Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Matthew 5:43-45

[Love for Enemies] “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, that
you may be children of your Father in heaven.
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous.

Reflection:

I think that Matthew 5: 43-45 are among the
the most difficult verses in the Bible to
understand and to follow.  The problem lies,
after understanding, we do not follow. 

I'm, what they call, a product of the 60's.
I was a college student, who was very
much, against the war in Viet Nam.  I
marched and demonstrated and put all
of my effort into ending of that horrible war.

I would like to pass along a couple of
things I learned about people in this
country during that Viet Nam period. I
learned that mainly people in this country,
all types of people, love a winner.  You
see when I was demonstrating against
that war, I was not demonstrating against
the men and women who were fighting in
that war.  I loved those men and women
and my main concern was not that they
were fighting in an immoral and unjust war,
my concern was to bring them home. I had
people who I loved very much, dying in that
war, and above everything I wanted all of them
home. The people who yelled and cursed at 
me, didn't seem to understand that!  They
thought I hated the young men and women
coming back from the war.  They were so
very wrong, it was because I loved them
and I wanted them home. 
When they did come home, we "hippies"
were among the first to greet them and to
help them.  The people who yelled and
cursed at me weren't there.  Why? 
America loves a winner and hates, what
they think of as a loser,  What does that
say about the moral grounds of our
attitudes?  Sadly, the primary reason for
this change of attitude was not the result of
a growning awareness of the possible
immorality of the War.
Instead, it was due to images and stories
from the media, whether true or not, that
gave the strong impression our side was
losing.  Social critics said that if we were
winning the war, support for the War would
have been strong.  That is why I say, " America
loves winners and is harsh on losers.  These
young men and women, coming home from
that war, were now seen as losers.  Those
veterans, who had lost their lives, the many
more thousands who were suffering from life-
crippling wounds, the large percentage of
veterans who required psychiatric care and
psychological counseling, were all seen as
losers. 
Jesus once said that before a competent king
goes to war, he takes stock of his army and
resources and considers whether or not he has
enough to win that war.  If he is not sure he
tries to negotiate some kind of settlement (Luke
14: 31-32).  It now seems obvious that our leaders
failed to take stock of what would be required not
only to win the war, but also to secure the peace.
The results were disastrous.

We could make a lot of friends out of our enemies
by meeting the needs of the poor and oppressed
people of the world with the billions and trillions of
dollars we continue to waste on war. 

That is why Jesus says "[Love for Enemies] “
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, that you may be children of your Father in
heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME VENT!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, who commanded us to love
our enemies and all those who insult and hurt us,
and to pray for them and forgive them; you yourself
prayed for your enemies, who crucified you. Give us,
we pray, a spirit of Christian reconciliation and meekness,
so that we may forgive every injury and be reconciled
with our enemies. Grant us Christian meekness and true
love of our neighbor. Give to our enemies true peace and
forgiveness of sins; and do not allow them to leave this
life without true faith and sincere conversion. Help us
to repay evil with goodness. --

adapted from the Orthodox "Prayer for Enemies"

Scripture

 Matthew 6:1-6

Teaching about Giving to the Needy

    "Watch out! Don't do your good
deeds publicly, to be admired by others,
for you will lose the reward from your
Father in heaven. 2 When you give to
someone in need, don't do as the
hypocrites do-blowing trumpets in the
synagogues and streets to call attention
to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth,
they have received all the reward they will
ever get. 3 But when you give to someone
in need, don't let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts
in private, and your Father, who sees
everything, will reward you.

Teaching about Prayer and Fasting

 5 "When you pray, don't be like the
hypocrites who love to pray publicly on
street corners and in the synagogues where
everyone can see them. I tell you the truth,
that is all the reward they will ever get.
6 But when you pray, go away by yourself,
shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father in private. Then your Father, who
sees everything, will reward you.


The Easter season is often marked by
spectacular displays of art and public
worship--we might sing beautiful Easter
hymns at church, attend moving Easter
pageants, or participate in public acts
of prayer, fasting, or devotion. The
Scripture reading reminds us that in
the midst of these outward displays,
however appropriate they are, we are
called to humility, self-sacrifice,
reflection, and quiet suffering.

Prayer

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake,
Amen.
-- Ambrose of Milan, 4th century bishop

(Lent Devotional from Bible Gateway)

(A brief thought from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein)

Scripture:

"Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression."
 Psalm 73:6–8

Have you ever felt like someone didn’t like
you – maybe even hated you – for no
particular reason? It’s puzzling, isn’t it?
You wonder what you did to provoke a strong
reaction, and if you can’t think of anything
you did, it seems irrational. We Jews often
find ourselves as the objects of such irrational
hatred.

For example, at various points in history,
Jews have been accused of being too poor or
too wealthy; too politically domineering or too
politically uninvolved. We’ve been accused of
being too spiritual and too secular,
unambitious and overly aggressive, too
separated from others and too assimilated.
Does that make sense? How can we be all
those things?

Anti-Semitism, like other forms of racism, is
a condition of the heart. It reflects a callous
heart that has lost sensitivity to others. The
writer of Psalm 73 says that “from their callous
hearts comes iniquity” (v. 7). A hardened heart
that has lost sensitivity to others is a breeding
ground for evil.

In addition to a callous heart, anti-Semitism
forms in a conceited mind. At the base of racism
is the conceited belief that one person or group
is better than another and “their evil imaginations
have no limits” (Psalm 73:7). Rather than
listening to the voice of reason, irrational thoughts
prevail, driven by passionate hatred. For those
who promote anti-Semitism, their hatred is simply
hatred, without any reason or justification for it.
This irrational racial hatred has often led to
inconsistent accusations against the Jews –
such as those above – because the accusations
are not based on logic or merit, but hate.

Finally, the psalm writer says that those with
callous hearts and conceited minds also have
threatening lips, for “they scoff, and speak with
malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression”
(Psalm 73:8). Anti-Semitism, and other racial
prejudice, often expresses itself in threats,
intimidation, and oppression. Acts of terrorism
against Jews and Jewish icons are an attempt
to instill fear in the lives of Jews.

As the psalm writer concludes, when faced with
unreasonable and unmerited prejudice, there is
only one place to find hope and to remember,
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my
right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and
afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have
I in heaven but you?”(vv. 23–25). We can have
confidence in God’s presence and guidance no
matter what our circumstances or difficulties.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

(from: Holy Land Moments Daily Devotional)