Thursday October 6, 2022

Today is Thursday, October 6 and we are praying through the teachings of Jesus found in the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

New every morning is Your love, great God of light, and all day long You are working for good in the world. Stir up in me the desire to serve You, to live peacefully with my neighbors, and devote this day to Your Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. (Presbyterian Worshipbook, adapted)

Pause and Pray

Here I am, Lord Jesus, I sit at Your feet to learn God’s kingdom ways. I know You are always working for good in my life. You want the best for me and the best for the people I love. Open the scriptures and teach me how to find life, joy and peace each day. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s goodness and praise Him with the words of Psalm 145.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. Psalm 145:8-10

Pause and Pray

In today’s section of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount he concerns himself with very real problems in human relationships – the desire for retaliation and the need for long suffering. Once again he takes an Old Testament law and raises it to an entirely new and challenging level. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the very heart of God. He is the One who loves the unlovable, comes alongside sinners, is patient and slow to anger, compassionate and merciful, rising to forgive the worst of sinners – even to the point of hanging on a cross and shedding His blood. I am called to love like that because that is how God loves me.

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42

In order to slap someone on the right cheek, a person must either be left-handed, or use the back of the hand. The back of the hand for Jewish people was twice as insulting. Someone may not physically slap me in the face, but people might insult me directly or behind my back. Jesus says even if someone insults me, I should not resent them or retaliate against them. Disciples learn not to take offense when insulted and not seek retaliation. That teaching is difficult enough, but Jesus tells me I must also love my enemies and pray for my persecutors. Love breaks the cycle of hatred and violence. Praying for someone enables me to see them as God does. Seeing my enemies in the light of God’s love is the first step toward reconciliation.

Ask: When do I struggle to exhibit patience, forbearance or long-suffering? What difficult person should I seek to love and pray for?

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord Jesus, You have come to teach me the life of a real Christian and call me to another level of love and conduct. The more I read Your words, the more I recognize how much I am in need of Your sanctifying grace. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit am I able to make progress in the spiritual life and love others as You love. I read Matthew again, listening for the message You have for me today.

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

Jesus is my teacher this morning and the Holy Spirit is my guide. I consider what God might want to reveal to me today about my relationships with difficult people. How might God want me to read this passage from the perspective of my relationship with Him? How might God want me to read this passage from the perspective of my relationship with others? How do Jesus’ words inform my current circumstances? How might I rely on the Holy Spirit to help me grow in the grace needed to increase love in all my relationships?

Pause and Pray

Lord Jesus Christ, come and teach me what it means to be Your disciple in today’s world. Reveal the secrets of grace and show me small ways I can grow in patience and forbearance. Help me practice loving those who are most challenging for me to love. Change my heart to be more like Yours. Amen.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord. Instead, if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21

I leave this time of prayer and go into a broken world seeking to overcome evil with good and overcome hate with love.

Amen