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Heavenly Father, we call upon you in Jesus’ name.
We come with empty hands.
We have not been able to love our enemies.
As a rule we have never even seen them.
We have avoided them.
When we saw them, we felt only fear and anger, not love.
So we come to you, not as the children of your love,
but as the enemy of our enemies,
beseeching you for ourselves and all the others;
‘Bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you.’
Forgive us for what we have failed to do for our enemies.
You lead us out of the constriction of fear
and out of the prison of hate,
into the wide space of freedom.
Let us see your sun,
which rises upon the evil and the good,
and rejoice in its warmth, together with our enemies.
Amen.
Jurgen Moltmann, 1926-, German Reformed Theologian
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Love your enemies! Do good to them.
Lend to them without expecting to be repaid.
Then your reward from heaven will be very great,
and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High,
for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
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