Accusation

Ex 22:20-26
Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."

Gospel Mt 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,

they gathered together, and one of them,

a scholar of the law tested him by asking,

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

He said to him,

"You shall love the Lord, your God,

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

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The brazen serpent was a source of redemption,
prefiring the crucifixion.

Jesus did not kill the Pharisees for their errors, neither did He annihilate the Sadducees for their errors. It is clear they committed errors, for He says they did. Their errors remained as long as they were held. They were virtuous in that they cherished what they believed as what God taught, but what they believed was not what God taught, and Jesus came to set the record straight.

To this point, it is plain, that errors in religious thinking are not cause or license to commit genocide, and those who do will be punished. The wrong committed by those who insist on thinking the way they do, if in error, will not be expunged, and the lives disrupted will not go into eternity without remedy. Therefore, in order to have peace in life, you must avoid these errors, and the killing conducted by those in error will be accounted.

By the same token, do not think that if you are in great pain or distress, that you have committed any sin, for Jesus was sinless, and died by crucifixion nonetheless, and those who love Him often are caught up, by virtue of their great love, in a fiery trial which will only benefit the sufferer.

In the fire of that trial, I know all too well that He nevertheless lifts me up out of myself so my suffering is crushing, and though there seem to be no reason to weep, I cannot help but weep, even within myself in darkness, silence and solitude, as Jesus experienced it. But by allowing myself to be immersed in suffering this way, His love all the sweeter for it, and I know He holds good things in store for those imitators of Himself who dare all for His love's sake.

In the room of suffering there is heard the lamentation of those in woe, but as well, the songs of angels who worship God and His love, so evident there.

In the garden, in the evening, the darkness settles gently over it, the Lord is suddenly present, and the fragrance of His holiness is everywhere to comfort those who love Him, and to immerse the beloved in love in which one learns to forget altogether. In this is my hope, for I have spent more than enough evenings in the throes of His love, even in spite of my sins and faults.

Trust the judgement of the Lord; though you may think you have sinned, and are accused of wrong, it is the Lord who chooses to believe in your innocence, so you may approach Him fearlessly and in bliss, redolent of His love. If you have wronged, He will speak to you so you may be forgiven and judgement never enter into the picture. Blessed the person who allows the Lord to believe in them. Blessed the Lord who desires us to be blameless and does not hold our errors against us. Bear the cross as it is, and believe that your time on it is measured, and when it it is appropriate, will end.

Can I be mistaken in what I perceive and feel in my hands and feet or in my heart? I feel His wounds and I feel His pain and I love Him as He is in all His endeavors. It comes when I am free to suffer for Him and do not have to deal with the world at the moment, and so I am at peace that enduring the pain is of value to the Lord as an occupation in itself since He is finished with the cross, and only allows Himself to be fixed to it again in order to be about the business of the salvation of His children.

I know there is evil in the world, and its intent is nothing laudable. But I also know the Lord is victorious and completes all His initiatives. The world will be freed of evil, and though demonic beings roam through the world lost forever, I think they are here for longer than three days of darkness, and we ought to enclose ourselves in His love to worship Him until we are free to roam about the world ourselves. Great damage and destruction may be done, but remember that He created the universe in its entirety, and can do it again as well. One day the lion will lay down with the lamb and not fear the terrible teeth of the beasts. Believe in His good deeds and look forward to all He does for us until the ending is upon us. Trust in Him that all things will be arranged as He likes.