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| Summer theologist Anna Kinnunen: |
This Sunday’s theme is the law of love; “Jesus Christ came to fulfill God’s will and command, not to depose them. On that score christians are to follow the law of love.” The theme highlights at the same time the duty of a christian to follow the laws God has placed and Jesus’ position as an executor of God’s will.
The gospel text’s third volume (Luke 6:27–31) depicts a scene where Jesus addresses his Disciples and urges them to treat their neighbors with love and good will. People should follow Jesus’ example and go out of their way to love their enemies and tormentors. At the end of the gospel text Jesus notes; “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
This ethical guideline is surely very familiar to several from different contexts. The golden rule is at the center of many different religions’ ethical beliefs. As humans it might be easier to think that we should just treat other people kindly and as equals. However, Jesus goes further than that by demanding christians to meet any evildoer with absolut love.
As a policy this might sound extremely altruistic, as we bring each other to an extremely uncomfortable state for the sake of other’s well-being. This kind of behavior may confuse and bewilder some. Jesus’ teachings of absolute and unrestricted neighborly love is an excellent example of his teachings as polemic and radical.
Because Jesus and his teachings did not act as an antithesis to God’s law, but rather a synthesis, where God’s will and Jesus unite, it is christians duty to follow Jesus’ example in their own actions. Tangibly this indicates, that people’s actions mirror God, because He has created humans as His own picture. Furthermore in addiotion to appearences this also alludes to human character and action; we should as people always remember in everything we do to mirror God by striving to act by the will of God. The Lord wishes that a oneness would prevail between humans, a oneness where there is no room for discord.
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