Above: Mohandas Gandhi Leading the Salt March in India, 1930
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Almighty and ever-living God, you revealed the incarnation of your Son by the brilliant shining of a star.
Shine the light of your justice always in our hearts and over all lands,
and accept our lives as the treasure we offer in your praise and for your service,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 21
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The Assigned Readings:
Proverbs 22:1-9
Psalm 110
Luke 6:27-31
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The king at your right hand, O Lord,
shall smite down kings in the day of his wrath.
In all his majesty, he shall judge the nations,
smiting heads over all the wide earth.
–Psalm 110:5-6, Common Worship (2000)
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Luke 6:27-31 uses hyperbole to make crucial ethical points:
- God’s love extends to our enemies and oppressors (Psalm 110 not withstanding), and
- We ought to have a benevolent attitude toward them. Whatever we do, it must be in the best interest of our oppressors and enemies. Since whatever we do to others we do to ourselves, what could be better for oppressors than to cease oppressing?
Gandhian nonviolence serves an excellent example of Luke 6:27-31 in action. I think especially of those bold African-American men and women who chose not to fight racist violence with their own violence during the Civil Rights Movement. Their nonviolence denied their attackers any pretense of moral justification and troubled the consciences of many of those who committed violence against them. Hopefully such nonviolence detracted many from committing more violence.
Proverbs 22:8-9 tells us:
He who sows injustice shall reap misfortune;
His rod of wrath shall fail.
The generous man is blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.
–TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
We reap what we sow. Our fruits will reveal what kind of tree we are. May we sow righteousness and compassion. May we be healthy trees.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 10, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDWIN HATCH, ANGLICAN PRIEST, SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT LEO THE GREAT, BISHOP OF ROME
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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