Love Your Enemies

19-02-2017  SEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY YEAR A

SCRIPTURE READING:

1. Lev. 19:1-2.17-18

Ps. 103:1-2.3-4.8.10.12-13 (R. 8a).

1. 1 Cor. 3:16-23; Accl; 1 Jn 2:5.

2. Gosp. Mt 5:38-48

THEME: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

The challenge of Jesus to us in the Gospel is a huge one-it is a call to do the exact opposite of what the world promotes-to love our enemies. To give second chances to those who have hurt us. To repay every insult with a blessing. To go the extra mile to reconcile with your enemy. To keep grudge off your heart. To avoid toeing the path of vengeance. But to toe the path of love, forgiveness and peace.

Beloved in Christ, this challenge of the lord is honestly an unbearable task since we live in a world filled with a vicious circle of malicious intentions and attacks, hatred, tricks and deception, wickedness to the highest degree, libel, murder, bribery and corruption, retaliation and vengeance, propaganda of lies, cheating, to take undue advantage of the kindness of others, impatience and anger and the likes.

We live in a world where if we do not toe the line of retaliation we are taking for a fool or someone who is stupid. We live in a world where to even the scales for every wrong done to us is normal. The question now is, if everyone toes the path of violence, vengeance and retaliation would we have people on earth to carry out the works of progress? What has violence proofed? Has there been any monument built in honor of a violent man/woman? These are questions we need to reflect upon.

Where does vengeance and retaliation and violence come from? It comes from our pride, our injured ego. Our pride makes it difficult to practice or do the will of the Lord. The one desire of God is for us to live as a family of believers, loving each other as we ought to. the will of God is that we must never allow hate to enter their hearts rather the believer is to love his enemies.

When Christ used the word “love your enemies,” it was used in the context of agape love, a love that must be willed. The Christian must use his mind and reason, deliberately choosing to love his enemy-living above the cloud of hatred, transcending the garment of malice but doing that which is of God for the sake of God. In doing so it entails 4 things;

1. The Christian’s love for his enemy is different from the love he holds for his family. It would be impossible to love an enemy with affection. Christ knew this.
2. The Christian sacrifices himself, bears all in order to work for his enemy’s good. Whether Christian minister or layman, the Christian chooses deliberately to love a world of antagonistic men for their own good (their salvation and hope of eternity).
3. The christian’s love (agape love) is not complacent acceptance of open wickedness and license. It is not sitting back and allowing a person to do as he pleases. It is not allowing selfishness and deception and a wallowing around in license. Agape love is putting a stop to sin and license as much as possible. It is restraint, control, discipline, and even punishment when it protects the offender from himself and protects those whom he hurts. Very simply pictured, it is a parent controlling a child for his own good and for the good of those who love him.
4. Agape love is God’s love. a Christian can have agape love only as he allows God to love through him. The believer deliberately wills to love as God loves, and God empowers him to do so.

When we love of our enemies as God would have us to, it makes us a child of God. A true believer cannot hate another person. If a person says he loves God and hates some person, whether former colleague or friend or foe, he needs to search his heart. He lacks the genuineness demanded by God.

Love makes a person like God. God loves his enemies. He causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on his enemies as well as on those who love him. The Christian is to be just like God: he is to love his enemies. In loving his enemies, the Christian becomes more and more like God. He becomes godly

Love makes a person distinctive from other men. A believer must do more than others. He must go beyond what others do. Everyone loves his friends, so doing more and going beyond means that the believer will love his enemies. Everyone is friendly to those who salute him; therefore, doing more and going beyond means that the believer salutes his enemies.

The call is to be like God our father. In so doing it requires that yes as a believer, we have our enemies, yet the believer is to love them. The believer has his cursers, yet he is to bless them. The believer has his haters, yet he is to do good to them. The believer has his spiters, yet he is to pray for them. the believer has his persecutors, yet he is to pray for them.

To be able to achieve, it requires a great deal of humility. No man will ever gain perfection, particularly in the area of human relationship is he/she is lacking in humility.

Humility constitutes the basic and necessary foundation for forgiving. It always expresses grace and dignity. It is the expression of self-control. Humble feelings begets a sensitive understanding, a character of calmness, capable of strength, of the openness and freedom of the child. We are disposed to forgive and to ask pardon when we are sincere and honest with ourselves and admit our limits of discernment, of judging and of our capacity for loving and understanding.

Charles de Foucauld writes, “To love anyone is to hope in him for always. From the moment at which we begin to judge anyone, to limit our confidence in him, from the moment at which we identify him with what we know of him and so reduce him to that, we cease to love him and he ceases to be able to become better. We should expect everything of everyone.”

We must dare to be love in a world that does not know how to love.

Beloved in Christ, another dimension of forgiveness is the total love of mercy. It is the gesture of condescension that bends down in love. the merciful love feels the responsibility for one another. It touches the wounded heart and makes it whole.

John Bojer, the Norwegian writer, tells of a man whose child was killed by a neighbour’s dog. Revenge would not long satisfy this man, so he found a better way to relieve the agony of his heart.

When a famine had plagued the people and the neighbour’s field lay bare and he had no corn to plant for the next year’s harvest, the troubled father went out one night and sowed the neighbour’s field.

He explained this act of heroic generosity, “I went and sowed seed in my unfriendly neighbour’s field that God’s love might exist.”

Beloved in christ, forgiveness from others, is charity.

Forgiveness from God is grace.

Forgiveness from oneself is wisdom.

Forgiveness implies a relation between equals. Exacts the attitudes of meeting the person on a level of equality. All men enjoy equal dignity, and the same divine calling and destiny. Their basic equality must receive our recognition.

The Caliph Hassan, successor of Mohammed, was one day at table when a slave accidentally dropped a hot dish, severely burning the Caliph. Frightened for his life, the slave fell on his knees before the lord and repeated these words of the spiritual book, “paradise is for those who control their anger.”

“I am not angry with you,” replied the Caliph. “And for those who forgive offences, the slave went on.” “I forgive you, added the Caliph.” But above all for those who return good for evil, said the slave. To this the Caliph declared, “I set you at liberty, and give you ten gold coins.”

Forgiveness springs from the generosity of the heart. Descartes, the French philosopher, was asked why he did not take revenge on those who offended him. When one offends me, answered the philosopher, I try to raise my spirit so high that the offence may not reach it.

Jesus tells us in today’s gospel passage, do not take  revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one kilometer, carry it two kilometers. When someone asks you for something, lend it to him. You have heard that it was said, love your friends, hate your enemies. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your father in heaven.

Beloved in Christ, we are called today to do a little more than you are paid to, give a little more than you have to, try a little harder than you want to, aim a little higher than you think possible.

Prayer. Dewar lord may we grow in kindness like you. Teach us to mend a quarrel. Search out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in a word or deed. Keep a promise. Find the time. forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologise if we were wrong. Try to understand. Flout envy. Examine our demands on others. Think first of someone else. Appreciate, be kind, be gentle. Laugh a little more. Deserve confidence. Take up arms against malice. Decry complacency. Express your gratitude. Worship God. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love. speak it again. speak it still again. speak it still once again we ask this though Christ our lord amen.