“What I say to you is: offer no resistance to injury.”
“Bear with one another lovingly and make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force.” (cf. Eph 4:2f.) It is not possible to maintain unity or peace if the brothers don’t make every effort to remain tolerant of one another and to keep the bond of harmony, which comes from patience…
How can a person succeed in accomplishing that if he is not firm in patience and tolerant? That is what Saint Stephen did when, far from crying out for revenge, he asked that his executors be forgiven, saying: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60) That is how the first martyr for Christ behaved. He was not only a preacher of the Lord’s passion, but he also imitated his extreme gentleness.
What can we say concerning anger, discord, hypocrisy? They have no place in the life of a Christian. He must have patience in his heart; thus none of the vices will be found there. The apostle Paul warned us of this: “Do nothing to sadden the Holy Spirit… Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind.” (Eph 4:30-31) If the Christian becomes established in peace, in Christ’s harbor, he must allow neither anger nor discord to enter his heart; he is neither allowed to return evil for evil nor to conceive hatred.