If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. – Exodus 23:4

Today's Scripture Reading (October 10, 2021): Exodus 23

I believe that "The Sermon on the Mount" is the pinnacle of the teaching given in the Bible. And the instruction that Jesus gave on the mountain is often considered to be radical in the light of everything that was believed in the first century.  From the very opening of the sermon, a section we call "The Beatitudes," the message seems revolutionary. "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), "blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4), "blessed are the meek" (Matthew 5:5), and "blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you" (Matthew 5:11). Each thought seemed more radical than the last. This was not how the world worked, and yet, Jesus appeared to think that it did.

But then Jesus said what might be the most revolutionary thing of all.

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48).

"You have heard it said" was precisely what the culture taught. What Jesus was teaching was brand new.

Or was it. From the mountain, God states almost the same thing. If you come across the property of your enemy, return it to them. Help those who are in distress, even if they hate you. The teaching was essential. Right or wrong behavior can never be based on how you feel. Real justice goes above what we feel. Centuries later, Jesus would restate the words spoken from God's mountain to Moses by saying, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven." And then he would follow the teaching with an example, a story that we know of as "The Good Samaritan," about a Samaritan man who takes care of a Jewish man, a traditional enemy. Because being just to those who oppose us is not just something that we are supposed to do; it is how the God of the World designed the Earth to work.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 24