For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Please forgive my cynicism, but when I hear a politician or politically-minded minister invoke "LOVE" as the remedy for our present distress, I snort rather loudly. (If I happen to be among the faithful, I do it internally but nonetheless loudly.) I really don't know what they're talking about. Nor do I quite get it when I hear that HATE is a terrible thing. Well, yes, it is really awful but how does your invoking those words contribute anything to the conversation? I prefer substance to bombast.
In today's gospel the Lord urges his disciples to "Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors that you may be children of your heavenly Father."
The first part of his admonition is more often cited than the second. It's easy to love your enemies when you feel safe and distant from them, when they seem impotent and their wrath harmless. It's not so easy to "pray for your persecutors" when you feel their weight on your neck.
Jesus adds substance to his admonition when he reminds us that even tax collector love those who love them. There's nothing unusual about that! If you simply love those who love you, you accomplish nothing; and if you hate those who hate you, you make the world exponentially worse! You are no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
This admonition from the Sermon on the Mount would decommission those self-anointed Christians who meet force with force and fire with fire. Some gather in churches to celebrate their so-called right to bear arms and kill their enemies. They may be on a mission but they were not sent by the Lord.
There are politicians and preachers who are willing to meet their opponents; to listen to their complaints, respect their wounded sensibilities, and welcome their wrath. They are not willing to show contempt, sneer at, or demonize their enemies; they won't even describe them as enemies. They have accepted the common sense teaching of Jesus, and recognized that antagonism only adds fuel to the fire.
In the end, Jesus' teaching is very practical, very realistic. True, it takes both courage and insight; traits which do not run deeply among the uninspired. He invites us with these words to Come follow him, to take up each one the cross and go with him to Calvary. For if you're not willing to die with him, don't invoke the word of love.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.