Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).
If we thought the beatitudes and the woes that we experienced yesterday were a challenge, buckle up! Today, Jesus takes things up a notch. The Prince of Peace is inviting us to walk along the path to peace. The peace that Jesus invites us to engage in is not just an absence of violence but a peace that is grounded in mutual respect and unity. No matter where we might look, there are very few examples or models for us to see this Gospel being put into practice. We instead see a consistent engagement in rhetoric, language, and outright hostility that promotes dehumanization, division, contempt, hatred, and vileness. These voices not only rise in our secular and political discourse but also there is a growing din within the Church as well.
Jesus is also leading us away from the temptation to swing the pendulum the other way, such that what we think, say, and do has the substance of milk toast. We become so careful not to offend that we don’t share our ideas or what we truly believe to avoid conflict. Staying away from hot button issues and the taboos of talking religion and politics is not a way to bring about peaceful coexistence nor solve important issues.
Neither an overly aggressive nor a bland tolerance of engagement is what Jesus is presenting in today’s Gospel. Jesus is inviting us to allow ourselves to be healed and transformed from the survival mentality of fight or flight or being paralyzed by trauma. To move beyond our primal, reactive instincts, we need to feel safe. By breathing and allowing ourselves to be loved by God through meditation on and praying with his word and listening to him and his guidance in silence each day, we can move beyond placing anyone and anything else before God. As we grow in relationship with God, he becomes our rock foundation.
With God as our foundation, we can begin to open up to the reality of what Jesus offers in today’s Gospel. Who of us would agree with his teaching to love our enemies, those who hate, curse, and mistreat us? Jesus is calling us to love one another as he loves each and every one of us. This love is more than the emotional or sentimental surface level of love we are used to. Jesus calls us to a higher love, to have a sincere intent to will the good of each other, even and especially when we feel or think there is nothing to like about a person. This is how we can love even an enemy, by willing their good, wanting the best for them, which also is best for us.
If we want to see a change in our divisive and polarized time, we need to begin with ourselves, receive the message of Jesus, and begin, little by little, to put his teachings into practice. We will do so when we encounter one another, one person at a time, sit down, talk, and listen, resist reacting, give the benefit o of the doubt, and love one another. Easy, no, possible, yes, when we allow God to open our hearts and minds to the love God wants to share with and through each of us. As we breathe, receive, rest, and abide in God’s love there is a better chance we will love one another.
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Photo: Storm clouds will threaten, but the light and love of Christ will always overcome.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 