49. The Golden Rule

“Whatever you would like others to do to you, do also to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” 

“Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set others free, and you will be set free.”

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. The measure you give will be given back to you.”

He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? Disciples are not above their teacher, but when fully trained will be like their teacher.” 

There is certainly nothing difficult to understand about the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. Putting it into practice, however, is full of challenges. When do you find the Golden Rule most difficult to follow? Has someone in your life been a model for how this is done? Have you ever expressed appreciation to that person?

Prayer: Humble me, Lord, whenever I fail to treat others in the way I would like to be treated.

 

48. Blessings and Woes

Jesus stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits. The multitude sought to touch him, for power came from him and healed them all.

He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said,

“Blessed are you who are poor;
    God’s Kingdom is yours.
But woe to you who are rich!
    For you have received your consolation.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be filled.
But woe to you, you who are full now,
    for you will be hungry.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.
But woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.

“Blessed are you when, for the Son of Man’s sake, people hate you, and exclude you, and mock you, and throw out your name as evil. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets. But woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.”

The Kingdom of God as explained by Jesus is an upside-down version of the world: those who are powerful and corrupt now will be humbled and those who are oppressed now will be lifted up. Such a message, not surprisingly, was wildly popular with some and hated by others. How do you react to this list of blessings and woes? Where do you fit in?

Prayer: Help me be excited, Lord, not for the world as it is, but for the world as you would have it be.