NOTES for Mat 5:42-48
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. |
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. |
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; |
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. |
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? |
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? |
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. |
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'For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?' There is one remarkable saint - Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It is sometimes not easy for us to enter into the prayer experience of the saints, since we are completely different. But she has words that immediately penetrate the heart. And although they are addressed to another person, which means she surely addressed them to herself as well, one still wants to call them a prayer, for such things can be said only in the presence of God. So let us call this a prayer.
And when you think about it, it feels as if it arose as a response to today's reading. Here is what she once wrote: 'People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do something good, you will be accused of selfishness and ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you succeed, you will gain false friends and true enemies. Work anyway. The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and openness will make you vulnerable. Even so, be honest and open. What you spent many years building may be destroyed in one minute. Build anyway. Your help is truly needed, but when you help people, they may attack you for it. Help anyway. You will give the world everything, and you will get your teeth knocked out. Even so, give the world everything.'
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