the Hebrew scriptures and the Law of Moses. In our contemporary life, this is conventional wisdom, the structures and frameworks under which people live without question. These are cultural assumptions, even the traditional teachings of the Church.
** Competition is good.
** You have to have resolve and stand by your principles, no matter what.
** You get what you deserve.
** Success is important.
** Having a lot is better than having little.
** There have to be winners and losers.
** You make your own way in life.
** If you really believe and set your mind to it, you can do anything.
** I have to see it to believe it.
"But I say to you" . . . this is the new kingdom, the new way of doing life that Jesus called the "kingdom of God." It differs from conventional wisdom and is alternative to the world in which we live, work, go to school, or have social contact. The Gospels paint pictures of this kingdom.
** Here is a new way of seeing and thinking.
** Here is an understanding of God you have not considered.
** This is a way of being in the world that will not only change your life, but it will transform the foundations of the world.
** There are new possibilities for humans in relationship with God, others and the world. We are no longer locked into the old, fixed legal system.
** Unconditional, unmerited love wins the day, not regulations and prescriptions.
For today . . . see if you can come up with a series of, "You have heard it said . . . but I say to you" statements. Think of the first as conventional wisdom that persons buy into. Think of the second as the new possibilities and hopes ushered in by Jesus.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
"You have heard it said . . . but I say to you . . ."
"You have heard it said" . . . in Jesus use of the phrase, he referred to the Hebrew scriptures and the Law of Moses. In our contemporary life, this is conventional wisdom, the structures and frameworks under which people live without question. These are cultural assumptions, even the traditional teachings of the Church.
** Competition is good.
** You have to have resolve and stand by your principles, no matter what.
** You get what you deserve.
** Success is important.
** Having a lot is better than having little.
** There have to be winners and losers.
** You make your own way in life.
** If you really believe and set your mind to it, you can do anything.
** I have to see it to believe it.
"But I say to you" . . . this is the new kingdom, the new way of doing life that Jesus called the "kingdom of God." It differs from conventional wisdom and is alternative to the world in which we live, work, go to school, or have social contact. The Gospels paint pictures of this kingdom.
** Here is a new way of seeing and thinking.
** Here is an understanding of God you have not considered.
** This is a way of being in the world that will not only change your life, but it will transform the foundations of the world.
** There are new possibilities for humans in relationship with God, others and the world. We are no longer locked into the old, fixed legal system.
** Unconditional, unmerited love wins the day, not regulations and prescriptions.
For today . . . see if you can come up with a series of, "You have heard it said . . . but I say to you" statements. Think of the first as conventional wisdom that persons buy into. Think of the second as the new possibilities and hopes ushered in by Jesus.
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