Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
/library/oar/handle/123456789/140862| Title: | From the Gospel : Jesus the influencer? |
| Authors: | Calleja, Carlo |
| Keywords: | Jesus Christ -- Teachings Bible. Matthew -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. Love -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Enemies -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Sermon on the mount Nonviolence -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Reconciliation -- Religious aspects -- Christianity |
| Issue Date: | 2023 |
| Publisher: | Allied Newspapers Ltd. |
| Citation: | Calleja, C. (2023, February 18). From the Gospel: Jesus the Influencer?. The Times of Malta. Retrieved from https: https://timesofmalta.com/article/gospel-jesus-influencer-fr-carlo-calleja.1014027. |
| Abstract: | Fr Carlo Calleja reflects on the Gospel reading for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 5:38-48), humorously imagining Jesus as a modern social media influencer who would lose followers for teaching the radical command to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." He argues that this directive is not optional but the core of Christian identity, fulfilling the Old Testament Law and revealing God's nature. Loving enemies does not mean passivity or becoming a victim; rather, it involves actively seeking the enemy's transformation while opposing unjust systems. Calleja draws on Martin Luther King Jr.'s distinction between loving individuals and defeating evil structures, and recounts Vietnamese bishop Nguyen Van Thuan's prison experience of turning guards into friends through kindness. The article emphasizes situation-specific, love-motivated responses to hostility. |
| URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140862 |
| Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacTheMT |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jesus_the_influencer.pdf | 574.24 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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