Chapter 9-12
1. “The angry word is a blow struck at our brother, a stab at
his heart: it seeks to hit, to hurt and to destroy. A deliberate insult is even worse, for we are
then openly disgracing our brother in the eyes of the world, and causing others
to despise him. With our hearts burning
with hatred, we seek to annihilate his moral and material existence. We are passing judgement on him, and that is
murder. And the murderer will himself be
judged.”
- Since so much of our
discourse today is anything but civil, how are we to respond to the proliferation
of angry words spewed in politics, Facebook, talk radio, Twitter, and other
media outlets?
2. “The Incarnation is the ultimate reason why the service of
God cannot be divorced from the service of man.
He who says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar. There is therefore only one way of following
Jesus and of worshiping God, and that is to be reconciled with our brethren.”
- Is there an exception to this last
statement? Why or why not?
3. “The body of Jesus was crucified. St. Paul, speaking of those who belong to
Christ, says that they have crucified their body with its affections and
lusts. Here we have another instance of
an Old Testament law finding its truest fulfilment in the crucified body of
Jesus Christ. As they contemplate this
body which was given for them, and as they share in its life, the disciples
receive strength for the chastity which Jesus requires.”
- How are we to
understand such chastity today?
4. “What is an oath? It
is an appeal made to God in public, calling upon him to witness a statement
made in connection with an event or fact, past, present or future. By means of the oath, men invoke the
omniscient deity to avenge the truth.
How can Jesus say that such an oath is ‘sin?’ The answer is to be sought in his concern for
complete truthfulness.” “The commandment
of complete truthfulness is really only another name for the totality of
discipleship.”
- Why have we relied on oaths?
Why does Jesus forbid them?
5. “The only way to overcome evil is to let it run itself to a
standstill because it does not find the resistance it is looking for. Resistance merely creates further evil and
adds fuel to the flames. But when evil
meets no opposition and encounters no obstacle but only patient endurance, its
sting is drawn, and at last it meets an opponent which is more than its match. Of course, this can only happen when the last
ounce of resistance is abandoned, and the renunciation of revenge is
complete. Then evil cannot find its
mark, it can breed no further evil, and is left barren.”
- Where does this
strategy prove true? Where is it incomplete?
6. “Suffering willingly endured is stronger than evil, it
spells death to evil. The worse the
evil, the readier must the Christian be to suffer; he must let the evil person
fall into Jesus’ hands.” “The cross is the
only power in the world which proves that suffering love can avenge and
vanquish evil. But it was just this
participation in the cross which the disciples were granted when Jesus called
them to him. They are called blessed because
of their visible participation in his cross.”
- How is Christian
suffering stronger than evil?
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