"How do we reconcile love of our enemies with responsible action in the face of evil?"

Scripture: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 and Psalm 124  • Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 and Psalm 19:7-14  • James 5:13-20  • Mark 9:38-50

We have been studying James' advice and admonitions to a church in conflict, urging the church to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, and to act with gentleness at all times. James says that faith without works is dead, and to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. The Rev. Rick Morley captures the tension of being and doing in his "on doing and being – a reflection on James 5:13-20. Morley tells us that James links "being" and "doing" together. We don’t do certain things to win God’s favor, we do certain things because of the kind of people we are. Because of our faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ (James 2:1), we put away anger, we listen, we care for the widow and orphan in distress, we act with gentleness, we treat poor and rich alike, we love our neighbor as ourselves.

In the gospel account this week, Jesus admonishes the disciples, and us, not to become stumbling blocks to those who would believe in him. He said it would be better to have a millstone put around your neck and be cast into the sea than to be a stumbling block to one of his little ones. In "The Millstone," Professor Joel Marcus discusses punishment, revenge, forgiveness and loving our enemies. 

How can we balance the call to forgive, to love our enemies and act responsibly as Christians in the face of evil? Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about loving the enemy in his Cost of Discipleship. How was he able to reconcile his faith and ministry with joining a conspiracy aimed to assassinate Hitler? Assistant Professor Lori Brandt Hale offers an interesting insight and consideration in "From Loving Enemies to Acting Responsibly: Forgiveness in the Life and Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer."

* Because of our joint worship service this Sunday at 9:00, there will be no class this Sunday.