To the Editor:
Here are a few sayings in the words scholars believe were used by Jesus. They are unpoliticized and unfiltered by modern biblical commentary. You may not be familiar with them; they are not easy statements, they are what the writers of some of the gospels felt were important. I am making no claims for my own religious authority or affiliation. I am only interested in beginning possible deep thoughts in those who see themselves as Christ
Followers by going to an early source for comments and questions about kindness, generosity, and respect.  Sayings taken from Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and more recently referenced Gospel of Thomas

Contextual scholarship. {At the heart of Jesus’ teaching and actions was a vision of a life under the reign of God (or, in the empire of God) in which God’s generosity and goodness is regarded as the model and measure of human life. Everyone is accepted as a child of God and thus liberated both from the ethnocentric confines of traditional Judaism and from the secularizing servitude and meagerness of their lives under the rule of the empire of Rome. The reign of God is a vision of what life in this world could be, not a vision of life in a future world that would soon be brought into being by a miraculous act.} Adapted from The Jesus Seminar

Other Cheek
Matt 5:39-40 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. Shirt and Coat And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. NIV*
Congratulations, hungry!
Thomas 69:2 Jesus said, "Blessed are they who have been persecuted within themselves. It is they who have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled."
Matt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”NIV
Love of Enemies
Luke 6:32-35 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your
enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” NIV
Emperor and God
Luke 20:25b They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's agents are exacting taxes from us." He said to them, "Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, give unto God the things that are God's, and give unto me that which is mine.”NIV
The Samaritan
Luke 10:30-35 “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ NIV

*NIV is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English.
Patricia Lennox
Potsdam