By Order of Jesus of Nazareth
Lord of Lords
King of Kings
To whom is give all authority
in heaven and on earth.
Date: September, 2001
To: The Children
Whose Father is in Heaven
Re: Rules of
Conduct: The First War of the
Twenty-first Century
You have heard that it was said,
'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you,
1. Do not resist one who is evil.
But if any one strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and
take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces
you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
You have heard that it was said,
'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
2. But I say to you, Love your
enemies and
3. 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 have you? Do not even the tax
collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more
are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
4. You, therefore, must be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.
(Matthew 5:38-48)
So have no fear of them; for nothing
is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered,
proclaim upon the housetops.
5. And do not fear those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather fear him who can destroy
both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And
not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore;
you are of more value than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:26-31
|
Jesus Grieves for the City
And when he drew near and saw the city
he wept over it, saying, "Would that even today you knew the things
that make for peace!
But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days
shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you
and
surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground,
you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone
upon
another in you; because you did not know the time of your
visitation
.
Luke 19:41-44
Commentary
The loving heart of our Lord Jesus
is broken yet again as he grieves for New York City, and for America and
the world, just as he expressed his great grief long ago at the coming
destruction of his beloved city, Jerusalem. He grieves with every
human being who suffers from the destruction and loss of life that occurred
on Sept. 11, 2001. Men still do not know the things that make for peace.
The Illusions of War
Richard Le Gallienne
War
I abhor,
And yet
how sweet
The sound
along the marching street
Of drum
and fife! And I forget
Wet eyes
of widows, and forget
Broken
old Mothers, and the whole
Dark Butchery
without a soul.
Without
a soul--save this bright drink
Of heady
music, sweet as death:
And even
my peace-abiding feet
Go marching
with the marching street;
For yonder,
yonder, goes the fife,
And what
care I for human life?
The tears
fill my astonished eyes,
And my
full heart is like to break;
And yet
'tis all embannered lies,
A dream
those little drummers make.
O, it is
wickedness to clothe
Yon hideous
grinning thing that stalks
Hidden
in music, like a queen
That in
a garden of glory walks,
Till good
men love the thing they loathe!
Art, thou
hast many infamies,
But not
an infamy like this.
O, snap
the fife, and still the drum,
and show
the monster as she is. |