If We Receive God’s Love, We Can Love Our EnemiesRead Time 9 min

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Samuel 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
1 Corinthians 15: 45-49
Luke 6: 27-38

In this Sunday’s Gospel comes one of the most challenging but fundamental commandments Jesus gave us: “Love your enemies.” And the Lord is not talking metaphorically or symbolically. Jesus tells us immediately how to do that: “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back.” Plus, he offers us the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Why would Jesus ask us to love our enemies? Because it is the right thing to do. As followers of Jesus, we must do what he did: “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do,” (Luke 23:34) and St. Paul tells us, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

So, how can we love our enemies? We cannot give from what we don’t have. We must receive the love of the Father, in the son Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must start by recognizing God’s great love for us — you and me. To love our enemies and those who hate us is very difficult, but nothing is impossible with God’s love within us.

We have great examples in the saints. One that comes to mind is St. Bakhita. A little bit about her life: she was kidnapped by her family in Africa, she was sold as a slave and treated horribly, and one day, she was “purchased” by an Italian family that ultimately gave her freedom back. Amid this very difficult life, she encountered Christ and his Church, and she even became a religious sister, and now she is a saint. St. Bakhita has a wonderful quote: “I am definitively loved, and whatever happens to me — I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.” She encountered the love of Jesus in such a profound way. She realized that God did not just know her but that she was definitively loved, which gave her total freedom and confidence. No matter how her life would change for good or bad, she knew that she was absolutely loved by God, which allowed her to love those who hurt her, and she was able to love those who tortured her, to love her actual enemies.

It always amazes me, the timing of God. This call by God to love our enemies is so important right now. It breaks my heart how divided we are. I believe the enemy is working hard to divide us by manipulating us and creating enemies. It is scary how easily we create enemies: the people with different political views, some politicians, other drivers on the road, people who look different than us, certain immigrants, police, those who are “conservative or liberal,” blood relatives who disagree with us, and the list goes on and on.

St. Thomas Aquinas defines love as willing the good of the other. So, let us return to the Gospel to see how the Lord wants us to practice loving our enemies. The Lord said, “Do good to those who hate you.” When did you last do something good to one of your enemies? Do you talk to them? Do you warmly and honestly greet them with love? Do you take care of them in their need? The Lord said, “Bless those who curse you.” We know that our words and actions have power. When was the last time you wished a blessing upon your enemy? Did you wave and wish good to the person who cut you off while driving? When was the last time you were insulted by someone and you spoke with blessing toward that individual?

The Lord said, “Pray for those who mistreat you.” When was the time you prayed for your enemy? When was the last time you offered a holy hour for that person who is so difficult to love? When was the last time you prayed and fasted for the good and well-being of that person who hurt you? When did you last offer a Rosary for that politician that you disagree with? When was the last time you offered a Mass for that priest who was not a good shepherd?

This may seem unfair, but the Lord invites us to imitate our heavenly Father at the end of the Gospel: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” “Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.”