How to be or become a follower of Jesus Christ in the world and in your situation« Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful .... ».
The typical attitude of the Christian who wants to follow Jesus should be the commandment of Love, obviously understood as φιλία that is "love your neighbor as yourself", and not as ερως, which is sensual and physical love, which is also natural in human beings but has other purposes, and is less difficult to achieve.
Following the commandment of love with a capital 'L' might instead seem too demanding, very difficult to achieve in this world where selfishness and hedonism seem to dominate.
The pessimistic proverb Lupus est homo homini, non homo (man for another man is a wolf, not a man), derived from Plautus' Asinaria (II, 4, 88) which alludes to human selfishness, was adopted by the philosopher T. Hobbes to designate the state of nature in which men, dominated by selfishness, fight each other to survive.
Jesus saves. «Your faith has saved you»
For a Christian, on the other hand, it is not a question of confronting one's neighbor in order to prevail over them, or to have something else in return, even if Jesus says here «because with the measure by which you measure, it will be measured to you in return».
A Christian person has the duty to exercise the virtue of prudence and do not neglect the defense of his family which is his closest neighbor and also himself. But he also has the duty to relate to others with justice and with an upright conscience .
Jesus suggests to behave with one's neighbors, to see them as far as possible, as if the other or the others were ourselves; that is, out of Love and not just to get something in return.
This is substantially one of the novelties that Jesus Christ brought into the world.
For a normal person who wants to follow Jesus it is enough to live ordinary life 'heroically', that is like those who earnestly carry some inevitable cross every day or encounter problems and difficulties that one has to face and overcome.
A Christian lives by making an effort to fulfill his/her duties to God, to his family, and to others, in the best possible way every day. This is already enough, also because acts of heroism or extraordinary things to do usually don't happen to everyone. Personal holiness can also be achieved in everyday life.
However, it may also be the case of an unnatural and pathological condition, where a person hates himself. It can happen, for example, as in that horrific case in which a young Dutch girl without spiritual horizons, psychologically bored or disappointed in her life, stupidly asked for and obtained euthanasia.
In this passage from the Gospel, Jesus clearly indicates what the attitude should be in dealing with others, in order to give meaning not only to one's own life but also to theirs.
If that poor girl had had faith and if she had made an effort to have a positive attitude towards others, God would have granted her a different vision of herself and her world.
The poor girl would have understood that you don't exist only for yourself, and you don't have to perceive yourself as the monad of Leibniz, but you can feel fulfilled and happier when you make an effort to improve the lives of others.
A Christian lives by making an effort to fulfill his/her duties to God, to his family, and to others, in the best possible way every day. This is already enough, also because acts of heroism or extraordinary things to do usually don't happen to everyone. Personal holiness can also be achieved in everyday life.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The Asinaria (literally, The comedy of the donkeys) is a comedy by Titus Maccius Plautus, which can be placed in 206 or 211 BC. The subject of the Asinaria, the plot and the characters coincide with the elements that belong to the new comedy. There is, in fact, a young man in love with a girl. Their love is opposed by an antagonist and thanks to the help of two cunning servants the protagonist will be able to obtain his beloved and to complete his amorous intentions.
For those who have some cultural interests, this amusing comedy highlights the selfish and unscrupulous hedonistic pagan attitude for which the end justifies the means.
Incidentally saying, in the past this writer has witnessed Plautine comedies staged at the ancient Roman theater of Ostia Antica in Rome, learned something new and had a lot of fun.
The Monad. What is it for the philosopher Leibniz?
Gottfried von Leibniz
According to Leibniz, monads are point-like substances, if by "substance" we mean a 'force center'. They cannot have a beginning or an end in time except through creation or annihilation. They have internal activity, but cannot be physically influenced by external elements. In this sense they are isolated and independent.
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1 July 1646, Leipzig - 14 November 1716, Hannover), was a German mathematician, philosopher, logician, theologian, linguist, glottothetic, diplomat, jurist, historian and magistrate.
Don't worry ! the mercy of Jesus
is INFINITE
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,36-38
.
Jesus said to his disciples: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."
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