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Jesus
said, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to
you. This is the law and the prophets.”
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If
we would translate the doctrine of love of others into the language of
the movie, “Pay It Forward,” it would read that if we want
to change our world, one of the ways to do it is to help someone else,
and ask that person to help another. In the movie, a young
seventh grader accepts the challenge of his teacher to change the world
in that way, and without his knowing it, he does.
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Practically
every major religion of our world has the doctrine that we know as the
Golden Rule, namely, “Do to others whatever you would have them
do to you.” But no religious leader ever went as far as
Jesus does in his discussion concerning the judgment at the end of the
world. Jesus says that doing unto others is exactly the same as
doing unto him (see Matthew 25:31-46).
Further, Jesus talks about not only the people that are on a par with us, but as he says, also the least brothers and sisters. Least brothers and sisters might include those who hate us, who talk about us, who criticize us, who refuse to understand us, who spread rumors about us, those who are evil, those who hurt us and should be punished for what they did. Perhaps the most important visit that Pope John Paul II ever made in all of his travels throughout the world was made on December 27, 1983. It was made not to any country, but to an Italian prison. He made the visit not to a multitude of people, but to one man by the name of Mehmet Ali Agca who had tried to kill him two and a half years before. John Paul, recognizing his assailant to be Jesus, completely forgave him, because like Jesus, John Paul understood that others may not act like Jesus, but they are Jesus. John Paul’s visit to his would-be killer and the movie “Pay It Forward” are tremendous examples for us. Christians are called to change the world for the better. If we would do what John Paul did and what Trevor McKinney suggests in the movie, the world would change. It honestly would. |
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THOUGHT
If our world were to change for the better
right now, what would have to happen?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, through your Son you call us to try to change for the
better the things in our lives that can be changed. Help us to
accept the challenge to change what we can so that we can truly make a
difference in our world. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |