there is scar above my left eye
it has been there since I was about 5 years old
I got the scar when an older neighbor boy
threw a ping pong racket at me on purpose
it hurt and I cried.
my next memory was in sunday school.
my teacher asked,
‘dudley what does jesus say to do when someone hits you?’
i said, – ‘not to hit back.’
through out my years,
that scar has reminded me
how i have chosen to live my life.
the scripture last week
(blessed are you poor, for god’s domain belongs to you)
and the scriptures today
(love your enemy and turn the other cheek)
have been considered the top 3 sayings
that almost certainly originated with jesus.
or what we say today
the words of god for the peoples of god.
what do we know about the people of god?
they are our leaders
our caregivers
our neighbors
our army and navy
our police
our judges,
our friends and family
our co workers
our movie stars, writers, musicians,
our poets and preachers
our bankers
our health care workers
our prisoners
relatives across the borders
our teachers
ourselves
and our enemies
the peoples of god (that we know of)
are the people of the earth
everyone, everywhere
the peoples of god
are the people of many cultures
every culture, everywhere
today’s word of God for the people of god
is the same for all peoples and cultures,
everyone, everywhere
today’s word of god – for the people of god is
love your enemy
turn the other cheek (don’t hit back)
in our current culture
everyone seems to be a victim
political parties are blaming each other
not my fault, your fault
borders everywhere are struggling
with inclusivity and exclusivity
let them in, keep them out
everyone wants everyone
to live according to how
they think everyone should live
our leaders are not speaking nice
about each other
or to each other
we the people of god are becoming divided
angrily divided over issues
issues some think are truth
issues some think are fake news
do you think the word of god
is divisive?
or does the word of god
show the people of god
a way to live together?
what is the word for the people of god
even among the divided people of god
today
love your enemies
turn the other cheek
(don’t hit back)
are we doing this?
how can we do this?
i am a person of god
among the people of god
we have a savior,
we have jesus,
who is god become human
who teaches us
what we can do as human beings
and who has given us a Spirit
who reminds us to live our human lives
according to the word of god – for the people of god
as a person of god
i am working on
loving my enemies
turning the other cheek
(not hitting back)
because jesus, with his life, has taught me
it is humanly possible
(and i would not ask you to do anything i am not willing to do myself.)
taking my faith seriously
this is how i do my work of
loving my enemies
turning the other cheek
(not hitting back)
i have a journal blog,
journalingwithdudley.com,
which begins like this –
—————–
you have heard it said,
‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy’
you have heard it said
‘love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you’
but i say to you,
love your love and hate your hate.
——————-
even though many see love and hate as enemies
when i hear the words of jesus ‘love your enemy’
i see love and hate as partners.
seeing hating to hate as
‘not doing to others
what i don’t want others to do to me,
even if they do to me
what i don’t want them to do to me’
turning the other cheek, not hitting back
it is humanly possible
seeing loving to loveas
‘doing to others
what i want others to do to me
even if they don’t do to me
what i want them to do to me’
loving my enemy
it is humanly possible
it is my love for jesus
and my hate for being hurt
that has taught me
to love to love and to hate to hate
jesus says
‘if you love me
you will do as i teach you’
the way i say that now is,
‘if you love your love and hate your hate
you will make god known all your life’
the word of god
for the people of god
Dudley Pace
Feb 24, 2019
journalingwithdudley 