Mt 5:38 - 48

Sunday's readings make it very clear that we are to love one another, even our enemies. The readings are both beautiful and challenging; we must not hate people or bear grudges. Instead we are to “turn the other cheek” and show forgiveness and compassion. This week's gospel is part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus preached to the crowd. During the Sermon Jesus reinforces the laws of the Old Testament and teaches how the laws can still be applied. In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches that we should love our enemies and pray for them rather than instinctively seeking revenge when we are wronged. The concept that ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’ is one that we are probably very familiar with and is a simple idea that our children can understand. Jesus, in his teaching, wants us to learn that paying evil with evil is not the way of God but rather we should show love and compassion.