BUT I SAY THIS

PRAYER PAUSE

Monday 13 June 2016, St Anthony of Padua  

BUT I SAY THIS

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “But I say this to you: offer the wicked no resistance.” (Matt 5:38-42)

Reflection. This whole section of the Sermon on the Mount calls for a way of life which “exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.” 50 people have just been slaughtered in the US. The gospel is not saying, do nothing about that. What it is saying is that revenge, defence, can lead to a spiral of hatred and violence which never unlocks the message of peace and reconciliation. Ghandi understood this so well and lived it in his long life. It is the ability to absorb violence and allowing the goodness in others to gradually emerge. We draw the sting out of violence and hatred through patience and love.  

Prayer. Lord, may the message of the Sermon on the Mount gradually penetrate the thinking of people everywhere. Amen