No Bounds to Love

This morning's rising sun throws long shadows across the snow covered Lake.
This Sunday's Gospel (Matthew 5:38-48) follows immediately after last Sunday's.  It is hard for us to believe that Jesus means what he says here to be taken literally: "I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Martin Luther King took Jesus literally and taught his followers non-violent resistance.  This approach won for black people a measure of justice they had never experienced before.  Non-violent demonstrations also helped to bring an end to the Vietnam War.  An iconic picture of that approach is that of a pretty girl putting a flower in the barrel of a gun aimed at her by a soldier.
Jesus ends this passage by saying, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."  Since the whole passage has been talking about love, the New Jerusalem Bible goes for the meaning rather than an exact translation: "You must therefore set no bounds to your love, just as your heavenly Father sets none to his."