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<table class="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout-table m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206root-table" style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" width="650" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout-row-margin34270" style="padding:5px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout-row34270" class="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout-row m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206widget m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206_widget_text m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206style34270" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206layout-row-padding34270" style="padding:10px 30px 30px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206text_div33746" class="m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206td_text m_-7522098505660099107gmail-m_8154984846124560206td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.5;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" valign="top" align="left"><div style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:1.5"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Friends,
 <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>our Gospel today is taken from </b><b><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">J</span>esus’ Sermon on the Plain </b></span>in Luke. It 
is one of more the puzzling texts in the New Testament.<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b> It speaks of 
loving our enemies</b></span>—<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>not</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>tolerating them</b></span>, or vaguely accepting them, but 
<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">loving them</span>.</b></span> When you hate your enemy, you confirm him as your enemy. 
But<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> when you love him in response to</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> his
hatred,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>you </b></span>confuse and confound him, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>taki</b></span>ng <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>away</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>the very energy that 
feeds his hatred.</b></span></span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">There
 is a form of oriental martial arts called aikido. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>The idea of aikido is
 to absorb <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the aggressive energy of </span>your opponent, moving with <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">it</span>, 
continually frustrating him until he comes to the point of realizing 
that <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">fighting </span>is useless.</b></span></span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Some
 have pointed out that there is a great deal of this in <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Jesus’ strategy 
of nonviolence and love of the enemy. You creatively absorb <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the 
aggression of </span>your opponent</b></span>, really using it against him,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> to show him 
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the futility of violence</span></b></span>. So <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>when someone insults you,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>send back a 
compliment </b></span>instead of an insult.</span></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b><br></div>
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