“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, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)
So who are those people or groups that you tend to push away from your heart and your compassion? What stirs in you as you hear these words of Jesus and look closely at these others, as you bring them near to yourself, as you make yourself aware of the realities that are a part of their life?
Jesus is not simply giving you a command here: grit your teeth and do the right thing. He is offering you an invitation to become whole, to grow into the fullness of your humanity by loving as God loves. Can you imagine yourself whole—completely free from fear or resentment… Complete in love… In a love that pours itself on the “deserving” and the “undeserving”? What would feel different for you? What would be different? How would the world be different?
This is the world God is creating: a world without hatred, without division, without fear. A world of peace, of justice, of wholeness. Jesus is calling us to imitate the very love of God, a love that gives freely, indiscriminately, and unconditionally. “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (v. 45).
But such love is not within our reach by human effort alone. To love enemies is not a skill we can master through discipline or sheer will. To love in this way is to live now as citizens of God’s future kingdom.
Those who first heard the Sermon on the Mount were “astonished” at Jesus teaching as much as we are today each time it is proclaimed. It is beyond anything we, left to our own devices, could ever muster. Such a love can flow from our hearts if we have taken in the divine love that God has extended to us even though we haven’t deserved it (we don’t), often forget about it in our interest in other things, and could never return this love to God in the same measure. This is the love out of which we were created and the love we were created for: a love with open hands and open heart.
By loving in this way—by loving even our enemies and those who hate us—by imitating God, we make a current reality the love of the Kingdom of God and participate in building that reality even here and even now in whatever situation we live in, and with whoever is our “enemy.”
Image credit: Carl Bloch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Praying with this Passage of Scripture
Lectio Divina is a way of listening to God as he speaks in his Word. It is a practice of communicating with God through Scripture and attending to God’s presence and what he wishes to tell us. In this slow and prayerful reading of the Word of God, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit who forms us into the image of Christ. There are four movements in Lectio Divina: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditation), Pray (oratio), Contemplate (contemplation).
Begin by finding a still space to pray. Breathe deeply and become quieter within. Abandon any agenda, worries or thoughts you bring to this prayer and entrust these things to the merciful care of God. Ask for the grace to be receptive to what God will speak to you through this Scripture reading. Grant me, Jesus Divine Master, to be able to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God and your unfathomable riches. Grant that your word penetrate my soul; guide my steps, and brighten my way till the day dawns and darkness dissipates, you who live and reign forever and ever Amen.
Read (lectio)
Begin by slowly and meditatively reading your Scripture passage out loud. Listen for a particular word or phrase that speaks to you at this moment and sit with it for a time.
Pray (oratio)
Read the text a third time. Listen for what God is saying to you. Speak heart to heart with God. Notice the feelings that this conversation with God raises up within you. Share with God what you notice about your response to this conversation. You may wish to return to repeating the phrase quietly and gently, allowing it to permeate you more and more deeply.
Contemplate (contemplatio)
Read the text a final time. Now be still and rest in God’s embrace. Ask God to give you a gift to take with you from this prayer. You might ask God if he is inviting you to do some action, for instance, make some change in your thoughts, attitudes or reactions, in the way you speak or how you treat others. Thank God for this gift and invitation as you conclude your prayer.
Touching the Sunrise 