What about the opposite – how many enemies do you have? I don’t have any enemies, according to Facebook at least; once again, I’m not sure that’s completely true. Most of us probably don’t think we have many enemies, if we have any at all – at least none that we know personally, that we interact with in daily life, that don’t live on the far side of the globe somewhere. For that reason, we might be tempted to dismiss what Jesus says to us in the Gospel today: “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” Perhaps we want to respond, “Okay, Jesus, but that doesn’t apply to me; I only have friends.”
But is that really accurate? What if we replaced the word “enemies” with a category that we might be more familiar with. Do you have any rivals? What about competitors, in business, perhaps? What about friends who are more like frenemies? What about relatives that we butt heads with, or neighbors that we don’t particularly like, or the people with whom we have had past disagreements and offenses and grudges. And then there are those who challenge us or push our buttons, those with whom we disagree politically, those who have cultural viewpoints or social priorities different from ours.
If we start to think about it that way, we see that what Jesus has to say in today’s Gospel probably applies to lots of people that we know. And what does he have to say? He challenges us, his disciples, to take an approach radically different from the one what we are naturally programmed to. It’s natural, Jesus says, to love those who love us, and to do good to those who do good to us; even sinners do that, he says. But Jesus calls us to a higher standard: the standard that he himself sets. Remember the words of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And the words of St. Paul to the Romans: “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us… If, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Rom 5:8, 10).
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| Jesus Teaching His Disciples, Egyptian Gospel manuscript, c. 1684 |
In other words, Jesus came to save us despite the fact that we were wretched sinners – yes, enemies of God – to make us God’s friends by the shedding of his blood. To follow Jesus means, you might say, to override our natural programming of antagonism, self-defensiveness, “eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth” attitude, and instead be overcome by the supernatural love of Christ. In the love of Jesus, we can do what he commands: to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, to pray for those who mistreat us, to turn the other cheek, to give without expecting repayment, to stop judging, to stop condemning, to be merciful. Surely, we can do those things, if we remember the One who came to sae us was crucified our sake. Those things that would seem impossible by our own powers become possible in the light of Christ's love.
It’s important to realize, however, that to love as Christ calls us to love doesn’t mean that we will never have enemies. I think we are called to see every person as potential friend in Christ, no matter what our differences might be, or what our past interactions have been, but sometimes it could be that we will make enemies precisely by standing up for what is true and good and just. So, we shouldn’t think that today’s Gospel is inviting us to some kind of idyllic, kumbaya existence; to follow Jesus means that we will suffer, because we will be called to set other priorities, even other relationships, secondary to the one we have with him. What today's Gospel does call us to, I think, is to guard our own reactions and responses, external and internal. We may not be able to always make others love us, but we can seek to love everyone – even those who hate us, especially those who hate us – because of the love of Christ.
So, friends, – and I hope I can rightly call you friends, in Christ – I’m sure over the course of the last few minutes, as I’ve talked, at least one or more persons have sprung to your mind. Maybe “enemy” wouldn’t be the first way you would describe them, but in some way or another your relationship with them is strained, you’ve suffered some insult or offense, you find that you just don’t want anything to do with them. But try to overcome that natural programming for a moment, and consider what the love of Jesus might be asking of you? Maybe it’s just to offer a prayer for them, or try to forgive them in your heart, or to recognize their humanity and indeed the image of God in them. But maybe the love of Christ – he who has made us friends out of enemies – maybe he is calling you to do something more: to reach out to them, to be open to being reconciled, to let whatever has come between you in the past be renewed in light of your friendship with Jesus.
After all, in the end it’s Jesus who should be our best and truest Friend, and with his grace, nothing is impossible – including making friends out of enemies. May this Eucharist bring us renewed strength from the Friend who is also our Savior, that he might strengthen us to love as he loved us, to do good to others as he showed us.
It’s important to realize, however, that to love as Christ calls us to love doesn’t mean that we will never have enemies. I think we are called to see every person as potential friend in Christ, no matter what our differences might be, or what our past interactions have been, but sometimes it could be that we will make enemies precisely by standing up for what is true and good and just. So, we shouldn’t think that today’s Gospel is inviting us to some kind of idyllic, kumbaya existence; to follow Jesus means that we will suffer, because we will be called to set other priorities, even other relationships, secondary to the one we have with him. What today's Gospel does call us to, I think, is to guard our own reactions and responses, external and internal. We may not be able to always make others love us, but we can seek to love everyone – even those who hate us, especially those who hate us – because of the love of Christ.
So, friends, – and I hope I can rightly call you friends, in Christ – I’m sure over the course of the last few minutes, as I’ve talked, at least one or more persons have sprung to your mind. Maybe “enemy” wouldn’t be the first way you would describe them, but in some way or another your relationship with them is strained, you’ve suffered some insult or offense, you find that you just don’t want anything to do with them. But try to overcome that natural programming for a moment, and consider what the love of Jesus might be asking of you? Maybe it’s just to offer a prayer for them, or try to forgive them in your heart, or to recognize their humanity and indeed the image of God in them. But maybe the love of Christ – he who has made us friends out of enemies – maybe he is calling you to do something more: to reach out to them, to be open to being reconciled, to let whatever has come between you in the past be renewed in light of your friendship with Jesus.
After all, in the end it’s Jesus who should be our best and truest Friend, and with his grace, nothing is impossible – including making friends out of enemies. May this Eucharist bring us renewed strength from the Friend who is also our Savior, that he might strengthen us to love as he loved us, to do good to others as he showed us.
