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Matthew 5.43-48

‘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, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This familiar chapter from the Sermon on the Mount instructing us to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” seems so straightforward. Jesus lived this directive, and it is a message conveyed to us in multiple ways throughout the bible. Yet, while reflecting on this passage, and wanting to go deeper into its meaning, I found I had more questions than answers.

What Jesus says to us here seems simple: Loving those who are easy to love (those who already love us) is mundane and not as righteous as loving all (including those who are our “enemies”). To do this is to be “perfect” and live the word of God.

In theory I agree with this concept. I can imagine how living this might make a kinder, equitable, righteous and more whole world without the negative forces that currently divide us and cause so much pain. But how on earth do we live this? While it might be easier to love those who already love us, I do not always find it “easy” and I think for most people it can be a tremendous struggle at times. Loving your enemy, then, seems like such a Herculean task.

What eventually grounded me in this passage was Jesus stating that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous”. This moved me deeply because it conveys God’s infinite love and generosity to all of us. Before thinking about this as it relates to how I might love my enemy, I thought, I need to fully embrace what it means that God loves me with all of my many flaws and shortcomings.

Like most, I tend to judge myself when I have thoughts or engage in actions that disappoint me and don’t demonstrate my values. Sometimes, rather than turn to God for guidance in these moments, in haste I will distance myself from these transgressions because they are distressing and causing me bad feelings. Of course, this also creates distance from God. Although perhaps not the intended message, this passage serves to reinforce that God loves us for who we are in our entirety. If God can love the unloveable parts of ourselves then we can too. And if we are able to acknowledge these difficulties to ourselves and God without judgment, then we can begin to understand them, and with compassion, begin to change.

Starting small and within myself, has helped me begin to understand how we move closer to the perfect place of loving our enemies. By understanding my own failings as a person but being able to accept and work on them with compassion guided by God’s help, I am better able to extend this love and understanding to others. To “Be perfect” then is really to accept that we are all anything but.

Matthew 4.14-16

So that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”

This morning, right before sitting down to consider this passage from Matthew, I was reading the paper. My eye seemed to wander to every article that was dismaying and sad, and some I read aloud to my husband James. After about the third upsetting article, James got up and said “Okay, enough!” Indeed.
 
I find that distressing news can draw me in. If I am feeling generous to myself I might say that I feel the need to read reports of things, such as human rights violations, the plight of migrants, the personal stories about Covid, not just to stay informed as a good citizen, but as a witness and in solidarity with all the citizens of the world. This can help me clarify my own values about how I want to live and contribute to our world, and can draw me closer to living the message of Jesus. 
 
But if I am to be honest, there are other less righteous reasons I can be attracted to sad news about the world. Sometimes, if I am in a period of struggle, it can feel validating to read that others struggle. If I am feeling particularly negative, it can reflect back to me that the world is a dark place. If I am angry, it can convey to me that there are reasons to stay in anger. Sad news can feed our narcissism, that need to see our own inner-state reflected in the world around us. When we are in this place there is no room for “light,” only our own need for validation. That place is where I started out this morning.
 
Upon reflection this passage reminds me that, as difficult as it may be to do so, I need to embrace the light of God, even when the shadow of death seems ever present. Using sad news for my own emotional needs, while human, is stagnant and does not bring about any positive change. The example of Jesus, in this passage beginning his Galilean ministry, is one of action to address the suffering of people. Jesus never diminishes the suffering of others or even his own suffering, and for me that makes his message of the light all the more powerful. I need to continually work on allowing God’s light to guide me out of the dark, and lead me to a meaningful path closer to God.