Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, L-love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Think about that for a moment.
Let me repeat it.
Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Let it sink in.
Following Jesus in the time that Jesus lived was difficult and hard. Think about the radical ideas that Jesus taught during his ministry on earth. Those ideas are still difficult to follow two thousand years later.
The concepts that Jesus taught were as unique in his time as they are today. Jesus always criticized the leaders who forced everyone to follow letter of the law yet found ways to circumvent the law and do what they wanted. Jesus was always looking at the intent of a person’s heart, the reason the person was acting.
This is radical thinking and the Disciples, the Church Fathers and Mothers tried to live this concept. It was not easy for them, and it is not easy for us. The Pharisees and church leaders in Jesus’ time hated Jesus and his ideas so much that they plotted to kill Jesus for his teachings. Is it any wonder that the Church has had martyrs through the centuries?
But let’s think about today, right now in our times. We are often confronted with what Jesus was talking about. Practically everyone has someone who hates them, someone who curses them or someone who mistreats them, for whatever reason. And Jesus commanded us to love them, to do good to them, to bless them and to pray for them.
All of us have had enemies during our lives. Usually, the enemy is someone we have been close to through work, social groups, or families.
Families are small close-knit groups of people all related to each other in some way; either by birth or marriage. It is easy for family members to squabble and have disagreements. It is sad, but often these squabbles turn into fights and family members become enemies.
There were two sisters who didn’t talk to each other for nine years. If the two sisters were not talking, none of their children could talk to each other either.
The sisters made up and the families socialized again. Before long, the sisters had another disagreement and didn’t talk to each other again. Sadly, one of the sisters died, and they had not talked for eleven years this time. Twenty years of their lives they had not talked to each other, and their children had not talked or visited. This may seem extreme but most of our families have some disagreements that divide us.
It is especially sad when families become enemies. It happens so quickly and so easy. The harsh words are taken to heart even when the person saying them didn’t mean to be hateful. The hurt lasts and eats at us until we hate the person.
Jesus concluded today’s Gospel with “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.”
We usually think we have good reasons to for our positions, for the reason the other person is an enemy, for the reason the other person is wrong, and I am right. In many cases our reason may be justified by the world’s standards. But Jesus didn’t care about the reasons. He commanded that we love, do good, bless, and pray for those who hate and mistreat us. He commanded that we do not judge, do not condemn and that we forgive those who have wronged us.
That’s HARD!
Jesus said that I must love the person who lied about me and ruined my reputation, maybe even cost me my job. He also said that I must not condemn or judge that person; but must forgive and pray for the person who hurt me so deeply.
The hurt is still there. The pain won’t go away.
We usually know who we consider to be our enemies. Sometimes a person considers us an enemy and we don’t even know it. But when find out that someone considers us an enemy, we must take the steps to make it right.
In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus said “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” In line with today’s Gospel, Jesus is putting the action on us to do good even when the other person is at fault. Jesus told us to “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
How do I have mercy for someone who has hurt me so much? Why should I even be kind that person let alone bless them, pray for them, and love them?
We start by spending time in prayer asking God to guide us, to help us to stop judging and condemning and then to help us to forgive. Only then can we begin to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us. It may help to talk with a priest or a spiritual director if you have one. Spending time in prayer asking God to help us overcome our resentment and the hurt in our hearts for evil that person did to us is the first step toward healing.
It takes a lot of prayer and introspection on our part to reach the point that we can tolerate that person let alone love them. But that is a first step.
How will we respond to Jesus’ command to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you, to stop judging and stop condemning others? Will we forgive so we will be forgiven?
Will we turn the TV off and pray that God will help us tolerate our enemies? Or is our TV show more important? Will we stop checking social media to read our Bible searching for scriptures that will teach us to love God and our enemy as ourselves? Or is it more important to know the latest gossip on Facebook?
Lord Jesus, help me to learn to forgive and then teach me to love.
