Make Them My Friends

“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, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”   (Matthew 5:38-48)

All of us can accept the last part of this Gospel reading.   We should not be tribal and only associate with those who are like us.  However, loving our enemies seems a bit too much and, frankly, impossible for all of us who are far from perfect, unlike the Father.

Consider the first reading: “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18).

Here we are forced to define our “neighbor” and our “brothers and sisters.”   Most of us can agree not to hate them.  That’s self-destructive.  But, seriously, to love them?   Again, love would seem to be something we provide with great care and consideration.  Love comes from the heart that is wounded by our enemies and then bleeds grudges and revenge.  For most of us that’s simply a reality.

When we say the Lord’s Prayer and mention forgiving those who trespass against us, that part of the prayer needs serious discernment.   Do we really mean it?   We should, but our imperfections work against our taking it to heart for self-healing.

Among many other things, Jesus is a great teacher.   For all of us with very few exceptions, our teacher would have us at the blackboard writing “I will love my enemy” 77 times.  However, I prefer Abraham Lincoln's approach and to write instead: "Make them my friends."  That seems more realistic for us imperfect humans.

Deacon David Pierce