get well. When the Samaritan left, he said to the manager: 'Take care of
him. If you have to do more for him, I will pay you back when I come
this way again.'" Jesus looked at the scribe. "Which of these three men
was a true neighbor to the man who was beaten?"

"The man who was kind to him," admitted the scribe grudgingly.

"Then go and be like that yourself!" said Jesus.

Simon looked at Jesus amazed, the net in his hand completely forgotten.
_Not even John the Baptizer would say the Samaritan was better than the
others_, he thought to himself. _No wonder Andrew and John had talked so
much about this Rabbi whom they had first met in Judea!_

Attracted by the crowd, many more people had come down from the road.
They were pressing in on Jesus so much that he turned to Simon and asked
abruptly, "May I use your boat?"

Simon was taken by surprise but he quickly recovered himself and said,
"Certainly, Rabbi."

Jesus asked him to push out a little way. Then he turned around and
spoke to the people on the shore. "The Kingdom of God does not come like
a flash of lightning so that you can say, 'Here it is!' The Kingdom of
God is right now in your midst."

"Does that mean that our enemies will be destroyed soon, Rabbi?" asked
Simon eagerly.

"The Kingdom of God does not come by violence and bloodshed," answered
Jesus, "but by the power of God. It is not his will that you should kill
persons whom you hate. You should love your enemies! Do good to those
who hate you! Pray for those who abuse you. If a man slaps your cheek,
let him slap the other one too. If he steals your coat, give him your
shirt too.

"If you love only people who love you, what does that amount to? Even
bad men do that! It is your enemies that you must love and help. You
must give without expecting to be paid back."

"That is impossible!" exclaimed Simon in dismay.

"God's Kingdom has power to change all kinds of men," said Jesus,
looking straight at Simon. "His power is like a piece of yeast in a bowl
of dough--the tiny bit of yeast quickly works its way through all the
dough until every bit is changed. The Kingdom of God is also like a tiny
mustard seed. It is so small that a farmer can hardly see it mixed with
his wheat. But this tiny seed is so powerful that when it is planted it
grows larger than most trees."

Simon shook his head. He did not say anything, but he doubted if any
such power existed.

"Will you push the boat out into deep wat