Author Archives: Deacon Joe Shriver

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. 

Today’s readings have very opposing concepts.  One reading talks about love – the greatest attribute a person could have, and two of the readings talk about violence – trying to kill the prophets who tell the people about God’s absolute love.  Paul wrote so eloquently about God’s love in the second reading. 

Prophets are sent to challenge us to evaluate what we believe and how we live our lives in accordance with the Scriptures.  The message of the prophets is that God loves all people unconditionally.  We, on the other hand, only seem to love when it’s convenient or when we get something in return.  We especially don’t want to love someone who is outside our group or circle of friends. 

The verses at the start of today’s Gospel tells us that after reading from the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus said “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”  And Jesus began teaching in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth.  “And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”

John Kavanaugh, SJ wrote “It would not be easy. Jesus himself, after he announced the good news to the poor, first amazed, then angered his audience. He was too ordinary and too close to give such prophetic utterance. It cannot be real. He cannot be real. Eventually they were filled with rage and wanted to cast him out.”  They asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” 

The people began to doubt because Jesus was too close to them.  Jesus was expected to follow in his father’s trade just as all young men did in ancient times.  Here was Jesus, teaching in the synagogue.  But his father was not a Rabbi or a Pharisee or a Sadducee, his father was an artesian who worked with wood and stone. 

What raised the anger of the people to the point that they wanted to kill Jesus?  The hard truth was that God loves all people.  Jesus reminded them that God provided help and healing to Gentiles in the past when there was suffering in Israel.  These were foreigners, Gentiles, who were considered unclean and enemies.  Foreigners do not deserve our love or God’s love. 

Peter Kreeft, a contemporary theologian, wrote “In today’s Gospel, God’s warning to Jeremiah comes true in the life of the greatest of all prophets when the congregation that had heard Jesus’ messianic sermon in the Nazareth synagogue and had admired his speaking then turned against him viciously and even tried to kill him when he dared to challenge them for their self-righteousness, as all the prophets did.  There’s not much profit (or not much to gain) in being a prophet.  Most of them get martyred.” 

Paul, like the prophets before him, was called to become God’s prophet, this time to the Gentiles.  Paul was able to write this beautiful chapter on Love because Paul experienced God’s love on the road to Damascus. 

He said “Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.  But I shall show you a still more excellent way.” 

Think about that; a way that is more excellent than the greatest spiritual gifts.  Paul continues:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,

but do not have love,

I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy,

and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;

if I have all faith so as to move mountains,

but do not have love, I am nothing,

If I give away everything I own,

and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,

but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Paul goes on to list the many attributes of love.  I encourage you to take a few moments to read these again when you get home as a family.  Then talk about how we can express our love for our neighbor as Jesus taught us.  Paul, like the prophets of old, is challenging us to love as God loves. 

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus taught that we must love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves.  There were no exceptions.  Paul reinforces Jesus’ teaching writing that Love exceeds everything else. 

Gerald Darring wrote “The message of Jesus and the prophets before him was to love all people as God loves them. The reason why they ran into problems is that so many people do not want to hear about “love for one another even as God has loved us.”  The love that Jesus preached “is not snobbish,” so it includes the filthy poor and the stinking homeless. 

God’s love is not exclusionary.  God’s love is for everyone, the filthy poor and the stinking homeless person, the politician that has an agenda in opposition to everything we believe and the extremely wealthy person who looks down on us.  God’s love is for you and for me.  And God commands us to love others with the same love that he has for us! 

This coming week when we see a homeless person on the street corner holding a sign asking for money, will we turn our head the other way, so we don’t have to look at them?  Or will we look them in the eye and smile, showing them the dignity that everyone deserves, even if we do not give them money? 

When the envelope comes in the mail asking for a donation to help someone in another part of the world, will we throw it away because they are in another country, and we don’t want to be bothered?  Or will we thank God for the many blessings we have received and send a donation to provide food to a person we don’t even know? 

When the relative we can’t stand calls and wants to talk about the problems in their life again, will we brush them off with a quick excuse?  Or will we ask God for his help to listen patiently to share God’s love with them? 

St Paul said “Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.  But I shall show you a still more excellent way.”  He continued:

if I do marvelous deeds:

but do not have love, I am nothing.

And again if I give everything away:

but do not have love, I gain nothing.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

Let us spend some time this coming week asking God to fill us so full of his love that that we can love even the person we despise.  “Am I willing to spend the time in God’s presence necessary to let God’s love fill me so much that I can share it with everyone I meet?”  Especially the beggar, the homeless person, and the person I despise? 

Jesus was brilliant.  We don’t normally think about Jesus in that manner, but he brought more explanation and depth to the Law.  He studied with a Rabbi as a child.  He was in the Temple learning from the Doctors when his parents finally found him after three very stressful days.  And his Heavenly Father gave him Wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures and people’s tendencies. 

Today’s readings take us deeper into relationships, relationships with God and relationships with others and the purpose behind our actions. 

The opening words in the First Reading address our relationship with God.  “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; …”  It continues “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.  The eyes of God are on those who fear him; he understands man’s every deed.”  We have the option to choose life or death. 

Jesus continues this theme in the Gospel.  He said that he did not come to abolish the law.  The rules are there for a reason; to help us follow God.  Then, Jesus takes it further: it is what is in our hearts.  Our intent is more important than just keeping the law for public acceptance or appearance. 

Jesus continues to give examples of how we sin based on the intent in our thoughts even without committing the act.  This seems harsh!  It is not what we think of when we think of sin.  Jesus was pointing out that our intent is good or evil as the First Reading tells us.  That intent is only known to us, within our hearts and minds, and to God. 

Jesus drives the point home when he said “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Everyone knew that the scribes and Pharisees strictly followed the Law to the nth letter of it.  But everyone also knew that they did it for a public display seeking approval of how good they were because of how they observed the Law.  Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees for their pious observance of the law without a contrite heart. 

Once again, Jesus takes it one step further when he 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.” 

This may seem a little strange to us today but in Jesus’ time, a person brought a gift to the railing in the Temple, to hand to the priest to offer on the altar as an offering to God.  We too bring a gift to the altar when we come to receive him in the Eucharist.  We bring the gift of our contrite heart seeking forgiveness and grace through his Body and Blood. 

John Pilch writes “Jesus forbids anger and insults that could escalate to murder.  For Jesus, squelching the feud even takes precedence over Temple worship!”  Maybe our anger doesn’t escalate to physical murder, but have we murdered a person’s reputation? 

Notice that in this case, Jesus didn’t say if You have anything against your neighbor but if your neighbor has anything against you.  Is our neighbor’s hard feelings because of something we did to them?  

Or is it because they don’t like the color of our hair, our skin, our culture, our religion or some other reason.  Jesus didn’t make any distinction about why, he said that if we know that someone has something against us, we should make it right.  We should not let hard feelings fester and boil over into an argument or a fight. 

Family members and one-time close friends don’t talk to each other over issues and arguments that have caused hurt and pain that will not be easy to heal.  Political positions have dissolved friendships and split families.  I am appalled by what some Catholics post on social media.  It is harsh and unchristian.  What we post and re-post on Facebook and other social media reveals what is in our heart.  I have a friend who has never posted an unkind word on social media – so it can be done. 

We do have a choice: The First Reading tells us that we have Life and Death; Good and Evil before us.  Jesus said that it is not just our actions that result in Life or Death for us but the intent of our heart.  Which will we choose?  It is a crucial question because we will receive what we choose. 

To help us choose Life and Good, we must spend time in prayer.  This is what will help us change the intent of our hearts.  An additional five minutes of prayer a day will draw us closer to God.  Only God can change our hearts and make us more loving and kind with others. 

When a coworker says or does something that really irritates us this week, will we be angry and hateful towards them?  Will that anger only be in our thoughts or will it be reflected in our actions?  Jesus said that it is the same; the intent of the heart (hatred) causes the act or the thought. 

When the person passes us on the road to cut us off to make a turn, how will we react?  Will we be angry?  Will we curse at them?  Or will we pray a prayer that God will keep them safe and prevent them for hurting others? 

When we think something on social media is wrong or bad or just disagrees with how we believe, will we write a hateful post or pray a prayer for ourselves and the other person? 

We have Life and Death, Good and Evil before us.  Which will be given to us?