Zechariah 7:5

Even when they were exiles in Babylon and their captors were trying to force them to sing a sacred hymn, they neither yielded nor obeyed, even though they were captives and slaves to the masters who had conquered them.…And they could not observe the fast. The prophet made this clear when he said, " 'Did you keep a fast for me for seventy years?' said the Lord." Nor could they offer sacrifice or pour libations. Listen to the three boys when they said, "We have no prince, prophet or leader, no place to offer firstfruits in your sight and find mercy." The prophet did not say, "We have no priest," because there were priests among the captives. But to make you understand that the whole matter was a question of the place and that the whole code of laws was bound up with that place, he said, "We have no place."

After all, if the loving Lord said to the hardhearted Jews through the prophet, "Behold those seventy years: surely it was not for me that you kept that fast? And if you eat and drink, is it not for yourselves that you eat and drink? This is what the Lord, mighty ruler, says: 'Deliver just judgments, show mercy and pity each of you to your neighbor, do not oppress widow or orphan, sojourner or poor person, and let none of you plot evil against your brother in your heart.' " In other words, if those people sitting in darkness and caught up in the shadow of error gained no benefit merely from fasting without performing those other good works or expelling from their heart evil intended against their neighbor, what sort of an excuse can we offer of whom more is required—not simply commanded to abstain from that, but even obliged to love our enemies and be kind to them? And why do I say "be kind"? Also to pray for them and beseech the Lord and implore his providence in their behalf. After all, this most of all will be a recommendation for us on that fearful day, and our best insurance against our sins, if we are disposed in this way toward our enemies. I mean, even if the commandment is exceedingly rigorous, provided you keep in mind the prize laid up for those who do right, it will seem nothing at all, even though it is in fact very rigorous. Why is that? Scripture says, "If you do this, you will be like my Father in heaven." To make the point clearer to us it added, "Because he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good"; that is, it is saying, you are imitating God as far as human beings can. I mean, just as he makes the sun rise not only on the just but also on those who do evil, and provides rain and seasonal storms not only to the good but also to the evil, so you too, if you love not only those who love you but also those badly disposed to you, are imitating your Lord as far as you can.