[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, March 4 MATTHEW 5:43-48 This may be the most difficult of my teachings, but you must forgive your enemies. Prayerthoughts a. This has been called “the unique” doctrine of the Christian, to love one’s enemies. In general, do I “love” those who disagree with my way of thinking, even though they disagree with me and would never “love” me? b. There are a number of believers in God, especially in special circumstances such as war, who still believe that they should do harm to enemies. I should pray for them as well. c. “Pray for those who persecute you.” Generally, I do not have persecutors as such, but I should think in terms of the early Christians or those who are persecuted in our world.   Would I have the thought to pray for them? d. The reasoning behind loving everyone is that God created everyone. I should look at all creation as God’s gift. I should take the time to praise our God for God’s  creation. (This is the task of the meditation.) e. I should think in terms of doing “more” than merely acknowledging people. I should “love” them. Studying my actions with others, say yesterday, did I show that I truly accepted them as people that I “loved”? f. Jesus tells me to be perfect as God is. As a human, obviously I cannot accomplish that, but do I come close to it in the way I speak, act and think? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will list the gifts of creation that for which I am most grateful. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy LOVE OF ENEMIES  + This particular Gospel is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel that he begins with treating six different moral principles           – the last one is “love of enemies”                      – it was the law of Moses in the Book of Leviticus that the Hebrew people had to love members of their own national or religious group                      – here Jesus gives a totally new directive                                – that no religious leader had ever spoken before  + It is based on the reasoning that Jesus gives:           – God makes the sun rise on good and bad alike, rain falls on the just and unjust                      – when God’s love and care for all people are taken as the standard                                – the disciples of Jesus cannot limit their love                                          – as Jesus says: the disciples’ perfection reflects and is measured by God’s perfection  + The God of the Old Testament was a strict God of justice           – and the Hebrew people had thought in terms of God hating the enemies of Israel                      – Jesus changed all of that                                – in the first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures’ Book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are promised to be a people peculiarly God’s own, but they are called to walk in- God’s ways and hearken to his voice                                          – and God’s voice in the New Testament, in the Gospels, in particular, is the voice of Jesus                                                    – who teaches in no uncertain terms one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, of all moral doctrines—love your enemies  + Love of enemies is not an easy doctrine for any Christian, and we know how difficult it is because everyone of us has relationships with others, and sometimes those relationships are not the best           – it is not our place to talk about any global problem of hatred of country for country, and so forth                      – we have to think about our own small involvement with Jesus’ words                                – we know what we feel toward those who dislike us                                – we know what we want to do with those who hurt us or our families                                – we know what our past has been                                          – often choosing to “hurt” in some way those whom we call enemies                                          – whether it be in talking them down, or some type of revenge           – but Jesus says quite plainly that we must love our enemies + Perhaps we should spend a couple of moments in meditation today           – and determine the people that we really do not like, the people that we would categorize as “enemies”                      – and then do something on behalf of them, at least praying for them. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Black Widow” — Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora THE “BLACK WIDOW” WAY OF LOVE The Gospel MATTHEW 5:40-42 [Jesus said:] “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

Gospelthink: I tell you to treat everyone with the utmost respect. Are there some people that I do not treat this way?

“I’m gonna love ya until you hate me. And I’m gonna show ya what’s really crazy. You should’ve known better than to mess with me, honey. I’m gonna love ya like a black widow. You used to be thirsty for me, but now you wanna be set free. This is the web that you weave. So now rest in peace. It’s all over with now.”

Perhaps the most striking difference between Jesus’ doctrine and the way human beings behave is in the area of revenge and hatred. Jesus is very clear, even resorting to exaggeration to get his point across. In his mind and therefore for his followers, “getting back” at someone is not an option. The way of the world is most of the time in direct opposition. A case in point is a song from Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora, and their song “Black Widow.” The person in the song wants to “get back” at a former love partner, and the way she proposes is to be like a black widow spider. The black widow spider is known for its venomous bite, especially the female. What the lady is saying is that the relationship is not only over, but it will be one that the other person will remember for a long time, and it will not be a pleasant memory, just as the bite of a Black Widow is never pleasant. There is little doubt that one of the most difficult times in a young person’s life is when a love relationship fails in some way. It happens when one of the partners decides that he/she wants to have the opportunity to search around a little more, or when one of them begins to sense that the relationship is not what it should be. Rejection, even when someone only thinks it is rejection, is not easy to take. In order to make the human being “feel better,” there will be some desire to retaliate, to become the black widow, and to punish the other in some way. Jesus’ principles of living extend to every circumstance, and therefore to the situation of the breakup of a romantic relationship. Revenge and hatred have no place in a Christian’s point of view, and therefore cannot be a part of a Christian’s life, even in the most difficult of personal situations.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, your Son gave us the difficult doctrine of love of others even in the most difficult of situations. As we work with romantic love situations in our lives, give us the grace to truly understand the Christian way. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Revenge and hatred is not the Christian way, even in a breakup of romantic love relationships. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In the Gospel passage, Jesus is speaking in exaggeration. Why do you think Jesus used exaggeration in his speech? 2. In modern language, what does Jesus want to convey with this passage? 3. Text analysis: “press you into service.” Roman soldiers had the right to requisition services and property from the native population. Jesus speaks of not only not being angry because of this law, but actually going further to uphold the law. He is speaking in exaggeration, of course, but shows the importance of giving to others. In general, do you think most Christians agree with such a thought? Yes or no and why? 4. Text analysis: “Love ya until you hate me.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 5. Text analysis: “This is the web that you weave.” What is the meaning of the sentence? 6. Analysis: “It’s all over with now.” What are the principal causes that should make a love relationship cease? 7. Give some examples from the world right now of people “getting back” at others. 8. Project: the presenter may want to make a presentation on “black widow” spiders. 9. In your opinion, do people often want to “get back” at a former love partner? Yes or no and why? 10. In your opinion, do young people often “retaliate” against others in high school? In college? 11. In your opinion, is there ever a time when revenge can be a good thing? Yes or no and why?  12. What does the song “Black Widow” teach young people?