William Hemsworth's Blog, page 48

Leaving Behind What We’ve Known

Some years ago a group of rabbis were meeting to study and discuss the Talmud, the Jewish book of commentaries on Scripture and the Law of Moses. One of them suggested they take a break, and offered to pay for refreshments—if someone else would go out to a nearby store and purchase them. However, no one volunteered—so […]

Leaving Behind What We’ve Known

How Can I Love My Enemies?

Jesus gives a very clear example of what it means to be the light of the world in Matthew chapter 5. This example is seen in Mt. 5:43-48 which states,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (ESV-CE).

This passage is a clear indication of how disciples of Christ are supposed to treat those who persecute them. However, some background on this passage is in order. One of the titles that Matthew gives Jesus is that of the New Moses.

Old Testament Background

When one reads the accounts of Moses in the Pentateuch and the life of Christ there are similarities that arise. Moses wandered through the desert for forty years while Jesus went into the desert for forty days to be tempted by Satan. Moses climbed up Mt. Sinai and gave the Ten commandments.

Jesus climbed up the mountain and delivered the ten beatitudes. This was no accident as Moses was the supreme law giver in the Old Testament.  That law would be fulfilled perfectly by the Messiah Jesus Christ.

In Deuteronomy 19:21 Moses writes, “Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot”. However, Jesus is telling us to love our enemies. On the surface this seems like a contradiction, but that is not the case.

The verse in Deuteronomy is meant to convey the necessity for the punishment to fit the crime. In other words, this was not meant as a way to exact personal vengeance but was a guideline for authorities to sentence offenders.

Why mention “eye for an eye” when it isn’t even mention in Mt. 5:43-48? It is mentioned because passages such as Deuteronomy 19:21 evolved through tradition as permission to hate one’s enemy, and that is not was intended.

We Are Held To A Higher Standard

Here Christ is calling his disciples to a much higher standard of conduct over their Jewish counterparts. In layman’s terms, Jesus was setting the record straight.

Indeed, Moses was the supreme law giver, but Jesus is greater than Moses and came to fulfill the law. Jesus would ultimately show us how do this by asking forgiveness for his executioners, but here he elaborates on how to live it.

He wants his disciples to walk the talk. Those who we think are our enemies are those who need the most love. They need the light, love, and mercy that only Christ can give.

The term used by Christ in this passage is agape. It is a term of benevolence, affection, or love, and is used in two basic ways. One way is denoting love between people, and another way refers to the love of God.

Christ is telling his followers to not follow the status quo. For too long people were following the letter of the law, and not the spirit of it. As a result, a law that was meant for just punishment became a guise for personal vengeance.

This is clearly not what God intended and Jesus gets to the point. If his disciples treat others the way that they are treated, then they are no different than non-believers. To tell one’s followers to love their enemies was the very epitome of being countercultural.

Jesus Was Countercultural

He was also countercultural in regard to who he is referring to as a neighbor in Mt. 5:43. This not something unique to Matthew’s Gospel and can be seen in the other synoptic Gospels as well. The most famous one being the story of the good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10.

Just as correct sentencing of a criminal morphed over time so did the meaning of neighbor. During the time of Christ, the Israelites thought of their neighbor as another Israelite. Jesus, like he did in the story of the good Samaritan, tells his listeners that everyone is their neighbor.

This was another countercultural ideal that would set apart his followers because it shows that his message is for everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike. This even meant the much-hated occupying Roman Empire.

How Will You React?

To be clear, this does not mean that to be a disciple of Christ is to be a passivist. If needed self-defense is something one must do, but these verses speak in regard to morality.

Jesus calls his disciples to not hate and love in a way that shows the love of Christ to all mankind. This shows that with Christ they can look past how their sinful tendencies have them look at others and points them in a whole other direction.

This is seen clearly in Mt. 5:48 where Jesus says that they must be perfect just as the Father is. Jesus calls his disciples to higher standard than that found in the Old Covenant. The Greek word for perfect used is teleios means to be complete or everything that God intends.

Thus, Jesus summarizes what it means to truly love your neighbor as a disciple. How are we treating those whom we may not get along with?  Think. Pray. Reflect.

Priests defend confidentiality of Confession against proposed state law

The latest attempt to force members of the clergy to report information they learn in confidential settings is taking place in Vermont, and the sole Roman Catholic bishop in the state appeared before a legislative committee to argue against that effort. Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Vermont, and two other Catholic priests sought to assure […]

Priests defend confidentiality of Confession against proposed state law

Church in numbers: Africa gained nearly 1,000 priests in a year

On February 28, 2023, the Vatican Publishing House (VPL) published the 2023 edition of the Pontifical Yearbook, which compiles data on the life of the Catholic Church throughout the world between December 1, 2021 and November 30, 2022, as well as the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2021, which provides a global view of the pastoral action […]

Church in numbers: Africa gained nearly 1,000 priests in a year

British Parliament Passes Law Banning Prayers Outside Abortion Centers

Leading pro-life groups in the UK are very upset today after MPs voted for censorship zones outside abortion centers that ban people from praying silently outside businesses that kill babies in abortions. MPs were voting on an amendment to a clause introducing buffer zones around abortion clinics, which had been added into the Public Order […]

British Parliament Passes Law Banning Prayers Outside Abortion Centers

Notre Dame cathedral to open in December 2024

In the same way, the sum of the donations managed by the Public Establishment for the renovation does not include the cost of the interior fittings, which are the responsibility of the Diocese of Paris, the cathedral’s allocator. As of last March, according to Rousselot, the diocese was still between 6 million euros ($6.3 million)…

Notre Dame cathedral to open in December 2024

Who Is Jesus? A Brief Look At The Incarnation

In sacred scripture we read that man was created he had a perfect relationship with God.  Man is the pinnacle of creation, and God gave man everything.  In return the Lord asked man not to each of one tree in the garden.  Man did not listen, rebelled, and had to face the consequences of sin for the first time.  The sin of our first parents also applies to us.  We all have sinned, and the penalty for that sin is death.  Saint Paul had the same opinion in Romans 6:23 which states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  However, the second person of the blessed Trinity, Jesus himself became incarnate to atone and redeem us from our sin.

The incarnation was needed because we could not atone for our sin on our own.  Only someone who was perfect, and without sin could do that.  As I write this it is the final days of Advent.  The time of preparation for the birth of Christ is soon coming to an end.  Soon we will be celebrating his glorious birth.  The second person of the Trinity loving us so much that He became man.  He lived as we did with hunger, fear, betrayal, and even death.  Hebrews 4:15 sums this idea up perfectly when the inspired author writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.” 

This far we have seen that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses, but this doesn’t completely answer who he is.  Who He is the ultimate gift that we experience this time of year.  So who is Jesus?  This question goes back to some of the greatest controversies in the early church.  There were some, such as the Arians, who tried to explain Jesus as being the first thing created.  The problem here is that Jesus, as the second person of the Blessed Trinity, has always existed.  There are many verses that show this and John 1:1 is one example.  That passage of scripture states, “In the beginningwas the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

He always was, yet he took the form of a man, and was born in the humblest of conditions.  In our society we have been conditioned to view the manger scene in a very sanitized way.  That manger that the divine Son of God was laid in after his birth was a food trough used for livestock!  The creator of the universe became a man because he wants us to live.  His love for us is that immense.  In the letter to the Philippians St. Paul writes, “Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness and found human in appearance he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

While on Earth he did not appear as a man, nor was He a spirit that possessed man until the point of the crucifixion as the Docetists and Gnostics would say.  From the time of His conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary he was both fully God and fully man.  This was stated by many church fathers, declared at the Council of Nicea, and at the Council of Chalcedon this became known as the Hypostatic Union.  Jesus was not either or, but He has both a human nature and a divine nature. 

That is why the incarnation is so amazing, and to be perfectly honest this barely scratches the surface.  As you gather with your families over the next few weeks and exchange gifts and hugs may we remember the ultimate gift.  That ultimate gift is our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  The second person of the Blessed Trinity, who became man, and experienced everything that we did but was without sin.  He died as the perfect offering for our sin because He loves us that much and he thinks that we are worth being with for eternity. 

Pope Francis adds new members to council of cardinals

From CNA:  Pope Francis appointed five new members to his council of cardinals advisers on Tuesday, including Synod organizer Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich and Canadian Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix. The Vatican announced on March 7 the nine members of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals tasked with assisting the pope “in the governance of the universal Church.”…

Pope Francis adds new members to council of cardinals

Syrian Catholic monk once kidnapped by ISIS consecrated archbishop

Faithful made the journey to the Syrian cathedral dedicated to the Holy Spirit from countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as all the regions of Syria. Al-Kabalan also noted at the Mass that the wounds of the civil war have been aggravated by the recent earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey…

Syrian Catholic monk once kidnapped by ISIS consecrated archbishop

In Netflix special, Chris Rock likens abortion to hiring a hitman, echoing Pope Francis

By Tyler Arnold Washington D.C., Mar 6, 2023 / 12:20 pm Award-winning comedian Chris Rock compared paying for an abortion to hiring a hitman during a new Netflix special, echoing rhetoric used by Pope Francis, who has made that comparison in the past. During his March 4 special, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” the comedian, who […]

In Netflix special, Chris Rock likens abortion to hiring a hitman, echoing Pope Francis