Love of Enemies
Mt 5:43-48
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45that
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 the
unjust.
46For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT.
In the Gospel, Jesus does not speak about the “ontological” perfection
of God the way philosophers do. Perfection here refers to the quality of
God that transcends or distinguishes God from mortal beings. The Lucan
parallel refers to God’s mercy rather than God’s perfection: “Be
merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36).
The
heavenly Father’s perfection, in fact, lies in his being merciful and
gracious, in his being slow to anger, and in his abounding in love.
Jesus says that the Father showers his gifts to all, irrespective of
people’s goodness or lack of it: “He makes his sun rise on the bad and
the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (v 45).
Thus,
to be perfect like the heavenly Father entails showing a love that is
indiscriminating and all-embracing. It is almost instinctive of us to
repay with good the good done to us. Even unbelievers do this. But it is
difficult to love those who hurt us. This is so if we rely only on our
human capacity and sense of goodness. We need to reflect on the example
of Jesus who forgave those who caused his crucifixion and on the love of
the Father that does not exclude anyone.
Forgive others,
not because they deserve forgiveness
but because you deserve peace!
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