20240224 THE HALLMARK OF CHRISTIAN LOVE IS LOVING OUR ENEMIES
24 February 2024, Saturday, 1st Week of Lent
First reading |
Deuteronomy 26:16-19 © |
You will be a people consecrated to the Lord
Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):1-2,4-5,7-8 © |
They are happy who follow God’s law!
They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
You have laid down your precepts
to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm
to obey your statutes.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
I will thank you with an upright heart
as I learn your decrees.
I will obey your statutes;
do not forsake me.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Or: | 2Co6:2 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel | Matthew 5:43-48 © |
Pray for those who persecute you
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
THE HALLMARK OF CHRISTIAN LOVE IS LOVING OUR ENEMIES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [DT 26,16-19; PS 119:1-2,4-5,7-8; MT 5:43-48]
Just like the Israelites, Christians are called to be the People of God. In His mercy and goodness, He has chosen us to be His people. Of course, an agreement is required on our part. This was the case of the Israelites. “Today the Lord has obtained your agreement: to be his treasured people, as he promised you, and to keep his commandments; for him to set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honour; and for you to be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.” (Dt 26:18f)
Holiness simply means to be set apart for the glory of God. In other words, we are called to be different. Christians must be distinguished from the world in the way we live our lives, humbly, selflessly, altruistic in our values, and in the way we treat our fellowmen – with charity and compassion. This is what the Lord means when He calls us all to be perfect. “You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Obviously, this is not a perfection in terms of power and majesty. It is the perfection in charity. The highest form of charity is to love our enemies. Jesus said in the gospel, “You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Loving our enemies is something that goes against our fallen human nature. The natural response towards our enemies is to hate them and even wish them harm. We want to destroy our enemies, hurt them as much as they have hurt us. We like to see our enemies suffer the pain we have suffered ourselves. Until we see them humiliated, destroyed and even killed, we are not satisfied. Revenge is deep in the hearts of man, although we tend to justify our vindictiveness by camouflaging it as the demand for justice. In truth we can seek justice without being revengeful. Justice is to put things right and restore the rights of all.
If we hate our enemies and seek revenge, then we are no different from the rest of humanity. Jesus said, “For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not?” Loving those who love us is the most natural thing in life. One does not need to be a Christian to love those who love us. This spontaneous response of love is deeply ingrained in our hearts. Only a few very ungrateful people will receive love without giving back. Even then, it is because they are hurt and wounded. But if we love them enough, their hearts will open up and they will also be able to respond in love.
What does it mean to love our enemies? It means that we do not condemn the person but only the sin. Our fight is not against persons per se but against evil. We must learn to distinguish between the sin and the sinner. Often the sinner is ignorant, indoctrinated with falsehood or wounded in life. Hence, he is vicious, angry and resentful of the world. Blinded by their ignorance, they see evil as good. Often, they are contaminated by the values of the world that promote individualism, me-first philosophy, selfishness and self-centeredness. This leads to the sin of pride, arrogance and materialism. So, we should not be attacking our enemies but the falsehood and evil. Like Jesus, we are called to reject sin but with respect to the sinner, we are asked to always forgive and to desire that our enemies and sinners will one day see the truth and walk in the way of authentic love. Christ has no desire to see His enemies punished. In fact, when He was on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34) He not only forgave His enemies, He prayed for them and made excuses for them. To the adulterous woman, He said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” (Jn 8:11)
For this reason, all the early Christian martyrs walked the path of our Lord. They did not defend themselves or start a rebellion. They submitted to the legitimate authority who did not know Christ and the Christian Faith. St Stephen and the rest of the apostles followed after our Lord. St Stephen the First Martyr re-enacted the death of our Lord, going through all He went through, repeating the same words of our Lord towards his enemies. This is why the distinguishing mark of a Christian goes beyond mere charity and forgiveness. Christian charity is a call to love our enemies as the Lord loved them.
What is the motive for Christian suffering and forgiveness for our enemies? Firstly, it is for our salvation. Our enemies actually are our best spiritual benefactors. There is no greater way to sanctify ourselves than to suffer unjustly for the love of our Lord. This was what St Peter wrote, “For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” (1 Pt 2:19-23)
Secondly, it is for their salvation. “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (1 Pt 3:18) As Christians we suffer unjustly by not retaliating against our enemies, not because we are pacifists. On the contrary, our motive is for their conversion and salvation. We pray that by our example of forgiveness, we can win over hardened hearts. Saving their souls and turning them to the path of truth and goodness is our motivation in loving our enemies. Just as St Stephen changed the heart of Saul into Paul, who then became a great apostle to the gentiles, so too when we conquer our enemies with love, we will transform them to be great apostles of our Lord.
How, then, can we love our enemies? Precisely, it is not something within our power! We need the grace of God to love our enemies. Only God can give us the capacity to love and forgive like Him through the passion, death and resurrection of His Son and through the infilling of the Spirit of His love. Indeed, love is the answer to overcome our hatred for our enemies. We need to be filled with God’s love before we can impart that love. Only through the reception of His mercy and forgiveness for our own sins can we do likewise in extending this forgiveness and mercy, especially to our enemies. As it is said, “to err is human, to forgive is divine.” Only the contemplation of God’s unconditional and triumphant love on the cross and the resurrection of Christ can give us the courage, perseverance, impetus and humility to accept the sufferings joyfully inflicted by our enemies. This is what makes us different from the world. Christians do not take revenge. “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called – that you might inherit a blessing.” (1 Pt 3:9) St Paul urges us to leave vengeance to the Lord. (cf Rom 12:19-21)
In this way, we become truly the sons and daughters of God because we bear His image and likeness. This is what the Lord assures us, “In this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes the sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.” Since we are all made in His image and likeness, God loves everyone. Like any parent, we feel most for those children of ours who are wayward, lost, ignorant and hurting themselves. So, too, is the way God treats the prodigal son and daughter. Holiness of life is to reflect the life and love of God in us. Loving and forgiving our enemies means that we have transcended ourselves and our enemies. We have become like God who is not focused on His pain and His suffering but on ours. So to love like the Lord, we must always be contemplating on His love for us all. Indeed, we repay evil with goodness.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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