I’ve watched you out of the corner of my eye for so long. I see you walking there where your way is hard and full of trembling. You keep reaching out to help but your hand is full of sootiness from some still burning fire you haven’t offered over to His cross
You’ve lined them up, sorted them out, the ones you hate, the ones you love. Does target practice come next or just spitting on the ground, cursing toward an eternity you don’t believe exists? He offered a new name. Instead, ‘Beloved Enemy,’ your choice, hangs about the neck without a cross.
Doomed to carry burning embers upon your head, the ashes keep drifting... in the house of friends and enemies… grey like dirty snow, a graceless windy force keeps blowing them hard sleeting against the cross.
Beloved enemies, He was bloodied... yet the cross emptied in resurrection. For you...the cross
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Your title "beloved enemies" reminded me of a prayer I go over every so often, from a Frederica Matthews-Greene book. Its a bit long for a post, but its worth it:
A prayer by St. Nikolai Velimirovic, a Serbian Orthodox bishop of the last century, who opposed Naziism and was eventually taken to Dachau. In this prayer he no doubt has in mind personal enemies, rather than national ones; the prayer is not intended as a guide for political and military decisions.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself
They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself
They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.
Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Your garment.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:
so that my fleeing to You may have no return;
so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;
so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger;
so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.
Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.
One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.
It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.
Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies.
A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands.
For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for posting that. you did so several years ago and I copied it and kept it around for quite awhile but lost it. Also a friend at my church copied it and sent it to his son who is a pastor.
After reading all the new posts I found this morning it was timely and I was glad it came first. What one of Frederia's books did it come from?
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