Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 1st Week of Lent - Sat
[Deut 26:16-19 and Matt 5:43-48]You have heard that it was said,"You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and unjust. [Matthew]
The Sermon on the Mount has a way of making people squirm because so much of it seems "counter-intuitive." How can an enemy be an enemy if one loves the enemy? Do we wind up saying, "I love my enemy" through gritted teeth? Jesus poiints out that every human person is a child of God. The sun rises and sets equally on all people. All people are therefore entitled to be loved as children of God.
Indeed, who is the "enemy?" We often tend to use the word "enemy" to mean someone who is actively opposing us in some hostile way. Sometimes we create artificial enemies in sports or other competitive situations and do not consider those folks enemies once the game is over. However, we do create enemies when we discriminate against someone because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or immigration status.
Jesus challenges us to be suspicious of any judgment we make that someone is an enemy. The presumption is in favor of love. We humans have a tough time with that, but if we call ourselves "Christian" we cannot ignore this challenge. AMEN