I'm happy to have a break from the Hebrew Scriptures to explore Matthew this week. Yesterday's scripture reading offers a description of Jesus' birth - I encourage you to compare Matthew and Lukes versions - they are both unique. Matthew's version isn't used as much, perhaps because it has rather violent undertones as Jesus' family flees to Egypt.
In Matthew chapter 5, we are ambushed with a series of lessons from Jesus that one after another, challenge the way we usually look at things, perhaps even our instinctual way of looking at things. The one most challenging to me is the last challenge he puts forth, to love our enemies. He has a point, it is easy to love those who love you. It's a lot harder to love those who are hateful, hurtful, or malicious towards you. It would be a lot easier to avoid those who don't like you. Everytime I read this, I get a knot in my stomach, because the list of people who I don't feel like loving pops up into my head, and I have to struggle with the question of how to live out this challenge from Jesus. I do try to love those who are hard to love, but my humanness makes it a continuous struggle. But we are called to struggle and keep trying.
-Melanie
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