Reflection Questions Jesus call to love neighbors and enemies is something we must practice every day. Where are the places you might be getting caught up in “enemy-ing” culture today? What are you posting, liking, consuming on social media? How might Jesus be calling your online engagement to show love to all and be a reconciling presence? What type of news are you consuming? Is it filled with coercion? Bias? Slander? Or is it respectful, balanced, and trying to facilitate deeper understanding? How might God be calling your news consumption to shift toward sources that are more compassionate? What types of relationships are you surrounding yourself with? Only people who are just like you? How might Jesus be calling you to cultivate relationships with people who see things different? QUOTES: Abraham Lincoln “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” Desmond Tutu “When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.” Desmond Tutu (2011). “God Has A Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times”, p.141 “In God's family, there are no outsiders, no enemies.” “Archbishop Desmond Tutu”. Interview with Dr. Frank Lipman, www.bewell.com. April 14, 2009 “Love your enemy; it will ruin his reputation.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “We must recognize that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is.” “We must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding.” “Another reason why we must love our enemies is that hate scars the soul and distorts the personality … Hate is just as injurious to the person who hates. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity.” Sermon, “Loving Your Enemies” Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Six Principles of Nonviolence are: Principle one: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is not a method for cowards, it does resist. It is active nonviolent resistance to evil. It is aggressive spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Principle two: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation. The purpose of nonviolence is the creation of the Beloved Community. Principle three: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. Nonviolence recognizes that evildoers are also victims and are not evil people. The nonviolent resister seeks to defeat evil, not people. Principle four: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence is a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation; to accept blows without striking back. Nonviolence is a willingness to accept violence if necessary but never inflict it. Nonviolence holds that unearned suffering for a cause is redemptive and has tremendous educational and transforming possibilities. Principle five: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists violence of the spirit as well as the body. Nonviolent love is spontaneous, unmotivated, unselfish and creative. Principle six: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent resister has deep faith that justice will eventually win. Nonviolence believes that God is a God of justice.