“Hãy Yêu thương kẻ thù”
Để yêu thương kẻ thù của chúng ta với lòng yêu thương như thế thật không phải là dẽ. Thương như thế có nghĩa là chúng ta phải sẵn sàng bỏ qua tất cả không bất chấp người đã xúc phạm đến chúng ta, phải làm như không biết là họ xúc phạm hay đối xử không tốt với chúng ta, chúng ta phải đối xử với họ bằng với lòng nhân từ bằng với thiện chí chúng ta phải luôn cố gắng để xem xét đeể đem những gì tốt nhất đến cho những người ấy.
Những loại tình yêu cho kẻ thù của chúng ta sẽ không chỉ là một cái gì đó của trái tim mà còn là một cái gì đó của ý chí. Hơn nữa, loại tình yêu này có thể chỉ có được nếu chúng ta có được ân sủng của Thiên Chúa và một mối quan hệ cá nhân đặc biệt với Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Qua ví dụ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta đã học được cách tha thứ như Ngài tha thứ, để yêu thương như Thiên Chúa yêu thương.
Chúng ta đã đáp lại điều răn yêu thương của Chúa Giêsu như thế nào? Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện xin Chúa cho tất cả những nỗi niềm cay đắng trong lòng của chúng ta và trong thế giới chúng ta đang sống được đổi thành những suối nguồn của sự sống và tình yêu. Chúng ta hãy chúc phúc cho nhau và làm với nhau, kính trọng nhau. "Vậy anh em hãy nên hoàn thiện, như Cha anh em trên trời là Đấng hoàn thiện. ." (Mt 5: 48)
Love has many meanings. One of these is the Greek word "agape" with an accompanying verb "agapan" which indicates "unconquerable benevolence and invincible goodwill." (Barclay's Commentary) To love our enemies with agape means that no matter what the person does to us, no matter if one insults or persecutes us, we shall regard him/her with that unconquerable benevolence and goodwill always trying to see what would be the highest good for him/her. The kind of love for our enemies will not only be something of the heart but is also something of the will. Moreover, this kind of love is possible only with God's grace and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Through Jesus' example, we have learned to forgive as He forgives, to love as God loves.
I remember an incident in my life when a colleague misunderstood me and I had no way to speak with her. We tried to avoid each other but after a while I felt that I had to settle issues with her. I prayed for her and sent her blessings and positive vibes before I finally faced her. It ended with so much mercy, gentleness and peace. We have both retired but our friendship has remained intact.
How have we responded to Jesus' commandment of love? Let us pray that all the bitterness in our hearts and in this world be changed into springs of life and love. Let us bless one another and make saints of each other. "For your part you shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect." (Mt 5: 48)
Jesus said to his disciples: “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 the unjust.” Matthew 5:43–45
Jesus continues to deepen and clarify His call to His new command to love of others. The love to which He calls us is radical, total, and can be very challenging at first. He calls us to move far beyond the Old Testament understanding of justice by commanding that we love everyone, including those who persecute us. This call to love is not an option but a command. It’s a requirement for every Christian.
In implementing this command, Jesus gives us not only the command itself but also offers some very practical advice on how we can achieve this depth of love. He says that we should not only love our enemies but that we should pray for them when they persecute us. First of all, an “enemy” is one who tries to inflict some form of harm on us and, generally speaking, sins against us. The common response to these experiences is to defend ourselves and fight back. So the first step is to reject any such temptation. As Jesus said in the Gospel passage prior to this one, “offer no resistance to one who is evil.”
Today’s Gospel passage takes us even further. The practical advice our Lord gives is to “pray for those who persecute you.” This command not only requires that you reject the temptation to “get back” at a person or even to simply “resist” what they do to us. You must now pray for them. Praying for someone who sins against you is an act of the greatest charity and generosity. And it’s a very practical way to imitate the abundant mercy of God. For that reason, praying for your persecutors radically transforms you interiorly and makes you holy. In a sense, the evil another does to you has the potential to be transformed into a gift given to you, because it gives you an opportunity to return prayer for an injury inflicted. And that is a very real and practical gift we must embrace by this new command of our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon those for whom this new commandment calls you to pray. Whose sin has inflicted some hurt or injury upon you or your family? Who do you hold a grudge toward? Whoever comes to mind, commit yourself to deep and sustained prayer for that person. Pray often for them and continue that prayer for as long as the persecution continues. Doing so will transform any and every attempted malice issued toward you into grace for them and holiness for you.
My Lord of abundant mercy, Your command to pray for those who persecute me was first lived by You to perfection. You prayed for those who crucified You as You hung upon the Cross. Give me the grace I need to not only forgive but to also pray for those who have and continue to try to inflict harm upon me. Give me a heart so filled with mercy that every sin committed against me is transformed into love and my own holiness of life. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Love Your Enemies: Some of the stumbling blocks found in the Old Testament are the commands of Moses to hate and kill enemies, as found in Deuteronomy 20. Many atheists point to these laws as internal contradictions within the Bible and ask, “How could a just and loving God command the extermination of entire peoples, men, women, and children?” One key to respond to this question, is to point out that the Bible itself declares that some of the laws given by Moses in Deuteronomy were not good (see Ezekiel 20:25). While the laws in Exodus given by the Lord God at Mt. Sinai, such as the Ten Commandments, were good, Ezekiel judges that some of the laws in Deuteronomy given by Moses were not good. What Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is bringing those “not-good laws” in Deuteronomy to fulfillment by correcting them. Just as he had to correct the Law of Moses that permitted divorce, he also had to correct the Law of Moses that commanded the hatred and extermination of enemies. Love of our enemies and prayer for our persecutors are the way of the New Covenant, which brings the Old Covenant to fulfillment and perfection.
Love Your Enemies: To love our enemies seems impossible since at times it is difficult enough to love our neighbors as God commands us to do. Consider how Adam blamed his wife, Eve: “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). In turn, Eve blamed the devil: “The snake tricked me, so I ate it” (Genesis 3:13). Since the beginning, it has become part of human nature to blame, to assign responsibility for a fault or wrong. How can we be expected to love our enemies? Jesus answered this question: “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). To be obedient to God in this teaching of Jesus requires of us what we cannot produce ourselves: grace. “Grace is first and foremost a gift of the Holy Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us” (CCC 2003).
Opening Prayer: Lord, thank you for these moments to reflect on your words in Scripture. Please enlighten my mind to understand more deeply what you mean by “be perfect.”
Be Perfect? "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" seems like a tall order. Yes, we're always trying to be better—we are reading reflections like these to help us on the pathway to holiness, right? But only Jesus and Mary have ever been perfect. The rest of us will never do everything perfectly. Even St. Teresa of Avila, a doctor of the church on prayer, said she got distracted at least once every rosary. So when we hear Jesus tell us to "be perfect," it can seem like he's setting us up for disappointment and failure. He wouldn't do that, so what did he mean?
“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
How many times have you heard these words from Jesus, and felt completely helpless? We all have someone in our lives that we simply can’t love or forgive—someone who has hurt us so deeply that we have resigned ourselves to bearing the wound for the rest of our lives.
It is precisely these memories, these fears, even these resentments that the Lord wants to heal. He knows that we will never find the strength to deal with them on our own. He also knows that there are some situations where it would not be wise to try to reconcile—but even in these, he can help us forgive from a safe distance so that we can move on in freedom.
How does Jesus heal us? Not by magically taking everything away in an instant. He does it as we invite him into our wounded memories. If you find yourself struggling with a painful memory, take some time to sit quietly with the Lord. Tell him that you want to be healed. In your heart, picture Jesus sitting with you and with the person who hurt you. See how he loves you, and how he loves that other person. Let his love wash you clean and heal your pain. Sometimes we have to do this a few times, and we may need to ask a trusted friend to pray with us. But healing does come.
Yes, Jesus does want us to love our enemies. He even commands it. But he is not leaving us to figure out how to do this all by ourselves. He is with us every step of the way, offering us his healing and his comfort. He knows how far each of us has to go in this journey, and he is ready to accompany us. He is not put off by our pain not even by our hatred. All he wants is an open heart and an invitation. He wants to set us free.
“Jesus, I welcome you into my heart. I welcome you into my wounded memories. Come, Lord, and teach me how to love and how to forgive. You are the Great Physician, and I trust in you.”
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