Week 11 Daily Dose of Love
(#71) 3/12
Jesus Comments on Retaliation
Matthew 5:38-42
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your
cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give
to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”
Luke 6:29-30
If
anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your
shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
The passage that Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy (“an eye for an eye”) was
a directive to curb excessive retaliation, not instructions on how to get even. Jesus introduces the power
of love to human conflict and challenges us to respond in ways that connect and unite us. The problem with getting even
is that we never reach a point where things actually become even. Every act of retaliation leads to another.
Power and cunning may win the day, but weeks, months, years, decades, and even generations later, someone decides to
get even and sets off another cycle of retaliation and revenge. Jesus gives us a whole new perspective on
getting even. Reconciliation undermines the need for retaliation. Love restores balance.
Instead of getting even, we become and stay even. Love requires that we open to the person who is hurting us, that we try to understand,
accept and see things from their perspective. By responding to hurt with love, we help those who hurt us
realize what they are doing. The only way to love fully is to open our hearts to those who hurt us.
Reflection/Discussion:
What changes do we need to make in our
attitudes and perceptions in order to love those who hurt us?
Principles of Love:
Nature; Unity; Humility; Opening; Compassion;
Decision; Commitment; Forgiveness; Vision; Learning; Suffering
Pray Through the Day:
We were created
From God’s love
(#72) 3/13
Jesus Tell Us to Love our Enemies
Matthew
5:43-48
“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, so 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. For if you
love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you
greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Luke 6:27-28, 32-36
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ... “If you love those who love
you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who
do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom
you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But
love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of
the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Our impulse is to
want to resist and isolate our enemies, to defeat and overcome them so we can feel safe. Of course, our
enemies have the same impulse toward us. So we spend our lives and resources fighting, resisting, and isolating.
This may even seem to work if there is a temporary advantage in power and resources. But maintaining
this advantage ultimately creates new enemies or motivates olds ones to seek even more power and resources so they can continue
the battle Using aggression to achieve safety is a recipe for an unsafe, unfulfilled and insecure life. Jesus is simply
describing what works in God’s creation over the long run. Learning to love difficult people helps make our love more
perfect and them less difficult. Loving our enemies forces us to see what we have in common. It helps us
to recognize misunderstanding and mistakes that might contribute to their animosity toward us. Loving our
enemies allows us to see ourselves as they see us. Much of what makes them enemies could be a defensive
reaction to threats they perceive from us. Loving our enemies minimizes their need for defensiveness, making it more likely that
they will see us more clearly. When we find common ground, we begin to work together for the common good.
Jesus challenges us to “Be perfect ... as our heavenly Father is perfect.” Love
is perfect. It stops being love when it only goes part way. When we
love all the way, we love everyone. Reflection/Discussion:
How does defining someone as “enemy”
limit our ability to know them?
Principles of Love:
Nature; Unity; Humility; Opening; Acceptance;
Compassion; Decision; Commitment; Forgiveness; Vision; Learning; Suffering
Pray
Through the Day:
We
were created
From God’s
love
(#73) 3/14
Jesus Talks About Piety and Almsgiving
Matthew 6:1-4
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from
your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their
reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so
that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Trying to act pious separates us from God.
Jesus tells us that he is not the least bit interested in appearances. God works in secret and in
silence. We don’t receive his love through posture or position. Neither do we
don’t experience his compassion by showing him how good we are. God resides deep within our hearts.
He has the inside story and the full view. We may be able to fool ourselves but we cannot fool God.
If we really want to learn how to love, we need to spend time where he is -, in our hearts and in
the heart of every person whose life we may affect. Reflection/Discussion:
What makes humility a necessary component of love?
Principles of Love:
Humility
Pray Through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
(#74)
3/15
Jesus Teaches
about Prayer
Matthew 6:5-9a
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they
love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to
your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “When you are praying,
do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way.”
When we think of
prayer, we tend to think in terms of words. Jesus did not write down a single word during his life on earth.
He never told his apostles to take notes or to record what he said. Jesus is about to teach us how to pray.
He is not simply giving us the right words to repeat. He is telling us to live the words, to love
the words. The purpose of prayer is to keep us in touch with the source of life - to find Our Father within
ourselves and in our community. Jesus says that this is best done in the silent recesses
of our hearts. Thomas Merton wrote, “Christianity is a religion
of the Word. The Word is Love.” ... “Even though one may be a learned man and may have profound knowledge of
many subjects, and many ‘words,’ this is of no value, it has no central meaning, ... if the One Word, Love, has
not been heard. That One Word is heard only in the silence and solitude of the empty heart, the selfless,
undivided heart.”
“The object of faith is One - God, Love. And though, the revealed
doctrines about Him are true, yet what they tell us of Him is not fully adequate as long as we grasp them only separately,
incoherently, without living unity in Love. They must converge on Love as the spokes of a wheel converge
on a central hub.” ... “No mind can comprehend God’s reality,
as it is in itself, and if we approach Him we must advance not only by knowing but by not-knowing. We must
seek to communicate with Him, not only by words, but above all by silence.”
Reflection/Discussion:
What are obstacles to deepening our prayer life?
Principles of Love:
Humility; Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
(#75)
3/16
The Lords Prayer - Our Father
Matthew 6:9b
“Our
Father in heaven,”
“Our” Father is very different than “my” father. By saying
“Our Father” we acknowledge that God is the Father of every living being. When we say these
words we humbly affirm that we are his children. We affirm our commitment to live our
lives united with the rest of creation. We set our “selves” aside and choose to allow God’s
love to flow through our hearts to the rest of the world. Reflection/Discussion:
How can we maintain awareness of our connection with all of God’s creation?
Principles of Love:
Unity; Humility; Commitment; Opening; Nature
Pray
Through the Day:
Bring
us together
In your love
(#76) 3/17
Hallowed Be Your Name
Matthew 6:9c
“Hallowed
be your name.”
Luke 11:1
“When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.”
These words help us to realize
whom we are talking to. God is the creator of everything we know about the
universe. God has made everything we see or do possible and he loves every one of us, personally, to the
core of our being.
The only way to begin to grasp the full impact of these words
is from our hearts.
Reflection/Discussion:
How are we different when we operate from our hearts?
Principles of Love:
Nature; Unity; Opening; Vision
Pray Through the Day:
We were created
From God’s love
(#77) 3/18
Thy Kingdom Come
Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Luke 11:2
“Your
kingdom come.”
God does not need us to tell him that his kingdom will come or that his will shall be carried out. We
say these words to affirm our commitment to participate in the coming of his kingdom. We pledge to follow his will “on earth” until
we get to heaven. God is love. His kingdom is the fulfillment of our efforts to learn
to love. The kingdom is built with love, based on love, and is the center of love in the universe. Following God’s will involves a commitment to love - a commitment to let go of selfish
desires and concerns and to do our part to nurture the evolution of God’s love on our planet.
Reflection/Discussion:
What are the implications of a commitment
to love in our daily lives?
Principles of Love:
Commitment; Nature; Unity; Decision
Pray Through the Day:
Help us to love
When our will is weak
