The teaching to “love your enemies and pray for your persecutors” must have been startling to the original hearers of the Sermon on the Mount. In first-century Palestine, “your enemies” and “those who persecute you” first and foremost brought to mind the Roman oppressors. Throughout their history, Israel contended with enemies committed to their destruction: the Egyptians, the Amelekites, the Canaanites, the Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, and the Greeks. Their enemies were often more numerous than Israel, better equipped, cruel, oppressive, and cunning. Their enemies enslaved them, exiled them from their home, sought to impose foreign cultural practices upon them, and even wipe out the practice of their religion and replace their worship of Yahweh with their own pagan gods.
Throughout the Old Testament God taught Israel not to fear
their enemy, to trust in God even in times of persecution and oppression, to pray for deliverance, even to show kindness to
your enemy.
Yet, Jesus takes it one step further when he teaches us, love your enemy.
Teaching us fallen humans how to love is at the heart of
Jesus’ mission. He tells us today that
not only are we to love our neighbor, but our enemies as well, those who
persecute you, those who sin against you, those who your country is at war
with, those who cut you off in traffic, those who may have bullied you a half a
century ago in grade school, those who seem to be bringing ruin to our country
or our church, your employer who fires you unjustly. Love them.
Love them, forgive them, be patient with them, feed them,
clothe them, teach them, serve them, hold no grudges toward them, seek what is
best for them.
For the Jews, Israel was called to imitate the holiness of
God. Yet, this was often interpreted in Jesus’ time as separating from
everything that was considered unholy.
This is why we see Pharisees confounded by Jesus dining with tax
collectors and sinners. The word Pharisee even means “to separate”, “to detach”
from sin. Jesus teaches us, instead of
separating ourselves from the world of sinners, to enter into their world to
infuse it with Christian love.
When we made ourselves enemies of God through sin, God
entered into our lives and worked for our conversion, and we are to do the
same. He does not give up on us until our last breath, and we must do the same,
even with our enemies.
May word and sacrament continue to perfect our charity
toward all, and help us to embrace with truth and love, those the world deems
unembracable, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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