In place of “holiness” as the imitatio dei followed by the other renewal movements (“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy,” Lev. 19:2), Jesus substituted a different blueprint for the life of the community: “Be compassionate as your heavenly father is compassionate” (Luke 6:36). Moreover, this directive was intended for the earthly life of the people of God. Jesus’s intention was the transformation of his people in the face of a historical crisis.
