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Jesus
said: “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, that you may be children of your heavenly
Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to
fall on
the just and the unjust. For if you love
those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do
not the tax collectors do the same? And if
you greet your brothers only, what is
unusual about that? Do not the pagans do
the same? So be perfect, just as your
heavenly Father is perfect.”
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The
movie “The Green Mile” presents a picture of hardened
criminals who are
awaiting execution. It is important to
get in touch with our feelings as we witness those criminals, and make
a
judgment concerning how the guards treat those who are condemned. Jesus’ doctrine of love of enemies is a
constant thought as one views the movie. Further,
the movie should lead us to look carefully at real life,
opening us to consider how we treat those whom we might call
“enemies” in our
own circumstances.
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How should you treat
someone who is a condemned murderer? Do
you think that the worst criminals should be given the death
penalty? Is it true that it costs more to execute
someone than to keep him/her in prison forever? With our prison
system being what it is, would you expose even a
condemned person to suffer it? Is our
prison system the best it can be? These
are questions that the movie “The Green Mile” suggests for
us. Ultimately they are questions that a
Christian must consider in the light of Jesus’ words from the
Sermon on the
Mount: “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.”
Jesus’ doctrine of love of enemies may be the most ignored doctrine of any that he ever spoke. It is difficult to be good to someone who does not like us or who has hurt our families or us. It is especially difficult if that person has not admitted any fault, and continues his/her hatred of us. But if we are Christian, if we say that we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, then we must truly work at loving those who do not love us. |
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THOUGHT
Is it
true that Jesus’ doctrine of love of
enemies is the most ignored doctrine of any that he spoke.
Yes or no and why?
PRAYER Good and gracious God,
your Son gave us the very
difficult doctrine of love of others, even love of people who do not
like us,
people we would call “enemies.” Help
us
struggle with the doctrine in such a way that we will learn to love
everyone
the way Jesus wants. 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 |