This week's gospel is a continuation from last week. Jesus is still teaching his disciples on the Mount, and these sayings can still be considered as commentary on the Beatitudes. This section contains some of the most well known, and most challenging, of Jesus' statements: "turn the other cheek, give them your cloak as well, go the second mile, love your enemies."

What I find interesting is how universal some of these sayings and stories are. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind," says Gandhi in the film Gandhi.  "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," says a villager in Fiddler on the Roof. To which Tevye replies, "Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless." Turing the other cheek makes sense. Most of us know through difficult experience what kind of a black hole vengeance can be. Where does getting even, end? But giving away possessions, doing extra forced labor, loving enemies? Those are harder. Have you ever done one of these things? If not, can you imagine a situation in which you would? Share those stories.

Here's another way in. We have a children's book at home called Zen Shorts. It's one of my favorites. In it a giant panda teaches three children lessons in self-awareness through several zen stories. In of the stories, Uncle Ry and the Moon, a robber breaks into the panda's uncle's house. Instead of reaching for a weapon, or calling the police Uncle Ry greets the robber graciously, and looks around for something to give the robber, because "Ry never lets anyone leave empty-handed." Uncle Ry is very poor and doesn't have much so he decides to take off his only robe and give it to the robber. The robber, convinced that Uncle Ry is crazy, takes the robe and flees. Uncle Ry sits and looks at the moon thinking, "Poor man, all I had to give him was my tattered robe. If only I could have given him this wonderful moon."

A very similar story is told about Abbot Anastasius, one of the desert fathers. In this story one of the Abbot's books is stolen, you can read that story here. Are these just nice stories about something impossible to achieve-like perfection? Or are these stories that encourage us to reflect on the things that really matter in life? Are they, and the gospel, calling us towards a deeper kind of wholeness or completeness (which is probably a better translation of the Greek "teleios" than "perfect"). You could read and discuss these stories. Could you do what Uncle Ry and Abbot Anastasius did?