“But you, beloved, build yourself up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourself in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
- Jude 1: 20-21
I sometimes hear people say of their departed loved ones that they didn't have an enemy in the world. At first thought, I say to myself, “How beautiful!” and then I think, “Is that possible?” Sometimes as it is said, we are our own worst enemy, meaning, we are too hard and critical of ourselves. And sometimes in life, our best friends can become our arch enemies. Yet God orders the Israelite people through Moses to “Be holy, for I the Lord am Holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Jesus commands His disciples to, “Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” And St. Paul tells us today, “You are a temple of God. The temple of the Holy Spirit which is to be holy” (1 Cor 3:16-17).
The goal of the Christian life is to seek holiness. However, getting to this point is often a work of a lifetime. Sin undoubtedly is part of each of our lives. But Christ's grace is even more abundant if we seek it with humble receptivity. In belonging to Christ, all things are possible. The expression of being “perfect," finds meaning in the Latin translation of “complete” or “full grown”— achieving the maturity of one living "in Christ." All holiness is patterned after the very holiness of God. Holiness requires integrity, honesty and faithfulness. Through His death on the Cross Jesus broke the cycle of violence and vengeance and set into motion a new law of love. As His followers we are challenged to do the same. There are no enemies in Jesus' vocabulary.
Can you picture yourself getting to heaven and the first person you meet is the one you liked least on earth? That's possible. God loves every person without restraint and in so doing, calls us to be perfect, like Himself. And this begins with loving our enemies. Christianity can never reduce itself to the level of perpetrating evil against those who have wronged us. Love never stoops to evil. Love is never spiteful or harmful to those who have offended or injured. Love never seeks to hurt or repay the harm. Love wishes the other only well and a speedy return to God's grace.
Do you have an “enemy list?" I'd imagine most of us do. Perhaps that list includes a competitor in sports, anti-Catholics, ex-spouses, co-workers, family members, terrorists, neighbors, and even beyond the grave, the deceased who hurt us and we still cannot forgive. No life is immune or exempt from enemies. Enemies are a fact of life. Not pretty, but real. Jesus never said loving our enemies would be easy.
- Jude 1: 20-21
I sometimes hear people say of their departed loved ones that they didn't have an enemy in the world. At first thought, I say to myself, “How beautiful!” and then I think, “Is that possible?” Sometimes as it is said, we are our own worst enemy, meaning, we are too hard and critical of ourselves. And sometimes in life, our best friends can become our arch enemies. Yet God orders the Israelite people through Moses to “Be holy, for I the Lord am Holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Jesus commands His disciples to, “Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” And St. Paul tells us today, “You are a temple of God. The temple of the Holy Spirit which is to be holy” (1 Cor 3:16-17).
The goal of the Christian life is to seek holiness. However, getting to this point is often a work of a lifetime. Sin undoubtedly is part of each of our lives. But Christ's grace is even more abundant if we seek it with humble receptivity. In belonging to Christ, all things are possible. The expression of being “perfect," finds meaning in the Latin translation of “complete” or “full grown”— achieving the maturity of one living "in Christ." All holiness is patterned after the very holiness of God. Holiness requires integrity, honesty and faithfulness. Through His death on the Cross Jesus broke the cycle of violence and vengeance and set into motion a new law of love. As His followers we are challenged to do the same. There are no enemies in Jesus' vocabulary.
Can you picture yourself getting to heaven and the first person you meet is the one you liked least on earth? That's possible. God loves every person without restraint and in so doing, calls us to be perfect, like Himself. And this begins with loving our enemies. Christianity can never reduce itself to the level of perpetrating evil against those who have wronged us. Love never stoops to evil. Love is never spiteful or harmful to those who have offended or injured. Love never seeks to hurt or repay the harm. Love wishes the other only well and a speedy return to God's grace.
Do you have an “enemy list?" I'd imagine most of us do. Perhaps that list includes a competitor in sports, anti-Catholics, ex-spouses, co-workers, family members, terrorists, neighbors, and even beyond the grave, the deceased who hurt us and we still cannot forgive. No life is immune or exempt from enemies. Enemies are a fact of life. Not pretty, but real. Jesus never said loving our enemies would be easy.
Albert Schweitzer once said, “To be glad instruments of God’s love in this imperfect world is the service to which people are called, and it forms a preparatory stage to the bliss that awaits them in the perfected world, the kingdom of God.” The playwright Oscar Wilde enjoyed saying, “Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more.”
Jesus loves us whether we are wise or foolish, whether we are educated or uneducated, whether we are rich or poor, whether we are sophisticated or simple, whether we are successful or a failure, and even, whether we are His friends or His enemies.
When the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was running for office, he had an arch-enemy named Stanton. Stanton never lost a chance to attack him. However, when Abe Lincoln won the election, he surprised his friends by giving Stanton a post in his cabinet. He defended his action by saying, “He is the best man for the job.” And lo and behold, he was proven right. Stanton rendered loyal service. When Lincoln was assassinated, Stanton paid this tribute in saying, “Lincoln was one the greatest men who ever lived.” And once when someone asked Lincoln why he didn't destroy his enemies, he said, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
To love our enemies does not mean that we will necessarily become “bosom buddies." It does not mean that the stinger will completely dissolve from our heart. It does not mean that our memories will instantly be erased. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount teaches the greatest and most difficult message we are called to live as a Christian: to love and pray for our enemies. Every page of Scripture drips with God's forgiveness.
Did you ever think for a minute that our supposed enemies can be a gift? Our enemies help us to look at our blind spots, our weaknesses and our imperfections. St. Thomas More put it this way, “Give me Your grace, Good Lord...to think my greatest enemies, my best friends; for the brothers of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred.”
Our healing requires us to put away fear of those who have caused us hurt or done us injury and trust in the Christian response of love. Sometimes our lives are caught in the web of a love-hate relationship and we are entangled with passive aggressive behavior. In order for us to be disarmed of the weapons of war and division, we must be clothed with the grace to heal and forgive. Forgiveness is not naturally human; it's a supernatural grace of Christ's Divine Mercy seeking reconciliation, forgiveness and healing. In every life there are some people who are just hard and difficult to love. However, Christ calls us to love them anyway. And to love everyone. And never give up on asking and being persistent for this marvelous gift of God. Forgiveness is a miracle. It is a grace. It is a blessing.
How can our “enemy hit list” become our “prayer-love list?"
I see how the “Angelic Doctor," St. Thomas Aquinas, could sit at the feet of the Cross and find that all the volumes of theology he wrote were like heaps of straw compared to the image of the Crucified Lord. May the crosses we carry bring graces and blessings as we seek closer union with Christ.
